From Bali Back To Bangkok Thailand

We left Sanur Bali after a month and are now back in Bangkok. Usually I feel a kind of sorrow when I leave a place that I've visited. But this time I was looking forward to leaving. Bali didn't do it for us.

I must say that it is a unique place though. I had a look at the airport and realize that they've designed it, to have a Balinese theme and this is the first airport that I have seen, that didn't look like an airport on the outside.

When we were in Sanur we could see in the distance the statue called Garuda Wisnu Kencana. They say it's the second largest statue in the world.

When we first arrived I was mesmerized by the sight of it, protruding into the sky. It's a little eerie actually.

The flight was four hours and twenty minutes. It was the most tight flight ever. Air Asia is a budget airline and they mean it. What made me crazy is that the seats in front of us were empty and all the rows in front of that were also empty. If you didn't pay for those seats you couldn't sit there no matter what.

We were a little anxious towards the end about how we would get to our Arbnb. I was expecting touts to run at us trying to get us into a taxi. It was the opposite there at Don Mueang airport.

The way to get a taxi is to take a number and wait in a waiting area until they call your number. I asked how long it would be and they said around a half an hour. After four hours crammed into a little seat on the plane, we were not patient enough to wait longer. We left the area and started walking. There was a sign telling about buses that went into town.

We found a bus that would go to the sky train stop that we were going to go with a taxi We were going to take the sky train to our Arbnb.

The taxi was going to cost probably between seven to ten dollars. This bus cost us around a dollar fifty each. The bus was fast and it was roomy and air conditioned. We were so thankful.

Within a short time we caught our train to the stop near our place. What a perfect neighborhood with everything near by. The condo complex has five buildings and is really nice. Our place is small and compact but there's a kitchen, bathroom with shower and bathroom with toilet. There is so much storage space that we can't use it all. Oh and a washing machine. So happy to wash clothes conveniently. We are paying more then Bali but it's worth it. We're paying thirty-six dollars a night. We like the place and area so much that we booked three more nights before we go down to a beach somewhere.

We are quite high up but fortunately the elevators are fast.

We discovered that we were located close by to four vegan restaurants of which one, we've already been to. This was super exciting.

Yesterday we were excited to go to a market called Klong Toei that we saw on the map. We do have two large supermarkets close by Big C and Tesco, but we thought we could save money by getting fresh produce at the market. We set out on a journey to find it, in hopes of coming back with all kinds of fruits and vegetables.

Well we finally got there and at the entrance we had to pass by a scene that was so gruesome, sad and horrifying. I really need many more words to describe it. It was a nightmare. I didn't take many photos because I couldn't look.

The first thing we saw were cages upon cages of live ducks and other animals crammed into a cage that was cruel beyond any imagination. There were dead ones as well and slime all over the ground that was not tolerable for us.

Because I couldn't look, I don't know the extent of the horrors in the market. I was hoping I could get to some stands that were far from the crazy scene.

When we did get to the produce stands we turn around abruptly and left the market.

We went to Big C where we should have gone in the first place. When we got there I went straight to the bargain bin like I did the last time we were in Bangkok.

There I can get big bags of oyster mushrooms and other vegetables that are perfectly good and it cost just one or two dollars.

We got back to the condo and dropped off our goods then set out for a walk to tour the area which we've done on our last trip but some areas were a new discovery.

I soon discovered the fruit stands right around the corner where I could have gone without walking all the way to Klong Toei market.

There are several streets that are off shoots of the main streets. They're little surprise alleys called sois with restaurants and bars.

When we arrived at the main street of Sukamvit we were in a sea of traffic, shops, pedestrians, malls and sky trains.

They say that Bangkok is trying to get rid of street vendors, I believe it would be the food vendors that they are speaking of. I really feel sad about this even though I don't buy street food. It is part of the culture and for me it's something I remember from childhood. I was born here and left for Canada at age four. My father was Canadian.

I still have fond memories of getting a treat from the street vendors. It was really exciting.

I find it odd that the city buses are still old compared to the North American ones. Bangkok has tall modern skyscrapers, malls with several floors, subways and sky trains yet their city buses don't quite match.

Many people come to Bangkok and take advantage of getting a tailored suit for as little as two hundred dollars.

When we were here in December we discovered a place called Art Park which was a place where you can buy things and have food and drinks. Sometimes they have live entertainment. We walked through last night but didn't stay. In December it was much livelier.

Our journey ends with a walk through the infamous Soi Cowboy in the red light district. We see ladies waiting for business from tourists. I think it was a slow night.

After walking through these streets we realized we had seen enough and made our way back to the condo.

This is Bangkok. It's wild, yet full of conservative people who are dedicated to their religion and as they say, it's The Land Of Smiles.

Disclosure: Posts on TravelFeed may contain affiliate links. See affiliate disclosure.