We arrived in Bangkok at 6:30 a.m. to a city unlike what we had expected; however, as the day progressed, it turned out to be exactly like I had expected.
I was expecting Bangkok to be more like Jakarta - filled with high rises and skyscrapers. It is not. Bangkok is surprisingly accessible. It is a city filled with Buddhist temples, palaces, rivers, and open green spaces.
We couldn't check in to our hotel until 12, so we had breakfast, and decided that, as it was hot outside, 9 a.m., and we were a bit tired and inappropriately dressed to go into the grand palaces (which requires pants that cover your knees and shirts that cover your elbows), that we would go to the national museum. As we went along, the following things happened:
- A friendly man asked us where we were going. When we said we were going to a museum, he said that it was closed until 1 p.m.. He then recommended a few other free temples that we could go to. He also recommended we go to the ferry, where we could take a ferry tour. You know me and free. I'm all about it, so it seemed like a decent plan.
- Conveniently, a tuk tuk pulled up and the man went over and told him where we wanted to go.
- He told us it would cost us 20 baht. Seemed good - but I seemed to recall something I had read earlier..... no tuk tuk costs just 10 baht a person. Watch for scams! Too late. We were in the tuk tuk.
- We went to temple #1. Temple of the Standing Buddha. We went in and poked around. It seemed alright, but nothing really that great. Whatever. Win some, lose some. We went back to the tuk tuk.
- We went to temple #2.Temple of the Lucky Buddha. This temple seemed closed, but we stalked a few other tourists who seemed to have a guide who took them to the back. We didn't bother going in to the temple area (I'm tired of taking my shoes off). We went back to the tuk tuk.
- We decided we didn't want to go to the ferry. We'd just go back to the hotel.
- The tuk tuk asked if we wanted to stop by the tourist information centre. We said no. Then he asked if it was alright if he stopped for himself. We said, sure no problem.
- The tuk tuk stopped at the tourist information centre and suggested we get out. We asked if he was getting off. He said no, he stopped for us. We went in and discovered it was a tour booking centre filled with very unhelpful people. We asked if the national museum was closed. One guy said no, it's open every day.
- We got back in the tuk tuk and asked him to drop us off. By now, I feel very uneasy about the whole thing and a bit nervous that this thing is a scam. When we got to our road, I just asked the tuk tuk to pull over, even though we had wanted to get to the national museum after that.
End of story. We then went to the national museum, which didn't pan out because I had misread the cost. We went back to the hotel, checked in, and while Pallavi slept, I looked up tuk tuk scams.
Events #1 through #5 were identical in all circumstances! I then read in Lonely Planet that, in addition to no tuk tuks are for 10 baht per person, also don't believe anybody who tells you something is closed!
I conveyed my findings to Pallavi when she woke up; however, as she reasonably asked, what was the scam then? We weren't asked for money. We weren't taken anywhere we didn't agree to go (except the info centre, where they barely even answered our one question, let alone try to get money from us). How could we have been scammed?
If this was a scam, it was the worst scam! We came out of it with just a 20 baht tuk tuk ride and a questionable tale to tell. What do you think? Scam or no scam?
Speaking of tales, Pallavi has not allowed me my unhealthy quantity of coffees per day. This change in caffeination is mostly healthy, but a girl sometimes just wants a nice sweet hot beverage that just happens to have caffeine in it! After we ate dinner last night, a man came by with roasted scorpions on sticks. I have always claimed that I could probably complete all of the eating challenges. Here was my chance! I asked Pallavi what she would give me if I ate a scorpion. She said, "I don't know. What do you want?" I thought about it. Last time we did this back and forth I asked for too little, so I decided to ask "for you to not give me any grief anytime I want coffee or beer for the rest of the trip." Pallavi thought about it and said, "the rest of the trip is a really long time. How about until India." Sounds like a deal to me! Much to Pallavi's surprise, I called the scorpion man over. After a bit of negotiation (which I could have done better at), I had my scorpion, we took the obligatory before photos, and I ate it! It was delicious! It didn't taste insect-y at all! No claws. No shells. Just yumminess. It also had a meatiness to it which, along with the charred BBQ, was quite delightful!
Next, we decided to go and try to find Bangkok's legendary ladyboys. They have this whole ladyboy culture, their attitude towards which is incredibly liberal. To have a ladyboy is considered lucky! We went down towards a district where they are notorious... the gaybourhood of Bangkok! We sat down at a bar that was having its birthday celebration. We made friends, we danced on stage to 'Hava Nagila' with an awesome transgendered singer (seriously - she was good!), I lost a beer drinking competition (and let my ND MBA compatriots down in the process), and finally made it home. It was an absolute ball and the best drag show I've ever seen.
Tuk Tuk scams, scorpions, and ladyboy drag shows. It was exactly what I had expected from Bangkok.
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