Bangkok

After some relaxing days on Ko Samet it was time to leave the little island and head to Bangkok. Verena, Sarah's sister, would arrive in Bangkok very soon. Initially we planned to take it easy and stay one night in Ban Phe before taking the bus to Bangkok. The hotel, however, was fully booked and the bus ran every hour so that we spontaneously decided to go to Bangkok on the same day. When we arrived in Bangkok it was already dark. It was a 10 km ride from the Ekamal bus station to our hotel 'The Train Inn'. Cycling in big cities is always exciting and we haven't heard good things about Bangkok. So 10 km of traffic hell? Well, no, actually we were very surprised that traffic was "civilised". It wasn't the hell that we had expected.

The first day in Bangkok was a day of organisation for our onward travel. For our flight to New Zealand we will need a paper cardboard box. Jet Star does not accept bicycles wrapped in cloth like Air Baltic. So we went to Probike, one of the shops with quality bicycles in Bangkok and English speaking staff, and asked for bike boxes. They told us that they had boxes available every day for 50 Baht. We ticked this question on our check list.

Second question was how we would get to the airport with our bicycles or how Verena would get from the airport to the train station. There is the 'Airport Express Bus' whose line number AE4 runs from the airport to the train station, right in front of the door of 'The Train Inn'. Bicycles are accepted for an extra 50 Baht. Question ticked. 'The Train Inn' and its location turned out to be more and more an ideal place for cyclists (and by the way, you will never ever see more committed cleaning staff than at 'The Train Inn').

Last question was how to book train tickets to Pretchaburi and travel with bicycles. The clerk at the train station told us that tickets were available but could be purchased only on the same day of departure. We were supposed to take the Rapid train that has luggage wagons. Perfect! All questions were answered. Travel guide books tell you about some scams and when we walked out of the train station we ran into one immediately. A lady in a uniform and 'official' badge asked us where we would go and assured us that we would have to buy the train tickets now. Travelling on that day would be difficult because all trains would be full. Aha, what did the clerk just say? And interestingly, she wanted us to buy the tickets at the travel agency next door. Good try!

What are the foreigners doing?

Meeting Verena at the airport was more difficult than we expected. We were waiting and waiting but she did not come out of the one door. Strangely, she came out on the level below us where only people with tickets were allowed. So it took us a while to meet at one of the many entrances. I and Verena's bicycle tried the Airport Express Bus and funny enough, we were the only passengers at that time, one bus for one bike box.

So now there were three of us. We stayed an extra day in Bangkok and let Verena get used to the temperature (30°C difference to Germany) and time zone. Bangkok is truly a bustling city with many tourists but also many expats. It's definitely an international metropolis. Bangkok's shopping area with its many shopping malls and top-notch shops is impressive. We haven't seen such malls in France or Germany. Another cultural highlight in Bangkok was the Royal Palace. Similar to the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh the outstanding colour is gold. Et voilà, photos ... 

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