Bewildering Bangkok…

As the Boeing 777 settled into its glide down towards Bangkok International airport, I immediately saw that Thailand would be a lot different to India and Nepal…

Even from 10 000 feet in the air, things looked far more respectable…!! I could see an extensive network of roadways, neatly demarcated fields, large industrial centres, and miles and miles of apartment buildings…

Compared to Delhi and Kathmandu’s airport, Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport was a revelation…!! Not only was it one of the largest I had ever been in, but it is probably one of the most efficient as well… Within 45 minutes of touching down, I walked out into the muggy evening, having discovered that with my Portuguese passport, I did not need a visa, and would be allowed to stay in Thailand for an uninterrupted 30 days… No pay, just play…!!

Look...!!! Wide, clean streets...!! Shocking...!!

No question...!!

Prior to leaving Kathmandu, I had made a list of four hotels that were within five or ten minutes of the airport, and the first taxi driver I questioned, recognized the second one on my list, the Throng Ta Resort…

Ten minutes and 100 Baht later (about $3.00…) I was dropped off at a busy intersection, outside my intended destination…

Finding them fully booked, I walked out into the night, wondering where the heck I was going to find a place that had rooms to spare…!!

This I guess is part of the excitement and adventure of travel… You arrive at a strange destination, at night, and find you have no place to stay…!!

By now this sort of thing didn’t faze me at all, as I had experienced it on numerous occasions in the past year…!!

I strolled along the sidewalk, passing one eating establishment after another, all nestled up against each other, with waitresses doing their best to lure prospective customers to try the dishes on offer…

I breathed in the bewildering array of new smells from this the 72^nd country on my tour, trying to identify them, knowing from the start that it would be a hopeless task… I could smell prawns and other seafood sizzling in large woks, and felt a rumble in my engine room that reminded me that I had not eaten since my “going away omelette” in Kathmandu earlier that morning…

With sweat pouring down my face, I stopped to ask one of waitresses where I could find some cheap digs, and after respectfully declining her offer of “You come my house, stay with me…!!”, was directed down a nearby side road, to the Canary Residence…

The Mama-san who owned this small but neat hotel, welcomed me with open arms, and over the next few days we became firm friends…

In fact, almost everybody I came into contact with in and around the hotel, quickly adopted me as a “clueless falang” “foreigner”, and gave me advice on every subject, whether I had asked for it or not…

A taxi driver, who seemed to use the hotel patio as a base, gave me extensive advice on how to handle the traffic, and which roads not to bother riding on… He also gave me approximate prices for trips to and from the airport, and into Bangkok itself, so that I would not be “robbed” by other taxi drivers…

Every time I stepped out of the front door and onto the patio that doubles as the restaurant, I was assailed by shouts of “What are you drinking…??” and “Come…you sit here and drink with us…!!” On many occasions I was asked if I wanted a “girl” or a massage “with happy ending”, in much the same manner as if I was being offered a cup of tea…!!

On the night I arrived, I checked my mail and saw that my good friend Borge Leth from the UK, had sent a response to the general “Anniversary Mail” that I had sent out that same morning from Kathmandu… In the mail, I had mentioned that the Big Fella was in Bangkok, and that I would be joining him later the same day…

Borge’s reply was to advise me that he would be landing in Bangkok the following day, and expected me to join him for a “few reunion drinks”… Remembering our last round of “reunion drinks” on the Isle of Wight, my liver shuddered involuntarily…

I had not heard from Borge in months, and was amazed at the co-incidence that found us in the same city at the same time, halfway around the world…!!

. The ladies at Thai Cargo called to have the Bills of Lading brought form the warehouse, and then patinetly explained the steps I need to take...

The following morning, I was at the Thai Cargo offices at the airport, expecting that it would take the entire day, and then some, for me to get the Big Fella cleared and ready to ride… That had been my experience in Dubai and Delhi… But this is Thailand, where efficiency is the name of the game…!!

