14 hours later... - Bangkok, Thailand
Bangkok, Thailand
After 14 hours of deep sleep I woke up at 1pm Thai time and decided to wander around the city just to get my bearings. After consulting my guide book I decided to walk to the Grand Palace, not too far away. On route I paused to check my map (which wasn't very, good!) & was instantly pounced on by a Thai tuktuk driver. He said Grand Palace closed at 2pm and I should see other sites, which of course he recommended to me and tried to persuade me to get in his tuktuk (he also mistook me for a student "a teacher? You look so yoooong!" Eyebrows raised in suprise). I refused the tuktuk & was naturally sceptical that the grand palace was closed - but as I was lost on my map anyway and happy to wander I decided to follow his advice and see some other sites instead. Even just walking along the street was fascinating - small street stalls selling food everywhere! Even though I knew Thailand wasn't a rich country, I was surprised by how run down all the buildings were and by how much advertising there was everywhere! This just added to the chaotic & busy feel of the city.
I successfully found my first Wat (temple) - Wat Rachanada / Lohan Prasat. It was stunningly beautiful on the outside, and quite simple inside. As I walked around I was struck by the peace and calm - a haven of tranquility within the city. I slowly wandered through the corridors, reading about Buddhism (much of which I knew, but good info for those with little knowledge of the religion) displayed throughout. Eventually (and a little reluctantly) I decided to leave and venture elsewhere.
After walking a while I thought I was navigating myself pretty well - and then I turned the corner to find the Wat I'd just visited. How?! So I took a different route, paused again, and was instantly pounced on by another Thai man - this time he said he was a policeman and seemed like he genuinely wanted to help. He showed me where I was & where to go, but persuaded me to get a tuktuk. He explained I should only get "yellow tuk" (translation: any tuktuk or taxi with a yellow number plate) as this was government registered. I should also look for the Thai flags (there are two - monastic and political). Intuition said he was probably trust worthy, and he hailed a tuktuk which I accepted (only 20 baht to take me everywhere - that's 50p!!) Although I was still a little sceptical, as he said I looked like a Thai person! Yeah right!!
First stop, Wat Indravihan - a 35m tall standing Buddha (which was a little gaudy in my opinion)
followed by Wat Srakesa - the Golden Mount. I didn't go inside the wat as it was closed, but it was in a beautiful setting with good views of the city. At the base there was a small shrine which my tuktuk driver described as "black Buddha", I assume because it was a mixture of black coloured and flecks of gold leaf, unlike the others I had seen which were just gold. Here I met another Thai - a teacher this time. After sharing our teaching experiences (he was a lecturer at a university) he said I was very polite & respectful, and placed some gold leaf from the Buddha statue onto my hand, saying it would bring me good luck. How lovely!
On the way to the next wat - Wat Ben(?) the tuktuk driver started complimenting me - giving me an image of the buddha, saying I looked beautiful etc. naturally I starting becoming a little suspicious, but remembered the advice I'd read and simply smiled and kept my poker face. Not surprisingly, after taking me to the wat, the driver took me to a 'Thai factory' (a tailor shop) I said I wasn't interested, but he took me anyway. Luckily I'd done my research and knew this was a typical Thai scam - often the tuktuk driver get commission (no wonder the rides are only 20 baht) and my driver was so confident I'd buy something he bought his dinner to eat! When I came out almost immediately he looked unimpressed, and took me to... another Thai factory! This time it was a little more dodgy - down an alley and I didn't even go in. Just firmly asked him to take me to my hotel, which he did, clearly annoyed with me. Unsurprisingly the compliments had stopped too!
First full day abroad alone, I felt pretty proud of the way I'd handled that situation - kept my cool at all times, aware of the risks but used my intuition to guide me through (with a little sage advice on the Internet & in my guidebook.)
I tried a different restaurant for dinner - ok, but nothing special. First spider encounter though: 1cm on my chair. Freaked out! This does not bode well. Nor does the fact I already have a sweat rash! But overall a good start to my adventure.