flip'n travels

The sun baked our skins as we made our way out of the Grand Palace feeling bitter and shunned by everything Thai. We wanted to turn our lucks by walking towards nowhere thinking we’d probably stumble upon something interesting, like a drag queen who looks like Lady Gaga. A tuktuk driver spider-sensed that we were confused and disoriented and approached us with a plan. “I’ll take you to two temples for free if you can drop by to this tailor shop that I know,” he said. Too tired to argue, we hopped on to his mechanical beast and drove off to the shop.

hahahaha… ha!

Like what Ron mentioned in the previous article, these tuktuk drivers commission their passengers to visit jewelry shops and tailor shops in exchange for gas coupons. The receptionist welcomed us with disappointment. He knew we were just looking around… We really didn’t care. The first day, we were taken to this huge jewelry factory (not sure if this is the appropriate term) and the lady kept insisting Ron to buy me a ring. People! If you could just lend me your ears… We are NOT dating! So anyway, we hopped back on to the tuktuk and asked the driver to just take us wherever it was he was going to take us.

Luang Pho To at the Wat Indravihan Temple

A guy selling birds for offering

Flowers for sale

A faithful

The driver took us to Wat Indravihan Temple where a huge well-known statue of the Buddha stands. The 32-meter tall and 11-meter wide edifice is called Luang Pho To and was built during the reign of King Rama IV. It was noticeable that the place was very much like Quiapo with the noise and number of people roaming around the complex. At some point, I really thought that the guy barking his merchandise sounded like the guy facilitating a BINGO game on the sidewalk. It was so chaotic that I practically dragged Ron out and back into the tuktuk and told the the driver to take us to the last of the temples he suggested.

Not sure if this is Wat Bowon Niwet or Wat Ratchanatdaram… Pft!

So the driver rode off and parked at a seemingly nice temple. We went inside. It was closed. We were not amused…

It was about 3pm when we got back to the hostel. We dumped our bags and went to 711 and had lunch. Back at Lub*d, we went straight to the PC and updated our statuses to hateful bantering. I decided to get my book and read and Ron obtundedly sat inside the hostel room. Clearly, at about 4pm in the afternoon of our second day in Bangkok, the day was officially over.

After our anticlimactic Muay Thai momentus-interruptus and we finally convinced ourselves that watching two amateur fighters throwing bravado on each other is too high a price, we headed of the most beaten path in Bangkok.

Upon entrance in the grand palace, Monette rented a mothball smelling cover-up. Apparently, we were entering the most sacred temple in Bangkok and her tank top was too revealing that monks may get an unwanted wood works.

hor phra monthian dharma

It was mid-day and it seemed like clouds were not so popular in Thailand. It was too hot it can make straight hair curl, and gay men straight. Despite that, we still tried savoring every single minute inside the temple complex. After an hour, we barely moved and we were still within 20 meters away from the entrance.

giant yak in front of hor phra monthian dharma

phra siratana chedi

kinnorns (a mythological creature, half bird, half man) adorning prasat phra debidorn

It was uncomfortably hot to sketch and taking photos was a painful effort. There were lots of tourists loitering the complex and so the numerous distractions were hovering us unstoppably. So we just sat, looked around, watched tourists, stared blankly in front of a Chedi.

Temples of Wat Phra Kaew are actually… well they’re… pretty… and… sorry I’m short of words to say. Just like the over-used break-up excuse, I would sincerely say–It’s not the place, it’s me!I may have to blame the route that we took, because Siem Reap is definitely a hard act to follow. Wrong order of destination.

Siem Reap temples invoke unexplainable emotions. You stand there and you feel that you are standing in the presence of something great and magnificent and ancient. You feel one with the environment. Temples in Bangkok are nice, don’t get us wrong. The intricate designs, wonderful carvings, detailed paintings and tedious mosaics are all pleasing to the eye. It’s just that seeing them within the city with all the other buildings takes away the spiritual essence of such religious edifices. They’re just… buildings…

The comatose-inducing boredom was broken when another tourist approached us, telling us we better hurry because the complex will close in an hour.

“What the F*ck!? How come the lady in the ticket booth didn’t tell us that the king and queen of Malaysia were in town and that they will be closing the palace!”

Unbelievable! That meant we barely had an hour to explore the 218,000 sqm complex. GREAT!

notice our pictures from hereon… fake smiles or no smiles at all…

We tried demanding for a refund, but what’s the point of arguing if the one whom you’re talking to cannot even conjugate a clear message.

ME: “we want a refund, we just bought the ticket an hour ago”
Ticket Lady: “Yes?”
ME: “we want a refund, you didn’t tell us that you will be closing at 1:00 PM”
Ticket Lady: “No, ticket not wasted, can go to Vimanmek”
ME: “But we haven’t seen 80% of the Grand Palace!”
Ticket Lady: “yes?”
ME: “NAK NG TOKWA NAMAN ’TEH O!”

We gave up the hopeless battle and asked what gate we’re suppose to exit. They unanimously pointed us towards the other end of the square. So we walked under the scorching sun and reached the other end of the enclosure wall just to find out—they sent us to the WASH ROOM!

