The Traveling Martens

More Thailand

On Saturday, we figured out the elevated train and the subway system here, so we took the train to Siam Square which is a shopping and basically hang-out area for the local youth. Most of the stores are small, independent shops and many are even temporary stalls, but there was also a Hard Rock Cafe and things like that. We noticed in Hong Kong, but even more so here, Asians love to shop! We had a great lunch at a restaurant by the American embassy. It was our hottest meal yet, but I think we say that every meal we have here!

The heat and steam outside are a little tiring, so we take our walks in shifts, and try to stop at air-conditioned restaurants and shops every little bit. After the shops, we took the train back to the hotel (the elevated train is also a great way to see the city, which is very spread out, and traffic is extremely slow). We went to the hotel pool, which is on an 8th floor terrace and is beautiful.

That evening, we went to a Korean barbecque for dinner. We've never had it before, and no one in the restaurant spoke English, so it was a little challenging. We were trying to order, and our first waitress, a young girl, ran away from the table laughing before we could finish. Another waitress had to take over, and proceeded to bring dozens of unidentifiable dishes to our table. We figured out what was the barbecque pork that we ordered, but not much else.

After dinner, we headed to the Silom area in Patpong which has night market stalls along the street, and lots of go-go bars. It was early in the evening, and we went into one little, almost empty, bar playing good music for a few drinks. After a while, it became obvious we were in a gay bar. I think the old American army guy smoking a cigar at the bar was as surprised as us. When the drag queens walked in, we walked out....

We thought we would call it an evening, but it wasn't as easy as that. Very few Thai speak English, so the hotel gives us cards that say "Hello, I am staying at the Westin Sukumvhit, please take me to this address..." written in Thai. We got into a cab, handed the card to the driver, and started down the street. Although the driver was Thai, he was unfortunately illiterate, which we figured out when he held the card upside down and looked confused. We made him stop the cab and we got out, trying a second cab. This driver was illiterate AND had a glass eye! Still laughing and wondering if we were actually going to make it home that night (the train had stopped running by then), we finally found a third cab driver who could read the directions and spoke a little English. However, we only made it a block in the cab before there was a huge traffic jam. Of course! An elephant was crossing the highway!

On Sunday morning, we succombed to getting pizza for breakfast to calm our stomachs after all the spicy food we've eaten so far. We ordered a plain pizza with tomatos, onions, and ham. After half an hour, we were wondering if our food would be out soon, when we saw the owner walk back into the restaurant with tomatos, onions, and ham. Looked like this was going to take a while, but it was good when it finally came!

We took the train to the Chatachak weekend market which was enormous. It was all tiny stalls, selling everything you can imagine, and would take several days to see each stall. Although very hot, as it was all outside, it was fun seeing all the local families coming to the market to shop and eat. Too bad we don't have room to bring more things home, as we especially like some of the furniture, vases, and small Buddhas we've seen here and in Hong Kong.

After a rough day, another $10 massage was in order. Mel tried the traditional Thai massage, which involves a lot of stretching and pressure points. After another nap, we did a famous Chao Phraya River cruise, seeing the Temple of Dawn, the King and Queen's Grand Palace, the Rama VIII bridge and some other sights. The temples look as good as the pictures suggest, very ornate and architectually detailed. The cruise was two hours, with a great Thai buffet and some wine, which is somewhat rare here, since it is so hot and many restaurants don't have air conditioning. Stacy and I both danced with our waitress on the boat, and one of the other workers asked if we were movie stars. After dinner (and another elephant on the highway sighting), we headed to a bar at the new Metropolitan hotel, which looked very South Beach-ish and trendy. It was a private party; we had gotten invited by the promoter of the DJ we had seen at the club we went to our first night here. It was a lot of fun, and we got a great night's sleep back at the hotel.

Now it's Monday afternoon, and we've had an amazing Indian lunch, with tender Tandoori chicken and a vindaloo different from any other we've had. Off to China town this afternoon, maybe another massage, and then our last night in Bangkok!

posted by Mel and Stacy Marten @ 2:40 AM