Trip report 22.09.-24.09.2012 Bang Kachao

[ChristianPFC]

Trip report 22.09.-24.09.2012 Bang Kachao

 

To avoid confusion with current activities and friends: This report is from September 2012. Why do I post it now? Because I had it 90% complete in October, but couldn’t finish it until now.

 

22.09.2012 Saturday Pattaya

 

J and I get up together, J goes to his room and continues sleeping there (at least that’s what I understand after some calls if he wants to join me for the day). I have a stroll with some detours to Big C / Homeworks South Pattaya, only to find the AEON ATM out of order. That means I will have to watch my spendings or withdraw money elsewhere with a fee. [update: There is another AEON ATM and branch in Tesco Central Pattaya.] In the afternoon a trip to Saensuk Sauna, this time no hook-up. At night I go to Funny Boys (second time this holiday, which is very rare, I usually visit bars only once, but they have an underwear fashion show on Saturday). Another customer invites me for a drink, it turns out he speaks German as a foreign language and he cites poems by Eduard Mörike (lesser known German poet 1804-1875, I have bad memories of all poetry we treated in school – i.e. I remember it, but it evokes bad feelings). We converse about German literature, Paris architecture, Thai boys and other subjects in a mix of German, English and French. This shows: you never know whom you will meet! I go home alone.

 

23.09.2012 Sunday Pattaya to Bangkok

 

Check out of my room and join another customer and his Thai boyfriend on a ride to the bus station (free!). Bus to Ekkamai (price increase to 124 Baht). On strolls through Sathorn I came across Charlie House Sathorn (they have another guesthouse in Pinklao), which is not listed on agoda, but they have a website: http://www.charliehousethailand.com The prices are very competitive: 450 Baht for single occupancy and 540 Baht for double occupancy. They show me two rooms, one has a window, but two single beds, the other has no window but a double bed. For obvious reasons, a double bed is more important than a window. For the benefit of my readers, here a short report:

 

View from the bathroom to the bed (contrary to other’s [1] hotel reports, my pictures have my stuff in them):

 

 

View from the bed to the bathroom:

 

 

And that’s all! But I don’t need any more. The floor has a carpet, which I consider unsuitable for hotels as it is difficult to clean. The room was small, but sufficient for me. When I came back late at night, the main door was closed and I had to ring for the receptionist (to get up from sleep) to open a side door to let me in. A joiner fee of 200 Baht is charged (so it would be cheaper to check in single but with double occupancy). The location (Soi Saphan Khu) is very close to the bus stop on Rama 4 road near Lumpini Tower. Their advertisement „The five-star guesthouse in Bangkok“ is far fetched, to put it mildly.

 

I spend the evening in Sathorn getting an oil massage (real massage) and a happy ending with a masseur I spotted earlier and tested with a foot massage. At night, I am not sure what to do, so I walk to Langsuan (north of Lumpini park), there are some Thai for Thai gay venues supposed to be there, but I cannot detect much activitiy. On my walk back to Silom I notice available ladies north and west of Lumpini Park [update: east as well on a different night]. Now it’s past midnight, so it’s safe to enter DJ station (show is over). On my first walk through the disco I notice a cute boy, so I sit down and look back to him, after a few minutes he sits down next to me. Fastest hook up (less than 5 minutes from entering). We (he, I and a friend of him) stay together for the rest of the night. He gets drunk. Such a situation can be treacherous: he could get completely drunk (unconscious) or his friends could take him home or he could decide to go home alone, but here everything goes alright and we go back to my room (and I almost have to carry him up the stairs to my room, where he immediately falls asleep).

 

24.09.2012 Monday Bangkok

 

We wake up, my friend is fine and we have some horitzontal dancing. After showering and dressing, he gets a phone call which requires all his attention, which I find a bit rude. I follow him onto the street and up to Rama 4 road, where I just manage to get his phone number before he takes a taxi, still talking on the phone. I called him several times on the following days, but we did not meet again. I wonder if my room was below his standards or I am not his type or he just wanted sex. So I am suddenly left on my own. On check-out, I am charged 200 Baht joiner fee (I knew about the fee before, so no complaint here, this is the only time I paid a joiner fee).

