For some reason, I feel like since I arrived in
Bangkok, time in America has slowed down so much. While I was flying, it felt
like I missed like days (technically I did, sorta), but then it felt like I was
in Bangkok for so long before any time passed back home. Weird phenomenon... I guess it's a
form of jet-lag... maybe?
Anyway, I slept like a rock after our exhausting day yesterday. But, we
wanted to get up and get to the weekend market before it got too hot or too
crowded. After we got out of bed, we headed to breakfast around 8am. We got breakfast at Black Box Cafe,
only 3 sky-train stations away. I had what is likely the most hipster breakfast
possible: BBQ Pulled Pork Eggs Benedict. I honestly wasn't too impressed
unfortunately, but it was an interesting dish. The café itself was pretty
western, but I just can’t do Asian-style breakfasts (soup, rice, fish, etc). No
thanks!
After we hung out there for a bit, we got back on the sky train and
headed to Chatuchat Weekend Market. I’d read about this market on various blog
articles, but I still wasn’t too sure what to expect. I’ve been to loads of markets
throughout Asia, and while they’re usually interesting, they’re also usually
the same stuff hocked over and over again. When we got off the train, we headed
in the direction of the flow of people. It was about 10am, and while hot, it
was bearable.
When we started seeing stalls, we just kind of dove into the fray. At
first, there were SO MANY people. It was stifling in the aisles, so we quickly turned
down a side aisle. It was mostly shoes and some clothes, but we were just on
the outer edge. As we wandered along, we found one shop with some cute dresses,
but nothing too exciting. We kept going, and went into another section of
stalls. This section had art. Like, actual art. Artists were set up with their
work on canvases hung in their stalls. And this was good art too. I was
enthralled looking through the various images of everything from elephants in
charcoals, to splatter paints abstractly depicting a woman on a bed. It was
already the most interesting market I’d been to!
I walked by one artists’ stall that really caught my eye. The photos do
not do it justice. The canvas was HUGE, too. I found myself wishing that I could
wrap it up and bring it home. I wondered vaguely how much it would cost to ship
home. When I ventured to ask him if people ever ship, he told me in broken
English that he can roll the canvas into a tube to travel. That would mean,
when I got home, I would have to have the canvas stretched on a frame. This was
starting to sound more and more like something I could feasibly take home. I
asked him the price – 10,000TBH (or around $300). It was 150cm x 150cm, and
something like this in America (on a frame) would be several thousand dollars.
I decided to look into shipping costs for a tube, and then Jessica
reminded me that, as I traveled over here with only carry-on items, I could easily put
either the tube or my backpack as a checked item for free. Genius! I’d have to
wait, though, as we were going to Chiang Mai the next day, and I definitely wouldn’t
be able to take it along on that flight. Air Asia is extremely strict! I decided
to think about it and go back next Saturday, as we would be flying out late
that night, and we’d have plenty of time to go back. I got the artist’s card
and we continued on.
We continued through a few more aisles of art, and I found another
artists I also loved. Whereas the first was much more neutral in color and
simple in design (but beautiful), this was colorful and bright. This artist
also had a much greater variety of sizes, one being much longer than it was
high. I liked this one, and another of his larger ones. His prices were a bit
less, too, which made sense as the canvas was smaller. He also mentioned he
would roll it up for transport, and I got his card as well. Looking back and
comparing the two, I think I would like the colorful painting(s) better. My
idea is to go back next Saturday and, having a tally in my head of how much I
spent on the trip, get either one or two of these to take home. I am so excited
about the idea of getting some REAL art! And how cool to tell people that I got
it from an artist in Thailand!!
After this, we carried on. Jessica bought a small elephant statue, and
we found some gifts for friends. Maybe when I get home and can give Danny his
gift, I will elaborate more on this, as his gift was pretty cool.
The market was great but we were definitely sweltering in the heat. We
decided to get some lunch in an air-conditioned restaurant stall in the market; the rest and cool air were wonderful!!
