Since we crossed the International Date Line we lost a day, so our first day in Thailand was actually 6th and not the 5th. We were awake early and I seemed to have survived the mozzies through the night. The Silk sleep sack probably helped a lot, as well as the Sawyer insect repellent cream. I had one itchy spot on my right foot, which I was suspicious of, but it didn’t balloon like most mozzie bites can do so I ignored it.
Anyway, we had breakfast at the D’R Us CafÈ across and down the street a little. My first impression in daylight is that Khao sarn road has cleaned itself up a bit and is beginning to recognize the opportunity to cater to the tourist tastes, rather than serve it’s own native Thai foods.
At D’R Us CafÈ you could have waffles, French toast, croissant and several varieties of expresso coffee. Last time were here the only coffee available was instant Nescafe. The people watching was fascinatcing. A very blonde lade with two very dark tousled headed sons, about 11 and 14, was talking to one of the hair braiding vendors with what sounded like a Scandinavian accent, negotiating a deal for all three to get braided. Apparently she couldn’t get the deal she wanted so they paid their CafÈ bill and took off.
There was a French couple sitting beside us at another table who were talking about the travels they had already done. It seems like there are two types of travelers so far. Those who are here for the first time, have never seen Asia and are doing the obvious things like Khao sarn road, getting very drunk, chatting up the Thai girls and unfortunately taking them back to their rooms in a drunken state. It’s more obvious right now that there’s prostitution going on. I don’t remember seeing so much of it last time. Perhaps it’s seasonal – for example the tourists seem to be mostly European at the moment, perhaps that engenders more activity of one type or another. But I speculate.
The early morning was bringing out the monks gathering alms. I watched a few walk down the street. Could I really live that simple a life? Apparently not, even in trying to pack light, I packed an awful lot of stuff I think ‘I need".
After breakfast we wandered down into the Banglampoo area, through what was a decrepit alley. In the alley local’s were getting the business of their day underway. Improvement of the area hasn’t made it down into the little alleys yet, but I’m sure it will some time in the future.
We came across the Wild Orchids Villa, which is a lovely B&B. the entrance is open to the air, with lots of comfortable low seating. And boy does it have a huge collection of buddhas and other staturey on display. Some obviously Burmese, some Thai and oddities from unknown countries.
We booked ourselves in from Saturday for a week. The room is lovely, with the bathroom strategically placed out on the balcony that overlooks the alley. The Wild Orchids is certainly located off the beaten track, but not too far. It’s close to the river so we can catch Express boat ferries easily up or down the river, or simply to the nearest BTS station.
The lady at reception was all business like, but I think if we get on her friendly side she’ll be nice to deal with. The room is 600 baht a night (about 16 dollars), and has no TV, but it has a sense of peace. Above the bed is a Thai wooden display piece, something like a bed head, but not actually attached to the bed.
Today was a get our business done day, so we walked down to the river, took the express boat to Saphon Taksin, transferred to the BTS and headed for MBK, one of the better large mall shopping areas. We needed a cim for the cell phone and this was the best place to get it. We had a gorgeous latte and very spicy Tom Yum ghai soup in the Black Canyon coffee shop. It’s a chain and they can be found all over the place here now.
Looking for internet wireless access we walked several blocks to the Pantip center, which is the Akehabara of Bangkok. After many hours wandering around, and gathering of two cheap VCD movies, we took a cab home.
Unfortunately somewhere during the day my lower legs had been either bitten or had rubbed up against something that caused them to have a reaction and develop a rash. I don’t think it’s fatal, but it looks ugly. Oh well.
That evening we did our internet access at the Grand, while sitting have bier Singhas. It’s strong. After his large one and a second small one Jeff was wiped out. So we headed back to our room and tried to watch one of the movies. At 8:30pm we were both sound asleep.
My impressions of the first real day on the road are that Khao sarn road is slowly getting more sophisticated. It won’t be long before it will be unaffordable to backpackers.
The Thai people, despite the Cabbie experience, are still as warm and friendly as ever. It keeps me smiling more throughout the day. Roll on Saturday, let’s see what else we experience.
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