Songkran – the holiday that never ends?

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Our day began around 6:00, and not long afterward, Natalie popped her head in to sing, “Good morning!” Everyone had mostly slept well, though as we had been warned, the air-conditioning on the train worked better and better throughout the night and by morning, it was 66 degrees in our compartment and we were freezing!

We pulled into Bangkok at 7:30 and were heading outside to find a taxi (or two) when a Thai woman patted my arm and smiled at me excitedly, as though she knew me. I looked at her with a vague sense of familiarity, but those of you who know how much I struggle with recognizing faces will understand that I couldn’t place her. She was smiling and pointing at me, speaking in Thai, but then said, “Minibus!” and pointed behind her to a man approaching. I suddenly realized that they were the people who had taken me to the airport to pick up Steve and the kids when they arrived! Call it good karma, call it a crazy coincidence, but there they were at the train station, looking for business, and I guess we kind of stand out in a crowd.

We were back at the Phranakorn-Nornlen Hotel by 8:00, and they had rooms to give us by 8:15 so we could all take a much-needed shower. The train experience was fun, but the train itself was pretty grungy, and if you slapped the upholstery you raised a cloud of dust - so we really felt the need for showers!

Refreshed and ready to start a new day, we had a delicious breakfast at the hotel. They have one breakfast choice, which changes every day and is always vegetarian and unusual. This morning we had pineapple juice, mango slices, a vegetarian spring roll bursting with fresh juicy sprouts and vegetables, soup, and fried rice with egg on top. It was a great way to fuel up for another day of exploring Bangkok.

What was unclear to us was whether the holiday would still be affecting anything, and if so, how. We walked to the river to get a ferry, and for several minutes couldn’t even tell if the ferries were running at all, let alone with what frequency. Eventually, one came along and we jumped on (they barely even stop at the dock - you really do have to jump on while there is sometimes still a gap between the dock and boat) and headed closer to central Bangkok.

We got off at the Grand Palace stop, which was much livelier and full of people. There are food stalls as you get off the boat, and souvenir sellers, and tuktuks ready to take you where ever you’d like to go. We headed off to walk the streets around the University and amulet market. Many businesses and shops were closed, but the amulet market was busy. This consisted of people selling amulets of stone, wood, and various metals in the shape of Buddha or animals or dragons or other fanciful shapes. People sold them from blankets laid on the sidewalk, or tables along the edge of the road, or stalls in an otherwise-empty market. They seemed to be doing good business, and we saw some people carefully examining the merchandise with magnifying glasses. We also saw monks shopping in this area. If I had known what the different amulets were designed for - they each have a particular purpose to bring good fortune to a particular arena of your life - I would have bought something significant, but since there wasn’t a lot of English spoken, Steve and I just randomly selected four little brass figures that appealed to us.

From there, we headed toward Khao San Road, the backpacker’s area of Bangkok. I figured that since the area would be full of tourists, most businesses would be open and we could find some air-conditioned space in which to have some lunch. As we got closer to Khao San Road, the streets got busier and the sidewalks got more congested. Lots of people had water guns, and many people were smeared with talcum powder, another tradition that we had seen less of in Chiang Mai. At one point, all the traffic came to a halt when police officers stepped into the street to allow for what I would guess was a passing royal motorcade.

We ducked into an air-conditioned restaurant to re-fuel with some cold air and cold beer - a combination that always revives - and then started back out to walk the last few blocks before arriving at Khao San Road. What we saw in that direction was a mass of people - it looked like it was shoulder-to-shoulder water gun militia, and we all looked at each other and said, “No, maybe not.”

Mom and the kids decided to take a tuktuk back to the hotel, while Steve and I decided to walk. We walked through more side streets and a bit off the beaten track, but still found lots and lots of Thai people of all ages throwing water, smearing talcum powder, and blaring music. There were lots of teenagers, and some little kids. Initially, we just got hit a few times with waterguns, but as we walked on, we began to get bowls and buckets of water poured over us by delighted people on the street. We tried to stay dry at first, but it quickly became obvious that it was futile, so we concentrated on keeping the camera and backpack dry. (We were mostly successful with that.)

