Freitag, 23. September 2011
Bangkok's urban railway stations - No place for fun
These "grippers" can be dangerous. I had to learn that a few days ago...
Normally you can pass them without any troubles. But beside some error once, so that I couldn't get through, it closed a bit too early another time. And that just when I wanted to pass through it side-ways - because I carried my camera bag on one side and the camera on the other. Almost at the "right" moment, it closed abruptly. I was hit, stuck in between, but gladly I had to realise that it missed target for just about a few millimeters. Otherwise maybe I never could have had my own kids. Well, as a child, growing up in this family of mine, I thought at times that maybe it might not be the best idea to reproduce myself. But later that wish just became too strong, so that I had to knock this idea out of my head. Anyways though, I never would have thought of the possibility to lose that ability after coming from a "sky train" in Bangkok.
Donnerstag, 22. September 2011
Adventures in Bangkok - Part II
2011/09/19
White-to-grey laundry
I have three T-Shirts to give away. Anyone? :D Nah, I'm gonna give them to some kids on the street. I picked up my laundry today and apparently they washed everything together (incl. those previously white T-Shirts with the newly bought and unwashed black shorts). So now the T-Shirts look blue/grey-ish. Although I liked them it doesn't pain me that much somehow.
I was supposed to pay 150 baht (nearly 4 Euros). Which I thought was quite a price. And I already had beaten it down from 200 baht. But seeing the Shirts like this, I was not willing to pay that anymore. At first the lady wanted to give me a discount because of that: 100 baht. But I felt there was some damage done, and finally everybody should know not to wash black and white clothes together. So I asked the younger lady (daughter or employee of her) to tell her that she shall give me 1000 baht for the T-Shirts and then she could keep them. Which was basically just a tactic, because I knew she wouldn't pay me anything. When she heard that price, I could leave without having to pay and the younger one apologised. No hard feelings though. I left with a smile. Also because the young lady said twice that if I wouldn't have said those T-Shirts once were white, she would have had no idea.
"Room with a view"
I checked out of the first hostel and went into a guesthouse. The prices are the same, but the new room is bigger and everything looks better and kind of a bit more lovely. Short before checking out of the first hostel, I had a look on my booking confirmation and noticed that it said "room with a view". There wasn't really much of a view, therefore I asked for a discount, which I got. Even if not really a lot.
2011/09/20
Open-air shower
I'm just sitting on the veranda of the new gueshouse, top floor. I found a second bathroom here on this floor, on the veranda. This place has loads of plants on the verandas. There are pets downstairs... many birds, a few cats. Up here I even saw a saurian in the bathroom. How neat. And when it's not raining cats and dogs, I can have a shower open-air.
Shopping bags vs. garbage bags to protect from the rain
Recently I noticed a mid-aged lady having a transparent garbage bag on her head to protect from the rain. Next day I saw a guy on a bus with a shopping bag on his head. I guess the latter was the more fancy one, since he seemed to express "I buy with...". What would the lady with the garbage bag want to say? Of course I'm just joking. Probably if I wouldn't have anything else, I would do the same. As it's for the guy on the bus though, he had kept the bag on his head even long after the rain had already stopped. Not to forget being on a bus with a roof. Maybe he just forgot, because when he left the bus into a meanwhile almost sunny day, he still wore it.
2011/09/21
Near faint
I start to get more relaxed about crossing the street here. I hope not too relaxed. But today I was just feeling so good - being near "Grand Palace", on my way to "Wat Arun" and listening to my current favorite album repeatedly - I felt that even if there are cars and tuck-tucks on the road, I could cross a street the same way as I did in Vietnam (as usually only some of the locals there dare), with thousands of motorbikes coming towards you. So instead of waiting until the road was completely free, I just walked, so that for a brief moment I had to wait in the middle of the road with vehicles behind and in front of me. Then I noticed another "Westerner" watching me. I think he could barely look and I'm glad he didn't faint.
Lone motorbike on a three-lane road
This is related to my previous paragraph. It was at night and I was crossing the street. A car slowly rolling towards me, a motorbike too. I'm passing the first lane, then going slower so that the car and motorbike can pass. Suddenly the lady on the motorbike used the horn, looking at me as if maybe I endangered her by stepping on the road a bit too early. I think people in Vietnam would be dead-laughing about such a scene.
White-to-grey laundry
I have three T-Shirts to give away. Anyone? :D Nah, I'm gonna give them to some kids on the street. I picked up my laundry today and apparently they washed everything together (incl. those previously white T-Shirts with the newly bought and unwashed black shorts). So now the T-Shirts look blue/grey-ish. Although I liked them it doesn't pain me that much somehow.
