We were lucky enough to hear about a chic, super-cool hostel in Bangkok called Lub D (translates to “good night’s sleep”). It has a great location in the Silom part of Bangkok and a big central gathering room and bar, with very friendly helpful people at the counter 24 hours a day. We befriended some fun fellow travelers (many just starting their journey) and played a lot of Jenga. The hostel’s design is wonderfully modern and deco with simple red furniture in the rooms and clean black and white décor. We splurged and got a private room with a double bed, it was either that or bunk beds.
We felt a bit overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of Bangkok after spending time in Laos and Cambodia. We got hornswaggled by a few tuk tuk drivers who were participating in a government run subsidy plan designed to keep tuk tuk prices down for tourists and help the tourism industry that has been badly damaged by the red shirt coup of last year. The deal is that the drivers get $5 gas cards just for taking tourists to government approved tailors or jewelry shops even if nothing is purchased. This did keep the price of the tuk tuk ride way down but we were brought to a few too many jewelry stores and tailors basically against our will and then one driver even lied and wanted us out of his tuk tuk before we had reached our agreed-upon destination. We didn’t pay him but had already gone inside a tailor and had to awkwardly say we had to go. We ended up somewhere beyond the reach of the sky train in the rain during rush hour fighting with the driver who ended up telling us to get out and not pay him. So much for this tourism subsidy thing, we are never getting in a tuk tuk in Bangkok again, that’s for sure! We had to get on a random boat taxi and walk a fair distance just to get onto the sky train and get back to the hostel.
The boat trip down the river in a fancy long boat was fun. We were both glad we took the optional detour to the “Snake Show” because we were able to really get a feel for city life on the river. Many of the buildings are falling down and decrepit, but some nice houses with seemingly good foundations stand out in stark contrast. We saw schools, wats, shanty towns, kids fishing or swimming or just waving, it was a beautiful ride. We got to the snake show and it was sad to see some monkeys and deer in tiny cages. The snake show was short but scary with one man hitting and teasing and then milking a pissed off king cobra just feet way, another dancing with a deadly viper, and sill another showing us the strength and jaws of a boa constrictor by throwing it around for a bit.
The boat trip back to the main river we caught site of a huge lizard in front of the hollow remains of a dark wooden building. Our boat driver spotted it and backed our boat up so we could get a better look. The thing was over 6 feet long from head to tail, I looked it up and it was one of the largest lizards in Thai Land, a Varanid Monitor Lizzard, similar to a Kimodo Dragon. After the boat ride we were dropped off to walk around the royal palace and Wat Poe. Another fun part of the trip was running into a floating shop. I bought a Buddha from the cute saleswoman in her small wooden long boat.
It was great to be able to trust the street food again, and we ate a lot of it in Bangkok. So good! We sampled a bunch of it when we went to the Loy Krathong Festival celebration with the beautiful Thai marketing director of Lub D. hostels named Nalin. She had some friends meet up with us who were passing us caterpillars and grubs and round balls that were similar to corndogs. We got swept up into the Loy Krathong Festival celebration at our hostel when we arrived just as a group of backpackers were finishing making their Krathongs, which are the flolded banana leaf and flower arrangements that are traditionally floated down the river with a candle on it and some incense. We voted on our favorites and then were handed our own and told to join in the precession to the river. It was a crazy night at the wat near the river, with firecrackers and lights everywhere (though much more confined and not seemingly as dangerous as the same festival was a month earlier in Luang Prabang). We were blessed by a monk and brought our krathongs to the riverside and let them go at the same time again, sealing our love again as the festival tradition goes. It was an unexpectedly fun evening.
The fun in Bangkok was a great way to end our time in Southeast Asia, but we still had one more adventure to have on the way home, with a full day layover in Hong Kong!
Love,
Devon and Breen
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