So off to Khao San Road by the Chao Phraya Express Boat to see the REAL Thailand, here we are speeding up the river with the Rama VIII Bridge in view.
So what is Khao San Road famous for? Off-hand I can think of fake documents, ie degrees that the English TEFLer teachers like so much, pirate goods which the back packers like so much, apart from that it could be any popular back packers stop over town any where in Asia, food basically caters for farangs rather than being aimed at the Thai market, hotels and guest houses are slowly going more upmarket with things like solid walls in bedrooms rather than plywood where you can hear your neighbours fart, and watch out if your bird is a screamer, the whole place will get to listen to the show, might even get a round of applause if your any good.
Our stop we want is the Phra Arthit pier and then after a short and confusing walk and we will be mixing with the beasts of Europe, taking in the smells of sewage, sweating, unwashed bodies and other aromas the great unwashed give off, the drains don't smell that good either, Khao San Road, the real Thailand where it is easier to get a kebab than a Thai Fried Rice, where beads, braided hair and fake tattoos are always in fashion, fisherman pants are a must, bartering at the local 7/11 for a bottle of water is seen as quite normal, yes, Khao San Road, THE REAL THAILAND.
Time is running out for entries into the "How many backpacks can you carry Festival," for this your going to need some proper food if you want a chance of winning, is that a nice greasy chicken kebab I can see, got a ton of calories and stuff in them, but at 60 baht each would that be a bit too much? How much can they be bartered down to if I order 2 of them? Shall offer him 50 baht a kebab and tell him I will buy one everyday from him, he's sure to fall for that and I am off to Phuket in 3 days,hahahahahah, well sadly Justin ended up paying the 60 baht full price even after bartering for 2 hours, but you really can't beat a nice kebab can you.
Being the real Thailand sometimes Quentin would treat himself to some Vietnamese inspired spring rolls to really get the feel for Thailand, he did think he was being over charged paying 10 baht each for them though.
Pad Thai with an egg on top at 30 baht, without the egg 25 baht, 5 baht for an egg that only costs 3 baht in 7/11, charging 2 baht for cooking it and putting it on a plate seems a tad expensive, bet she spends most of her day bartering with the great unwashed.
Really can't go wrong with fruit in Thailand, must be the cheapest in the world, note they also do musli, honey and yoghurt so are catering to the backpackers, wonder if they eat that rubbish in there home country.
That's actually quite a wide selection of fruit on that menu sign.
So you got 10 days in Khao san Road taking in the real Thailand and then it is off to Chiang Mai for 2 days, what you gonna do?
Gullivers Traveler's Tavern, the trendiest night club on Khao San? Thai women dressed to thrill in the hope of earning some money in exchange for sex, male back packers sipping slowly on that expensive beer in the hope of pulling a Thai stunner and getting some free sex, its a dead lock and nothing will happen.
Have you seen the menu and food prices at Gullivers? Not sure if the Khao san road does food, but at the prices they charge they really do need to re-locate to a more classy area, not many back packers will be willing to pay 320 baht for a English breakfast I reckon, and if they are pork sausages the Israelies wont be queuing up, albeit they can't barter at a night club, at least I hope not.
So what should they do for there 10 days of living the life? This is an easy one, booze buckets, lots of them, hold on the insecticide though.
Line up the booze buckets and off to the drum and guitar stall, time to impres everyone with your musical skills and tell them stories of how you nearly made it in the music business, time to travel Thailand and annoy the fuck out of everybody
If you find you need to save money and are bored of sitting in that tiny heat stiffling box they call your room, the one with the window that faces onto an unrendered wall just over 1 foot away, the brochure did say the views wern't very good didn't it, rather than sitting at a restaurant or bar spending 2 hours sipping a beer sit on the front of a shop that isn't using the outside as a business front, bottle of water and a packet of crisps from the 7/11 and your set up for the day.
Plenty of people watching going on here, what with all the restaurants, bars, market stalls, thinking about it it has just about everything you could want, probably quite a good place for a night out.
For shopping obviously it is best to go to one of the big shopping malls ion Bangkok, plenty to choose from and if you like shopping then you can spend a week just visiting the main ones.
But Khao San Road has a lot of market type stalls and of course many shops which are aimed at the tourist market, so if your not an addicted shopper it should be fine for you.
Choosing some beads and bangles.
Plenty of things to do here and of course to buy here.
Coming next, restaurants, bars and massage in Khao San Road.