Words & Photos by David Lee

We visited Bangkok while living in Singapore. It was a combination business and family trip which is not an uncommon way to travel in expat land. I traveled mid-week while Heidi (who you all know if you have explored this site at all) and our daughter, Sammie, followed on during the weekend. Despite a killer head cold that hampered me throughout, I was looking forward to it. What could be more exotic and exciting than Bangkok?

We had not been living in Southeast Asia long, so I was not quite used to the craziness yet. Singapore is so clean (some say sterile) and efficient, it does not quite prepare you for the shock of other Southeast Asian cities. So, my first impression of Bangkok was that it was a hot, crowded, noisy, polluted, unpleasant city. It didn’t help that getting to the hotel from the airport was difficult, and I felt terrible.

I had enough experience travelling not to let my condition or initial impressions deter me from learning more about the place. So, I set out from my hotel for my usual walkabout. I visited a number of local markets and saw a few shrines tucked into the alleyways. Eventually, I made it over to the park where I could escape the congestion created by the endless stream of cars and motorcycles.

Once I was in the park, I was able to grab some peace and observe people going through their day. One thing that caught me was the number of people jogging. I have never seen so many people running in one location. Literally hundreds of people all going in the same direction at the same time. Some of them should not have been out of bed much less loping through the heat. They looked as though they were ready to keel over any second. Others, were completely comfortable in full sweat pants and long sleeve tops. I was losing weight just watching them.

In another part of the park, a number of people were playing a game Sepak Takraw in Malay or Takraw in Thai. It is like volleyball but no hands. The players serve by tossing a ball, similar to a large Wiffle ball, into the air then helicopter kicking over their heads. Once the serve is over the net, the other side uses their heads, feet, torso, or shoulders – anything but hands – to set up a return kick. It was really quite amazing to watch these guys kicking six feet into the air. It should definitely be an Olympic sport.

After about two hours, I went back to the hotel and met up with my team. We went to a great dinner at the Spice Market, a Thai restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel. We started with satay and a number of other appetizers, then onto lemon grass soup and two curries – one green and one red. This extra spicy meal did a lot to clear my head.

The next day was all business, but that night, our host took us to the Seafood Market & Restaurant. It is a big, fresh seafood market where they have live critters from around the world staring up at you from the tanks. Everything from lobster to trout to mud bugs wiggle around in the ice to attract attention. I am not fond of seafood, but for those who are, this is a great place. You are assigned a hostess to help you choose your dish. She puts it in a cart like at a grocery store, and then you tell them how you want it cooked. The options are fried, not fried, and with chili. The fish is then taken to the front of the restaurant where the 30 or so chefs administer last rights. Fifteen minutes later, you are piled under by food. This system clearly makes its profits from over zealous ordering.

 

Later that night, we were treated to hour long foot massages. Our host said that they ran for $6.50 USD per hour.  Twelve bucks if you want “extras.” What that means, I never learned (nor would Heidi have wanted me to).

Finally, we toured (unofficially) Patpong, a night market and red light district. In a word, interesting. I was very popular among the “ladies,” but you never can be sure in Bangkok. On entering the alley about 15 or 20 of them came up to me and started grabbing me in places I did not know I had. We had a beer then were shuttled off to a special bar that oddly resembled the fish market from earlier. One hears about these places so often, I felt the need to see if they were real. They are, unfortunately.

Family time. Heidi and Samantha came the next day. They took Air Asia which is the local version of Southwest Airlines. When an airline markets itself as a low cost carrier between Malaysia and Thailand, it sets fear into the hearts of those of us who live in “the first world.” We had gotten used to the high quality of service and operation of Singapore Airlines, so the real fear was that it would be a cattle car mentality. In fact, it was a surprisingly smooth and comfortable trip for less than USD $100 per person. The cabins were clean and the service was ten times better than many of the US carriers. The only issue was when the guy behind Heidi took off his shoes filling the cabin and her nose with toxic fumes. Heidi held her breath until blue but eventually had to switch seats.

We moved hotels to the Lebua at State Tower a massive structure that was formerly a government office building and apartment complex. Our room was on the 52nd floor (out of 72) and had been converted from a full apartment. For less that USD $150 per night, we had three bedrooms, a full kitchen, an office, a living room with a sectional couch and a spectacular view of the entire city.

We had dinner out at a restaurant that had been recommended to us called the Blue Elephant. On a side note, the restaurant was less than a mile away, so we tried to walk to it – big mistake. Walking anywhere in this part of Bangkok is difficult and a can be dangerous especially when the ground is wet from the days rains. The restaurant, however, was great. It was in an old house that was like a 19th century oasis in the middle of modern Bangkok. The food was good and spicy Thai cuisine. They had a few western meals that our daughter, Sammie, preferred. We thought we were pretty cool for discovering this fantastic Thai culinary experience until we learned that Blue Elephant is a chain restaurant out of Amstradam with restaurants everywhere. Ugh!

On the recommendation of some friends we hired a driver to take us around Bangkok. Her nickname was Rat from Kantapiyo Vimonrat (see www.ratservice.com, no kidding). She is a diminutive Chinese-Thai who clearly knew more about life in Bangkok than she let on. She owned her taxi, which was clean and well serviced.

