We get to BKK airport (the new one) by 10. Airport is quite large but efficient. Taxi 25 km to Bangkok is 300 baht ($11) IF you insist on a meter being on. We stay at the Tower Inn (now the Unico Grande Silom) on Silom Rd. Naturally WE have to tell the taxi driver EXACTLY where it is. The Unico ($80) is fine - great buffet breakfast included. Next day taxi to the Royal Palace. We get there and are told by a passerby it s closed til noon - but for 20 Baht (70 cents) we can have a 2 hour tuk-tuk ride to nearby sights. It is a scam of course but we go. The scam is that the driver also wants to take you to jewelry stores, suit factories etc. where he gets his commission. The Palace is as always worth seeing. We catch ferries down the river back to Silom Rd stopping at Wat Arun (the temple of dawn) on the way. Lunch at silom village ($1 each) and off to the airport.
Plane to Udon Thani in North Thailand. Accomodation at the Karin Hotel (($30 for the luxury room, $15 for standard) Hotel is fine - meets Ruth Lowen's baseline standards. Staff are a little 'Soviet-like". Now waiting for a bus to Laos border. Pity we dont have a Laos visa - we would save half a day and a few transport issues. Udon Thani is large but not a tourist place particularly. However it does represent Thai life better than Bangkok. Not too many people speak much English - so it pays to be organised. Its a pity we aren't !
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