Shop til We Melt...Chatachuk Market:We started the day grabbing the BTS skytrain all the way to the end of one line to the famous Chatuchak market. Enormous doesn't do it justice, so we'll go with ginormous. They have specialized maps just to navigate all the small alleyways of this place. It's similar to Canton's First Monday shopping in that there is a lot of junk mixed in with some good stuff. K & I got a cheap lunch of spicy Thai soup for $2 each (this was probably not the best choice on a hot day as it was so spicy that we started sweating from that also - but man was it good!), and Boston got an even cheaper chicken with fried rice for $1.25. We wandered in and out of stalls for 4 hours - sweating, shopping, drinking $1 smoothies, and haggling. I was only about 50% successful. A couple of vendors wouldn't work with me at all, but I really wanted their item. Other times I got about 1/3 off - not too bad. The other problem is that the place is so large and maze-like with unmarked paths, so you might not find your way back to something. If you want it, you better just get it. For about $30: I got 5 tees, 1 blouse, 1 skirt, 1 bag, and a pair of sunglasses. While hunting for sunglasses, I saw several different prices for the same glasses. When I tried to haggle with one lady telling her that I had just seen these 120 baht glasses for 60 up front, she yelled at me, "You go GET 60 baht!" and waved me off. Clearly I had insulted not only her glasses, but her family and likely her grandmother also. No worries; I eventually found the cheap 60 ones and got him down to 50. I'm like a pro! Yes, we are talking about a difference of $2 here, but it's the principle of the matter! I've been here long enough that I don't want to pay what would be cheap in the US; give me a Thai deal! After 4 hours, we had had enough and had a plane to catch, so we got some drinks and grapes and headed back.
Sidebar: I am really going to miss having pineapple, cantelope, and watermelon at my disposal almost 24 hours a day. Everywhere we go, there is a vendor ready to sell me a huge piece - nicely cut in small bite sizes pieces in a to go bag - for $0.30-$0.60. It is fantastic. Why don't we have this at home?!
Our hotel let us take a shower in their roof-top bathroom (No, it's not exposed to the elements! I think it's more of a maid's bathroom) before we left for the airport. That was helpful as we no doubt smelled like sweat and bad Bangkok. (Bangkok, I've decided has 2 smells: deliciousness wafting from food stalls or complete and utter death.) We left for our 7:10 flight at 4:30 even though the airport is only about 30 minutes away. The traffic is horrendous - esp on our street, Sukhumvit. I don't think I would stay off it again. In 30 minutes, the taxi went the distance it would take us to walk in 10 - no joke. And it's Saturday! Luckily, he jumped on the tollroad or we might have missed our flight as the highway was just as jammed up. Boston said he was starting to worry but didn't want to tell me as he didn't want me to stress. What? Me stress over being late for a flight? Never! (Ok, every time.)
Since we are sitting in the airport currently and I have the time, let's talk about some fun facts about Bangkok!
1) There are many modes of transportation: subway, skytrain, river taxi (private boat), river boat (like a bus), bus, tuktuk, car taxi (in all colors including hot pink) and moto taxi. Moto taxi is the craziest as you basically get on the back of a guy's motorcycle. They have the advantage here as they go in and around the cars in traffic, on the sidewalks, and pretty much go and do whatever they want. Many women here will ride with both legs to the side which looks just downright frightening to me. I don't think they go on highways though - just main streets.
2) People here only use 2 utensils (if not just chopsticks): spoon and fork. The fork is only there to shovel the food onto the spoon which is what you eat with. The spoon will also act like a knife. Eating like that is easy, but using just chopsticks sometimes can be more difficult. Kavita and I have taken to just spearing things that keep slipping out which I'm pretty sure is the equivalent to eating off your knife back home. What can I say - we're a bit uncouth.
3) Women (and sometimes men) keep their toe-nails long. Everyone in this city (besides me) wears open-toed shoes, so I've done the research. Honestly, I just can't get onboard with this.
4) I didn't see any squat toilets in Bangkok, but maybe I only used the restroom at places that cater to Westerners. Now the Tokyo airport, that was another story...
5) Bangkok is a super friendly city for travelers. Even though, we don't speak a lick of Thai (besides thank you), everyone was very nice - well except for a few insulted vendors and all the people who tried to scam us. Also, almost everything is in Thai and English. I never felt helpless that I didn't speak their language.
6) We are seeing quite a few people wearing the surgical masks around town. I even saw a stall selling decorated children's masks. I'm starting to think its more for style than swine flu kinda like their wearing of glasses with no lenses. "Nope, just the frames - thanks!"
Chiang Mai - "Where have you been all my life?!"
The weather here is fantastic - much cooler and less humid. We got to our b&b which compared to our last one would be considered the Ritz. The room is twice the size, and the bathroom is like 4 times the size of our last one. Everything is so clean and nice! Love me some 3 Sis Bed and Breakfast. This one DOES look like the pictures, exceeded my expectations, AND is cheaper than the last one! http://www.3sisbedandbreakfast.com/bnb/home.html
Daily Massage Report
We got in a bit late and if you're paying attention you'll notice we haven't had our daily massage. HORROR! It's 10 at night, and this isn't Bangkok. Will we get it in? Heck, yes! The front desk advertised massage for only 200 baht - $6 for an hour, so we asked for 2 full body and 1 foot only. Take a guess at who got what. They did it in an open area at the bottom of the building we are in, so a few people walked by and peeked at the circus. Whatever - don't they know this is one of the best things about Thailand?! Now these ladies went to TOWN on us. I had some serious pain with this one. Elbows in my back and thigh were tough to take. When Kavita's girl twisted her torso around quickly to crack her back (bonus feature - we all know she got the foot only), she wasn't expecting it and actually cried out! Hilarious! This was a good deep tissue massage; however, I didn't enjoy it as much as the others, so we'll give 3 Sis ladies massage: 4 stars.
Late Night Eating
We hadn't had a 3rd meal, so Boston and I headed to the night food vendors about 10 min walk away. Most stores were closed along the way, so it seemed like a ghost town compared to Bangkok - a nice change. Found a bunch a vendors along one street with tables and chairs all set up along a canal. Fantabulous. I ordered spicy chili paste chicken for all of 25 baht - $0.70, and Boston got pad thai for the same. He also found some lady selling seriously awesome chicken on a stick (he's a huge fan of this), and as we walked home he started telling her in a somewhat creepy voice, "I'll be seeing you again tomorrow. Don't go anywhere..."
It's food - not love, Boston.
Not a ton of new pics (too focused on shopping) starting with #84, but here's the link:
Last of the Bangkok Pics
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