December 30, 2022 to December 31, 2022
A Week of Movement but not by Bicycle - Days 5 & 6
Bangkok
The only thing we really had to do in Bangkok was jettison some of the stuff (coffee, warm clothing) we didn't need to cart around on our trip down south. We filled a duffel bag and brought it to a friend's apartment. He is babysitting our cardboard bike boxes for us in the hallway of his apartment building. He wasn't home when we went there so we stuffed the duffel bag inside one of the cardboard boxes and hoped that no one would take any of our stuff, especially that coffee. The boxes only need to hang out there another three weeks.
Our other friends had left Bangkok so mostly what we were going to do in Bangkok was wait out New Year's. We didn't want to risk not finding accommodation in Hua Hin, our next destination by train. We have bitter memories when we stupidly went to Sihanoukville, Cambodia on New Year's Eve and found no rooms available in the entire city. It was bad, a low point in all our travels. Whenever we are posed with the same sort of risk we say, "Remember Sihanoukville!"
We were playing fast and loose with New Year's Eve again, since we had no reservations in Bangkok either. We never learn! We breezed into the Krungkasem Srikrung Hotel right across the street, and canal, from Hua Lamphong Train Station early in the morning of the 30th and fortunately got a room. But they were telling us New Year's Eve was most likely fully booked. They didn't know for certain and told us to ask them again in the morning.
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In the morning they told us they still didn't know and to ask around noon. That made me nervous, to wait that long. At noon they said they were definitely fully booked. It was a huge letdown because it meant we would have to go out into Bangkok, enormous Bangkok, with all of our stuff on loaded bikes and try to find another hotel on New Year's Eve! Why do we get ourselves into these situations! It was Sihanoukville all over again!
We hung our heads in despair and went to our room to pack up our things. While in the midst of packing, our room phone rang. That never happens. Andrea answered and it was the front desk saying there had been a cancellation and we could have a room! Unbelievable luck!
The front desk staff actually liked us and wanted us to stay which is why we got first dibs on the newly available room, I think. I just bet there was a waiting list but they were kind enough to give it to us. I think it pays to be very polite to Thais at any front desk and better yet, in interactions with Thais at a front desk it is most important to make them laugh. If you have the opportunity to joke around with them, then you are in! Anyway, we were incredibly relieved to not have to go out on the streets of Bangkok looking for a room.
We moved to the available room which turned out to be exactly two floors above where we had been. The room was identical to the one we had just come from and it was like a surreal dream walking into it. Had we just left or had we just arrived? I know we never left the building!
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1 year ago
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What was also kind of surreal was that nothing was open in Bangkok on New Year's Eve. I have never seen Bangkok so rolled up. There were no restaurants open either, at least in our neighborhood. We walked all over the place and all we saw were shut metal doors that roll down that completely seal off the opening of stores. It was as if a typhoon was about to hit at any minute. There was nothing to do in Bangkok!
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At dinner time we had to go to 7-Eleven (of course it was open) and buy a couple of cups of noodles that we could heat up in our room. We also bought some spicy shrimp double barbecue chips, and some more Oreos. We wanted a beer to celebrate New Year's but the beer was all blocked off again, not for sale. I didn't understand that at all. So, we went back to our room, heated up some water, had our tom yum bowls of noodles (that were surprisingly good) and sat around until about 8PM when we were exhausted from eating junk and we went to bed.
We were several hours into sleep when we were awakened by what sounded like a war going on. We went out onto our huge balcony (6th floor) and watched the fireworks. They were impressive across the massive city. The best display of fireworks was on the other side of our building but were perfectly reflected in a tall building we could see, a building made of glass. It was a unique way to watch a fireworks display. And so it was 2023 and we went back to bed. We were headed to Hua Hin on the coast by train in the morning, our last leg of a week basically off our bikes.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
lovebruce
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1 year ago