Miguel's Bachelor Party - Day 6 - Bangkok

We woke up with an agenda and little desire to start the day fresh due to the drinking the night before with our favorite alcohol street vendor. We caught the sky tram in all the way to the river, so we could take the water taxi to the major sights. I have to say, the water taxi drivers maneuver these long boats like they are on rails. Boats are difficult to dock and usually require a little time. These guys dock with the same speed of a formula pit crew. It's impressive.

First stop - Wat Arun. Bangkok is filled with many temples and palaces paying homage to rulers, religion, and history. Their love for peaceful rule is coherent and recognizable in most of the detail they chose to affectionately display for their rulers, Buddha, and their religion. Until you see the mural in the Grand Palace that stretches the entire interior wall depicting death, conquering, pillaging, and natural disasters. But for the most part, it's very peaceful looking...

The major attraction of Wat Arun is to climb to the very top of the temple for a view of the city. To give you an idea of this task, imagine the 6th or 7th step at eye level. That is very steep, such that you have to be careful as not to bump your head into the stairs as you lean forward to make the next step. This also means, if you fall, it could mean your last vacation and maybe you'll be lucky enough for them to build a temple in the honor of, "He Who Fell without Grace." Gotta give Bobby props for making this climb while he clung onto the railing wondering, why the hell did I agree to this again?

Once we caught our breath, it was time to venture on over to the other side of the river to visit the Leaning, or Reclining, Buddha and then finally, the Grand Palace.

Second Stop - Leaning Buddha in Wat Pho - This monument did a great job of presenting the grandeur, size, and ominous presence of Buddha. His magnificence reached the barrier of the 30+ ft ceiling as to suggest that his stature touched heaven and earth within one length of his torso. In a mesmerizing state, the room was filled with sounds of melodic music in a natural symposium of wind chimes systematically sounding off with the slightest rhythmic change due to a whimsical shift in wind current. You slow your pace down as you observe more than 120 ft of this gold statue from head to toe, because the sound invites you to take refuge from the world as a means to calm the nerves.

As you round the corner to walk the length again on the backside of Buddha, it becomes apparent that natural rhythm is still natural, but it is not composed by the wind, it's composed by humans dropping coins into metal copper bowls in sequential order, rhythmicially, as they form a walking line to make a wish for each coin they drop in a copper bowl. The collective wishing coins resonated throughout the room echoing the many prayers to Buddha for such things as luck and good health.

The sound of prayers and well wishes filled the room as to request all visitors to listen to their own thoughts, because this is not the area for spoken conversation.

Third stop - Grand Palace - The Grand Palace is an expansive marvel. Within the walls of this governing building and historical site, respect is paid to the history of Thailand. A mural of epic proportion painted in the entire perimeter of the interior of the palace wall tells the stories of triumph and spoils of war and natural disaster inked into the sandstone for all to remember. Inside the courtyard, temples and prayer shrines cover every square inch as to not waste any space in paying homage to the Kings, the history, and Buddha equally.

Our time had come to leave the Grand Palace and our weary bodies needed a break from walking, so we commissioned a tuk tuk to drive us to Khao San Road. We were fortunate in our dealing with the tuk tuk driver. We quickly agreed on 100 baht and no stops to "shop-shop" as we get to Khao San Road. Many of the tuk tuk drivers are paid by these stores with gasoline coupons for bringing people by. The deal was made and our adventurous ride began.

Bobby managed to videotape the whole thing, because it was promised to be a wild ride. The driver sped along the busiest of roads taking every slimmest chance to pass cars, trucks, other tuk tuk drivers. However, his biggest gain in cutting down time was to pass by going into on-coming traffic. Many times, I felt the wind and pressure of cars whizzing past my arm closest to the edge of the open-air passenger cabin. I think I could take tuk tuks all day. I think I want one to drive around at home. It's a wild ride.  Before we knew it, we arrived at our destination, Khao San Road.

Khao San Road is a street filled with bizarres and travelers. Khao San Road is not Thailand, by the way. There isn't much more to say as beyond the fact that you go there to shop for trinkets, clothing, and hang with the many other world travelers making a pit stop along the banana pancake trail.

Now, one of the major points of our visit to Bangkok, it was time to play with the big time vendors. We whet our whistle with the smaller vendors on Khao San Road, but we quickly moved our way towards MBK. MBK is 5 floors chock-full of vendors selling everything imaginable from a 15ftx15ft space. The majority of the items are knock-off representations, but China has done marvels in increasing the quality of these knock-offs. A $75 Ralph Lauren Polo shirt, no problem, $6 dollars for you, my friend. $8,000 Rolex, no problem, $55 dollars for you, my friend.

Sounds great and simple, but the real rub is in the negotiations. They will try to sell you that Polo shirt for $12 dollars or that Rolex for $125. Negotiation is expected and you better play the game, because they are not soft in the heart and they protect their bottom line. So, make sure you dig low to work your way up. This however, is where most of your time is spent when shopping in malls like this. Some people find gambling entertaining, others enjoy working a vendor down from $8 dollars to $6 dollars for a shirt.

Sure, it appears to be ruthless. I mean what is an extra $2 in the states? Why haggle over it? Well, because while you are in Thailand, that extra $2 is 20 minutes for a Thai massage. It could be half the price for a decent sit-down meal. The dollar goes a long way, so take advantage of it.

The major attraction was the negotiation and purchase of watches from Miguel's go-to vendor. As soon as she saw him, she smiled at the devil, cautiously, but welcomingly. We spent the rest of the business hours making a deal. As gracious as they were, they provided us the utmost of customer service and made cocktails with Johnny Walker and Club Soda in a cut off water bottle. 12 ounces of alcohol in a plastic cut off water bottle and fake watches.

After being drained of negotiating and happy with our purchases and experience, it was time to head back and get ready to check out Royal Club Avenue (RCA). RCA is the club scene for locals and tourists. Needless to say, there was a ton to see. We finally witnessed a normal crowd of party goers that we didn't have to question their motives or their sexuality. It was a normal party scene, like any other major city in the world. However, one crowning difference is the table service. People may reserve butler carts (Think of the airplane food and drink carts, but slicker looking) meant for two and loaded with their choice of alcohol. These carts are then lined up side-by-side from front to back of the club. It was a very interesting way to cater to drinkers and a great way to maximize profit. Would this work in the States?

Our cab ride home was interesting and another testament to how one must stay on top of the shady behavior constantly present in Bangkok. We initially paid 62 baht (roughly $2) to get to the club on the meter. However, it was after midnight, so all drivers wanted 150 baht and off the meter. This is still illegal in Thailand, but obviously not monitored closely. Miguel's intuition into the matter was confirmed and that lead to a Q&A with every single cabby waiting in line until we reached the tenth driver who agreed to 100 baht. Yes, we haggled down the line to save $1.50, but it's not a $1.50 we saved. We saved 50 baht and what 50 baht can get you is a lot more than what a $1.50 can get you in the states. Play the game, my friends...Play the game.

Bangkok has a lot going on. So, when you visit, be prepared to learn how to hold on to your money when it is necessary and let go of it, when the moment calls for it. Nevertheless, it will be an experience that you will not forget.

But, we are not done with Bangkok yet. We have one more day of the unpredictable blended with the plan to shop some more.

Full Album of Bangkok