April 22, 2005
Flew from Los Angeles Airport to Taipei, Taiwan, on the way to Bangkok.
April 23rd
Flew from Taipei to Bangkok. The plane arrived at Bangkok airport at
about 1:00am
(April 24th). I took a 300-baht taxi ride to my
friend's apartment (on Sukhumwit-Soi
4), called Pung, my
"girlfriend", took a shower, met her in front of Nana Hotel at 2:40,
and returned to apartment. On a completely separate note, the dollar
was worth
approximately 39-1/2 baht.
April 24th
Woke about 9:00. Had breakfast at the "Swan Inn". (The
restaurant that we wanted
to go to on Soi 8 had been closed.
Returned to apartment. Fell asleep on the couch.
Went cell phone
shopping at Jay Mart and the MBK shopping mall for Pung.
Returned to
apartment. Took a nap.
April 25th
Ate breakfast (snacks from plane rides) at 10:30. Bought new cell phone.
Checked
email messages. Played pool.
April 26th
Ate breakfast at the "Swan Inn". Picked up dry cleaning --
clothes that I wore during
the airplane flight. The woman commented
to Pung that I looked much more
handsome at that time than when I dropped
off the clothes. (I think that she was
fishing for a tip. That
night, I watched a woman -- Gin -- at the "Bus Stop" eat water
bugs (aka, tan-colored cockroaches) for dinner. Of all the times to not
have a camera
with me!
April 27th
On the third try, found a shop to repair my briefcase's locks and handle --
"Mr. Bag
Fix" (Soi 55 and Soi 17). It cost 900 baht ($25)
to do it. It would have cost me
around twice as much to fix it in
the U.S. Went to "Country Road" on Soi Cowboy
and
listened to a Thai band play mostly American country music.
April 28th
Had breakfast at the "Bus Stop". Sat with Joy and Phorn.
Met my friend who lives
in The Philippines and his Thai girlfriend.
Had a couple of drinks at "The
Londoner". Played pool and
then went to a few bars.
April 29th
Met my friend and his girlfriend again. Bowled at "Matrix" with
them and Pung,
played pool at the other "Country Road" bar.
April 30th
Called China Airlines and indefinitely postponed my return flight because I did
not
have a job, was having a great time, and did not want to return yet.
Played pool with
my friend whose apartment I was staying in.
Had a couple of Thai iced teas at "Bus
Stop" with Pung and Awn
at "Nana Entertainment Plaza".
May 1st
That night, I went to a beer, not a go-go, bar at "Nana Entertainment
Plaza". The
first Singha beer that I had did not have a label
on it, so I returned it. (I wonder
what they poured into it.)
Spent time there with a woman named Noi. She could not
speak
English, so I spoke as much Thai as I could by using my Thai dictionary. My
friend met me there later, we went to dinner, played pool, and returned to
his
apartment.
May 2nd
At 9:30am, I took an 11-person bus (45 baht, minivan) to Ayuthaya (1 hour) with
Pung. I stayed at the "Ayothaya Hotel" (950 baht per night).
We went to the
outdoor market across the street. We ate lunch
at an outdoor, hole-in-the-wall
restaurant. Punt took a bus (20 baht)
at 5:30 to spend the night with her family.
After sunset (8 o'clock) and it started cooling down, I took a tuk-tuk to a bar
(40
baht) that was located on the river that runs through town. It
did not look fun, so I
returned. Another driver suggested that I go
to the "Grand Hotel". I was getting
tired, so I returned
to my room and got a rare, early night's sleep (10:30). Besides
being
tired, I only had 350 baht because there were no money exchanges (for
travelers checks) and the banks closed, as usual, at 4 o'clock.
May 3rd
Had a complimentary breakfast at the hotel. Walked around to see the
non-
commercial part of town. Cashed a travelers check.
Walked through the outdoor
market. Returned to room. Watched
some world news including the China-
Taiwan situation. Checked out
of hotel. Met Pung in the front lobby. Took a bus
to Bangkok.
Met my friend from Korat at the "Bus Stop" Had dinner with
him.
Went to a beer bar and my other friend met us there. We
all went to play pool.
After a few games, we returned to the apartment.
May 4th
My briefcase was repaired, so I picked it up that morning. (The locks had
been
installed upside-down.) I met my friend from Korat at the
apartment checked into
"The Royal Palace", and had lunch at the
"Swan Inn". We took a taxi to Pattaya
(1000 baht).
We took naps and then had dinner at "The Blue Parrot". We went
to
some go-go bars and returned to the hotel at about 2:00am.
My friend told me that the tallest building in Bangkok was "Biokey 2".
