Well, Bangkok is crazy. I mean crazy. Outrageous amounts of people flooded with tourism left and right. Anyways, the first day I arrived in Bangkok I walked past customs (which is a huge joke, I walked right by everyone, didn't even get asked how long I was staying for or anything) walked past all the limousine cars, past the taxis and straight towards the bus. I knew of one place that I was going to go to in Bangkok and that was Th Khao San road. This area is known for backpackers so I thought that would fit perfect for me. The bus ride from the airport to Bangkok is around a 45 minute drive but the traffic was insane. It took us about 2 1/2 hours just to get into the city. We were stopped at this traffic light for at least 45 minutes. It was ridiculous. This girl I met from Finland and I decided to jump off the bus and walk to Th Khao San road. We didn't even know where it was but the bus would not move so we had no choice. So we walked, asked people and got pointed in the right direction. The roads are like highways but the width of a hamburger. Meaning there really wide and full of cars and tuk tuks. In the middle has statues, billboards and shrines of the king of Thailand. This guy is the real deal and everyone loves him. He is everywhere and all the pictures taking of him looks like he is depressed and in a serious daydream session. Regardless, the people love this guy...Okay off track. We crossed the streets and found the road we were looking for. This place was picture perfect from the movie "The Beach." Drunken people everywhere, Tuk Tuks weaving in and out of people, street food left and right and little kids selling you crappy jewelry. I actually really enjoyed this place. So, we walked down the strip looking for a room to stay in. We asked maybe 4 places and then picked a room. Super cheap, low budget room with a fan in the middle and that's it. Which is fine with me. We both wanted to explore and you never hang out in the room anyways.
That night we walked around, got some of the best pad Thai I have ever had from the street market and grabbed some beers at a bar. Its funny because the bars advertise "strong drinks" "we don't check ID" "coolest beer in Thailand" etc. So you get sucked into these places and buy drinks. Worst part is or maybe the best part are these little Thai kids who come in and try and sell you jewelry. They speak perfect English, German, french, you name it. All for the cause of business and selling there gear. This girl would give you a flower and you have to rock, paper, scissor for it. If you win, you get to keep it, but the girl is a damn cheater I tell you and won every time, so you would have to pay or just push her off like I did. You kinda kick em and say scram and they leave for a couple of minutes and then they come back. Little rug rats who have game that's for sure.
Next day we decided to explore different temples. So we asked around and was told to find a yellow tuk tuk (a tuk tuk is just a scooter that has a wagon attached to the back side). We easily found one and started to negotiate a price for what we wanted. 20 baht for 2 hours. We headed off but each place he took us to was closed and each time we stopped he brought us to either a jewelry shop or a suit store to buy stuff. We straight up got scammed. We told him to take us to the buss station but instead he dropped us off exactly where we started. Its bullonie I tell you but whatever.
This is where things got interesting. We went to the bus stop where all the locals go to get transportation. Every five minutes or so you would see a bus slowly make a California stop and then skitter off once again to the next stop. In that spit second where the bus slows down is when 10 or so people rush and jump on the bus before it runs them over. It was quite a site I must say. We asked around to know which number bus we needed to get on to go to Siame Square. Soon enough we saw the number and got in position to run and jump on the bus. Within seconds we got on the bus almost getting trampled over like roadkill. Inside the bus was jam packed. I was neck to neck with people and each stop people would pin pong in and out of people to jump out of the bus. Problem is for us we didn't even know when to get off! Finally someone knew English and they would show us the way. At this point we are smack down in the middle of Bangkok city. Everywhere you look is a skyscraper with cars honking left and right, pollution everywhere and lots and lots of food.
We found Siame Square (huge malls, hot items, and any electronic device or accessory you can think of for dirt cheap) The malls here are massive. All at least 7 stories tall and take up the size of a casino in Las Vegas. This was the one place in Bangkok that was actually really clean inside and out. Movie theaters inside, car dealerships, you name it. The rest of the day we just walked around looking at stuff. After that we got on the bus again and went to China town. This place was even more packed than anywhere else yet. It was the day before the Chinese new year and things were hectic. Hung out there for a bit and headed home. Great first day in Bangkok: got scammed, jumped on the local bus and saw more useful and useless things in one area ever. Awesome.
