Rat in a maze: Level 2

After successfully navigating to and from the subway station, it was time to take on a new challenge.  Peter devised a plan, while I was catching up on work, to take the walking tour of Chinatown that our guide book recommends.  The tour encompassed 2.5 km of chaos through the market stalls of Chinatown.  But that wasn't quite enough of a challenge.  Instead of taking a taxi to our starting point, the plan was to walk to our starting point from the train station, an estimated addition 1.5 km.  Armed with two maps and a compass, we headed out of the train station into a mass construction project between us and what we guessed to be the road we needed.  To fully understand the challenge though you need to know two things - each intersection has at least 5 choices and the signs have Thai on one side, English on the other, so you have to be underneath the sign to read all of the English choices.  To cross the street, they don't have lights but lines on the road that give the illusion of a pedestrian crossing, but it really means nothing in terms of assuring safety or even slowing traffic. 



Starting at the pink building on the right, ending at Pak Khlong market on the left
not all roads are marked on the map



about 15 min from domed building to here and then we weren't even on the correct road

So about an hour later, drenched in sweat, we arrive at the start point of our tour.  The next two hours were bizarre.  We walked through little lane ways covered by tarps so you had no sense of the buildings around you.  The usual array of strange foods and smells with the occasional motorcycle or cart to cause a disruption in foot traffic.  We walked onto a movie set filming a foot chase through the market.  That was exciting to almost be run over by the cast. Though material shops, beads, trinkets and various other crap that you can't imagine serves a purpose, And then out into a flower market to catch our taxi back to the train station.  A little word on taxis - holy crap they are crooked.  Despite being metered, you have to fight to get the meter on or you have to barter a price. Tuk-tuk's are just as bad.  It is unfortunate that tourist have the most contact with these citizens. I'm sure the rest of people in Bangkok are very nice but the taxi drivers are very shady. Except for our first driver but that story is best told in person.


Start of the tour

Insane

Take 2 - Movie set chase scene

The "cheese" for our successful outing was dinner at the Four Seasons and a drink at a roof top bar overlooking the crazy maze of Bangkok.  I can't say that I love this city but it certainly has everything and anything you could ever want - except for maybe clean air and space.



Bangkok from 55 stories up



I LOVE THESE TABLES

Ahhhh....