Advertisement
Published: October 7th 2005
The Peninsula
My room was roughly halfway up in the middle - with a balcony. This is taken from the dock at the Oriental.and the city don't know what the city is getting..."
Heh - now you try to get that damned song out of your head. I had it running pretty much nonstop for four days.
And, Murray Head had it exactly right - Bangkok does seem to have everything but Yul Brenner!
(Interestingly, the stage play from whence ONiB came, an '80's play called Chess, was written by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, both of ABBA fame, and renowned lyricist Tim Rice. Not a bad pedigree for such an annoying tune.)
Anyway, back to the blog.
Here I am in กรุงเทพมหานคร อมรรัตนโกสินทร์ มหินทรายุธยามหาดิลก ภพนพรัตน์ ราชธานีบุรีรมย์ อุดมราชนิเวศน์ มหาสถาน อมรพิมาน อวตารสถิต สักกะทัตติยะ วิษณุกรรมประสิทธิ์.
Also known as Bangkok. It is acknowledged by most as being the longest city name in the world. And, it was recently named the hottest city on the planet by the World Meteorological Organization. Sheesh - the people at home can now stop complaining about the darn heat.
It is now Saturday, 24 September and I have arrived at the famed Peninsula Hotel on the banks of the Chao Phraya river. The river is the historical lifeblood of Bangkok, and the focal point for
The Oriental
On the left side of the photo. a great portion of tourist activities.
The Pen is actually on the Thonburi side of the river (the original site of the Thailand's capital). As a large part of today's Bangkok lies on the opposite side of the river, I spend much time crossing the river on the Pen's cool little river taxis. All of the major hotels that line the Chao Phraya have similar boats. Not just for going right across the river, but to function as taxis to take guests all over Bangkok. More on this bit later.
I arrived at BKK around Noon. Its an older airport that is going to be replaced next year by one of those amazingly modern Asian airports. Kinda sad since BKK still has tremendous cachet - in a smelly, dark, and spooky kind of way. And, even though I don't have anything stronger than Advil in my bags, I get slightly nervous going through immigration given Thailand's brutally tough stance on the import of drugs. I was amazingly deferential and polite.
Since it was midday on a Saturday, I did not experience Bangkok's infamous traffic. I'm told that at the wrong times, what took 40 minutes for me
Patpong
Just a cauldron of activity. Sights, smells, sounds, the Thai nighttime humidity. Wow can easily take two hours!
Jackie Buchner, Kevin Ruffcorn, and I went round on The Pen versus The Oriental. As you'll see from the pictures, The Oriental is directly across the river from the Pen. They are consistently named two of the five best hotels in the world. Jackie had obtained amazingly low rates on both. I chose the Pen based off of a Traveler Magazine article I had recently read. Jackie was neutral and Kevin was pro Oriental. We'll see.
The Peninsula is very "British clubby" in its feel. Dark wood, plush carpeting, and preternaturally calm staff who know your name virtually instantly. Zen meets Pall Mall - kinda. The rooms have teak foyers and massive bathrooms. Probably 1000 square feet in space. I also had a balcony over looking the river. So far, The Pen is batting 1.000!
After a quick nap, I go to meet Lori and Kevin for a night on the town. The concierge graciously writes the directions for me in Thai to give to the cabbie. NOW, I get to experience the traffic. An hour to go roughly five miles. And, the cabbie drops me off four blocks from my destination.
A Peninsula Water Taxi
They are on the move from 6.00 until Midnight. After a few frantic calls to Kevin, I find the restaurant.
The walk exposed me to the massive dichotomies that make up Bangkok. Walking past a gleaming new glass shopping center, I happen to cross a grate on the sidewalk - the unmistakable stench of raw sewage nearly makes me gag on the spot. This experience will be repeated more than I care to recall over the next few days. Kevin tells me I'll get used to it - I very sincerely doubt it!
Fabulous Thai food at Baan Kanitha. Kevin and Lori order for us, and it is delicious.
Kevin and Lori's driver (Yes, it is a necessity for expats to have a driver in Bangkok - none of the streets are marked in English.) then takes us to a drag show. Kevin had booked a table up front. The audience is amazingly about 75% women - at least they looked like women in the dark. And, a fair percentage of couples.