After 30 minutes of trying to find the exit, we found ourselves outside the walls of the Grand Palace, just in time for the arrival of the entourage of the king and queen of Malaysia. We decided to leave the scene before our schizophrenic selves ran amok because of the harsh deprivation. And no, this was not the last of the mishaps we encountered that day.

So… why don’t we continue the story… in the next entry…

“… Pairs of MALE Elephants will be released to the forest of America. There is hope that they will grow in number…”
~King of Siam (Yul Bryner, The King and I 1956)

The day started with a half-baked excitement. We pretty much wasted more than two hours looking for the money changer that would accept our Peso bills. After 140 Baht on the cab meter, several kilometers of Bangkok sprinting action and litters of juicing fat squeezing out our pores, we couldn’t help but pacify the plea of our intestinal parasites, so we settled with a 7-Eleven brunch. To our surprise, the iced coffee tastes better than most non-Starbucks lattes, and the spicy chicken floss sandwich is no less palatable than those of Bread Talk’s—not bad for a 100 Baht meal. We’re not sure if it was a subconscious compensation because we were (at that point) technically broke; or it was really that good. It became our refuge for the entire three days of Thai shenanigan.

Walking around Bangkok was definitely not a walk in the park for us, as we had difficulties going to places simply because road signs are all in Thai and not a lot of people can speak English. In some cases we got shooed even before we even got the chance to say Sawasdee Ka/Krup. So, get used to the classic rejection “No English!”

When I think of Thailand, the first thing that comes in to my mind would be the temples. And yes there’s a fair share of temples in Bangkok and it’s not an outlandish experience if you stumble with one of them while walking around the city. In our case we came across Wat Intharawihan, Wat Mahathat Yuwaratrangsarit, Wat Pho and Wat Phra Kaew. I know it’s a mouthful, the official names are even longer, even a spelling bee wiz will get an epistaxis (READ: Nose bleed).

If it’s not for the monks, Thai signage, temples, tuktuk’s and the endemic sightings of the King’s pictures, we would feel that we are in the Philippines. The weather and people are so much like of what we have back home. We even, at times, accidentally call the street vendors “Ate” and the drivers “Manong.”

TIP: Tuktuk ride costs between 50-150 baht depending on the destination. But you can have the ride for free. Try to negotiate with the driver to bring you to affiliated commercial establishments (Jewelry stores, textile shops, souvenir outlets and the likes) they get a fuel vouchers for every tourist that they can bring regardless if you’ll buy or not. This will consume 20-30 minutes of your time, but the deal is fair considering you get a free ride to your desired destination. We did this the whole time we were in Bangkok to save few of hundredths of Baht.

FACT: The traditional name of Bangkok is ‘Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit’. It is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s longest name for a place.

There are other things we could’ve done if we had sufficient funds to finance our caprice. One is experiencing the infamous Muay Thai game. We asked around for the price of a ticket, and realized it was too expensive–“dude, we don’t have plans of taking home the fighters after the match… and with that price, we can resurrect the male Nong Toom.” So Muay Thai is definitely out the window.

Instead, we decided to gravitate towards the classic over pop—We bought tickets to the Grand Palace. According to the map that we snatched from the hostel, the Grand Palace is behind this temple thingamajig which turned out to be several kilometers away, GREAT!

Outside the ticket booth, tourists from all over are coming in and out like there’s a relief operation happening inside the complex. Ticket costs around 700 baht. OK, fair! We can stay and hang around the entire day savoring history, art, architecture and what not. But to our dismay, another unfortunate thing happened…

to be continued

After the uneventful arrival in Bangkok, we found ourselves taken to Lub*d, our home for the next three days before going back to the pain of reality. Yes, we do have day jobs we sadly keep to finance this capricious traveling lifestyle.

We were greeted by a modern building with wooden chairs and tables filled with tourists. Ahhh, the familiar smell of home… Clearly, we were smitten. We did not realize we were standing at the ultimate highlight of what Bangkok had to offer, at least for Ron and I.

We entered the hotel and checked in. After settling inside our room, Ron suddenly felt claustrophobic and decided to find another room with windows. Luckily for us, we were able to transfer in no time. Yes, the rooms were a bit small, but the clever industrial design made us forget we had to breathe at times.

The place is just peachy. Wonderful interiors with huge solid beams that can kill you IF they drop, a spacious lounge area where you can sit all day and drink beer while smoking and reading your book, a mini library where you can borrow and trade books, a recreation area with dozens of board games, about 10-15 PC’s with free internet access so you can update your statuses on Facebook, a fancy looking café slash diner that serves meals and drinks. We even saw a mini theater on the second floor. Truly, why did we even think of going out into the wild urban jungle of Bangkok when everything we needed was there? The answer still escapes me until now.

If you count the hours we spent sightseeing Bangkok and staying inside the hotel, you’d be amazed on how we spent much of our precious vacay time drinking ourselves to stupor and chatting with friends online. Picture this: a glorious day with the sun shining warm and bright and most of the guests were either buried in the PC’s or watching movies. We were supposed to be in one of the most exciting places to be in on earth and I was locked in our room writing a poem on sadness while Ron updated his blog.