The partying in the streets of Bangkok definitely had a different feel than in Chiang Mai. It was just as good-natured, but absolutely more raucous and rambunctious. People were less likely to have overflowing barrels of water, but far more likely to be using talcum powder to coat each other, cars, telephone booths, etc. (Luckily, we were spared!) Some people were more restrained when we tried to let them know we didn’t want to get soaked, but more often they just let loose full force no matter what, always with an enormous and devilish grin. There was no point in trying to fight it - we were big targets again, and just as glad to cool off a little. We arrived back at the hotel dripping wet, and learned that mom and the kids had been completely soaked in their tuktuk when it stopped to allow people to pour buckets of water over them!

We eventually found our way back to the hotel after losing ourselves for a little while in some back streets and lanes. Along the way, I stopped to buy a cold soda. After choosing a glass bottle from the refrigerator, the shopkeeper filled a plastic bag with ice, poured the soda into the bag and added a straw. It was an interesting way to drink, and worked perfectly well as long as I was careful to carry the bag correctly by the handles.

When we got back, we hung our clothes out to dry on our little balcony, and we got a bucket of ice from the kitchen so we could mix up our afternoon cocktails. The Rummy-thon continued, we read and wrote email, talked mom into bringing home some of our purchases for us so we didn’t have to drag them through two more countries, and began to formulate a plan for dinner, mom’s last evening in Bangkok before flying out just after midnight!

Steve and I had both read about a tiny restaurant called {i]Chote Chitr that had rave reviews from The New York Times, online food blogs, and other prestigious sources. It is a five-table, 80-year-old family business with over 300 items on the menu, tucked into a hard-to-find side street. Every review we saw had amazing things to say about the food, so we decided to try to get some take-out. I had the name and address of the restaurant, and a list of items we knew we’d like to try. I went to the hotel reception desk and one of the girls there was kind enough to find the phone number and call the restaurant to confirm that they were open and would let us take food back with us. Then she called us a cab so we could go.

The cab ride was supposed to take 15-20 minutes, but despite written directions, the name and address written in Thai, and a phone number, it took the driver exactly an hour to find the place. He needed to get out of the car several times to see the address better in the headlights, and he eventually (at our suggestion when he couldn’t get through to the restaurant) called our hotel for more directions. All the while, as we drove around and around, the streets were packed with people celebrating - it was well after dark, and people were still throwing water, dancing on top of cars and in the streets, and generally whooping it up. It was Songkran to a whole other degree, and while fun to see, I am glad we were in Chiang Mai for most of the holiday. Bangkok was a bit over the top for me!

We got to the restaurant and immediately ordered food to go and a beer while we were waiting. The owner wanted to know, “Where you take this food?” We told her back to our hotel for the rest of our family. “Why your family not come here?” she asked, somewhat incredulously. Too hot and tired, we explained.

We ordered some of their signature dishes: mee krob, gaeng som, makheua yao, ho mak pla, pri king, banana flower salad, eggplant salad, and a wok-fried fish. (Don’t ask what all those Thai foods are, because I couldn’t tell you, but I’m pretty sure we can’t get most of them at home. She packaged it all up with instructions about which sauce went on which dish, and sent us on our way. The ride back to the hotel only took 15 minutes - different cab!

We carried our bags of take-out food into the breakfast area and asked the staff if we could have a few bowls. They whisked our bags away, put all the food on serving dishes and brought plates and cutlery for everyone. We had a wonderful feast, and the food was as tasty as we had hoped, but far spicier than I had expected.

We finished eating in time for Mom to finish gathering her bags and get ready for her taxi to come at 9:00. Mom and I sat outside and enjoyed a final cigarette together, replaying some of the highlight moments of the past three weeks. We both agreed that it has been a wonderful trip unlike any other we’ve taken, and wondered how we’ll ever top it - though I’m always willing to try!

We waved mom off at 9:15 and finished our own packing, wondering how we had already accumulated so much stuff when we didn’t feel like we had been rabid shoppers just yet.

And tomorrow - we’re off to Laos!

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Photos

Checking email at the hotel
A PC for everyone, and wifi for my laptop!

Mom and the kids in a tuktuk
They thought this would be safe way to get back to the hotel without getting wet!

Bangkok's Songkran craziness
This photo doesn't begin to show how crazy it was

The elusive Chote Chitr restaurant
We were so thrilled when we finally found it.

Comments

[Steve]

FOOD!
Hello, i have to mention that the food was indeed spicy hot, and delicious. Each dish with a different taste of 'hotness', and not all hot, hot. My traveling companions often 'force' me to finish the dishes because they are "too full". A tough task, but somebody......you know. Have I mentioned how damn cute the SE Asian kids are, they are. take care, Steve