.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
Budget Rental Car arrived 10 minutes early with our Honda City and proceeded to run me though the full 32-point car inspection. We mutually agreed to every dent, speck, and chip on the car before the lady finally gave me my key. Our 15-minutes of interaction consisted of grunts, points, “credit card,” and “driver’s license.” Then she disappeared out of the store and left us with the keys to the car.
This was my first time driving while sitting on the right side of the car and it surprisingly went fairly smoothly. The only time I drove on the wrong side of the road all day was when I thought we had a two-lane highway and it was really one-lane each way. Thankfully it was deserted and I asked Mackenzie before any cars came the other way. So Mackenzie had spent a good 20+ minutes with our three maps including the English-language Thailand 100+ page road atlas. Rand McNally in America had nothing on us. We had a plan of attack for how to get out of Bangkok and figured once we got on the right highway the rest of the drive would be pretty easy.
We said a prayer and drove past our hotel into one of the busiest streets in Bangkok, Chidlom Road. It was slammed full of cars, trucks, and motorcycles. I squeezed my way in the headed down our planned path. Driving regulations are kind of optional over here, especially signals and lane changes I guess because it was mayhem. Everybody switching all over the place and cutting each other off, even at our average speed of 10 km/h. We made it to the road with the Skytrain and turned left/east towards the highway we wanted. When we arrived at the freeway with great excitement our plan fell apart. There was a wreck or something and a policeman stood in front of us directing us to get on the highway the opposite direction of what we wanted. Not wanting to interfere with the law we obliged and headed north, exactly opposite of what we wanted. Not only that, we got a toll road with exits about every 3 miles or more. All we knew is that we were heading the wrong way and had no idea how to get back.
Mackenzie was flipping through every map of Bangkok we had trying to come up with a new plan and I was trying to avoid an accident. Every time we hit a tollbooth I pleaded for help saying, “South, Phuket” and pointing the general direction we wanted to go and they had no clue what to do with me. Eventually, I would just throw them money and head down the road. Finally after finding a U-turn on the freeway, we got turned around and then moved in the general southerly direction we wanted. After that we couldn’t figure out where we were and what road we wanted to be on, we were just going in the direction we wanted. Seriously, you felt helpless though. Nobody spoke our language and we couldn’t read 95% of the signs on the road. Occasionally, we saw the same roads as before going the other way or on a different highway and still couldn’t find them on the map (hence the Ding Daeng Road title). Thankfully, the internal compass was working well today because we got headed in the right direction and stuck to it as best we could weaving through Bangkok’s big building and crazy freeways.
After cruising around Bangkok for over an hour (we had guessed it would take about 20 minutes), we crossed the Rama VIII Bridge. Within a couple of minutes the highway we wanted started on the road we were already on and we felt pretty comfortable the rest of way (in our direction). The trip was a little worrisome at times because nobody respects lane-lines around here. They all wander wherever, pass on the shoulder, drive at different speeds, and I had to make a few quick moves to avoid incidents. We couldn’t read most of the signs and the ones we could, couldn’t pronounce. We took to calling them English words like Ketchup, Sonogram, and Harry Carey.
On the day we drove about 400 kilometers and were in the car for almost 7 seven hours. One highlight was when we decided to visit the Myanmar border to try to get our passports stamped in another country. Not just any other country, but Myanmar (formerly Burma) which is now totally backward and ruled by a military junta that has decided to shut the country and its people off from the world. We got to the border crossing and was told it was closed and we would have to turn around. I guess they only let Thais and Myanmar people cross at that one. Out of the big cities the drive was nice. We had a four-lane highway with some traffic but not heavy. Out of cities we cruised about 120 km/h and enjoyed the lush, green scenery. In the last 24 hours we even learned both of us are old country fans and enjoyed listening to some songs from back in the day on our iPods and reminiscing.
When we finally got to our hostel after 4pm we checked in and liked what we saw. The place is right on the beach, has nice grass (a true luxury in Asia), a b-ball court and ping-pong table, and little individual cabanas. Our room is pretty nice although no English TV channels are available so we will probably be watching a movie on the laptop tonight for entertainment. We played a game of Horse and rallied on the ping-pong table for a while. Afterwards we hit the pool and beach/ocean (about 50 feet away from our doorstep) before grabbing dinner and relaxing in our A/Ced room. The weather is much better/cooler here than Bangkok and I think our days on the beach will be a blast.
