The second day. The first excursion.

23.09.2018, Bangkok:

The second day: I got out of bed and went for a minimalist, but sufficient breakfast with lots of fruits. The question I ask myself today: Should I put on sunscreen? The sun is barely visible. I decided not to. I walked to the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple. The Hindus placed a plate of fruit and incense sticks in a tub of water. Music was playing in the background. It was a relaxing, exciting, inspiring atmosphere that made me stay there for 15 minutes, looking in all directions.

I walked down the street to the end and returned to the hotel. Then I walked to Chinatown. Initially, the neighborhood on the main road seemed deserted until I found the narrow alleys with many people. Crustaceans, seafood, fish, stuffed animals, you can buy everything. My hunger drove me to a restaurant that was crowded. The hunger was too great to wait. A few meters further the next restaurant. No one here? The internet said that I should eat where the locals go. Do I possibly get stomachache afterwards? But everything went well.

The third destination today was the MKB department store, which also had a large bazaar. One like you usually find on the streets. A appealing "Sixpack is coming" t-shirt was quickly found. I fell in love with a Goa-like pants. I love it! Other Germans there confirmed it. Negotiated from 700 to THB 500. At least. I didn't have enough cash. I promised to get money and come back. But that didn't happen. The pants were simply too short. I don't want inappropriate things. But I loved the design. With an elephant on the side and super comfortable and casual. The German girl there said she had seen tall men with longer pants like that. This probably influenced me not to buy them. However, I don't see such pants for men anywhere else. Nowhere. Maybe it's better without them. I have to think about the weight of my luggage.

Lesson of the day: always have a rain poncho with you. It was pouring down. I bought a drink and waited until the rain eased slightly. After a long walk, I was back at the hotel.

Should I go to the Bazaar Cabaret Show now (a drag performance)? After all, it's quite a distance to get there. I got on the train and arrived after an hour. I just couldn't find it!!! Where is Area C, damn it?! After 10 minutes of wandering around, I finally asked for directions at the information desk. Just take the first elevator. Floors 1 ... 7, 8, C. What? Why are there intermediate floors with letters? WTF? Well, nevermind, found it.

I thought I would get 50% discount with my Booking.com QR code - actually. The code didn't work. Normally, Booking would simply debit the money from the credit card. But the code didn't work. No card payment possible. Not enough cash with me. It was already 7 p.m. The staff made phone calls. We went to the ground floor. The card reader at the information desk didn't work, but the one in the food court did. Missed the first few minutes of the show, oh man. I got bored in the middle. I took photos even though it wasn't allowed. The show was over.

The performers rushed to the visitor exit. The ladyboys grabbed me by the arm and wanted to take pictures. I thought, why not. Of course, they wanted money, I idiot. They each wanted 100 Baht. I didn't even have that much left. In the end, they took 50 Baht each. Quickly get out of here!!! Here come the next ones! Photo?! Photo?! Even the men asked for the "ladies" if they didn't want to take pictures. All visitors fled to the elevator - like in a horror movie with zombies. Okay, exaggerated. But everyone just wanted to get away. Packed into the elevator with locals. Maybe the expensive vaccinations were worth it after all. I have had enough contact with locals. Even in the train, you feel like an alien. Tourists usually take a taxi.

Insert: The one "lady" in the picture put my hand on her chest. -UNCOMFORTABLE!!!-

Back to the train and home. But first withdraw money (almost 6 Euros!!! fees per transaction). With this large amount, I will probably manage for a while. In a bakery, I got a slice of pizza and some cheese thing for 1.40 €, went home, showered, wrote this, and now I'm going to sleep.

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