I ended up having an extra day in Bangkok at the end of my tour because of the airline schedule – there was no way I could have gotten from the train station to the airport in time, even if I had wanted to step off a thirteen hour train ride and onto an eleven hour flight! My plan for the day, when I expected to be on my own, was to take advantage of the hotel amenities and have a massage and hang out by the swimming pool and just relax.
What really happened is that, happily, my roommate decided she’d like to stay in Bangkok for a day herself so I added her to my hotel room. She had a massage while I had a body scrub and pedicure and then we went to Chinatown – so glad she had a guide book because it never would have occurred to me otherwise!
(Click any image to enlarge)
We had to ask a couple different tuk-tuk drivers before one agreed to take us to Chinatown for a reasonable price. Once I saw the traffic in this part of town, I understood why!
Won’t you take me to… C-H-I-N-A-T-O-W-N!
It was an amazing place – sort of like walking through a street carnival.
You could get just about anything there, from evening bags to spare parts. It also seemed to be the wholesale market for the souvenirs for the rest of the city – there were times when one of us wanted something but the item was only sold in bulk!
Chilis anyone?
We walked around the warren of streets for about an hour – and probably only saw a tiny percentage of the entire district. More amazing still was how few foreigners were there. It seemed that everyone else was just there doing business.
After Chinatown, we got out the trusty guide book again to decide where to have dinner – and ended up wandering to a restaurant down near the river.
The restaurant was open air and the food was so nicely presented. Why don’t my dinners at home ever look so attractive?
We sat there for ages, just chatting and laughing, before we took one last stroll through the madness of the night market. All too soon it was time to go back to the hotel and get my bags organized for my early morning departure.
I suppose it must go without saying that I had a fantastic time on this trip. Would I book such a tour again? Without a doubt, but with one reservation: with as much fun as I had in Thailand and the wonderful people I met on the tour (including our guide) this trip will be a tough act to follow!
Wow. What a nice vacation/trip you had. Glad it was such a good experience for you. And thanks for sharing. Really enjoyed all your great pictures.
by Mama Pea January 28th, 2010 at 9:26 amI’m still basking in the glow, just a bit
by Jenyfer January 28th, 2010 at 9:31 amHi Jenyfer. I’ve just checked out all your photos. Awesome! It looks as if you had a fun time. Which tour company did you go with?
by Shelley Munro January 28th, 2010 at 10:24 pmShelley – I booked the tour with a Canadian company called Gap Adventures. So much of the tour depends on the guide and in the case I got tremendously lucky – our guide was wonderful.
by Jenyfer January 29th, 2010 at 9:27 amJust wanted you to know I read the entire group of blogs. So enjoyed the posts and the pictures! Thank you for sharing!
by anny cook January 30th, 2010 at 11:30 pmThanks Anny – been wondering where you were
by Jenyfer January 31st, 2010 at 2:28 amSorry I haven’t posted much – things are crazy here. But I’ve enjoyed traveling with you, albeit vicariously. Thanks for sharing!
by Terry Odell February 4th, 2010 at 10:09 amHappy to be of service
by Jenyfer February 4th, 2010 at 10:23 am