Discovering Hua Hin’s surrounding sights and attractions on the back of Kees’ impressive chopper (literally!) was great craic! We fed ferocious-looking monkeys on Hua Hin’s monkey mountain, ate lunch in a beautiful and tranquil resort tucked away and off the beaten track, admired Thailand’s largest pilgrimage site which houses a huge statue of the wisest Buddha, enjoyed a spectacular view overlooking Hua Hin from the bird sanctuary, and wrapped things up by washing down a refreshing Singha beer on the waterfront.
The following day I ventured up to Bangkok by bus, for the thought of having to avoid highways (which are the main arteries entering the city) and navigate through dense traffic into the capital turned me off. Instead, I ended up pulling into a random bus station which I was convinced was the Southern Bus terminal. With a map in hand, the cycling shoes popped on and the helmet firmly clipped I ventured off in, what I thought was, the right direction. I soon realised that the roads did not correlate with my map… Luckily a young guy on a scooter spoke brilliant english and made me realise that I in a completely different area than I thought! He led me through a maze of streets until we hit the main artery running down town to Siam square (equivalent of Time Square i guess). Cycling through Bangkok was an absolute adrenaline rush, the traffic is so dense that I ended up following scooters and slaloming between cars and sporadically driven buses. It was great fun and would definitely recommend it…for a short run!
Meeting up with Dee & discovering her and Phil’s down town pad was fantastic! I’ve spent the past few days sleeping in ironically luxurious conditions with cooling airconditioning and a super comfy duvet to wrap myself in =) I love it! Mornings have been spent pottering around, before delving into the city’s bussle. The older, more historical areas of the city consist in a cluster of small streets, with back-to-back traffic congestion, people everywhere, food markets lining alleyways, Buddhist temples tucked away, and a range of appetizing to nauseating smells! Little tourism was done, given that I had visited most sites on my previous visit to Bangkok; however I eagerly revisited the impressively beautiful reclining Buddha; meandered through Chinatown; and window-shopped around Siam square. Also, an afternoon was spent lying by the Marriott pool (thanks Dee!), and to top the week off, Phil and D gave me a super taster of the Bangkok nightlife!
