So...we are in lovely and warm Bangkok.
Humid, high 90s during the day, but morning is lovely.
Yesterday we had a rather epic first day. Woke up to amazing cappucinos at our hotel in the courtyard
restraunt. This whole place feels a bit like a museum..Its laid out so that it seems like tiny shops around a courtyard that pretend to sell kitsch from 50s and 60s thailand. but don't. They're just little rooms.
I'll take lots of pictures later.
But back to the adventure.
We got in at around 1 am. Tired, jet-lagged. Basically dead to the world. The flight had been great actually, we got the two very backmost seats in the plane which are by themselves by a window, feet from the galley and snacks and water and oj and all in all lovely. They even relclined (which all the websites say they don't, thus how I got 'em I guess. 15 hrs to Hong Kong made my ass hurt and my back hurt but it was as good as it could be expected.
So back to the story. Our task for the day yesterday was get Visas for Myanmar. Where we head to Sunday for 2 weeks. And we thought we could get them yesterday or today, but Wednesday and Today are holidays and they aren't open on Saturdays so....we had to get them yesterday.
So up at 7, amazing breakfast (eggs and bits of steamed veggies and caps and toast....yum!) and walk to the river express boats to take it south along the chao prya to Sathorn to walk 20minutes to get passport photos to go stand in line in a hot dmv-like box for 2 hours to get the visa (Michelle is a lizard-queen! She can handle the heat soooo much better than I so she stood in line for an hour while I sat in the slightly cooler bit zoning out). Then wander around that part of Bangkok for a few hours, got really good pigs feet on rice with egg and green stuff for 60 baht (we were ripped off by 70 cents, the locals paid 45 baht!, the pain! the pain!)
Then back to the Myanmar embassy to see a scrum forming to get in at 3:30 when the doors opened for pickup. I have slowly learned that lines aren't very respected in much of the world. So I played like a local and got in the line forming on the right (the long proper line on the left) with the guys that looked like thais. Turned out they were all the runners for thai tour operators with lots of passports to pick up. Nat can spot a wedge when necessary.
The door opened and Michelle stayed outside with my bag while I and the thai gentlemen used my size to advantage and we are in and only 15 people back in line.
Lesson for y'all. When it really matters in SE asia.... lines are for suckers.
Then...empowered with visas we headed back here slowly, rambling, to boat (wrong boat at first, then wrong stop....sheesh) eventually wandering home and showering as the sun went down.
Then walked over to local food in street stalls and got awesome udon thai style (thick rice noodle) and pork fried rice. $2 ish.
Then home, and blessed sleep.
Today the goal is check out some Wats, its a religious festival day Makha Bucha, so lots of meditation we suppose.
Oh, and we visited an over the top indian temple where I got a ganesha bracelet tied on by a mumbling praying monk dude.
I owe it all to that door opening elephant!
(100 baht!)
now I gotta go drink my coconut.
nat
Humid, high 90s during the day, but morning is lovely.
Yesterday we had a rather epic first day. Woke up to amazing cappucinos at our hotel in the courtyard
restraunt. This whole place feels a bit like a museum..Its laid out so that it seems like tiny shops around a courtyard that pretend to sell kitsch from 50s and 60s thailand. but don't. They're just little rooms.
I'll take lots of pictures later.
But back to the adventure.
We got in at around 1 am. Tired, jet-lagged. Basically dead to the world. The flight had been great actually, we got the two very backmost seats in the plane which are by themselves by a window, feet from the galley and snacks and water and oj and all in all lovely. They even relclined (which all the websites say they don't, thus how I got 'em I guess. 15 hrs to Hong Kong made my ass hurt and my back hurt but it was as good as it could be expected.
So back to the story. Our task for the day yesterday was get Visas for Myanmar. Where we head to Sunday for 2 weeks. And we thought we could get them yesterday or today, but Wednesday and Today are holidays and they aren't open on Saturdays so....we had to get them yesterday.
So up at 7, amazing breakfast (eggs and bits of steamed veggies and caps and toast....yum!) and walk to the river express boats to take it south along the chao prya to Sathorn to walk 20minutes to get passport photos to go stand in line in a hot dmv-like box for 2 hours to get the visa (Michelle is a lizard-queen! She can handle the heat soooo much better than I so she stood in line for an hour while I sat in the slightly cooler bit zoning out). Then wander around that part of Bangkok for a few hours, got really good pigs feet on rice with egg and green stuff for 60 baht (we were ripped off by 70 cents, the locals paid 45 baht!, the pain! the pain!)
Then back to the Myanmar embassy to see a scrum forming to get in at 3:30 when the doors opened for pickup. I have slowly learned that lines aren't very respected in much of the world. So I played like a local and got in the line forming on the right (the long proper line on the left) with the guys that looked like thais. Turned out they were all the runners for thai tour operators with lots of passports to pick up. Nat can spot a wedge when necessary.
The door opened and Michelle stayed outside with my bag while I and the thai gentlemen used my size to advantage and we are in and only 15 people back in line.
Lesson for y'all. When it really matters in SE asia.... lines are for suckers.
Then...empowered with visas we headed back here slowly, rambling, to boat (wrong boat at first, then wrong stop....sheesh) eventually wandering home and showering as the sun went down.
Then walked over to local food in street stalls and got awesome udon thai style (thick rice noodle) and pork fried rice. $2 ish.
Then home, and blessed sleep.
Today the goal is check out some Wats, its a religious festival day Makha Bucha, so lots of meditation we suppose.
Oh, and we visited an over the top indian temple where I got a ganesha bracelet tied on by a mumbling praying monk dude.
I owe it all to that door opening elephant!
(100 baht!)
now I gotta go drink my coconut.
nat
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