I was supposed to pay 150 baht (nearly 4 Euros). Which I thought was quite a price. And I already had beaten it down from 200 baht. But seeing the Shirts like this, I was not willing to pay that anymore. At first the lady wanted to give me a discount because of that: 100 baht. But I felt there was some damage done, and finally everybody should know not to wash black and white clothes together. So I asked the younger lady (daughter or employee of her) to tell her that she shall give me 1000 baht for the T-Shirts and then she could keep them. Which was basically just a tactic, because I knew she wouldn't pay me anything. When she heard that price, I could leave without having to pay and the younger one apologised. No hard feelings though. I left with a smile. Also because the young lady said twice that if I wouldn't have said those T-Shirts once were white, she would have had no idea.
"Room with a view"
I checked out of the first hostel and went into a guesthouse. The prices are the same, but the new room is bigger and everything looks better and kind of a bit more lovely. Short before checking out of the first hostel, I had a look on my booking confirmation and noticed that it said "room with a view". There wasn't really much of a view, therefore I asked for a discount, which I got. Even if not really a lot.
2011/09/20
Open-air shower
I'm just sitting on the veranda of the new gueshouse, top floor. I found a second bathroom here on this floor, on the veranda. This place has loads of plants on the verandas. There are pets downstairs... many birds, a few cats. Up here I even saw a saurian in the bathroom. How neat. And when it's not raining cats and dogs, I can have a shower open-air.
Shopping bags vs. garbage bags to protect from the rain
Recently I noticed a mid-aged lady having a transparent garbage bag on her head to protect from the rain. Next day I saw a guy on a bus with a shopping bag on his head. I guess the latter was the more fancy one, since he seemed to express "I buy with...". What would the lady with the garbage bag want to say? Of course I'm just joking. Probably if I wouldn't have anything else, I would do the same. As it's for the guy on the bus though, he had kept the bag on his head even long after the rain had already stopped. Not to forget being on a bus with a roof. Maybe he just forgot, because when he left the bus into a meanwhile almost sunny day, he still wore it.
2011/09/21
Near faint
I start to get more relaxed about crossing the street here. I hope not too relaxed. But today I was just feeling so good - being near "Grand Palace", on my way to "Wat Arun" and listening to my current favorite album repeatedly - I felt that even if there are cars and tuck-tucks on the road, I could cross a street the same way as I did in Vietnam (as usually only some of the locals there dare), with thousands of motorbikes coming towards you. So instead of waiting until the road was completely free, I just walked, so that for a brief moment I had to wait in the middle of the road with vehicles behind and in front of me. Then I noticed another "Westerner" watching me. I think he could barely look and I'm glad he didn't faint.
Lone motorbike on a three-lane road
This is related to my previous paragraph. It was at night and I was crossing the street. A car slowly rolling towards me, a motorbike too. I'm passing the first lane, then going slower so that the car and motorbike can pass. Suddenly the lady on the motorbike used the horn, looking at me as if maybe I endangered her by stepping on the road a bit too early. I think people in Vietnam would be dead-laughing about such a scene.
Sonntag, 18. September 2011
Adventures in Bangkok
Friday 09/16
I remained in bed for nearly 15 hours. Rather unusal for me, even when I did not have much sleep. I went to bed around 11 and finally got up at 2 pm. I suppose a more scenic view from the hostel could have made me get up earlier. But there's just a wall and a roof, about a meter in front of my window. Not that I complain though, since these are the things you have to and can live with on low budget travels.
Smiley host/hostel
I went down for my breakfast (photo) and had to pay for the water. The host - in his early 20s - smiled at me kind of cheerfully in the morning. Nice! Then I had my toast and found a smiley on it (photo - gonna add soon). Nice! It was worth a picture. While waiting for the next toasts I had a look in the mirror, just to check my hair again after the shower (there was nothing much to help, after a bad haircut in Berlin a few days ago). I noticed I hadn't dealt with the suncream on my forehead after I had put it there. So this very probably was the actual reason for the host smiling. :)
Helmet
Today the thought appeared to me to get me a helmet (although not an entirely serious thought). I'm still not used to the traffic going the opposite way and sometimes just look into the wrong direction as a pedestrian when I'm on one side of the road. Which brought me into the situation once or twice that I stood on the road and a car approaching from behind me. In these situations the cars were rather slow, but if it's different and they're faster, it might get a little dangerous. So with a helmet, my legs might break (at least if I don't jump over it, like Jacky Chan would), but from the helmet that car might get a nasty dent in return.
Pretty - Beards
Bangkok's roads - and malls - are dangerous. At least when you're just here for two days and not adopted too well yet (which meanwhile I am). It's my second time here. Last time (two years ago) I just was here for about three days and had been almost exclusively around China Town only, since I didn't have a plan on where to go - because I actually was just on my way home, coming from Vietnam. This time I discovered the modern side of Bangkok, with all the hip malls and shops, where all the Thai Ladies go. Imagine as a single woman you're into beards and someday you end up in a city with trillions of bearded guys. Bloody hell. What if it is some kind of pre-hell? To use this metaphor. Isn't it that often the "devil" lures with many "shiny" things? For (single) "Westerners" here there seem to be "trillions" of "shiny things".
