From holly to kinky

Second day and Bangkok was our town!

On our first day we had a hint of the city and its culture. A hint of the crowds, the tuk-tuks, an amazingly air conditioned metro system, markets, street food, smells and even the odd cockroach. I guess staying near to Chinatown helped with a lot of these.

For the second day we had reserved our must-sees. First thing in the morning, we took a boat ride to Pier 9, the closest one to the entrance of the Grand Palace. This is a Bangkok must see, and to miss it, is almost like going to Rome and failing to see the Coliseum! The problem with this, is that we know this and, of course, everyone eles does as well. So, right from the entrance, we were engulfed in this sea of (mostly Asian) tourists! Most of them separated into large groups with a tour leader waiving an umbrella or a flag and miraculously keeping everyone together. Amazing as well was how smooth the whole entrance process was, especially considering that they take quite seriosly the enforcement of the required dress code. Everyone that did not abide, had to leave a deposit and take additional pieces of clothing that were available on site - I had to take (an oh so sexy!) pink shirt and Andre a pair of trousers.

From dressing line, to payment line, to ticket line, to bag checking line we quickly entered the huge premises. And it was impressive that even inside the number of people was so vast that even inside, the crowds would not disperse. So when we entered the Temple of the Emerald Buddah, was with the company of a lot of other people. But this is a place to pay respect to, so for someone to enter the Temple (even the corridors outside) had to do it barefoot. And everyone did! We put our shoes/sandals together in the pile and go inside. The colours on the tiles outside are intense and wonderfully put together along with large shades of golden. But it was only inside that my mouth literally opened in awe. Maybe it was the intense shine of the golden "pyramid" that caused it, maybe it was seeing that many people were actually praying/showing their devotion to Buddah, maybe it was both. There was even an area that seemed to be reserved for the Monks and they were all together occupying a section of the temple.

All the other buildings enclosed in what is considered the Grand Palace are amazingly colourfull and beautiful and I particularly enjoyed all the masked statues (big and small), but the image of that temple (then replicated in a few other temples around) was what touched me the most. That no matter the confusion or heat (the temperature continued scolding hot), that people wanted to be respectful to their faith.

Coming out of the temple, the rest of the day was split between taking care of some logistics (e.g. arranging our transportation to the next day) and walking around in Siam area and hopping from air conditioned shopping mall to air conditioned bigger shopping mall. In fact, Bangkok does not fall behind of Dubai in terms of quantity (maybe not quality/craziness) of shopping centres (see "Rodizio of Shopping Centres" post).

But at night... for our night we had reserved some time to our other must see. Something, that despite a bit sordid, is also unique in Bangkok (as far as I know). Patpong neighborhood is known to be one of the largest red-light districts in the city. And this means from displays of women on the street seating in chairs waiting to be picked, to ladyboys, to old white men holding hands with young local women/men, to restaurants with more than one menu! Yes, we realised at some point in our meal, that the restaurant we picked had more than one menu: one that we saw, and the other for... special services served upstairs. It is also the place for ping-pong shows. And it was for the latter that we had come here for. For the ones that have never heard of such a thing, try imagining a ping-pong game, where the player that serves is always a woman and never uses a racket! And no, it is played with her hands! Use the most dirty part of your mind! Yes, I guess you got it by now!

So, after escaping some places that looked scham-driven, we find one that promises no extra fees (and delivered!) so we payed 300 Thai Bahts each (a drink included) and we go up the stairs to another dimension. Yes, another dimension because the whole thing was surreal. There was barely anyone in the room when we first came in (and soon enough we were actually the only two in there!) and the show was being "performed" by two women in a see-through night gown that barely covered their belly buttons. And if ping pong sounds weird and/or bad, blowing out candles, smoking, popping out ballons and writing "Hello" using the same part of the body, was of a whole other level of degradation. I confess, after 3 minutes I was sipping my drink away so I could get out of there was quickly as possible. But we stayed because we wanted to see the ping pong show itself (which is, in my opinion, the best one!). When we got out there was a mixed feeling of accomplishment and shame. Shame that we were accomplices to the perpetuation of these kind of shows.

At the end of the day, and looking back to all of these hours, it is almost like we had expected two extremes of this city - one the respect to the holiness of Buddah and the other, the capitalisation of human desires with apparently little limits. They are two sides of Bangkok that are a bit of a mirror of the different sides of Men and the complexity of human behavior. And all of this made like Bangkok a bit more, even with all the cockroaches!

One of my favourite parts of the Grand Palace. The statues that seem to be supporting the weight of the World. Their masks are supposed to be scaring, but they just look sad!

When everyone stands still

16 hours later and we arrive at Bangkok! 16 hours since the first flight took off until we landed and 6 hours of jet lag. But this was very tranquil experience compared to the one we had last year (see 'Where are we going to sleep tonight' post). This time, everything worked as planned and we were even able to get from the airport to the hostel using public transportation without getting lost! YAY! :D

So first day, we're a bit dead and most large attractions will close soon (it was 15h00 when we got to our room and most things close around 16h00). So we look at the map and decide to go the Luphini Park. Google said it was a 36 minutes walk which sounded a good way to see the city a bit. Maybe we should have remembered the 35+ degrees outside and the high levels of humidity. We put our foot on the street, crossing the blessed barrier of air-con, and are immediately remembered of that! But there was nothing stopping us! We had just flown almost half a world, sun and warmth was part of the calling! Armed with water, light clothing, and a map, there we went!

