Sawadee ka!
Door: Yaisa
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Yaisa
18 Augustus 2007 | Thailand, Bangkok
No, we’re not in Thailand anymore, but it’s only now that I get to update the weblog and post some photo’s for you… Blame Timmo for the delay… he promised he would write, but there you go… not trusting he would do it anytime before xmas, impatient little me took control again. ;-)
Anyway… what I wanted to tell you is that we went to Bangkok for five days last week, and it was great! Timmo had found a really nice hotel on Kao San Road, where I was some 13 years ago for the last time. Unrecognisable! So much neon light, a busy night market, uncountable taxis waiting at each end of the street… I’m sure I forgot much from the backpacking trips back then with Nicole, but gosh, it felt different… And we felt old… watching all these dazed, unwashed, braided, long-haired, tattooed (oh well…) in fisherman’s pants clad youngsters walk by with oversized backpacks was quite a sight. Especially when we arrived completely sober, in our office clothes, with our hand-luggage sized Samsonite trolleys at 1.00 am… ;-)
But then again, Kao San itself had upgraded as well, we were not the only dinky’s in the neighbourhood and the hotel had breakfast and swimmingpool included… Not suited for the average backpacker's budget, but still dead cheap for us!
So off we went, to Pat Pong… those of you who’ve been there, know the drill. You go there to see a pussy show – not the real stuff, it’s just for stupid tourists like us – so you let yourself be touted into one of these places with the promise that you only have to buy one beer per person à raison de 100 baht, which is a reasonable price. No, they won’t charge you for or anything else. Really? Yes, really! Promise? Yeeees, promise! So you go inside one of those sad joints, where uninspired (fat!) girls stand on the bar, pull all sorts of stuff out of their *** or put all sorts of differents things in, you get harrassed by the girls that are not performing on stage and try to get you to buy drinks for them and then… you have to pay up. Yes, 100 baht for the beer + 500 baht per person for the show! Hey mister, you think pussy show free? And so the game begins... you say no way, they say yes way, you start getting up, they pretend to be insulted, you start shouting, they get angry, you pretend to walk away without paying, they agree to let you go if you pay at least for the beers, you pay for the beers, swig them down and leave… You get out of the shithole, laugh about the fact that you just did that (again), sit down and have a drink at a “normal” bar and watch all the newcomers going through the same drill… It was exactly the same thing 13 years ago, no wonder all these girls are uninspired… Oh well, seen it, done it, check the box!
Next on the list was Wat Pho (temple with largest reclining Buddha) and some other temples but of course, we were most interested in the food & drinks part of our trip. Chinatown and Peking Duck, Silom (Financial District) and Fusion Restaurant, Kao San and Phat Thai, Tax Free Shop and Moët bubbles, Mahboonkrong mall and modern food centre, Ko Ratanakosin and street food…. The time was just too short to try everything I would have wanted to! Oh yes, did I mention the bugs? Of course I could not walk past the street cart without trying those again, for old times sake… a few crickets, a couple of silk worms, some other deep fried creepy crawlies… Mjummie! Heh heh, most of you know my theory, with a bit of soja sauce and garlic, everything tastes nice… ;-)
Last on the list was shopping. Funny that… You ask a Dutch person what there is to do in Bangkok, they tell you to go to temples or do a boat trip on the Chao Praya river. You ask a Singaporean, they tell about the markets and the malls where you can do some serious shopping. Becoming more and more adapted to our new environment, we took up their advice… Amongst others, we went to Chatuchak, an excellent weekend market where I got to brush up my bargaining skills. Just for your information, we still only had hand-luggage on the way back, although just...! And at least our guest room has some “decorative” lighting (sfeerverlichting) now…
Anyway, now it’s back to work, long long hours at the office for Timmo, so I spend my time with… ah, I’ll tell you next time!
Lots of love
Yaisa
Pictures: http://www.kodakgallery.eu.com/I.jsp?c=emj2ryp.ccu2m7px&x=0&y=wzcaro
PS. Explicitly only my name under the blog this time. I am no longer writing in Timmo’s name until he writes a story again! Comments to motivate him are welcome… :-)
PPS. We're having a BBQ party on Saturday 1 September on the roof terrace of our swimmming pool clubhouse. If you're in the neighbourhood and don't have anything planned for that night, make sure you join the party... ;-)
Anyway… what I wanted to tell you is that we went to Bangkok for five days last week, and it was great! Timmo had found a really nice hotel on Kao San Road, where I was some 13 years ago for the last time. Unrecognisable! So much neon light, a busy night market, uncountable taxis waiting at each end of the street… I’m sure I forgot much from the backpacking trips back then with Nicole, but gosh, it felt different… And we felt old… watching all these dazed, unwashed, braided, long-haired, tattooed (oh well…) in fisherman’s pants clad youngsters walk by with oversized backpacks was quite a sight. Especially when we arrived completely sober, in our office clothes, with our hand-luggage sized Samsonite trolleys at 1.00 am… ;-)
But then again, Kao San itself had upgraded as well, we were not the only dinky’s in the neighbourhood and the hotel had breakfast and swimmingpool included… Not suited for the average backpacker's budget, but still dead cheap for us!
