Bangkok II

One of the best tools to gauge the advancement of a particular society anywhere on the globe is toilet paper.  Not the quality of the paper or the availability, but the ability to flush it down the toilet.  A country can have a booming economy, strong government, and a high standard of living across all classes of its citizens, but if the average native doesn’t have the ability to flush toilet paper into an antiquated or inadequate system, well, everyone might as well be living in huts in the jungle.  Many countries, like Israel, are are proud of the fact that visitors can come and use the toilets and flush the paper all day long, while other countries keep mum about the subject and promote the nightlife instead.  

One can walk into any bathroom in the world, and if there’s a small, rounded trash bin beside the toilet, no flushy - it takes a little getting used to, but if ten million other people in town are doing it, so can the temporary residents.  Water quality is another indicator of societal progression, and it comes from the tap in three types:  safe and tasty, fine for brushing teeth but that’s it, or packed with flesh-eating amoebas.  Most of the water in Europe is safe and has a pleasant taste, one can brush one’s teeth in Turkey with the water; and in Egypt, even the feral cats and camels seek bottled water.  Bangkok has a strong economy with tall buildings, big malls, and a vibrant tourist industry, but no paper can enter the toilets, and the water is fine for brushing teeth, but we’re staying hydrated with bottled water.  Plus, you gotta love a major metropolitan city where you can still wake up to a rooster crowing somewhere close to the high rises.

We were up early Sunday morning in order to make our way to the Nana district in which the Evangelical Church of Bangkok is located.  It had been a few weeks since we were able to attend church, and we were hungry for fellowship, singing, and preaching, and boy, did we ever get it.  ECB is sponsored by the Christian Missionary Alliance, and since the first worship services in 1966, the congregation has grown to a large, vibrant body of believers.  After a twenty-minute ride on the Skytrain and a short, pleasant walk through a scenic neighborhood, we were greeted warmly at ECB as we entered the large building with a lobby full of happy people.  We arrived early for the second service at 11:15, and there were still people many people there from the early service, and everyone was laughing and talking while enjoying mango juice and strong coffee—my kind of place.

We followed the crowd into the sanctuary, which was large and modern with stage lighting, projection equipment, and a sound system that was finely tuned for the size of the room, which was full of five-hundred people ready for worship.  The praise team had obviously been playing together for a long time, and they led us in a long time of wonderful seamless music that felt like riding waves of joy.  There were many nations represented in the congregation and we were welcomed with numerous accents and big smiles before heading into a time of preaching by Pastor David as he continued a series on the signs of a true disciple.  He was in his late fifties and had been serving in Thailand since he was a young man and did a masterful job of relating to the natives and the transients present that day.  We left the ECB at 1:00 feeling refreshed and ready for a meal; so we stopped at a small outdoor cafe near the train station and enjoyed some fried rice with chicken while looking across the street to a large garden bordered by a fence made from decorative wrought iron with thick, leafy vines twisted through the bars.  Our table was in the shade, and there was a light breeze, and we talked about how much we enjoy having lunch with family and friends after church back home, and we missed our loved ones.

Deena and I also enjoy naps after church at home, so we continued that tradition in Thailand back at our apartment while Joseph went to the weight room and Deveny relaxed in her own way.  After a pizza supper, we went up to the roof and settled in a comfy corner on large chaise lounges and listened to a Thomas Sowell audiobook on basic economics.  Sounds like a strange way to relax on a Sunday evening, but at least we’re trying to make the kids’ education interesting by including nightscape views of Bangkok from twenty-eight floors up while they learn about the subtleties of price controls and supply and demand.

Tuk tuks

Next day, we got the school work out of the way early so we could catch a taxi and head back toward the river and Khaosan Road, which is a world-renowned mecca for backpackers and other travelers looking for cheap lodging and food and perhaps to just drop out of society for a while.  Our driver dropped us off at one end of the road, and we slid right in with the crowd moving slowly down the sidewalk in the steamy heat of the afternoon.  Khaosan Road is tucked in between other major boulevards, government buildings, and huge Buddhist temples with towering spires and red-and-green tiled roofs with upturned gables tipped with gold.  The road used to be known for its rice market, but now there are old hotels, massage shops, souvenir markets, restaurants, and tattoo studios taking up every square centimeter of space along the street.  We enjoyed visiting several shops, and the girls purchased some beautiful silver rings from a nice lady who gave them a decent discount.  All the while, tuk tuks zoomed in and out of traffic while merchants tried to entice passers by with offers of massages, cheap beer, and fried scorpions.

