FROM BANGKOK, THAILAND

(click on images to enlarge, including above maps of Thailand and Southeast Asia)

Life's a Street

BANGKOK, July 21, 2007 - Just as the Bangkok canals are pulsating with life, so are its streets.  What does not happen on water, plays itself out on sidewalks or narrow alleys between major streets.  But first, quick land tour of the riverfront...

There are some pretty fine old buildings on the waterfront, as you can see above, probably dating back to colonial days (though Thailand was never a British colony).  The one in the middle still as the sign on it "The East Asiatic Company."  Even the very term "Asiatic" is quaint.  Whoever uses that expression anymore?  Once you get to the river, the views are very pretty (rightmost photo).  

It's too bad, though, that no one thought of having a pedestrian promenade.  You can't walk along the river banks for more than 50 yards or so before hitting another private wall.  Rather than having to jog three street around them, more than once I had climbed over the walls.

The Catholics are also present in force here.  The leftmost photo is that of the Church of the Assumption. There is also a being Assumption College with great sports facilities around it.  I do not know that the name of that other pretty yellow church, which is also on the waterfront, but it also had great sports facilities.  In fact, as I was walking by, there was a handball game progress.  The boys seem to be about 11-13 in age, and had a coach, too.

There are also Buddhist temples in this area.  But they are not nearly as well maintained as the Catholic churches.  In fact, this one is evidently undergoing renovation.  But this illustrated a cute difference.  While the Catholic church used its well maintained sports fields to attract and entertain the Thai youth, take a look at the two tiny Thai boys in the rightmost picture who are also "helping" renovate the temple as little servants of God.

In this area, I also came across the plaque on the left dedicated to "Captain Bush."  Boy oh boy, these Bush's do get around, don't they?  Well, this English Bush is long dead, but there is an alley ("trok") named after him at a site where his house once stood.  He was apparently a loyal servant and friend of the Thai royalty in late 19th century, who in turn graced him with many titles and property, such as this waterfront house.  It all goes to show us that the Bush's seem to know genetically how to ingratiate themselves to those in power, whether to royalty on throne, or the ones who prefer to rule from backstage.  And are well rewarded for it.

Not far from the "Bush Alley" I came across a couple of shops and galleries that made me think of Karen.  The "Four Cats And a Dog" seems to be an apt caption for the leftmost photo.  The dog is real, by the way.  The white poodle figured she'd better pose for me as well, rather than let the four cats get all the attention.  :-) 

The next shot to the right, a jockey on a thoroughbred race horse, had Karen written all over it.  So I dedicated this photo to her.

The next picture (middle right) is something I swear I had seen in downtown Scottsdale. It sure looks like a western rider trying to tame a wild bronco or a mustang, doesn't it?  There are galleries after galleries in this area displaying bronze statues for which Thailand is famous, some of pretty enormous size, as you can see in the rightmost shot.

I said earlier that in Bangkok, life's a street, and here you have some examples of it.  In the leftmost frame, you can see a game of checkers under way on a sidewalk while the traffic thunders by.  What you may not be able to see is that they are using Pepsi and Coke bottle tops as pieces.  Talk about double rivalry!  :-) 

The other three photos show the various "stores" that are jammed into narrow alleys between Bangkok's major thoroughfares.  You can buy anything here, from fashion to food to even motorized vehicles.  Speaking of which, they are a nuisance to pedestrians in these narrow passages.  Motorcycles (such as the ones you can see in the rightmost photo), and even cars and small trucks, dart back and forth using sidewalks as roadways.  But the local don't seem to mind.  And after a while, I did not, either.

I have seen my share of weird things in my many trips around the world.  But even I was shocked at the sights in the next few alleys through which I walked.  At first I thought I had entered a graveyard of the Industrial Revolution.  But the heap of metal scrap you see in the left photo is actually that mechanic's inventory of spare parts.  There are hundreds of bike and car repair shops like that in this area, as you can see from the right photo.  Each has accumulated great piles of broken down transmissions, wheels, screws, engines... probably from car wrecks.  Mechanics sit on their stools in these open air shops, patiently repairing and reassembling broken down parts.  Eventually, one hears a happy sound... an engine starting to whir again.  Success!  A rebirth... another automotive Phoenix rising from the ashes.  And an environmental victory, too.  Nothing goes to waste.  I started to admire these peoples' patience and ingenuity.

Not far from my hotel, I visited another pretty Buddhist temple.  This one has been evidently already renovated.  It looked sparkling in bright sunshine.  The cutest part was a little prayer chapel that is actually built above water that surrounds it like a moat (middle right).  Two women were praying intently, so I did not want to take pictures of them.  But I thought it was interesting to see the "altar" with a Buddha image in the middle, as you can seem behind the plumes of smoke that rise from the burning incense in front.

Bangkok by Night

BANGKOK, July 21, 2007 - I had a 7-up (drink) at the rooftop bar...

...on the 64th floor of my hotel...

...followed by a dinner at an Asian restaurant on the 52nd floor.  It was the fanciest Asian restaurant I have ever seen.  It looked more like a club, with a runway at its entrance at which one would expect to see some beautiful Thai models prancing away.  Well, that did not happen, but my waiter told me that other guests have made similar comments.  Oh shucks... and here I thought that as a writer, I was also being original.  :-)

The interior of the restaurant, which is where I was seated, underscored the clubby atmosphere, as did the modern music beat that was piped in through the loudspeakers. The rightmost shot is that of the various sauces that the waitress brought with my appetizer.  They looked so pretty and elegant against the candle light that almost did not feel like touching them.  

This dining experience gave a whole new meaning to my notion of an "Asian restaurant."  Back home, they tend to be pretty plain, and only about food.  Here, the food was good, but it was secondary to "experience and enjoyment."

And that's all she wrote from Bangkok on this trip.

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