Singapore and Bangkok
Well things did work out, even though after much frantic repacking my luggage was still 8kg overweight. Thankfully the nice man at Qantas allowed me another 5kg, so I only had to pay for 3kg extra…The flight to Singapore was great: good service, good food (mostly), and awesome in-flight entertainment. Those of you back in Melbourne will be pleased to know that I finally caught up on some classic Australian movies: I watched Lantana and the Castle, both of which were great. I also watched Somersault, which was a bit disappointing.
Anyway, so I arrived in Singapore late Wednesday night and was met at the airport by my friend Boris, who I am staying with here.
Thursday morning I set out to explore the Arab district of Singapore, as well as Little India. Both interesting places. Singapore itself is a lovely city, despite the heat and oppressive humidity, it is spacious, clean and has a lot of trees to provide shade. After wandering around and getting lost several times, I realised that the great Singapore city-wide sale was ending on Sunday, and that I had better get a move on because Boris had organised to go away for the weekend. So I traipsed off to Orchard Rd (shopping district), along with every other tourist in Singapore. Have to admit that I wasn’t really in the mood for shopping, and I didn’t buy a single thing!
On Thursday evening Boris and I flew out to BANGKOK for three days. Friday morning we took full advantage of the hotel’s buffet breakfast, before heading to the city’s most famous tourist attractions: the Grand Palace and Wát Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha). I took lots of photos, hopefully they do it justice. A wát is a temple monastery, a huge complex full of amazing temples covered in mosaic tiles. The detail and colour is just spectacular. The dress code for these areas is very strict: have to have legs and shoulders covered, and wear closed shoes. I nearly died ! It was very hot in Bangkok, but not quite as humid as Singapore.
After that went to Wát Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha), which is the oldest wát in Bangkok. It houses this HUGE figure of a reclining Buddha (46m long, 15m high). Thai Buddhists are very fond of gold leaf, so it is all quite opulent and overwhelming.
Bangkok has about 8 million inhabitants. I’m sure at least half have a motorbike. The traffic is horrendous – despite the construction of an overhead ‘Sky Train’ and a metro system underground. There are a lot of taxis, it’s all we used because they are so cheap – just a few dollars each time. And air-conditioned! Once we caught a tuk-tuk, which was slightly hair-raising, but fun. The pavements are very crowded, made worse by the ubiquitous street vendors selling all sorts of food. There are few pedestrian crossings, so walking anywhere in Bangkok is quite an experience. Thankfully the traffic is as adept as dodging pedestrians as pedestrians are at walking straight in front of oncoming cars.
The Thais are generally a friendly people. However, being a Westerner makes you an instant target for all sorts of cons. The taxi drivers in particular will always try and convince you to go to this tailor/shop/jewellery store. The trick is to say that you have been in Bangkok for at least a week, so they won’t try and rip you off.
We visited many other temples and markets, and decided on Saturday night to hit the town. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out quite as planned… A friend of Boris who lived in Bangkok for 6 months recommended that we go to QBar, a nice laid-back bar down a small side-street. So after much walking, we found QBar – only to be told that it was closed. As were the majority of bars and clubs in Bangkok. Why? Because elections were being held the next day, and the government had banned the sale of alcohol for the whole weekend!
Anyway, I had a great time in Bangkok and now I’m back in Singapore, relaxing at the apartment before heading to the Chinese Gardens. Next stop: Amsterdam!
PS I'll post some photos soon, it's taking too long right now...
2 Comments:
Hi Brenna,
Looks like you're having a ball! I have been reading up on your travels so far and will still do so when you go on.
Will fetch ya at the airport on Thursday....looking forward to seeing you.
Take care,
love
Jayde
Hi Brenna,
Been reading up on your travel adventure so far! Sounds like you're having a great time!
Will see ya on Thursday and will pick ya up at the airport.
Have a good tiem till then, see ya,
love
Jayde
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