Getting to Bangkok: Our longest flight ever, from SEATAC Airport in Washington all the way to Singapore, took 17 hours. Lucky Sara in the middle section had three seats to herself, so she could lay down through much of the flight. Despite our worries, we both endured. The Singapore Airport is huge, modern and amazing, as we had been told, so we spent some time exploring there, but were anxious to grab a meal and get some sleep. With a 16-hour layover, we had reserved a small “Otel” room at the airport. We slept, awoke early, made our way back to the airport for the shorter flight, only about six hours, from Singapore to Bangkok. Surprisingly, we adjusted reasonably quickly to the 12-hour time difference. Perhaps our morning flight from Seattle and our sleepover stop in Singapore helped our bodies to adjust.
Arriving in Bangkok we took a taxi to our Air BnB. Everything is hot in Bangkok. The streets are hot, the building is hot, and when we first opened the door to our condo on the 29th floor, it was really, really hot. Thankfully, the AC eventually made it reasonably comfortable.
After connecting with Les, our man in Bangkok, we walked the short way to his home and finally met Gina, for the first time in person. We dined that night at the “Fat Cow,” a burger bar just across the street – with Les and Gina, and another woman named “Beer,” Les’s friend and neighbor, who is our Air BnB Host in Bangkok. Why a burger bar in Bangkok? Les thought he should lead us more gently into more traditional Thai foods. And the beer is good.
The next day was a working day for Les, so Sara and I set off on our own, learned how to use the subway system – the MRT and the BTS – and we visited three of the many malls for which Bangkok is known. As long-term travelers we don’t shop much, since we can’t take it with us. But we’re told that Bangkok’s malls are special, so we checked out a few and lunched at one mall’s food market – a very different experience than a food court in an American mall. The food was definitely different: more Asian, more diverse. But otherwise I concluded that even here, a mall is just a mall. (That was Evan’s comment. I think so many of the malls here are much grander than those I’ve seen in the US. Some similar stores and many I’m not familiar with. The food courts in Bangkok’s malls are spectacular).
Nightlife with Les and Gina. Our first stop was at an open night market where we had octopus balls, an outstanding mango smoothie, and then a dinner of barbecued seafood and ribs, served from a bucket and poured out, right on the paper covered table. Beer and barbecued seafood! There were so many food stalls with so many options. It was great to have Les and Gina guide us through our first experience of street food.
Then an exciting – actually scary – Tuck-Tuck ride through town to the Golden Giraffe bar to hear a blues band called The Cottonmouth Kings, led by Keith Nolan (Irish). Prior to his first set, Keith came over to greet Les and say hello to us all. Wherever we go, it seems that someone knows Les. The music was great fun, the drinks were fine, and we had a great time.
Although Sara and I are not night people, Les insisted on walking us down Soi Cowboy (Cowboy Street) where you find the bars, the drunks, the prostitutes, and the “LadyBoys” who compete with the prostitutes for business. Les says you can tell them apart because the “LadyBoys” are more beautiful and dressed even more sexy than the young girls. Did I mention that Les knows people no matter where we go? He was greeted by four or five acquaintances along Cowboy Street. And I’ve never had so many lovely young girls (?) smiling and flirting as we passed.
On a very hot day Sara and I made our way up to visit the Grand Palace, a major temple complex which includes The Royal Chapel of the Emerald Buddha, and so much else. Historically, this was the residence of the kings of Siam, and it’s still used for some official events. It’s a huge complex, and the colorful architecture is amazing. Evan especially loved the huge and colorful Guardian Giants at the temple gates. We’ll share more of what we’ve learned about Thai temples in our next post on Chiang Rai.
From the Grand Palace it was a short walk down to Wat Pho where we saw the huge Reclining Buddha. The Thai word for a temple is “Wat,” so each Temple name begins with “Wat.”
Images of the Buddha so far are peaceful and calm, often smiling and meditating. This is not the laughing fat Buddha that you see occasionally. A single temple building may house many images of Buddha, but the central object of devotion is usually one large Buddha. It’s interesting to contrast the peaceful Thai temple Buddhas to the European cathedrals, where the focus is on the Crucifixion of Jesus, an image of great suffering. The contrast is extreme. In the temple spaces we were surprised to also find many figures from Hindu traditions, figures like Ganesha and Krishna, and from Chinese traditions.
Giant Buddha & Bangkok Local Tour: This tour promised to teach us more about Thai Buddhism and to take us beyond the tourist sites and more directly into the local life of Bangkok. We met our guides, Arie and Tina (a guide in training), at Wat Pak Nam Pasri Charoen, a meditation temple with a Buddhism Museum and a beautiful crystal pagoda. We saw families celebrating their son’s “ordination” into the monkhood.
Another part of the temple is a recently built Giant Buddha, the largest in Bangkok, but not the largest in Thailand. There are lots of giant Buddha’s in Thailand. Elsewhere, hilltops are preferred, but this golden Giant Buddha is right in the city. It’s huge and can be seen from quite far away (on a clear day, that is). A large pagoda, or “stupa,” behind the Buddha houses a museum of Buddhism and another beautiful space, the green and gold meditation room on the fifth floor which contains Buddha relics in a green glass pagoda.
After leaving the temple, our guides took us on a long tail boat tour along older sections of Bangkok on Canal 4. Some new and many old structures line the waterways. Visitors on the water can just stop to shop. We stepped up onto some old wooden walkways along the water, looked in the shops, enjoyed some very nice Thai coffee, and then we lunched at a restaurant along the river. Our guides kept buying bags of fish food (10 baht per bag – about 3 cents) and encouraging us to feed the fish. Throw a little food in the water and soon you have 30+ fish crowding each other for dinner. Mostly these were catfish, but our guides said that Thais do not eat them.
The video below is almost 2 minutes. It’s a ride down Canal #4 in Bangkok. There are over 1600 canals in Bangkok which is why it’s sometimes referred to as the Venice of the East. Along the canal you’ll see homes people are currently living in, shopfronts, and temples. There are also many abandoned structures, barely standing. The city’s waterway network was the primary means of transportation, and source for food and water until the late 19th century.
We spent another early evening with Les and Gina at another busy open marketplace. The Sangria was delicious and the marketplace fun, but we were tired, so we left for home early to prepare for tomorrow’s flight to Chiang Rai.