Michael Jackson's Thriller
Back when I finally left the hostel today (my second day in BKK, I looked and felt a bit like a Zombie (maybe not really that bad... at least the artificial lights in the evening managed to make me feel better about my look again later), after this long sleep and the change in weather conditions. Humid and mostly cloudy so far (ok, latter is not much of a change actually). Maybe I shouldn't have drunken those beers and the redwine in the night before the flight, with the really lovely 'flatmates on time' (just for nearly three weeks before I took off). My condition today reminded me also of two more low-priced, but still pretty restaurants I happened to eat at here, where the service personal consits mostly of 18-20 year olds. Who did their job highly motivated. Like the cast in MJ's "Thriller". Of course I exaggerate a bit. The cast in Thriller was more lively.
A barrel of beer
I usually don't drink alcohol often, therefore a glass of beer to me almost seems to feel like a barrel these days. I get tipsy easily. Doesn't mean I tend to give a lot of tip, since I read that here in asia the tip is usually in the price already. Although, this very evening I went with a taxi and had a really cheerful/likeable young taxi driver... and somehow I ended up giving him a 50 Cent piece; so altogether a bit more than what I actually had to pay. Many of the other taxi drivers here seem to be more like elderly police officers in Vietnam. A bit more "serious". That's what I expressed to him, that a taxi driver of his personality was a bit of a fresh wind.
But I drifted... Actually I hadn't drunken beer all evening. Which might also to be blamed on the shameless prices at "Brown Sugar", where I could have had one or two. It's a really lovely Jazz Club, with excellent music and two amazing female singers tonight. But right before I went to the hostel, I felt I could have a beer. Somehow I did enjoy the local Chang beer the previous night, so I went for this one again. Then I saw quite a few young guys in front of Hulamphong Station (that's where I stay) on racing cycles. I went there, because I scent some shooting possibilities. And the beer and "cheerfulness" helped me a bit at approaching them. I just talked to them though and instead they took pics with and of me. I gave them my card, so maybe we'll get to see those pics sometime soon.
Sunday 09/18
In retrospect
Today is Sunday. I had arrived in Bangkok on Thursday. Yesterday I met a girl through "couchsurfing". Such a cool cat. Born in the US with Chinese ancestors, now she has been working and living in BKK already for a year. We went around China Town, often through the small busy alleys with thousands of Chinese vendors, who mostly don't speak Mandarin, but their own dialects, mixed with the Thai language. As my host for these few hours told me. Later we compared the Chinese market to a Thai market, where she bought some fresh vegetables to cook for her guests from Malaysia.
Afterwards I walked through a modern part of BKK again. There was a breakdance festival on one side of "Siam station" and on the other side I went into a mall, where I stumbled upon an ukulele shop with some people inside playing them. I went inside and a lady showed me four chords on the ukulele. Then we played those chords and she started singing with a beautiful voice. Turned out she's a bit of a star in Thailand as a singer.
Hot - Restaurant
Yesterday I found a restaurant near my place, which is a little bit hidden. Their meals have such a fresh flavor. I don't consider myself much of a food guy, but what they cook there is just gorgeous! And still mostly for pretty much the same prices as the nearby street restaurants. Around 2 Euros for a meal... not a huge portion though. But I don't mind at all.
When I went into the restaurant today the temperatures outside were still pretty much like every day since I arrived... rather cloudy and maybe around 27-28°C. When I came outside the sun was shining suddenly and the wind brought such a hot air that I thought my skin would dry out and come off immediately. It was a good sunny day, a lovely Sunday and I felt great too.
I remained in bed for nearly 15 hours. Rather unusal for me, even when I did not have much sleep. I went to bed around 11 and finally got up at 2 pm. I suppose a more scenic view from the hostel could have made me get up earlier. But there's just a wall and a roof, about a meter in front of my window. Not that I complain though, since these are the things you have to and can live with on low budget travels.
Smiley host/hostel
I went down for my breakfast (photo) and had to pay for the water. The host - in his early 20s - smiled at me kind of cheerfully in the morning. Nice! Then I had my toast and found a smiley on it (photo - gonna add soon). Nice! It was worth a picture. While waiting for the next toasts I had a look in the mirror, just to check my hair again after the shower (there was nothing much to help, after a bad haircut in Berlin a few days ago). I noticed I hadn't dealt with the suncream on my forehead after I had put it there. So this very probably was the actual reason for the host smiling. :)
Helmet
Today the thought appeared to me to get me a helmet (although not an entirely serious thought). I'm still not used to the traffic going the opposite way and sometimes just look into the wrong direction as a pedestrian when I'm on one side of the road. Which brought me into the situation once or twice that I stood on the road and a car approaching from behind me. In these situations the cars were rather slow, but if it's different and they're faster, it might get a little dangerous. So with a helmet, my legs might break (at least if I don't jump over it, like Jacky Chan would), but from the helmet that car might get a nasty dent in return.
