Marco... Polo

Two days in Bangkok is plenty. I'm getting out of here tonight, but I have some time to kill before my night train to Chang Mai leaves.

I've been staying at a youth hostel called Marco Polo for the past couple nights. Nothing special, but it's located on Khao San Road, network central for tourist.



This area of Bangkok is loud, noisy, and very dirty. It's absolutely littered with European tourists, husslers, begging cripples, transvestites, etc. You name it, it's here. The narrow street is lined with various shops and sidewalk vendors to cater to your every need.


Street Vendor

Yesterday I walked around the city and visited a couple temples; most notable the Grand Palace. Big, bright, and very crowded.



After leaving the palace grounds I somehow managed to walk through a university campus where a Thai man approached me and told me he was an English teacher from Chang Mai.

He suggested I go to a nearby, small temple, called the Lucky Buddha, then to a clothing shop for tailored suites, and finally a TAT tourist office. Before I knew it, the man negotiated a flat rate of 30 Baht (about 90 cents) with a small trike taxi driver and I was off.


Inside a tuk-tuk

At the small temple another suspect Thai man came in and sat next to me. He claimed to be a pilot for Thai Air and began making small talk with me. He asked me where I was going and what I was doing, and finally he also told me to go to the tailor shop for a suit because I could buy a cheap suit and sell in once I got back to Japan. Sounded very strange.

The taxi driver took me to the tailor shop where I was met at the door by a very nervous Indian looking guy telling me how lucky I was because it was the last day of a promotional campaign. He offered to measure and make me an Armani suit, give me two silk shirts, and two silk ties for $300. The whole scene didn't feel right, so I left and went back to the three wheeled taxi.

The TAT tourist office was just around the corner. This place seemed a bit strange as well, but the travel agent speaking with me seemed to be a very nice young lady. She suggested I take a night train to Chiang Mai and wait for my Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia visas to process. Sounded like a reasonable idea to me, so now I have a plan for the next week.

My visas will be shipped to me next week, and I have arranged all transportation to Chiang Mai and from Chiang Mai to the Laos border crossing, as well a three day jungle trek, elephant ride, and bamboo rafting adventure. The cost of all this was about $200 for the visas, a little more than expected, and $100 for the trek/elephant/raft adventure. If for some reason this turns out to be a scam, I will be out a little bit of money, but it will prove to be a valuable lesson learned. Never trust anyone who approaches you in the this area of the world.

You never know where you might be swept off to.