Bangkok... First Impressions

Arriving in Bangkok was a lot easier than expected. I got off the plane, went through immigration, and changed my money. It was now about 11 pm and I was exhausted. I waited by the carousel for my bag and was a little concerned when the display said that the last bag had been released and I still didn’t find mine. It wasn’t until about 5 minutes later that I realized my bag had been the only bag going around and around the carousel probably the whole time. Oh exhaustion!

I looked for Ford for one last time and couldn’t find him, so I decided to take a cab ride on my own. I was approached by people offering me flat fares, but aware that these were scammers went and waited in line to get a metercab.

This was my first step out in to a whole new world, a whole new country. The heat, the humidity, the smell, everything was different, yet I cant say that I was as shocked as probably other people are, having been to other places it did not seem all that different.

The cabs here are all or sort of colors; pink, green, blue, yellow, and orange. I waited in line and my cab driver came up to me. This was an older Thai gentleman with a mole on his face with about 20 hairs growing 2 inches out! I’m not lying! I was officially freaked out. I got in the cab a little skeptical but trying to look confident and firm so that I would  not get ripped off. I had a printout of the hotels directions, I gave it to him and he called and figured out how to get there. When he pulled out his phone there was a picture of a young girl, I asked who it was and to my surprise he spoke a little bit of English. He told me it was his granddaughter and we tried to communicate the rest of the ride.

The landscape was a lot like other places I’ve been to, but the bridges to cross the street were beautiful! Really ornate, orient, architecture.

We finally found the hotel, it is a small boutique hotel called the Venice because it is right by what the Thai call “their Venice River”. It has a taxi boat stop in the back, right behind the restaurant. 

I checked in and told the lady to call me if Ford got here, well we were supposed to share a room. I went into my room and began to get organized and was welcomed by my first Thai elephant!

The room has two twin beds, a flat screen tv, and air conditioning (thank God). The most interesting thing about it is that you have to put your key in a slot in the entrance for any of the electricity to work, pretty smart and energy efficient if you ask me.

About an hour later my phone rang. Ford was here! It was now time to meet my first partner in crime!