Instead of partaking in various work experience, this summer I decided to travel around South East Asia. I'm due to continue my work experience with Cheltenham fashion week in November so this trip seemed like a great chance to explore the world and use my summer time in a alternative but still productive way.
We started our travels by heading to Bangkok on a 17 hour journey, which stopped in Dubai mid way. The trip started out slightly more luxurious than we expected, it turns out flying with Emirates is cheap but still extremely nice. The menu, the service and the journey reached the standard of a world class airline. When we got to Dubai, the heat hit us as we entered 37 degrees at 930pm, we knew this would probably be some of what we should expect when arriving in Bangkok, and so it was. After departing our safe journey to Bangkok, we walked out into 34 degree heat at 8am.
Once we paid around £9 from the airport to the famous Khao San Road (at least an hour and a half journey), we settled in at our hotel and showered off the layers of sweat we had produced from walking ONLY 1/4 of a mile. We weren't expecting to do anything to productive today as we were both suffering jetlag and were extremely tired. However after grabbing some bottled water, we were offered 60 baht (£1.20) between us for a tuc tuc tour around various temples. After discussing we decided to take the driver up on his offer. The only word of warning I would give about the tuc tucs is that you pay for what you get. The journey can be very fast and somewhat dangerous!
On a lighter note, the driver and his friend, who decided to join us, were both friendly and helpful. Additionally they offered to take us to the tourist centre where we could find out how to take the next step of our trip to Cambodia (which by the way I'm currently writing this post on the 8 hour coach to Cambodia.) Along with the tourist centre, we explored various temples including the Lucky Buddha.
Day 2
We continued being the classic tourists on Day 2 in Bangkok by venturing out to yet another temple. As yesterday was a Saturday, it is a holiday in Thailand for the working people, very similar to a Sunday for us Brits. This meant that all the temples were free of charge to enter. Today we walked to the Grand Palace which was free for the Thai to visit but cost of 500 baht each (only a tenner.) The palace have strict rules regarding dress code and behaviour. We walked around the grounds of the temples for around 2 hours in the scourchimg heat and our long trousers and tshirts which had to cover our shoulders. After grabbing a refreshment and seeing the majority of the grounds, we decided we couldn't hack the heat anymore and when exiting the grounds, stripped off to our shorts again.
Being surrounded by heat and humidity all day doesn't make you hungry what so ever, but we decided it's best if we grab a small bite to eat. By now we'd seen most of the cultural side to Bangkok, so we decided to experience the more developed side. We regrettably grabbed another tuc tuc to the MBK shopping centre, by far the largest mall I've ever been to. It's full of market stalls, shops, food halls and gaming centres on all 7 floors and exits onto the sky train. Inevitably we wanted to ride the sky train and it fit in perfectly with our itinerary. The sky bar was only a 200 yard walk away from the the closest station to it and it cost as little as 37 baht (74p!!) we expected it to be difficult to navigate but it turns out it's exactly like the London tubes or the Trams in Nottingham!
The journey took around 5 minutes and then an extra few minutes to walk to the sky bar. We'd seen photos of the amazing views the sky bar offers online and knew we had to visit. It reached its fame through the second part to the movie The Hangover. This and the dress codes were over advertised at the entrance. Before getting the lift 64 floors up, the polite staff checked how we were dressed. I think they had an issue was our bumbags as they aren't smart enough and one of the Thai women had to double check with her manager if they were suitable. At the end of the day they don't look the nicest but they are very practical.
As we exited the lift we were herded to a table on the outside terrace and given a menu. The drinks ranged from 300 to 900 baht (not hugely expensive for a bar with an insane view.) We were fairly lucky when we arrived, as a couple had just left the sofa which offered a better view and were much more comfortable. We purchased a passion fruit martini which tasted identical to the Breakfast at Tiffanys at Cocotang in Nottingham. Along side this they gave out complimentary nuts and dried fruit. Overall our bill came to around 1400 baht (£28 between us) which I don't think it horrifically expensive, seeing as you'd pay at least £50 for a view like that in London, in addition to the cost of drinks. A great way to end a long day.
Day 3
By now we'd had two days of odd sleeping patterns, on top of our jetlag, so after breakfast we decided to take an extended nap which hopefully would sort us out for the day. We ended up waking up around lunch time and were both fairly hungry, so went to a favourited bar and got a fried noodle dish. We originally made plans to visit a historical park but it was going to take too long to get to, just for a day visit so we decided today was going to be a less hectic day. I'd seen on a tourist website to visit a street surrounding Khao San Road called Soi Rambuttri. It was praised for being a quieter, less touristy and more local street, and so it was. We strolled up and down and into the small sheltered markets, and it was much more relaxing. It was also a bonus that the road lead round to our hotel! Instead of spending every evening on Khao San Road, I definitely recommend a wonder around Soi Rambuttri.
