I got into Bangkok about 7 hours ago. The airport was immaculate, and had much better A/C than the Vietnamese one. It's very obvious from the start which one is the wealthier country. I took the sleek new airport train to the city center and the BTS (city train) to get to the street near my hostel. Everywhere we stopped there were TV's playing Thai and English ads for different cosmetic products, Canon cameras, and even KFC. Like with everyone here, I'm amazed at how bilingual this country it. Not only do they need to know another language, but also an entirely different alphabet. I don't know how good they all are, but it seems like they are better at speaking English than the average Vietnamese person and since their ads are in English I can guarantee they are better at understanding it.
After I got off the train, I was surrounded my McDonalds, Burger King, and Starbucks. I hadn't eaten lunch and had a weak will after no American food the past week, so I caved and got a giant Starbucks drink, which was delicious (and served to me in very good English) but it cost about twice what a meal + drink in Vietnam would cost. First world luxury comes with a price! I then found my hostel, which is very nice, and took a long shower. Now I think I'll do laundry (we have a hanger in the room) before I get caught up on this blog so my clothes have time to dry. It's not like any of you are awake anyway!
It seems like since Bangkok is more western, it may be easier to use my Visa card here. In Vietnam, it was pretty much all cash--you could never rely on someone having a credit card machine. We'll see how it goes though. I would recommend for anyone travelling to get at least $100 of the native currency before they get out of the airport. I wouldn't have been able to take the train without it or get on my Hanoi shuttle either. Don't rely on them taking US dollars (though that's your best plan B, for sure).
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