It was around 8pm and we had just boarded the double-decker bus for Bangkok. The chairs were small, my feet couldn’t touch the ground, and a funky aroma circulated the bus. I was just about to fall asleep when suddenly…music from a popular Thai boy band concert began blasting through the speakers. I grabbed my ipod, put it on max volume, and continued my attempt to sleep. No luck. After what seemed like an eternity, I found myself in a semi-deep sleep. Just 1 hour later (AHH!) I was awakened by what appeared to be 2 Thai military men dressed in uniform. The bus had stopped and was being “searched” for fugitives, terrorists, and illegal immigrants (or so I think). Everything checked out and I found myself in the same predicament I had been in 1 hour earlier. We eventually reached a truck stop and were given 15 min to get food and use the bathroom.
Sweet! A bathroom! I thought to myself. I entered a stall and noticed the jug of water and cup next to the squatting toilet. My past experiences in the Philippines reminded me that that was used to flush the toilet; however, there was no toilet paper. I moved to the next stall and again saw that there was no toilet paper. Huh?…OOOOH. I realized there was no chance on finding any toilet paper. Eww. I looked on the ground and noticed a black necklace. Someone must have lost this. I went in for a closer look and realized that it was actually a mass of dead bugs lining the floor. AHHHH!!!! I did my business and dashed right out of there. We were at the bus stop from hell.
Hours and hours later, we arrived at Bangkok. 5am. I vowed, after coming off that bus, that I would NEVER take a night bus in Thailand ever again. A taxi took us to our hostel, Lub d Bangkok—an amazing hostel in the heart of Bangkok. The staff was nice enough to let us shower and use the internets, even though check-in wasn’t until 2pm. We left our stuff at the hostel and went out to explore Bangkok. There was a marketplace full of activity. We walked past food vendors, massage parlors (both the good kind and the dirty kind), temples, and hotels. We settled on eating a small breakfast back at the hostel and embarked on our spa day mission.
Sipping some interesting-tasting tea after our relaxing day at the spa.
Did I mention it was Rachel’s 23rd birthday!? We went to a spa far away from our hostel and I had a 3-hour massage (1 hour foot massage, 1 hour shoulder/back massage, and 1 hour body scrub) for about $40! I felt so relaxed that I fell asleep during my 1-hour foot massage. (The lady said I was snoring!) Our bodies were nice and relaxed, our skin smooth as a brand-new Tupperware…what better way to continue the day than lunch at Cabbages and Condoms! Yes, there is a restaurant in the outskirts of Bangkok dedicated to promoting safe sex. Mannequins sporting clothes made out of condoms greet you as you enter. There was a Christmas tree adorned with condom ornaments and the gift shop had all sorts of condom paraphernalia. We ordered so much food! I had an amazing Thai noodle dish (which would later be ranked #2 on my top favorite meals in Thailand list) and a whole bunch more, which sadly was left uneaten. (Thanks for the recommendation Cyndi! It was SO worth it!)
Drinks all around at Cabbages and Condoms!
After lunch, we explored Bangkok a bit more, visiting a Muslim (?) temple nearby the hostel and completing the spa day by getting our nails done at a massage parlor. (Apparently it was the “dirty” kind because we saw a group of 3 men follow some girls upstairs and never saw them again. Gross.) Dinner was at a fancy Italian restaurant across of the highlight of the night: Bed Supperclub. This club was where the party was at in Bangkok. It had a very contemporary/sheik feel to it, what with the changing color lamps, white architecture, and BEDS aligning the walls. A sign outside read, “No drugs, No weapons, No sex.” :) We danced the night away (even though we were the only ones dancing in the beginning). Eventually, everyone joined in and it was a night to remember. We even met 2 Australians…girls of course…who were also there just to party and have a good time.
Me looking blue while sitting on a bed in Bed Supperclub.
Our 2 Australian friends who also live by the motto: "Dance like no one's watching."
We found ourselves waking up to the last day of our Thailand adventure. It had gone by way too fast. The excitement and fun from the night before had persuaded us to sleep in, so it was nearing lunchtime when we woke up. We checked out of our room and went to an amazing Thai restaurant nearby called Taling Pling. I had green Thai curry (#3 on my list) and some delicious ice cream-filled cream puffs. (Note: Meal #1 would be the Kao Soi I had in Chiang Mai for breakfast!) We then embarked on a tour of the amazing architecture of River City, Bangkok via…you guessed it…ferry boat. We all know how seasick I get…even when I go surfing…but this ride was actually fine on my stomach. We saw the Sleeping Buddha, a whole bunch of temples, and shopping areas. Sadly, the palace of the king of Thailand was already closed, so we just sailed past it. It looked amazing even against the gloomy, gray cloud backdrop.
A pretty Thai temple that looks like it's on fire (with gold that is).
I wasn't feeling so hot in the middle of the day. So I sat under a tree and hung out with this little guy. He had the right idea ;)
This was our cool ride through River City. Looks like a storm is brewing!!!
We needed to be at the airport by 11pm, so we decided to squeeze in our final Thai meal. The destination: a restaurant called Le Lys, which got wonderful reviews in all the tour books. We began our walk passing through a street lined with strip clubs and ping-pong shows. (I’ll let you figure out what ping-pong shows are.) That’s when it started. First the lightening. Then the thunder. Then thousands of gallons of rain water fell from the sky! We commandeered a little 7-11 on the corner as our haven. Unfortunately, we only had one umbrella between the two of us. Rach went out in the chaos to find another one, as our 7-11 was without an umbrella supply. Rach came back unsuccessful so I tried my hand at it. I found a 7-11 and was faced with the same problem. Using my thrifty shopping skills, I came upon a bag of rubbish bags. Just as I was about to hand the guy my money, Rach came rushing in with 2 ponchos! I bought them anyway and proceeded to make rubbish bag shoes to complete the outfit. We were set and ready to find Le Lys!
Poncho: check. Trash bag shoes: Check. Style: check.
We walked. And walked. Over bridges, down streets, around puddles, and through backroads. The sun had gone down and all hope seemed lost. After about 45 min of walking in search of the restaurant that was supposedly only 15 min away, we were saved by a nice high school student who spoke amazing English. He took us to the street we had been originally and that’s when it appeared: the sign that said Le Lys had MOVED and the whereabouts of its new location. I was tired. I was hungry. I was…drenched—not with rain (cuz let’s face it, my poncho/rubbish bag shoe outfit ROCKED) but with SWEAT. But there was no question about it…we needed to find this place. Le Lys had become the Holy Grail.
We took a cab (a good thing, because it would have taken well over an hour to walk to!) and had an AMAZING and SPECTACULAR last meal at Le Lys. It was a cute yet elegant restaurant owned by a Frenchman. The outside patio had a bookshelf lined with books, a bar counter, and mellow music playing in the background. I had a fried rice type dish that was delicious. We laughed and joked about the adventure that was Le Lys. It was a great ending to an amazing vacation in Thailand :)
WE FOUND IT!!! HAZAH!!!
Oh Lord why did we come back here?! It's FREEZING!!!
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