I’m still unsure how best to describe Bangkok. There are the shopping malls and modern buildings that line the river and stretch out in every direction. There’s the endless traffic, rows of motorcycles waiting at lights, tuk tuks weaving around cars. Then there are the neighborhoods, markets and stunning temples. There are the people, some of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. During our brief stay, we took a ferry across the river and wandered through Chinatown, toured nearby canals on a longtail boat, chatted with staff at the hotel and had the dizzying experience of exploring the modern IconSiam shopping mall around the corner.
We flew to Bangkok from Colombo on the 7th and stayed a week at the Hilton Millennial in the central area of the city on the Chao Phraya River, the central river where barges are nudged and pulled by tugboats and river traffic is constant. Our room was on the 29th floor and had a great view. We had all the amenities, and outside we had the convenience of the hotel and public ferry docks just steps away. We also had the nightly entertainment of the evening dinner and drink cruises–watching a bit of drunken dancing and karaoke from a distance–always thankful we were missing out. The hop-on-hop-off boat was a standard, making its way up and down the river throughout the day, always full of people elbow to elbow, standing room only on the top deck–an unfortunate arrangement a few afternoons when we had brief, but tremendous downpours.
Bangkok has more shopping malls than I ever imagined. The mall we could see just outside our window was about 12 stories tall with a perpetual traffic jam into and out of the multilevel parking. We had to pick up some basics during the week, so one afternoon we went over to check it out. We headed out of the hotel, dodged people on the sidewalk, waited to be crossed by the guy with the flag directing traffic and found our way up a concrete ramp next to a line of waiting taxis and, then through the automatic sliding doors where we moved from heat and humidity to the whoosh of air con. We stepped into aisles of food courts, produce stalls and grocery stores, all intertwined and connected like an open-air market. The food looked amazing, but how do you choose with so many options? It was like a small city. Upstairs, getting the elevator to the retail stores, it was escalators, white floors, chrome, glass and fancy shops. We looked briefly for a new pair of sandals for Richard–one of the items on our list. I guess we could have stopped at Hermès, but instead we tried a fancy sports store on the 3rd floor. $60 for beach sandals?! No way!
On two different days we adventured into the city, one day exploring Chinatown and the other day taking a longtail boat tour of the nearby canals. In Chinatown, I was still on a quest to find sandals for Richard. As we walked along a narrow street, there, suddenly, was a sandal shop, loaded with options! We stopped. Richard endured my poking and prodding, getting him to try some pairs on, and we eventually left with sandals (I think he just relented and paid the five bucks to get me out of the store). As we meandered, I found more sandal options. And more. Turns out, we were on shoe store row. Endless choices stretching two city blocks! Never settle for the first choice. As we walked, I eyed sandals at each shop, regretting my snap decision. Richard ignored me and found a small shop that sold beer, instead.
Our longtail boat adventure was leisurely. We decided to get a private boat for some solitude. The tall Buddha at Wat Paknam was extraordinary. I couldn’t get a good picture of the impressive reclining Buddha we saw at the water’s edge (not the famous 46m Buddha at Wat Pho, but impressive nonetheless).
We’re in south of Thailand right now, but we’ll be back to the city again in a few weeks. We’ll see what I can add then…
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