Sometimes
when you’re traveling everything just happens perfectly and smoothly. Bangkok
was not one of those times. On the 7-hour bus ride over, Hannah was feeling a
bit queasy with some stomach pains (which is not abnormal given her
carsickness). However, it was fairly clear later that night/next morning that
something else was wrong. However, given her need to be next to the toilet, we
couldn’t yet make a trip to the doctor. She decided she would sleep as much as
possible, and I decided that it would be a good time for me to go out and take
a quick 4-5 hour tour of the city. (This is my account of Bangkok seeing as you
all probably don’t want Hannah’s version as it was limited to the hotel room.)
Google
maps can be deceiving. I saw that the temple I wanted to go to was not too far
away (or so I thought), and I decided that I would try to walk it and see the
city at the same time. I was walking for about an hour and half before I
realized that the river was much much further than I had originally thought. I
decided to take a tuk tuk to Wat Phra Keaw, but when I arrived, I was informed
that it was closed for visitors until 1 PM. So, I was recommended some other
places to go.
First on
the list was “Big Buddha.” I have no idea if that’s the actual translation or
if that’s just what they tell the tourists. Overall, I was unimpressed as I had
seen things similar to it in Korea. Next up was “Lucky Buddha.” Again, nothing
really special, but I did learn some important information there. Apparently,
one week of the year, the Thai government rewards their citizens by giving them
the manufacturing price on quality fabrics used by Armani and other high-end
brands. This year only, they opened it up to foreigners. So, that ended up
being my next stop.
I have
to say that the salesmen/tailors there are very very good at their jobs. As
soon as I walked in, someone was there giving me some water and showing me
fabrics. I declined buying a suit (which I’m half regretting now cause once you
buy something during this event, you get a membership card that allows you to
buy at that price for the rest of your life. A custom fitted Armani suit for
less than 200 bucks is not a bad deal at all.) I thought about something
cheaper, like shirts. The man didn’t miss a beat and responded, “Of course sir.
We have a great deal on 20 shirts.” After explaining that there was no way on
earth that I would wear/need 20 shirts, I talked him down to 7. After some
haggling over the price, we finally agreed on a deal. After making the
purchase, I was informed that I would need to come back later for a fitting
(which I didn’t want to do because I had a sick wife to get back to. Turns out
it was all OK though because she was still sleeping.)
I then
visited the big temple Wat Phra Keaw. It was kind of surreal. Part of me felt
like I was exploring Disneyland, another part of me felt like there were way
too many people, and the final part of me was just thinking, “It is WAY too hot
and sunny out right now.” I couldn’t see any of pictures because of the
brightness of the sun and the reflectiveness of all the surfaces there. If I
were an ant on the sidewalk, I would have fried quickly. As it is, I’m not an
ant and just have skin to be sunburned. Nothing like laying down that good
first degree burn for it to peel into a nice tan. I ended up rushing through
the whole place while crushing water bottles left and right. Fortunately, I did
get a few good pictures and a few more decent ones.
After
that, I killed some time at Starbucks and a restaurant. Then came time for the exciting
adventure of being lied to. As I was walking to take a tuk tuk back to the
tailor’s shop, they talked me into a reduced price if I went to another store
first. Apparently, they get free gas cards for taking people to different
shops. However, after walking out of the store, the driver told me that he
wouldn’t take me to the other place, and he wouldn’t budge on it. Instead, he
took me to the river to take the river boat there. I ended up not paying him
anything because of it, and he didn’t seem too upset about it. I guess the free
gas was enough. The river boat was a cool experience, but I then had to divine
where the tailor’s shop was once I got off. All I had to go by was a business
card with an oversimplified map. I thought I was lost on more than one
occasion, but I ended up making it there (an hour later than intended no thanks
to the tuk tuk driver). My shirts did fit perfectly and felt great though.
After
arriving back at the hotel, Hannah and I went to the hospital. The doctor said
that she most likely had cholera from ingesting contaminated food or water. He
gave her some medicine, and we headed back for the hotel. She has been sleeping
a lot which is probably the best thing for her. And yes, she has been staying
very hydrated through it all. The doctor said that she should be feeling better
in 2 to 3 days. You can all be praying that she makes a full recovery from
this. We have an hour plane flight today to our next destination, Krabi.
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