I woke up this morning after a few hour sleep, as I could not sleep until my blog was updated, which was around 4am in the morning (very addictive). After a nice breakfast we started our day with some sightseeing in Bangkok. We went first to the Sampeng Market near Chinatown and visited some temples around the area, which were surprisingly empty. As Chinatown was way off the usual train and bus stops we decided that we can afford a cab to get there. We got away cheap with just three pounds to pay :)
The Wat Bophit Phimuk was a smaller one but defiantly worth a visit. We even met a very nice monk at work who allowed us to take a picture. I found that it was a really calm and relaxing place. The monk's residences are built in a mixture of both Thai and Chinese styles. This is not a major tourist attraction in Chinatown, but is of historical interest.
The next temple Wat Chaakrawat is on the western edge of Chinatown, and quite close to Wat Bophitphimuk Worahiharn and off the beaten track. Behind the bot is a tiny pond in which crocodiles live (which we didn’t get to see). A very interesting place to visit.
The Sampeng Market was very crowded and is nothing for people with claustrophobia. It is also very cheap. I had the best coffee latte frappe in my life (I swear it was the best). Marina saw a little plastic duck and found it sooooo cute, however could not decide to buy it. After mentioning every time we passed a stall with them how cute it is and not buying it, I just bought one at the end to keep her happy :) The duck will keep her company from now and probably will be seen on many pictures…
After the tour we wanted to do a boat trip through the Mae Nam Chao Phraya River and enjoy a little bit of the scenery around us. We got to the Ratchawong Ferry Pier where we took a little boat that looked like it would drive into the right direction, but we realized after a few minutes that we actually caught the ferry to the other site of the river, so we just waited until we turned around and arrived again on the pier were we started. Walking a little bit around we decided to take the local line to the final destination and bought two tickets. As soon as I saw a boat coming I just went, even after Marina questioning if that really was the right boat I did not realize that this might be the ‘expensive’ tourist express boat. Of course Marina was right which I realized when the nice lady on board asked for the fare. I got laughed at when I showed her the tickets, so we just paid again. To my luck the boat didn’t even stop at the planned destination so we had to get off earlier, which was only three stations after boarding. A little bit disappointed but still laughing we just got off and walked a little bit around the area before we decided to go to the Old German Beerhouse in Sukhumvit. This time we took again a cab. The first cab we hailed down drove us exactly two meters before deciding that he doesn’t want to drive us, we did not understand why but left the cab anyway. The next cab switched on the tax meter without arguing and drove us for less than 100 THB to the beer house.
After a smooth ride with a little bit of traffic we got to the area and sat down for some cold Singha beer and some food. Relaxed and a little tired we headed home. Unfortunately the way back to the hotel was too long to walk and too short to take a cab. They were not willing to drive us, as they only would have earned approx. 60 THB, which was not enough to motivate them. After the next tactic to offer more money than the meter failed as well, we just took the MRT train back. I was planning to get a nice long Thai Massage at the hotel, but was again unlucky as I was too late for the last session. I remembered that I should plan a little bit for tomorrow and get the promised postcards for family and friends done.
So there I was, my last night at Bangkok. Tomorrow we are going to take a flight over to Singapore to spend the next 5 days in a little bit more expensive but exciting city.
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