Bangkok–first expressions

From Dong Mueang International Airport, I took a bus for 6.5 Bhat to Mi Chit (skytrain) and then paid for the subway twice because Ken (I guy a met at the airport in Yangon) said when I changed I had to pay again but I don’t think that’s true. 42 bhat and 31 bhat for the rides.

Walk to hostel is a bit further than I thought but I made it to MileMap Hostel. Nice place. Koreans in the room and while the boy played on 2 computer the girl looked at herself for about an hour and changed many times. Standard.

I started to walk down the main road and felt overwhelmed by people. It’s just so busy even compared to Yangon. I want to ride a bike in Bagan again or stay at Inle so long they let me take a boat out on my own.

Looking for food and didn’t see anything appealing for cheap so I kept walking till it down poured and I went in Silom Central mall. Checked out all the basement restaurants which had a lot of meat and were mostly Japanese as opposed to Thai…I was pretty sad about that. I got Indian which was pretty good. The free starter was very spicy. I also got a cupcake from Cupcake Cove. 280 + 80 bhat.

When I went back up the rain was stopping so I went to the nearby park which seemed very dirty at the start and looking like a protest the more I looked in. I was getting tons of odd looks so left.

Walked to the Red Cross and snake display. 100 bhat (discount, because I missed a show?). So many snakes!: king cobra, monocellate cobra, golden spitting cobra, mangrove pit viper, white lipped piper, big eyed pit viper, kukri snake, dog toothed cat eye snake, red tailed rat snake, corn snake, monocellate cobra (albino) (angry!), brongersma python, etc. Upstairs were skeletons and skins and the insides of a python for all to see. Lots of info about sex. Too much. The diorama about how eggs grow was cool. I did well on the test about what to do if you’re (or a friend) is bit. The mythology section was dull.

Outside are more snakes but most are hard to find. I have a photo of the elephant trunk snake and the green anaconda, but they came out pretty bad because of the cages. On the way back I saw tons of thrown out zebras. I wonder why the Red Cross hates them….Also saw rush hour traffic and I still dislike Bangkok.

Went for just-over-an-hour walk in the other direction. Still not impressed with Bangkok but it sure does light up at night (like any Asian town) and I found Subway! That’s only exciting for those who live in Korea. Found Bangrak Bazaar which had cute dresses for 200-250 bhat. I need to lose belly pudgy before buying because I asked for ‘big size’ (like I do in Korea) and they were confused. Dress with ‘I don’t care’ on it which reminds me of one of my classes so much but when would I wear it? Kept walking to the pier which wasn’t special because the view was obstructed by the sky train and tour boat building. Cute boats and an all-day pass is 150b. Walked back and got lemonade with apple for 35 bhat from LemonHub.

The people in my hostel make me worried about the people I’ll meet here…and dislike Bangkok because it’s too on the beaten path and filled with wasters.

KLCC

After visiting the Batu Caves we went to KLCC (KL City Center) which is where the Petronas Towers are. They were built in 1998, and are 452 meters tall. The sky bridge (the highest you can go up)is about halfway up between the 41st and 42nd floors. The subway is above ground at points and you can see grafitti along the river. It costs 1.60 ringgits to get from KL Sentral to KLCC.

It’s hard to get pictures of all of the Petronas Towers with someone in them because they are so big and there are tons of people in the area. From the park side we were able to get more, but not the bottom of the towers as there is a mall there on the park exit side. The park is 100 acres! It has an area for kids and a tropical garden area.

The malls there have everything! Topshop–I was told they were only in Asia in HK–Marks & Spenser with some food and Aunt Annies Pretzals!

We came back to this area at night to go to Skybar on the 33rd floor of Traders Hotel. If you want to reserve a window seat you need to call in advance, but keep in mind you should be a nice person then and let people keep squeezing in to take pictures. We weren’t able to make reservations, but luckely the people near us by the window were super nice and even told us that the top window was open! No marks on your photo from the lights inside. Drinks are expensive but you pay for the view, so we got a bucket of 6 Tigers for 24 ringgits each (the night before in Chinatown we got 3 Caslings for 16 ringgits each) around 6:45, stayed for sunset around 7:30 and left for dinner. They don’t ever let you have a tab at the bar, so be ready to pay when your drink(s) come(s).

I feel like the building in the middle gets no love, but it highlights the towers!

