Ráang laa Bangkok

Yesterday was my final day in Bangkok and as a result I woke up a little earlier because I knew I had to get everything together for check-out. I wanted to have things prepared for the airport so that when I got there I could easily grab a change of clothes and move all the unnecessaries into my check-in luggage. [God, some internet cafe's suck, I'm here at easyInternetcafe in London and this guy sitting 2 seats away has earphones on and keeps humming, jesus christ can you shut up and just listen to your music!] I arrived at brekkie at about 9:15am and had my "normal" - eggs, french toast, ham, potatoes, and tea. I then grabed my bags from my room and checked out, leaving my large bag in their storage (cost 20baht). As I left the usual happened - I was harassed by taxi drivers but I walked on, it was beginning to wash over me. I was going to walk to Dusit Park.

It was a bit of a hike to get there, but not as bad as the walk to the Paragon. I arrived at the corner of the park and there was a huge wall. Tis is due to the fact that, in my opinion, Dusit Park is not really a park. Is more like a palace with gardens. Its like saying that you're heading out of Paris to visit Versailles Park or the Parks of Versailles. Moving on, I didn't know which side the entry was on (and I expected that the Thais in their disdain for tourists would have no signage and only one entry, and this place was huge) so I picked a direction and started walking.



A security guard was standing at a roadway as I walked so I asked him where to go, and in his very limited english he instructed me that I was heading in the right direction, so i trooped on. I walked past 6 locked gates with no signage so I assumed the entry was on the other side. At this point I could see the main "palace" but I couldn't get into the grounds and I'd only walked a quarter of the circumference of the complex. At this point I saw the Dusit Zoo, which was next door, so i gave up my search for the entry of Dusit Park and headed into the back entry of Dusit Zoo. I just needed to sit down and relax and at a cost of 30 baht for entry I couldn't resist.

The zoo was beautiful and relaxing, probably because prior to being a zoo it played home to the Botanic Gardens. There was a large lake and plenty of flora and fauna. I sat nect to the lake just atching and relaxing for 30 mins. Then i had a look around the zoo. Many of the cages and enclosures in the zoo were rather primitive, especially for the primates (excuse the punn).



Like everywhere in Bangkok I was surprised by how few tourists there were around. I spotted about four other tourists, from 300-400 zoo patrons. After a few hours in the zoo, greeting tigers and elephants and monkeys, I left and looked for a tuk-tuk.

I'd decided as I was walking around the zoo that I needed to give myself and my feet a break. So I walked over to the tuk-tuk drivers and they jumped on me. I knew where I wanted to go and I wasn't going to get swindled. I asked, "how much to go to the skytrain?" They replied, "100 baht", as they always do. I replied, "50 baht". They said that it was too low and the best they would do was 70. I told them that it was a straight and easy diver and 60 was my last offer. They accepted.

Tuk-tuks are great fun! The danger just adds to the enjoyment. They zip around like a real-life rollercoaster. We arrived at the skytrain and I paid and hopped out. It took a tenth of the time and effort of that walking. The skytrain was 20 baht to go to Siam and that trip was a breeze. I then hit True [God I miss that place, this place is a dive] and spent three hours emailing, photoing and blogging. After this I was busting to go to the toilet so I left to have a look around the centre to some of the areas in which I had not explored. Then I finished at the Siam Paragon with a final hour on the net and a second iced coffee. It was heaven.

I decided that I'd take another tuk-tuk to get home but that I'd start the trip by walking. As I got further along the walk I changed my mind, decided to push through the pain, and as Johnny Walker says, "Kept[sic] Walking". I had maccas for dinner at the democracy statue then walked the rest. Back at the hotel I grabbed my bags, it was about 8:30pm, and went to accept one of my adoring taxi fan's services.

As I walked out I spoke to the hotel taxi service. He quoted 500 baht for a trip to the airport, more than the rip-off on my arrival. I offered 250 and he said no deal, then offered 400. I said no deal. So another guy approached me and offered 400.I said 200. He said lowest was 300 baht. I was determined so I said no deal and left to find a more reasonable driver outside in the taxi man throng. But when I exited there wasnt a driver to be seen. Not even a tuk-tuk (not that i'd take one to the airport). After about 200 minutes, and with the help of a friendly tuk-tuk driver, I managed to secure a cab for 250 baht ($10) to the airport. (I later found out that it was peak hour and some kind of religious/Thai day and thats why it was difficult to get a cab.)

Getting my boarding pass was relatively straight forward and checking my luggage was a breeze. The gentleman at the desk even moved my seat to a couple of spare seats. I spent a lot of time while waiting for my flight looking around the duty free in an attempt to try and spend my final 570 baht. I eventually succeeded and bought some crappy thai brandy. Yum. Then I walked to Gate 55 and waited.

A fun and enjoyable final day in Bangkok. I look forward to the day I can return with a heap more money and a few friends to share it with.