Bangkok

Bangkok seemed to be a city that we would come to and then leave for a few days, only to return to leave for a few days again. However, it was not without its own style and character. We stayed along a famous street called, Koh San Rd. Remember the first scene in “The Beach” when Leonardo DiCaprio is wading himself through vendors of everything you would want or didn’t know you needed? Well, that’s it. People from all over the world and all types of people as well, cheap t-shirts, delicious but intestinally dangerous street food, cheap massage joints, colors, lights, life, excitement, it’s got it all. There was always something new going on there, and we loved being a part of the energy. Mike even ate a grilled scorpion! Chewy!
That wasn’t everything the city had to offer. Moo Thai Kickboxing in Bangkok is a sight to behold! There are three levels of seating, the nosebleed seats, in the middle, and ringside. Wanting to save money, we were thinking the third level, but when the tuk-tuk dropped us off, we were convinced by the lady selling tickets that farangs (foreigners) REALLY should just shell out the money and get the ring-side seats. We trusted her judgment, and man, are we glad! It was like the Thunder-dome! The third level was behind a cage. The second level, the most interesting of them all, was filled to the gills with people pushing and shouting across the crowd, all standing, placing bets with each other. The ring-side had seats (thankfully) and we were literally right behind the judge. We could see every kick, punch, facial expression… everything. The boxers were light, strong, and uber-quick. We didn’t understand all the nuances of it all. They seemed to not start really fighting until the third round, and there was definitely a flow between intense fighting and slight jabs. We weren’t that great at picking the winner, but that’s because they base points on how many hits, not necessarily how effective the hits are. We still loved the vigor and thrill of it all. We looked up online about Moo Thai, but the best feel of the sport was described in an excerpt of the book I’m reading; “The Falcon of Siam.”
We also wanted to take in some of Siam’s more calming culture. We went to see the Emerald Budda, Imperial Palace, and the Reclining Budda. Filled with gold-plated everything, spires everywhere, huge demon statues at the entrances, brightly colored buildings, some would say it might be a tad over-done somewhere else, but it fit perfectly here in Siam. A favorite part was this huge mural at the Emerald Budda that told the story of Ramayama , where a princess is brought down to the underworld and is then saved, etc. etc. etc. We found that the underworld didn’t look all that bad and we wouldn’t mind a summer-home there.
I must say though, it took us quite awhile to actually find the Emerald Budda. It all started with listening to Lonely Planet (not always a good idea). It said that there was a main entrance (which we saw), but that the coolest way to get in was at this other entrance. Wanting the best experience we could, we passed the main entrance and kept walking. And walking. And walking until we had gone completely around the Palace/Temple grounds. We heard a worker say that the Emerald Budda was closing in about 10 minutes and we weren’t sure what to do. That was the one big thing that we had planned to do that day. So we decided to speed-walk to the entrance, just to try. It worked out that we got tickets three minutes before they stopped selling them for the day. That gave us an hour to see the grounds and most importantly, the Emerald Budda. But when we got into the temple grounds, I was so flustered I read the map wrong. We unknowingly walked right by the Emerald Budda and out to the Palace. It wouldn’t have been such a big deal, but there were signs that said, “No Re-admittance.” So I begged the guard to let us back in, and FINALLY we were able to see it. With all this running around, a little angel stopped to see Mike. While we were in the beautiful temple, a woman came up to Mike and gave him a free (AND COLD) bottle of water. It was touching to see such a lovely random act of kindness.
The Reclining Budda was a little different. It was huge and gold plated and a constant flow people were prodded around it to get a picture and leave. The Emerald Budda was much more contemplative. Regardless, we pulled off to the side and got a better look or feel of the place, trying to imagine it without all the people. Now Grandma asked all of her grandchildren to light a candle for Grandpa on his birthday. I wasn’t in a place where I could do that (not too many churches around here), so instead I gave alms for the poor at the Reclining Budda. You bought a little cup of coins and tossed them evening into about 40 different metal caldrons at one end. Ting, ting, ting! The sounds of all the people tossing the coins echoed throughout the temple. I said a prayer, and I am confident Grandpa would have done the same thing.
One night we went to The Sky Bar, which is a fancy-smancy restaurant and bar literally on top of one of their tallest skyscrapers. Swank, beautiful, chill, and admittedly expensive, we happily drank our fruity drinks watching the sun go down over mighty, mighty Bangkok. After that, we went to one of their wonderfully comfortable, air conditioned movie theatres and saw “Wolfman.” Not exactly the best movie, but the theatre was great!
We have also noticed that pictures of the King are everywhere; along the streets, in businesses, in homes, even in taxis. People love their king here. The even have a website, www.welovetheking.org. The pictures often portray him as doing something good for the country, looking regal or even taking pictures. I’m sure much of it is propaganda, but I’ll take the bait. I like the guy.
On our last day, we went to the Lemongrass Cooking School. We made the best green curry in the country; pad thai, prawn spicy soup, and coconut pumpkin soup. Delicious! There was a Chilean in the class, and we loved sharing stories of his country. We also met two Spanish girls going to school in Bangkok. A good group! It was a fantastic time; I just wish I thought of going to cooking schools in China and Japan! So we mashed and chopped and stirred and wrote down copious notes so we won’t forget. Look out; someday you’ll be coming to visit for some of “Amy’s famous green curry!”
Lots of people say, Thailand is great, as long as you get out of Bangkok. Thailand is great, but Bangkok is just as much a part of its charm as its waterfalls and beaches.