Bangkok III
After our Island getaway we headed back to Bangkok one last time to catch our flight. After two months traveling all over Southeast Asia we are leaving with mixed emotions. There is so much left to see, so much more to do and places we would love to return to.
We had one more day left in Bangkok so there was only one thing left to do – more shopping!
We got serious and went the the wholesale clothing markets of Pratunam and Platinum to see if we could get some last great finds before we head to the culture shock of high prices. These markets were huge and packed with stalls selling every imaginable type of clothing. Piles of jeans to the ceiling, mountains of T-shirts and even Mardi Gras type costumes could be found. Danna managed to find a couple of things for herself in the madness and walked away with a few items and accessories for rock bottom prices – success!
We avoided the traffic back to our hotel by hopping on one of the many water taxis that weaves through the city canals. These boats are fast and furious. We got to the boat station and literally watched everyone getting off at our stop leap off the boat while everyone getting on, dove on – the boat does not exactly come to a complete stop. It pulled away as I was still standing on the gunnel. To add to the difficulty level there is a giant tarp that runs the entire length of the boat that you need to hop over while entering or exiting the vessel. Why is there a huge blue tarp roped to the side of the boat? Why are there pulley handles running along the tarp? This is a protective shield from other taxis that are zipping past down the narrow canal. As they pass they spray water into the other boat so everyone pulls the handle to raise the tarp to shield from a wave of horribly dirty smelly water. One final adventure.
We spent the last night at Chabad savoring one final schnitzel and mango shake reminiscing on everything Southeast Asia has been.
But... no time for nostalgia yet. We now have a 9 hour flight to a new continent. We head down under for a short stay in Sydney as the trip starts to bounce along the bottom of the world.