Next day I headed off to the grand palace. I didn't realize if but I walked in there with shorts on and you have to wear pants to enter, so I rented some gear and went inside. The temples here were amazing. All gold, hand painted narrative stories, incredible architecture and detail. Every piece was detailed down to the bone. There was one section where you could go inside but no photography. First thing I did was take a picture and i got a great shot of the security guard pointing right at the camera. I hung out at the grand palace for a couple of hours and then headed back to my room to pack things up. That night I had to catch a night train down to Chumpon to later on catch a ferry to the island Koh Tao. Bangkok was cool, but way too jam packed for me. I need something else. Goodbye Bangkok, here I come Koh Tao and paradise beaches.
Peace, sorry for the late blog folks
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Bali trip ending
Okay, just to clear some things up. I asked some friends around Kuta Beach Resort (where I have been staying) and my friend Eddy told me that any time you see an accident you just walk away and never help. The exact opposite of what I did last week when trying to help a motorcycle accident. He told me that when you try and help a local they will flip the situation around and blame everything on you. I'm a westerner and they think I have millions of dollars, so if they blame it on me, I can pay for the hospital bill. What a bunch of suckers I tell you. Blasphemy! Oh well, I learned my lesson and I will never help a soul again (just joking but I guess not a local). I know, I'm an ass hole.
Well, my time in Bali is about over. I've been here for almost a month and packing my bags and heading to Thailand. I'm getting pretty excited for this trip. Lots of my friends have been there and have been telling me places to go, things to see, etc. Only problem is its like telling someone where to go in Vegas. You get there and there are too many things to do. So, I've made the smallest itinerary possible and I'm sure that will disappear right when I get into Bangkok. Which is fine with me. That is how the trip has been this whole time and its worked out fantastic.
The past 3 weeks have been all surfing like you probably know by now. My friend Eddy and the group of friends from England live to surf. Two of the friends are pro surfers. Since I have been staying in Suka Beach Inn I have become good friends with these guys and girls. Luckily, they have been taking me surfing and showing me surf spots that I couldn't find/heard of. One of the places is called Canggu. This drive takes about 30 minutes but cuts left and right into random streets, unpaved roads and mind blowing rice terraces that surround you on this trail. Truly amazing drive that you get to do while on the search for some waves. When you least suspect it, the rice pattys end and opens up into this small beach. On top, they built this small pier that overlooks the ocean. Its surrounded by some restaurants and usually filled with people at sunset to watch surfers and eat some food. Great atmosphere and environment. The beach itself is pretty cool. It offers a reef and sand break. Depending on the swell you can pick and choose where you want to go. Problem is this break is filled with sea urchin, so if you accidentally stand up in shallow water your probably gonna get stung. On top of that the water is filled with this stinging sea lice. Those don't hurt but sting constantly and are a nuisance. Anyways the past week there has been really good. Sweet waves, warm water and good people. Definitely recommend going to this break.
Besides that the day is pretty standard like I have said before. I've yet to talk about the food out here though ( I think). Lots and lots of rice and noodles. A favorite of mine is Mie Goreng. Its oyster sauce, noodles, green veggies and some other stuff that I have no idea what they put in. Maybe is chicken? I donno but it tasted great. Other food that I have been eating at least twice a day are these buffet style restaurants. You walk up and pick and choose what kind of food you want. Typically, I get white rice, potatoes, corn, prawns (deep fried and they leave the whole entire body still attached, shell and everything, there really good!), veggies, curry, etc. The list really goes on and its dirt cheap for this food. Super good. I have eaten at this place every single day since I have been here.
What else, oh yea. I was at this club the other night. Might I add it was free drinks all night for us westerners, and was dancing with some random girls and noticed this super old guy, I'm guessing around 80, no joke and dancing the night away. I mean, he was that guy. He was the life of the club. Arms pumping in the air, beer in the other hand and his legs were moving like Michael Jackson. I was blown away. I couldn't even dance anymore. He took all my moves and remixed them into better ones. Oh well, it made my night and I laughed so hard I almost poo-ed all that mie-go-wrong right out of me. Well, I guess I did anyway b/c it happens quite often after I eat this food.