Just to be clear - this was a clean show. You truly could take your children!
Midway through the show I lean over to Lori and tell her I am very uncomfortable
Along a Khlong
Heh. Amazing glimpse of life that most tourists miss. That's a longboat, nearly identical to the one we were on, coming towards us. with the fact I find some of the performers "hot." They're men for God's sake! But, at least a third of them are as gorgeous as any female you've seen on stage.
"You'll find a god in every golden cloister
And if you're lucky then the god's a she."
All three of us continue to marvel at how amazing the transformation from man to woman can be in a show like this.
UNTIL we leave the show and the performers are in the lobby thanking the audience and saying goodbye. Up close, the hotness fades very quickly. As we leave, one of the previously "gorgeous" performers kind of grabs Kevin and says in a deep, almost menacing voice, "how bout a tip?" Any vestige of the illusion is permanently blown away.
The funny thing is, for those of you who don't know Kevin, is he is a 6'8" former Rice University basketball player. He kind of stands out in the Thai crowd. He knows how to say no to the constant tugging on your sleeve that happens in Bangkok. And, I'm pretty sure he is a more than adequate bodyguard for me where we're going next.
More Khlong Sights
If you look closely, you can see the kids bathing. What's next is the driver drops Kevin and me off in Patpong and takes Lori home. Patpong is one of the couple of districts that gives Bangkok its unique reputation with respect to sex. Patpong started as an R&R area for US soldiers on leave during the Vietnam War. Now, at night, endless tents with knockoff merchandise of all types competes with the bars for the tourist's (known in Thai as "farangs") attention. The touts are every few feet trying to drag you into one of the bars/sex shows. They are holding "menus" to show what "tricks" are on offer inside.
As for THAT portion of the night; I'll leave it at this: Patpong rhymes with Ping Pong. Nuff said.
About an hour (well, maybe a bit longer: I'm reminded of the high school dating phrase - "stop it some more") of this stuff and Kevin and I were ready to leave.
Since this is a family blog, I'll give details to you of prurient interests in person when I get back!
However, we DID find ourselves in a massage parlor to end the night...
"Get Thai'd! You're talking to a tourist
whose
Kevin and Matt
On the longboat. We had just fed the catfish. Big, ugly critters - the fish, not these two. Ate the bread like they had not eaten in years. It will be awhile before I order catfish again. every move's among the purest.
I get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine"
One of the legitimate ones! Kevin bargained (one bargains EVERYTHING in Bangkok) for us each to get an hour of foot massage for 600 Baht. It is past midnight and the massage parlor is full of locals laying in ugly brown Barcalounger-type chairs and getting foot massages. Let me tell you, not only was it legit, it was unmitigated bliss! This was the real thing. 600 Baht!
Oh, 600 Baht is slightly more than $15. For both of us. The Baht is less than $.03 to the dollar. It takes me awhile to get used to throwing around THB 100 notes like its $2.5 - which it is!!! Bangkok is ridiculously cheap.
As we are spending the day together sightseeing on Sunday, we decide to part ways and sleep off our excesses as best we can. Morning came very early - luckily, Kevin called and said he was moving as slowly as I was...
The Ruffcorns showed up at the Pen around Noon and we were off on our adventure. We fortified ourselves with a full lunch at a nice restaurant at
UGH
It had a velvety soft skin and a very bony body. Nick loves it, Matt is somewhat unsure. the Pen. A big Thai feast - that came to THB 2000, or under US $50. For five of us. Amazing.
First we did a longboat tour along the Chao Phraya, including down a khlong, or canal. The khlongs are the canals that once gave Bangkok the name "Venice of the East." A few still exist and we had the opportunity to go up one for a stretch. You'll see from the pictures that it is lined with working class homes on both sides. We saw a lot of people swimming or bathing in it. We fed bread to some monstrous catfish. Had a small boat pull up to us and sell us water and bread for the catfish. Just an amazing cultural experience.
