Sawadeeka

'Sawadeeka,
Chan dong gan pai Siam BTS.
Khaw pun maak.'

That's about all the Thai I picked up over the past 3 days. Bangkok's a great place for a short shopping trip. We 3 girls -Joyce, Si and I- braved the treacherous taxi drivers and energy sapping bargaining, not to mention the budget meals of S$0.25 pastry, tuna and fruit.

So here's a brief tour with the 92 pictures I had in my camera. :)

I super cherished my window seat view this time round. The plane transported us to this secret upper realm of snowy land. Most clouds were little playing children who were moving too slow to be seen by the naked eye. They sat on this invisible floor, of which its meteorological explanation is the minimal temperature of the air strata to keep clouds as they are. A few looked like towering trees and frozen snowy tornadoes.

We settled in at Welcome Sawasdee Inn, tucked away from the noisy, smelly, sleazy Khao San Road. It was located at Soi Rongmai, where royal Thai silk weavers made their prized products for the King in ancient times. At the open-air lobby there was a huge altar for Krishna, the Hindu god with an elephant head and human body.

Just opposite the inn is a dragon graffiti. Joyce and I shamelessly revealed our serpent-sy nature due to the affinity we have with dragons. We're wearing variations of the backpacker's outfit: ethnic/bought from the-streets top + fisherman pants/gachos(?) + flip flops + shades (optional).

And here's the Khao San I told you about. It's a good place to haggle for low prices for shirts with cliche prints. It's a place I don't wanna stay for over 2 days at though. All that people-watching made me wonder about Khao San's true character. Many young Thai women were accompanying Caucasians. There was one who was even pregnant. I saw a young beer-bellied Caucasian boy with a cigarette in his hand. I saw 3 year old Thai kids who was playing at the sloppy stall instead of sleeping at midnight. I saw a woman burnt, discoloured and disfigured, begging for money, and a person curled into a ball and his chest like a paper lantern covering his ribs, shaking his paper cup to ask for money.

On a lighter note, Khao San is an interesting place (filled with Westerners many many). I wonder what would happen if the woman ever lost her grip on her balloons.

Oh oh! How can I forget! One of the small things that always keep me in good spirits with a happy stomach. 450ml Betagen drinks that cost only S$1 was a daily staple for me. It tastes absolutely like Yakult. Plus, Mummy says it's good for the guts! The water bottle in the foreground only costs S$0.25. Cheap cheap! Cheap cheap!

(Coming up next:
English lesson with Miss Tan - cranky Thai signboards)