By: Matt
As the title of this post indicates, we have arrived in Thailand for our month-long SE Asian adventure! This has been a long time in the works – as we started dreaming of exploring Asia back in October – and we were sure glad last Monday to take off from freezing-cold Bhutan and land in tropical Thailand.
When we arrived at the Suvarnabhumi Airport (Bangkok International Airport), I was immediately struck with the stark differences between Bhutan and Thailand and, even, India and Thailand. Thailand is a country that has it together – the infrastructure is modern and wonderful, the mass transit system is one of the best I have ever been on, the people are friendly, and everything is efficient. In past blog entries, I have explained what it is like to travel in India, and I haven't been too kind in my explanations. Without continuing to harp on India, let me just say that Thailand is amazing as a tourist, and in many ways the complete opposite of being a tourist in India.
Our hotel was located across the Chao Phraya River from the center of the city in a neighborhood called Thonburi. As I mentioned above, Bangkok has a great mass transit system composed of an underground metro, aboveground light-rail (called the SkyTrain), and an extensive ferry system plying the Chao Phraya. Since our hotel is located about 5 minutes from a SkyTrain station, getting back and forth is quite easy and inexpensive. We arrived at our hotel in the early evening.
After checking in and resting for a bit, we ventured out into Thonburi looking for food. There were a lot of street stalls (ubiquitous in Bangkok) and vendors of all kinds. We ended up at a restaurant called MK which, as it turns out, is a huge chain here. It was the kind of place where you sit around a boiling pot of water and you order things raw off the menu to cook yourself in said pot. The menu, and the restaurant, was kind of intense, but we figured it out and had a very nice meal.
On Monday, we decided that we would have a day of commerce. Coming to Thailand from Bhutan is a completely different experience than coming directly from the United States. We just spent the last 5 months with limited access to the outside world; a place where advertising is banned, foreign movies are not allowed in the theaters, and the physical transportation of goods is curtailed by Bhutan's inhospitable terrain. Bangkok was eye-opening in terms of all the things we were being deprived of – even if they weren't things that we knew we missed or really craved when we were living in the States. I was trying to imagine what it must be like for a Bhutanese to visit Bangkok for the first time, and found myself feeling a mixture of envy, desire, and guilt. Part of Bhutan's issues stems from their reliance on India for everything. In my opinion, this is not to Bhutan's advantage, but this issue necessitates an entire blog post of its own, so I'll save you that discussion for now. You're here to read about Bangkok!
We soaked in the commercialism and shopping, going to not one but two malls – each one gigantic and shiny. Clothes shopping was the name of the game for the afternoon, with stops at H&M, Zara, and a huge Japanese department store called Zen. Emily and I needed more clothes since coming to Bhutan because most of our clothes have stretched out with no dryers, we realized that we didn't pack enough for cold weather, and both of us have lost weight since moving to Bhutan and our clothes were not fitting very well. Buying clothes in Bhutan is a pain because there is little selection and everything is thrown in piles in numerous 'general shops' and it's hard to find anything.
The other amazing thing that we got to do was go to a movie! As I mentioned above, Bhutan has banned all foreign movies from being shown in its movie theaters, so we never go to movies at a cinema in Thimphu since, A) Most movies are shown in Dzongkha only and B) Bhutanese movies are pretty terrible. I had been itching to see The Hobbit since it came out, and we saw it in the late afternoon. The movie theater we saw it in was in Central World – the mall where we spent the most time and just happens to be the third largest mall in the world. The theater was amazing and we literally sat in couches to watch the movie. Both Emily and I enjoyed The Hobbit very much, but I do agree that certain scenes were drawn out and unnecessary.
After the movie we did some more shopping and then had dinner at one of over 100 restaurants in Central World called 'Nara.' It was quite good (voted one of Bangkok's best Thai restaurants) and we had the local Bangkokian dish of soft-shelled crab in a yellow curry. Yum!
Yesterday was more of a cultural-touristy day. We took the ferry to the Grand Palace and soaked in the amazing Thai architecture of the palace and the many Buddhist temples that surround it. The day was hot and sunny, and we walked and walked and walked! By the end of the afternoon we were absolutely exhausted. We took the SkyTrain down to the Sukhumvit neighborhood – a trendy place full of boutiques, mod furniture stores, and art galleries. This is where many of the expats live, and the neighborhood definitely has an international feel to it. We were trying to go to an art gallery/wine bar named 'WTF', but unfortunately they weren't opening until 6pm (we were there closer to 5). So we walked down the street aways and stumbled upon an ultra-trendy mall complete with falling rain into pools of lights. There was an Au Bon Pain there and I had my first real bagel with real cream cheese in over 5 months. I miss bagels!
We walked up the Main Street a few more blocks and then caught a SkyTrain up another mile to eat at the famous Bangkok restaurant, Cabbages&Condoms. This restaurant was established to promote condom use and safe sex as a normal everyday occurrence and to take the stigma and embarrassment out of the idea of condoms. Condoms are everywhere in the restaurant, often used ingeniously. Cabbages&Condoms also just happens to be one of the best restaurants in Bangkok and we had a delicious Thai feast.