Unfortunately, I never went there to get a bird's eye view of Bangkok.
May 5th
We went to "Shenanigan's" for breakfast. We returned to the
hotel (to stay out of
the heat). (Someone told me that it was 40
degrees Celsius -- 104 degrees
Fahrenheit -- the day before.) We
went to some beer bars. I shopped for some
souvenirs and gifts.
We had dinner at "The Blue Parrot". We went to some
go-go
bars. ("Las Vegas" had Eastern European women
performers.)
May 6th
We went to "The Blue Parrot" for breakfast. Took a taxi to the
bus station. We
went to Bangkok (2-1/2 hours). We then took a
bus to Korat (3-1/2 hours),
arriving at about 9:30pm. We had dinner
at a local restaurant. (I learned that,
in Thailand, it's almost
cheaper, and definitely easier, to do eat out than it is to
cook at home.)
We went to bed at my friend's apartment relatively early at 11
o'clock, primarily due to fatigue from riding buses all day long.
Note: My friend pointed out that gas prices had risen approximately 4.0 baht per
liter, to around 22.0 baht per liter, since January, 2005. I also
noticed that the
English that one sees is not American-based. For
example, one will see "centre"
but not "center".
May 7th
That morning, I went into the second bathroom in my friend's apartment and there
were two dead cockroaches in it. One was on the floor and one was
in the toilet. I
went back into the kitchen and noticed another dead
cockroach lying on the floor.
We had brunch at 11:30 at a hotel's
restaurant. Afterwards, we went to "The
Mall" to shop for
clothes, gifts, and souvenirs. We played snooker at "Friends".
We ate dinner at a different hotel's restaurant. We went to a couple
of local bars
including "Ban Korat".
May 8th
We ate breakfast at a differnet hotel's restaurant -- The "Sira
Thani". We shopped
at "The Mall" again. I
played pool while my friend picked up his paycheck. I took
two
pictures of an elephant that was walking along the street. (Refer to
photographs.) We ate take-out food for dinner at my friend's
apartment.
May 9th
We ate breakfast at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant. I bought silk shirts
for a couple
of my friends. We took a bus to Bangkok, arriving at
about 4 o'clock. We were
planning on going to either Laos or Phuket,
but my friend did not have enough
money. So, we went to a beer bar
at "Nana Entertainment Plaza". We went to
dinner, some
other beer bars, and finally returned to my friend's apartment.
May 10th
(I didn't take notes about what we did this day. D'oh!) However,
I do remember
reading in newspapers and hearing on the TV that the Miss
Universe contest was
being held in Thailand at the same time that I was
there. Unfortunately, I did not
get a first-hand look.
May 11th
We ate breakfast at the "Swan Inn". I ended my relationship
with Pung. We went to a beer garden on Soi Seven. We spent
time there with four
women. Then, we went to a beer bar, a few go-go
bars, and returned to apartment.
May 12th
We ate breakfast at "Gulliver's". Got film developed for my
friends. Relaxed for a
while at the apartment. We went to Soi
Cowboy, played pool, ate dinner, and went
to some go-go bars. We
then went to "Nana Entertainment Plaza" and some more
go-go bars.
We returned to the apartment at about 1 o'clock.
May 13th
We ate breakfast at the "Swan Inn". My friend went shopping at
MBK. I went
back to the apartment, packed for my trip to Phuket, and
read/sent email messages.
I took a taxi to the airport and flew to Phuket.
I took a minibus (200 baht) to a
travel agency. I made
reservations for and then went to "Phuket Street Inn" (800
baht
per night). I took a shower and watched some TV while resting. I
walked to
Patong Beach. I took photographs of construction areas
(resulting from the
tsunami on December 26, 2004). I walked down
Bangla Road, the place where all
of the "action" is. I
went to a small bar and spoke with a woman who was Thai,
married a British
man, had become a British national, and had lived in England for
13 years.
She was renting their house in Phuket to volunteers who were helping
with the tsunami relief effort. I returned to the hotel, took a shower,
and then went
shopping for souvenirs and gifts at a nearby outdoor mall.
I also bought some
groceries for breakfast in the hotel room the
next morning. I then returned to the
hotel and took a shower, and
reserved a minibus to to to the airport two days later.
I returned to
Bangla Road, ate dinner, went to a beer bar ("Hawaii Bar") on Soi
Eric, and played games (Connect 4, Shut The Box, and Jenga) with a woman.
I
returned to the hotel at about 2:15am.
May 14th
I ate breakfast in the hotel room. I shopped at the nearby outdoor mall
again.