We ultimately spent around 4.5 hours in the market, and by the time we
finished up, we’d probably seen only 1/3 of the entire thing. Between the heat
and walking so much, we were quite fatigued! Plus, more and more people had
flooded the aisles and we were ready to get some fresh air and space. We headed
toward the sky train and, among a mass of shoppers, exited the market.
Once we made it back to the hotel, we both needed a serious rest. We
were determined not to repeat Friday night’s nap-turned-snooze-fest. We rinsed
off, as the dried sweat was icky and uncomfortable, then had a rest. After
about an hour, we decided to walk to the nearby Jim Thompson House Museum. I’d
read about this place and thought it would be interesting to see. Plus, it was also
only about 5 minutes’ walk from our hotel. We got our tickets and waited for
the English tour to begin. While waiting, we had fun taking lots of pictures
with the lush and vibrant foliage within the grounds. The house and gardens were
very beautiful, and once we joined the tour, we also got to see all the antiques
inside.
Jim Thompson had been an American who moved to Thailand after WWII and collected
antiques throughout the country. His house was actually 6 different historical houses
in the traditional Thai style that were put together in Bangkok and made into
one complex. He had made some modifications, particularly making the houses
connected from the inside. His collection of antiques was interesting; it seemed like most had
been damaged in some way. One of the Buddha statues was found without a head or hands, as
antique-poachers took them to sell abroad.
The tour was good, but most of the others in the group were European,
and I was getting annoyed at their lack of respect for others in the group. As
most people would stand in a circle around the guide as she explained
something, they would plant themselves right in the middle, blocking half the
group’s view of the object and ability to hear its description. I was ALSO
getting hangry, so this contributed heavily to my annoyance. We have been walking so much (12,000 – 15,000 steps each day)
that not only were my feet getting exhausted, I was finding myself hungry much
more often.
We finally finished the tour and headed out to find some dinner. My
hanger and exhaustion took over and I was seriously grumpy. Jessica was super
sweet about it, even though she laughed at my woe. At one point, as we crossed the
street, a Thai man called out to us in English, “Hello how are you!” Jessica’s
tactic: ignore him. Mine: pretend to speak Spanish. We sped past him and
continued on our way. Only a minute later, the man caught up to us and said
again, “Hello how are you!” Once more we walked away without responding. We
continued walking about 5 minutes, and I hadn't seen the man in my periphrials, but suddenly the man appeared again. I put my hand up in his face and
we walked away from him. I think his insistence really freaked out Jessica, and
likely it would have freaked me out as well, had my entire being not been exclusively
focused on finding food.
Finally we escaped him and found our way to a shopping center’s food
court. I really wanted the noodles we had had for lunch on Friday, and we found
some. However, they were not nearly as delicious. It did abate my hunger, and
we decided to head back to the hotel after we finished eating. We were both really tired of walking and
wanted to rest and pack before our trip to Chiang Mai in the morning.
After we packed up and watched a British soap-opera/crime drama on TV in
our room, we made a quick trip to the 7-eleven down the road for a snack.
Finally, we headed to bed at the late, late hour of 9pm. We had to get up at around
4:45am to get ready and head to the airport for our flight to the north of the
country! I am so excited to get out of the busy city and into the “real” Thailand.
Some observations from the day: Thailand is to Europe as Mexico is to
the US. Literally every Caucasian person we passed was speaking French or
German or Swedish or Portuguese. I find it funny that English is the assumed
language of the white-man, when honestly we may have been some of the only
people whose first language was actually English (at least in our proximity).
Additionally, Thai people are so friendly (compared to other Asian
countries I’ve been to) and it seems like the majority speak some level of
English. It’s been great to not have to use a concocted Thai/English/Sign
Language to communicate. Most people we have come into contact with are quick
to smile and laugh and help you. They respect personal space, particularly when
waiting in a line. And, honestly, it just makes the whole experience better.
And, that wraps up our Saturday in Bangkok!
Xx,
Chelsea
No comments:
Post a Comment