Bangkok, Day 5

It’s a rainy day in Bangkok. Actually it’s been a rainy night, that has turned into a rainy day. Another monsoon out there. We wake up with many hours to kill and not much to do, considering the rain.

We got caught up on most things electronic, computer, mail, voicemail, etc., then finalized all our packing. We’re leaving the big suitcases at the Bangkok airport, so we’ve got some adjusting to do. Breakfast – another great meal of fresh fruits, veggie salad and way too much to eat.

We finally finish up everything around 11 – check out and head off for the river boats. We figure we’ll just explore upriver today to waste time. It’s fun riding the boats, you get to see so much – upriver are a bunch of stick houses all perched on the river. Some are lovely, some are not. It’s all quite scenic though.

We get off at the last stop (N30) and wander around a true Thai market place. Talk about cheap! If we ever come back, this is where we’ll shop. Underwear for 35 cents US. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Back on the boat, and back at the hotel – we have a couple of beers waiting for our van to take us to the Thong Tha hotel at the airport. Our flight is so early in the morning that it’s best to stay closer to the airport than the city (where we’d have to be up at 3 in the morning to make an 8 am international flight).

Van arrives and off we go. He takes us to the airport – goes into the car park (which is a little confusing), but we finally figure out that he can’t just wait at the curb for us. So – we park, grab our bags and figure our way around the airport to left luggage. What a great concept! 100 baht (less than 3 US) per bag, per day. They scan it and do security on it right there – so they know it’s safe, then they take them away. Works great.

Back in the van, we make our way to the hotel. It’s brand new (6 months old) and really hard to find. Actually – you can see it from the road, but you can’t figure out how to get there. We finally found a tiny access road and pulled in. Great place- sandwiched between a shanty town, new condo looking development and road stall restaurants (with Karaoke, I might add!), it’s a little hidden gem. The place is also a spa, so they have massage services, a restaurant and really comfy rooms. Plus, breakfast included. Bargain!

We settle in then strike out for dinner. Wandered by all the stall/restaurants and finally picked one with great looking seafood out front. Great dinner – fried fish, pork and soup. It’s all so yummy – and beer of course. All while sitting outside under a tin roof, listening to pretty decent music. Food is a really fun adventure here!

Back at the hotel, we crash and get ready for our early departure.

Onto Cambodia….wow!