Farangset is good
ENHere I am in Bangkok, in the tourist district, for a short night. I'm starting again this Friday for Phuket. focus on Koh Yao Noi, my first stop, in Phang Na Bay.
Airports: from Charles de Gaulle to Dubai
Undisputed travel on Emirates, via Dubai. Brand new airport, full of shops and services. As usual, our airport in Paris is struggling to support the comparison.
In Dubai, wifi is free and free. Unlike Charles-de-Gaulle. There's wifi, yes ... But the rates are prohibitive: it starts at 6 € per half hour. No comment.
But this night take-off allowed me to admire the lights of Paris.
Service and comfort top on Emirates. The first plane is not so full. Almost all eco-class passengers were able to lie on vacant seats and sleep a bit.
To report anyway, an interesting novelty, at the TGV station of Charles-de-Gaulle airport: there is now a large luminous table with all flights departing, which indicates the corresponding terminal to know where to go. It was time for the signage to improve a bit ...
Bangkok: return to Kao San Road
Tonight I'm in the tourist district in Bangkok, I'm staying in New Siam I, in the street that extends Kao San Road.
The area is not authentic at all, but it is convenient when you only have one night to go. There is everything on site: bars and restaurants, guesthouses, mini market 7/11 for shopping menus, internet connections.
I still find with pleasure this funny atmosphere, between the vendors of everything in the street, the small restaurants at night with their tiny plastic chairs, the farangs (strangers) who hang the tong on the asphalt. The smiles here are mostly commercial, but who cares?
And then it amuses me to notice again these little details which tomorrow, already, will not draw me the eye any more:
- The lanterns and garlands everywhere in the restaurants, which give the impression that it is Christmas whenever the night falls;
- the loud tuk-tuk that sneaks all over the narrow "ones" (alleys);
- carriages of itinerant soup vendors which whet the appetite;
- rolls of PQ in their small plastic boxes that serve as napkins on restaurant tables;
- the inevitable beggar-singer-blind with his creaky sono;
- the first mosquito trying to eat my calf;
Motorcycles overloaded with bundles of vegetables overflowing everywhere;
- the taxi-meter pink-purple and green-yellow, which are on the watch for the client;
- the sweet taste of yellow mangoes;
- the backpackers improvident who parade with their big bags and find "full" signs everywhere;
- small altars with their offerings in every trade ...
My taxi driver dropped me in front of the guesthouse despite the narrow street.
He spoke poor English and just managed to ask me "Where do you come from?" I almost answered "perancis" since the Indonesian comes to me more easily, and quickly rectified in "farangset".
It pleased him, Mr.Tongsat, my driver. "Farangset is good!" he told me, thumbs up. I agree.
???? ????
Hidden somewhere in the roof above the terrace of my guesthouse, a gecko cheerfully sputters. I like the chuckling of the gecko, the evening at the time of the cool Singha ...
This is a sign that I came back to latitudes that I like.
😎
oh la la !!!!!!!What a pleasure to read you and to recognize the restaurant opposite siam1 the guest house you recommended to us during our last stay!!!!!Your description of the neighborhood is perfect, I almost feel like I'm there! thanks, that feels good!
I'm starting to deal with my crutches, they're so inconvenient...the only advantage is that I'm given room on the streetcar and everyone is nice on the street, smiles at me etc...a bit like in Thailand...yeah....finally...I'm exaggerating...but I'm taking it all in stride!
I look forward to reading you again, have a good trip!
Khao San Rd, that first of the year, I liked the goateed Thai walking around with a pirate's bicorne and skull sunglasses -Is he still there?- ... completely surreal the character when the KSR background suddenly waved to open the way for an elephant painted in blue, yellow and red with “happy new year” color inscriptions on it.... completely surreal character when KSR's background suddenly shook to clear the way for an elephant painted blue, yellow and red with colored inscriptions “happy new year” on its buttocks 😯 ... it was like a scene from Blake Edwards' "La Party"... all that was missing was Peter Sellers (maybe he was disguised as a pirate thai?).
A little green curry for me, please 😉
(...and then some wonderful articles too 😆 )
Hello
I see you're already gone, lucky!
But here's my consolation, while I'm waiting to take off in 3 weeks I'll be able to escape by following you on the blog and time will seem less long!
By the way, I can't find any more grease for the gasket of my gun case 🙁 how do you do it? 💡 do you have an address, a site to get some??? because that's not all but y ades photos waiting for me in the Philippines 😀
@ more
laurence
You'd think you were there. Right down to the sounds, tastes and smells. Many thanks. Keep up the good work.
