PART 2: WHAT'S IN A NAME?

26-27 July 2013. Days 10 & 11 of 15. Last G-Adventure Post (Day 11 was last day).
Bangkok THAILAND (Royal Residence perimeter, Wat Benchamabophit, Summer Palace, Vimanmek Palace, Thewet Uni District, Mae Nam Chao Phraya, Wat Traimit, Chinatown, Th Khao San, Wat Arun, Wat Rakhung, Soi Tambon Wanglang). 
Overnights in Bangkok THAILAND. 

The ABBREVIATED Thai word for the capital, Bangkok (pop 8 million or 13% of Thailand pop) is "Krung Thep". The full and official version is: "Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit." I kid you not. The Guiness Book of Records has officially recorded this as the longest name of a place on the planet Earth!!! What's in a name? Heaps.

It is no co-incidence that Bangkok has a long name in Thai because it is a place of many many facets, many neighbourhoods and many things to see and do. OK, it is not the most comfortable weather on Earth or the cleanest place but if you focus on what is going on around you, it CAN make up for it and even exceed your overall experience of the place. We arrived in this bustling metropolis by overnight train at 7am on Fri 26 July. Our hotel is next to the main station so we just walked there.  We could not check in, so we dumped our stuff and whilst most of the group went out for breakie, I hit the streets solo.

I have been to the Big Bangkok a few times before so I skipped the big and beautiful sites I have already seen like Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Pho (giant reclining Buddha) and The Grand Palace. Instead I decided to head to places I had not seen. My focus was the Dusit District containing the actual Royal Residence, the Zoo and two older Palaces. It is some distance from our hotel (just outside Chinatown) so I took a cab for the princely sum of $2AUD. Poor bastards! They do not make a lot so I tipped - first time that I can remember in a cab! I passed

the entrance to the zoo and then proceeded to walk around the entire square palace compound which is surrounded by a moat and armed guards at each corner and midpoint - I guessed about 5-6km all the way around. The sun was out, blue sky, wispy clouds and even jet trails - perfect picture stuff but had NEVER seen this in Bangkok - it is ALWAYS cloudy. I went bananas with the pics and film - anyone who knows Bangkok will ever believe me! Next to the Royal Residence is the Wat Benchamabophit which looked spectacular against this rare wispy blue sky but I could not go inside because I was wearing a singlet and forget to bring my "temple t-shirt" - I could not hire or buy one there, as is often the case.

Next walking stop was the Palace of Rama VII who had travelled to Europe to meet German Royalty and decided to build a replica of the palace he had stayed in Germany. He did a good job! For a split second I forgot I was in Asia and thought I was outside a mini Hapsburg Palace! Close by was the largest teak palace in the world (Vimanmek Palace) belonging to Rama IV. I did not like the visit. It seemed to me that every person in Japan was visiting this place. Why? I must have been the only non-Japanese! The palace is BIG but not that ornate.

It was fully furnished and the highlight were old B&W photos of royalty on the walls with Thai, French and English captions. I had to buy a sarong and t-shirt to visit this place and it was not even a temple! The Thai's have truly discovered the magic of tourism - impose outdated rules and then charge for compliance! Brilliant! I cannot fault true entrepreneur-ism! I then walked to the adjacent Thewet District which fronts the Mae Nam Chao Phraya - the main river running through Bangkok.

 
This district is the University area and full of coffee places and students. It is very grubby. After walking a few streets I ended up at the river dock to catch the ferry back to Chinatown so I could take another 12:30pm business call. The ride on the river is crazy but good. Crazy because the boats dock and undock in 10 seconds with craft all over the river, missing each other by centimetres! Good, because there is always a BREEZE on the river to cool you down!!! I alighted at Tha Krom Chao and walked to the hotel. After my call it was back to the longest-name sauna.

Before entering Chinatown, I visited the Wat Traimit, a four storey high marble and gold temple, which at the top, housed a 3m tall, 5.5 ton SOLID GOLD Buddha. It looks it too. It is so shiny and clean. It was an amazing site. At $USD1,600 per ounce, I calculated that this Buddha is worth $USD282milllion and not a single security guard in site! The view from here is great and reminds you of just how many different styles and condition of building occupy the Bangkok skyline. From here Chinatown is next door marked by a huge arch in the middle of a very busy round-a-bout. What I noticed is that the streets in Chinatown are DEDICATED to certain goods.

 There is a street with car spare parts only, a street with ceramic tiles and bathroom accessories only, a street with paint only and so on. There is a dedicated area called Talat Mai with all the night time food stalls. Back at the hotel it was time for a full overhaul - shower, shit, shave and aircon in readiness for our last night G-Adventure dinner. The venue was obvious given that everyone except me was just of legal age!!! Yes - it was dinner at Th Khao San - the most touristy street in all of Bangkok. I hate it. I have been here before and it is overrun by a million drunk tourists, neon and hustlers of every description.

