When we arrived in Seoul, we were able to make our connecting flight. I immediately regretted leaving my smartphone at home since places had free WiFi, and I also had Skype. Soon we boarded our plane and left. This flight was slightly less impressive, but still was enjoyable. We touched down in Bangkok and retrieved our baggage like jetlagged zombies. Customs seemed to be in a similar mindset and not a single word was uttered through the entire ordeal.
There was a bit of a hassle at the airport but we managed. Got phone SIM cards, money exchanged, and got shuttle to hotel. Got in late, but still greeted with delicious sweet tropical orange juice that was ice cold. Hotel lobby had geckos over the walls eating small bugs. Very hot and humid, felt sticky instantly, even at night. Hotel room very basic, AC didn’t really work. Bellhop turned on the TV, and it has some messed up weird torture/murder program on. Used Wifi out near the lobby, but mosquitoes ate my legs up, so I made it quick. Showered, and went to sleep.
In the morning, saw the neighbor across the alley chop a chicken for breakfast. Slums on one side, rich on the other. Weird. Lots of mopeds and chickens. Had breakfast, a yummy rice and chicken dish made even better with spices, oil, and seasons… along with more orange juice. Took shuttle back to the airport where we dropped our large bags off in a locker, and got to the train. Paid for plastic token coins with a RF tag inside. Took train to the end of the line and stopped at a 7-11. Has some pastries, drinks, and candy. Took a taxi to the grand palace. Were greeted instantly on the grounds by a hoard of people telling us that monks were praying until noon, and we had to come back later, but were willing to show us other sights on a Tut Tut for only 40baht. We agreed, and the ride was intense, weaving like a crazy person through traffic.
We stopped at another temple which was nice, but we didn’t get the feel like we were supposed to be there. Our Tut Tut driver retrieved us and took us to a travel agency for reasons unexplained. They tried to make arrangements for us at a high cost and attempted various high pressure situations in order to make some sort of sale. It was uncomfortable, and we left which made the lady at the desk rather unhappy. Our drive took us to another place, and we had to go through a brief awkward session with him as well. Our driver seemed like he didn’t understand much English nor what we had requested, but he took us to several other places where he needed to make commission by bringing customers around. Some weren’t too bad like the jewelry shop, but some of the clothing shops were unpleasant and rude. We finally got back to the temple grounds after nearly 2 hours of running around, only to have our driver ask for 240baht instead of 40. We gave him 40, and then found out that the temple was open the whole time, and it was just some huge scam.
The Grand Palace Temple was interesting, lots of people, vivid colors. Had fun playing with that wide angle lens. We hopped around various sites, and ran into one scam after the other. Everyone who would offer help wanted to entrap us in some sort of transportation tour like before on Tut Tuts or on boats. Even some old man took us to a monk who gave us bracelets, uttered a prayer, and sprinkled us with water. Then offered us each necklace pendants which he wanted 1,500baht each! It was also a high pressure push sale. We stopped to get lunch on the streets, and looked for a market or food pavilion. After about two blocks without success, a few people offered help and claimed that there were no restaurants anywhere around there, but would take us to a “special” place on his Tut Tut. After a refusal that took too long, we ran into a restaurant no more than 100 feet away. We ate there, and had a relaxing meal where we could rehydrate and refuel. Stopped by a few markets, saw the river side, and walked through a long assortment of street vendors.
Had to get to the airport to make our flight, so we hailed a taxi. It took several attempts because most the drivers were no willing to run the meter, but would only name a high price. We walked far from the touristy areas before we found a driver who would agree to take us to the train station on the meter. We hit traffic, and didn’t move over a city block in 40 minutes. We finally got out and started walking. Immediately, traffic sped up to a steady flow. Too stubborn, we continued on foot for a few miles before surrendering to an air-conditioned taxi cab who took us the remainder of the way (which wasn’t as far as we thought) With the fear of missing our flight pressing on us, we got to the airport a little stressed and sweaty. Got through all the security and baggage annoyances. We had a few moments at the terminal to relax some before boarding. We were bussed out to the plane where some creepy guy went out of his way to constantly bump into me, grab my hand, etc. I was too tired and stressed to respond. Got on the plane, and zonked out quickly.
Made it to Phuket airport, and were instantly swarmed with taxi drivers asking outrageous prices. We ended up taking an overpriced minivan to Kata, where I called ahead to see if they had any rooms. The drive took far longer than anticipated, and once again being a captive consumer, were forced to make a stop at a travel agency where they barraged us with dozens of questions and pressured us into allowing them to make travel and lodging arrangements. Since we were in no mental state to deal with any more of that stuff, we quickly got back in the van and awaited departure. We were the last to be dropped off, and it was past 11 o clock. We walked up the hill to Kata on Sea, and nobody was at the desk. I called the number, woke up the owner who then came down and showed us a room. Didn’t ask for payment, just gave us a figure, and we instantly crashed and fell asleep.
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