from Singapore i flew to Bangkok Thailand and stayed there for 5 days.
needless to say the difference between Hong Kong/Singapore and Thailand is big. public infrastructure is in much worse shape, there’s plenty of not maintained / old buildings. there’s obvious contrast lower living standards and lavish palaces that belong to the king.
also in Bangkokg i’ve stayed in hotel located in the china town – very lively district with plenty of street food, bazaars and noise.
things i’ve seen in a random order:
- saranrom park and grand palace
- the river from a local ferry perspective going from Si Phraya Pier north to Payap Pier and back
- local canals using a small ferry from here to there
- king’s palace here and even allegedly the king himself coming/leaving in a motorcade.
besides Bangkokg itself i saw Ayutthaya and the ruins of many small temples. city is ~80km north from Bangkok, you can catch train to there from the Hua Lamphong Station / central station. train ride takes 2h, in 3rd class costs ~30THB. there are trains every 1-2h, they are late… even on departure.
those that don’t like walking around the city can take tuk-tuk – tricycle build from a motorcycle and attached cabin. prices are very negotiable [going from 200THB to 100THB is not a problem], ride is bumpy and probably not very safe by Swedish standards nevertheless fun.
as a side-note – the world is flat. almost. really – people around use smart phones, wear ‘western’ clothes; there are mcdonalds, tescos and 7-11s around. and it’s not a problem to find open wifi networks that give reasonable internet access speed.