My first three days in Bangkok have been filled with confusion, amazement, panic and adventure. My story begins with the Tuk Tuk and the thunderstorm.
So I needed to travel to the North Eastern bus terminal to purchase my ticket to Khon Kaen. The terminal is about 8 miles from where I am staying in Th Khao San so I decided to get a Tuk Tuk, thinking it would be a great way of seeing the city. I haggled with the driver to agree a suitable price and we set off into the craziness of the Bangkok traffic. I had yet to witness any of the rain in the so-called ‘rainy season’ so I was beginning to think it was all a myth. How wrong I was!
Within 5 minutes of us setting off the rains started 5 minutes later, the roads were rivers. The tiny Tuk-Tuk was battling its way through the traffic, and I mean this literally, squeezing into the smallest gaps it could find between buses, cars and lorries. Bearing in mind this looks like a motorised pedal cab, this was quite an experience!
The rain got worse and me and the poor driver were completely soaked through. Every time a vehicle passed us at speed, beeping madly, a wave of water came over the sides. The driver, however, looked unconcerned and kept looking at me in his rear view mirror and smilling “no worry!”. I smiled reassuringly back, I was fine, this was great fun and was cooling me down after the oppressive heat of the day.
Then the lighting started. I’ve never seen a storm like it, it was directly over our heads. The lighting cracked across the grey skys and seconds later the thunder bellowed, louder than anything I had heard before. I was starting to get a little scared at this point but the driver was surprisingly cheerful, looking up at the sky, shrugging his shoulders then looking at me and giving the thumbs up.
Finally the storm abated, and I arrived at my destination. I stepped out of the Tuk Tuk and all the locals in the bus depot laughed at this stupid English girl, dripping wet, climbing out of a Tuk Tuk in the afternoon of the rainy season. Needless to say, I got a taxi back 🙂
When I arrived back in Th Khao San I decided to treat myself to a foot massage with a difference. You pay 100 Baht to sit on a long bench with your feet and shins submerged in a fish tank for 15 minutes. In this fish tank are millions of fish, some large, some small, who apparently love the taste of sweaty, sandal worn feet. They immediately swarmed around my feet and started nibbling away. The sensation was really weird, but not unpleasant, although I did get slightly freaked out when they started biting the sensitive skin on the side of my feet! I soon got used to it and was soon feeling very relaxed, laughing and joking in broken English with my Chinese neighbours.
Only in Bangkok! More to come soon……….
Clare xx