So off we went, to Pat Pong… those of you who’ve been there, know the drill. You go there to see a pussy show – not the real stuff, it’s just for stupid tourists like us – so you let yourself be touted into one of these places with the promise that you only have to buy one beer per person à raison de 100 baht, which is a reasonable price. No, they won’t charge you for or anything else. Really? Yes, really! Promise? Yeeees, promise! So you go inside one of those sad joints, where uninspired (fat!) girls stand on the bar, pull all sorts of stuff out of their *** or put all sorts of differents things in, you get harrassed by the girls that are not performing on stage and try to get you to buy drinks for them and then… you have to pay up. Yes, 100 baht for the beer + 500 baht per person for the show! Hey mister, you think pussy show free? And so the game begins... you say no way, they say yes way, you start getting up, they pretend to be insulted, you start shouting, they get angry, you pretend to walk away without paying, they agree to let you go if you pay at least for the beers, you pay for the beers, swig them down and leave… You get out of the shithole, laugh about the fact that you just did that (again), sit down and have a drink at a “normal” bar and watch all the newcomers going through the same drill… It was exactly the same thing 13 years ago, no wonder all these girls are uninspired… Oh well, seen it, done it, check the box!
Next on the list was Wat Pho (temple with largest reclining Buddha) and some other temples but of course, we were most interested in the food & drinks part of our trip. Chinatown and Peking Duck, Silom (Financial District) and Fusion Restaurant, Kao San and Phat Thai, Tax Free Shop and Moët bubbles, Mahboonkrong mall and modern food centre, Ko Ratanakosin and street food…. The time was just too short to try everything I would have wanted to! Oh yes, did I mention the bugs? Of course I could not walk past the street cart without trying those again, for old times sake… a few crickets, a couple of silk worms, some other deep fried creepy crawlies… Mjummie! Heh heh, most of you know my theory, with a bit of soja sauce and garlic, everything tastes nice… ;-)
Last on the list was shopping. Funny that… You ask a Dutch person what there is to do in Bangkok, they tell you to go to temples or do a boat trip on the Chao Praya river. You ask a Singaporean, they tell about the markets and the malls where you can do some serious shopping. Becoming more and more adapted to our new environment, we took up their advice… Amongst others, we went to Chatuchak, an excellent weekend market where I got to brush up my bargaining skills. Just for your information, we still only had hand-luggage on the way back, although just...! And at least our guest room has some “decorative” lighting (sfeerverlichting) now…
Anyway, now it’s back to work, long long hours at the office for Timmo, so I spend my time with… ah, I’ll tell you next time!
Lots of love
Yaisa
Pictures: http://www.kodakgallery.eu.com/I.jsp?c=emj2ryp.ccu2m7px&x=0&y=wzcaro
PS. Explicitly only my name under the blog this time. I am no longer writing in Timmo’s name until he writes a story again! Comments to motivate him are welcome… :-)
PPS. We're having a BBQ party on Saturday 1 September on the roof terrace of our swimmming pool clubhouse. If you're in the neighbourhood and don't have anything planned for that night, make sure you join the party... ;-)
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18 Augustus 2007 - 19:57
Peterpaul:
Werken en reizen .... Yaisa dus.
Leuk om je te volgen.
Je kan jullie worden als T. eens uitpakt.
Groetjes -
19 Augustus 2007 - 03:51
Timmo:
Yais, je update is weer fantastisch! Misschien dat het miij ook nog voor het einde van het jaar lukt!
Ik ben erbij hoor, 1 sept! -
19 Augustus 2007 - 09:10
Anjo:
Hmmm, die fried bugs zien er lekker uit ;-) -
20 Augustus 2007 - 05:30
Peter:
Yais,
Wat heb je toch een leuke manier van schrijven joh! Starten op maandag is hardstikke ok wanneer je met zo'n verhaal kunt beginnen. ;-)
Groet,
Peter -
20 Augustus 2007 - 05:52
Jaspar:
Ha Yaisa,
Wat schrijf jij toch leuk zeg. Ik heb het gevoel met je op vakantie te zijn!
Hier in NL is alles een stuk minder spannend: werk, vriendin, vrije tijd. Deze week gaan Liselotte en ik lunchen, kunnen we meteen gaan overleggen waar dat volgende bestuursuitje gaat plaatsvinden...bij jou kunnen we slapen toch?!!!
Veel plezier, groeten aan Timmo en take care!
Jaspar -
20 Augustus 2007 - 15:36
Mama:
tja toen we daar waren GEEN bqq op het dakterrras, snik snik!
je bent een onverbeterlijke gourmande, van wie zou je dat geerfd hebben??
gelukkig is Thailand jullie goed bekomen met al die bugs en creeps, die zijn misschien wel OK , maar de (vieze, oude) olie?
doei, als gewoonlijk je ma
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