Bangkok, while being a huge city of over 7 million people, is completely accessible and does not feel overwhelming. I would highly recommend a visit here and we have both enjoyed ourselves. This afternoon we are off to Hua Hin, a coastal town famous for being the getaway for the Royal Family and other nobles, and we are ready to begin the beach-bum phase of our vacation!
As the title of this post indicates, we have arrived in Thailand for our month-long SE Asian adventure! This has been a long time in the works – as we started dreaming of exploring Asia back in October – and we were sure glad last Monday to take off from freezing-cold Bhutan and land in tropical Thailand.
When we arrived at the Suvarnabhumi Airport (Bangkok International Airport), I was immediately struck with the stark differences between Bhutan and Thailand and, even, India and Thailand. Thailand is a country that has it together – the infrastructure is modern and wonderful, the mass transit system is one of the best I have ever been on, the people are friendly, and everything is efficient. In past blog entries, I have explained what it is like to travel in India, and I haven't been too kind in my explanations. Without continuing to harp on India, let me just say that Thailand is amazing as a tourist, and in many ways the complete opposite of being a tourist in India.
Our hotel was located across the Chao Phraya River from the center of the city in a neighborhood called Thonburi. As I mentioned above, Bangkok has a great mass transit system composed of an underground metro, aboveground light-rail (called the SkyTrain), and an extensive ferry system plying the Chao Phraya. Since our hotel is located about 5 minutes from a SkyTrain station, getting back and forth is quite easy and inexpensive. We arrived at our hotel in the early evening.
After checking in and resting for a bit, we ventured out into Thonburi looking for food. There were a lot of street stalls (ubiquitous in Bangkok) and vendors of all kinds. We ended up at a restaurant called MK which, as it turns out, is a huge chain here. It was the kind of place where you sit around a boiling pot of water and you order things raw off the menu to cook yourself in said pot. The menu, and the restaurant, was kind of intense, but we figured it out and had a very nice meal.
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| At MK Restaurant. |
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| This little guy dispenses toothpicks, napkins, pens, and comment cards! |
We soaked in the commercialism and shopping, going to not one but two malls – each one gigantic and shiny. Clothes shopping was the name of the game for the afternoon, with stops at H&M, Zara, and a huge Japanese department store called Zen. Emily and I needed more clothes since coming to Bhutan because most of our clothes have stretched out with no dryers, we realized that we didn't pack enough for cold weather, and both of us have lost weight since moving to Bhutan and our clothes were not fitting very well. Buying clothes in Bhutan is a pain because there is little selection and everything is thrown in piles in numerous 'general shops' and it's hard to find anything.
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| Okay, so maybe we went a bit overboard with the brands! |
After the movie we did some more shopping and then had dinner at one of over 100 restaurants in Central World called 'Nara.' It was quite good (voted one of Bangkok's best Thai restaurants) and we had the local Bangkokian dish of soft-shelled crab in a yellow curry. Yum!
Yesterday was more of a cultural-touristy day. We took the ferry to the Grand Palace and soaked in the amazing Thai architecture of the palace and the many Buddhist temples that surround it. The day was hot and sunny, and we walked and walked and walked! By the end of the afternoon we were absolutely exhausted. We took the SkyTrain down to the Sukhumvit neighborhood – a trendy place full of boutiques, mod furniture stores, and art galleries. This is where many of the expats live, and the neighborhood definitely has an international feel to it. We were trying to go to an art gallery/wine bar named 'WTF', but unfortunately they weren't opening until 6pm (we were there closer to 5). So we walked down the street aways and stumbled upon an ultra-trendy mall complete with falling rain into pools of lights. There was an Au Bon Pain there and I had my first real bagel with real cream cheese in over 5 months. I miss bagels!
We walked up the Main Street a few more blocks and then caught a SkyTrain up another mile to eat at the famous Bangkok restaurant, Cabbages&Condoms. This restaurant was established to promote condom use and safe sex as a normal everyday occurrence and to take the stigma and embarrassment out of the idea of condoms. Condoms are everywhere in the restaurant, often used ingeniously. Cabbages&Condoms also just happens to be one of the best restaurants in Bangkok and we had a delicious Thai feast.
Bangkok, while being a huge city of over 7 million people, is completely accessible and does not feel overwhelming. I would highly recommend a visit here and we have both enjoyed ourselves. This afternoon we are off to Hua Hin, a coastal town famous for being the getaway for the Royal Family and other nobles, and we are ready to begin the beach-bum phase of our vacation!
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| On the ferry. |
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| The clogged marketplace exiting the ferry terminal. |
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| The famous Wat Arun temple, built in the Khmer style. |
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| The longtail water taxis. |
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| Entering the Grand Palace. |
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| The famous 'Emerald Buddha'. |
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| Walking down the streets of the amulet market – at least a mile's worth of Buddhist trinkets and religious shops. |
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| The gigantic Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho. |
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| This thing was massive! |
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| The hip neighborhood of Sukhumvit. |
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| Condom Santa at Cabbages&Condoms. |
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| Condoms can also be used as Christmas decorations! |
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Great photos---I can see you both relax in the heat!
ReplyDelete--Phyllis