Afterwards, I looked for a painter who had created a painting for my
friend in
Bangkok. Unfortunately, I could not find him. I
thenhad a Lipton iced tea at
another beachside restaurant. I took
photographs of bars on Bangla Road, ate at
"The Pizza Shop", and
then returned to the hotel. I called Thai Airways and
changed my
return flight to Bangkok from May 15th to May 16th. I made the same
arrangements with the minibus. Then, I took a shower and a nap.
I went to Soi
Easy, including "Cartoon Bar", located off
of Bangla Road. I went into a few beer
bars, a karaoke bar, and
then returned to the hotel.
May 15th
Took a motorbike ride to a temple. At first I did not take any
photographs, but
someone told me that it was all right to do it. It
rained very hard while I was in the
temple, so much so that it even caught
the attention of the Thai people. Ate
breakfast at a beer bar
owner's home. Returned to hotel, took a shower, and
rested.
Went to the beach and took a photograph similar to the one that I took
during my trip to Phuket in November of 2001. Had a Thai iced tea at a
beachside
restaurant. Shopped for souvenirs. Ate lunch at a
hole-in-the-wall Thai
restaurant. Returned to the hotel, took
another shower, and rested again. Looked
for the painter again but
still could not find him. Went to outdoor Thai restaurant
off of
Bangla Road for dinner. Went to Soi Easy and played pool. Went to
a bar in
front of "Tiger Disco" and had a few drinks.
Returned to the hotel at about 1
o'clock.
May 16th
Packed for trip back to Bangkok. Ate breakfast in the hotel room.
Took minibus
to the airport at 11 o'clock. Flew to Bangkok
at 1:55. Arrived at my friend's
apartment around 3:45. Washed
clothes, showered, and then went to dinner. Went
to a few go-go bars
and returned home around 12:30.
May 17th
Slept until 12:30 in the afternoon. Ate breakfast at the "Swan
Inn" (again). Took
the Sky Train (overhead railway system) to
the Chao Phraya River. (While at the
"Swan Inn", I asked
the employees there what was the name of the river -- "maa
nam".
No one could tell me the name even though it was the largest river that
ran
through Bangkok. !!!) Took boat rides to Wat Arut.
Walked through it for about
30 minutes. Took boat rides back to the
Sky Train. Went to the MBK and bought
tennis shoes (799 baht, $22).
(The same shoes in the U.S. would have cost about $65.
Returned to
the apartment, showered, and ate dinner at a restaurant called
"Cabbages and Condoms". Returned home and went to bed at about
10:45,
exhausted from the day's escapades.
May 18th
Woke up at 10:30. Bought more gifts and souvenirs. Bought a small
towel for
wiping the sweat from my body as I walked around. (I
should have done that the
first day that I arrived!) I returned to
the apartment, showered, and went to
"Charming Bar" on Soi Four.
Played pool with a woman at "Hillary Bar". My
friend met me there and he and I played two more games. We went to an
England-
based restaurant at the end of Soi Cowboy. I walked my
friend back to the other
side of the street to "Country Roads".
I decided to go to as many go-go bars as I
could for my last night
in Thailand. So, I went to 5 or 6 go-go bars there. (I was
speaking with one woman in a bar and, somehow, guessed her daughter's name
out
of the blue. Strange! Then, I went to "Nana
Entertainment Plaza" and went to 3
more go-go bars. I returned
to the apartment at 1 o'clock.
Note: Although the rainy season had not
officially begun, it was raining more often
with each passing day.
May 19th
I woke up at 10:30. I began packing for my return trip to the U.S.
I cleaned the
shower that I was using in my friend's apartment, took
a shower, and met him at
"Bangkok Bakery Company" for lunch at
12:30. We returned to the apartment at
1:15, I finished packing,
showered, and took a taxi to the airport at 2:30.
I flew from Bangkok to Taipei at 5:20pm. (The plane was 25 minutes late.)
I met
an American while going to the terminal to leave for Los
Angeles. He was from
Southern California, also.
Coincidentally, he was also interested in astronomy.
So, I gave him my
name, email address, and phone number and asked him to
contact me when he
got a chance. (He emailed me a few days later.)
I flew from Taipei to Los Angeles at 10:50pm. During the flight, I
noticed that
there were only about 2 hours of darkness between sunset and
sunrise. Did I fall
asleep for a while and did not know it?
And yet another fun, adventurous, interesting, and sometimes scary trip to
Thailand. Last time, I told my friend in Bangkok that I would
probably not return
to Thailand again because there are too many other
interesting places and people
to see elsewhere. This time, I did not
say that. Maybe it will work this time. By
the way, do you
know what you have when you make a Thai girl mad? You have a
tiger!
(Thai girl -> Ti gir -> Tiger)