Only ninety minutes by plane from Mandalay but worlds apart. It is a stark comparison to go from the rural undeveloped country of Myanmar into bright lights and big city of Thailand’s capital, Bangkok. Four lane multi-level highways whisk you away from the airport and from then on it’s obvious all around how this tiger economy has flourished in Asia’s boom. Every type of modern car on the roads, fast trains, monorail, high rise buildings, commercial advertising, and bustle….everywhere. Our accommodation was a small hotel on Thanon Phra Sumen road, near the river and the royal centre of Bangkok. There are some wonderful Buddhist sites to visit here, such as Wat Pho and the Grand Palace, but we had exhausted our temple viewing energy in Myanmar and decided to soak into the city culture of Bangkok for a few days instead.
CHINATOWN
The influence of China on the Kingdom of Thailand reaches back to 1782. Trade has always been strongest with the northern neighbour and so as expected the Chinatown in Bangkok is a significant area of the city. The narrow “soi” are full of sole trader shop fronts and market sellers where chicken feet rest next to the dried noodle stall, which is opposite the fish sauce and spice zone. There are few tourists, this is a place for the residents, and it’s great to see the understanding building in the boys that this is Waitrose in these parts.
FLOATING MARKET
The Mae Nam Chao Phraya (!) river is a big feature of the city, it’s a main transport route for freight and people, and also is the spine off which the many canals run. This “venice of Asia” is criss-crossed with khlongs (canals) and along their banks the city takes on a more traditional feel, with stilted houses, peace away from traffic, children playing, and the odd floating market! Although most markets have long since moved to dry sites where it’s easier to transport goods by road and more accessible for customers, there are still a few floating markets in operation. Near the city they are mainly a tourist attraction rather than serving a practical purpose for the residents. We visited Taling Chan floating market and it was quite fun to see the ubiquitous street food hawkers on water! Each food seller has a small canoe in which there is a stove and basic kitchen, here they prepare fresh food for the customers. Unsurprisingly fish and prawns featured heavily in the menu selection.
KHAO SAN ROAD
It seems like the Khao San road area has had more re-incarnations than Buddha. In the 70s it was a place where hippies, overland travellers, and american troops on rotation from Vietnam came to get fed, stoned or otherwise entertained. The 80s and 90s saw a proliferation of the gap year traveller and KSR catered for that with cheap lodgings, cheap clothing, cheap food, and a burgeoning drug scene. We were here in 1995 and recall it as a melting pot of backpackers but quite seedy and a little threatening away from the street lights. It was this version of KSR that gained notoriety in Alex Garland’s book The Beach. Nowadays the whole area of streets are pedestrianised and home to what seems like Bangkok cafe culture – with every age group and economic group of the tourist industry represented. It remains a mecca for backpackers, although there are more hotels than hostels, and the vibe seems safe and cosmopolitan. We had a great time there with the boys enjoying the many varieties of food available (street food, thai curries, western favourites, fresh juice smoothies, and even some crepes!). Logan decided that if he is to become a banker (his chosen profession since being mesmerised by Shanghai and Singapore) then he would benefit from learning the art of barter. So we had a lot of fun together as all the boys, and especially Logan, tried their hand at buying a few things from the local vendors. Dylan and Logan both walked away with good purchases at good prices. Flynn contented himself with a relaxing foot massage instead!
With a more relaxed schedule we were also able to get more than our usual 2 hours of school work in for a few days, and in some rainy periods the chess set made its first appearance and proved to be a big hit. We also used the time to catch up on practicalities of laundry and haircuts for a few of us. Overall Bangkok seems to have made a quantum leap in development of the past 20 years while still maintaining the wonderful friendly Thai culture. We’re interested to see how the rest of Thailand has developed in that time and look forward to our weeks travelling the country after our return from Bhutan.
WHERE WE STAYED
We stayed at the Pra Sumen Villa on Thanon Phra Sumen road, a lovely small hotel in a perfect location within walking distance of Khao San road and many of the sights of Bangkok. It had a pretty grassy area at the rear of the hotel backing onto a canal and several places for sitting, relaxing and teaching maths!.
