. Bangkok Part 3. We got pranked!

Bangkok Day 4

also known as the day where we visited 4 temples …

” Reminder: Beware of the Grand Palace ‘Buddha Day’  SCAM !!!  “

The Grand Palace has been said to be one of the most visited place in Bangkok and despite us not being huge fans of visiting temples or palaces, we decided that this is one attraction that’s not to be missed. Unfortunately, we were not aware of the scam/touts outside of Grand Palace and thus fell victim to “Buddha Day” scam. It was only till I returned home and researched on it that I realised that babe & i have been foolishly pranked! Basically, a well-spoken Thai man approached us and informed us that it was “Buddha Day” so the palace premises wouldn’t be open till 1pm that day. As such, he started recommending to us a list of nearby temples where we could visit in the meantime. Initially, we were kinda suspicious and guarded about it as we thought that he could be 1 of the many irritating tuk tuk drivers who just kept trying to get you to ride their tuk tuk, but he proved his “sincerity” by flagging for a tuk tuk and helping us to bargain for 2hrs+ tour at a super cheap price ( less than S$2 for a 2hrs+ tour and we thought to ourselves, “what a bargain!” … If only we had known! ). Anyway, the first thought that came to mind was how nice the Thai man was and that we were so glad to have met him along the way to the palace. How wrong could we get man, fuck.

Following that, we left for the so-called “Lucky Buddha” temple where once again, another Thai man ( who has an excellent command of English ) approached us and told us how fortunate we are that today’s Buddha Day. Basically, everything he said was a repeat of what the previous tout mentioned and that just served to make us believe it was really “Buddha Day” and that these thai people are really hospitable. Moving on, he started telling us about how that day was also the last day of the “Thai Export Sales” and so, we should head over there to the sales to check out gems/jewelery that we could get at a cheap price ( tax-free) and then resell for a profit when we are back home. In an attempt to convince us, he tried to tell us how he always manages to resell the gems for a profit whenever he visits KL and that he even had “receipts” to prove his sales. He suggested that we try to resell those gems at CK TANG! CK TANG?!?? What in the world would make him think that a huge departmental store like CK TANG would remotely even be interested in people claiming that they have cheap gems to sell !!! Of course, babe & i didn’t bother much with the whole gem thing for we were not even interested in jewelries. Nonetheless, we assumed that the man was just being informative and so, we thanked him profusely for his “hospitality” and left.

Along the way, we actually allowed our tuk tuk driver to bring us to 1 gem production company and 2 tailor shops. As we have zero interest in those stuff, we usually zoomed around the stores in record time and get the hell out of there asap. According to him, he would receive free gas coupons/some form of sponsorship in return for every guest that he bring to the shop. Seeing that he only charged us so little for the tuk tuk tour, we felt so guilty that we decided that the least we could do for him was to assist him in getting free petrol. To think that we even wanted to tip him extra $ to thank him for his friendliness! Oh well, but fate has it that we didn’t have enuff’ small change and so we just paid him the amount that we settled for at the start.

At the end of the day, there were perks to it too as we got to sight-see quite a fair bit of the streets of BKK. To add to that, zooming around the city on a tuk tuk ( despite of heavy air pollution) was a different experience. The thing is, neither of us were pissed at either having to pay $ for a tuk tuk ride that we didn’t plan for or having to make detours to those Thai-merchandise shops. Instead, we felt extremely disappointed and disgusted at having to believe that those Thai people were sincere and geunine. Total Bullshit. ! Guess that’s the way of life that some people are forced to lead when living in a developing country that thrives on tourism. A lesson learnt : Don’t ever let sympathy get the better of you; always be vigilant to avoid scams/cheats.

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Back to the 2.5hrs  Tuk Tuk Tour

Some of the places that our tuk tuk driver brought us to: Reclining Buddha at the “Lucky Buddha” temple. 32m Standing Buddha at Wat Intharawihan, where we caught a glimpse of 2 ang moh guys releasing a cage of birds into the sky for blessing ( another scam! ). Admired an aerial view of Bangkok from the top of Wat Saket, The Temple of the Golden Mountain.

* Just read about another scam where cheaters would try to cheat tourists out of paying an exorbitant price for the river boat ride to Grand Palace. Take the Chao Phraya Express Boat from the Central Pier ( nearest BTS: Thaksin), return trip cost us only a mere 26 thb! Not only is it alot cheaper than all those touristy boats, but you will also get to experience taking a public river transportation.

Words can’t even begin to describe how a terrific place the Grand Palace is. Majestic looking, I was captivated by the stunning beauty that the Palace and its premises have to offer. Gold and glitters aside, the Grand Palace and its many halls and buildings offer some of the most beautiful and finest Thai architecture ( with Western influence)  in the country, and of course, a treasure trove of Thai artworks and paintings. Expect to be mesmerized by the impressive and intricate architectural features on all the buildings. With so much attention placed on the elaborate details, I can’t help but to marvel at the grandeur of the place and be amazed at the amount of time and effort that the construction people had to invest in order to complete this whole place. Shall let the pictures do the talking!

Only complain is that it was difficult to fully enjoy ourselves under the intense heat. There were many occasions where all we wanted to do was to get to somewhere with an air-con so that we can escape from the scorching sun.

What a coincidence! Was strolling around the palace compound when I came across a couple of familiar faces. Turned out that they are my Japanese friends whom I met during my semester in UB – Ryo & Shintaro! They were in Singapore for an exchange semester but who would have thought that we would end up meeting in Thailand, a foreign country for both nationalities?  As such, we headed over to the nearby Wat Pho to view the gigantic reclining Buddha together, catch up for a bit before going on our separate ways. Guess what? In the end, we even took the same flight back to Singapore too. Coincidences amaze me all the time !!!

