BKK Day 2: You don't want go Crocodile Farm?
A colleague and The Searcher recommended me to visit The Ancient City of Muang Boran. It's 40 minutes away from the hustle-bustle of Bangkok, located in Samut Prakan. It's basically Thailand's history, culture, architecture and art all condensed into 320 acres of land the shape of Thailand. Think of it as Mini Malaysia, only *much* better and less cheesy. It boasts of 112 attractions in 6 sections. The entrance fee is THB300, inclusive of bicycle rental or a tram ticket. We took one double bicycle and a golf cart. It was a sweltering day and shade was few and far in between. At the start, we were very keen to see the sights. Took many photos. But as we went on, the attractions were losing their lustre. All of 'em started looking the same. And the sun was unforgiving. Towards the end, we were hurrying ourselves through, just giving the magnificent structures cursory glances and quick photo shoots. However, while we were at the replica of the Grand Palace, a bollywood movie shooting was taking place and we were asked to stay put a moment:
Crew: Just wait a couple of minutes please.
Us: Bollywood movie shooting?
Crew: Yeah. You know Minty?
Us: Errr. No.
Crew: Ibrahim? (or something like that, I forgot)
Us: Errr. No.
Crew: You know Shah Rukh Khan?
Us: YEAHHHH. We know!
Crew: (he's not in this movie).
I didn't get a good look at the main actor and actress. Oh well. We left a little after lunch time. The nice people at Muang Borang even gave us metal bookmarks as souvenirs. They even got a taxi driver to send to a nice local restaurant for lunch. English proficiency is even lower in Samut Prakan. We had a difficult time ordering, but we did end up with a delicious Tom Yam, Omelette, fried mixed vegetables and spicy minced pork with sweet basil leaf. Very satisfying. The taxi driver waited for us and later sent us back to Bangkok. The heat had gotten to us and by the time we reached the hotel, we showered and dozed off.
I woke up and got down to check out the pool. It was quite small really, but there weren't many people in the water. Most of the tourists were busy working o their tans. Practically lobsters and cha siew's on deckchairs. One woman was walking around in her thong, and she even had a nice tattoo right beside the crack, to add focus. Heh. Luckily she had the body to pull it off. I swam for a bit and found that the water is quite salty. Hard water. Easier to float too. There was one guy in the pool that just got down at the deep end and held on to the the sides. He didn't move a muscle. Just "stood" there for around 40 minutes. I was shivering although I swam and yet he managed to remain static in the cold water for so long. Siao.
Later that night, we headed over to Suan Lum Night Market for some dinner and shopping. Overall, the stuff there was more expensive, but the environment much more comfortable due to the night air and the absence of the crowds. We ate at the food court and boy was it sprawling. It even had live performances (on a weekday no less). The food was good, taste and quality-wise. We ordered stewed pork trotters on rice, roasted pig neck meat (delicious!), pad thai, fried rice, ABC (had some kind of nasty bread soaked in syrup), fried springrolls and sausages. There was a ferris wheel (Eye of Bangkok?) there as well, but we didn't try it. That concludes day 2 of my trip.
......... to be continued .............
Crew: Just wait a couple of minutes please.
Us: Bollywood movie shooting?
Crew: Yeah. You know Minty?
Us: Errr. No.
Crew: Ibrahim? (or something like that, I forgot)
Us: Errr. No.
Crew: You know Shah Rukh Khan?
Us: YEAHHHH. We know!
Crew: (he's not in this movie).
I didn't get a good look at the main actor and actress. Oh well. We left a little after lunch time. The nice people at Muang Borang even gave us metal bookmarks as souvenirs. They even got a taxi driver to send to a nice local restaurant for lunch. English proficiency is even lower in Samut Prakan. We had a difficult time ordering, but we did end up with a delicious Tom Yam, Omelette, fried mixed vegetables and spicy minced pork with sweet basil leaf. Very satisfying. The taxi driver waited for us and later sent us back to Bangkok. The heat had gotten to us and by the time we reached the hotel, we showered and dozed off.
I woke up and got down to check out the pool. It was quite small really, but there weren't many people in the water. Most of the tourists were busy working o their tans. Practically lobsters and cha siew's on deckchairs. One woman was walking around in her thong, and she even had a nice tattoo right beside the crack, to add focus. Heh. Luckily she had the body to pull it off. I swam for a bit and found that the water is quite salty. Hard water. Easier to float too. There was one guy in the pool that just got down at the deep end and held on to the the sides. He didn't move a muscle. Just "stood" there for around 40 minutes. I was shivering although I swam and yet he managed to remain static in the cold water for so long. Siao.
Later that night, we headed over to Suan Lum Night Market for some dinner and shopping. Overall, the stuff there was more expensive, but the environment much more comfortable due to the night air and the absence of the crowds. We ate at the food court and boy was it sprawling. It even had live performances (on a weekday no less). The food was good, taste and quality-wise. We ordered stewed pork trotters on rice, roasted pig neck meat (delicious!), pad thai, fried rice, ABC (had some kind of nasty bread soaked in syrup), fried springrolls and sausages. There was a ferris wheel (Eye of Bangkok?) there as well, but we didn't try it. That concludes day 2 of my trip.
......... to be continued .............
Comments
Ais Batu Campur! Hehe.
@JL:
That's an interesting nugget of info. Why a french name?
@Savante:
I didn't buy anything!
The Grand Palace you visited is actually a replica of Samai Krung Si Ayutthaya, and not the current palace in Krungthep! It was to replicate the former Thai capital that was sacked and burnt by the BUrmese in 1767.
Oh yeah, about the three-headed elephant park, it was also made by the Meung Boran owner!It's a very famous shrine as many people have got their wishes come true there!
On Suan Luam, you are really lucky to visit the place. The whole area seems destined for redevelopment by CPB! Sometimes I wonder why Nai Luang is pushing the small people aside!
Anyway, it's nice to read that you had a really nice time in Thailand! I hope you enjoyed the famous hospitality of the Thai people!
Watdee JAH!