We woke up to our regular breakfast of eggs, ham, and toast. We then set out on errands first (couldn't get laundry back in time, but did set up our bus to the airport for the next day) and then onward to the piers. Today, we'd be using Bangkok's ancient transportation vein, the Chao Phraya river. We knew to blow past those offering a tourist boat tour. But we ended up blowing past explaining where we even wanted to go as we were paraded onto the next boat only to discover we were going the wrong way. Thankfully, no fare was charged as we merely crossed to the other side of the river.
We soon got on a boat heading the right direction and two pier stops up for 14 baht each (40¢). We then had to snake our way through the neighborhood which first meant getting us through the morning market. Upon entry, I saw the adjoining roofs and narrow passageway up, and the buckets and tables of fresh meat down. It was going to be a tight space with pungent smells. With Mer, I had to hustle.
What I didn't get a whole lot of time for was pictures. There were catfish swimming in small pools, eels in a bucket, frogs with a net over top, and small turtles swimming in a small kid's pool. Only in the afternoon was I able to come back on a different street to capture a pic.
We quickly darted through and Mer was able to control her gags on the other end. We continued forward as as two points of interest were right next to each other: the Vimanmek museum and the Dusit Zoo.
As we passed the museum, we noticed a sign saying it would only be open until noon that day (and due to clear skies in the morning, we wanted to do the zoo first.) So we inquired inside and one of the ticket ladies said they'd be open and the next English tour would be at 3 pm. Mer felt like she got the info we needed. I was doubtful our question was answered correctly. But, onward we went to the zoo.
Entrance was easy and we got right in, only to notice a large school group coming at us. We tried to duck into the first exhibit, the koalas, but the group followed us in. We barely saw him sleeping when the cacophony chorus caught up and we had to exit. It was a time I was so thankful to not be the responsible adult for that group of children. They were actually well behaved, but I just didn't want to have to keep them in line or control their noise.
So, we continued onto the bears. There were two golden and two Asian bears. Neither looked too happy.
At this point, we were actually hungry. It wouldn't be Thailand without a 7 Eleven nearby. And sure enough, there was one inside the zoo. We grabbed some sandwiches and water.
We were sitting on benches near a pond having our mid-morning snack when Asian cousins of our Texan grackles swooped in hoping for a bite. Their beaks were bigger and longer with blazing yellow eyes. I tried to maintain our position and food with blazing eyes of my own. Then I peered over to our pond and immediately told Mer to get up and move.
This Komodo Dragon was as long as I was and clearly cruising for something. I didn't want it to be us or our snacks, so onward we moved.
Next were the hippos. They were asleep in the water, as they should have been.
Next up were the big cats. Several could not be seen. Of the ones we did see, they were, again, all sleeping. I found a lion.
Mer found the tiger.
Adjacent were several places for different langur monkeys. They were pretty neat.
Mer really wanted to touch one through fence. I told her that would be entirely disrespectful. Then another field trip of students passed by. And who reached out to touch the baby langur? The parent chaperone in view of the zoo guide! So afterward, we got our shot in too.
At this point, we may or may not have wheeled back around to the 7 Eleven for additional treats.
It was on our walk back that we found that although a former king's animal collection in Bangkok, Thailand may seem a distant and exotic location, we weren't all that far away from home.
Although a Texas bumper sticker reminded us of where we came from, we still went on to the long-necks of Africa.
Around the corner were more hippos! These were pygmy hippos and guess what they were doing?
We then went inside the nocturnal exhibit. Could you imagine what animals were doing in there during daylight hours?
It was inside here, though, that Mer stumbled upon the cardboard cut-out version of herself.
Our time at the zoo was coming to an end. It was nearly 3 and we knew the English tour would start soon. So, we exited the zoo and made it the next block over to the Vinmanek museum.
But we couldn't find the entrance. We walked further to where car entered. Closed. We walked further. Not open. Finally we found an entrance where a guard was letting a construction vehicle leave. We asked where we could enter. He pointed to the sign we saw earlier. Closed at noon.
Score another for no speaking the language. Frustratingly, we walked back to the pier. We decided a trip to Chinatown would salve our disappointment. The boat was the perfect way to get there.
Chinatown was chock full of people and goods. We followed a single-file line through all sorts of wares available. At one point we turned from the street to enter a further maze of shops of all kinds. After about 30 min, I stopped to look at my map. We had wandered far beyond where I thought we'd be. Knowing we wouldn't buy much (there's no room in our backpacks!) we began to maze our way back to the pier.
It has been a full day in the sun (no rain!) and we felt it. Although I did discover on Chinatown that 7 Eleven also sells a 'fountain' iced coffee that reminds me of the delicious ca phe súa da from Vietnam that I couldn't get enough of.
We got back to our place and had a rest.
When it was time for dinner, I wanted to try an 'Israeli' restaurant that caught my eye at schwarma. It was near the tourist hotbed of Khao San Rd. It ended up near enough the outskirts that it was easy to find. We both opted for the chicken with hummus. I added the fries and Singha beer.
It was very good even if it varied from the Asian fare we were supposed to look for in Bangkok. After dinner, we decided to take a gander at Khao San Rd. It was pretty similar to previously visited Pham Ngu Lao in Saigon, Pub Street in Siem Reap, and Patong Beach: Vendors, hawkers, westerners, and locals offering drink specials, trinkets, shows, and paraphernalia.
In the midst of it all, we decided to get crazy. It was 8:30. The night was young. About a block down, we found a pharmacy. After a moment looking around, we found what we needed to take the party up a notch.
Contact lens solution.
We made our 280 baht purchase ($8) and headed back to our guesthouse. We showered and went to bed as our transport to the airport would be leaving st 8 am.
One night in Bangkok indeed.
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