Bangkok, day 2

Good day folks! Today was my very first day of vacation. Early bird for jogging then shower and hit the road. I followed some advises and I have visited a few interesting places that you can admire from my pics. A bit different from those taken yesterday but this is Thailand...

I have booked my trip by train to Chiang Mai, I am leaving on October 2nd evening and I will arrive in Chiang Mai around 10 in the morning, 12 hours journey. I went for a second class ticket rather than a first one. It cost 20 Euro each way. I didn't book the return though, because I am not sure yet how long I will be staying up north. We shall see...

I am finding jogging rather difficult. Humidity and heat are not runner friendly eh eh... 2 miles jog feels like 10 kms... I need to get used to it, I assume...

Anyway, let's go per grades.

Traveling around Bangkok can be a true nightmare so the best way to move from A to B to F and visit the most touristy places is by boat. There is a company, a public one, that for 150 baht a day or 13/19 baht per ticket allows you to see many different locations. Today I used that line 6 times for a total of 69 Baht. Plus another 30 Baht for the skytrain.

If you go to the link on the left hand column of this blog you will be redirected to facebook and you will see some places I visited today. Overall cost, including entrance fees to a couple of attractions (100 baht), an excellent and opulent Chinese meal (450 baht) in Chinatown, a proper Thai dinner (220 baht), some waters (50), juices (20) cokes (51) and some snacks (40) and breakfast (25) set me back by... 20 Euro today! A bit more but, let's round it.

It is very hot over here and you must drink constantly. Humidity is outrageous but, I guess, better like this than with the storms I was expecting. Actually today it didn't storm just very strong winds this afternoon. I am sure it is preserving it for tomorrow when I will go to visit the Grand Palace, the most important monument of the capital.

There are some things that strike you in a foreign country. Over here there are many. Thailand is like China in the collective thought about that country. To find the roads you see in my pictures in Beijing, for instance, you need to go to a Hutong or you must go deep into rural China, not really in the capital.

I must admit that all these smiling people must be on strike. Today I had the impression that most of them are annoyed towards someone or towards the world. Too early to jump to conclusions but I start feeling that the power of media is stronger than I thought.

I booked my trip to Chiang Mai, as I mentioned before and I might extend my stay to participate to some special, spiritual, meeting... Did you believe that? Wrong!

I might look into some opportunities over here but it's too early to say. Let's wait first to see CM and then we will see.

Girls... I received a few messages from friends asking me about them. Are they pretty? I don't like them. Generally talking. i do not see them "Asians enough". I see a (not so) subtle Westerner attitude and I find them rather unfriendly. I was expecting all these big smiles like in China so I smiled first... they do not even bother smiling back to you! And I am not talking about girls I come across in the street, I am talking about those in shops or attractions.

For those who are interested in, though, boys are very friendly... A bit too much, to be honest. But, I guess, this is the way it goes: no try, no success.

How about nightlife? Last night I slept and tonight is going to be very much alike. Last thing I care about is going out and get drunk or even slightly merry. I am fine with my short days, going out from 10 to 16/17 max.

Thai remind me a bit about the Italians and I am not referring to the fact that we had similar Prime Ministers, they are smarter than us for that, their one is out and going to jail, but because I think that Thailand is for Buddhism what Italy is for Catholicism. I am not sure if Thai are as hypocrite as Italians about public virtues and private vices, but publicly, they look similar.

Catch you tomorrow guys!

So, let's recap the costs, including the 1026 baht for the trip to CM in 2nd class A/C carriage lower berth... (First class were all sold out).

Expenses summary:

balance Eur 495
transports Eur 2
gym eur 2
lunch 9
dinner 4
others as detailed above 6

Total 518 Euro