We stopped for lunch in a small restaurant in an alley leading to the venerable Khaosan Hotel and had a late lunch of pad thai with chicken, spring rolls, and banana fritters.  The food was fresh and delicious and cost about a dollar a plate—we almost felt like we were stealing something.  We were sitting in a spot perfect for people watching, and we observed many young people speaking a multitude of languages sporting huge backpacks, older folks enjoying the unique sights, and natives weaving in and out of the crowds with practiced ease.  The whole scene was funky and exotic, and while many travel writers refer to Khaosan Road with disdain, my little family must lack their sophistication because we had a great time there on a sultry afternoon in Bangkok.  The taxi ride back home was long due to building afternoon traffic, but I enjoyed looking out the window at the both the rows of palm trees laden with coconuts and the small, colorful shrines placed in front of almost every high rise and large business.  On the corners of every major intersection, there portraits of the late king and golden Buddhist statues—the half man, half three-headed elephant was my favorite.  We got stuck in a major traffic jam within a half kilometer of our building, so we paid our driver and jumped out to walk the rest of the way.  After another fun day of exploring, the fact that we have only one more day in this amazing city is starting to sink in.

Our last day in Bangkok was deemed “pampering day," and we all selected our pleasures from the menu painted on the glass of a classic Thai beauty shop just down the road from our apartment.  Joseph received a fresh haircut while Deveny enjoyed an eyebrow treatment performed with a straight razor.  I walked the kids back home so they could do their schoolwork for the day, and I went back to the shop to wait with Deena for our Thai massage treatments.  We were escorted upstairs to the massage area, given soft cotton pajamas to wear and stretched out on large futons in direct line of the airflow from the fan.  I was already relaxed, and the massage hadn’t even started yet.  

A Thai massage involves the masseuse performing a workout like tai chi and using the customer as an exercise accessory.  I had every muscle on my body stretched and kneaded from my toes to the top of my scalp, and it lasted a full hour and cost four dollars.  Let me repeat that:  four dollars.  For both of our massages, Joseph’s haircut, and Devney’s eyebrows we spent a total of twelve dollars, and we looked and felt amazing.  I think all the hotshot American economists are missing a major element to building a strong economy:  Thai massages.  If low cost, Thai massages were made available to the American public, the deficit would decrease dramatically, productivity would increase, and people would be less offended all the dang time.  After our visit to Beijing, we’re spending a couple of more weeks in northern Thailand, and you better believe more massages will be worked into the budget.

We picked up some cheap street food for lunch, and rested for a while before boarding the sky train again and heading downtown to the Caturday Cafe for coffee and snacks.  Once inside the foyer, we removed our shoes, sat on soft cushions placed on the floor around low tables, and spent a leisurely afternoon having coffee and cake with two dozen of the most exotic cats we’ve ever seen.  These kitties roam around freely among the patrons, who can play with them but not pick them up.  It was a sight to make an American health inspector seize up so hard that he couldn’t write up a violation, but it was great fun especially for Deveny, the family cat lover, and we all enjoyed the rainbow crepe cake with strawberry glaze, and the coffee was especially good.  The cats were well behaved and enjoyed being the center of a lot of attention.  We finished our time downtown by attending a geocaching event at the Hard Rock Cafe in Siam Square and then took the skytrain back home one last time where we headed directly to the rooftop to gaze out over the skyscrapers of Bangkok one more time before packing for Beijing.

Bangkok was certainly one of the most exotic places we’ve been so far on this journey, and we have enjoyed our time immensely.  The people were friendly, the weather was warm, and the food was tasty and inexpensive, but we’re ready to move on.  The prospect of visiting Beijing is very exciting, and we can’t believe that time is already here.  I’m interested in learning more about Asian cultures and history, and we’ll have plenty of time for that over the next few months as we eat our way around the famous Banana Pancake Trail.