We have been having a lot of fun in Bangkok over the past few days! Alexa arrived on the evening of the 20th, and our time together got off to a very exciting start...
I met her at the airport and we went back to our guest house where we sat talking and catching up for a long time. Finally, we decided it was time for bed, and turned out the lights. A few minutes later, Alexa said, "I don't mean to be paranoid, but I think I feel something biting me." Having had one previous encounter with bed bugs, I leaped out of bed and turned on the light so we could inspect the bed and sure enough... bugs everywhere!! NOOOOOO!!! We pulled all our stuff as far from the bed as possible (after my last bed bug run-in, I have a strict "no backpacks on the bed" policy so luckily there wasn't much near the bed), and then sat huddled in a corner of the room, trying to decide what to do. At this point, it was around 2:30 AM. We found more bugs along the baseboards of the wall, both living and dead, and decided we couldn't even sleep on the floor. We also did not want our stuff in that room any longer - more time there meant more possibility of bites and bugs getting into our bags.
We scribbled a note to the guest house ("BEDBUGS EVERYWHERE!!"), hoisted our backpacks on, and set off into Bangkok to try to find somewhere else to stay. It was about 3:00 AM and the city was mostly quiet. Of course, Bangkok is a city that "never sleeps", so we passed a lot of vendors setting up stalls with fresh produce for the morning markets, and there were still plenty of cars, taxis, and tuk tuks driving around - it's pretty much rush hour 24 hours a day! We walked towards Khao San Road which is the "backpacker ghetto" of Bangkok - I figured there would be some hotels there with 24 hour reception. After walking for a while, we saw a hotel with the sign lit up and decided to see if they had any space. The guy at the desk did not seem remotely surprised that two foreign women would wander in looking for a room at 3:30 in the morning, and soon we were in a basic but clean room. No bed bugs here!!
After recovering from THAT incident, we have had a fun couple days here in Bangkok. Yesterday, our unique treat for the day was going to a "fish spa" - putting our feet in a tank of water with fish who nibbled away all the dead skin. At first, we didn't think we were going to be able to handle keeping our feet in the water - those fish tickled SO MUCH!! As soon as you put your feet in the tank, they would dart over and start nibbling, trying to wedge their way between toes and anywhere else they could find space. After a while, we got used to the sensation and let the fish do their job. Our feet felt softer right after we pulled them out, but we were skeptical and thought that maybe it was just because they had been soaking in water for a while. Still, when we felt our feet later in the evening, we did have to admit that the fish had done a good job!
Other activities have included boat rides, visiting Buddhist temples, going to the Grand Palace, checking out Jim Thompson's house, eating plenty of food from street vendors, and wandering through various market places. Today's to-do list includes: finding an SD card reader at a computer store (thanks for the suggestion, Grandpa!) and taking the train up to Kanchanaburi!
I met her at the airport and we went back to our guest house where we sat talking and catching up for a long time. Finally, we decided it was time for bed, and turned out the lights. A few minutes later, Alexa said, "I don't mean to be paranoid, but I think I feel something biting me." Having had one previous encounter with bed bugs, I leaped out of bed and turned on the light so we could inspect the bed and sure enough... bugs everywhere!! NOOOOOO!!! We pulled all our stuff as far from the bed as possible (after my last bed bug run-in, I have a strict "no backpacks on the bed" policy so luckily there wasn't much near the bed), and then sat huddled in a corner of the room, trying to decide what to do. At this point, it was around 2:30 AM. We found more bugs along the baseboards of the wall, both living and dead, and decided we couldn't even sleep on the floor. We also did not want our stuff in that room any longer - more time there meant more possibility of bites and bugs getting into our bags.
We scribbled a note to the guest house ("BEDBUGS EVERYWHERE!!"), hoisted our backpacks on, and set off into Bangkok to try to find somewhere else to stay. It was about 3:00 AM and the city was mostly quiet. Of course, Bangkok is a city that "never sleeps", so we passed a lot of vendors setting up stalls with fresh produce for the morning markets, and there were still plenty of cars, taxis, and tuk tuks driving around - it's pretty much rush hour 24 hours a day! We walked towards Khao San Road which is the "backpacker ghetto" of Bangkok - I figured there would be some hotels there with 24 hour reception. After walking for a while, we saw a hotel with the sign lit up and decided to see if they had any space. The guy at the desk did not seem remotely surprised that two foreign women would wander in looking for a room at 3:30 in the morning, and soon we were in a basic but clean room. No bed bugs here!!
After recovering from THAT incident, we have had a fun couple days here in Bangkok. Yesterday, our unique treat for the day was going to a "fish spa" - putting our feet in a tank of water with fish who nibbled away all the dead skin. At first, we didn't think we were going to be able to handle keeping our feet in the water - those fish tickled SO MUCH!! As soon as you put your feet in the tank, they would dart over and start nibbling, trying to wedge their way between toes and anywhere else they could find space. After a while, we got used to the sensation and let the fish do their job. Our feet felt softer right after we pulled them out, but we were skeptical and thought that maybe it was just because they had been soaking in water for a while. Still, when we felt our feet later in the evening, we did have to admit that the fish had done a good job!
Other activities have included boat rides, visiting Buddhist temples, going to the Grand Palace, checking out Jim Thompson's house, eating plenty of food from street vendors, and wandering through various market places. Today's to-do list includes: finding an SD card reader at a computer store (thanks for the suggestion, Grandpa!) and taking the train up to Kanchanaburi!
Ok, if you were trying to disgust me, you did! Tell us more about palaces, please! Also, I did see "The Beach", so I can just picture you and Alexa in Bangkok at 3:00 am!
ReplyDeleteNo, I did not post at 3:27 am. It is only 8:27 here.
ReplyDeletewhich Jim Thompson are you referring to, the ex-governor of Illinois or someone else?
ReplyDelete