We are at a ferry terminal in Donsak (about 70 kms east of Suritthani) and preparing to ride a ferry to Ko Samui. The internet is ghetto slow so no pictures on this post. We hope to have internet on the island but don't know. Things are good.
This was my first time driving while sitting on the right side of the car and it surprisingly went fairly smoothly. The only time I drove on the wrong side of the road all day was when I thought we had a two-lane highway and it was really one-lane each way. Thankfully it was deserted and I asked Mackenzie before any cars came the other way. So Mackenzie had spent a good 20+ minutes with our three maps including the English-language Thailand 100+ page road atlas. Rand McNally in America had nothing on us. We had a plan of attack for how to get out of Bangkok and figured once we got on the right highway the rest of the drive would be pretty easy.
We said a prayer and drove past our hotel into one of the busiest streets in Bangkok, Chidlom Road. It was slammed full of cars, trucks, and motorcycles. I squeezed my way in the headed down our planned path. Driving regulations are kind of optional over here, especially signals and lane changes I guess because it was mayhem. Everybody switching all over the place and cutting each other off, even at our average speed of 10 km/h. We made it to the road with the Skytrain and turned left/east towards the highway we wanted. When we arrived at the freeway with great excitement our plan fell apart. There was a wreck or something and a policeman stood in front of us directing us to get on the highway the opposite direction of what we wanted. Not wanting to interfere with the law we obliged and headed north, exactly opposite of what we wanted. Not only that, we got a toll road with exits about every 3 miles or more. All we knew is that we were heading the wrong way and had no idea how to get back.
Mackenzie was flipping through every map of Bangkok we had trying to come up with a new plan and I was trying to avoid an accident. Every time we hit a tollbooth I pleaded for help saying, “South, Phuket” and pointing the general direction we wanted to go and they had no clue what to do with me. Eventually, I would just throw them money and head down the road. Finally after finding a U-turn on the freeway, we got turned around and then moved in the general southerly direction we wanted. After that we couldn’t figure out where we were and what road we wanted to be on, we were just going in the direction we wanted. Seriously, you felt helpless though. Nobody spoke our language and we couldn’t read 95% of the signs on the road. Occasionally, we saw the same roads as before going the other way or on a different highway and still couldn’t find them on the map (hence the Ding Daeng Road title). Thankfully, the internal compass was working well today because we got headed in the right direction and stuck to it as best we could weaving through Bangkok’s big building and crazy freeways.
After cruising around Bangkok for over an hour (we had guessed it would take about 20 minutes), we crossed the Rama VIII Bridge. Within a couple of minutes the highway we wanted started on the road we were already on and we felt pretty comfortable the rest of way (in our direction). The trip was a little worrisome at times because nobody respects lane-lines around here. They all wander wherever, pass on the shoulder, drive at different speeds, and I had to make a few quick moves to avoid incidents. We couldn’t read most of the signs and the ones we could, couldn’t pronounce. We took to calling them English words like Ketchup, Sonogram, and Harry Carey.
On the day we drove about 400 kilometers and were in the car for almost 7 seven hours. One highlight was when we decided to visit the Myanmar border to try to get our passports stamped in another country. Not just any other country, but Myanmar (formerly Burma) which is now totally backward and ruled by a military junta that has decided to shut the country and its people off from the world. We got to the border crossing and was told it was closed and we would have to turn around. I guess they only let Thais and Myanmar people cross at that one. Out of the big cities the drive was nice. We had a four-lane highway with some traffic but not heavy. Out of cities we cruised about 120 km/h and enjoyed the lush, green scenery. In the last 24 hours we even learned both of us are old country fans and enjoyed listening to some songs from back in the day on our iPods and reminiscing.
When we finally got to our hostel after 4pm we checked in and liked what we saw. The place is right on the beach, has nice grass (a true luxury in Asia), a b-ball court and ping-pong table, and little individual cabanas. Our room is pretty nice although no English TV channels are available so we will probably be watching a movie on the laptop tonight for entertainment. We played a game of Horse and rallied on the ping-pong table for a while. Afterwards we hit the pool and beach/ocean (about 50 feet away from our doorstep) before grabbing dinner and relaxing in our A/Ced room. The weather is much better/cooler here than Bangkok and I think our days on the beach will be a blast.
We are at a ferry terminal in Donsak (about 70 kms east of Suritthani) and preparing to ride a ferry to Ko Samui. The internet is ghetto slow so no pictures on this post. We hope to have internet on the island but don't know. Things are good.
No comments:
Post a Comment