When you go to the tropics there is only so much sun one can handle. Honestly, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Bangkok was hot, humid and uncomfortable. Between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. it was lovely as long as there was a breeze.
One night in Bangkok and the world’s your oyster
Lyrics from “One Night in Bangkok”, by Murray Head
The bars are temples but their pearls ain’t free
You’ll find a god in every golden cloister
And if you’re lucky, then the god’s a she
I can feel an angel sliding up to me
Day 1
Challenging: We visited four temples our first full day, which was our version of the “ABC” tour….(Another Bloody Cathedral for those of you who have done the same thing in Europe). The day was long and hot, required one choppy boat ride across the Chapo Phraya River and included a Grand Palace grounds tour, a viewing of the Emerald Buddha, a Thai massage and a Thai massage lesson at the Wat Po Heritage Massage School.
The biggest challenge of the day was not the heat – it was the visit to the hospital for the proper antibiotics to get rid of Marla’s infection. You’re welcome to contact her directly for more info, but she’s better so alls well that ends well. The Thai medical establishment was efficient, compassionate and ultimately way cheaper than the same thing would have been in the U.S. Marla was able to complete the temple tour day with an ever improving physical feeling AND mental outlook.
Lovely: After showering, changing clothes and a short rest, we got back on the Chapo Phraya River for an amazing rice barge dinner cruise. We ate delicious Thai food on an authentic refurbished rice barge with about 15 other people. We saw other cruises leave from our same dock with about 300 guests aboard with disco music blaring loudly from all speakers. We were glad to be on our boat in such a small group. We were able to see the river side of at least some of the sites we had visited earlier that afternoon all lit up and pretty. The breeze off the river was delightfully cool and the bottle of wine Erin ordered was perfect with our supper.
One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble
Lyrics from, “One Night in Bangkok”, by Murray Head
Not much between despair and ecstasy
One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble
Can’t be too careful with your company
I can feel the Devil walking next to me
Day 2
Challenging: Not much really…..it was hot for our bike ride around the back alleys of old Bangkok, but since we were generating our own breeze it didn’t feel insufferable. The back alleys were challenging to ride through–kind of like an urban mountain bike ride on all flat terrain with a lot of 90 degree turns and narrow paths. Our guide’s motto seemed to be ~ “if you can walk there we can ride there.” She led us down skinny walkways along canals, through markets with people both eating and cooking food, and riding on the sidewalk to avoid traffic in the street. Miraculously, Erin only grazed a wall once and Marla had a slow motion fall/wreck coming around a corner to encounter a table in her path. It was a little chaotic trying to detangle her from the bike and the table, but it got sorted in the end with just a couple of bruises.
Lovely: You wouldn’t think visiting Chinatown in Bangkok would be “lovely”, but it may have been one of our favorite things so far. Bangkok is known for their street food, and Chinatown lights up at night with thousands of vendor stalls selling everything from chestnuts to ice cream to roasted squid. We ate dinner at what literally could be classified as a garage…..but they had the best khao soi and dry tom yum. Dinner was about $5 total ~ another thing to love about Bangkok street food. Marla couldn’t resist the deep fried pork Gyoza while we walked around trying to decide what to eat. We ended the evening in a bar with cocktails and live music. The band ended their 2nd set with a rendition of Hotel California that maaaaaay have been very close to bad….but ultimately they pulled it off. Erin got a recording if you’re interested in hearing it.
Day 3
Challenging: Seriously…..nothing.
Lovely: We drove south of the city to a train market and a floating market. The train market is called Maeklong Railway Market is on actual working train tracks. Space is so limited that the market sprung up over 50 years ago and the market has been a thriving local go to ever since. When the train comes through vendors pulled up their wares and pull in their awnings. The railroad employees shout at everyone (one of the only times I heard anyone shouting in all of Thailand), to “get behind the red line”. They. Are. Not. Kidding. Even behind the red line the train passes about 12 inches from the red line.
For the third time in Thailand we boarded a long-tail boat, this time on the longest and straightest canal in Thailand. This boat ride ended at a floating market called Damnoen Floating Market. The floating market is called a floating market not because the market actually floats, but because the market is on pylons over both the main canal and smaller intersecting canals. After we got off the long-tail boat, we walked through the market just to see what was there. The main canal had a sort of Venice-like quality with the many and varied boats vying for space. If we hadn’t witnessed the chaos of the canals in Venice we might have been more amazed ~ but the canals and the boats at the market were smaller so it seemed relatively calm . We bought coffee and waffles while we watched the show go by ~ doing our small part for the local economy.
We ended our Bangkok tour with the best lunch ever at a restaurant in the middle of a coconut grove. Yes, an actual coconut grove. Our guide and the proprietress have a long-standing working relationship and she piled our table with so much food we had to take some home for dinner. The atmosphere was relaxed and neighborly/friendly. We lingered over the meal until it was clear we couldn’t and shouldn’t eat anything else. Marla wished for a tour through the coconut trees to talk to someone about coconut production, but alas….back to Bangkok for downtime before catching our flight early the next morning.
Thailand’s cities and roads are dense and developing fast with first world problems of pollution, overcrowding, and sea rise. The rural areas we saw are devoted to all kinds of agricultural products with markets across the globe. We struggled sometimes with the amount of trash we saw in the various waterways. Yes, the U.S. has it share of problems with trash…which we also struggle with……but it just seemed like there was so much everywhere here in Thailand. The people we met were unfailingly kind and always willing to help you out no matter your question. The government seems efficient and stable, and the country we experienced reflects this with a youthful energy and optimism.
Would we live here……still no ~ too hot. Would we visit again ~ probably.
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