Bangkok: My first week in Thailand

After a sleepless night on the plane, I landed in Bangkok at 9:30am (4:30am, Europe time). The bus to Banglamphu took 2 hours due to traffic jams. As soon as I got off the bus, the sky opened up, drenching me and my pack with rain. I stood under a vendor's umbrella, but eventually gave in to the weight of my pack and looked for a place to stay. I drudged from guesthouse to guesthouse, looking for the best deal. I finally found a reasonable room with a fan and a window. The receptionist gave me a deal without even having to ask. I spent the day trying to stay awake by walking around the neighborhood. Banglamphu is the backpacker hood. The streets are filled with guesthouses, food carts and clothing stalls. Tuk-tuk drivers wait on every corner, women in colorful hats walk the streets selling handicrafts and there seem to be more foreigners than locals. I spent the next week getting to know Bangkok.

Sights

Wat Pho: After a ride down the Mae Nam Chao Phraya River, I stopped at Wat Pho to see the city's largest and most ancient temple. It contains Thailand's largest reclining Buddha at 150 feet long and 50 feet tall, covered in gold. Scattered around the site are various temples displaying more Buddhas. In several, I removed my shoes and sat before the altars. The grounds make for a beautiful place to walk and the reclining Buddha is quite the spectacle.

In a nearby park, I sat down to rest my feet. Pecking pigeons covered the ground around me. A small Thai boy ran up to the pigeons, displaying his fiercest karate moves and yelled "You know what's happenin'!" He paused for their reaction and walked away nonchalantly. Awesome.

China Town and Little India: From Wat Pho, I walked to Chinatown to find all kinds of narrow covered markets, Chinese restaurants and nearby Phahurat- Bangkok's Indian neighborhood. In China town, there are a few square blocks of shops selling "hot" goods.

Siam Square: I spent about two hours looking for the Khlong taxi (canal boat) that would take me to Bangkok's commercial center, Siam Square. I finally found it after a long walk past temples, major intersections and a man selling paintings of the King. Siam Square hosts no less than 4 huge shopping malls, ranging from 4-7 floors each. Each mall is connected to the others by pedestrian bridges. One of these malls is home to the famous MBK food court, a place where you can find all sorts of Thai dishes cooked in front of you for about $1. It's also where I had my first introduction to jelly desserts. Either coconut milk ice cream or snow ice are topped with coconut syrup and your choice of colorful morsels, including taro pudding, kidney beans, neon jellies, corn, barley, lychee jelly and other things I couldn't quite identify. The chaotic atmosphere of Siam Square makes for wonderful people watching. School girls in uniform giggle their way around the malls, security guards haunt the aisles of shops and women show off the latest fashion.

Erwan Shrine: Fenced on a corner, in the midst of Siam Square, Erwan Shrine attracts locals and their wishes. A band and colorfully adorned dancers await those who return to Erwan shrine to pay their respects for a wish granted- traditional custom is to hire the band. The shrine sits below massive Burberry windows, sandwiched between two busy streets. Once you walk into the gate, the noise of buses and motorcycles fades along with the pedestrian traffic making its way towards the shopping malls. The golden shrine seems small compared to its surroundings and the magical presence it holds. I paid 60 cents for a package of incense, wreath of marigolds and candle and stood with the others waiting to light their incense in one of the four lanterns. Awkwardly holding the lit incense, wreath and unlit candle (it was windy!), I made my wish and placed the incense and wreath in front of the shrine. If my wish comes true, I'll have to return to hire the band- just another reason to come back to Bangkok.

Chatuchak Market: The biggest outdoor market in Bangkok, Chatuchak reportedly contains over 15,000 stalls, selling clothes, housewares, furniture, handicrafts, food and animals. It's easy to get lost and find yourself in an aisle selling maggots, crickets and chickens caged underneath overturned wooden baskets. For a budget traveler like me, it probably isn't the best place to go, given how easy it is to justify cheap purchases. I managed to only splurge $3 on a shirt. It was a sweltering day, so I cooled down with the juice of a fresh coconut.