Some other things I haven't talked about are the people in Bali. There nice, really nice but they gotta make a living out here and that results in me not liking lots of them. Every 10 feet someone asks you if you want transport, bintang, tattoo, etc. My favorite one is that all of them have these trades. There magicians. If you say no to transport then they start to offer everything you can imagin. They probably do surgery folks! Not even kidding. I'll be wearing my sunglasses and this guy will grab your arm and be like "sunglasses? you want sunglasses?" I get so confused b/c he knows I have them on.
There are these steps that I have been hanging out at. Its right outside a convenience store and lots of people hang out here at night to have some bintangs (beer) and then go out to the club. Right across the street is covered in run down stores that sell t-shirts, etc. Stuff you don't need, get it? But this one guy, everyday sits outside and points his lazer pointer and ignites his taser. It scares the ba-jee-bees out of people. Sometimes, at night I have seen him go up to guys and actually shock them with the taser! Messed up. I'm sure its on the lowest settings but still, if he did that to me he would have heard what a sailor sounds like and maybe a fist in his eye. But that would take me to jail so I wouldn't do that.
So overall, Bali has treated me so well. I now know the whole island like the back of my hand, really well. I got lost left and right and but I could show you this island in the best way possible. Kuta is filled with small random alleyways that are shortcuts to the surrounding roads. I know them folks. I could even be a guide of some sort but that would make me one of those locals and its too much competition for me to handle. I'll stick with being a tourist. I've eaten some amazing fruit, met some great new friends and have experienced a culture like no other. Can't say I'll miss the hecklers at the shops and the lack of art stores (I'm running out of pens and supplies) but I will truly miss the island of Bali. Next time I come here I will explore more of the thousand islands of Indonesia.
Next stop: Thailand! Bali is just a warm up for what Bangkok will be like.
P.S.
My iPhone just bugged out on me and got stuck on the apple logo when rebooting. It will stay there for hours and not do anything. I asked around to see if there was a apple store and got pointed to "central" where there is a mall. Far from a mall but I did walk by this tiny stand that sold phones: this was the apple store. I showed the guy my problem and he pointed me to his real store out in Denpasar. I drove out there, found the real mac store and asked the workers how to solve my problem. They had no idea, said there tech guy works tomorrow and to come in the next day. From there I went on Google, in the store and figured out how to fix the problem. Why did I go to the Mac store when there is Google. Oh well, now i'm sitting here trying to restore my phone and download the update which is a big file. It says it will take 4 hours to download. What a drag. Hopefully this works...
Well, my time in Bali is about over. I've been here for almost a month and packing my bags and heading to Thailand. I'm getting pretty excited for this trip. Lots of my friends have been there and have been telling me places to go, things to see, etc. Only problem is its like telling someone where to go in Vegas. You get there and there are too many things to do. So, I've made the smallest itinerary possible and I'm sure that will disappear right when I get into Bangkok. Which is fine with me. That is how the trip has been this whole time and its worked out fantastic.
The past 3 weeks have been all surfing like you probably know by now. My friend Eddy and the group of friends from England live to surf. Two of the friends are pro surfers. Since I have been staying in Suka Beach Inn I have become good friends with these guys and girls. Luckily, they have been taking me surfing and showing me surf spots that I couldn't find/heard of. One of the places is called Canggu. This drive takes about 30 minutes but cuts left and right into random streets, unpaved roads and mind blowing rice terraces that surround you on this trail. Truly amazing drive that you get to do while on the search for some waves. When you least suspect it, the rice pattys end and opens up into this small beach. On top, they built this small pier that overlooks the ocean. Its surrounded by some restaurants and usually filled with people at sunset to watch surfers and eat some food. Great atmosphere and environment. The beach itself is pretty cool. It offers a reef and sand break. Depending on the swell you can pick and choose where you want to go. Problem is this break is filled with sea urchin, so if you accidentally stand up in shallow water your probably gonna get stung. On top of that the water is filled with this stinging sea lice. Those don't hurt but sting constantly and are a nuisance. Anyways the past week there has been really good. Sweet waves, warm water and good people. Definitely recommend going to this break.