Yes, this is a prelude to articles that will come of our vacation in Thailand. But in the meantime, let me share an enlightening conversation I had with one of the receptionists in Lub*d…

Me in our room, calling the reception area:

Me: Hi! Is this the Lobby?
Receptionist: Yes, this is Lub*d.
Me: I know, but is this the reception? the Lobby? I need to ask some questions.
Receptionist: Yes, Lub*d. You like reservations?
Me: No, I’m already here. Are you the receptionist?
Receptionist: Yes, we are Lub*d, in Decho Road.
Me: I know this is Lub*d! I’m staying at Silom 22! I’m asking if this IS the reception, the LOBBY!
Receptionist: Yes, this is Lub*d.
Me: Okay, THAT’S IT! I’m coming down!

Bangkok welcomed us on a late afternoon from our long lazy bus/van ride from Siem Reap. Being the last leg of the trip, our minds were practically overwhelmed with plethora of enriching experiences, images and a bag-full of stories we can’t wait to tell, which in turn, made an inversely proportional amount of cash at hand.

So with a dwindling budget, the moment we realized we are approaching the capital, we started doing mental computations ’til our mouths froth.

It was late afternoon when the van dropped us at Khaosan Road. I never got the opportunity and drive to marvel the new place, not even to pull out my camera from the bag. Maybe because either I’m panicking and figuring-out where we can have our Peso Bills changed to Thai Baht; or I’m just starving and my body glucose is right below sea level.

TIP: Before Flying in to Thailand, make sure you bring Thai Baht or US dollars. Unlike other asian cities, money changers don’t accept Philippine Peso. We had to wait for the following day to go over-the-counter to have our money changed. Bangkok Bank is the only one that accepted our cold-shouldered money. The bank teller has been so nice too.

Khaosan Road is the backpacker capital of the city. They got souvenir shops, food carts selling pad thai noodles and fried crickets, cafe’s, etc. etc. etc. It reminded me of Malate meets Instruccion Saturday Market in Sampaloc Manila.

Too tired and no time to scout for a cheaper hostel, we immediately hopped on a cab to drive us to our first choice–Lub*d. My thoughts were floating as I stare blankly like a dumb fast food mascot while the driver hopelessly tried talking about Manny Pacquiao. The next thing I know, I was lying on our bunk bed inside a post modern industrial-urban inspired hostel. How I got there from the cab is something I couldn’t remember.

The first night was originally planned to be at Khaosan. But then we realized that our hostel is just few blocks from Phatphong night market. So we decided to just look for a place to eat around Bangkok’s red light district. And HELL NO that’s not what we ate. perv!

After eating in a Carinderia-like food store along the street, like an automatic battery-powered robot, we headed back to Lub*D and totally forgot the Phatphong plan. We ended up drinking cans of beer in front of our hostel

We must confess, right at that very moment, our minds were still in Cambodia. I somehow wished we extended our Angkorian adventure even just for another day. As we quietly sat on a terrace with other European backpackers, drinking Singha beer, half asleep… I asked:

Where are we again?

BANGKOK.

Bang who?!

The Khmer empire constructed buildings, irrigation system, city structures that were far advanced during it’s time, superior to its neighboring counterparts. The fact that they were able to weave such magnificent framework of technology that world has never seen, not just impeccably made but intricately adorned. Ironic that now, at the height of technological advancement, they can’t even put up a passable road leading in and out of the country.

The explanation lies behind political conspiracies. And I leave you with that.

Bottom line, if you going out of Cambodia the cheapest way is via land travel, but be ready for a long bumpy bus ride. 12 hour-long bumpy bus ride. Or you can fly in and out and burn your wallet.

The most affordable and easiest way is through a bus, there are lots of liners that run to and from Bangkok and Phnom Penh. If you’re lucky, you may just have to brave four hours of bus ride from Siem Reap to Poipet-Aranyaprathet border then another six from the border to Bangkok.

We scouted for the best bus line, and we originally booked a de luxe one, they even mentioned “first class” complete with hot towel and a bottle of water. Meang (our host) warned us, apparently he never heard of such thing as “first class”  bus going to the border. But thinking of a long bumpy trip, we thought a more comfortable seat will kind of compensate with the road condition. So I still booked it, a punch in the dark.

In time for the departure, Meang brought us to the pick-up point near the old market. But the first class bus is nowhere to be seen… the only bus in the area is a not-so-old shabby looking air-conditioned bus, more of like those that you’ll find running along EDSA. You bet, there goes our bus!

We hopped-on and realized that even the promised hot towel and bottle of water wouldn’t happen. Oh well, another “I TOLD ‘YA SO” moment in the book of Ron and Monette’s adventures.

Other than Peso bills, We only have US1 and few thousand riels on or pocket and money changer is nowhere to be found. That means we have to brave the entire day with that cash at hand, a bottle of half consumed water and a bag of chips.