Bangkok is very chaotic, I am not a fan of chaotic city; thus I only stayed in Bangkok for 2 days (on the day in and on the day out). I arrived Suvarnabhumi Airport around 10PM on Dec. 31, 2006 (New Year's Eve) . My cousin went to arrival floor to change his flight time for the next day, so we were able to get a taxi very quickly (by getting into those that just dropped of passenger). The taxi driver did not know where my hotel is but he only asked us to pay him 300 Baht for fare (good deal as our hotel is very far). The freeway in Bangkok are quite technologically advance, there are flat screens hanging on all major overpass that show the current traffic condition of the surrounding roads.
Through the taxi driver's broken English, we learned that Bangkok got car bombed at 6pm. It was the first time Bangkok got bomb. The driver is quite talkative so we chatted about a few other things, including how much we paid for our hotel. After we told him, he thought it was too much and due to miscommunication, he gave us an unwanted city tour (portraits of the King is everywhere) and took us to another hotel in another district. The clock inside the car blinked 11:30PM. I was piss because I did not come all the way to Bangkok to celebrate NYE inside a taxi! I would be so sad if that happened >=(
Eventually, we got him to understand we got friend (James) waiting for us at the other hotel so we have to go there. Reluctantly, he drove out of the hotel parking lot and took us there. However, 5 minutes before he got us to our hotel, the clock blinked 00:00AM. I was so sad! I couldn't believe I came all the way here and spent count down in a taxi cab with an annoying driver :"(
I was so sad and I shared with James how sad I was for spending the last seconds of 2006 in a taxi cab. And that was how I greet James when I got to the hotel. He looked at me like I was some sort of weirdo and said "What are you talking about, it's only 11:20PM." You have no idea how happy I was when he told me that. If it wasn't for the heavy backpack on my back, I would ran over there and gave him a big hug! Paul and I cleaned up very quickly then we went to Khao San Road (where all the foreigners are) and joined the festivities.
I wrote a very brief summary here while I was there.
We walked around, tried deep fried bugs (grasshopper - taste crispy, silk worms - taste like an empty shell, moth larvae - taste nasty). After walking along with the crowd for awhile on Khao San Road, we found an outdoor bar and just sat there and watch the crowd. There were a lot of people and tons of screaming and yelling of "Happy New Year!" James took pictures of NYE. Since all celebrations are cancelled, there were no count down. Next thing you know, it's 2 minutes pass midnight. 5 minutes pass midnight, all the restaurants/bars stop received new customers and all the music stopped. And many military guys with big guns got off the military trucks and everyone is told to go home/go back to their hotels. By 12:30AM, the street was quiet.
James and Paul left early for airport the next morning, so I was on my own. I walked to Wat Phra Kaew from my hotel and while trying to find the entrance to the temple, I met 5 students from HK and I ended up hanging out with them rest of the day till I need to leave for the bus to Ko Pha Ngan. See pictures for where we visited.
In many places, there are different entrances for foreigner and Thai. We didn't know that until I went into the temple but my new friends couldn't. Turned out that entrance is for Thai people only.
Jan. 1 was a Monday and the King of Thailand was born on Monday. To show respect for the king, many Thai people wear yellow (color of Monday) with imperial logo and they do that on EVERY MONDAY of EVERY WEEK!
I got a good scare while waiting for the bus to Ko Pha Ngan, read about it here.
I came back to Bangkok on Jan. 21 as my flight out of Bangkok (to Taiwan) is on early morning of Jan. 22. I was really tire, so after a quick visit to Central World Plaza, I went back to the hotel and slept till 3PM. When I woke up, I took the boat taxi and visited a few more monuments (see pictures).
