Saturday 22nd March

 

Bangkok is a lot like any modern European city, lots of people and cars everywhere, going nowhere.

 

We did not intend slumming it for these three days and stayed at the Bel-Aire Princess Hotel. We were mindful we would have worse to come later in Vietnam.

 

We had an interesting trip to Chatuchak market via a government jewellery and clothes store. The deal was that the taxi driver got a fuel coupon for taking us there and we got charged just 10 Bhat (20p) for the 20 minute journey.

 

The market has over  6000 stalls selling anything you can think of, but quite honestly, after half an hour, we had had enough. The aisles are narrow, congested and stifling.

  Chatuchak Market

To Louise’s deep shame, she made me go to Starbucks for  tiffin would you believe? She was not quite ready for the fiery cuisine of Bangkok. I tried a green-tea cake which made little impression.

 

It was pretty steamy and I hadn’t even been near the girls of the Joyluck club or the Patpong red light district.

 

For our first meal, we tried a place called Cabbages and Condoms. It was originally started as a means to distribute health and contraception advice. Condoms were handed out after a meal. That no longer applies. The setting is romantic with strings of fairy lights hanging down from the fruit trees, but the food is fairly nondescript.

 

Sunday

This was supposed to be our culture day where we hoped to see pre Anglo/American Thai museums and palaces.

The new sky train ran close by, so we got on at Nana station and made for Siam, intending to visit Jim Thompson’s House and museum.

  Bangkok from the Sky train station

Being Sunday, some places were closed, including Jim Thompson’s house, allegedly, so we changed our plans with the help of a friendly local teacher. He gave us useful information on how much was reasonable to pay and how to avoid some rip-off strategies, but we still came unstuck a bit.

 

On his advice, we took a tul-tuk to the river  and hired a narrow (longtail) boat through tiny channels lined with wooden houses on stilts, temples of all descriptions and colonial style houses. Li the boatman was delighted with his new friend Glenn (Grain).

 

  Tuk-tuk.   Riverside homes          Longtail boat

 

First we stopped off at a floating market consisting of one boatwoman. Somehow we ended up buying a beer for Li and his friend Bai at inflated prices.

 

Next stop was the snake farm, a hotchpotch of animals poorly housed.

Li asked if we could pay for him to visit. He disappeared after a few minutes and I realized I had been suckered again.

The snake show looked pretty boring, so we left after two minutes.

 

Li was angling for a tip on the way to Wat Pho, but after the snake farm, we had just 10 Baht (20 pence) left between us. He was mortified to find we no longer had enough to buy him lunch, pay his tip and educate his children, no doubt. More worrying, we did not have enough to get us back to the hotel. Fortunately, we found a cash machine near the Grand Palace, after leaving him crestfallen at the dock.

 

We then went to Wat Pho, a beautiful temple complex housing the giant reclining Buddha. The Grand Palace appeared to be closed, but I believe there is another entrance we could have used. That was enough for one day, so we made our way back from there by taxi.

  Wat Pho Temple

 

This night, we chanced on the Arabic quarter, close to the hotel in the Sukhamvit district. Some of the restaurants had outdoor ovens and we tried one which offered Indian, Lebanese and Yemeni cuisine. I had charcoal baked saddle of lamb and Louise had grilled fish, both delicious.

 

Sunday

We were still not quite in tune with the time difference, both waking around 2am and feeling great, then finally nodding off at 4am and oversleeping.

 

We had breakfast in splendid isolation at 10.30am thanks to the gracious staff. They did gently beg us to get there on time tomorrow, but we will be heading to Vietnam very early.

 

So, what did we do? We managed to get to Jim Thompson's house this time, ignoring everyone who insisted it was closed and why didn't we try shopping instead, and look, this tuk tuk driver will take you there and stop off for various sightseeing, wallet lightening stops.

 

Jim Thompson was an ex-CIA agent who settled in Bangkok and almost single-handedly revived the traditional silk weaving industry there.

The traditional weavers came from the muslim quarter who lived close to his home. His house is really three traditional teak houses transported from the country and reassembled by the banks of a local secluded canal.

 

His collection of Chinese and Thai antiques are priceless and some are extremely rare. The garden is a place of tranquillity with palms and orchids everywhere.

   Jim Thompson's House and Spirit House

From the garden we set off for the bustle of Sampeng market. This is a Chinese market and is worth a visit for its traditional Chinese goods and dried fish/shrimps/cuttlefish. Lots of very narrow lanes with motorbikes loaded with sacks of rice threading their way through the throng. The main thoroughfare is just devoted to goldsmiths with the typical local yellow garish gold.

  Chinatown, Bangkok

The food stalls here are as authentic as they get anywhere. Louise was not up to facing them, so we headed back to Siam Square and found a really nice Thai noodle bar. A bowl of fishball noodle soup cost under a pound and was tasty and nutritious. If you can't face even that, America has invaded this sector of Bangkok and you will find them all here, MacDonald’s, KFC, Dunkin donuts and friends.

 

A friendly Thai woman joined us outside and asked if she could practice her English. She seemed to have mastered the patter for "Can I show you the shops" pretty well though. You learn pretty quickly to be wary of the intentions of any friendly Thai. It is a pity, as they are a naturally friendly people, but it gets wearisome fending off ‘offers of help’ with strings attached.

 

We picked up some fruit and coconut water en route home and watched the news on Sky back in our room.

 

We went back to the Scheherazade Restaurant in 6/8 Sukhumvit Soy 3. Louise had the charcoal grilled lamb saddle and I had a fish curry, both excellent. The naan bread is out of this world.

 

Oh yes, I bought some durian fruit last night, described by Thais as the fruit of heaven with the smell of hell. Lovely stuff, but the room smells of blocked drains now. No wonder some hotels ban it.

Next stop, Hanoi.