bangkok - part one.
i am on the fence about this city. call me swakoo or spoilt, but the last time i visited it was when i was 4. no doubt, plenty has changed and the evolution of the city is apparent. yet, there is a distinct stasis that is wrapped in pollution and sawadeeka(p)s.
this is the sight that greeted me. amazed by their new airport as i stepped into the limo taxi, i looked forward to meeting this city - her sights and sounds, tastes and smells. all i've heard so far is how good it is for shopping, eating, massages and relaxing.
uh huh. right.
the ride to the hotel provided lots of 'ooo and aahhh' moments for me as we cruised at 150km/h along the highway. greeted by billboards and skyscrapers, i was half wondering where and when i'd be greeted with the thousand smiles. we stayed at the westin. this is the view of bangkok from my hotel room. being on thanon sukhumvit put us right in the heart of bangkok's business centre; and next to the ever accessible sky train.
mum decided she wanted to head to chatuchak market, so i followed suit. dad decided to chill and have a thai massage. the place thronged with tourists and locals alike, eager to reap in the bargains. i followed mum around like a toddler attached to an apron string. mum is ever the expert in bargaining thus i left the business transactions to her; sights and sounds i observed and enjoyed. i picked up some articles of clothing, but alas these thais are tiny and i am obviously too big by their standards.
frankly, the amount of people annoyed me. from me bumping into people to people bumping off me - i tried desperately not to be rude. afterall, these people are supposed to be tolerant and polite, hence logically, i should be assimilating similar values to understand them and their culture. (people who are close to me can stop rolling their eyes).
2006 into 2007 was spent in bed - literally. 31st december: my parents and i had a steamboat afterwhich we headed towards central world plaza in a cab. midway, the police directed the traffic flow away from the shopping mega-super-duper plaza and we were forced to walk to our destination. we ended up in central department store instead where we paid a short-lived visit. parents' friends starting smsing them of bombs going off around the area and we started heading back. the crowd didn't seem to know about it and mum even did some shopping along the nana-asoke sky train route along skuhumvit. the night was spent watching cnn, bbc, sky news, local thai news..
1st jan: we went to erawan shrine for mum to pay respects to the four-faced buddha. one can't help but think of buddhism when one thinks of thai people. watching these people kneel and mumble fervent prayers served as a poignant reminder of the power of religion in an ever evolving and constantly changing world. the need to hold on to something consistent which gives security is perhaps the easiest scapegoat for religion. however, the sociological benefits of it, although apparent, sometimes create more gaps than bridge it.
one of the bomb sites. opposite central world plaza.
the city landscape.
day two was spent following mum who was on a quest for bargains, shops, 'cheapcheap' deals. my mum is a generous person - most of the stuff she bought was for others instead of herself. she also donated to every beggar/busker we met along our way. i went for my thai masssage and almost suffered from cramps under the strength of my masseuse's thumbs.
i finally had time to/for myself on day three. i woke up at 6am, trying not to disturb the parents, to catch a temple tour which, in my experience and opinion, was not worth the time and money - what with only 3 wats visited in a span of 1-2 hours. i decided to go temple hunting (as darling thomas affectionately puts it) by myself.
the golden 7.4 ton buddha at wat traimit.
the third largest reclining buddha in thailand at wat pho.
outside: some of the 91 chedis.
outside wat benjamaborpit, or also known as the marble temple.
double whammy: parliament house and king chulalongkorn.
the ubiquitous tuktuk.
view of the city from the golden mount, wat saket.
the massive stupa.
crossing the chao praya.
part two will come after developing the roll of film in my smena which features beautiful wat arun and farang-infested khao san. stay tuned.
i am on the fence about this city. call me swakoo or spoilt, but the last time i visited it was when i was 4. no doubt, plenty has changed and the evolution of the city is apparent. yet, there is a distinct stasis that is wrapped in pollution and sawadeeka(p)s.
this is the sight that greeted me. amazed by their new airport as i stepped into the limo taxi, i looked forward to meeting this city - her sights and sounds, tastes and smells. all i've heard so far is how good it is for shopping, eating, massages and relaxing.uh huh. right.
the ride to the hotel provided lots of 'ooo and aahhh' moments for me as we cruised at 150km/h along the highway. greeted by billboards and skyscrapers, i was half wondering where and when i'd be greeted with the thousand smiles. we stayed at the westin. this is the view of bangkok from my hotel room. being on thanon sukhumvit put us right in the heart of bangkok's business centre; and next to the ever accessible sky train.
mum decided she wanted to head to chatuchak market, so i followed suit. dad decided to chill and have a thai massage. the place thronged with tourists and locals alike, eager to reap in the bargains. i followed mum around like a toddler attached to an apron string. mum is ever the expert in bargaining thus i left the business transactions to her; sights and sounds i observed and enjoyed. i picked up some articles of clothing, but alas these thais are tiny and i am obviously too big by their standards.frankly, the amount of people annoyed me. from me bumping into people to people bumping off me - i tried desperately not to be rude. afterall, these people are supposed to be tolerant and polite, hence logically, i should be assimilating similar values to understand them and their culture. (people who are close to me can stop rolling their eyes).
2006 into 2007 was spent in bed - literally. 31st december: my parents and i had a steamboat afterwhich we headed towards central world plaza in a cab. midway, the police directed the traffic flow away from the shopping mega-super-duper plaza and we were forced to walk to our destination. we ended up in central department store instead where we paid a short-lived visit. parents' friends starting smsing them of bombs going off around the area and we started heading back. the crowd didn't seem to know about it and mum even did some shopping along the nana-asoke sky train route along skuhumvit. the night was spent watching cnn, bbc, sky news, local thai news..
1st jan: we went to erawan shrine for mum to pay respects to the four-faced buddha. one can't help but think of buddhism when one thinks of thai people. watching these people kneel and mumble fervent prayers served as a poignant reminder of the power of religion in an ever evolving and constantly changing world. the need to hold on to something consistent which gives security is perhaps the easiest scapegoat for religion. however, the sociological benefits of it, although apparent, sometimes create more gaps than bridge it.
one of the bomb sites. opposite central world plaza.
the city landscape.day two was spent following mum who was on a quest for bargains, shops, 'cheapcheap' deals. my mum is a generous person - most of the stuff she bought was for others instead of herself. she also donated to every beggar/busker we met along our way. i went for my thai masssage and almost suffered from cramps under the strength of my masseuse's thumbs.
i finally had time to/for myself on day three. i woke up at 6am, trying not to disturb the parents, to catch a temple tour which, in my experience and opinion, was not worth the time and money - what with only 3 wats visited in a span of 1-2 hours. i decided to go temple hunting (as darling thomas affectionately puts it) by myself.
the golden 7.4 ton buddha at wat traimit.
the third largest reclining buddha in thailand at wat pho.
outside: some of the 91 chedis.
outside wat benjamaborpit, or also known as the marble temple.
double whammy: parliament house and king chulalongkorn.
the ubiquitous tuktuk.
view of the city from the golden mount, wat saket.
the massive stupa.
crossing the chao praya.part two will come after developing the roll of film in my smena which features beautiful wat arun and farang-infested khao san. stay tuned.
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