Day 107 - Sky Bar in Bangkok and Eating Roaches and Crickets

We spent the last half day in Ayutthaya at the Elephant Village and Floating Market. I showed the tuk-tuk driver the location of where I wanted to get dropped off, and he agreed, but ended up taking us to a different elephant village. Good thing I was already here before, or else I would have just accepted it, but I wasn't going to be fooled this time around!

After shopping and eating some of the local delicacies, we headed back to bangkok on a charter bus. It took about 2 hours to get back and it was already dark. We checked into our hotel and got ready to visit one of the highest bars in the world, and I believe the second highest in all of Bangkok – the Sky Bar at the State Tower of Lebua. This was the bar that was featured in the The Hangover 2, and I'd been wanting to visit it for a while now because the pictures of it looked stunning.

The drinks were around $15/usd, but I think it was worth it for the experience, views, and pictures I was able to take. It was located on the 64^th floor of the hotel, and luckily it wasn't raining when we arrived, although it was sprinkling while we were standing around the circular bar. We went on a Monday, so it wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be, and the douchiness factor was low that night as well.

Afterwards, we headed back to Silom in search of some insects to devour. It was one thing Maco wanted to try, and I wanted to redeem myself after chickening out the first time I came across it the last time I was here. We found the street vendor selling a variety of these crispy snacks, and she even offered us a free cricket to try! The last time I was here with my friend Quang, the vendor offered a bag for 30 baht, or a single cricket for 20 baht. Feeling cheated, we declined the offer. This time around, I took the free cricket like it was my last meal...OK not really, but a free cricket tastes better than one that costs 20 baht right? It didn't taste too bad, and I actually ended up swallowing the piece I bit into. We tipped the vendor 10 baht for the free snack and asked how much the huge cockroaches were...10 baht each. This would be the true test, as I have a deep fear of cockroaches whenever I see them crawling around the streets or on the walls... And this cockroach was no ordinary cockroach found in the United States... these were GIANT cockroaches, as you can see by the pictures below. They were probably bigger than the length of my middle finger!

Holding the cockroach in my hand was enough to make me squirm, but I kept my composure and bit the head off...held it in my mouth, and everything was ok until I actually tried to chew and taste the insect. It was DISGUSTING and I immediately spit it out. If ever you are faced with a food shortage and you only had the choice of eating crickets or cockroaches, choose the crickets...

Bangkok at Night

Ayutthaya Elephant Village

My favorite coconut ice cream in Ayutthaya

Look at the size of that thing!

Reaction Shot

Day 69 - Bangkok to Ayutthaya

Took the commuter train to Ayutthaya in the morning, which took about 2 hours and only 15 baht ($0.50)! The train was old, but the ride was smooth. There was no a/c, but the windows were open, which provided a nice breeze and good views.

We arrived in the afternoon and took a ferry across the river to get to our guest house. With no real concrete plans, we decided to rent bikes to explore the city. According to my guide book, there were a ton of ancient (Angkor Wat-like) temples scattered throughout the city and I was sure we could stumble upon some real gems.

Quang wanted to see the elephant village, so we rode our bikes across the highway to get there. It was like a major freeway and I was a little nervous riding my little bike across with the rest of the cars, motorbikes, and mack trucks. Thankfully we survived, but arrived a little too late to really see much of the elephants as they headed back to the forest.

There was a floating market nearby, so we took a small boat around the lake and looked at the knick knacks that were for sale. The selection here was more unique than compared to the merchandise you could find at every single night market in Bangkok.

After dinner, we headed to the center of the market, where there happened to be a Thai theatre performance. The lead female roles were performed by who else, but ladyboys again. It's incredible to see the way they use their fingers while they dance across the stage. It's like there are all double-jointed because they can pull their fingers far back as they make different figures with them. I couldn't really follow the storyline, but I did admire the traditional Thai costumes they wore. There is something classy, but warrior-like with some of the costumes that they wear.

We headed back across the highway of death, this time in the night, with no flashing lights attached to our bicycles. Again, managed to survive while every vehicle honked at us. We decided to stay an additional night in this city because it seemed to suit our interests more than Bangkok and there was much more to explore. Tomorrow we explore the temples...

Day 15 - Can Tho Floating Markets to Rach Gia

Woke up to around 50 bug bites all over my feet! I'm not sure if it was due to bed bugs or mosquitoes. I foolishly didn't wear insect repellent the night before during dinnertime, so that might have been the cause.

My homestay group took a small tour around the village, where we stopped at the small local outside market that starts at around 4AM! These local vendors sell at this market instead of the floating market because they don't have enough goods to justify selling down the river.

Afterwards, we took a boat tour to the Can Tho floating markets, which was exciting to see because it was one of the largest markets in the area due to its centralized location. Boats would arrive from over 100km away to sell in this area, sometimes staying for days in the water until their inventory was completely sold. This was a legitimate market, where locals from all around southern Vietnam came to purchase and sell mostly agriculture. Small boats selling coffee, drinks, and noodles also floated along the river, targeting most of the touring boats.

The rest of the morning was spent at a rice factory, another market, and lunch in the city's park. I tried snake for the first time, which was pretty good as a satay. The meat was rough and chewy, so it reminded me of eating grilled squid.

