I'm not a huge fan of Bangkok. My brother has lived here for six years and loves living in the city. I love Hong Kong. My brother is luke warm on the city. My brother and I are different and it's interesting to see how that difference plays out in our opinions of cities. We both enjoy being surrounding by thousands of people and immersed in strong cultures. Where we differ is that I like a little more organization, a little more planning, a little more diversity in what the city has to offer. My brother likes the chaos. He likes the disorder. I plan months in advance while my brother tends to take each day as it comes. I want to be able to walk on sidewalks. My brother is fine with soi dogs. I prefer taking clean, efficient public transportation. My brother likes riding on the back of motorcycles that weave in and out of traffic.
It'd be an interesting psychological analysis why two people who seemingly were raised with the same nature and nurture would have such different tastes in cities and preferred living experiences. Anyway I don't like Bankgok and don't have plans to visit my brother in Bangkok. I'd rather meetup on a trip to another country than stay with him in Thailand.
It'd be an interesting psychological analysis why two people who seemingly were raised with the same nature and nurture would have such different tastes in cities and preferred living experiences. Anyway I don't like Bankgok and don't have plans to visit my brother in Bangkok. I'd rather meetup on a trip to another country than stay with him in Thailand.
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Bangkok’s orientation reminds me of Los Angeles in that the city is spread out and feels that it has been stretched in several different directions. The highspeed flyovers are somewhat reminiscent of the five and six lane highways that shuttle Angelinos between home, work, and other parts of town. There’s enormous “districts” - Sukhomvit, Silom, etc. There is a buzz to the city but it’s also entirely possible to walk several blocks down Silom Road in relative silence and tranquility.
Below are some views from the rooftop bar feature in The Hangover 2 that give a glimpse of how spread Bangkok is. You could live in your little neighborhood and have the world at your fingertips. Or you could adventure out and see how Bankgok changes from one neighborhood to the next.
Below are some views from the rooftop bar feature in The Hangover 2 that give a glimpse of how spread Bangkok is. You could live in your little neighborhood and have the world at your fingertips. Or you could adventure out and see how Bankgok changes from one neighborhood to the next.
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One of the things I like about Thailand are the images of the King that are everywhere. I'm not advocating for constitutional monarchies but it is nice that there's a person that can unite the country - that can bring about a collective spirit across all Thai's. My brother says that Thai's love the king. Before every movie screening, in the upcoming attractions, a homage is played to the King. The image to the below right is a typical street dining scene. Pete loves this experience, I prefer Hong Kong's cooked food centers.
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THE GRAND PALACE AND WAT PHO
Bangkok's Grand Palace may have been the single worst site I’ve been to during my year long Asian travels. First it’s expensive - at 500 baht - roughly $15 the ticket is about the same price as the Taj Mahal. Second, unlike the Taj Mahal which does an outstanding job of cycling people around and has space for you to sit and enjoy the site, the Grand Palace dumps everybody into a compact area and its very difficult to get away from the crowds. The Grand Palace is a large complex but the individual temples and buildings were built very close to one another obviously not anticipating a day when thousands of tourist would descend upon the site. I arrived around 11 in the morning and there seemed to be tours everywhere.
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From the Grand Palace it’s a short walk to Wat Pho, home of a giant sleeping Buddha. There was a strong tout presence between the Grand Palace and Wat Pho sites of tuk tuk drivers offering rides to lesser sites and claiming that Wat Pho is closed from 12-1. The crowds weren’t nearly as bad at Wat Pho and there spots where you can pause and have an extended view of the sleeping Buddha.
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Jim Thompson’s House is a bit off the beaten path (in terms of travel itineraries; from a location perspective it's in the middle of the city). Jim Thompson worked in fashion and received much of the credit for reviving the Thai Silk industry. He strangely disappeared in Malaysia in the 1960s and the fact that his body has yet to be recovered spawned theories he was a CIA operative. After a tour of the traditional Thai Style house I spent some time walking around the Siam Square malls then grabbed a street food dinner on Sukhumvit 38.
