Shula gets here!
Trip Start
Dec 03, 2005
1
33
52
Trip End
Jun 20, 2006
Bangkok, Thailand
Sunday, April 2, 2006
We found a restaurant/arts theater, but the show was not up to what we expected, being more like a London south bank venue for students to air their contemporary dance works, and did not involve any Classical Thai dance, as I had hoped it may. However we did get food there which was an unexpected advantage and solved the question of how to best use our time.
We did, for research purposes, go to the Patpong district, the Bangkok red light district, and we laid on a bet for the first of us to spot a lady boy ( the jury's still out, we are waiting for material evidence). Still it was fun, Shula fed a baby elephant, we liked the markets, and fun to see the city by night from a taxi cab window, oh, and a short ride on the MRT for good measure.
Went to markets on the 4th, after seeing the Jim Thompson house, and got info from a v. nice helpful lady in the tourist information booth, about all sorts of things, stacks of maps, even freebie CDs, and particularly, (as we had been discussing it) the venue, times and prices to go and see Muay Thai boxing (Thai kick boxing).
So after the market shopping, and food (more of a snack as we were in the wrong area) we got a cab to take us to the boxing stadium. Then a battle commenced before we even got inside, over the pricing, and the whole policy. To cut a long story short, we tried and failed to - (1) pretend to be locals by purchasing at the booth with less than 1/2 the price of those of foreigners (even lonely planet had quoted this lower price). (2) threatening them with the tourist police, they wanted double what even the tourist info told us, (3) accusing them of racism, and (4) photographing the signs above the different booths (pics due to appear here soon).
We think it was the photography that altered the picture, they then gave us entry at 2 for the price of 1 (foreigner rate - 15 quid!) - but perhaps not so oddly, paid to a turnstile operator, not through the ticket booth.
It was a great evening, all the better for getting there for the last half of the show, as it could have got boring, and the main events come at the end, and the stone seating would make parts of the body go to sleep that not even the best of beers could rejuvenate.
