Khaosan is a road in Bangkok that's apparently a renowned tourist stop. We got there in the late afternoon, so it was pretty quiet, but the place was covered with not-yet-opened street vendors, as well as cheap hotels, restaurants, and hawkers selling everything from clothes to DVDs to ivory to laser pointers.
We decided to relax and kill some time. A jug of beer at the Susie pub, enough for three glasses, set us back ฿150. After that, we noticed the market was starting to open up. I bought a linen shirt, something I've been after for a while, but couldn't justify the $50-$70 stores back home want for one. It cost me a whopping $5 in Khaosan.As we walked around, we were constantly approached by hawkers and tuk-tuk drivers. Almost all the drivers said the same thing: "Hello, sah! You wan tuk-tuk?" Lada soon noticed that none of the merchants addressed her. Knowing she could speak Thai, some even refused to talk to her, going so far as to respond to her questions--asked in Thai--by answering Augustin in English.
It got even worse when we got ready to go home. Lada called her parents and found out exactly how much a fair taxi fare was from Khaosan to her house. She wouldn't go any higher than that with the drivers. She explained that most of them try to pick up passengers and charge them without using the meter. After a few drivers pulled off in a huff, we finally got one for ฿15.
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