April 16 - 18, 2012 – Bangkok
Pulling in cockeyed behind another parked car, the driver of my overpriced taxi said, “I can’t drive down there.” He pointed down a narrow street to the left.
“Is that where I need to go?” I asked. Not quite sure I wanted the answer, I gazed at a street awash in a thin layer of mud. Garbage lined the gutters. Passage was blocked by hundreds of people.
He nodded and opened his door. I followed suit, stepping out of the luxurious air conditioning into the steamy Bangkok night. I put on my day pack, hoisted my small suitcase, and nodded my thanks to the driver. Without a backward glance, he left me there. I had no idea where I was going.
I shrugged and started walking towards the crowd of people. A Thai band on a small stage was playing loud American music from the 1980s and 90s while Thai and white young people danced in the street. Water arced from several hoses over the crowd. Individuals were armed with water guns of all sizes, not to mention bottles of beer.
“You’re going to get wet,” a male voice behind me said. I nodded once and continued on to face the inevitable.
Pushing my way through the edge of the crowd furthest from the stage, I was wet in seconds. One young man grinned maliciously as he shot me with water in the back of the neck. I just laughed and kept moving. What else could I do? I considered seeing if I could get a beer somewhere, but it was 2:00 in the morning and all I really wanted was to find my guest house, take a shower, and go to bed.
The press of bodies thinned as I scanned the signs on either side of the street, looking for one that said Erawan House. I asked one young man if he knew where it was; he just pointed past the next makeshift stage and crowd of revelers. Once past them, I was over halfway down the street.
“Do you need some help?” I’d never seen one before, but I recognized that this guy was a tuk tuk driver. I showed him the little map on my reservation sheet. He nodded and said, “150 Baht. I’ll take you there.”
“How far is it?”
“About 10 minutes.”
I nodded and climbed into the back of the tuk tuk while he lifted my suitcase in. I held on tight to the open sides of the vehicle as he started off down the street. Now, I don’t know any Thai, but it was clear that he stopped three times to ask other tuk tuk drivers if they knew how to find Erawan House. I rolled my eyes and waited patiently as we continued on. A few minutes later, we pulled to a stop in a alley lined with restaurants, shops, and, lo and behold, Erawan House. I gave the driver 200 Baht, received no change, and found the reception desk.
I gave the woman at the desk my name and was told that the room price was going to be less than I was originally quoted, 650 Baht per night instead of 750, a savings of about $3 per night. I signed the paperwork and asked, “What’s with all the water in the street.”
“It’s the last night of the Thai New Year,” she replied.
Truly an auspicious time to begin my travels in Asia.
A typical tuk tuk in Bangkok
*****
I'd never been in a place where I could just sit quietly in the shade and have the sweat run off of me, but Bangkok was such a place. Every afternoon I would wander back to my room, overcome with the need to strip down to my undies and lay spread-eagle on the bed with the air conditioner blasting. Eventually my body temperature would return to normal and I'd be able to move again.
My first day there, after a nice long sleep in my wonderfully air conditioned little room, I just wandered around my neighborhood to get my bearings. I found a lovely park next to Chao Phraya, the river running through Bangkok which is a major transportation artery. The park focused on Phra Sumen Fort, one of two remaining forts in Bangkok built during the reign of Rama I, whenever that was (the time frame must be common knowledge to Thais because it was never mentioned on any of the signs).
Phra Sumen Fort
To my relief, the park included benches in the shade. I took up residence on one for a couple of hours to read and watch boats ply their trade on the river. I was most fascinated by the tug boats towing three and four barges up and down the river. They just seemed so improbable as working boats.
Tug boat on Chao Phraya
Over the next two days I did my best to get out and see the sights in my piece of Bangkok. It was convenient that I was close to the river as there are tourist and commuter boats that run up and down on a regular basis. For 150 Bhat (about $5), I could ride either type of boat all day. The piers gave convenient access to many of the Wats (temples) and other sites of interest. I could always find my home pier because it was the one closest to the distinctive suspension bridge Rama V.
Rama V bridge with commuter boat
The opulence of the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) took my breath away. The gilding, the riotous use of color, the statuary, it was all simply amazing. At the Palace and all the temples I visited, I was most captivated by the auxiliary statuary rather than the Buddhas themselves. Many represented protective dieties, while others appeared to be important people or animals, but as none were labeled, I was never sure. I had to be satisfied with taking lots of pictures. Unfortunately, taking pictures inside of the temples was not allowed, so I was unable to record some of the most beautiful areas.
Grand Palace from outside the walls
I was really there! The skirt is a loaner - you had to be properly covered to enter the Grand Palace. Long pants and above-the-knee skirts were okay, but capris weren't. Go figure.
Finally succumbing to exhaustion, I went home to cool off under my air conditioner. Once back to normal, I wandered out to a lovely riverside restaurant for green curry. The vegetables were different, and somewhat unidentifiable, but it was otherwise like curry at home. A couple of beers nicely moderated the heat.
On my last day in Bangkok I visited my favorite temple, Wat Arun, Temple of Dawn. It was different from the others in that it was built in the 1800s with Khmer-style architecture and decorated with thousands of pieces of broken Chinese pottery that had been used as ballast in trading ships.
Wat Arun from across Chao Phraya. The boat is a ferry that goes back and forth across the river.
The towers of Wat Arun - the highest is 76 meters
Wat Arun is covered in mosaics like these
I climbed these stairs up the main tower - yes, they are as steep as they look!
The view from the top of Wat Arun. The red roofs are the associated monastary.
By no means was I able to see everything I wanted to in Bangkok. I tried to find the Royal Barges Museum and Indian Market, but the heat caused me to give up before I found them. I would definitely go back to Thailand again, but from what I've heard, I'd rather go north to Chang Mai than stay in Bangkok again. For a big city, though, it was just fine. I wandered through several of the markets that sit at the entrance to each pier and bought a few trinkets, but I never had any problems with pushy vendors insisting I buy there wares or beggars demanding money. Everyone I interacted with was friendly and polite, even when it was a struggle to communicate.
I'll leave you now with a few random views of Bangkok.
These boys were busking along a busy street. His playing was beautiful. This photo was the only one I paid for the entire trip.
The alter at the restaurant where I had breakfast the first morning.
All of the river boats had beautifully decorated bows.
My guest house was further down this alley.
Although the heat killed my appetite, I did enjoy satay, fried bread, and fresh fruit from street vendors like this.
One of many, many street markets. They're crowded mostly because the vendors line both sides of narrow walkways.
A monk outside of the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo
