BANGKOK

17-21 Jan 2018

Jan 17-18 – the flight to Bangkok

OK – now finally getting back in the swing of things.

The flight Tuesday, two legs, to get to Bangkok, was tiring. And of course landing at Bangkok BKK for the first time was an experience. We thought we were in good shape when deplaning from business class and were handed a Priority Lane immigration card! We picked a queue of about 6, which took maybe 15 minutes only to learn from Sgt Immigration, that we hadn’t stopped for health clearance and needed to complete the T8…. So back out and down the way to where we got the T8 and joined a very long line. Perhaps 45 minutes later we handed over our passports and the T8, and 3 minutes later were cleared to go back and see Sgt Immigration. From there it was quick – ATM and an AIS sim with unlimited 4g date for a month. Never knowing how good the wifi might be at our airbnbs, I like the security of a local sim. Thailand is known for great sim based internet.

But let me back up a minute – our flight. I had hoped for Ethiopian Air’s Version 2 of the original Dreamliner, the 787-8. The blog I read talked about better Lie flat beds, and entertainment. When we got our boarding passes at the airport in Maputo I forgot to look at our seating. I tucked the passes away until getting to Addis, just so to keep them in a safe place. I had been checking the availability of seats in bis class before being notified of our upgrade, and the 787-8 had 4 rows in bis class, 2,2,2 seating.
Imagine my pending excitement when I checked our seats in Addis and saw we were in row 5!!! I had read about the latest Dreamliner ET uses, and business class has 5 rows of 2-2-2. Could it be? I had also read about the upgraded bis class seat pods, the entertainment systems, the plethora of movies offered. But ET only has 2 currently with 2 more planes awaiting delivery.
SO…. When we boarded and were directed left to our seats, and saw the 30 seats, and the better looking seat pods, I asked the attendant. And YES – it was the latest Dreamliner – the 787-9!!! And yes to everything. The TV monitor is HUGE, the lie flat bed is BIG, and you can sleep on your side with no problem. There is a shelf for stuff next to the headphone jack, the plug, and the USB port. There is storage under the seat in front for shoes!! There is another shelf for stuff, and the noise cancelling headphones provided (my sonys are better!) What really surprised me however was that the food was only so-so. And given the time, 12:30AM, the free flowing wine and spirits was not quite as desirable as normal!! But we did sleep better than on any other flight, even though I was very fitful, and I woke up only feeling somewhat refreshed…. It was really cool to be on one of the very latest wide body aircraft flying in the skies today

Longday, long flight. More on that later!. Settling in – a bit of provisioning, in a way, at one of the 7-11s, they are on every block; 5 within 4 min walk. And now dinner. Yum. Our host says it’s cheaper to eat out than eat in. Maybe thats a good thing. Snapper and bolognese duck. And a nice rum passion fruit drink with mint. I think we’ll come back here, it’s a 3 min walk

18Jan Day 1- Bangkok

Having settled into our new flat for 5 nights in the old part of Bangkok, we got up and decided we’d go to the Chao Phraya river and take the boats there to tour the sights and get off at a couple of the temples, or Wats. We meandered a bit to find the starting point, heading to the river and then asking directions for Pier 13. Once there we bought a ticket for the day and boarded the boat (hop on hop off!!) headed down the river. After several stops we got off at Wat Arun. Impressive spires.

We wandered around Wat Arun and then took the 12cent ferry across the river to Wat Pho to see the reclining Buddha. He’s very big!!!

We did some more walking and then got back on the river boat and travelled a few stops to get off and head to Chinatown. This city is huge, noisy, and very vibrant. We walked for some time, in and out of streets and alleys and made our way back toward our flat. We picked up some street food along the way and brought it back for dinner.

We usually find on our first day in a new place that long wanderings help us get a sense of scale. We also start to know what to target for the next day. After using transport on the river, we want to investigate the smaller boats that run along the canals. As we made a turn to the street we’re on, we saw a boarding point for the canal boats and were able to investigate further for Day 2.

19Jan Day 2 – Bangkok

Seems we’re still adjusting to the 7hr time change as it’s hard to go to sleep and waking up starts at about 8am-9am. We have breakfast of coffee, fruit, muesli and yogurt and start planning.

Today we decided to take the canal boat from one end to the other!! There is a pier where you get off and get on the boat next to you to go to the far end, some 18km away. These boats are mostly used by commuters. We went to the end which didn’t have much, except a temple and monastery and 2 cows/bulls ? were in a pen near the pier. We got a coconut which is opened and provided with a straw for the coconut water. Out here it was 25bahtor about 80cents, where in closer to the touristy parts of the city, it’s 50baht.

We decided to walk along the canal rather than take the boat back 2 stops to go one of the malls. It’s true – malls are a big thing in Bangkok. They have everything, are enormous, and offer very effective AC. The one we went to had a very large footprint (bigger than I’ve been in) and was 5 levels high, I think!

