The train system is ok here but not great. There are 3 different systems and you need to get different tickets when transferring between them. To access a lot of the place you need to take a boat on the river, Sharon is not keen on boats.
It is near impossible to walk around without being stopped by tuk tuk drivers or "friendly locals". The tuk tuk drivers are fairly easy and fun to deal with, I tell them we don't want a tuk tuk we are walking, they continue their speil for a bit then I re-inform them we are walking and poke out my stomach and tell them I am fat and need the exercise, they almost invariably laugh and show they are fat too, then I tell them maybe they should walk a bit too, that's usually that.
The friendly locals are a bit more difficult and are always dressed nicely. So far we have encountered a local from the US consulate with a day off, he was quite friendly and was recommending a nice shopping area, not close by, a man waiting at the bus stop for his wife, he told us the temple we were going to was closed until 1/2 hour later and helpful suggested another site we could see in the mean time, lastly we met a senior surgeon on the elevated walkway outside the police hospital, he was telling us that we should go the other way as the area we were going to was expensive and a rip off for tourists. Needless to say, other than being polite listeners, we ignored their advice and carried on our original path quite happily. And surprise surprise the temple wasn't closed either. We suspect they are commission based touts for tuk tuk drivers or taxis, the tuk tuk drivers mostly want to take you on shopping tours where they would earn comissions from overpriced jewelry or souvenirs.
We also feel saddened by the few small kids we have seen begging. We do not ever give money to beggars. We have seen the way they quickly change their smirky smile from pocketing a bunch of money to a fake sad pathetic look that often gets some more cash. And it doesn't help them. As for the mothers that set their children up with a cup, well that's plain child abuse. I am certain that there are places they could go for help if they wanted to. I suspect that there's more, or at least extra, money in begging, it is quite surprising how healthy most look, some in China were even quite fat.
The giant reclining gold covered plaster Buddha at Wat Pho
A gambling equivalent of roulette.
Bullets in a sign on an elevated walkway.
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