Last Day in Bangkok

To end the trip, we have one final day in Bangkok. It required another full day and night of travel. We took a boat from Koh Phangan to the mainland, a bus to the train station, then an overnight train to Bangkok. We decided to splurge and upgrade to first class on the train so we could get some decent sleep. I slept pretty well, but Darcy was in the upper berth, next to the air con. It was a bit cold for her liking.



We arrived in Bangkok around 7:00 in the morning.





After showering and storing our bags, we decided to take the metro to Chatuchak Park and the Chatuchak Weekend Market. I found this sign on the metro to be interesting.





Chatuchak is the largest market in Thailand and sells everything under the sun. Probably because we were there in the morning on a weekday, most of the stalls were shuttered, and the big thing for sale throughout the market was plants and home garden accessories. It would be interesting to see the place on the weekend.





From Chatuchak, we took the Skytrain down to the Central Pier on the Chao Phraya River. The Skytrain is a nice way to travel above all the chaos of Bangkok’s streets. As a tourist, I think the best ways of getting around Bangkok are to take the Metro, Skytrain, and river taxis. Avoid the streets at all costs.







I’m amazed at the road infrastructure in Bangkok. Almost every freeway is elevated, and I’m talking about huge 12 lane freeways with interchanges that have flyaway over flyaway over flyaway. On our way out to the new airport, which is 30 kilometers out of town, there was another freeway elevated above us almost the entire way.





From the Central Pier, we took a river taxi all the way to the pier near Khao San Road, the backpacker haven of Bangkok.





We soaked up Khao San Road, ate some lunch, did some shopping, and used the Internet. Darcy also managed to squeeze in a facial, and me a massage. I’ve become a sort of massage connoisseur since being in Thailand. This one was pretty good, but not the best I’ve had.





Our plane leaves at 10:30 pm, so it is about time to head back to the train station to pick up our bags, then take a bus out to the airport. We took the river taxi to a pier at Chinatown, and walked through Chinatown to the train station. Chinatown looked pretty fun to explore, but we didn’t have enough time so we walked straight through.









At the train station we claimed our bags, took showers, and got on an express bus for the airport. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. I was able to finish my book, and again, I highly recommend reading “Three Cups of Tea”.







I can’t believe a month has passed since we first arrived here. It goes by too quickly. So long Bangkok, Thailand, and random sleeping dogs. I’ll make one more summary post, so stay tuned.



See all our photos here.