A bad place to be tall in the rain...the conclusion

So where was i? oh yes we had just been told the devastating news that we wouldnt make the game and we should find a pub.

We just all looked at each other, I said what about the metro, cant we catch one of them and then walk, I had read the ways to get there on the same discussion board (yep geek I am!) that had told me to leave two or three hours early, all the stations mentioned on there that you have to catch taxis from the end point to get to the ground anyway, (yep bangkok has a huge stadium with no public transport to it). The concierge just looked at me and went no way too far about 45 – 60 min walk. Got us a map and showed us where the ground was (which we already knew) and then where the metro was. We all looked at each other and said well we are here we have to try, So we grabbed proper shoes and headed off to the metro (about 15 min away) to get to one of the stations towards the ground and see if we could grab a cab.   Maybe we could get there for half time.

I was feeling so upset cause I had thought of getting the metro and then a cab but had decided on the easy option of a cab straight away thinking we were early enough.

So off we set with me charging away anxious to get onto the metro. We were almost to the station when two guys walked past and then stopped and asked us if we were heading to the game, not that the shirt and our flags gave us away. But turns out they were trying to get there as well.

All their taxi drivers had told them to get a boat. Now we were in the middle of down town bangkok with the river on the other side of town, A boat? Then I remembered the canal boats the lonely planet recommended using. I didnt know they applied for around here though.  I grabbed the map out and fair enough the canel we had just crossed headed towards the ground, we just had to hope we got on a boat  that took the turn the would lead us almost to the ground! That's if there was such a boat…..

So we turned around and headed towards the canal and hopefully the game…I wasn't getting excited yet though, I didn't remember seeing any docks along the canal, fair enough loz and I were looking out at the river, waiting for the guys to catch up,   wondering where to catch it from and if a boat would ever turn up when the guys spotted the docks on the other side of the road.

Off we set, obvious from our get up where we wanted to go the first boatman automatically sent us to the other side of the river. Where it had the stadium written when we got there, oh did I forget to mention it was still raining?

A mass of people were lined up, and they all managed to fit on the first boat, so we were near the front. I asked the security fellow and he didn't understand English but understood the map, we wanted to make sure we got on the right boat. He was lovely made sure we got on the next boat. I was getting excited now. We may actually make it to the game. The others werent that sure yet till we got there but I had a good feeling.

Luckily we got seats, loz and I with our knees up around our ears. They put up tarpaulins so the rain wouldn't get us and everyone piled in. We thought it was full…..after numerous stops we realised our mistake and loz started to fear we would sink. Our massages had been forgotten and all good work from them undone.

Of course we were chugging along a canal in bangkok so you could imagine the stench…let alone our half true jokes of not surviving if we did capsize due to the toxic water.  The rocking of the boat every time more people got on and the fact we couldn't see because of the tarps didn't help!

By this stage, the front of the boat also looked like a peak hour tube, everyone packed in looking at each others armpits as they tried to hang on to what they could find. Seats at the back, standing room only at the front.

More people piled on…by now we had been travelling about 20 min and had asked numerous people to let us know when to get off….we were the only non thai people on the boat. It was an experience. They were all looking at us wondering what we were doing.  

Still we were anxious and counting the bridges as we went along as they were virtually the only things we had to go off the map as to where we were, as they were the only things we could see through the gaps. Three young thai guys got on and let us know that they were heading there and to follow them when they got off.  

Trying to get off was also an experience as by now we were well in the middle of the seated section of the boat, so climbing over everyone scared it would leave without letting us off or I would drop my bag into the river or worse fall in, we finally made it off.

Walking down the street simon and I recognised the road at the end and so left the others while we grabbed some food.   And then raced for the game. Hmm we were a little further away than we thought but it was only 7.30 so we were going to see most of the match!!!!!!

Now it was still raining….we were trying to race along busy footpaths…all of us taller than your average thai…who were all carrying umbrellas…you get the picture? I have trouble with people carrying them normally let alone while running and while they are all at my face height! It was like an obstacle course.

Anyway we survived with minimal wounds and made it to the ground…this then meant a huge walk to the actual stadium, but there were people everywhere…oh I forgot to mention the standstill of traffic out on the road. Not that we really took too much notice dodging the umbrellas.

You could tell the aussies all trying to run along the wet concrete through the puddles in their thongs/flip flops it provided entertainment along the way.

As we approached our entrance (which was around the other side of the stadium by the way)   there were huge roars from the crowd (the game had already kicked off), I was so worried we had already lost and I hadn't even seen a minute of it. We needed to win by three clear goals…not an easy task in soccer!