Our guide Steve could not believe what it had turned into. He first stayed here in 1989 when there was no neon and only wooden guest houses. Now there are strippers, pros, backpackers - you name it. Food was very ordinary but the beers great. The latest craze is buying these tall thin plastic towers with an ice core and surrounded by beer with a tap on the bottom - about $20AUD. After a few of these amongst our group, no one remembers how and when we got back to the hotel!

I barely heard my wrist alarm go off at 8:30am, such was the night before. I struggled out of bed and managed to dress and make my way down to the lobby to farewell our noble tour leader, Steve. He was not going to get away that easily - after a quick interview and dag dance he disappeared into the sauna and I headed back to my room to dress up for my run in Bangkok. It went very well. It was tough but I made it ans saw a lot. I actually managed to run to Klong Toeh, where I would be staying with Lucy and George in a few hours from now!

There were cars, bikes, tuk-tuks, drain covers and dead rats! The last thing I especially hated. I finally checked out at 11:30am, locked up my gear and headed back out into the sauna headed for the river port of Tha Krom Chao. I hopped on the orange express and headed upstream to Wat Arun since I cannot recall the last time I visited it. Wat Arun looks like a Cambodian spire and stands 82m high. It is covered in what looks like pieces of smashed up porcelain plates - each has a different colour and design and glistens in the sun. You really cannot see them for afar. You can climb to close to the top giving you unreal views of the river and the Bangkok skyline. It is only here that you realise the mish-mash of different buildings in the city. There are actually many business towers and residential towers.

There are also two temples next to the Arun spire which are very ornate and sites in their own rite. From here I travelled further upstream to the port of Th Wat Rakhang. This temple was being renovated but still open. There were only locals here - I could not spot any other tourists. This one is not in any book - I came here on advice from Steve who said that the area and walkway along the river to the Siriraj Hospital (where the King is currently staying) is very authentic and local - he was right.

There were restaurants along the water and every type of food and drink stall. I stopped by one for a 50 cent latte - it was done with freshly ground Arabica, fresh milk and an espresso machine and tasted great - the cheapest "real" coffee I have ever had! I then walked the rest of the way to the port of Tha Wang Lang and took a ferry across to Tha Pra Chan and then to my home port of Tha Krom Chao for the short walk back to the hotel. It was 3:30pm and I was looking forward to blogging and beering in the hotel lobby until 5:30pm when my only drama to date started. I took a cab in the pouring rain to the Mercy Centre where I am staying for the next four nights with Lucy and George (I was best man at their wedding and introduced by them to the Mercy Centre) - more on the Mercy Centre in the next and final blog (Mercy is a children's orphanage and AIDS hospice).

The only problem is that this first cabbie did not know where Mercy was. I tried to guide him using the map that Lucy had sent me but it was no good. The map was not accurate and the street names on it where microscopic and illegible - not even Steve Austin would have deciphered it. After driving around in circles I tried calling Usanee (one of the Mercy directors) and I got a wrong number - I must have written it down incorrectly. Couldn't look it up because my iPhone was dead and I had no internet to check Usanee's email.

After more circles and a three digit fare, I asked the cabbie to let me out and he wouldn't - he insisted on trying to find Mercy. I could see that he had no idea and he had no intention of letting me out so at the lights I did a RUNNER - yes - a RUNNER! I ran for my life and much to my surprise he did not come after me. So there I was on a corner with no idea where I was. Eventually I was able to flag down a second cab. Showed him the address. Started driving and driving and driving. Nothing. Two down. I asked him to let me out and he did. Third cabbie. By this time it was 7pm and I was meant to be at Mercy at 6pm. It was also dark. I got concerned. Would I ever see Lucy and George and the good people of Mercy. So when it dawned on me that the third cabbie had no idea, I decided to head back to my last hotel since it is in a well-know area and I had emailed Lucy and Usanee (one of the Mercy directors) the address. I still had my WiFi password so I would call them from the hotel. The plan worked. The cabbie knew where to go and Lucy picked up my call from the lobby. After explaining my bout of bad luck, Usanee organised a Mercy van to pick me up at the hotel. Twenty minutes later and I was on my way to the Italian restaurant that Lucy picked out for her birthday dinner that night.

I was so glad to see the Mercy emblem on the van that picked me up. I was even gladder to be hugging Lucy and George and greeting Fr Joe, Usanee, her husband Sumai and members of the Qantas Cabin Crew Team that were involved with Mercy - Ricardo (we were also celebrating his birthday), Peter, Wayne and Shelwood. It was a fabulous night of stories, catching, wine and of course birthday singing. Lucy, George and I stayed in two adjacent guest apartments at the Mercy Centre - they were air conditioned with TV and fully stocked fridge - way beyond our expectations and so kind of the Mercy staff. This blog completes the final day of the G-Adventures portion of "Part 2" of "Boo-Dah Indochina 2013". The final blog to be posted late Wed or Thu and will cover my five days and four nights at the Mercy Centre in Klong Thoey. See you then.