Travel day. We really enjoyed our time in Chiang Mai so this morning was the first move day that we were not looking forward to. It has become apparent that our long journey is coming to an end. We have found that with planning a trip so far ahead, doing the waiting then actually doing the holiday, everything is go-go-go. We found that this city was the first place that we were really able to alllow ourselves to let loose, not having a schedule and just relaxing (well there were definately some times on the beach).
Our flight back to Bangkok wasn't until 15:45, so we puttered around the room until almost noon, walked out to the street only to get some food and then relaxed in the hotel lobby until it was time to leave. Tim got us some chicken and rice for breakfast which we enjoyed in the lobby. We took a truck to the airport which only set us back 80 baht ($2.60); better than the 30 minute walk. It was further appreciated because our bags are packed quite full; albiet when we weighed them at the airport they were only 6 pounds heavier. Tim had ditched a bunch of the toilery items we had been carrying around which we no longer needed.
The wait at the airport felt short, no stress. Security in Thailand feels easier to get through and stress free. With the low price of travel here, I would suggest everything about flying in Thailand is nicer than North America and it puzzles me why we make it so expensive and stressfull. Trust me, there are far more people travelling here, so it's not the crowds that make it stressfull...
We arrived to Bangkok, collected our bags and made our way to the airport rail link. The local line only cost 45 baht ($1.50) for the whole route; ours was the last stop. The train was reasonable busy and we helped a British lady find her stop; her first time in Bangkok, we know the feeling. We made it to Phaya Thai in about 10 minutes and husled along to the BTS station. Our hotel was located about half way between two stations, but it looked a little closer if we took the train to Victory Monument. After a quick time check (to make sure it wasn't a bad time to buy beer) I suggested that with beer, I would take the risk and walk. It all worked out just fine, beer in hand the walk took less than 10 minutes, not to mention a few near misses with the considerably busier traffic in Bangkok.
We arrived to the Victory Executive Residence and we were brought to our room. It is a nice room, but quite dated. This was the first place that we had high hopes and spent a bit more money (6200 baht for 5 night, $207). Our additional $10 a night didn't really get us more than our last stay in Bangkok, but we are happy to be in a different location and at least breakfast is included; something that we haven't really had since our last time here.
We arrived to our hotel at about 6:30, but we didn't want the day to be defeated before venturing out to a night market. We walked up the road only about a mintue before being emersed into a very busy street market at the periffery of Victory Monument. The market was not so much an attraction for tourists and we quickly realized that much of what they were selling didn't interests us too much: stuffed included small shirt, pants and normal daily Thai needs. None the less we wandered around looking for a diamond in the rough, eating some great (and cheap) street food.