After the boat tour, we stopped at Wat Arun. The Temple of the Dawn that I referenced in an earlier post. The Ruffcorn boys and I had an encounter with a large snake there as you can see from the photos. I was terrified! The boys took it all in stride.
Then paid THB 3 apiece to cross the river to Wat Po - home of the reclining Buddha. THB 3 is seven
The Snake Keeper
insisted on this pose. I suppose it gets you ready to go to Patpong. cents!
Wat Po is actually a large compound in which the Reclining Buddha is just one attraction. But, wow, what an attraction! None of my pictures can do it justice. In fact, I'll post the best one with Nick standing at the foot for a sense of perspective. Far behind Nick, you can make out the head. Nick is standing at the feet. Buddha is dying and waiting for Nirvana. Hence the recline. Truly a spectacular piece of religious art.
From Wat Po, we took Tuk Tuks to the river for a ride back to the Pen. Tuk Tuks are three wheeled open air taxis that are very good for short rides in Bangkok.
Kevin knew that the Pen could get us good tickets to that evening's Thai Kickboxing event at Lumphini Stadium - the Carnegie Hall of Kickboxing. And, they did. Second row. Now, if any of you have seen the cheesy 1980s Jean Claude Van Damme kickboxing movies, you'll know exactly the environment we walked into. This was indeed an instance where having a local friend paid off - I would never have known to do this and it was mesmerizing! Most of the boxing
Nick at the Buddha
I think the Buddha is basically the size of the Space Shuttle. was done by what looks like mid-teen boys in the 100-110 weight classes.
The boxers are incredibly fit. Five rounds each of three minutes. Most of the action is actually kicking - probably 90%.
Watching the crowd was more than worth the price of admission. We were very near one of the corners where the boxers went between rounds. Their respective families and friends would stand behind the corner and yell and scream and shout encouragement. (I think - they may have been cursing the ref in Thai for all I knew.) The rest of the crowd were frantically signaling their bets (to whom I have no clue) by waving fingers in the air the entire match. Fascinating, fascinating stuff.
Since it had been a very long day in the Bangkok heat, we called it a night.
Dinner was to be at Kevin and Lori's on Monday night, so I did some sightseeing on my own during the day.
Headed down the river in a longboat to The Grand Palace - Thailand's most revered spot. Interestingly, the grounds are open to visitors, but none of the buildings in the compound are. And, it is a
Getting Psyched Before the Match
All the boxers wore this ceremonial headband before their respective bouts. The manager would carefully remove it before the match and they would pray together. Very intriguing to watch. very large compound.
The concierge at The Pen told me to go to a certain spot and if a certain door was open that I could catch a glimpse of the gold throne. No such luck. There is a lot of restoration work going on here - making picture taking kind of a moot point. I can see scaffolds in Houston.
Lunch at The Oriental by the river at The Veranda restaurant. Glorious views of the activities both at the hotel and on the river. Incredible people watching. I had an sumptuous Nasi Goring - a Thai fried rice dish with prawns (shrimp) and chicken and topped with a fried egg. Sadly, I just couldn't stop thinking Nazi Goering and giggling to myself - I know, I can be childish. At least I was not in Argentina or Brazil.
I lingered for quite a bit - three Tiger beers worth in fact.
The Oriental is diametrically opposed to The Pen in decor - very overtly and stylishly Asian. Lots of grand open spaces and massive windows looking out to the river. The staff was more actively gracious (if that is possible - I know what I
Dinner at The Ruffcorns
Food, wine, beer, friends. That's what makes this trip so memorable! mean even if you don't...) than at The Pen. But, all in all, I was very happy with my choice to stay at The Peninsula.
I wandered the very busy and narrow streets on this side of the river for a few hours before meeting Lori (and driver) at the hotel to go out to their house for dinner.
Here's my Wizard of Oz moment. We're driving through the madness that is Bangkok for quite some time and turn down a very narrow and old street. Hawkers and food stands everywhere. Lori says we're going in a back entrance. Next thing I know we've entered a manned security gate and we've landed in South Florida, or San Diego, or a more tropical Woodlands! Black and white to color!
