Back in Bangkok

Perhaps I ought to have been a smidge more specific in my post yesterday when I mentioned I was in Hong Kong. Specifically, I was in Hong Kong for about an hour between flights.

After I hit "post," it occurred to me I might hear a cry of dismay from Mark, my former manager and friend in Hong Kong, at why I didn't get in touch. Instead it was Jeremy (a former Intel-ite from way back in my San Diego days, who I visited last year in Beijing), who piped up.

I had finally succumbed to the siren song of a nap (I know, I know - not the right way to adjust to the time difference) when my cell phone rang. I picked it up, cognizant of the ridiculous roaming rates but too curious not to, and was surprised to hear Jeremy on the other end of the line. He arrived in Hong Kong today for a conference, popped up my blog, and thought perhaps we were actually in the same country. Alas, it was not to be. I did give him some advice on the dining and entertainment options in HK though, so at least I was of some use.

But back to Bangkok… I arrived at my hotel last night around 2am, tired but not exhausted, as I had actually managed to get a decent amount of sleep on the flight over. Of course, that meant I couldn't fall asleep again until 4am, and had to drag myself out of bed at 10:30. I know, my sleep patterns are fascinating. I'll move on.

Since today was the first time in all my trips to Bangkok that I've actually been here on a weekend, I headed down to the Chatuchak weekend market, even though I wasn't particularly in the mood for shopping. I had only one mission - to find a "bang bang" (basically a very large wooden mortar & pestle) - for Jen. What I concluded by the end of the day is that shopping at the Bangkok weekend market is much like shopping at the Nordstrom Rack - you can find a million great deals, but if you go in looking for something specific, you'll come away disappointed (sorry Jen, but I'll keep looking!).

The market is the largest in the world, covering 35 acres with more than 15,000 stalls. And much like the rest of Bangkok, it assaults the senses with a dizzying array of sights, sounds and smells (oh, the smells). After wandering for a couple hours through stall after stall of housewares, furniture (including this crazy couch), clothes, fine (and not-so-fine) art, purses, shoes (including these very colorful slipper options), and lots of lots of food, I bought myself a freshly-cracked coconut to drink and headed to a stall offering food massages. Ah yes, now I remember the things I love about Thailand.

Even during the relaxing massage though, I was still overwhelmed with smells and sounds. Wafts of sulfur from who-knows-where competed with the eucalyptus oil of the massage. And the sound of Dido in one stall competed with rap music in another, in what I thought was the worst mash-up of all time. That is, until whoever was playing the rap decided to start flipping the station, and then it was Dido and pop music… Dido and some Mexican guitar thing… Dido and country. Don't worry, after a quick trip to the hospital, the bleeding in my ears finally stopped.

After the massage, I wasn't much in the mood to fight the crowds to get to the sky train station, but was thoroughly offended to find the tuk-tuk drivers asking 200 baht for a ride back to my hotel. The nerve of them! They must think I don't know that it's only 20 baht (a little over 50 cents) to take the sky train. But I know that they know, and now they know that I know too. So there!

Comments

[Abby]

glad you made it safely to Bangkok... you're missing a cold day back in Portland and I just had leftover spaghetti. I know - almost as cool as a fresh coconut to drink. Look forward to hearing about more adventures!

[Jen]

I had spaghetti for dinner tonight! Must be something in the cold Portland air.

Thanks for looking for the bang bang!

[jan grimes]

I didn't even consider spaghetti - I had soup! But seriously, it's about my bedtime, which makes it midday for you. I am again enjoying your blog entries, but I have to ask - did you take a tuk-tuk or the sky train back to your hotel?

[Barbara]

I took the sky train, which I have now fully mastered. Today I took it across town to get a massage at Healthland (the place we went last time). The trip involved switching trains partway, but it was a breeze, and only cost me 30 baht - less than a dollar. I'm guessing a cab would have been around $10-15. My favorite part of the Skytrain was the little sign I noticed over one seat that said "Please offer this seat to monks." :)

[Melissa]

I passed you in the air yesterday - coming from HK back to the US! I love that market in Bangkok, and I can already tell that I'm going to be reading this blog and feeling incredibly jealous of you for months to come. Have a great trip!! Mel

[jan grimes]

We're all feeling incredibly jealous!

[Barry]

When will you leave Bangkok/Thailand? I am going there on Dec 21 for 10 days.