Transportation

Boat: Despite my traumatic ferry ride (see Vomitous Voyage), I've really come around to water transport, at least the short term kind. Here in Bangkok, you can hop on an express boat that travels the length of the river or take a khlong taxi boat through the canals. Water travel cuts your time significantly as there are no traffic jams! Riding the taxi boat is much different than the express boat- smaller, cheaper, less crowded and wetter. The sides of the boat don blue tarp, but I still managed to get splashed.

Sky-tram: From Siam Square, I took the mod sky-tram to the hospital for vaccines. It's like the L train in Chicago, but nicer. TVs show commercials, and it blasts air conditioning on sweaty passengers.

Bus: There are two kinds of buses in Bangkok- air conditioned and non. The air-con buses cost about twice as much at 50 cents a ride. Bus travel takes patience because drivers compete with stopped traffic. Sometimes you flag down a bus, like you would a taxi. Sometimes the bus driver doesn't come to a complete stop when picking you up or letting you off. Sometimes the driver lets you out into another lane of traffic. It can be tricky getting on and off the bus while maintaining a reasonable amount of street cred. Nevertheless, I love riding the buses, especially when lucky enough to grab a seat.

Walking: Walking obviously lets you take in more of the city through noises, smells, and pedestrian activity. A tourist like me is usually confronted by tuk-tuk drivers trying to score a ride. Crossing the street can be a bit of a gamble- even if there are pedestrian traffic lights, often cabs and motorcycles disobey traffic lights. It's best to go one step at a time, or in some cases, run. My feet get sore from wearing flip-flops all the time, but I still love travel by foot.

Food (aka heaven)

Breakfast: Although Banglamphu caters to western diets, with bacon and eggs on restaurant menus, I prefer to eat like the locals. They might eat noodle soup or curry for breakfast. I've also tried typical Thai standards like sweet & sour and picked up breakfast treats from street vendors like green onion dumplings and sticky rice pockets stuffed with taro and lemongrass coconut, wrapped in a banana leaf and grilled.

Lunch/Dinner: Street food usually costs between 30 cents and $1.50 a meal. I'll just list my favorites: 50 cent pad thai; bean curd & curry noodles with pickled greens, sprouts and shredded cabbage; mushroom and sesame noodle soup; and tofu with garlic sauce. The other day for lunch, I stopped into a small restaurant called "the Joy Luck Club" with picturesque seashell scenes underneath the glass tabletops. Three women and a small girl sat around a table arranging orchids, laughing and chatting. They asked me to rate one of the arrangements. They seemed to think that the middle stem, much taller than the rest, looked awkward. I gave it a 9.5 and they laughed. They gave me a small dish of shredded taro chips to munch on while the cook, also a woman, prepared mushrooms and basil with little balls of vermicelli. It was the young girl who took my order. She handled her notebook with authority, shooing away her older brother when he asked "want some drink?"

Snacks: Snacks are fun and usually come served in a plastic bag with a wooden stick as a utensil. For instance, grilled calamari is cut into slices off the grill, put in a plastic bag and doused with chili sauce and vinegar sauce. Also served in a bag, is freshly cut fruit. I picked guava, a round, green, bumpy fruit with a dry, white flesh. I sprinkled it with chili sugar and ate it with a stick. Tropical fruit smoothies are also popular.

Spice: The food here never disappoints with it's intense flavor and spice. The spice is strong, but not overpowering. The heat generally leaves quickly, or else stays dormant in your throat until you cough. Although I don't usually like spicy food, the quality of spice here doesn't bother me and adds a depth of flavor that can't be beat.

Miscellaneous
When I was growing up, my parents would take my sister and I for ice cream if we got good grades on our report cards. We usually went to Swensen's in Friendly Center, until it closed down. You know, the one with the choo-choo train circling around the restaurant? I see Swensen's everywhere in Bangkok! It's also hard to go a block without seeing a 7-11.

The vibe here strikes an interesting balance between chaotic and relaxed. There's always something to engage the senses, but I never feel rushed or overwhelmed.

The rainy season lasts until the end of October. It's hot, humid and usually rains heavily once a day. It doesn't take long for the skies to clear up and the rains bring a welcome cool-down to the constant heat. It's not unusual to need to take 2 cold showers a day.

After a lovely week in Bangkok, I'm on my way south to Phuket for the vegetarian festival.

Find pics here:

Bangkok