Rat picked us up that first morning and took us to the Grand Palace and the connecting Wat Phra. This is one of those places that is impossible to describe in a few words, but since that is why we are here, I will say simply that it glitters in gold. I have never seen so much gold in one place. This is one of the richest looking structures that I have seen. It is on a level with Versailles.

 

The rain required us to change our itinerary and head for the Jim Thompson House after the Grand Palace. Thompson was famous as a former OSS (now CIA) spy who settled in Bangkok after the war and started a silk trade business. He may never have actually left the OSS and eventually turned up missing after taking a walk in a Malaysian resort at dusk. Some think he was eaten by a tiger. Others think he was kidnapped or killed. His house is a neat example of colonial living like something out of a romantic novel. Entirely made of wood, it was also mostly open to the outside and had some very cool artifacts from the day – Gin and tonic on the verandah anyone?

 

After the house, we made our way back to the city to tour Wat Po. The rain had let up a bit so it was now pleasantly muggy and near 100 degrees. Rat suggested we lunch at a restaurant that was authentic Thai – fooled again. I think she believed that this was what westerners wanted. This time it was like a throw back to a Victorian grand ballroom with a bit of night club singing thrown in. The food was good, again, but we still had not experienced real Thai cuisine in a proper setting.

Wat Po is a Buddhist monastery just off the riverside where the famous the golden reclining Buddha resides. It is a spectacular structure and Sammie had a great time making donations while spinning prayer wheels. Not only was the monastery itself quite beautiful it was full of life. A group of boys had a soccer game going in one of the court yards and a number of people were adding a soundtrack to our visit by practicing traditional music.

 

On our last touring day, we started out early for the floating market. It was bout 1 1/2 drive from our hotel out into the country. While clearly set up for tourists, the floating market is nevertheless a great experience. It is fun to imagine riding through the canals in times past. Our only disappointment is that everyone is selling the same tourist crud. Rat noticed that we were disappointed by this and took us to a local teak workshop. This was very cool. After an extended negotiation, we ended up purchasing a teak Buddha for about 1/3 the list price (1,000% profit and commission to Rat, I am sure).

For lunch, I told Rat that we really wanted to try some “real” Thai food in a real setting where the locals eat. We ended up in a strip mall not much different from those in the US eating in a food court and having a variation on hamburgers. Not quite the exotic fare we were hoping for. Be careful what you ask for.

Our last stop for the day was the Elephant Park. This is sort of a small zoo where they put on shows with trained elephants including reenactments of ancient Siamese battles. There is also a nearby crocodile farm where men put there heads in the mouths of live crocs who are obviously sedated. It’s a bit like attending a bull fight in Spain in that way. One must temporarily suspend your opinions and judgment and soak up the experience for what it is. This concept can be particularly true in Bangkok.  

 

 

To end our touring, we all went for massages. Sammie had a foot massage while Heidi and I had full body massages. One thing to consider when you are getting a legitimate massage in Thailand is that the masseuses are not shy. If there is something in their way, they move it. That said, we came out fully relaxed.

We had reservations for dinner at the outdoor restaurant Sirocco at the top of State Tower 70 floors up. The bar, which features prominently in recent ads for vodka, hangs way out on the edge. Nets are placed under the Plexiglas half walls to catch people who might hang over just a bit too far. Don’t think they would hold me, though. Cleary, it is an amazing dining experience. Unfortunately, when skies opened up during the appetizer, we were all shuffled inside. At that point, the experience turned into a bad prom in a small banquet room. The staff never quite recovered. After 2 hours of waiting for our next course, we gave up. Instead, we had room service 20 floors below in our room. If you plan to go to Sirocco, a must see, definitely check the weather and take no chances.

We didn’t want the experience to end this way, though. So, we set out to find a drink in a place with real atmosphere to end our trip. Our hotel was only a short walk from one of the Grand Dam hotels of Asia, the Oriental. While the rain prevented spending an evening on the verandah by the river, we did find the Bamboo Bar. This is a place set up to  feel like a Kipling novel with a unique cast of characters, a jazz singer, animal skin seat covers on bamboo chairs, a mahogany bar and a fine cigar shop.  Considered corny by US standards, the Bamboo bar is the perfect place to end a visit to Bangkok. The bar, along with Bangkok in general comes highly recommended.

For More on Travel to Bangkok, Visit out Partners at Longitude Books.

 

 

 

About David Lee

David is Executive Producer of intotheSoup.com and Professor of Global Hospitality Operations at the Art Institute of Phoenix. He has lived and travelled throughout Europe, Asia, and Central America but is longing to go to Africa. David has been in the travel industry for 13 years with American Express as, among other things, Director of Global Airline Strategy for Asia Pacific and a Principal Consultant for the Advisory Services Consulting group. David led Business Development for iExplore.com with National Geographic and managed Leisure Tours Strategy at Sabre Holdings. He holds a Masters in International Management from Thunderbird, the School for Global Management and a Business degree from Washington University, St. Louis.