Days 240-242: Relaxing and Hunting Buddhas

I followed through on my intent to take things easy. The first day in Bangkok I just wandered around some of the local streets looking around and getting food, but never ventured far from the hostel. The lunch I had deserves special note. One of the staff at the hostel recommended a little hole in the wall Thai curry shop down the street when I asked for suggestions, and it was an amazing one. I got the chicken Massaman curry, and it was almost certainly the best tasting meal I've had my entire trip - and only cost me about $3. I ended up eating at the same place on several other occasions since it was just so good.

On the second day I ventured a bit further abroad. There was a special festival going on which resulted in many of the famous Buddha statues in the city being free to visit for the day, so I decided to hunt a few of them down. The first one I visited was a giant standing Buddha facing a temple.

Despite having every intention of walking everywhere, I gave in to a smooth talking tuk-tuk driver who took me to the next two stops on my list, as well as a Thai suit shop I argued with him over but he insisted was mandatory. When will I ever learn... Besides that, he took me to a temple famous for its lucky Buddha, and to the Golden Mount, an artificial mountain with a temple built on the top.

After trying to take me to a few more unscheduled stops I just gave up and paid the driver and told him to let me off so I could just wander on my own some more and check out random places. Other than the tuk-tuks and the occasional pushy shopkeeper the people of Bangkok were brilliant though. Throughout the day I had 3 or 4 people volunteer directions or just stop to talk to me and recommend things without any expectations, and after that good, friendly samaritan vibe is something I've missed since Japan.

Third day I did a little shopping (not buying anything, but looking around at least) and got a much needed haircut. I still had a few days left in Bangkok, and as I was feeling better with each passing day I planned to be a bit more active with my remaining time in the city.