8)
Like Nono: you'd think you were there! Terrible to read that description when you're far from vacations and the tropics 🙁
In particular, “Hidden somewhere in the roof above the terrace of my guesthouse, a gecko gleefully cackles. How I love the gecko's cackle, in the evening at the hour of the cool Singha...” Now that's dream machine! So happy vacations again, and we look forward to what's to come 🙂
I really like your description of little details... soooooo true....
Good continuation of the trip 😉
Thib.
Hello
Your travel log is magnificent, a bit like the song somewhere over the rainbow...
I'm off to Southeast Asia and I hope I'll see things just as beautiful...
Thank you for sharing your experience with the rest of the world
@Helene: Brings back fond memories, doesn't it? Yes, this is the Wild Orchid restaurant, just opposite the New Siam. Now I'm in Koh Yao Noi. I'll tell you all about it very soon... In the meantime, good luck with the donuts...
🙄
@ Ludovic / Wet & Sea: I haven't seen your goateed energumene or any elephants with painted butts!!! But I think I'll treat myself to a green curry tonight, it's easier to find....
😉
@Laurence: You can find silicone grease in tube or jar form in any store that sells diving equipment. If there isn't any near you, it's easy to find, I think, on any dive shop website, like Scubaland. Come on, three more weeks of nothing before the Philippines!
🙂
@Nono & @Malene: Promised, I continue. I'm delivering a new ticket from Koh Yao Noi where I am right now, very soon, in a day or two ...
8)
@Thib: Thank you so much! The continuation is going well... I'm so happy to be here!!! Would you like Koh Yao Noi, where I am right now. Peaceful atmosphere, Siquijor style...
😉
@Halim: Thank you Halim. Good preparations for your trip!
8)
I'll have you know, though, that in the Rennes region we're enjoying a magnificent day, with superb sunshine. I've taken the sunglasses out of their dusty case. Okay, we're wearing boots and a bonnet, but it feels like spring. 8)
hello i will add your blog to my website farangset.com
thank you for creating a link from my site at home
an information site, travel visa, news, and other heading
thanks thanks
sawadee kap 😛
Oh, the blues! I read you and I remember the clothes that stick to my skin, I smell the pad thai (will you take one for me on Khao San?), I hear the same comments from young backpackers that seem to be playing on a loop, in every mouth... I also feel this immense sense of freedom that invades me every time I land in this sort of ultra-commercial chaos, as you point out. And I love them, me, the gecko... In the meantime, I'm in the suburbs of Lyon, I've got two texts to finish (no, I'm not «really» on vacation) and I'm even more tired than before I left Montreal! Still, the few degrees I've gained and the little dose of change of scenery do me good. But you know what? I WANT YOU anyway 🙂 Can't wait to read the rest!
@Nono: Ben me, I prefer to put my sunglasses without cap or boots!
8) 😆
@Mikee: Kop Khun Kaaah! Thanks for the link and for your interest in Petites Bulles d'Ailleurs! I'll explore your site when I get back from my trip. But for now, your address gives an empty page. For link exchange requests, it's best to communicate privately rather than through the comments. You can write to me at the following address: corinne@petitesbullesdailleurs.fr
🙄
@ Marie-Julie: Oh dear, do take the time to rest a little! Good luck with your “vacation homework”. And don't forget to make the most of life in Lyon and the restaurants! Even if padthai isn't a local specialty, the food's pretty good in Lyon!
😀
Singha'llelouia!
@Marie-net: Excellent!!! 😆
Salamat pagui! So true ... Thib is right! Smells, flavors, hubbub, promiscuity ... everything is there !!
I come across your blog through the site Air Asia where I gleaned information for my next departure ...
Do you have any exotic tips for Vietnam & neighbouring countries? I'm fond of REAL encounters with locals.
Thank you, thanks, kop kun ka, maauururu, gracias etc ...
@Valamazone: Selamat Datang! Welcome! It's been a while since I last set foot in Vietnam, so I don't really have any fresh info or specific advice to give you... Just let yourself go, trust your common sense, follow your desires: the encounters and discoveries will follow! As for the border countries (China, Laos, Cambodia), I'm not really going to be able to tell you much other than generalities: I only know Cambodia a little, I only made a brief foray into Laos a long time ago, and I've never been to China. What can I tell you, except to take your time, soak up the local atmosphere, observe local ways of being and doing things in order to understand them better, taste all the exotic dishesk but above all don't try to “see everything”... Time is not at all the same in Asia, but you should already know that... Good preparations!!!!
😉
Bonjour, merci pour ton site. I'm planning to go to Vietnam for 1 month with my partner and our 7-month-old baby. We're dreaming of a quiet, natural, typical beach (with few or no tourists).
@Cécile: I don't know what to tell you, it's been years since I set foot in Vietnam, it must have changed a lot. Start by leafing through a travel guide, like Routard or Lonely Planet... 😉