 

On a friend’s facebook I read a reference to Bang Krachao (บางกระเจ้า), which is a peninsula with forest (or now a real insula because it has canal at the smallest point with a bridge to the main land) in the Chao Phraya east of Sathorn district and belonging to Samut Prakan Province. Further research on the internet has shown that it is amazingly close to central Bangkok and easy to reach.

 

http://frogmom.com/2009/04/bang-krachao-biking-through-bangkoks-green-lungs/

http://traveltobangkok.blogspot.de/2008/03/phra-pradaeng-lungs-of-bangkok.html

http://suite101.com/article/bangkok---exploring-the-jungle-within-a401861

 

I walk along Soi Si Bam Phen (then somewhere along Na Ranong Road and Sunthon Kosa Road) to Kasemrat Road which leads to Khlong Toei Port. I come across Wat Klong Toei Nai, which has some interesting lamps.

 

 

When you are at the entrance of Khlong Toei Port, turn right towards the wat and then walk along the wall until you reach the small port for cross river ferry. The port is labelled „S7“ (it looks like a southern extension of river boat, but there seems to be only service across the river, and not along the river).

 

 

View to Sathorn:

 

 

View to Klong Toei Port:

 

 

Pier on the other side:

 

 

On the other side, you can rent a bicycle (50 Baht for 1 hour, 100 Baht for one day), no passport or deposit is required. Not far from the pier is a public park, Srinakhon Khuean Kan Park (ศรีนครเขื่อนขันธ์).

 

 

 

 

I remember this park from my very first visit to Bangkok, during which I went there on an organised bicycle tour. After driving around for about an hour I return before it gets dark and the hour I paid for is over.

 

Elevated ways in the swamp:

 

 

I did not manage to reach Bhumibol bridge (สะพานภูมิพล, also called Mega bridge), so I will be back for a full day. [update: Daytrip with Jellybean in April 2013, by bike to floating market and to Bhumibol bridge.]

 

Panorama picture from internet:

 

 

In the evening, I meet a farang friend in Soi 4 and at night I don’t want to go to bars again, so I visit a Thai friend at his place and stay there over night.

 

To be continued.

 

[1] If you don’t know whom I’m alluding to, his name starts with „beach“ and ends with „lover“.

[Guest]

Thanks for another excellent report Christian.

 

I couldn't resist this......

[williewillie]

No window, no way! No doubt Thai boy thought farang

was very cheap or flat broke. Depressing to even

think about.

[NIrishGuy]

@Z909   - ah I believe it states in the big book of "how to cover your imaginary tracks" manual that all boxes created to hide non existent personal belonging should be blocked out in white, please ensure you confirm to this or people may start to believe that YOU actually have stayed in this room and perhaps worse even shared it with an imaginary friend !  

 

Also you have been very lax as in the bottom left hand corner of the image theres a grip bag in plain sight, complete with what appears to be a (used) tissue on display and of course as it's well known that a DNA sample can be collected from just such an article so a box should SURELY have been added to cover this obvious "clue" in this case as it could be argued that an intrepid SGF investigator could instantly upon reading the post  make his to the hotel and rummage through the bins in search of said piece of tissue - as we're all so likely to as we all are believed to actually give a shit so much about who the person was that stayed there and important matters such as what colour of socks they have happened to have had with them on that trip as that could of course PROVE their identity beyond reasonable doubt in any court of law :-)

 

Actually if we DID start checking such things as socks appearing in hotel room pics would that mean we were all nothing better than low life sock tourists perhaps  !!??  lol

[ChristianPFC]

There is a window with the size of one tile in the bathroom.

[Guest]

@Z909   - ah I believe it states in the big book of "how to cover your imaginary tracks" manual that all boxes created to hide non existent personal belonging should be blocked out in white, please ensure you confirm to this or people may start to believe that YOU actually have stayed in this room and perhaps worse even shared it with an imaginary friend !  

 

My imaginary friend would only stay in the finest hotel rooms:

 

.

[williewillie]

Rethinking the no window room. At least no early morning sunlight and no noise from

outdoor clubs or karaoke. Sort of like a coffin