Pretty - Beards
Bangkok's roads - and malls - are dangerous. At least when you're just here for two days and not adopted too well yet (which meanwhile I am). It's my second time here. Last time (two years ago) I just was here for about three days and had been almost exclusively around China Town only, since I didn't have a plan on where to go - because I actually was just on my way home, coming from Vietnam. This time I discovered the modern side of Bangkok, with all the hip malls and shops, where all the Thai Ladies go. Imagine as a single woman you're into beards and someday you end up in a city with trillions of bearded guys. Bloody hell. What if it is some kind of pre-hell? To use this metaphor. Isn't it that often the "devil" lures with many "shiny" things? For (single) "Westerners" here there seem to be "trillions" of "shiny things".
Michael Jackson's Thriller
Back when I finally left the hostel today (my second day in BKK, I looked and felt a bit like a Zombie (maybe not really that bad... at least the artificial lights in the evening managed to make me feel better about my look again later), after this long sleep and the change in weather conditions. Humid and mostly cloudy so far (ok, latter is not much of a change actually). Maybe I shouldn't have drunken those beers and the redwine in the night before the flight, with the really lovely 'flatmates on time' (just for nearly three weeks before I took off). My condition today reminded me also of two more low-priced, but still pretty restaurants I happened to eat at here, where the service personal consits mostly of 18-20 year olds. Who did their job highly motivated. Like the cast in MJ's "Thriller". Of course I exaggerate a bit. The cast in Thriller was more lively.
A barrel of beer
I usually don't drink alcohol often, therefore a glass of beer to me almost seems to feel like a barrel these days. I get tipsy easily. Doesn't mean I tend to give a lot of tip, since I read that here in asia the tip is usually in the price already. Although, this very evening I went with a taxi and had a really cheerful/likeable young taxi driver... and somehow I ended up giving him a 50 Cent piece; so altogether a bit more than what I actually had to pay. Many of the other taxi drivers here seem to be more like elderly police officers in Vietnam. A bit more "serious". That's what I expressed to him, that a taxi driver of his personality was a bit of a fresh wind.
But I drifted... Actually I hadn't drunken beer all evening. Which might also to be blamed on the shameless prices at "Brown Sugar", where I could have had one or two. It's a really lovely Jazz Club, with excellent music and two amazing female singers tonight. But right before I went to the hostel, I felt I could have a beer. Somehow I did enjoy the local Chang beer the previous night, so I went for this one again. Then I saw quite a few young guys in front of Hulamphong Station (that's where I stay) on racing cycles. I went there, because I scent some shooting possibilities. And the beer and "cheerfulness" helped me a bit at approaching them. I just talked to them though and instead they took pics with and of me. I gave them my card, so maybe we'll get to see those pics sometime soon.
Sunday 09/18
In retrospect
Today is Sunday. I had arrived in Bangkok on Thursday. Yesterday I met a girl through "couchsurfing". Such a cool cat. Born in the US with Chinese ancestors, now she has been working and living in BKK already for a year. We went around China Town, often through the small busy alleys with thousands of Chinese vendors, who mostly don't speak Mandarin, but their own dialects, mixed with the Thai language. As my host for these few hours told me. Later we compared the Chinese market to a Thai market, where she bought some fresh vegetables to cook for her guests from Malaysia.
Afterwards I walked through a modern part of BKK again. There was a breakdance festival on one side of "Siam station" and on the other side I went into a mall, where I stumbled upon an ukulele shop with some people inside playing them. I went inside and a lady showed me four chords on the ukulele. Then we played those chords and she started singing with a beautiful voice. Turned out she's a bit of a star in Thailand as a singer.
Hot - Restaurant
Yesterday I found a restaurant near my place, which is a little bit hidden. Their meals have such a fresh flavor. I don't consider myself much of a food guy, but what they cook there is just gorgeous! And still mostly for pretty much the same prices as the nearby street restaurants. Around 2 Euros for a meal... not a huge portion though. But I don't mind at all.
When I went into the restaurant today the temperatures outside were still pretty much like every day since I arrived... rather cloudy and maybe around 27-28°C. When I came outside the sun was shining suddenly and the wind brought such a hot air that I thought my skin would dry out and come off immediately. It was a good sunny day, a lovely Sunday and I felt great too.
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