The first challenge of the day trip was getting to the travel agent, located on Khao San Road. For those of you without some familiarity with Bangkok, Khao San Road is the "heart of the international backpacking scene" (Fodor's travel guide, my ever-present companion). It's a mix of Bourbon Street and the French Market, with a little bit of a sketchy road in Freetown. But, it was there we trooped to get tickets for our adventure the next day. After negotiating the price of the ticket, we headed to get some food, first to the Burger King to supplicate one of my friend's 3-year old (who was promised ice cream). Getting stuck in Burger King during a torrential downpour, as happens frequently, I relented to my grumbling stomach and ate Burger King for the first time in several years. It was quite delicious, although my standards might have been a bit low due to my hunger. After the downpour ceased, we tried to get a taxi to go back to the hotel. This proved more challenging then I imagined, but we succeeded after some time and made it back across the city in record time - it only took 90 minutes or so. (Remember what I said about traffic?)
The next day began bright and early - 6:30am when we were picked up by the van and shuttled back across the city to pick up other tour-goers. Our destination was southwest of the city, to see the floating market of Damnoen Saduak, Sampran Elephant Ground and Zoo, and the Rose Garden. The floating market is just that - a market of small boats that float along the many canals in Damnoen Saduak. There is food, tourist nick knacks, clothing, paintings, and more that line the edges (and middle) of the canals. This floating market is a bit of a tourist trap (there are apparently few places in Thailand that aren't), but it's a fun adventure. After several hours of wandering around the shops, we headed to the Sampran Elephant Ground. While I was a little apprehensive about how these elephants may be treated, they seemed pretty healthy and the show was entertaining, with a history of elephants in Thailand, a demonstration of battle using elephants, and, of course, feeding the elephants. At the same place, there was also a crocodile show. Now, I'm not one to run away from crocodiles (after all, I am my grandmother's grand-daughter), but the show made me nervous, despite others' assurances that the crocodiles were trained. The show consisted of sticking the "trainer's" head into a crocodile's open mouth, grabbing a crocodile by the tail and spinning him (or her) around, and picking a croc up. Like I said, I'm not one to shy away from a good crocodilian chasing, but always from the safety of a golf cart.
Our final stop of the day was at the Rose Garden. Known for its beautiful grounds, we were unfortunately stuck inside due to the torrential rain (common occurrence!). But, we did get to see a Thai cultural show of dancing, Thai boxing, sword fighting, and a wedding ceremony. Heading back to Bangkok, I promptly fell asleep. (Katie R, I think your car sleeping habit rubbed off on me.) We were dropped off at Khao San Road, ate some of the best chicken and cashews I've ever had at a restaurant (note: my mom's chicken and cashews is still the best), took another taxi back (I fell asleep) and returned to the hotel.
Oh, and the craving orange Fanta part... this is when I know I'm dehydrated. I had one almost every day in Sierra Leone and when I got back in the van after the floating market, I was craving an orange Fanta. Water, unfortunately, had to do the trick.
(at the floating market)
(me and an elephant :-D)
(me, Prachi, Jaiden, Alpha and Ken - at the Rose Garden)
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