Made it to Thailand in one piece.
Today Shaun and I decided to explore Bangkok via tuk tuk, a 3 wheeled, open vehicle. It was...interesting. First off, Thais are super friendly. They all want to talk to you, all the time. So after we left our hostel and started walking down the street, a man came up to us and started talking to us. Turns out he was a police officer who was very eager to chat and give us tips about the city. He ended up hailing us a tuk tuk, negotiating a good price (a mere 20 baht an hour, which is 50 cents), and all of a sudden we had a personal driver for the morning.
Then we started wandering the city, seeing huge golden Buddhas, marble temples, and other sights of Bangkok. We also discovered that tuk tuk drivers run a scam with gem stores and tailor "fashion" shops. In celebration of the King's birthday, many stores were having sales and if tuk tuk drivers took tourists to the stores, the drivers would get coupons for free gas. Shaun and I decided to cut a deal with our driver. In return for him taking us to all the temples, all over the city, we would go into a few shops and browse. Then the driver got his free gas coupons, and Shaun and I got a 4 hour personal driver around the city. It was interesting. I'm exhausted. Bangkok is pretty warm and riding in a tuk tuk all afternoon is exhausting. Pun intended. The pollution from the cars, trucks, and tuk tuks is ridiculous.
I need a nap. Floating market tomorrow and Chiang Mai and trekking (read: hiking and camping...hahaha), the day after.
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I have been to Bangkok and once you let the Tuk Tuk know that you have a personal tailor they would let you visit the gas coupon shops so that if you buy from them then they get a 40 percent comission on the deal.
ReplyDeleteI always use Excelsior tailor since its value for money and more focus is kept on quality rather than paying Tuk Tuk gass coupon or other commision.