This would be our staple for the next few days in Bangkok. Pad Thai from the street carts. For 60 cents you could get a plate of the stuff. This also paid for my stomach aches and diarrhea.
Warning (from the Lonely Planet Guidebook):
If a nice looking stranger approaches you on the street and speaks perfect English, this is the set-up for a huge scam.
The conversation will go something like this:
Hi, where are you from?
America.
Oh, very good, when did you come to Bangkok?
This is our first day (never a good idea to admit this. Always say you've been in town a month or so)
Oh, this is a good day to be in Bangkok. It's a government holiday. (it seems to always be a holiday) Many special attractions are open only today. Let me show you.
He will then take you to the nearest map, and write down all the places you should go.
Also, because it is a holiday, the there are special tuk tuks (these are the 3 wheeled taxis) that will take you to all these places, and wait for you all day, for only 60 cents!
Then he waves down a tuk tuk for you, and off you go.
Enjoy the sites on the cheap while you can, cause you're about to get taken for a ride in more ways than one.
Last stop: A special "government" tailor where you are pressured to buy suits for (while still cheaper than back home) an inflated price, which the tuk tuk driver will receive a hefty commission on.
So now Scott and I are the owner of tailored suits, thanks to the greatest salesman either of us have ever met. A small Indian man, Jack, with 4 fingers on his left hand.
9 comments:
how could you say no? ;) hilarious
ps I can't wait to see your blogs about your trip to Minnesota. I'll make sure to find lots of scams and cheap stuff for you before you get here LOL
That picture of Scott is SO typical Scott.
So did Scott pick any good tips while dealing with the sales person? Looks like it doesn't pay to be so polite which I'm sure you guys were. A firm "NO THANK YOU" would most likely had the same result as "START THE MEETER" did with the taxi driver. But of course the tailor was probably the first cousin of the local police chief or maybe owned by the police chief.
Can't wait to see the suit. By the way, how long did it take the tailor to construct the two suits?
I wonder how many people get out of there without a suit?? Did you at least get to jew them down? Cause there's no way I would have been able to afford a 300 dollar suit so that guy would have either been out of luck or maybe had me killed. Is that how those things work?
need more updates! I don't care how busy you are, do it ;)
The only other person whose stories I enjoy reading more than yours are your mother's. It must be an Andrews gift. Pure comedy! My favorite part of the entire blog, so far, has got to be the baby elephant. Where are you right now?
Ryan, you tell stories just about as good as your mom. I especially love the one about the baby elephant. Can't wait to see you, buddy!
Weren't you there longer than two days? Let's see some more!
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