You have not seen traffic if you've never been to Bangkok. This city will test your patience, and yes the people are very patient with waiting, sitting on the bus or the tuktuks but are very impatient with following the rules of the road (which really end up causing the traffic in the first place). I won't even try to drive here if I had a chance. If you really want to test yourself even further, come to Bangkok during the King's birthday on December 5th (the celebration actually goes on and on for days, the real count I don't know because even the locals don't). During this time, the city turns into pink, the color of the day when the King was born. Everything is pink. Pink shirts, pink dress, pink flowers, pink cabs, pink lights, pink anything.
Women in pink praying to the Emerald Buddha at the Wat Phra Kaew
On the day of our arrival, Rolfe's friend Peter took us to a temple to get us introduced to the many many more temples we'll see in and outside the city. Then, we went out for a river cruise dinner along the Chao Praya. Of course, Rolfe was very happy since he got to eat some more. My favorite part of the cruise was the traditional performance by the traditional Thai dancers. My advice to the jetlagged tourist, do this three hour long river cruise (in addition to the two hour traffic around Bangkok) after you've recovered from the time zone difference. I fell asleep after the performance below and I felt bad for our host for missing some of the sites we passed along the river. Sorry Bangkok :(
The next day, we met with our friend Nipa (Lori's previous exchange student). Even though she didn't have a car (which is a smart way of living in Bangkok), she managed to take us around to see and do many things Bangkok style. This included a trip to Bangkok's largest mall, MBK to run a few errands before our long day of sightseeing. Rolfe had to find food so we had to stop at the grocery. He also wanted to get a haircut (which meant I get to get one too, hehehe). We went to this salon which had a gazillion of very beautiful Thai girls (by birth and by hear, mind and soul....you know what I mean). Rolfe said it was his best haircut ever and we only paid $5 each.
After the haircut, Rolfe and I also needed to buy some accessories for our gadgets. I managed to leave my charger for my flip cam and he managed to leave his USB connector for his camera. And the beauty of shopping Bangkok style, you get to buy these things knock off, with knock off prices.
Anyway, after our travails around the shops and mall of Bangkok, we did get to go to see some cultural spots (not that malls and shopping aren't a part of Thai culture). Nipa took us to the largest and most beautiful collection of temples around Wat Phra Kaew and the Great Palace (See photos as proof that we didn't just go shopping).
After a long day of walking, we decided we haven't experienced enough of Thai culture so we decided to try some Thai massage. Nipa took us to the Thai massage school at one of the temples and see if we can handle this really stressful activity. We got there late (as usual) which meant we only get to experience this for 30 minutes. Rolfe got a foot massage while Nipa and I got a full body massage. Fully dressed with jeans and shirt on, my masseur managed to get through my sore body without trouble. I have never experienced such strong masseur and I would say, it is not for the faint of heart. This beats Lori's chiropractor hands down. Speaking of which, the masseur even cracked my back five times, which was really a surprising experience.
As we were ending our day, we decided to eat at Khao San road in the center of Bangkok, nearby our hotel. This street is flocked by foreigners, food stalls, hotels and hostels, and more shopping. Add to this, the chaos of the Thai celebration of the King's birthday and you'll really be exhausted and ready to to go to bed immediately afterwards. This is if you're able to find your hotel around many of Bangkok's confusing streets and traffic even after midnight.
The next day, we met with Nipa for another adventure before she goes out of town with her family. We met her boyfriend and they were both very gracious to take us around the largest public market (possibly in the world), the Chatuchak market. You can buy anything you want in this market, from furnitures, to clothes, to food, to dogs, cats and birds (yes...real live animals as pets, which I'm glad we didn't see because it will only break our hearts). We only managed to go to 5% of the market since we only had a few hours alloted before we ventured to the outskirts of Bangkok for another trip. This place was heaven for Rolfe because of food and as you see on the photo below, he found a new favorite skewer snack for only 30 cents. It's basically skewered onion, garlic, ginger and melted sugar wrapped in a leaf we don't know.
(Rolfe's new favorite snack)
After Chatuchak, we took a commuter van, one hour and half ride to Ayutthaya, the old capital of Thailand. Here, you can see the contrast of Bangkok to the old capital. From glamorous temples, to old and disintegrating, mainly affected by the ravages of war with the Burmese in the old periods. We were also greeted by many stray dogs, wandering around the old city, which was very hard to see, knowing that animals are being bred nonstop to be sold as pets both in Thailand and many other countries. It was a very frustrating scenario and the city was a little bit underwhelming in comparison to the chaos and beauty of Bangkok and its treasures.
(Ayutthaya's many structures standing tall despite age and gravity)
After a long day of travel, we had to go back to Bangkok. Obviously, the night of the King's Birthday couldn't be the best time for us to return to our hotel. We were stuck in traffic for hours and had to walk several miles. Despite the evening heat and humidity, the millions of locals were in a celebratory mode. They figured just watching chaos from tv is not enough so why not join it. Rolfe and I decided to make our way back to our hotel and sleep for our next stop next day to Chiang Mai.
Despite the hustle and bustle of the city, the locals still take time to relax, meditate and pray. Managing to live in this environment means one is able to withstand anything. This is why Thai people are very gentle I would say, wherever we meet them in any part of the world. They just have the patience not many of us have. This contrast to me provides more colors to this beautiful city more than just pink. Sawasdee :)
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