Tuk Tuk Touring Thailand

My second day in Bangkok started early, at 5am. My roommate Anna had a flight to catch and woke me with her shuffling and packing. Kenny, Lily and I were joining a Tuk Tuk tour for the first half of the day and had to be there early anyway, so no big deal. Staying in shared dorms doesn't allow for much shut-eye, but it's worth it to meet other travelers and save some money. A bed at Joy's guesthouse is only 300 baht, or less than $10 per night.

Getting to our tour meeting point proved more difficult than anticipated. We allowed half an hour to get to Viengtai Hotel, our meeting point, from my hostel.Which should have been plenty of time. However. Very few Thai taxi drivers speak or read English outside of touristy areas. We hailed three or four and they all replied, "I don't know" or something equally unhelpful in Thai. Finally a nice Thai gentleman walked up, looked at my map, and explained our destination to a Tuk Tuk driver. We hopped in and were off into the busy streets of Bangkok.

Heat. Noise. No time to lose. We were already agitated - not a good way to start the day. We arrived 15 minutes late, literally running up to the steps of the hotel. A Thai man observed us from across the street, amused. Damn Americans.

There were two others in our group: a man from California and a woman from Manchester. Our English-speaking Thai guide was of course very knowledgable and helpful. We split off into groups of two in three Tuk Tuks; I sat with our guide in order to ask as many questions as possible. Zipping through Bangkok traffic, I asked her about the tour, the company she works for (Intrepid's Urban Adventures), life in Thailand, where she goes for vacation, and if she'd ever tried fried scorpion. "No," she said, "scorpion is for tourists only!"

Our first significant stop was Wat Pho, the temple home of an enormous reclining Buddha. Like seriously huge. This is the largest reclining Buddha in all the land, measuring 50 feet high and 150 feet long. Too bad I didn't have a camera...

We visited markets and more temples, getting in and out of our Tuk Tuks several times over the course of four hours. Our final destination was the Golden Mount, a temple on a hill with 360 degree views of Bangkok. Climbing the 318 steps to the top in 95-degree heat was no simple task, but totally worth it. A gentle breeze at the top cooled us down. I found a tiny golden bell, the size of a pea, and tucked it into my pocket - a reminder of the Golden Mount - and hopefully not grounds for detainment when I leave the country.

Disclaimer: I don't usually do tours, but I won a contest and got this one for free. Here be the itinerary for anyone interested: http://www.urbanadventures.com/bangkok_tour_tuk_tuk_experience

With our tour finished it was time to head back to the hostel. This time I came prepared. I flagged a taxi and handed over a piece of paper with Joy's house address on it, conveniently written in Thai. What could possibly go wrong? The driver looked me straight in the eye and said "300 baht". You've gotta be kidding me. My room for the night costs 300 baht. 300 baht is four times the amount a meter ride would have cost. 300 baht, you may remember, is only about $10 and would be a perfectly acceptable amount for a 20-30 minute taxi ride in many international cities. But NOT in Bangkok! I told him no, please turn on the meter. His reply: "Do you want to go or not?" I said no, he sped off, and we flagged another taxi.

It wasn't about the money. It's simply a matter of principle. I don't like getting ripped off!

Speaking of money, I made a stupid mistake that cost me $90. I forgot my camera battery and charger at home. Frantically packing up some last-minute things early in the morning to catch my flight from Seattle, I threw my camera in, got in the car, and left the battery charging. Oops.

So after our tour it was off to the mall for me. Lily and Kenny left Bangkok that afternoon, catching a bus south to the islands. I was excited to be alone for the first time since my arrival. On my own schedule. I caught a skytrain to MBK Center, Bangkok's giant 7-floor shopping mall, and went camera shopping. Three hours later I emerged full of tasty mall food, slightly disoriented, and carrying the cheapest digital camera I could find. Success.

I stumbled out into the night and walked right into a crowd of hundreds. What the heck? It was Wednesday at 7pm. MBK Fight Night! And a perfect opportunity to try out my new photo machine. I hung around for an hour or so, watching several rounds of ringside Thai boxing, shooting photos and video, all for free. Not a bad way to end my second day in Thailand.

Location:Bangkok