What we did: MBK mall, skyped with Frank and Dan
Budget: 3000B/$100; Spent: 2440B/$81
We woke up for our usual buffet breakfast at around 9am. The breakfast is delicious and we usually stuff ourselves quite full. I think it has to do with not having any semblance of a solid well-rounded western breakfast in India. I guess the buffet in Munnar wasn't so bad, but nothing like this feast which has anything you're in the mood for: fresh fruit, waffles, fried eggs, toast, cereal, yogurt, orange juice, ham, sausage, mashed potatoes (with gravy!), fresh vegetables, etc., and it's so nicely presented! The cleanliness and sanitary improvement in Bangkok vs. India is remarkable. You can just tell by the rooms, the curtains, and the floors...everything is well-maintained and cleaned everyday. What a breath of fresh air for us Bangkok has been. It's like returning to civilization again.
After breakfast, we Skyped with Dan and Frank for a bit. I recounted the abuse we received the day or two prior while buying some of the stuff they asked for. My sister found it all quite amusing, and it is quite funny now. At the time though, I was shocked at how nasty some of the vendors can be. No where during our travels have we been mistreated in such a way. Being sworn at, yelled at, made to feel so unwelcome, and they all behaved so consistently. It's important to remember the good ones you meet, but here in Bangkok they're few and far between.
We spent another while on the Internet, blogging and doing some research/planning of the remainder of our trip. I can't believe we're more than half way through!
We pretty much just took our time all morning on the internet. We were in no rush to get anywhere so we didn't end up leaving the hotel until early afternoon.
First stop of course was our beloved MBK mall for lunch and more shopping. We bought a very cute pillow we've been seeing all over Bangkok. We paid a little more than we wanted to, but it was OK. We also looked at a chop-stick set, which was nice, but we didn't buy it. The lady selling it was quite nice too and was willing to lower the price for us by quite a bit. This is a rarity in MBK mall and Bangkok where there's only very small discounts, if any, offered. The only place where we managed to barter a lot was at Chatuchak Market. For anyone going to Bangkok, this is the place to shop. It's the best market we've seen during all our travels. You'll find anything and everything being sold there and it's a lot of fun.
After MBK, we went to another mall across the street and entered a nice department store there called Siam Paragon to pick me up a bando top. We searched around quite a bit for one and got lucky on the fourth floor. While scouring the floor we came across and interesting article in the women's section. Can anyone guess what this is?
If you guessed it's a pair of derriere enhancing undies then you are correct! We think these are quite popular in this corner of the world. Turns out they're in most department stores in Thailand. Has anyone ever seen these sold in Winnipeg, or North America for that matter? I haven't. We found these pretty amusing to see them for the first time.
After MBK we crossed the street to walk passed the vending stalls lined up on our way back to the hotel. The street is set up with stall after stall selling everything from clothing, to shoes, to jewelery, to electronics, to sunglasses, to food. I found a really cute dress for $6, but we were at our budget for the day so I didn't get it. We decided we would try to come back tomorrow, since it opened at 5pm and we didn't have to be at the train station until 7pm for the bus to Chiang Mai
It'll be nice to get out of Bangkok tomorrow. I think we're ready to do some more exploring and travelling again, and Chiang Mai seems like a great place to do it. Bangkok has been a nice break though!
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