Oct 2: Morning, Bangkok
New Siam II's rooms may be able to keep out the construction work downstairs, but the sound-proofing is no match for noisy neighbours on the corridor outside our room. Amidst the spotlessness and gleaming paint, our room and the corridor in this new guesthouse have already suffered a few scratched surfaces and bits of peeling paint. The wear and tear in budget places seems very high. Spotted in various guesthouses this and past trips: loose switches (even with innards exposed), dented tables, chairs and TVs, scratched walls, and bedsheets with holes.
Last evening, we had yummy Thai food in Krua Nopparat (KN), a small restaurant facing the Chao Phraya across Phra Athit Road. Diners were mostly locals, even though the restaurant was on the fringe of Khaosan, a mini-United Nations represented mainly by backpackers. At KN, patrons included tais tais (wealthy middle-age women), businessmen, office workers, families and the occasional farang (foreigners).
Several doors away, we bought six one-litre bottles of water from a provision shop for 20 baht. The lady did not speak English, so the transaction was done with gestures and smiles. In the main Khaosan area, the same six bottles cost 25 baht, an indication that backpackers are paying a premium on the main drag, which is chockful of people making fashion (and other) statements: tourists in braids with body-piercings, local guys in bras and a gal or two spotting a beard!
Some bad news today: the very helpful staff at the Bangkok Tourist Centre told us that Chiangmai and Ayuthaya were flooded. When we were at ETC, a travel agency in Khaosan, to buy air tickets to Yangon
and to apply for our Laos visa (the embassy is very far away) yesterday, the staff there offered the opinion that Kanchanaburi was not likely to be 'visitable' too! Looks like we are stuck in Bangkok.At Santichanprakarn Park along Phra Athit Road, we looked at the Chao Phraya almost lapping on to the pavement. When the Chao Phraya River Express passed too close to land, its waves caused the water to slosh over. People seating by the river had to get up quickly or risk a drenching. At various points, we noted sandbags packed and stacked as a bulwark against the rising river. Somehow, it looks like David vs Goliath to me.
Oct 2: Evening, Bangkok
After many hours under a threatening sky, it finally rained in the afternoon. As the rain came down intermittenly, we sought shelter when it was wet by taking lunch and visiting Bangkok National Museum.
Earlier, I drank a lovely 15-baht expresso at a tiny stall opposite the ticket counter at Tha Chang, the boat stop for the Grand Palace. Annie bought a hot lemon tea. Her tea was fragrant and tart as the stallholder was very generous with the fresh lemon juice.
No one tried to sell us stuff because we looked like locals and we were not with a tour. Everyone spoke to us in Thai and we had to tell people we did not understand them. Sometimes, this startled them so much that some scuttled away while others turned to English-speaking help.
Budget (for two in baht)
Room >> B520
Breakfast >> B60
Coffee and lemon tea >> B30
Guava (whole) >> B10
Museum >> B80
Lunch >> B40
Sundries (4x milk, mosquito coil, shower gel) >> B102.5
Tea >> B91
Dinner >> B125
Cake (next day's breakfast) >> B45
Next...
A day of firsts
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