We started out with an awesome continental breakfest of fried eggs, congee, and an assortment of Thai dishes. With our tummies all fueled up, we took a leisurely ride aboard a commuter long boat along the Chao Praya River. The brown water was beautiful (relatively speaking), and the scenic ride was an excellent way to introduce a few of the riverside sites. When we disembarked on Stop #8, the "station" was flooded! But no worries - the attendants had lined up benches from the docking area to the "station" exit, so we hopped from bench to bench and made it to dry land in no time at all.
The early morning was site-seeing at the Wat Phra Chetuphon. Afterwards, we wanted to check out the Grand Palace, but were informed (numerous times by both extremely nice locals or more aggressive "let me show you around town" tuk-tuk drivers) that the Grand Palace was closed for local Thai Buddhists until 1:30pm. Since we had a few hours to spare, we found ourselves walking along the street adjacent to the Grand Palace. We were accosted by a slough of pigeons! In the same vicinity was a mother-son duo trying to hawk corn; even though we nicely declined the corn, the son tried valiantly to (literally) shove a bag of corn in our faces! In an effort to get away from such hostile accosting, the pigeons freaked out. And you know what happened next ... Vickie and I were the victims of pigeon fecal products. :( Not a nice experience; not at all! Hahaha.
Next, we visited the infamous street featured in the Leo de Caprio movie, The Beach: Khao San Road. If you're familiar with the film, you'll know this is where Leo's character shopped for goods. True to the movie, this little road offers a wide variety of products: backpacks, "authentic" student ID cards, government cards, all kinds of cards!, a ton of really cool T-shirts (what the heck does "Same Same" imply? this phrase is evidentally extremely popular on T-shirts!), skin/callous-on-feet eating fish, and anything else you can imagine. In short, a great jaunt for the shopping- and souvenir-minded traveller.Our Khao San Road adventure culminated in a super delicious lunch at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Don't remember its name, but it had a blue awning. After walking up 3 flights of stairs up a long narrow hallway, we plopped down at a table towards the window. The waitress walked up to us and asked us how big we wanted our noodles (no English menu, and no pictures!). I suppose for tourists, you could only order by the noodle size. I did try to order som tham (papaya salad) but was kindly told they only have fish ball noodle soup. So, 3 orders of big noodles and 1 order of small noodles. OMG, they were soooooooooo goooooood! If ever you're in Bangkok, near Khao San Road, look for a blue awning and look around for fish ball noodle soup. ;)
Ok, I'll spare you the details of our next tour (the Grand Palace), and fast-forward a few hours to 10:30 pm. Firstly, let me just say that if Alex says Soi Cowboy is just a 10-minute walk from the hotel, and after 20 minutes of walking you don't see many people on the street, it's a good idea to whip out your BlackBerry and check out Google maps. Hahahaha
When we finally found our way to Sukhumvit 23 (one of the redlight districts in Bangkok), my first impression was .. Wow. This is the infamous area where girls are wild, on display, and boys are here to have fun. Considering that our group was comprised of 3 girls and 1 boy, it was still turned out to be a memorable night.
We had a round of drinks on the patio of Cowboy 2. People-watched. Checked out the girls, their outfits, their patrons, and the bright lights. Then, we were ushered inside by the nice waitress. Once inside, there were a bevy of topless girls dancing on stage. While checking out the scene, we asked Alex: "Which one do you like?" Innocent question, right? Ummm, not really. When I ask that question at a club like this, there is a purpose. Hahahah So ... Alex's top choice was #47 (all the girls were assigned a number, pinned to their thong bikini). #47 was cute, with nice long curly hair, and a great body. I headed up to the bar and placed an order for #47: "A lap dance for my friend over there, please" (I point towards Alex, innocently unaware what was in store for him). Ten minutes later, #47 sat down with Alex (10 seconds prior, Vickie, Yin and I quickly relocated ourselves to another bench 5 feet away), and they started the lovely evening of getting to know one another, where are you from, what do you do for a living, etc etc etc. Needless to say, they hit it off! Her name is Kai. She's 163 cm tall. Long legs. Cute girl (perhaps a slight resemblance to Bai Ling), and very sweet. Tonight was her first night on the job. :) I'm sure she would have picked up and left with Alex if she wasn't such a professional with a great work ethic - I mean, she can't just leave in the middle of her shift, right?
LOL
JUST KIDDING!
The story was slightly fudged, but the truth is: we did meet Kai. She and Alex enjoyed 15 minutes of conversation over whiskey and coke (her) and rum and coke (him). She was indeed very sweet and shy. And perhaps in an alternate universe, he can and will save her. To live happily ever after.
What a night!! :)
Alright kiddos. It is 2:07am and it's time for some shut-eye. We have an 11:30am flight to Siem Reap tomorrow!!!!!! Until then... the adventure continues!
PS - Aya: so far, the green jacket has NOT made an appearance. ;)
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