Besides that the day is pretty standard like I have said before. I've yet to talk about the food out here though ( I think). Lots and lots of rice and noodles. A favorite of mine is Mie Goreng. Its oyster sauce, noodles, green veggies and some other stuff that I have no idea what they put in. Maybe is chicken? I donno but it tasted great. Other food that I have been eating at least twice a day are these buffet style restaurants. You walk up and pick and choose what kind of food you want. Typically, I get white rice, potatoes, corn, prawns (deep fried and they leave the whole entire body still attached, shell and everything, there really good!), veggies, curry, etc. The list really goes on and its dirt cheap for this food. Super good. I have eaten at this place every single day since I have been here.
What else, oh yea. I was at this club the other night. Might I add it was free drinks all night for us westerners, and was dancing with some random girls and noticed this super old guy, I'm guessing around 80, no joke and dancing the night away. I mean, he was that guy. He was the life of the club. Arms pumping in the air, beer in the other hand and his legs were moving like Michael Jackson. I was blown away. I couldn't even dance anymore. He took all my moves and remixed them into better ones. Oh well, it made my night and I laughed so hard I almost poo-ed all that mie-go-wrong right out of me. Well, I guess I did anyway b/c it happens quite often after I eat this food.
Some other things I haven't talked about are the people in Bali. There nice, really nice but they gotta make a living out here and that results in me not liking lots of them. Every 10 feet someone asks you if you want transport, bintang, tattoo, etc. My favorite one is that all of them have these trades. There magicians. If you say no to transport then they start to offer everything you can imagin. They probably do surgery folks! Not even kidding. I'll be wearing my sunglasses and this guy will grab your arm and be like "sunglasses? you want sunglasses?" I get so confused b/c he knows I have them on.
There are these steps that I have been hanging out at. Its right outside a convenience store and lots of people hang out here at night to have some bintangs (beer) and then go out to the club. Right across the street is covered in run down stores that sell t-shirts, etc. Stuff you don't need, get it? But this one guy, everyday sits outside and points his lazer pointer and ignites his taser. It scares the ba-jee-bees out of people. Sometimes, at night I have seen him go up to guys and actually shock them with the taser! Messed up. I'm sure its on the lowest settings but still, if he did that to me he would have heard what a sailor sounds like and maybe a fist in his eye. But that would take me to jail so I wouldn't do that.
So overall, Bali has treated me so well. I now know the whole island like the back of my hand, really well. I got lost left and right and but I could show you this island in the best way possible. Kuta is filled with small random alleyways that are shortcuts to the surrounding roads. I know them folks. I could even be a guide of some sort but that would make me one of those locals and its too much competition for me to handle. I'll stick with being a tourist. I've eaten some amazing fruit, met some great new friends and have experienced a culture like no other. Can't say I'll miss the hecklers at the shops and the lack of art stores (I'm running out of pens and supplies) but I will truly miss the island of Bali. Next time I come here I will explore more of the thousand islands of Indonesia.
Next stop: Thailand! Bali is just a warm up for what Bangkok will be like.
P.S.
My iPhone just bugged out on me and got stuck on the apple logo when rebooting. It will stay there for hours and not do anything. I asked around to see if there was a apple store and got pointed to "central" where there is a mall. Far from a mall but I did walk by this tiny stand that sold phones: this was the apple store. I showed the guy my problem and he pointed me to his real store out in Denpasar. I drove out there, found the real mac store and asked the workers how to solve my problem. They had no idea, said there tech guy works tomorrow and to come in the next day. From there I went on Google, in the store and figured out how to fix the problem. Why did I go to the Mac store when there is Google. Oh well, now i'm sitting here trying to restore my phone and download the update which is a big file. It says it will take 4 hours to download. What a drag. Hopefully this works...
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