Bangkok

Our first trip from Hong Kong was to Phuket, Thailand in the summer of 2009. We knew that it was just the tip of the iceberg of things to see in Thailand. However, the political instability and “red shirt” protests of 2010 in Bangkok regarding the exile of the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra were enough to keep us away. The situation seemed to have normalized over the past few months, so we booked our trip...and hoped nothing happened to Thailand’s old and frail king, while we were there - he’s the glue that is holding the country together. Funny the things we consider as travel criteria these days!

Our first destination was Bangkok, the country’s capital, for a couple of days. Then, for a change of pace, we’d go north to the city of Chiang Mai for the remainder of the week. Here's a map showing our destinations:

Bangkok is a crowded, bustling city that draws people from around the world pursuing a variety of interests - high stakes business, luxury shopping, adventure travel, to name a few. It’s also got the reputation of being a “party capital” of Asia where anything goes. Obviously, our objective was not to take a walk on the wild side – instead we were narrowly focused on seeing famous sites, both historic and popular tourist destinations, and to enjoy Thai food. Dave and Lydia had the most ambitious goal of the trip - finding the best Pad Thai in Thailand.

We had hired a driver/guide upon the recommendation of an expat friend. The guide’s name was Rat. I had initially hoped that there was some other pronunciation for the name, since we’d incorrectly pronounced our Cambodian guide Phat’s name for several days (correct way was Pat – I’ve previously admitted to being mortified of our mistake). But, after thinking of the likely alternatives, like “Rot”, I decided that Rat might be just fine. However, to our surprise, however, we were met at the airport by Rat’s son. His name, spelled “Not”, was pronounced Nat. Go figure.

Anyway, we didn’t even take time to go to our hotel. First stop was the Chatachak Market, known as the “JJ Market” (since the CH is pronounced like a J – it’s all very confusing!). It is supposedly the largest open air weekend flea market in the world, covering 35 acres! I can confirm, that it was swarming with people, too.

It is said that the approximately 15,000 market stalls are “organized” into 27 sections…but the sections or any hint of organization weren’t discernable to this first time visitor. The map I got (and am very disappointed that it didn’t make it home with me) had a legend actually included an “odds & ends” category. The color for “odds & ends” was a tan. Practically the whole map was shaded in tan. We wandered the alleys and saw everything from silverware to handicrafts, clothing to home décor, Asian antiques to clothing for pet, live birds to real reptiles. Here's a glimpse of what we saw:

The map indicated that there were a few “cockfighting” stalls. I was happy that we didn’t stumble into those!! Some people spend a couple of days at the market, but one afternoon was good with us. After a day of travel, we were ready to get some rest to be ready for our “culture day” on Day 2.