Apart from death by heat stroke, I have loved my first day in Bangkok. Flew out yesterday morning from Welly, spent lunch down at the Sydney Opera House and crashed out in Bangkok last night.
The flight over was incredibly long, and customs could not have been less interested in us. Just waltzed through with only so much as a wave. I'm surprised I survived the taxi ride from the airport to our hostel, as the taxi driver cruised along at 130k with no seatbelts and only a bicycle strap holding the boot closed.
Got up and walked right out into the middle of a political rally this morning. I didn't realise how big this was over here - we had received warnings before travelling here that non-essential travel should be avoided, but I didn't really think twice about it. From what I can gather, the last elections were rigged and the King stepped in and gave power to a political party that didn't actually win. This has caused several problems as the King is not meant to show favouritism towards any one party. They have covered big landmarks in demonstration asking to stop corruption, and the protesters apparently threw blood or something over sacred temples over here a couple of days ago. The military guard parts of the city and walk round with rifles in hand. Makes me feel a long way from home.
We wandered off and caught a tuk-tuk for the morning. Our driver told us that the protests are hurting Tourism here, which makes up 70% of the Thai economy. He got petrol vouchers for taking us to reputable stores in Thailand, trying to promote a positive image here. We were happy to go along with this, as we saw amazing temples, a giant 30m buddha and got to meet quite a few of the locals.
Other than that, ate at local side street markets for next to nothing (ie nz 50c meals). The polution is astonishing - even though it was a 40 degree scorcher today, the sky was still covered in a grey haze. Riding in the tuk-tuk you can feel the dirt hit your face. The streets are dirty and every now and then you get an awful smell from the open drains they have. Ordered drinks in a bucket before dinner which was quite novel though.
All in all its been an awesome day, especially now that the initial hesitation of arriving has passed. Still incredibly tired though from the flight yesterday and can't wait to have a decent nights sleep. Unfortunately, I think the heat may dictate otherwise.
The flight over was incredibly long, and customs could not have been less interested in us. Just waltzed through with only so much as a wave. I'm surprised I survived the taxi ride from the airport to our hostel, as the taxi driver cruised along at 130k with no seatbelts and only a bicycle strap holding the boot closed.
Got up and walked right out into the middle of a political rally this morning. I didn't realise how big this was over here - we had received warnings before travelling here that non-essential travel should be avoided, but I didn't really think twice about it. From what I can gather, the last elections were rigged and the King stepped in and gave power to a political party that didn't actually win. This has caused several problems as the King is not meant to show favouritism towards any one party. They have covered big landmarks in demonstration asking to stop corruption, and the protesters apparently threw blood or something over sacred temples over here a couple of days ago. The military guard parts of the city and walk round with rifles in hand. Makes me feel a long way from home.
We wandered off and caught a tuk-tuk for the morning. Our driver told us that the protests are hurting Tourism here, which makes up 70% of the Thai economy. He got petrol vouchers for taking us to reputable stores in Thailand, trying to promote a positive image here. We were happy to go along with this, as we saw amazing temples, a giant 30m buddha and got to meet quite a few of the locals.
Other than that, ate at local side street markets for next to nothing (ie nz 50c meals). The polution is astonishing - even though it was a 40 degree scorcher today, the sky was still covered in a grey haze. Riding in the tuk-tuk you can feel the dirt hit your face. The streets are dirty and every now and then you get an awful smell from the open drains they have. Ordered drinks in a bucket before dinner which was quite novel though.
All in all its been an awesome day, especially now that the initial hesitation of arriving has passed. Still incredibly tired though from the flight yesterday and can't wait to have a decent nights sleep. Unfortunately, I think the heat may dictate otherwise.
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