We "Run BKK"...Sorta
Last Wednesday, April 30, I woke up
at 4:00 AM and headed for the train station in Chiang Mai fully prepared to
start the next chapter of my journey. I was
sad to say goodbye to Lolly for the third time, but I was beyond excited for
her and her new apartment that we had moved her into the day before.
Although I rode on a train in
Ukraine a few years ago, I had never spent an entire day, or 15 hours to be
exact, riding on one. My destination
was Bangkok to meet my cousin, Caroline, who was landing at 11:45 PM that night
by way of Japan.
The train
ride was uneventful with the exception of one unanticipated stop on the
way. For South East Asian
transportation, this was miraculous. I
spent most of the morning reading, and when the batteries of my electronic
reader were exhausted, I busied myself with staring out the window and trying
to make new friends. Given that there
were only a handful of Thais scattered throughout my train car, staring out the
window became the preferred activity of choice.
The views were quite impressive, and I got to see parts of the countryside that most night buses do not afford their riders. If you have 15 hours and find yourself in Chiang Mai trying to get to Bangkok for next to nothing, I would actually recommend the train - check out Seat 61's amazing guide to transportation and pricing options. If you have $65, and you don’t want to sweat on a train and stare out of the window, then you can take the 1.5 hour flight…whatever works.
The views were quite impressive, and I got to see parts of the countryside that most night buses do not afford their riders. If you have 15 hours and find yourself in Chiang Mai trying to get to Bangkok for next to nothing, I would actually recommend the train - check out Seat 61's amazing guide to transportation and pricing options. If you have $65, and you don’t want to sweat on a train and stare out of the window, then you can take the 1.5 hour flight…whatever works.
When we
arrived at the Don Mueng airport in Bangkok at 9 PM, I used a little bit of the
street smarts that I have acquired in Thailand along with a pinch of luck, and
got myself on the exclusive tram that runs between the two international
airports. This free mode of
transportation being reserved for paying passengers only, a rule that was
enforced by a very strict, yet equally as disgruntled Thai guard, I felt quite
proud of my sneaky accomplishment AKA creating a fake reservation.
Around
11:30 PM I arrived at the proper airport and waited for Caroline to walk out
from behind the international arrivals partition. After holding my breath while watching
hundreds of Chinese tourists with guides holding colored flags, countless
backpackers, and more than a few businessmen, I was starting to worry that she
didn’t make her connecting flight leaving Japan. I had no wifi to check one way or the other. Thankfully, she walked out at about 12:15 AM,
and our Bangkok adventure official began!
For those
of you who have spent time in Bangkok, you know that our first stop had to be
the infamous Khao San Road. We soaked up
the night life, and caught up over a liter of Chang while watching the
craziness that was unfolding in the street – you can find a little bit of
everything in Bangkok… We met some characters, but around 5 AM we were
exhausted, so we took our backpacks, left the party scene, and headed to find a
place to crash.
This trip
marked Caroline’s first time in Thailand and my first experience spending time
exclusively in Bangkok. Suffice to say,
we both learned a lot. We adventured on
foot, tuk tuk, metro, private boat (we accidentally chartered our own tour
boat…seriously), and taxi and after three days reflected that each part
of the city we had seen was truly unique from the rest of the city.
Bangkok is enormous, busy, HOT, and at all hours of the day and night, teeming with activity.
Bangkok is enormous, busy, HOT, and at all hours of the day and night, teeming with activity.
In just a
few short days we had visited the Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew, or the Temple of the Emerald
Buddha, The Pavilion of Regalia, the Golden Buddha of Wat Traimit Wittayaram, seen
The Grand Swing, stayed in three hostels, partied on Kao San Road twice, tasted the best Pad Thai ever, accidentally walked through a protest
(seriously), drank out of a coconut, ate scorpion and some fried grub in hopes of getting a free night at our hostel, toured the city on the Chao Phraya River,
visited a floating market, saw Soi Cowboy (if you don’t know what this is,
you’re better off), and smelled more scents that I knew existed.
Best of
all, we got to catch up with one another.
It was so much fun getting lost with Caroline in Bangkok, and when it
was time for Jennifer to arrive on Sunday night, we were both ready to say
goodbye to the City of Angels and hit the beaches of southern Thailand!