Five Senses of Bangkok

Touch

On Saturday, we went to Chatuchak, a huge weekend market and by huge, I mean enormous. We were there for over three hours, wandering and shopping and did not begin to see all that the market had to offer. Lamps, collectible stamps, purses, office supplies, handkerchiefs, silverware, passport covers, and everything in between was in tiny stall after tiny stall amongst the crowds looking for the perfect item. What we spent most of our time doing was feeling elephant pants. Yes, I know they don't wear pants, but these are a popular tourist gift as they are soft, lightweight and fit almost like pajama bottoms. We probably touched just about every pair in the market before finding the perfect ones, and oh were they soft!

 

Saturday afternoon, we all went to the massage place around the corner where we three girls had signed up for a foot massage. It was an hour long, and despite sitting in a large recliner for much of the time, the lovely masseuse worked just about every muscle in my body. We all left there in a bit of a pleasant daze.  Yes, I know we just got massages, but when they cost under $8, well, why not?

Smell

Bangkok is a pungent city. The air hangs heavy with humidity and there are a whole lot of people living in a small place. There are trash piles and stepping over man covers provides a putrid smell from below. The city doesn't reek, but it does come with a smell. Along with that is all of the street food. It, no doubt, adds to the smell, but it is a good smell, at least most of the time. At home, food trucks are the latest and greatest, and they amaze us with what they can create in such a small place. These food carts are little more than a simple cart that has a stovetop along with an umbrella to block some of the heat. This is how many of the locals eat a lot of their meals. Street food is good, cheap and keeps your own house from heating up as you prepare a meal. 

Another smell in the city is durian. It is a large, spiky fruit that looks almost like a mango on the inside. The durian is a local delicacy, a favorite, a treat during the right season. Why then do many shops and tourist destinations have signs that say "No Durian"? Simply because it smells. Tammie bought us a little to try. We ate it outside on the deck so as not to fill the house with the fragrance, and to be honest, I kind of liked it. 

 

A smell I was thrilled to smell in Bangkok was that of clean laundry as Tammie generously let us wash our sweaty clothes there.

Hear

When I was in Sarajevo, I experienced for the first time the Islamic call to prayer. One monotone voice projecting out in a commanding yet angelic nature, reminding all that the time of day to pray had arrived. Once again, I heard that unusual, but steady and calming sound.

No other sounds truly stand out to be, except perhaps the general lack of sound. There were few horns on the road despite the traffic and the Thai people are known for their quiet voices. It is not part of their nature to raise their voices for any sort of occasion. Even raising our voices to get another's attention or in excitement felt out of place.

The Thai language is not one I am used to, and while it is not as harsh as Chinese, it seems to have a similar sound. However, due to the quiet, polite nature of the Thai people, it sounds gentle.

Taste

In other posts, I've described the meals we had at the cooking class and our lovely dinner on the river, so I'm only going to share about the other meals.

Tammie's husband made his own cereal of oats, nuts, honey, cinnamon and cranberries that was a scrumptious way to start our day.

Lunch one day was street food of rice and pork that was cheap and deliciously simple.

At the market, Tammie treated us to coconut milk ice cream. It was light and simple with just a touch of coconut flavor that gave it a refreshing taste.

As Bangkok is a large city, there are a wide variety of restaurants that represent different cultures around the world. One night, we got take out from the Mexican place around the corner, including a pitcher of margaritas. The burrito was great and actually more closely resembled the ones I eat at home than I thought it would! Another night we ate at a tiny little restaurant owned by a relative of someone Tammie works with. My decision was easily made from the menu as chicken schnitzel on a waffle was a choice, and well, who would ever pass that up?

 

Sights

Each morning, we looked out to the enormous mimosa tree just out the back window. Each morning there were monitor lizards resting on the tree branches. These are enormous lizards, looking more like an alligator asleep in the tree with hands that more resemble our own. Some were small, 2-3 feet and some were twice that length, their tails being half the length of their bodies. They are not dangerous, but this protected species helps to keep snake and rodent counts to a minimum. Apparently they move really quickly, but despite our efforts, they never showed us.

 

The streets are full of people, vehicles, food carts and phone wires. I know those are things we see at home, but it appears here that every few years when a new one needed to be put in, they just added another one to it so that the telephone wires run in groups of fifty or more, sagging to just out of reach.

Tammie's international school where she teaches was truly a sight to see. Holding nearly 2,000 students from Pre-K through 12th grade, it looks more like a college campus with sprawling manicured fields, swimming pools, weight rooms and open-air dining facilities. All classes are taught in English, but the students come from a wide variety of places around the world.

A visit to a grocery store is always important to do in a foreign country. It helps to give you an idea of what life is like, what foods are popular and if they eat some of your favorite foods from home. I think I could survive here as I found Bisquik, okra and grits. That's all a southern gal could ask for, right? There were fruits and vegetables that were unfamiliar to me, favorite chocolates from the U.K. And American cereals for $8 each. I think my favorite find was the ten pound bags of rice.

We visited a peninsula called Ko Kret that is more of an island. In some ways, it reminded me of Gee's Bend, a peninsula in my own home state. Like Gee's Bend, a ferry was the easiest way to arrive at the destination, and although a bit separated from the rest of the nearby world, the people were artistic, like the quiltmakers of Alabama. These people made clay creations out of dark clay found on the peninsula itself. Like the people of Gee's Bend, though, the separation also had some negative effects. Trash collection did not appear to be an easy option and housing conditions compared to the slums of Bangkok. And yet, friendly faces greeted us along our walk down the narrow pathways.

The Grand Palace is probably the most visited tourist destination in Bangkok. It is a huge walled area full of temples, a palace and government buildings... or at least that's what I understand. Jess and I ordered an Uber from our cooking class to go to the Grand Palace, hoping to combine both of our downtown visits into one day as getting there was such a hassle and took up so much time. The Uber took about an hour to get to our destination, despite the relative short distance. He stopped, pointed, and we got out, running into the gate where guards stood. We paid an inexpensive ticket and walked in to see the Reclining Buddha, a golden statue measuring about forty five feet high and one hundred fifty feet long. 

 

We walked around, in and out of temple rooms with Buddha statues and around towering spires, learning that it was here that Thai massages originated. Assuming that we were in part of the Grand Palace complex, I communicated with a guard on where we should go next. Turns out, we were right next to the Grand Palace, who's entrance was on the far side of the wall where we had been dropped off and it had closed 20 minutes prior at 3:30. A tad frustrated, we walked over just to make sure. We were only allowed to peak into the gate, but judging by the throngs of tour group's pouring out of the gates, I think Jessica and I probably enjoyed our time more with the not-crowded Wat Pho. And hey, we always have to leave something for the next visit, right?

 

A Sixth Sense

I know that it may only be dogs and fortune tellers who have a sixth sense, but I feel I need to add a sixth sense here, one that describes the people and their nature. The Thai people we have come into contact with are incredibly friendly, humble, polite and cheerful. They speak softly and do their best to make you feel welcomed. They are also very compassionate and welcoming. In a developing world, I love seeing how accepting they are of people who are not always treated equally. The Thai people don't seem to blink an eye when discussing or encountering a transgender person or a gay relationship. They love and accept people, all people, and it is as simple as that.