Bangkok Part 2
As we left the Siam Paragon Mall we got into a taxi from the
nearby taxi-rank (which strangely included a man with a megaphone ushering
people into taxis) and asked if he could take us to Hotel Muse then onto Khao
San Baan Thai hostel. As we set off he hadn’t automatically put his meter on so
we asked him several times to turn on the meter, which he protested against as
it was “too far” for the meter. Unable to get out of the taxi as it was moving,
he said he would take us to both places for 300 Baht which seemed extortionate
but to which we eventually relented, more due to the fact that we were still
feeling jetlagged and just wanted to get there. For whatever reason the traffic
on the journey from the mall to Hotel Muse then onto the hostel was
unbelievably slow and it took at least an hour and a half which, on the meter,
would have cost us probably close to 400-450 Baht. This gave me a little bit of
joy and it was obvious that the taxi driver was growing increasingly frustrated
by the traffic as we slowly approached our destination. Upon arrival I handed
over the 300 Baht which we had agreed at which point the taxi driver seemed
almost offended that I would only give him that much for how long we had to
wait in the traffic. After telling him that was what we had agreed he stormed
off into his taxi seething at his own misfortune.
Khao San Baan Thai Hostel
On arrival the staff were very friendly and we could see
that they offered support in travelling to Chiang Mai, which was to be our next
destination after Bangkok. Khao San Baan Thai Hostel is a very inexpensive,
backpacker hostel to stay, essentially if you just want somewhere to lay your
head and don’t plan on spending a prolonged period of time there. Our room was
very basic (see pictures) consisting of 2 mattresses on the floor, 2 big fans
and a small table and our shared bathroom was only 2 doors away so didn’t cause
too much trouble. After a few hours of recuperating we set out for my first
experience of Khao San Road. The first thing I should say about Bangkok at
night is that it is extremely hot. It is easily in the mid-20s and at times can
be an uncomfortable heat for someone so used to 5° evenings in Newcastle upon
Tyne. When we arrived the street was already filled top to bottom with the
attractions that make Khao San Road; Street food vendors, market stalls and
shops, tuk-tuk drivers, random men trying to sell you suits, random women
trying to get you to buy random things that no living person would ever need,
very strange men calling “puh puh” and “Ping Pong” and of course the street
vendors selling deep fried insects. As we were walking down the street Jane led
me over to one of these stalls and, ever being the person to try new kinds of
food, I chose one scorpion and one frog as my early evening snack. After the
purchase we walked away from the stall and were immediately being watched by a
handful of people as they asked if I was really going to eat the scorpion, to
which I replied yes and asked if they would like to share some with me? They
declined my polite offer and watched as I indulged in this new delicacy, for
the first and final time. Yes, unfortunately Scorpion despite initially tasting
quite pleasant with a sweet flavour of crab, then became extremely disgusting
and bitter. After a few bites I was unable to eat any more and I would not
recommend it to any of you that may be interested in trying it. Now, Frog on
the other hand is delightful and is something I would definitely recommend –
the nearest comparison that I can make is to crispy chicken skin, of which I am
a big fan anyway.
One thing I have to mention about the Khao San Baan Thai; I
expected that we would possibly be kept awake by drunk people returning in the
early hours to the hostel, but I did not expect that we would be kept awake by
the sound of a screaming child in the room next door to us…
No comments:
Post a Comment