Shanghai in 8 hours

On my way to India, I had a layover from 12:55pm to 8:30pm–taking the time to get out of the airport and to where my friend wanted to meet plus the time to get back to the airport and the 2 hours to check in….it was really from 2:50pm to 6:30pm, and 3 hours and 40 minutes in Shanghai.

You CAN leave the airport in Shanghai if you are from certain countries if you have a layover that is less than 48/72 hours–if it’s longer I’d imagine you went there on purpose…really after 12 I think you’re there on purpose but on my way back it was 22 hours to make the flights super cheap. You can’t be coming from Hong Kong, stay in Shanghai for 48 hours and then go back to Hong Kong, have to go somewhere else so its really a layover and not a short trip. I don’t understand why the government doesn’t promote this more, since it really is just a great way for the country to make some tourism money. I’m not sure why else it exists.

Anyway, after you leave the airport, you can get on the metro easily and go anywhere! Both airports are on the green line and I went to Jing’an Temple to meet my friend (another English teacher) as she lives near there.  This took about an hour. At the airport stop (at least at mine, Pudong International) there are some weird decorations to let you know you’re in China. They were all in bad lighting, so my flash always popped up.

Once getting off I could see that China was still all decked out for the Lunar New Year

We went to lunch at Din Tai Fung which is famous from dumplings so we got the Mushroom ones and the Vegetable ones. My friend is a meat eater and said she liked the Mushroom ones because they were more ‘meat like’. We also got the most popular side dish which was sauteed greens in garlic. So good. There is a reason it’s the most popular. Service was a bit odd as we got everything separate, but it was busy. They have soy sauce and vinegar on the table for you to mix, and deliver very pretty ginger for you to use in your mix as well. You can watch the dumplings being made, but I’m not sure how anyone would know which are theirs.

After that we walked though new Shanghai which is filled with sky scrapers. There was also a knock off market. I was quite surprised at how people just yelled what they were selling at you. We didn’t buy anything, but we went back on my return layover.

We ended up at Peoples Square where parents advertise their unmarried ‘old’ children for wed. I put old in quotes because by American/Western standards they are not old, only about 25. The signs will list their age, height, likes and dislikes and other parents will make notes of things to show their children. I don’t think I saw any of the kids actually there. There is a separate area for people who are willing to accept non-Chinese nationalities.

There is also an amusement park with some really unsafe looking rides…

And of course Cherry Blossoms!

Next we decided to walk to the waterfront to see the skyline. While we were walking it started to rain, but hardly enough to need an umbrella, but of course everyone pulled them out. I have a horrible fear of getting hit in the ey by an umbrella.

When we got to the waterfront I remembered being there when I was 16 and we did a boat cruise. I was hoping my mom could go though those old pictures (not on my computer) and find one of me in Shanghai but she couldn’t. I guess I didn’t take many pictures of myself on the trip and relied on others, but if we had shared them, they would have sent them and we would have saved them, right?

Realistically, the photos below was the only reminder that I was in fact, in China which is a ‘communist’ country.

Next was the subway back to the airport, where my friend told me that I had, realistically, seen all of new Shanghai in one day–less than that!

Gasan-ri Hike

Finally got around to doing another hike–I had been meaning to for awhile and either didn’t wake up in time or other things came up. This one was to Gasan-ri (according to Google Maps). Take the subway to Hopo, exit 2 and take a right and start going up a street and eventually turn in following the paths to the top. There are tons of paths and not many signs but, at least when I went, tons of other people.

I think this one would have been a bit harder without a guide who knew the area because of the lack of maps and signs.

It is the highest mountain in Busan and has great views of the city from afar because it is at the North end of the city itself (almost in the next county and city). The only other views of Busan that I had seen were from the middle of the city mountains so this was a nice change of pace.

The most interesting part of this hike for me was the bit of rope course that is around the Golden Pond (not so much golden as muddy) but its at the top of a rock separated from the rest and was quite pretty anyway–almost heart shaped as well which is a well loved (and on everything) symbol in Korea. There were ropes to get to the viewing point for it as well as down because the rocks were quite steep.

Our hike ended at the North Gate. To leave you walk straight from the gate and take a left when it ends (which is in awhile) and you will walk into a town and have to walk awhile more until you get to the bus stop. You can go to Oncheonjang…or somewhere else on the Green Line (line 2).