Musings of an Idiot

Lazy Wanderings – Day 10

I woke up early and packed my bags and checked out of my room by 8.30 AM. The hotel had a security room facility so I left my backpack there – it meant that I didn't have to return to the hotel at 12.00 PM to check out. The map said that Lumphini Park was en route to Soi Polo Fried Chicken place, so I decided to have a look at it as well. The park was just a normal park but it did provide a kind of serenity and peacefulness amidst the noise and hustle bustle of Bangkok – there were people jogging and stuff, and all the usual things you see in a park, so I wasn't tempted to go in at all – I walked around the circumference till I got to Soi Polo and then I searched for the eating joint but I couldn't track down the exact address, so I ate at a place called Polo Fried Chicken.

Rice and meat is common as breakfast in Thailand so I had no qualms about eating fried chicken and sticky rice for breakfast. It was a delicious meal and pretty affordable meal – it cost 90 baht [nearly NZ$5] all up for a really filling meal. I'll be back in Bangkok for a day on my return journey and i'll definitely try and track down the actual place listed in Lonely Planet guide. After the scrumptious breakfast it was time for some gift hunting and I walked half way and then caught a sky train to Siam square, which is know for it's shopping outlets and malls.


Shops are usually supposed to open around 10.00 AM but when I got into one of the malls almost 90% of the shops were still closed. Everyone was in the process of opening the shops slowly but surely. I wandered about for 30 minutes in the mall but the shop opening process was very slow, so I decided to be brave and get myself a Thai massage. I referred to my ever trusty LP guide to check out surrounding areas for recommended thai massage places. When it comes to massage in Thailand there is a proliferation of massage parlours – which are not necessarily Thai massage places and you might end up getting some other kind of massage :-), so you've got to be careful especially when looking for massage places until and unless of course you don't want to be careful about it.

The place that caught my eye (no pun intended – you'll soon realize why) was a thai massage place where the masseuse's were blind and it was supposed to be popular amongst the locals as well as expats. So I decided to give it a go and caught the Skytrain to Nana BTS and started searching for the place. I had a little bit of difficulty finding the place and whenever I took out my map to confirm my location and my place of intended destination, I would be pestered by a taxi driver or a tuk-tuk driver about going to a massage place otherwise I was pretty much treated as a local – I think it is because of my skin colour. :-) I finally managed to find the place and booked a 2 hour thai massage – to my disappointment my masseuse wasn't blind but the massage itself was great. It doesn't feel too great a lot of the time when the massage is being done and it is slightly painful at times but once the massage is complete you feel so relaxed and at peace. The massage was also very reasonably priced – it cost 350 baht for 2 hours of massage – which amounts to about NZ$20 roughly. If you compare that to any form of massage in NZ – it is peanuts as massage in NZ is steeply priced with prices ranging $70 upwards per hour. So I'll definitely be getting myself another couple of hours of thai massage on my way back to Auckland.

Feeling refreshed I went back to Siam square and shopped at MBK and found a couple of gifts. After the heavy breakfast I wasn't feeling hungry so I skipped lunch and proceeded back to my hotel to pick my bags and leave for the airport. A cab to the airport was around 500 baht while the cost of using Airport Express bus was 100 baht from where I was, so I decided to try the airport bus service since I had a little bit of time to spare. I enquired at the hotel as to where I could catch the bus from and the timings and they told me where I could catch it from but as far as the times were concerned they said that it ran every hour but there was no precise time the bus arrived. So I picked up my backpack and sat on the footpath where the bus was supposed to arrive. There was a tuk-tuk stand right where I was and every now and then cabs would stop offering to take me to the airport but I told them that I was catching the bus. 30 minutes later there was still no sign of the bus and I was getting a little worried – what if I missed my flight because I wanted to save 400 baht? And just as I was giving up hope, the airport express screamed past the bus stop despite a traffic police guy waving it down and a couple of tuk-tuk drivers waving it down. I just smiled and figured that I needed to catch a cab since I wasn't going to wait for another hour or so but one of the tuk-tuk drivers asked me to get into his vehicle so he could help me catch the bus at the traffic lights. I asked him how much since everyone is out to make money and he said that he didn't want anything except help me catch the bus. I was taken aback by the selflessness and gesture of help but jumped straight into the tuk-tuk and we did catch the bus just before the next traffic light. As I gratefully sat down in the bus – I was thinking how I wish Dan was here to see what had just happened because it was the complete opposite to his perception of tuk-tuk drivers in Bangkok.

Once I got down at the airport – the whole process of checking in was pretty painless and finally the security check officers at the airport smiled. I showed them the Polaroid and asked them if they could avoid putting the film through the x-ray machine and it soon caused a minor sensation of sorts and they were very curious about the Polaroid camera and they asked me about my time in Thailand and they were laughing and smiling at me for having a Polaroid camera. One thing I have constantly found through the trip is that Polaroid is a great equalizer – it instantly helps you form friends and people are more open to you because you are using a Polaroid camera. How I wish that Polaroid hadn't stopped making film – I could happily use this camera for the rest of my life because it is special in many ways. Suvarnabhumi Airport complex is massive and I spent a good half an hour walking about and had a quick snack and also found time to check my mails before our plane was assigned a gate. I sat down in one of the seating areas and looked around to see that everyone was traveling with someone else and I wished that I had a travel companion because it gives you some sense of security and belonging plus you have someone to share your experiences with. But then again traveling alone is scary at times but it also keeps you open to more possibilities and to people.

On the plane the guy sitting next to me was a young guy who had just completed his MBBS and had come for a vacation with his friend to Pattaya (in South Thailand). They were really surprised that I was traveling alone and that I had gone up north into the hills on an intrepid journey instead of going down south to the sandy beaches of Thailand where most of the foreigners like to hang out. They were decent guys but both of them had really stinky feet and the only reason I know this is because they removed their shoes 2 minutes after we got seated and man was the stink foul. I spent most of my time on the plane updating my journal and didn't even bother watching the personal entertainment system. It was a tough flight because the stink never went away and I was glad when the flight finally landed in Delhi.

This was my first time traveling back to India on my NZ passport and the first thing that struck me about India and Indians was the total disregard for lines and instructions. At the immigration counter there were 2 lines allocated to foreign passport holders but that had no meaning as everyone was lining up in whichever line they felt like. Once past the immigration check it was waiting for the baggage and it took another half an hour before my bag finally appeared. Once out of the airport I was surprised that Delhi wasn't that cold and it wasn't even foggy. Dad picked me up from the airport {even though I told him that it would be easier for me to catch a cab home} and it was nice seeing him. This time around I thought I would be prepared for the traffic and the honking but it still took me by surprise and it was very jarring. One of the first things that stuck me was the amount of construction taking place in the Delhi. Everywhere you see there is construction happening and the economic slowdown doesn't seem to have impacted India that much. The main roads have improved vastly but the driving and the disregard for road rules is still the same.

By the time we got to our apartment block it was around 12.30 AM and there was no parking space left. People seem to have bought atleast 2 cars per household whether they need them or not. And then there was the fact that the gas company had dug up most of the sides of the apartment roads to lay down gas pipelines which made parking space even more hard to find. In the end – I got out of the car on dad's suggestion and I kicked and clawed clear a big mound of dirt and bricks dug up by the gas company, so that we could park our car in the clearing. I was pretty tired by the time I got home but it was still a great feeling seeing my mum again after 3 years.

Catch up and talk is for later – for now it is time to sink into my lovely bed.
Later,
Amit

Labels: India, Thailand, Travel

posted by Amit @ 9:48 PM