Bangkok

Day1-3

Travel as 2 person is bit different. 

Late night arrival at Bangkok airport. Cheap metered taxi outside at first level.  Taxi with meter on is decent and safe. 

First day at Bangkok was busy site seeing. People try to scam us all day which start off as annoying. But later because a tourist attraction itself. No we don't want to buy suit in 34 degree weather and today is not public holiday. For novice traveller we made it out alive. Turk Turk driver always charge more than the taxi. Better and cheaper with meter taxi for sure and it has air-con too. Bangkok-bit like shanghai 20 years ago with nicer people. 

We went to china town for lunch after 2 temples. Food was really good. The dim sim taste better than any I had in Australia. We sat next to a gangster looking old woman in her 70s. They also sell shark fin and birds nest. Box of birds nest with 25 in it cost 1000 australian dollars. Every second shop in china town sells gold. Business here is booming. 

After afternoon nap to escape hot temperature. We headed to royal palace. This is mat's first royal palace. I have seem a few different one around the world. The temple in the palace is so shinny and beautiful. Not too crowed for a popular attraction if you come early or late which means no decent tour guide. The palace wall is full of art. The stone dog stand at the door has cheeky smile on it. The building is made from different color glass and gold. Bling bling!!!! 

We had the best pad Thai in Bangkok for dinner (thip samai). Then try to get to boxing stadium (ratchademoen). Turk Turk refuse to take us there. So we walked. Walked right into the blue shirt protested camp (now I know why no one willing to drive us here). They been camping here for 6 months now. Feel bit funny walk through the camp even it's in the middle of the road. Had bad vibe here. Blue shirt is anti- government. They want democracy without voting. We finically arrive at the Thai-boxing. 3 class tickets. 1000/1500/2000 bah. Tourist price. Mat insist we get ring price of 2000 bah. But we end up moved to 1500 bah sit because we had better view. Whole roll of sit just for 2 of us because most Thai in cheap cage area and falon at ring area. Pop corn and beer is served. The fighting start at 6.30 with 8 years old kid who kick shit out of each other. (This is kick boxing after all). The 8 year old fight is most entertaining. They don't hit as hard so they hit more often. Kick and pouch one after another. The Thais behide the tall fence went wild at betting and screaming. Waving their hand and scream: knee knee knee. Second fight is between 14 year olds. Then 16, 18 and so on. Then we had a display fight between a Spanish man and a Thai boxer. All the fights were violent. Often with knock down and harsh kick in the head. I had complex emotion about this. The boys in the ring is like animals. It's like a cock fight. But the chicken are very young boys. On the other hand, I enjoy watching it. 

Day two we decide to relax: shopping and massage later. We end up at famous khon San road. It use to be a place people buy rice. Now it's backpacker road. We decided to drink chang and people watch (2pm). The backpackers come from all around the world because lonely planet said so. I saw my first tower beer. How interesting, we should have on in oz. mat got drunk by 6pm and start buying scorpion to eat. And every old foreign guy walk pass. He would  scream out: sex pest. We end up chatting to people from Sweden, America and German. He called the German nazi.

 The bar man wanted me give tips. He said: no tips. No good. I replied: no good, no care. Service at this bar is really crap. 

6 hours of drinking later. I manage to get my drunken bf back in hostel. Who end up drank with Canadians outside hostel. I go check on him twice. I left him outside and went to bed when their conversation gone to how to pick up blond big boob girls in front of a blond girl... 

Old 2013 blog Santiago chile

Day 3 Santiago. 

Wake up at 10 am and realize I missed free breakfast. In shock how lazy I feel. Then I spend another hour in bed. After 5 dollar lunch which consist toast and coffee. I journey my way towards museo of arte. Because my dark hair and eye color and Chinese people migrate everywhere. I feel like a local here. More local than chinchilla and rockingham in fact. Only if I could speak Spanish! I can fit in!!!  A lady crossed the road from a park with two large dog yarb in Spanish at me when she walk pass me. I had no idea what she was talking about.  I smile and nod at her and keeps going. Outside the museo of arte. There is huge statue of two gay looking men. I wish I could understand what the artist trying to express. They look like they in the middle of bondage sex. The museo cost $1.2 or 600 peso to enter. Cheap! I have 400,000 peso on me. It makes me feel like a millionaire. This a modern art museum. At the entrance I discover who stole my shirt. Music, art and love is so much part of people in Santiago. I took a photo of statue with a girl looking in the eyes of a boy. That level of intimacy is everywhere in the parks of Santiago. Couples express their love and affection in a deepest level at most public spaces. It show a level of connection often don't experience or understand by western couple. Their look in the eye and the way they hug is like saying: I love you. Trust me with your life and deepest fear. I will treasure you and hold you like this is the last days of our lives. Let's become one and let one become us. I deeply admire them. Admire how they spend hours (4-5 hours in fact) on the grass. Kissing, cuddling, talking and laughing. It's rude to take photo of couples in the park. So I took photo of statue instant. 

Next stop is castillo hidalgo. At free entrance, they gave me free post card. So far I had free dinner, free wine, free breakfast, free entrance to park, free city tour and museo. Now free post card! Feeling the love baby....mhahahaha.

Back to Castillo hidalgo.

Don pedro de valdivia decide to come to santiago and build a house and church on top of small hill in the middle of the city in 1600. He decided on the location because it's so steep and hard to climb. Perfect to defend agains the local Indians. The indians has their name for the place. It's translate into 'sadness', so many died here. Pedro got captured and killed in a most horrible death.(eating gold dust. Then his body was cooked.) at the bottom of the castle, there is a man-made waterfall. Sit here long enough, you can hear the voice of death and water turn into a reddish pink. On the top of the hill, on the top of pedro's castle. There is two street dogs in deep sleep as if the the battle never happened. And all the death and restless soul is now in peace. 

Rest of the afternoon. I am going to sit in the park, watch people kissing. Enjoy the sun and read a book call 'all road to austen'.