My overnight bus to Bangkok, arrived even earlier than its scheduled 5am time, so I had even longer to sit on the stoop of my hostel until 5:30am when security arrived and let me in. I fell asleep on the couch in the lounge area for a while and it wasn't until I awoke at eight that I realized that someone had robbed me of 800 baht, equivalent to approximately $250.
I had separated my money into two wallets, placing one in my small bag and one in my large, in case of thievery. But I had expected to keep my big bag with me rather than in the luggage compartment and, when that changed last second, I forgot to retrieve the wallet. The thief had somehow managed to undo my lock, find my wallet in its secret compartment, take the cash, throw the wallet haphazardly back in my pack, reclose my bag, and lock it back up. But I was too relieved at the fact that my passport and credit cards were all there to get overly upset about the cash.
In any case, Simon, my Kiwi buddy from Phuket arrived later that morning, and the two of us set off to explore the city, wandering in and out of niche markets-- like the one of nothing but good luck medallions. We sought refuge from the heat in the sprawling Bangkok National Museum, which featured all manner of Thai artifacts, from full-sized pagodas...
... to tiny, intricately-decorated theater puppets,
... from the outlandishly ornate royal funereal carriages (painted rather messily, upon close inspection, I might add)...
... to the bizarre novelty weapons collected by former kings.
We returned to the lovely Niras Bangkoc Cultural Hostel and were finally able to check in, at which point we each passed out for a nap in our bunks. Upon waking, we headed out for a bite to eat on Khao San Road, the bustling backpacker mecca of Bangkok. Touts lined every inch of the road, selling ironic t-shirts and other traveler duds; barkers (and whisperers) proffered tickets for lady-boy and ping-pong shows-- the former featuring the titular drag queens and the latter spotlighting women shooting ping pong balls at each other in the least ladylike way imaginable. And from seemingly every doorway came the call of "Massage?" There were even outdoor parlors.
Vendors pushed food carts up and down past seemingly innumerable outdoor bars serving the ubiquitous Singha and Chang beers to the ubiquitous falangs (white people) sitting on the ubiquitous tiny red chaifs at the ubiquitous tiny red plastic tables. I sampled as much fare as I could stand and my mouth watered over what I couldn't fit in my belly: mangos with sweet sticky rice covered in coconut milk, fresh fruit shakes, pad thai cooked in the wok right before your eyes, fresh tom yum soup, and savory seafood salad. When I had thoroughly stuffed myself and we'd both had a couple beers, we left and hit the hay.
The next day we tackled the most well-trodden of the notable tourist sites, starting with the Grand Palace.
Admittance depended on covered shoulders and knees, which guards monitored strictly, admonishing offenders with bullhorns and attitude, so we dressed accordingly despite the stifling heat.
The palace complex stretched over blocks and included buildings of all shapes and sizes, but I most enjoyed the details, like the masterful-- and minute!-- tile and gild work...
... the delightfully expressive statues we discovered around every bend...
... and the pots of bonsai trees and floating lily pads setting off the garish gold paint used on so many of its structures.
Worshippers kneeled beside outdoor shrines...
... and bowed to the fabled Emerald Buddha (actually made of jade).
As we exited the ancient palace, we passed by the modern estate that succeeded it, an unexpectedly harmonious structure comprising a french base and a Thai roof, complete with the traditional stupas.
Because if there's anything the Thais insist upon, it's a lot of stupas!
Personally, I preferred the (very) slightly more subdued modern buildings, with their tempered use of gold set off against bright white foundations.
After we'd left the grounds and peeled off our long layers, we hopped on a river ferry and headed south to see the giant reclining buddha in Wat Pho.
Then we went back to the hostel, where I ate a pad thai from the dirt-cheap yet super-tasty dive across the street. Since neither of us had much energy, Simon took a nap, and I caught a showing of "The Avengers" at the intimidatingly garish mega-cinema downtown, for which I had to have a reservation and assigned seating! When I got back, we were both too tired to go out, so we each plopped into bed.
The next day, I hugged Simon goodbye and reunited with Tayler my friend and dive instructor in the Gilis who had since left his post and was traveling without his best bud Nick for the first time in something like 4 years. I met him at his hotel, where we inadvertently got drunk at 11am because of the take-no-refusals hospitality of a sweet African friend he'd made earlier that day.
Once I'd moved my things into his room and we'd arranged our passage to Cambodia the next day, we went out for curry and then got side-by-side Thai massages, which Tayler insisted that I must experience. The treatment felt less like a rubdown and more like being stretched and worked like taffy. I loved it! The perfect compliment to my daily yoga regimen! That night we wandered Khao San with beers obtained from a Seven/Eleven--- a constant from my childhood that I certainly hadn't expected to see on every other block in Thailand, but there they were, Slurpees and all. And the next day, off we went to Cambodia!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Bangkok, Thailand
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