Bangkok- Modes of Transportation

July 8, 2010

Woke up early yesterday and went shopping with Prim, a great local Thai who owns several T-shirt shops in the Pratinam shopping district. She took me to the warehouse basement where there are literally THOUSANDS of T-shirts and designs being sold at wholesale prices (read $3). I got some amazing, high quality shirts, and wandered around the shopping area for a while.

I roamed the streets leading up to the big mall. The stalls are crowded and filled with everything from shirts to dresses to jewelry and shoes. Street cooks line up in the middle of the walkways with mini grills selling skewers of meat or fresh fruit. There was a huge maniquen with a sign “We have special sizes” to cater to large non-Thais. I went into the mall for an a/c break, and then caught a cab home.

I met Peter for lunch where we ran into Holly. Holly is a New York bar owner who is friends with Annile who had just arrived to Thailand. Her and I decided to check out some of the sights. We caught a motorbike ride to the river, and then cruised down the river on a commuter boat to the other side of town. Thai people are really so nice. When the boat first docked, we tried to get on and were told “No! No!. Wrong boat”. So, we got off, and the boat driver pulled away and asked where we wanted to go. We replied Wat Po, and they all shouted “Yes! Yes!”. So, they redocked and we climbed on. Everyone on board was laughing and all helped notify us when it was time to change boats.

Interestingly, these canalways are the reason Bangkok is called the Venice of the East. Having been to Venice, I could not see the likeness. The river is polluted, smelly, and the lining houses are old and worn down. It is a wonderful way to get through to the other side of town, and actually a pleasant experience, but the whole time I was dying to take a shower.

When we finally got off the boat, we took a tuk tuk to the Temple. I had little excitement about seeing another temple, as Pete and I had done quite a tour in Japan. I was wrong. Wat Po is beautiful. The ceilings and points are covered in ornate, shiny mosaics. There is a reclining Buddha (which is supposed to be a Buddha about to die and enter Nirvana) that is 150 feet, or the height of a 10 story building, that is covered in gold leaf and his feet in mother of pearl. It is a beautiful sight. There is also a garden of animal statues in different yoga and massage poses that was used to teach illiterate people how to become yogi’s and masseuses.

From there, we went to Kah San Road, which is the backpackers haven of Bangkok. You can imagine the smell and sight of all these travelers. We spent $5 to put our feet into a large pool of tiny fish that live off eating the dead skin of people’s feet. It was so gross that I squealed as they all swarmed me. I took some deep breaths and let it happen, but it was very difficult and my feet were no softer at the end of it.

We successfully navigated our ways home and met up with the boys. We had some drinks at Dave and Prim’s apartment before heading out to a pool haul across the street. A group of ten (Thai and foreign mix) were there and we played pool and feasted on amazing Thai food. Every dish I get introduced to, I like more than the last. The spices are so amazing, and the combinations are sublime. My favorite was a spicy, soupy dish and fried chicken.

From there, we went to a club. There was a live band and it was packed, wall to wall, with young Thais singing along and dancing. There was no room to even stand, so we walked a bit to another club that was playing house. As usual, Pete and I danced the night away.