One Last Bit of Thailand

A few of my friends here in Ashikaga are going to Thailand in a day or two, which reminded me I had one last post waiting. It's a bit late, but the pictures are pretty good, I promise.

The last cool place that I went in Thailand was probably the most stylish. It's the Jim Thompson House, and it's awesome.

Jim Thompson was an American stationed in the Bangkok OSS office after World War II. He is credited with helping to revive the Thai silk industry. Thompson mysteriously disappeared in Malaysia in 1967. His house is now a museum showcasing his extensive art collection.

The house is actually constructed out of several Thai houses from different places that were disassembled and all combined together on Thompson's property.

The house was probably the most tourist friendly place I visited while in Bangkok. There were free guided tours in multiple languages, and I found the staff to be very friendly and helpful. The little cafe's food was great, and the classy gift shop was air conditioned. I wouldn't mind living in that house for a week or four.

Pictures aren't allowed inside the house, but there were several pieces outside that were enjoyable.

This was used to makes prints on silk. Parts of the wood are removable so that a different color could be added to them.

I think that's all I have to report on my trip. What a great country.

Thailand Part 7: Movie Time

Mike and Allison left for Hong Kong the day after we returned from Hua Hin. Clarence and I still had a day or two after that to mop up the last few things that we wanted to do.

I went to the first class cineplex at Siam Paragon Mall and watched a movie in style. It was all pretty slick. At 600 Baht (about $16.50) the tickets were more expensive than the normal screens available, but there were plenty of benefits for the money. First there was the private lobby with couches and coffee tables. It was a nice quiet place well removed from the bustle of the masses outside. There was a bar and waiters taking orders. My ticket entitled me to a small soft drink and some little cookies. I sat and flipped through a magazine while I waited for movie time. I think there might have even been electric massage chairs in another room.

The lobby had curtains like a harem.

The theater itself was small in a good way, with a maximum capacity of only 25 or so. I think there were two different types of seats. One was a larger love seat kind of thing. The one I picked had an electric recliner in it. As I sat all stretched out with the provided pillow and blanket, a guy came around to take my order. I said something along the lines of “John commands that you bring him a large Sprite and a caramel popcorn posthaste!” only much more politely.

Thailand seems to release movies when everyone else does, as opposed to months behind like Japan likes to roll. As a result I had trouble deciding what movie to watch. The Day the Earth Stood Still? "What the heck is that?", I wondered to myself. It was like being released from movie exile. I ultimately decided on Transporter 3, which wasn't bad. Perhaps the coolest bit of Thai culture I received from the whole experience was the playing of the national anthem before the movie began. It wasn't just a little song either, it was accompanied by some nationalistic tribute to the king. I read in a couple different sources that “everyone stands up” for the anthem but a large portion of this money-wasting audience was foreign, so I'd say participation was around 50 percent. Super dramatic and emotional, by the end even I was just about teared up and I didn't even understand what the heck was going on. Propaganda at its finest, I guess.

I'm gonna say this is the first and last picture I've taken in a movie theater. (Oops, that's a lie. I took a few in the Chinese Theater in Hollywood). Sorry about the blurry shot, it was dark in there. You get the idea though.

Thailand Part 5: The Grand Palace

We went to Bangkok's Grand Palace after our morning spent at the floating market.

The palace has a strict dress code that not one of us was ready for. In the end we were forced to rent some really unfortunate pants from a little store across the street.

And then we were in. This is the probably the pointiest, shiniest place on earth.

Mike, Clarence, and I in our rented pants. I was still refusing to part with my adventuring hat purchased earlier on the river.








My favorite part was this very long mural of an epic mythological battle. The apemen, pigmen, birdmen, demon guys, giants, and humans all duked it out battle royal style. It was all very Lord of the Rings.




A dog faced gentleman getting sorted out.






I laughed out loud when I turned the corner and spotted this guy. He is actually just touching up the faded spots, but he still looked out of place. A well negotiated bribe here might have landed me a cameo in this painting. Just add my face on that guy with the six beefy arms, please.








Chakri Mahaprasad Hall is a bit apart from the other buildings. It feels much more stately and classy: you don't need to cover a building in glitter to convey a sense of grandeur.


We were totally hat twinkies!

Next are a few random things.

These are common condiments used in Thai dishes. These came with a plate of pad thai. The first two are pepper based. That I can handle. The third one, though, is straight sugar. I didn't mess with that.

Some dried tamarind that I picked up at a convenience store. Although this fruit looks like something a dog might have left in a park, it is actually pretty good.


