Our First Chang
Tuk Tuk? Massage? Suit my friend? Almost 24 hours after leaving the UK we had arrived in Bangkok! Fresh(ish) off the plane our first challenge was to get some Thai Baht. With several credit cards promising free withdrawals anywhere in the world this should have been easy. But, we were not prepared for Thai ATM’s to charge ฿200 (about €5!) a pop. After trying all our cards, and most of the ATM’s in the airport, we were defeated and reluctantly paid the fee. There seems to be no way round this fee unless you have an American ‘Charles Schwab’ account as they refund all the fees at the end of each month.
Upon reaching the city we had 5 hours to explore before we could check in to our hostel. As we were staying in Khaosan we set out in search of Khaosan Road, debating whether it was too early for a Chang. At first it was nice when the locals asked us “where are going friend?”, “where are you from friend?”, but we soon realised they were Tuk Tuk drivers and suit tailors hoping make a quick buck! By 12pm the jet lag, exhaustion, heat, and hassling was starting to get to us. It was time for a beer (or three)!
Feeling slightly tipsy, 2pm approached and we could finally have a shower and a much needed nap!
We emerged mostly refreshed and as always, hungry! So, we headed back towards Khaosan Road in search of food. We were delighted to find vendors lining every spare inch of the streets. We walked the same few streets at least 3 times before finally deciding our first Thai street food had to be a Pad Thai. Cooked in under a minute, right before our eyes, for less than €1. We were in heaven!
So Khaosan Road is pretty crazy. Cocktail buckets, scorpions on sticks, street massage, music blasting out from every tiny bar, street vendors in the middle of the road, locals trying to sell you souvenirs, tailored suits, and ping pong shows. It was a little too tourist club scene for us, but the surrounding streets had more live music, cheaper Chang (only ฿80 this time!), and still a busy, vibrant atmosphere. Chang in hand we watched the world go by with huge smiles on our faces. We had started our journey!