Finally got to our seats…nil all still! And the Thai's were pumped! The crowd was roaring, two tiny pockets of aussies trying to be heard. It was an awesome game, just for the atmosphere. The crowd didn't give up even as we got to three nil (which mind you Oz waited till after half time before giving us any joy (if I remember rightly)). 

On Mondays in Thailand everyone wears Yellow in support of their King. So it looked like the whole stadium was supporting Australia!

But then even if they had scored then it would have meant they were thru to the quarters and not us. It was a stressful evening even without the trip there. But lots of adventures!

At half time we heard some of the horror trip stories. Two guys arrived at half time having run 4 km. only to have some thai people sitting in their seats and not willing to move.   Two others had got a lift on the back of a scooter…the same scooter and they weren't small guys!

Oz ended the game 4 – nil and the thai were leaving even before it finished not for lack of support for their team but more for the traffic I think!

We had a sedate trip home and were so exhausted from our adventures we were boring and went to bed!

A bad place to be tall in the rain

A few weeks ago i attended the World cup qualifier of the Socceroos vs Japan in Brisbane. The nice easy public transport ride to the game, with time for dinner before hand reminded me of another not so sedate trip to a socceroo's game. This adventure happened quiet a few years ago but i thought it worthy of a repost as telling it to a friend recently produced just as much amusment as the telling just after it happened.

It started out a good day. We had met up with Loz the night before and after a very late dinner had called it a night. Awoke slightly refreshed and headed to our breaky on the 42rd floor checking out the skyline of Bangkok while enjoying the buffet breaky (we were living the high life!). Piled into a taxi and headed to the old part of town. Stopping off at the tourist office for info on our choice of tours. We then went for a fitting of our suits. feeling like imposters while we were ushuered upstairs like VIP's, served drinks and asked to sit in comfy couches. Feeling more and more like an imposter there was i trying on a suit!

We then went to the internet to check out our snap decision to reject the tour and catch a plane to Chang Mai for 3 days! booked and away we were heading the next morning.

We then thought we better do something touristy so headed to a budda along my types of lifestyle. The reclining budda. We wandered around its compound and found the budda. Where an anxious secruity/worker fellow came rushing up to me, i thought i was going to get in trouble for taking pics inside the temple...but i was told to cover up...my top was too low (how embarresing!)

This was the Budda i was told off for showing my cleavage to. 

A lot of work is currently going on, on all the tourist areas, being the low season. Their OH&S is very interesting, bare foot workers, putting tiles on almost 90 degree angled roofs without safety ropes and heaps more that i just cant remember, its an eye opener. 

We then thought it had been such a strenous day that we should check out a thai massage. The offical school was just around the corner from the temple so off we headed for a half hour massage, as we were on a tight schedule. Hmmm painful and interesting, but gee felt good when i got out. As simon said, we werent sure our limbs were going to streach as far as the ladies tried to place them!

All the good work was undone when i started to have a minor panic attack that id read the tickets wrong for later on in the evening.  7.30 was when i though it was but was beingining to think it could have been 5.30 . It was now 4.30 and we were stuck in peak hour traffic. Our taxi driver was also crazy i wasnt sure we were going to make it back alive. We finally made our hotel at 5.15 and luckily the tickets read 7.30. I had read a few horror stories of making other game nights and so knew to leave early. 2 hours before for a trip that took us half an hour earlier in the week. That sounds like extreme preparation to me. 

During our 15 min of getting ready i had been watching this huge black cloud start to head towards our destination.  When we got outside the heavens opened. Trying to get a cab proved interesting, most of them driving off on us, we thought they couldn't understand our destination, when we went back to our hotel and they helped us get a cab we realised most didn't want to head to our destination, only offering a flat fee almost triple what we had payed the other day.

In the end we really wanted to get there and there were three of us and well the cash when converted to pounds..nothing!

So in we jump, head out into the worlds worst traffic jam. Just kicking back talking, eating, thinking how lucky we were being inside and not out in that rain, with me watching the clock and getting more and more anxious. All of a sudden after half and hour of going about 500m our taxi man did a u turn and went through all these back streets…hmmm cool he knows a short cut, then we realised we were back at our hotel and he was telling us to get out, he wasn't taking us. It was now 6.30.

We asked or hotel guys how to get there. They just took one look at us and laughed, you better go to a pub. To get to a thai football game in bangkok you have to leave 2 hours before the game (which we almost had mind you) I was devesatated. There we were standing there fully decked out in our aussie colours flags and all, in bangkok having travelled from uk and australia to watch this game and we were being told to go to the pub. 

To be continued......