2. Tag

The plan was actually a walking tour to various temples and sights near our accommodation. Lt. Google Maps 1.5 hour walk for approx. 6 km.

Since we hadn't really acclimatized yet and the temperatures had already exceeded 30 degrees at 8 a.m., it was very convenient for us that after 100 m a woman approached us and offered us a tuk-tuk tour to the sights we wanted to see wanted to visit anyway. All this for a price of 50 (!) THB for a 2-hour tour. What could possibly go wrong? Two minutes later we were sitting in a tuk-tuk and off we went to the first sight, Wat Intharawihan, with the 32 meter high standing Buddha, called “Luang Pho Tho”.

On the way to the next attraction, our tuk-tuk driver suddenly stopped in front of a jewelry store. Apparently we were supposed to go in there and our driver said something about coupon. We didn't want any jewelry, so we didn't go in, so we moved on immediately.

We continued to Wat Sam Phraya, a 3rd class temple. There was no one in the rather small temple apart from a well-dressed Thai. The man spoke to us straight away and told us that he was a Thai embassy employee who was working in Switzerland and was on home leave here. He told us about rings with lucky stones that were available for purchase at the Expo site and we should definitely go there as there was also an exhibition of royal jewelry there, which was only open to the public for the second time in 70 years. He wrote us something in Thai on a piece of paper that we had to show to our driver. Have we subsequently did not do this.

After the temple visit we continued by tuk-tuk. The driver explained to us that on the way to the next attraction he would quickly take us to the best tailor in the city, where we definitely had to go. Little by little he explained to us that he would get a coupon for it.

Now we understood why the tuk tuk tour only cost 50 THB.

In order to secure the driver's coupon, we went to the tailor's shop, where we were immediately greeted warmly and where we were offered tailor-made suits, costumes and shirts. The things were nice, but we neither needed such elegant clothing nor was the price, which was at or above European levels, interesting to us. We then told the seller this, whereupon the friendliness quickly diminished and he told Daniela that she was from Israel (obviously because she wanted to negotiate the price down).

Next stop was the “Golden Mountain” (Wat Saket and the Golden Mount) where we climbed the 318 steps. The view from the top was well worth the 100 THB entrance fee per person.

After the descent and a quick refreshment, we wanted to go back to our tuk-tuk. However, there was no sign of our driver anywhere. He obviously realized that we are not tourists who buy something from his partner shops and that he therefore does not receive any commission. Or he has found lucrative customers. At least the first part of our trip didn't cost us anything in terms of driving, as payment would only be made after the tour had ended.

After half an hour he still hadn't shown up, after a short negotiation we caught another tuk-tuk driver who took us to Khaosan Road (closer to our hotel) for 150 THB. It was enough for today anyway and we cooled down in the air-conditioned hotel room.

We'll probably skip cheap tuk-tuk tours in the near future...

We spent the afternoon in the room, but then hunger drove us down. The hotel has an attached restaurant, the "Millionaire Club & Bistro", and I ordered a steak there, which is very untypical for Thai. I didn't regret it.

Before we went back to the room, we had to go down Khaosan Road again. A little shopping, a beer or two and then back to the neighborhood.