In the afternoon, I split from the tour and headed towards Rach Gia so that I could take a boat to the Phu Quoc islands. After overpaying the tourguide for a bus ticket to the coastal town, I was left alone on the sidewalk, unsure of which bus to wait for. Probably one of the most nerve-wrecking moments, I wondered what I would do if no one came... I didn't have the tour guide's phone number, and most of the people in the surrounding area didn't speak much English. Luckily, a bus came and took me to the bus station, where I was asked to pay for the bus ticket again! I don't know if I was scammed by the tour guide, or if the bus station was trying to get more money out of me, but I refused to pay saying that I already paid the tour guide (even though I didn't have a receipt or any proof...) After a while of bickering, I took my cell phone out and began to call the tour company, and at that moment, the bus station just gave me a ticket and led me to the bus. I heard that having a cell phone and making calls usually gets people to quit scamming.

The bus ride was probably the worst so far because the roads were a little less developed on the way to Phu Quoc. Bumpy and hot, all I wanted to do was sleep the whole 3 hours down... but it was tough because all I could hear were the obnoxious stories being told by 2 American dudes, living in Beijing as an English teacher and a computer engineer and travelling for vacation in Vietnam, telling two Londoners about their sexual escapades throughout SE Asia in an offensive way towards both women and Asians. They sort of spoke of Chinese students as if they were lower beings, or non-human. I wanted to punch them in their faces.

When we reached Rach Gia, I tagged along with the two Londoners since they were also headed to the Phu Quoc Islands. We looked for the ticketbooth to sell boatrides to Phu Quoc on the "Superdong III" and afterwards, walked around looking for the cheapest guesthouse we could stay at. With their brilliant bargaining skills, we were each able to get rooms for $5 a night! I never would have thought I'd ever stay somewhere that cheap, since I expected even the cheapest places to be around $10-$15, but apparently, it's pretty easy to find places this cheap since it's low season right now. You just have to deal with no A/C and cold water...

The city of Rach Gia was pretty quiet, and there weren't too many tourists in the area. My two new friends and I went to look for food and there were only maybe 2 restaurants open in the area. We settled on a restaurant/home that served only one dish - porkchops with rice and a fried egg. Probably one of the better meals of the trip. Sometimes it's better not having a choice of what to eat. It forces you to try whatever is available.

Learned a new card game as well, called "Shithead" that is loads of fun. I suppose it's a game that is learned by backpackers and passed along to new friends throughout travels because it's pretty unpredictible, and hard to form really good strategies because the momentum of the game can change at any time. I can't wait to teach my friends at home so we can play it as a drinking game.

The night in the guest house was probably the worst night so far in the trip. I kept waking up because my feet kept itching and I tried my best not to scratch. I wrapped my whole body in my duvet cover in hopes that I would not get bitten again, but i think that made it worse, since it didn't allow my skin to breathe... You don't think a bug bite would make you miserable, but 50+ all over your feet really do...

Getting across the river in the morning at the local village in Can Tho

Enjoying coffee at the Can Tho local village market

Boys learning their father's trade at the Can Tho Floating Market

The kids in Vietnam are so eager to wave and say "hello" to every foreigner they see.

Sellers in the Can Tho Floating Market have bamboo poles that indicate the types of goods they offer.

Buyers purchasing pumpkins at the Can Tho Floating Market

Selling produce at another market in Can Tho

Snake Satay

Day 11 - Floating Market and the Bangkok National Museum

Another day waking up early to head to the Damnoen Saduak Floating Markets, which were located about 50km away from Bangkok in the city of Ratchaburi. We hired a taxi to take us there and back for 1,500 baht, but I doubt you had to pay more than 1,000 baht if you bargained. We asked some of the locals in the city if there were any floating markets in Bangkok but were told they were only open during the weekend, and that the Damnoen Floating Markets were probably the closest and most popular during the weekdays. I was excited to see the local villagers selling fruit and whatever else they had to offer to curious tourists, but the whole experience was a let down. When we got there, we purchased tickets to ride the floating boats, which set us back another 1,500 baht for 4 people. Floating on the river towards the hub of all the trading activity, we saw other stations where other tourists we also getting on the boats, and noticed that their tickets were only 200 baht per person...

Once at the center of the floating market, we noticed that every stall that had things to sell had merchandise that was exactly the same as all the other night markets in Bangkok! There was nothing special about the selection of goods to purchase and so we spent the next hour floating along the river, watching others purchase items, and taking pictures. I'm not sure if there are any other interesting or worthwhile attractions in the city besides a cobra snake show, so I don't think I would recommend a trip to this city just to see the floating markets unless you have other plans around the surrounding area.

Heading back to Bangkok, we stopped by the Bangkok National Museum which housed many historical artifacts from throughout the span of the existance of the royalty in Thailand. There were textile, puppet, Buddha statue, weapon, textile, ivory, pottery, mother of pearl, wood carving, and palanquin rooms showcasing the various artifacts from different ruling periods.

At the end of the night, we took a stroll along the Silom Road markets, again looking at the plethora of merchandise available. The clothing here was definitely more fashionable than in Cambodia and Vietnam. We had dinner at a food court in a department store and I noticed that there were a lot of Muslims in the city. In fact, there was even a Muslim prayer room on one of the floors of the department store and many Halal restaurants in the area. The travel book we used list many different temples, and the dominant religion in Thailand is Buddhism, so I was surprised at the number of Muslims. Then again, this is a city full of diversity so maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised at all.

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market