It was a race to get to Bangkok. We needed to get to the Chinese embassy before 11 am. I have said it once and I'll say it again, biking in and out of big cities is not fun. You have to be on top of your game... like super alert at all times. A lot of stop and go (which is annoying) and getting cut off. I am not one to curse but I have realized myself mouthing off at every vehicle that slows me down. Luckily I don't think the driver's notice.
Anyways, after getting off course a few times we made it to Lumphini Park and from there cruised into the Chinese embassy only to be redirected around the corner. My worst fears were then confirmed when I learned that this new visa policy to get into China is everywhere. Basically you need to show proof of a return air ticket and hotel bookings. How can?!?! Cannot. This was the same deal in Singapore. Soooooooo... as luck would have it a ladyboy led me to his/her office and sorted us with some rushed same day visas!!! Obviously we had to pay a bit more but it was worth it.
Another reason I am not fond of big city biking is the pollution. I seriously think I am taking in too much of this crap. Not good. A lot of these tuk tuks have horrible exhaust pipes and it sucks sitting in traffic breathing it all in.
Also Trevor and I got separated. I guess this was bound to happen sooner or later. I was pretty pissed off but cooled down when we met up again. We are still living in the 1980's so we do not possess these gadgets they call 'mobile' or 'cellular' phones. Apparently one can use these to communicate with one another and so I guess they would have been a convenient thing to have. On the positive side though I learned a few things... one being Trevor can be stupid at times. I went back to the spot where we split up and he kept going to where we were heading being the Grand Palace. I thought maybe he would go that route but then thought how stupid can one be to head there as the Grand Palace is kind of big so even if we were both there it could be difficult to locate one another. We ended up meeting back at the Chinese embassy as we had to be there for 3 pm. And yes we now have ground rules if we split up again.
It was a real pain finding accommodation last night. Bangkok is expensive. Well I guess not so much if you're staying on Khao San Road but we were around Siam Square. We pretty much walked (our bikes were getting tuned up!) around for hours in the humid evening before finding the hostel I stayed at last time I was here. Phew!!! Pretty cheap as well and solid location.
Finally it was super nice to have the day off. Had to since our bikes were being worked on. So sleeping in until 8 am was very sweet. We later walked to Tesco and got some grub. That wasn't our last trip there by the way. I then went to watch a moooovie called Sex and the City. It was good. And yes I did watch the show a few years ago and yes I am straight... hehe.
Picture time...
First one is of a poor helpless dog. I hate seeing this but there are way too many animals in SE Asia that are in bad shape. I guess a reminder to have your pets spayed or neutered to control the pet population.
Second one is me pissed off at the corner in Bangkok where Trevor and I separated. I waited a good hour there and what really sucked was that Trevor had all the Baht and right next to me was this lady serving freshly squeezed orange juice. I could sure smell it but had no money...
Third one is we are in the clear! A huge relief that we now have the Chinese visas!
Last one is me outside the Grand Palace.
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