Mark Smalley

Wednesday, 2 Mar - Bangkok
Skytrain to Siam. Look around big department store MKB and buy a few gifts. Short walk to Jim Thompson House (100B each). Compulsory guided tour, then free to wonder around. Staff most courteous. Lunch at cafe next to pool with fish, lovely setting. Couple of salads: spicy minced chicken and papaya (som tam) followed by delicious pineapple and coconut ice cream (380B).
Walk along Klong San Sap to a stop for the water-taxi to take us to Golden Mount, which offers an lookout over the city. The walk up the mount is free, with a donation of 10B for the final steep steps up to the chedi, to which a monk is attending, making sure a broad band of orange cloth is neatly covering the lower couple of metres of the chedi. This is all accompanied by a constant ringing of bells (wind powered) and Buddhist teachings on the public address system. Even though I don't understand a word, they just sound like very wise words.
We carry on west to the river, walking along the Klong Banglamphu and passing through a pretty poor area. Street vendors. Kids playing. Housing ('houses' would be give the wrong impression) backing directly on to a small alley. We say hello to people, particularly kids, and often pick out the word 'falang' in their response. Always friendly. One of the highlights of the day, a little contact across cultures.
Further on, now heading north-west and trying to find Tha Thewet where we can catch a boat back to Tha Sathon, we stumble across a market and behind it another Wat (Intharawihan). One of the stalls had fried grasshoppers, grubs and other insects. Very tempting. Another displayed photo's of human backsides. This one its own would be curious but not remarkable. The extra dimension was added by the facts that the backsides were suffering from bad cases of piles. Very bad cases. Don't know what the stall had on offer but I'm sure it was very strong stuff.
On the final couple of hundred metres to the pier we pass lots of flower and plant stalls. . When we arrive the water seems to be full of fish gasping for air. In fact they're gobbling up pieces of bread that have been thrown in. Must be hundreds of them.
For our evening meal we try a Lonely Planet mention, the Mango Tree. Good food (papaya and mango salads, noodles with chicken, red curry chicken, 730 incl 2 beers), tradition Thai music and dancers accompany the dining but it's a bit up-market and mostly westerners, less warmth.
Rounding up the day we walk around the touristy and seedy Patpong night market area. Buy a couple of cans of Chang beer (25B each) in the Tops supermarket. Heard that Tops was acquired a while a go by the Dutch supermarket concern Ahold, only to be sold again because the plans to reduce staff wouldn't execute. The rationality of reducing staff to the level actually needed clashed with the Thai tradition of having plenty of staff because it's fun that way. They went on strike and Ahold cut their losses.
The evening ends, finding us contemplating our last full day in Bangkok tomorrow.

posted by Mark Smalley @ 4:14 PM