More Brave Than I Thought I'd Be

I'll admit it: I figured there was a 50-50 chance I'd spend the day in my hotel room in Bangkok, reading dissertation drafts. But with encouragement of Ann, Marilyn, Chris Wheeler, and Melissa, I decided to make the most of my day alone on the town. This is what I did, with an image to prove it.

I took a taxi to the Grand Palace, where it was easy to find the place to buy a ticket, but I couldn’t figure out how to round up a tour guide (per Chris Wheeler). So I took a chance and got the 200 Baht (about $8) self-guided audio tour, which comes with a map. It was completely satisfying and had the added advantage of going entirely at my own pace, with no possibility of a tour guide more or less eager than me to linger over certain parts of the grounds and buildings. It might have been to have a guide, but darned if I could figure out how to get myself one, and the audio tour was exactly what I wanted by way of details.

Then I wandered over to Wat Pho – home of the reclining Buddha – ENORMOUS! And then I followed my map to walk down the street into an unlikely looking structure that was, as I’d hoped, the water taxi landing. But I ran into trouble figuring out the system of public boats, private tour boats, etc. I followed a small crowd onto what seemed to be like a bus-on-water – and it was headed the right way. I figured I’d just get a taxi if this boat didn’t actually take me where I thought it would, which was the Central Pier, home of a Skytrain stop. Just like on a train, a guy came around and more or less on the honor system you handed over your Baht (30, a little less than a dollar – a fine price for a tour of the city from the river, and a lovely way to get a cool breeze).

I Skytrained home, which involved an easy change of trains at Siam Station. I am feeling enormously skilled at urban – and marine – navigation. Bangkok is quite easy to get around, even for this "country mouse" who's not used to public transit. I've found people to be incredibly kind, and there are lots and lots of people who speak enough English (I’ve heard Russian, German, and French, too) to really help a tourist get around. The heat is not blinding at this point – in the shade it was downright lovely an account of a breeze – there are plenty of vendors of cold drinks (soft drinks, water, beer) for reasonable prices (50 cents for a pop), and you can duck into air con just when you think you might expire (the Skytrain was lovely for that!).

I'm going to bed early tonight - I leave the hotel at 3 am to begin my journey home. It's been a good trip, and I'm ready to get home to the new semester.