One Night (Okay, a Few Nights) in Bangkok

Hello All!


It's been over a month since I last blogged, and although you may not have missed me, I have definitely missed you! Since you last heard from your intrepid explorer Sue, I have seen Bangkok and Borneo, flown home to the USA, seen my sister graduate, see my dear friend Cara graduate, and celebrated Tom's birthday! I have been in four states, and I've got a few more to see before the end of the month. I've hit the ground running back here in the US, which has helped to distract me from missing my high-flying life over in Asia. But, gosh, it's good to be home!


So, rewind back to a month ago. I had just finished school (HOORAY! Still processing that one.) and had a lovely weekend getaway to Indonesia with Lisa and co. I was off to one of my three must-sees in SE Asia, BANGKOK!!! I had prepared by listening to Murray Head singing "One Night in Bangkok" on a loop, much to the dismay of my roomie. (If you have not seen this music video, youtube it RIGHT NOW. Seriously.) I was pretty wiped out from the marathon that was finals, but I was going with a friend, Mei, who a)was a law student in the same horrible boat, and b)I had traveled with before. So I knew things would be cool.


Ah, Bangkok! Every writer's dream, city of a million sights, sounds, and secrets. I loved your spicy food, your dazzling temples, your grubby steet beggars, and your slimy underbelly. You tried to rip me off at every turn, yet you served me with unfailing courtesy and that famous Thai smile. Your days were sizzling hot and your nights even hotter. We only knew each other for a short time, Bangkok, but I will never forget you.


Mei and I stayed in this cute hostel near Khao San road, Backpacker's paradise. Bangkok is maddeningly laid out sans a city center and is thus difficult to navigate on foot. We ended up taking the river taxis for most of our travel. Cabs were cheap and neon pink, but driven by madmen and resistant to following speed limits and local traffic ordinances. Thus, we traveled with care.


Khao San road was our first stop, and it was a doozy. It is a long, narrow road crammed with shops selling everything you might possibly need (and many things you don't). There were discounted (likely stolen) electronics, drug paraphernalia, Thai massages, local liquors, sunglasses, gauzy sundresses, travel books, backpacks, and souvenirs of every kind. After a while, it all begins to look alike. The upside was the food sold from carts along the way. Pad thai, made right in front of you, for 30B ($1). Some people don't like street food. I am not one of those people. We ate so cheaply while in Thailand, and so very well. I became addicted to Thai iced tea. Mmmm...I wish I was eating Thai food right now, instead of munching on a granola bar. If only there were a good Thai restaurant in Boston...

Thailand is a big tourist attraction. I saw more Westerners there than in the rest of SE Asia COMBINED. It was weird seeing so many white people after living in a sea of Asians. And with tourists come tourist traps. Scam artists abound, promising "nice price for you" and "special tours". I felt less safe in Thailand than anywhere else in Asia, even though it's the most "touristy" place I visited. Seems like danger follows money.


Anyway, it is so worth it to suffer through endless souvenir shops, the cries of hawkers and hustlers, and the oppressive, gritty heat, because Bangkok is the real deal. It is at once both modern and ancient-a city of sleek skyscrapers and shopping malls as well as mystical temples. I took this photo out of a window in Siam Paragon, the luxury mall in Bangkok (think Hermes, Coach, Louis Vuitton) and I think it sums up Bangkok pretty well (except for the fact that is was cloudy. We had a brief period of rain, but otherwise it was dismally hot).

Thai shopping puts Singaporean shopping to shame, and that is no mean feat. Thais enjoy the same high-end brands that the Singaporeans do, but they also have the cut-rate and off-brand. Malls are teeming with life-the average Thai teen spends more time at the mall than at school. There are restaurants every five feet so you can refuel for...more shopping! It's an endurance sport, like cross-country skiing. Mei and I wondered through endless racks of things we would never need, and things we could only wonder at. Thais love their bling. This love is reflected in their clothing, their jewelry, their cell phone cases (seriously you guys you have no idea) and their temples. Everything sparkled. But not all that glitters is gold, and nowhere is that more true than Bangkok.


After a day of being forced to shop due to bad weather, we ventured to the Red Light District, made famous by American GIs during the Vietnam war. The whole area has been cleaned up a bit (purportedly) and it's hard to imagine how sleazy it must have been back then. There are a lot of bars, scantily clad women, and of course, people trying to sell you tickets to "ping pong show". DO NOT google ping pong show. Repeat, do not google ping pong show. For real. Needless to say, we did not go, and I got pretty offended when I was repeatedly asked. Do I look like somebody interested in a ping pong show? There are also people there selling porn dvds, and I smiled gratefully at the men who withdrew their extended arms full of porn when I walked by. That's right, I'm a lady! We beat a hasty retreat, sadder by wiser, and returned to Khao San road for some more pad thai. Day one=success.

The next day, we went out to see the famous temples, thankfully all relatively close to one another. Let me tell you, Bangkok is not lying about their temples. They deliver. It's hard to reconcile the image of a Buddhist monk begging for food with these glimmering temples, but apparently that's how they roll.  Frankly, I like the idea of saving the jewels for the deities and living a simple life. In any case, the Thais are not kidding around with their temples. They look like they've been bedazzled by a meth addict, but they are like nothing you've ever seen. Here are a few of the thousands of shots I snapped at the Grand Palace:

Crazy right? I know. Far from being overwhelmed, Mei and I (after a brief ice cream stop) went to Wat Pho, just across the way, where we saw The Coolest Thing I Saw In SE Asia. This would be the Giant Golden Buddha. When I heard giant buddha, I thought, no big, I've seen some cool buddhas. I was thinking, six, seven feet tall, tops. Wrong. So wrong. This sucker is the length of a building. It's dazzling, just dazzling. I literally gasped, and after a few months in SE Asia, that's hard to make me do. Here are some pics of the Big Guy:



THE GIANT BUDDHA!!!




After that, we were so worn out that we had to...go back to Khao San Rd for some more pad thai. And thai iced tea. And mango and sweet sticky rice. Mmmm....so hungry....

The next day, our last in BKK, we went to Dusit Park Palace, the summer home of King Rama V, aka The Prince in "The King and I" (you know, the one who makes the decree that there is to be no more bowing on the floor to the King? See, history through musicals! It can happen!!) Rama V is the hero of the Thais. There are statues of him all over. The Thais love their monarchs and hate their government, mostly because the monarchs don't actually do anything but smile, wave, and occasionally visit a school.

Rama V spent some of his twenties touring Europe, and apparently, when you're a King, the countries you visit give you a ton of stuff. So Dusit Park Palace is basically his souvenir closet, except unlike my souvenir closet, which houses a few postcards and some shot glasses, this one is full of priceless treasures from around the world. A whole freakin houseful. It's very, very cool. The mansion was a summer palace for the King and his family and is decorated as such, with awkward family pictures and everything. I giggled when I realized tha even the crown prince of Thailand has to wear fugly matching outfits with his siblings and pose for pictures. Some things are universal.

you can only take pictures outside, since apparently souvenirs are a state secret. Whatever.


After that, we visited the local zoo, the Royal Elephant Museum (not nearly as cool as it sounds), and just roamed around for a while until I had to go to the airport. Bangkok, I won't be coming back soon, but I will always remember you fondly.

BABY MONKS! they were on a field trip to the zoo.