10-12 January 2010
We are surrounded by Thai food. Thai food!!! The streets are clean(ish), the sun is shining, and we are wearing shorts. Welcome to Thailand, the “Land of Smiles.” After a long layover in the Delhi airport and an overnight flight we arrived in Bangkok. After more than 3 months in the Indian subcontinent, we are happy to be back in Southeast Asia. Goodbye chapatti and dal baht, hello Massamam curry, mango sticky rice, and pad thai.
We spent three days in Bangkok soaking up the heat, stuffing ourselves with the local cuisine (we love Thai food), seeing the sites, and marveling at the novelty of 24-hour electricity. On day one we made our way via tuk-tuk (we are very glad that drivers of the very similar “auto-rickshaws” in India don’t drive as fast as they do in Bangkok) to the MPK mall. Rarely do we really (me especially) want to visit malls, but MPK is a spectacle worth seeing. Each of its 7 stories spans several city blocks and is jam-packed with shops and stalls filled with merchandise. Prada, Gucci, Jimmy Choo, Dior-you have your pick. You want a Rolex? No problem. A purse that retails for $2000 maybe costs $50, and you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. Designer jeans, pirated software, perfumes, and DVDs of movies still in the theater are all available. All of the stuff is fake, illegally copied, but much of it is really well-done. Being the nerds that we are, all we bought was a book. Ha. We left MPK for a nice long, sultry walk back to our guesthouse. Not far from the mall Rachel screamed and hurriedly jumped forward. Not knowing what was going on (as usual), she quickly informed me that she had tried to avoid, but ended up stepping on a (live) rat (it survived). It was a quick reminder to us-you are still very much in Asia.
On Day 2 we strapped on our walking shoes and set out to explore more of Bangkok. Miles and miles of walking took us to Chinatown (Why are Chinese districts in most cities so strangely similar?) where we struggled through crowded markets marveling at the fact that everything (okay, nearly everything, including the kitchen sink) is for sale. What would you do with all of that dried squid? While in Chinatown we stumbled upon several wats. What is that? It’s a wat. A what? No, a wat-you know like Wat Traimit, a temple where they keep the largest golden Budddha. Wat Traimit, by the way, is really beautiful, and a great place to worship a gigantic golden Buddha.
Moving on into the afternoon, dripping with sweat, we made our way to Wat Pho, the home of the largest reclining Buddha. Stopping outside the wat I was enticed to buy some satay that was being cooked outside the entrance. After devouring it, I said “that wasn’t chicken”. Rachel responded “well, what was it?” “I don’t know, but it was good”. I love Thailand.
Wat Pho has a lot more to offer than mystery meat and Buddhas getting horizontal. Its array of courtyards, filled with statues, brightly painted temples, and towering spires is truly enchanting. After a couple hours of wandering we still hadn’t found the “main event.” Finally we found the long lines of tourists and obnoxious tour groups-oh yeah this is where we love to be, where the real good stuff is. Once we were herded into to the temple of the reclining Buddha (Buddha is sooo tired) it was hard not to be impressed. Elbowing our way to a good vantage point we gazed at a gold painted Buddha nearly 150 feet long and over 50 feet tall resting with his head in his hand (so cute). Reclining Buddha, you make us feel small.
More walking and a stop for some beer and spicy noodles led us to the backpacker haven of Khao San Road. What a seedy, unattractive part of town! Why would anyone want to stay here? On second thought—you all stay here and we will go back to our charming guesthouse in the Silom District. And that is just what we did. We walked down to the Chao Phraya River and bought a 1-way river boat ticket (about 50 cents-so cheap) back to our part of town. In the fading twilight we jetted along the river past numerous temples (What wat is that?), office buildings, and fancy high rise hotels-the lights of Bangkok illuminating another balmy Thai night.
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