Monday, February 8th, 2016 …continued
After booking a room, we drank our beers and bickered some more before flagging down a cab. If you’re easily offended, I’d suggest you scroll ahead. If you choose to read on, please understand that this was the opinion of the cabbie, and not that of my own.
Our cab driver spoke English very fluently, however we would discover that he was quite the bigot, which made for a very uncomfortable trip to the hotel. He brazenly ranted on and on about how he often denies giving rides to Indians and “Placks” (how he pronounced “Blacks”). He said, “They soooo STINKY!” My jaw dropped. Trevor and I looked at one another in a state of shock. We would become more and more uncomfortable as he continued on.
“Everyone No Like Obama! I hate Obama! Everyone hates America! Thailand hate America. China hate America. I hate America. Everyone hate America!”
He did all this with a smile on his face. So did I, but mine was the nervous kind of smile. Was this fucking guy for real? He had absolutely no filter when it came to sharing his opinions, and one of them was his love for American fast food restaurants, which was funny since he hated America.
“Thai food make me poop so much! It make me poop right away. I no like Thai food. I love McDonald’s. I love KFC! Soooo good!”
Needless to say, we were both relieved to arrive at our hotel and escape the backseat of that cab!
One we got checked in at the “Bangkok Loft Inn,” we were given many great suggestions at the front desk. We were both very frustrated with the whole Bangkok experience so far, so the bickering continued. I went for a walk which led me to the metro station. I returned to the hotel to find Trevor drinking a beer. He told me the lady at the front desk took him down a shady alleyway to a vendor that was selling them. You usually can’t get alcohol before 5 pm. We drank in the room and decided to try to make the best of the remainder of the day.
After our drinks, I showed him where the metro was and we took it to the ferry pier. I’m glad we left when we did, because there was a ridiculously long and unorganized line to load up on the boat, and the crowd got bigger and bigger as time passed by. About one and a half hours passed before we were crammed on the boat to head to the Asiatique Riverfront Market.
Everything was lit up with Chinese lanterns and there was plenty for visitors to enjoy. A wide selection of restaurants for every budget, a Ferris wheel, a beer garden, a small venue for live shows, many shops, a mini bike track for kids, even spa treatments.
We would choose a place called “Why97” to eat dinner and after all the poor service, we would wonder, “Why did we choose to eat here?” The ladyboy waiter was very quick to bring drinks, but forgot our food order, and then would forget us altogether. After seeing several people come and go, we would eventually get one of our meals. We listened to the band play very sad love ballads as we waited, and waited, and waited for the rest of our order. At least we got to enjoy a Chinese New Year parade and wandered around some cool shops. It had been a stressful day. We stared off at the glowing buildings of the city and the brightly lit boats from the ferry on our way back, and hoped that tomorrow would be a better day.
Jump Back to Part 14: The Year of the Monkey & Bedlam in Bangkok
Jump Ahead to Part 16: Lost Causes, A Reclining Buddha & Khao San Road
OR
Start from the Beginning at Part 1: Mumbai to Chiang Mai
Stubbs Rambles On 