July 7—Our First Day’s Exploration in Bangkok, Thailand

Dear Family and Friends,

Saturday, July 7, was Martha and Dani’s first opportunity to begin the exploration of Bangkok. We slept in, did some more settling of our things, and were out the door in our new flip flops as the afternoon heat was securely sweltering. West and then North, we worked our way towards the Chao Praya River, the great river used for transportation and delivery of goods throughout Bangkok; Dani was in the lead with a free map of Bangkok obtained at the airport.

We walked up Chan Road for the second time (this was the street we were lost on the day before), relishing in movement without our big packs. Walking in Bangkok is something of an obstacle course of knee-crunching design. The narrow sidewalks cluttered with street vendors and people coming from the opposite direction often leads to a jump into the rain gutter on the street in order to make your way through the onslaught of motion.

Martha is a sweaty monster, so we dropped into a lovely air-conditioned grocery store in search of a handkerchief so she could wipe her brow as needed. No luck, but it was still nice to take a break from the heat to explore the aisles with their Japanese, Chinese, and Thai products. Back out into the streets, we passed vendor after vendor with containers of noodles, different meats ready for cooking, greens, hanging cooked chickens with the heads still attached, little satay and sausage snacks on sticks, fruit vendors and vendors who blended fantastic fruit icies, and so very much more. Dani had a hankering for a steamed bun, so we picked up one plain and one filled with a pork substance. Martha was a little wary of the pork being pink, but it turned out to be fine!

Past the market, we continued down Chan, passing motorcycle repair shops, coffin makers, an old cemetery and stepping over stray dogs as we went. The stray dog population in Bangkok is extreme; some of them look mangled and beaten and others are well-fed and obviously domesticated. At every other turn, a cab beeped its horn to ask us if we wanted a ride or a tuk-tuk driver slowed down to ask us where we were going and if we needed transport. One guy offered us a ride for 10 baht (about 30 cents) for an entire hour (be wary of such things, folks). When we said no and kept walking, he actually swung back around and met up with us 500 meters down the way to ask us again! “No, we’re walking.” Map in hand and not sure of directions or landmarks yet, we were in no mood to be swindled.

The rains came for the first time in the day as we approached the overpass near Charoen Krung Road. We were happy to have purchased little umbrellas at the Tesco the day before, and continued along once the hardest of this monsoon pass had past. Turning onto Charoen Krung, we headed North and found a gorgeous wat (temple) that could be photographed from atop the pedestrian walkway. But, WHOA! The view from atop the walk was more than just the brilliant gold, red, and green of the wat-front, but also of a tremendous dark storm front making its way across towards us!

We gratefully took refuge for the better part of an hour underneath the tarps of an open-air market just down from the wat. Taboot, we were able to buy little handtowels for 10 baht each, some nail polish (15 baht), two pairs of socks to wear to keep our blistered feet better protected in the puddles (15 and 25 baht, depending on thickness), beverages and fish balls on a stick! More fun, we were able to spend as much time as we wanted perusing the wares: kitchen stuffs, clothing (Martha bought a skirt for 100 baht—about three dollars!), cell phone accessories, a tattoo parlor, and hair knick-knacks. The dirt and pebble floors were quickly covered with puddles and we moved several times to avoid being splashed as the tarps were pushed up to avoid puddles forming above and ripping the cover at the seams.

When the monsoon hits, people stop, and it is just fine to find shelter wherever you need to for as long as necessary—under walkways, in shop doorways, inside restaurants—people understand! It helped, I’m sure, that we bought a thing or two along the way, but it was nice to feel no time pressure as we avoided the rough weather.

Back on the streets, it was dark out very early with the storm. We stopped at another Wat, entering the grounds to view the mighty seagoing vessel that stood in the center (now closed to the public, but seemingly a welcoming exhibit during more reasonable hours) behind a statue of the current king, a well-respected man occupying the throne for sixty years! The ornate buildings continue to impress us and we enjoyed some quiet time walking freely away from the crowded streets.

We continued North past another gaggle of outdoor vendors and querying cabbies and took a left along a street fit with tailor shops. Through the puddles, we came to the edge of the mighty Chao Praya across from The Peninsula hotel. Dani’s first impression of the mighty waterway was that, although the water was muddy and brown, the only thing that she saw floating in it was a tree branch. She saw more filth in the Spanish river in Valladolid than here, even though she has heard rumors of the poor conditions of the waters of SE Asia. Martha felt similarly, noting that the waters did look cleaner than eight years ago. Progress in the form of cleaner air and waters is evident here, and it’s heartwarming. With the strong smells of the city, however, poor air quality included, there is a ways to go, but progress in the ways of greener living take time and slow adaptation to new norms.

In the meantime, we watched from the dock for a moment as boats made to look like Thai-style homes crossed from the hotel across the river to our shores. A group of men sat drinking beers, their tuk-tuk quiet for the night. We decided not to eat dinner along that pathway, opting instead to walk down Silom Street. We saw a little restaurant with Christmas lights (probably not called that here) adorning the front, and decided to give it a try since there were many folks already sitting, drinking Leo Beers, and singing Karaoke. We got a couple of Singha (Thai beers pronounced simply ‘Sing’) with ice, and the owner apologized for not having menus in English. We apologized for knowing no Thai!! However, these things always work themselves out, as he understood Dani’s ‘vegetable, seafood’ just fine, and Martha was content to point at random and receive little pork morsels with some greens. Dinner was wonderful, and one friendly Thai lady came over to talk with us and get us out of our seats to dance a bit. We especially enjoyed ‘our first Thai lesson,’ listening to the ways that the singers pronounced the Roman-letter word combinations on the screen beneath the Thai characters. Of course, we’ll probably know how to tell people that our hearts are broken and we cannot live on, or that our boyfriend failed to text us when he promised, but, hey … it’s a start.

Our walk home was uneventful, but long, taking close to two hours as our bodies adjusted more to the heat and the pace of this city. It’s slower going when you’re looking at every little thing, as you might imagine. Back at home, we told Sheila or our adventures and agreed that the three of us would go out together on Sunday … each with specific goals for the day!

Much love,

Martha and Dani