Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok

Welcome to Bangkok:

The dirt road that formed the passageway to Thailand from Cambodia was rough and marked by potholes and bridges under construction. When we finally crossed over into Thailand (and transferred to a bus via a tuk-tuk), there was a marked difference- the roads were smoothly paved, and the buildings and vehicles that we passed were less run down. Thailand was displaying its "progress", gained by rapid economic development, much as a result of a very developed tourism industry. After a few hours, the bus stopped in the middle of Bangkok, at the (in)famous Khao San road. Khao San is the central backpacker area, and is notorious for being the type of area where you can find anything you can imagine- and some things beyond your imagination. It was an overwhelming introduction to Thailand as we dodged our way between 6-foot tall "ladyboys" in heels (local lingo for [very convincing] transsexuals), tattoo parlors, fellow backpackers and locals selling anything and everything from their small shops or carts. After choosing a hotel out of the multitude of guesthouses available- ranging from the luxurious to the reprehensible- we had a good dinner at a vegetarian cafe around the corner. We then set out to find the infamous red-light district, Patpong, to see what all the fuss was about. Though once a center for the thriving sex trade in Bangkok, Patpong has since evolved into a tourist attraction, centered around a night market. I saw many families with children, shopping for souvenirs and knick-knacks, only a few feet away from the go-go bars that line the two main sois (streets) that make up the Patpong district. We stopped in a bar for a beer, dodged some errant ping-pong balls, then headed back to the hotel to rest up and contemplate all of the oddities that Bangkok had displayed to us on our first night.

Chatuchak:

The Next day in Bangkok was Ian's last full day before he flew to Hanoi, and then onwards back home. In order to finish the rest of his souvenir shopping, we visited the Chatuchak weekend market. Chatuchak is a market unlike any I've seen. It is made up of over 15,000 stalls, covering 35 acres- some say it is the largest market in the world. It is estimated that over 200, 000 people visit the market each day, browsing for everything from clothes and accessories to pets and garden supplies. As we wandered through the tight passageways between stalls, I soon got the feeling that I was in a labyrinth of commerce, always surrounded by buyers and sellers. One part of me wanted nothing more than to get out to some fresh air, but there was something compelling, almost hypnotic, about the continuous energy that surged through Chatuchak. It carried you from stall to stall, looking for the best deal on a t-shirt or that perfect souvenir. Soon, hours have gone by without any exposure to daylight, but I'd barely noticed. I finally took a break and had my first taste of Thai papaya salad (Som Tam), which consists of shredded green papaya, lots of chili pepper, fish paste, green beans, tomato, garlic and lime/citrus juice. It was pungent and spicy, but good for the hot weather. Having had (more than) our fill of the market, we headed back towards Khao San, Ian laden with a new backpack full of souvenirs.

Solo:

The next morning, we took the river taxi for a short, scenic ride passing by various buildings and monuments. Our destination was the Grand Palace, but by the time we arrived and saw the scale of all of the sights, we figured we wouldn't have enough time to see everything and have Ian back in time to make his flight to Hanoi. We went back towards our hotel and checked out. After one last fruit shake, Ian took a taxi to the airport and we parted ways. It was here that I began the second stage of my travels- going it alone. Since Ian had been doing most of the organizing up to this point, I wasn't sure what was in store for me and how I would handle travelling by myself. Fortunately, I had a friendly place to stay for a few days in Bangkok to adjust- My friend from college, Vivek, grew up in Bangkok and I was able to stay with his family and plan out the rest of my travels. I took a taxi to their apartment, and was warmly received by his parents and greeted by the king of the house, a shi-tzu named Rex. The apartment was very nice, and a welcome refuge where I could (finally) do my laundry, have access to free internet and have a home away from home. As an added bonus, Vivek's family is originally from India, and so I was treated to delicious homemade Indian food during my stay.



The next day, I set out for the Grand Palace again since we had been unable to visit the day before. The palace is truly magnificent, featuring a huge complex of gilded buildings, with golden domes and shimmering jeweled trim in every direction. There are statues and murals everywhere and each feature adds to the grandiose nature of the area. There are still official functions carried out on the grounds, including coronations and royal funerals.
Just around the corner is another landmark in Bangkok, Wat Pho, which is the largest and oldest wat (Buddhist temple) in the city. Wat Pho is also known as the temple of the reclining Buddha, as it is the home of a giant statue of Buddha, laying on his side. The statue measures 43 meters long and 15 meters high- it is truly an impressive sight. I walked around the grounds surrounding the temple for a bit, stopping to check out a koi pond and some more impressive statues and buildings. By the time I had finished, I realized that I had spent my entire day visiting these sites- a testament to the density of culture and art that are found in this part of Bangkok.

The next day I decided to take advantage of having free internet and stayed in the apartment to take care of business that I had been neglecting during my travels. This was a fortunate decision, since that day (October 7th) is around when the riots broke out near the parliament building in Bangkok. Pro- and anti- government demonstrators had gathered near the government buildings (right near the sites I toured the day before), and protesters were clashing with police. I was glad to be safe in the apartment, since I later heard reports of many injuries and some deaths as a result of the fighting. Little did I know at the time that this conflict would continue in Bangkok for the rest of my travels.

The Ancient City:

For my last day in Bangkok, I took a small trip just outside of the city upon the advice of my hosts. My destination was the Ancient City, a huge park filled up with scale replicas of sites from throughout Thailand. These included houses, small villages, temples, and bridges. Everything was intricately detailed, and it took hours (on a bike) to go through the whole collection, stopping occasionally to take pictures and look around. Though at times it had the air of a giant amusement park, sans roller coasters, the authentic reproductions of sites that were either too far from Bangkok to visit or no longer existing were truly impressive. I returned to Bangkok (with sunburned arms from the bike riding) via the public bus system- which proved to be an adventure unto itself. After hailing a makeshift shuttle on the street and figuring out that I needed to get on the orange #25 bus and not the red one, I finally made it back to Bangkok safe and sound.