We land in the middle of the night in Bangkok and therefore break with an unwritten rule for us and take us a taxi (or grave, the Asian variant of Uber) to the hotel. This will catch up with us the next few days more often, because the public transport in Bangkok is unusable for us in many parts. We really try everything out, buses (in which we do not see a single tourist), subways, the Syktrains, ferries, longtail boats and finally reach back to Grabs with a heavy heart. We actually wanted to try out tuk-tuks, but despite some attempts, we could not find a single driver who would not have cost at least twice (!!!) a tomb. This may have something to do with our somewhat unusual choice of location, but even if it is a bit annoying at first, but hindsight gives us the opportunity to experience exactly this side of Bangkok.
Even the tourist center of Bangkok does not manage to impress us. The famous Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha are interesting but completely overcrowded and busses spewing dozens of Chinese tourists every minute. The most famous night market on Khao San Road is barely any better and we almost feel reminded of the debacle of Kuala Lumpur.
At the second look Bangkok thrilled us but still. Especially the more local markets, where hardly any tourists frolicking, have done to us and on one of them we treat ourselves to a great (but somewhat painful) Thai massage. But also the idyllic Lumphini Park with the living Waranen invites you to stroll and the longboat ride through the canals of the suburbs of Bangkok displaces our first impression. We also have a lot of fun on the ferry and above all watching the communication between the helmsman and the feeder (which moors the ship at the pier). The communication is based on a whistle. As far as we can tell, once whistling means “the rope is put on,” twice “reverse,” three times we did not quite understand, but sounded like some problem, e.g. “Too fast”, “too far away”, or something. Definitely super interesting to watch.
On our last evening we meet again with Markus and Gülden, which we met in Sumatra during jungle trekking. The two are also nearing the end of their journey and their last stop is also Bangkok. As a meeting place, we choose the Nana Plaza, the (supposedly) largest sex complex in the world. Quasi like a shopping center can be found on 3 floors around a courtyard brothels, peep shows and hour hotels. We drink a beer and watch the bustle amused, including a fight in the courtyard. Most impressive, however, is the capacity of the hour hotel we sit in front of. We constantly ask ourselves, how many rooms will probably have, because in 5-minute intervals new guests come and sometimes forms a queue in front of the reception.
On the last day we stroll over a smaller market near our hotel and then head to the airport. It takes a few days to get involved in the city, but now we look forward to returning to Bangkok.
And the manager of the hotel is just cute. Even for Thai standards, where it is really difficult to meet unsympathetic people, she was simply the absolute hammer. Her favorite phrase: “Relax at the beach, I call you when it’s ready”. You could have hugged her every time we asked her for anything, washing clothes, scooter rentals, boat bookings, or when she helped us out with Tobi’s lost credit card. The credit card has gone missing (presumably eaten by some ATM), but that was only half as bad in the end.
