the 2 days that we went on that 2 tour packages...
on the 2nd day, by 6.30am the four of us were already waiting for the tourguide (
Bin) to come and pick us up to head to the
Floating Market located outskirt of Bangkok (approx. 2hrs). we went with another group in the van. but the thing we couldn't stand, is that they have BO and we had to endure it the entire ride. Luckily i brought my '
minyak kapak' along. it did the job pretty well i might say!
d(^ v ^)we were taken from the pier to the Floating Market by Boat. it was exciting. the last time i was on a boat like that was on my English Society's trip to National Park. there were time during the ride, the boat seems to more to one side and another. guess that's a sign for me to start losing weight huh? hehehehe....
when we arrived there (safely), there weren't many boats there yet. instead of walking, we hired a boat to take us along the river (200baht/per). it was a lady who paddled the boat. i felt a bit guilty about it and even Jal silently offered to take over! hehehe...
a few things you should know when at the floating market.
- don't point to any stuff if you don't intend to buy bcoz 'gondoleer' will stop at the place you pointed thinking you want to buy it.
- learn a few Thai phrases like 'i don't want', 'don't stop here','stop there','i want to buy' so that it'll be easy for you to communicate to the 'gondoleer'.
after stopping at several shops but didn't buy anything, the 'gondoleer' and some of the shopkeepers started to mumble something in Thais. This is what we're guessing they were saying to each other:
Shopkeeper : Come stop over here. Buy something.
Gondoleer lady : Don't bother. I stopped at the other shops but they're not buying anything.
But we didn't care. We paid her for the boat. It wasn't a must for us to buy things, right? Furthermore, we already planned to buy those things at Chatuchak Market which costs much much cheaper!
From the
Floating Market (
after waiting almost one hour for the other group to re-group at the van!!! Poor Bin had to go around the market several times to look for them), we stopped at the
Snake Farm (
they watched the Snake Show, we didn't have the mood to!). We were supposed to go to a factory outlet that sells all the handicraft but since we're already late (
thanks to those people), we had to go straight to another place since we had to change to another tour guide (
don't ask me why).
from there, we headed to Rose Garden for lunch and the
Elephant and also
Cultural Show. Things went smoothly from then onwards.
The new tourguide, whose name as we learned later is
Mango, was in his own words '
talk too much' (hahaha!) and we had difficulty understanding what he says. We tried, hard! He was a nice guy and often asks us to '
hurry up' bcoz the '
show is starting'.
In the van, since us girls sat in the middle row, we had to 'layan' Mango. Penat ooo... At one point, Cik Tinn and I planned to switch row with the boys so that they'll be the one to 'layan' him, but alas! We still sat in the middle. sigh... tak pe la...
it was really tiring. the whole tour. one day. in and out of the van. from
Rose Garden back to Bangkok, we slept the entire way. Except Cik Tinn, i think.
We ended the tour at a
Gem Factory. What were they even thinking bringing us there? Apart from looking at how they polished the gem stones, we're definitely couldn't afford to buy any!
Arriving at Suk11, we were already hungry. Cik Tinn had headache and opted not to follow us for our hunt for dinner.
At 8pm, me and the boys went to
Suk3 for dinner and then
Patpong for window shopping. Although Patpong is famous for their '
Thai Girl Shows', the boys decided not to go and get the 'experience'. Mango already warned us that the girls there are aggresive and we're going to lose money (
due to treating them drinks and also theft). From what we gather from the 'ulats' outside the bars, there are shows like those of
Ping Pong Pussy,
Smoking Pussy etc. Ewwwww!!! I got goosebumps even thinking how all that is possible! But walking along the market, we did get a glimpse of the 'girls' and girls pole dancing since the doors were opened. Wearing just a two piece swimsuits and high heels. I must say they do have great bodies. Not quite sure about their looks though.
Going back to the hotel we got lost. We took the wrong direction walking from Nana Station. It took us almost one hour to reach Suk11. By the time we reached Suk11, our legs were shaky and in the words of Jal '
rasa nak roboh' that we couldn't even climb the stairs to our rooms. We stayed at the Lobby for half hour or so, eating the already cold but still delicious grilled tiger prawn! 60Baht for 8.
yummy and cheap!Me as the designated map reader, i felt terribly guilty. Sorry guys! Should have done better job...
m(_ _)mBut I didn't let you guys down after that, right? heheheh... or did i?
[to be continued]...ps: the weather was surprisingly cool. from what i've read in the internet, i thought Bangkok was going to be hot and stuffy. 