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Bangkok has a few famous drinking districts like Soi Cowboy (featured in The Hangover 2) and a massive market called Chatuchak. For me, I'd prefer a walk around Mong Kok and grabbing a beer at 7-11 in Lan Kwai Fong.
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COOKING WITH POO
Is the name gimmicky? Sure. But this Thai cooking experience is still a worthy travel attraction. To a person (that being my mom, dad, and wife) I think we'd all say that the walk through the market to purchase the cooking ingredients was the highlight. I'm fairly certain my dad filled his camera card and if it weren't for the prodding of Poo's helpers we would have never left the market. I don't know what market they took us to but we were the only westerners walking through.
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And the food wasn't too bad either.
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For a short term traveler spending just a few days in Bangkok the city can be difficult to navigate if you are trying to find a specific restaurant or cafe. Districts have a main thoroughfaire with bisecting numbered streets but once you head deeper into the neighborhoods it may become a little more confusing. Often times I’d head out looking for a place, get lost, but then fortunately stumble upon an unintended second option that seemed to be as good as the place I was trying to find. For dinner one night I wound up at a Thai place called Throng Lo - the food was good and cheap - so cheap that I thought the meals were tapas style and wound up ordering two dinners. After dinner I came across a hipster area called Seemplace 13. It was a trendy place with a common outdoor seating area surrounded by restaurants and bars.
There's multiple day trips a traveler can make from Bangkok. If you really wanted, Ayutthaya could be a day trip. But the most popular day trip, at least in terms of the blogosphere, is a trip to two unique markets south of Bangok: Amphawa and Maeklong. Amphawa is a floating market where vendors are on boats - you take a seat along the river then order a meal from a passing boat (very cool). Maeklong is a market that is built over and around a train track. Not the smartest location to set up shop but by it makes for a fascinating setup everytime the train passes.
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I have visited Amphawa and Maeklong twice and based upon those two visits, I'm going to say that Amphawa is the more interesting. I'd consider spending a night in Amphawa to see what this village looks like after all the tourists leave. The train through the market may be a little bit more unique but Amphawa seemed to have a little more soul, a little more of a local feel, and is the one I'd return to for a third visit.
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Maeklong has a market with an amazing feature that makes it a worthy half day trip from Bangkok: A train runs through the market. Three times a day a local train passes through the outer section of the market and all stalls located near the track much roll their tables back to a safety area to avoid being hit by the train.
I woke up early for a ride that should have involved a train, a ferry, and another train but unfortunately after I crossed the ferry I learned the second train ride was no longer operating on the schedule I read in a blog. Rather than be stuck in no man’s land, I took the ferry back across the river and hopped in a minibus. I reached Maeklong market about thirty minutes later. |
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I had some difficulty locating the tracks in the market but after wandering around stalls eventually stumbled across the railway track. I still had about three hours until the train would arrive so I milled around and grabbed a noodle lunch.
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The train was a little late but soon a whistle blared and an announcement was made that the train was soon approaching. In an orderly fashion the stalls packed up their wares and wheeled the tables away from the track. The train suddenly appeared and I found an open viewing spot. The train slugged past and while it wasn’t speeding you are so close to the train that you can feel the train passing.
Once the train passed it seemed like it was a race to see who could set up their stall the fastest. The calm and order pre train was replaced with frenetic chaos post train. After the setup was complete I wandered back to the bus terminal and purchased a ticket all the way to Bangkok.
Once the train passed it seemed like it was a race to see who could set up their stall the fastest. The calm and order pre train was replaced with frenetic chaos post train. After the setup was complete I wandered back to the bus terminal and purchased a ticket all the way to Bangkok.
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KOH SAMET
The one time I did visit my brother in Bangkok, we took a short trip down to Koh Samet, which is southeast of Pattaya, which is southeast of Bangkok. It's a great spot to get away from Bangkok's mayhem, play some pool, and play some cards. Are the beaches as nice as some of the other tourist trodden areas? No. But it's quieter, less trampled and that's the selling point.
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For additional Bangkok photos see FLICKR ALBUM.