The hotel was a few blocks into a residential neighborhood, which was a nice chance to see a bit of everyday life. That life includes packs of wild "soi dogs" that roam the streets. One particular night there were quite a few of them. I even had a group of them following me for what seemed like an eternity. I didn't dare stop or look back, but I could hear their many toenails clicking on the pavement. I found myself pondering the best course of action if I was attacked by them... run or fight, run or fight. How many stray dogs could I fend off before being devoured, or at least slightly delayed?

Thailand Part 3: Markets, Boat Trips, and Elephants

Our day began with a trip to the Chatuchak Weekend Market via Skytrain. We met back up with Mike and Allison the night before, bringing the crew back up to four. Its the mother of all markets, so large that maps are necessary to have even a prayer of navigating it. Giant sections of the place were loosely devoted to subjects like clothing or furniture, but that was the extent of organization. It was probably the hottest day of my whole trip, but mercifully the majority of the stalls were covered. They were set out it rows and columns that divided everything into squares. Logical enough, but it made the giant number of lanes into a labyrinth. No one's cellphone worked in Thailand, so I spent more time looking for lost friends than I did shopping. In the end I think one t-shirt was all I ended up buying for myself. The Lonely Planet guide calls it "one great big market-style concentration camp" with "a climate like a sauna".

Police patrols strode by periodically. Thankfully I didn't have any interactions with them during my time in the country. The police in Thailand seem much like they are everywhere else. One thing I will mention though, is that they wear really, really tight uniforms.

There were lots of little places to eat within the market, but the huge amount of shoppers did a pretty good job of occupying every last spot to sit down. So, the four of us ate lunch at a nearby restaurant.

I thought I ordered a fried catfish, but what I got looked like someone forgot to add the fish to the batter. I guess it was good, but it wasn't super filling. It was accompanied by a spicy papaya salad.

My dessert intake goes way up when I'm traveling, as its another chance to experience the menu. This time I had a big chunk of mango with a sweet and sticky pile of rice pudding. The dish is called kao niao ma muang.

I washed it all down with some 7up in glass bottles. I swear the soda tastes better in some countries over others. I really need to stage a taste test one of these days.

This was one of our wander-around sort of days. Its not the most efficient way of seeing things, but it does provide some unique opportunities if you're lucky.

Gold: check. Pointy: check.

These people's hustle is that they will release one of these birds if you give them about $2.50. The sign is in English if you're interested. If releasing one bird gives me "luck and happiness forever", then what of the person who caught them all in the first place?

Each one of these little guys is a dried squid. I never tried one, but I could smell them from some distance.

Favorite sign of the whole trip, hands down.

At one point we decided that it might be cool to take a take a ferry. We thought it would be as simple as walking to the river and looking both ways, but unfortunately we did quite a bit of walking before we discovered something. The boat we did find was more about taking tours rather than getting locals to work, but we had the whole thing to ourselves which was nice.

A large part of the trip was spent zooming through residential areas. Some areas of Bangkok have a bit of a Venetian waterway thing going on, only poorer. These canals are called khlongs. Many houses were right up against the khlongs, and it seemed as if their front doors were facing the water. Many had mailboxes out as well. Maybe its faster to deliver mail by boat to these folks. I was surprised at how friendly so many of them were. Adults and children alike smiled and waved at us vigorously, ignoring the fact that we were gawking tourists taking pictures of their daily lives.






Midway through our journey another little canoe shaped boat came up along side us. The man in it was selling random things. Included in his offering was a big piles of banana bunches. I was feeling impulsive and they were super cheap, so I grabbed a ripe looking one. They were new to me. Not only were they fun size, but the inside was more yellow than the average fruit. I think they tasted sweeter than a normal banana as well. No one else would eat more than one or two, so I happily took care of most of them myself.

The one downside is that when the banana is 1/3 the size, it takes 3 times more peeling to get the same amount of fruit.

Out of the klongs and into the open river, we could see some of the important buildings in the center of the city.

That night while eating dinner, I saw four or five elephants being led around. It was the same game as the day before: give them some money and they will give some food to the poor creature.

These were really good. It was meat wrapped in a leaf, deep fried to crispiness.

Tom yum soup. It's spicy, it's sour, it's freaking delicious. It is a pretty widely known Thai food and I can't get enough of it. I'm pretty well acquainted with the soup because it's available at the Thai restaurant here in Ashikaga. So good!

This poor guy had red lights tied to his tail to help him better survive traffic.

My companions were not very amused by the elephants. They thought it was wrong for the elephants to be here and roundly ignored them. I understand their point, but I figured that money, not attention, is what fueled the wildlife presence here, so as long as I didn't pay anyone for the pleasure, I should be able to take as many pictures as I like. Booyah.