We wandered around and found a sporting store in search of replacement Keen walking shoes. My heels are really worn but they did not have my size in the style I was looking for. They had Merrels which I might have tried but they were $50 more than the Keens, so I abandoned the search. When wandering next, we came across a salon, and I decided, after 2 months, it was time for a haircut!!! So I’m all trimmed up again, maybe a bit shorter than the last one in November, but it will last another 2 months at least….. for $15.

We found a place for lunch with Korean duck and kale. Very good. Food is cheap here, and it’s clear that eating out is what most Thais seem to do. Easy than cooking and making your house hot! Fortunately our 2 level flat, one room wide, has AC on both floors. We turn in on at night and use the fans during the day.

On the lowest level of the mall we found a Gourmet Market which was actually a large supermarket, probably the largest we’ve seen. Rows and rows – and multiple brands of items which we haven’t seen on this trip. As in maybe 6+ brands, types, of peanut butter!!! Great selection of produce as well. It was nice and we found some really nice coffee, Arabica, and grown in Thailand near the mountains of Chang Mai. We picked up some ready made foods and soup for take away for dinner, even though the big lunch was going to take a while to digest.

As we headed home, on the canal boat once again, it was getting dark. Seeing the lights on some of the buildings was cool. Also there seemed to be many canal boats speeding along in both directions, churning up a great washing machine of wakes!! These canals aren’t wide, maybe 50’, so the bounce of wakes is fierce!

We walked back to the flat, to sit and contemplate the busy day and what to do next. We found we were too late on our return trip on the canal boat to stop at the Jim Thompson house. That will be on the agenda for Day 3.

20Jan Day 3 – Bangkok

Today was a bit of a slow day, starting with the canal boat again, to see the Jim Thompson house, Only about 4 or 5 stops from where we get on. Took a bit of a walk to find it, as instead of turning right on the path by the canal, we went straight. Worked out fine.

Jim Thompson was an American, born in Delaware, and studied to be an architect. He signed up to fight in WWII and at some point was working for OSS, the predecessor to the CIA. By the time his military career was launched, he was in Thailand and the war ended. He loved Thailand and decided to move and live here. His marriage didn’t survive the change as his wife had no interest in Thailand. Thompson came here and saw the silk industry fading away and wanted to revive it. He took samples of silk to the west and was able to start a company that eventually brought the silk trade back to Thailand. He built a wonderful house/complex by bringing 6 small houses to an area adjacent to the canal, or klong, and then architecturally connecting and enhancing them. He added western touches here and there but the remarkable additions of Buddhist art and other artifacts dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries is very impressive.

Evidently when he came to Thailand he had his horoscope read, and it was reported that he should be very careful in the year he turns 61. Not long after his 61st birthday he was travelling with some friends and went for a morning walk by himself, and disappeared. There was no trace or explanation as to his disappearance. Shortly before his trip he made a will and left the house in the care of a Jim Thompson foundation that is still taking care of it today.

We had a wonderful tour of the house(es) and the garden. Pictures were only allowed from the outside, as there is concern that visitors taking photos inside might bump into things while distracted with taking the photos.

After the tour we went in the shop and there were so many absolutely beautiful silk things – shirts, shawls, napkins, and many other things. For the clothing though, all required dry cleaning which made purchasing while on our trip a non starter. I did find a beautiful printed cotton “napkin” to replace my worn out bandana that I use when I’m really hot to wipe my face. It will be a nice souvenir that I can use nearly every day!

After the Jim Thompson house, we headed towards the newer part of the city. We were given some help and told to take the sky train. Good suggestion!! And much better than a long tuk tuk ride or an even longer walk.

We took a while finding a recommended seafood restaurant, Lek Seafood, but finally stumbled onto it at about 4:40, with it opening at 5. We were welcomed to sit and drink a beer but we had to wait until 5 to order. It was a very late lunch!!!!

We then tried very unsuccessfully to find a store that might have binoculars for sale. We wandered quite a ways before giving up and then made our way another half hour to the Moon Bar on the 61st floor of a building in the new part of the city. It was pretty hazy and we missed the sunset by about an hour. We had a very expensive beer and martini and took a long tuk tuk ride back to the flat…..It was a five mile walking day.

21Jan Day 4 – Bangkok
Our last day, before our travel day on 22Jan.
We relaxed and went for a walk in the afternoon to Khao San Road. It’s reported to be a must see. So we did!

It was about a 15 minute walk in a different direction for our previous explorations. This is a short street with a reputation of being the backpacker’s center of the universe, at least for Asia! Its wall to wall shops, restaurants, street food venders, and massage shops. It was fun to walk along.

We found a vendor with passionfruit juice – should have gotten several as it was wonderful. I’m loving the readily available and very cheap passion fruit – perhaps 20cents a piece.

We also bought several things for takeaway for dinner from the street food vendors – pad thai, soup, and three types of green veg. It’s nice to have a microwave in the flat for warming things up. On the return trip from Khao San Road we stopped at a vendor and got several meats/chicken on sticks, bbq.

Tomorrow we pack up and take Uber to the airport for a quick flight to Krabi. Then a 45 min taxi to our condo for a week at Klong Muang Beach. The condo is a 3 min walk to the beach and has everything!!!