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Published: October 26th 2006
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I have to admit, I had heard some horror stories about the overwhelming pace and impending dangers that lie ahead in Bangkok. I was a bit concerned that I might be setting us up for another Tsim Sha Tsui Hong Kong situation. So far, I couldn't be any more pleasantly surprised. We purposely arrived midday without an advance hotel booking. After a cab ride to the heart of the backpackers district of Banglamphu, I dropped dad and the bags at a busy cafe on Khao San, ordered him a cold one and headed out on foot to find us a place to set up camp for a few days. Khao San is pretty nuts, lined on either side with bars, restaurants, shops and vendors creating a forest canopy of neon signs that blocks out the light of the sun by a day and replaces it at night.
Even in broad daylight this place is intimidating but after Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, I have the confidence of a seasoned veteran and soon secure us a hotel right in the heart of it all. The room is about $12 each - a little more than I wanted to spend, but it has
a brand new bathroom, rooftop pool and bar, in house spa, 24hr internet and a free western breakfast buffet, so I can't complain. We decide to unpack and settle in. I have a couple beers by the pool while dad gets a massage. Soon the sun goes down and we are off on a quest for dinner. Bangkok at night is like Time Square on acid. Dominated by narrow, neon lit streets filled with a river of people moving almost as fast as the taxis and tuk tuks that fly by barely missing them. It's the end of rainy season so the air is heavy even tonight when it is relatively clear. Lonely Planet suggests the red curried crab from a place called Je Hoy around the corner from our hotel so we decide to check it out. The place is made up of a few small tables sporting cafeteria style plastic plates and mismatched silverware. The kitchen is "inside-out". In other words, most of the tables are indoors while the kitchen is haphazardly wrapped around the outside of the corner building. The seafood is swimming in tubs, while the meats and vegetables lie in bins next to open air
wok-stations. We begin to have second thoughts, wondering if the FDA would approve, but we're hungry and in no mood to go hunting for something else so we decide to go for it. Hell, while we're at it, why not overdue it? In addition to the crab, we load up on steamed mussels, beef with chili and basil, asparagus and mushrooms in oyster sauce. If it sounds tasty, we order it. Spicy and delicious. I wish we had had the camera along to get a picture of this feast - one of the best I've had on the trip. Everything we tried was amazing and we finished every last bite. As promised, the red curried crab was the star of the bunch. It's been a long day so we take a short walk around Banglamphu and decide to call it an early night.
Day two in Bangkok starts with some culture. We check out the Grand Palace and take a long-tail boat ride on the Mae Nam Chao Phraya to nearby sites and temples. Impressive enough I suppose but I'm a bit spoiled. The grandeur of Beijing's Forbidden City has tainted my perspective while all else has paled in comparison.
None the less, the boat ride makes for pleasant morning and as the day heats up we decide to head back to the hotel for a dip in the pool and an afternoon siesta. Dad has yet to experience street food and this evening should be a fitting trial by fire. Unfortunately, the rain spoils the plans a bit. "Rainy season" in Chiang Mai for us meant an afternoon shower or two breaking up the sunshine and cooling things down a bit. In Bangkok it means a torrential downpour that could last for hours or even days. The city barely blinks an eye but we are less than enthused to drudge through the puddles and showers to find our dinner. We manage to grab some quick but delicious pad thai, spring rolls and satay so dad can get a sampling but end up sitting in an open air (but covered) cafe to get some beers and a bit of sustenance.
On our third day in Bangkok, dad is taking a day trip to Kancahntaburi, home of the famous Bridge Over the River Kwai and I have decide to stay in town, sleep in and do some light exploring. Last night's
rain has not let up and it seems to be coming down harder and harder as the morning draws on. I decide to brave it anyway and go out looking for the lunch before hopping a water taxi to Siam Square. As I am writing this, I sit on the street corner home of an impromptu "cafe" that is obviously erected and disassembled daily on the sidewalk of Th Tani - a small side street near Khoa San. I couldn't resist this place. I've walked past it for two days and it is consistently packed with locals. Now I know why. On the suggestion of the wokman (who seems to be the only one here who speaks a bit of broken english), I've order the house specialty - a mixed seafood dish with basil and chilis and washing it down with chang beer on ice. Wow! this meal has just entered my top three lunches -maybe of all time. Turns out that the mixed seafood includes squid, mussels, octopus and two of the biggest prawns I have ever seen. The cook's outdoor station is about 5 feet from my tiny table so I am lucky enough to have a front row seat as he fills the wok with loads of garlic and ginger, adds the seafood and a mixture of sauces and finishes it with a handful of red finger chilis and torn sweet basil leaves. The whole thing takes about 90 seconds, cost a total of $2 (including the beer and a plate of rice) and blows my doors off in the category of both flavor and spice. I could sit here all day and soak up the atmosphere, but the sun has come out and I want to get to Siam Square and back to the pool before it rains again. I need to get a decent tan before I go to the islands.
I never make it to Sima Square. Instead I'm crammed into a tiny market stall somewhere in Chinatown waiting for the the rain to stop. It's not stopping. It may never stop. I'm considering building an ark. I've never seen rain like this...and I lived in central Florida - the thunderstorm capitol of North America. It's coming down in sheets and I can barely see across the flooded street. As traffic crawls past the displaced water creates waves on the sidewalk that breaks against the buildings. How long can it come down like this? 20 minutes? 30? After an hour the shopkeeper brings me a small wooden stool, gives me a big smile, nods and says "sit, ...wait". Ok, that's not a good sign. By the time it's finished I've given up on Siam Sqaure and I'm ready to head back to Khao san, meet up with dad and grab some dinner. I'm really proud of him for adventuring out on his own. It's not a short trip and he goes in style without a tour group or return ticket. He's really getting the hang of this. None the less, I was a little worried and I am happy to find him safe and sound back at the hotel. We're both craving pad thai from the street vendors - I'm not sure how it can be made this well on the streets in Bangkok and not nearly as good in even the best thai places in the states. Maybe it's the atmosphere. We chow down and exchange survival stories from the evening's storm while the world goes by at mock 10 all around us. We barely notice. Bangkok has been a delight. We fly to Hanoi tomorrow and I already can't wait to stop back here on my way home at the end of the trip
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