The walk, which was waaay longer than the estimated 36 minutes, took us through narrow streets with local workshops (including an old school printing place) and street food (with no tourist on sight). We also passed by a few people that were offering massages. They did not offer a happy ending, but I guess that could be on the table - specially as we later found out that that was quite close to the 'Red District' area of Bangkok.

Over an hour later (with lunch somewhere in the middle) we got to the Park. It felt like a bliss to get off our flip-flops and feel the welcome freshness of grass. We layed down and admired the view. Aaahhhh, this is what people dream about! :) After a few more sips of water and laying down on the grass I look around to do a bit of people watching (that I love doing while travelling, I confess). And I notice the number of people running! Duzens, most probably hundreds of people run around the park at the end of the day. Men, women, old, new, all of them run! It is a non-ending stream of people that were all coming in our direction. At some point a voice comes through the loud speakers, but we don't pay attention. However, a woman running, suddendly stops and stays still. Everyone does! And the music starts... We had no idea what was happenning but we figured that the music must've been the Thai National Anthem. And everyone around us was paying their respects. It is quite a sight to see a mass of runners stop for 1 minute to the sound of a few notes. I have no picture of the moment as I was stunned and just wanted to be respectful to a moment that was obviously important to the people around us.

Later, at the hostel, I searched for the meaning of that moment and saw that it happened daily, not once, but twice (at 8:00 and 18:00). It is also something that happens in all of Thailand and that is equally respected by everyone! It is an interesting moment and is part of the Thai culture that I had no idea about!

On our way to the park we passed by this park of tuk tuks. Bangkok without tuk-tuks would not be Bangkok!

PS: This time I am only carrying my tablet, which is great as it is small and practical to use (for most things). However, adding photos to these posts is a semi-maddening experience. Because of this, I will only add one photo (a photo day) to each post.

A long delayed trip!

Back in 2012, when I first started this blog I was planning for a 3 months trip (see the post The Plan so Far). Now, after getting to know a lot of travelers that go around for 6 or more months at a time, 3 months seems to be a regular trip, but at that point, 3 months looked like quite an adventure. One that I was really looking forward to! Unfortunately, for professional reasons, I had to cut the trip short to only 1 month. It was an incredible month that I have multiple fond memories (with a bit of adventure here and there), but there were a few destinations that had to be left out, destinations that I was really looking forward to!

Four years later, after a few other travels, I am one week away of  going back to the original plan and visit some of those countries that were left behind. Southeast Asia was the region that always stuck to my mind and that most fueled my dreams. So finally!, finally!, the flight ticket is bought, the jabs and medicines are taken care off and everything is ready to go!

Here is the map of the (as usual) draft plan of the trip.

The plan for the 2-week trip

A Shower in Bath

The Easter long weekend arrived and with the flights to Lisbon were overly priced. So our choice was to look at the British map and find a destination. A few options came up, but we had heard so much Bath and how great it is, that we (me, ALF and PN) set up the route to Somerset!

I say, we set up the route, because for the first time, we actually drove in the UK! Even though there were no interesting (possibly lethal) stories, it was really weird to keep seating on the "wrong" side of the car and there are rumors that the driver's door got a bit of attention at the beginning of our ride!

Andre on the wrong side of the car :P

With a few greetings (honks!) from other drivers, tonnes of traffic and a great sunny day, we arrived at our destination. Because we were so late in our booking we had to stay in Bristol (a nice city on its own), a few kilometers away from Bath. But this also meant that we had to wait for a new day before we could finally reach our main destiny.

Next morning, it was Bath time! Parking on the edge of the city, we were able to have a privileged view right from the beginning! Unfortunately, we had spent all our sun credit hours the day before, so the background was more dark and grayish than light and blueish! But the scenery was still beautiful and proof that this was a great choice!

The city of Bath as we first saw it

Our first stop was a recommended place to ease our stomachs which also served perfectly to get away from the rain that was threatening to fall on us. Sally Lunns! A bakery/tea house/restaurant that dates back as far as the XVIIth century! The buns were good, but what really captured our attention (and taste buds!) was the lemon curd and, specially, the cinnamon butter! Hmm, that was something worth coming again for!

Sally Lunn's, opened since 1680

The reception

The buns!

Apparently life was harsh for misbehaved boys back in the day

On the stairs to the museum

On the stairs to the museum - part 2

More comforted, we could then walk around and enjoy the city! And we did try! But the rain, wind and cold were a bit too harsh for 3 summer-loving Portuguese and we ended up hoping from store to store, from Eating House to restaurant, from tourist office to bookstore! Curiously enough, was the fact that it looked like we were the only ones to be phased by weather as the streets were full!

Near the entrance to the Roman Baths

Even the pigeons showed their presence

But we were determined to enjoy the day, and wanted to witness one of the landmarks of the city - the Royal Crescent. So fighting our instincts, we climbed up in search of the curved building, which is indeed, quite impressive! It was mid way through that the rain started to come down more heavily and, at some point, it felt a bit like a shower! We were having a "free" shower in Bath... how ironic! :P And here are the photos of that!

"It is about this size!" - what is, I have no idea!

The Royal Crescent (about a third of it!)

Yikes! 

Who needs shoes?

Laughing in the rain!

Royal Crescent, part 2 - walking casually

Envious, so envious!

After the rain stopped, we continued walking around and got to the canal. The city of Bath is indeed quite beautiful and the Roman Baths (that we actually only visited the next day) are totally worth it! And if I say this after a visit on a winter-like day, it is something to be taken quite seriously! ;)

River Avon and the traditional boats

:)