Made famous by the film “The Beach”, Khao San road is increasingly becoming THE hot spot for tourists from all over the world to party the night away. Given that, we wanted to head over there to check out the whole “backpackers’ ghetto” scene. However, girls being girls … we were soon distracted by a flea market outside of Central World and so shopping got the better of us. Ended up buying tons of super cheap retro/mod/vintage rings for only 15thb each! Those were probably my fav. purchases of the entire trip!

Most people ( or rather almost everyone I know) will probably find the thought of eating fried insects extremely disgusting and nauseating .. But that was exactly what babe and i wanted to try! * Bizarre Food* Putting all revolting thoughts aside, we jumped at the chance of becoming “dare-devils” as we searched for a hawker stall that offers fried insects for snacks. To our delight, we finally managed to find one that was selling all sorts of fried creatures – crickets, maggots, grasshoppers, cockroaches and even * gasp * lizards! In the end, we settled for a bag of crickets ( 20 thb ) and munched on them as we strolled along the streets. Honestly, they don’t taste queer or weird at all, simply just like any fried snacks. Score one for the “Dare-devils” lol. Deep fried insects, anyone?

Ended the night by pampering ourselves with an hr long foot massage, which was so soothing that we soon fell blissfully asleep. For those who are considering Samran Place hotel , do note that there is a massage parlor next door that offers cheap massage. 200 thb for 1 hr of foot reflexology or traditional thai massage. 150 thb for mani or pedi.

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.Bangkok Day 5

A shopping trip to BKK wouldn’t be complete if you haven’t visit the undisputed Chatuchak Weekend Market! One of the best shopping places for cheap bargains, CTC has everything and anything for sale, from 2nd hand books to furniture to fashion clothes to home decors to souvenirs … It’s so freakin huge that a day wouldn’t be enough to cover the entire market! * Be thick-skinned and bargain as hard as possible! It’s easy to lose your way around the market too, so expect to get loss. If you were to see sth that you really like, just bargain for a good price and get it on the spot. Chances are that you wldn’t have the time to return.

A walk through the live animals section was an eye-opener! Inevitably, everyone gasped at how adorable the cute animals were. Undeniably, the puppies and rabbits were dressed in dresses and pretty outfits, with ribbons tied at the top of their heads, to make them look like cute stuff toys in order to attract people to buy them!  Animals such as the common pet dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters to the exotic ones like the hedgehogs, squirrels, sugar-gliders & snakes were all displayed for sale. Unfortunately, the living conditions are horrendous! Tiny cages for the puppies/cats/rabbits to live in … A cage fully cramped with chicks, with ABSOLUTELY NO breathing space in-between … puppies that were barely a wk old that were already on sale … dogs that had their fur super-glued to give an appearance that they are of a special dog breed, and you prob. get the drift.

Surprise, surprise! The first few stuff that I actually purchased from CTC were toys for both Archie and the hamsters! Got Archie a doggy bed for only 200 thb ($8+) !! Imagine that I had to carry the huge bed around for the rest of the day … and all the stares that I had to endure cz I was kinda contributing to the human traffic. All for you, Archie!

Search hard and who knows you might find yourself a real vintage knick-knack or trinket … but bear in mind that majority of the so-called vintage items are just replicas/remakes. So dont be con by them if they insist that you’ll have to pay more cz you are getting sth one-of-a-kind; that’s just BS. For those who are fascinated by Thai handicrafts, you wouldn’t be disappointed for there is an extensive range of thai handicrafts and antiques for sale! Was telling MK that we will have to return to the market someday to get Thai decors/antiques for our future home lol as it would be a dream of mine to have a home furnished with Balinese and Thai decors.

Headed back to the hotel for a short break before rushing to Platinum Mall. A mall known for selling wholesale and cheap fashion clothes, Platinum Mall is a must-go for vain ladies like us. Unfortunately for us, 90% of the shops were already closed by the time we got there so we didn’t get to explore the place. Bought 2 pairs of cuff links for MK though =)   Had dinner at A & W, where we satisfied our cravings for A&W’s famous curly fries and rootbeer! yum!

Our final stop for the trip. Calypso Cabaret at Asia Hotel. Honestly, we just assumed it would be the usual cabaret musical, with lotsa glittering outfits, high kicks, provocative dance moves and jazzy songs. Alas, there was more to it. It’s Thailand afterall, the land known for its ladyboys! You’re right … it is a cabaret starring a cast of mainly ladyboys/trannies! A spectacular performance, the show was so full of energy and life that it got the audience wild, laughing and wanting for more! With dazzling costumes, risque dance moves and comical actors, the highly entertaining show never fail to keep us enthralled for the entire hour. Interested parties, just go google “Calypso Cabaret” to read what others have to say about the spectacle!

It’s really hard to believe that some of the ladyboys were originally male for they look soooo hot and sexy, with their booblicious figure (albeit with much enhancements), never-ending legs and silky hair ( jealous!!) . There are also others who look so sweet and petite that u wldn’t have known the truth had they not spoken in a deep, masculine voice. Unbelievable!

Anyway, the whole show ended with a photo session with the ladyboys … and like everyone else, we actually jumped at the chance to take pics with a few of them. Looking back, it seems so weird that we were that crazy over erm, ladyboys! Too bizarre to comprehend eh. Beats us too. What a smashing way to celebrate our last night in Bangkok, it was splendid. Recommended for all, pls catch the show if you can!

All these wouldn’t have been possible without you, babe! All the visiting of the different places of attractions, mad rush to wake up freakin early in the morning, late nights watching thrillers, shopping & waiting & more waiting, perspiring under the scorching heat and being drenched in sweat every single day & more, falling for a fucking scam …  together, we experienced BKK !!!
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