City Life

Yesterday we sat with the concierge for  thirty minutes, plotting out each move we intended to make for the following two days. Our remaining time was limited and we wanted to fill it with adventure. Leaving the hotel, we jumped in a water taxi, and within minutes were exploring Wat Arun. For us, the highlight was climbing to the top of the temple's iconic stupa for an amazing view of the city, with the golden domes of the Grand Palace sparkling in the sun and the river snaking between modern buildings below. Orange clad monks chanted in a side classroom and statues of Buddha stoically lined the plaster walls of the anteroom. A tuk-tuk sputtered outside the main gates, so we negotiated a price for a ride to Chinatown and hopped in. This Chinatown was similar to San Francisco's or even Boston's, except for that it was about ten times more intense. We wandered down narrow corridors with market goods tumbling out of small openings in the walls, that functioned as shops. On the sidewalks, stands with fried fish heads and jerkied pig faces were visited by hoards of chattering shoppers. After we picked up a few Hello Kitty items, we jumped in the next cab for a ride to the Jim Thompson House, an elegant teak home, raised in the air by chunky stilts, and open for tours. Jim Thompson was an American who moved to Bangkok in the late forties. He introduced the world to Thai silk, creating his own silk dynasty and trading his fabrics with western fashion designers. I especially enjoyed touring his home, since he lived in the far east at the same time that my grandparents and mother lived in Burma. According to the tour guides, Jim Thompson was hailed as a hero, a pioneer and explorer of sorts. It put my grandparent's spirit of adventure, moving their three young children to the exotic east, into perspective. Our last stop of the evening was the Suam Lum Night Bazaar, a huge market place. We spent hours snaking up and down the aisles of silks, carved statues, and jewelry. My favorite purchases of the evening were two table clothes for our round dinner table, a turquoise necklace and a Burmese lacquer box. After we had worn ourselves out, we headed to a local cafe.  I spotted the coconut soup, which I now crave, and ordered pineapple fried rice and a lime smoothie to go with it. The patio overlooking the bazaar proved to be a great spot for people watching. Muslims with black burquas, Thais carrying bags of souvenirs to sell, expats with young children in tow and the occasional western tourist with a lost look on his face wandered by. We returned to the Marriott after midnight, content with our successful day.

Today we left the hotel at 7:00 in a small mini bus with a German family and a Lebanese father and his two daughters, making our way to a floating market. We stopped at a coconut sugar farm for a quick tour and then were dropped off at pier, where long boats hummed, waiting for foreigners to fill their seats. Speeding through a canal system that took us past the back porches of wooden homes and signs indicating the presence of cobras, we enjoyed the rural Thai lifestyle zipping past. Once at the market we paid 400 baht for a small wooden boat ride through the jammed water way, which was once the main trading location for the area farmers. The bronzed faced man standing on the end our boat with a long paddle, pushed us through the community of vessels over laden with foreign fruits, many resembling miniature weapons. Boats held grills and skillets with fish balls and sausages sizzling in the morning sun. Other boats were stacked precariously with straw hats. We purchased a banana leaf full of coconut pancakes and a small bag of fried bananas. Each item was passed to us from a boat in a basket attached to a long bamboo pole after our few coins had been passed the same way to the seller. Returning to our hotel, we napped and then hopped on the sky tram and raced across the city to one last night market. We dined  at the Mango Tree and a did little more shopping, purchasing cuff links for Steve and a necklace for me, and then returned to the Marriott. Our flight would leave the next morning and although we loved each moment in Thailand and Cambodia, we could not wait to have Emilie, Jonathan, Annelise, Sophia and Ezra in our arms again! 

New Tidbits learned

1. The long ears on Thai Buddhas represent long life. Those, people fortunate to have especially long earlobes can anticipate longevity as well.

2. Thais living outside of Bangkok catch rain water in cisterns to drink because it is cleaner than the water plumbed into their houses.

3. It is illegal to speak out against the royal family. Those publicly doing so are arrested.

4. Each Buddhist family, comprising 95% of the population, has a spirit house on their property. Each morning they place water, food, a stick and leaves in the small structure to prevent the inhabiting spirit from becoming angry and bringing chaos to the family.