Within 3 hours, I had the final bit of paper, (and there were a whole bunch of them…!!), that I needed to present to the officer in charge of the bonded warehouse, where my bike sat waiting… It had been a simple process getting the documentation together, and I did it all myself, without employing an agent as had been necessary in other countries…!!

The young ladies at Thai Cargo gave me a map of the complex and indicated the various offices I would have to visit, and in which order, and although it took a bit of walking and waiting, I was always put at ease by the people assisting me, and given directions by others when I exhibited any confusion…!!

his map provided me with all the info I needed to get the bike cleared without hassle...

All in all, it cost less than $100.00 to get my precious bike cleared, far less than in any other place to date…

The manager of the warehouse indicated an open spot near the loading ramps, where the crate would be delivered, and agreed that I could assemble the bike on the same spot… His jaw dropped open when the enormous crate was brought out by the forklift…

“Is it so big…??” he asked…

“What were you expecting…?? A bicycle…??” I asked him, laughing out loud… “This is a 1200 cc BMW, my good friend…!!”

He brought me a claw-hammer with which to remove the nails, and I set to with gusto, before he changed his mind and had me moved out of the loading area and into the sun…

A large crowd gathered as I removed the last panel to reveal the Big Fella in all his “slightly crippled” splendor…!! The security guard came over to cart the various panels and debris from the crate away, and I set about re-assembling the brakes, front wheel and windshield, and re-adjusting the handlebars…

Getting things together... Apart from the heat, it all went like clockwork...!!

Sweat poured off me in the 34º heat, and I regretted not bring something to drink with me… But my thirst did not last long… An seemingly endless supply of cold water and sodas was brought to me by complete strangers… I could see that I was going to enjoy Thailand and its super-friendly people…!!

"Where's my shoe...??" There was a bit of balancing to be done while I scrambled to get the front axle in place...!!

While I was tying my kit down, a pretty, bespectacled young lady arrived on the scene, clutching a stack of paperwork, and introduced herself as the customs officer… Not the usual grumpy old men I was used to dealing with…!! She smiled sweetly, and then asked to see the engine number so that she could verify the documents she was holding…

“Er… I don’t know where the engine number is…!!” I stammered, “But I can show you the chassis number…!!” I had once been shown where the engine number was located, but had forgotten where it was, and despite many attempts at previous border crossings, had never been able to find the damn thing again…!!

“That will be fine…” she replied, and once satisfied, signed a few pages, and then made me countersign them…

And that was that…!!

“You are free to go…!!” she said, “Enjoy Thailand and travel safely…!! Good luck…!!”

The guys at the warehouse that made it all happen, and provided me with cold drinks while I worked...

I was ready to roll…!! As I pressed the starter, a burst of applause rang out from the folk standing nearby… I grinned and nodded to them as I swung into the saddle and made ready to leave… It took another five minutes before I could begin riding towards the loading ramp… People rushed up to take photos of us with their cell-phones and many wanted to pose next the bike and I while their friends snapped pictures of them…!!

Signposts are generally both in Thai and English...

Five hours after leaving the hotel, I rolled up in front if it again, astride the bike that I had gone to collect, and this time I was greeted like a rock star…!!

Tables at two nearby restaurants emptied, as diners came over to gawk, some of them carrying their plates with them, and eating while they stood around watching me unload the bike…!!

It took some time before I could get off the bike, and the owner of the hotel must have thanked me for choosing her hotel to stay at, half a dozen times…!!

The Big Fella was making a Big Impact…!!

I was melting under the heavy riding gear, and was in desperate need of a cold shower… Willing hands grabbed kit as I placed it down next to the bike, and it took but one trip for a change, to get everything up to my room…

Parked outside the Canary Residence, soon to be named the Cute Resort...

Later, I sat on the end of my bed, the air-conditioner set at 20º, a winning smile on my face… I went over the events of the morning in my head, hardly believing that it had been such a simple affair to regain possession of my bike… I thought about the long wait I had in Delhi to get my bike, while the customs officer sat waiting for his bribe…

What a difference a few thousand kilometres can make…!!

Heaven and Hell…

Thailand and India…

©GBWT 2011