Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Updating as quick as we can!


Suk 11 with the Reno crew


Quick note: Sorry we have not updated the blog, we have been traveling  
so much it has been hard to find time. We are now in Ko Phi Phi and  
will be here for a few days, so we will be able to catch up.

Chatuchak market or the JJ market

The JJ market is a weekend market that goes on in Bangkok every  
weekend. This was the largest farmers/flee market I have ever seen. It  
had everything from clothing to live animals and much much more. Thai  
food, furniture, art, clothing, jewelry, dogs (that was to much for  
me) you name it, it was there. Nik and I spent the day shopping  
around, eating incredible foods and sweltering in the hot weather.
We both had a hard time finding things that fit. Around these parts of  
the world we aren't exactly small. Nik's size is an XL (in Thailand)  
and they hardly have any of those. Most places just told him, he was  
to big and they did not have his size. We got a good laugh because  
when we wanted a size in something we would ask if they had a size  
HUGE. Inside joke with Mom. But now Mom, I am not the only size huge.  
Nik is part of the crew. It was a fantastic day of bargaining for  
goods, eating pad thai with a Canadian couple, having the best (and  
strongest) hand made coffee and enjoying the best 15 cent waffles on  
the BTS (skytrain).

I haven't mentioned our hostel yet. It's called Suk 11. It's basically  
like staying in the ride, Pirates of the Caribbean. Our Lonely Planet  
guide book describes it as an oasis of woods and greenery in the urban  
jungle. It truly is and we only pay about $25 a night. Gotta love  
Thailand!!

Saturday night we met up with Nik's friends. We took Tuk Tuks to  
dinner. Tuk tuk is a three wheeled scooter (on steriods) that holds as  
many people as you can fit. We fit 4 plus the driver. Driving in  
Thailand is like Exite Bike from the first Nintendo. The tuk tuk or  
cab drivers drive insane. It is like controlled chaos, but you never  
see any wrecks. They really know how to work it. Plus they drive on  
the opposite side of the road, so I think we are constantly confused.  
Anyways, we played a game of cat and mouse when the driver was trying  
to keep up with the other tuk tuks that held our friends. We held on  
tightly, but of course found them. We had a great dinner of red curry  
and pad thai. This seems to be the main meals Nik and I eat.
Afterwards we headed to the tallest building in Bangkok that has a bar  
at the top. We actually can't remember the name of it. At the elevator  
to the top, we were stopped and they would not let me proceed.  
Apparently I was not dressed nice enough (I had flipflops on), but I  
was dressed nicer than most the people going up and Nik also mentioned  
that I was clearly the best looking as well.(Nik added this  
part!!!! :) Nik's friends went ahead and we stayed behind. After  
watching about 10 people pass that had dirty converse, t shirts, or  
jeans, Nik and I decided we were going to get to the top. We just took  
a different elevator, bypassing all the hoopla. At the top the view  
was amazing, you could see all of Bangkok. The drinks were  
rediculously expensive and they wouldn't let us take pictures (we did  
before they told us not to). It was like a Vegas club. Not really what  
Nik and I wanted to do, but it was fun to see the view.
On our way home we took another Tuk tuk. I remember Nik saying, "It's  
1am, nothing good happens in Bangkok after 1." A few minutes later, we  
turn a corner and there were a bunch on police waving at us. The  
driver pulled over and the police waved us out of the tuk tuk. They  
asked for our passports, which we had, but our friends Alex and Lauren  
did not and they searched everything we had. I kept thinking the  
worst. Mostly, they are going to take all of our money, or they will  
pin us for something terrible. It turns out they were looking for  
drugs (of course they did not find any). They sent us on our way and  
we headed back to Suk 11. Nik and I decided lesson learned for this is  
nothing good happens in Bangkok past midnight, so we would not be  
staying out that late again!

We are having a blast and even though we consider ourselves rookie  
travelers in Thailand, we are getting around well.

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