This is the expat community that the Ruffcorns live in and it is tres elegant. Huge houses - even by US standards. A highly rated modern school for the kids. A large shopping centre. The whole nine yards. Everything is beautifully landscaped. I can see why Lori easily made the decision to move. Very very comfortable and fun.
Dinner was a six dish meal for five of us.
Koi Pond at Jim Thompson's
the restaurant/bar is to the right. Looking out on this scene. Made by the maid/cook. Like a driver, a maid/cook is an essential part of an expat package like Kevin's. She is in the picture with Matt and Nick - she's a very sweet Thai woman who can match any chef I've seen yet. I did wash my own underwear and socks at their house however - even I have some small amount of dignity...!!!
Very very unfortunately, I had to say goodbye to the marvelous Ruffcorn clan. What a special time I had with them. They went out of their way to make my trip to Bangkok amazing and unusual, and I am truly grateful.
Last day in Bangkok and my cool river trip 50 miles up the river to the ancient Thai capital is canceled for no reason that I can discern. Ayutthaya is kind of Thailand's Angkor Wat and I'm crushed not to get to see it. Lori had highly recommended the full day journey, so it goes high on my list for next time.
Regrouping, I decide to wander without a plan. Worked well in Berlin and Singapore. I take the Skytrain and head deep into the city. The Skytrain is one answer to
Gardens at Jim Thompson\
Cleverly hiding the ten story housing block not 50 feet behind. the horrific traffic in Bangkok. Opened in 1999, it runs down some of Bangkok's most congested streets. While it is no doubt a massive relief for traffic, it lends a certain Ridley Scott/Blade Runner effect to many of Bangkok's prettiest streets. Massive concrete structures support the train and block out the sunlight below.
The most memorable part of the day was stumbling across Jim Thompson's house. Thompson was an American who came to Thailand in 1945 as part of the organization that would eventually come to be known as the CIA. But instead of spending his life as a spy, he became a businessman. And, he almost singlehandedly revived Thailand's silk industry after WWII.
As such, he made a fortune. Then he adopted traditional Thai living -- including a collection of old-style Thai houses. Some of the six buildings on his former Bangkok property date back to the early 1800's. Today the houses serve as something of a museum for Thai arts -- silk, pottery, and antiques. I would never have found it if I had not wandered down some interesting little alleyway off of one of the main streets.
It is a beautiful setting with a
Skytrain and Bangkok Traffic
One of the major interesctions in Bangkok. The Skytrain completely engulfs the entire thing. stunningly serene little restaurant/bar nestled inside.
Truly an oasis in the heart of Bangkok.
I met a French gent while taking pictures at Jim Thompson's. We decided to have a drink in the bar. He was on a month's holiday traveling in Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. In very very remote areas. Turns out he is a graphic designer and this is how he gets some of his most creative ideas. We ended up talking about tout dans le monde for two hours - one of those small priceless moments that makes a trip like this unforgettable! He had to run to catch a 13 hour overnight train ride to the far north of Thailand.
And, I had to make my way back to the hotel to get ready to head south to Oz. I have literally wanted to see Australia since I was ten years old. Now, I'm going! And, I'll be seeing yet more friends there - Keith and Liz Wilkinson and their three kids. Haven't seen Liz and the kids since they emigrated from the UK to Oz nearly six years ago. I tend to see Keith once or twice a year in various places around the globe on business.
Since my flight was at 8.00, I had to leave the hotel at 5.30 - up at 4.00. Short night.
Flying Thai Airways. Maybe the dodgiest of the Star Alliance partners. But, this is a trip of trying new things.
The very early morning drive to BKK goes very quickly - the cabbie seemed amazed I'm flying Thai. Hmmmm...
Get to the check in and they ask for my visa for Australia. What??? I don't have one - luckily, it gets taken care of quickly. Flying FC has its advantages. Anyway, I'm officially checked in for Oz.
Well then, goodbye to Bangkok for now.
"So you better go back to your bars, your temples, your massage
parlours -- "
I will, Murray, indeed I will.
Bye.
-g
Advertisement
Tot: 0.073s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 6; qc: 49; dbt: 0.0425s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Ruffcorn
non-member comment
Is that a snake in your pants?
Judy cna probably confirm that Carter does have a snake in his pants!!