March 15
Today we arose early to get ready for our departure from
Singapore. We are a bit sad to leave our
tiny little corner of the world here at the Madras Hotel. We have grown fond of the staff as well as
their dog and are moving on with a bit of reluctance. After breakfast, we make our way to the now
familiar bus stop and onto the MRT to the airport. We have small snacks and spend some of our
remaining Singapore money we have in our pockets. After getting onto the plane, I notice a bit
of dripping onto my lap from the overhead compartment. The drip turns into a flood and I only barely
am able to escape the deluge. The flight
attendants promptly clean up the mess that was a spilled water container that
someone had in their carry on bag…..which totally soaked Annie’s backpack that
was stored in the bin. Disaster was
somewhat avoided and we all settled back down for an uneventful flight to
Bangkok. We arrive right on schedule and
get to a very busy airport and once again we are at the very beginning of a
learning curve. We/I negotiate a taxi
for all of us to get into town and we finally get a driver that at first
refuses to transport us…not sure if he doesn’t like the looks of us or too many
people, too many bags or what, but the lady at the taxi stand forces him to
take us. We wedge into the taxi and
drive for what seems like forever in the stifling heat of the day. We finally
arrive at a very crowded street lined with market vendors down every side and loads
of people walking in the middle of the street.
It is nearly impossible for the driver to maneuver around, but he
manages and we finally arrive at our hotel, the Khaosan Park Resort. It is a very nice place, centrally located,
with plenty of spreading out room for us all.
We have to take two separate rooms, but no worries. After settling in, we take a walk to see the
lay of the land. The kids are in a
shopping frenzy as we try to make our way along the road and out the other
side. This is the least expensive place
we have been and the kids meager allowances will go very far here…..they are
excited to say the least. We finally
emerge out the other side and find a Seven Eleven. We duck inside to enjoy the AC and pick up
some drinks. It has been forever since
we have had a cup of coffee and we notice they offer lattes here and enjoy our jolt of caffeine delivered in a familiar form. Afterward, we wind our way toward the river and get caught up with a guy who is trying to practice his English while giving us very forceful directions on where to go and he then calls over two Tuk-Tuk drivers to deliver us to the places he wants us to go. We are having none of it and continue on our way. They follow us down the sidewalk. Finally, we turn around and totally ignore them while walking away.....whew! Clean getaway. We walk around until we arrive at a nice "Wat" or temple alongside the river and Paulie points out the water taxi stand. He can't wait to take us on a ride tomorrow. We return to Khaosan road, grabbing snacks of cut up mango along the way and water galore. We are enchanted with all of the activity on our street, the hustle and bustle of the city and all of the coolness contained within. We return to the hotel to wipe away the day's grime, grit and sweat....I swear about 10 lbs. of goo washed away and the we go out to dinner around the corner. Once back at our hotel, it is off to bed.....only problem....we can't sleep.
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