Thailand - Bangkok

The travel industry is huge, and there are a wealth of books out there with all kinds of information regarding worldwide destinations and how to go about conquering them.  The internet has empowered many people to tackle the challenge of traveling on their own, and just about every travel topic has hundreds of threads on message boards and forums across the world-wide web.  Like a hangover, jet lag is a human condition brought about by self-indulgent behaviour such as heavy drinking and traveling long distances in a short time by air, and the travel tomes both physical and digital, are full of remedies and helpful tips to overcome these sometimes debilitating states.  Concerning jet lag, most advice goes something like this:  “Keep a normal routine, and act according to the time zone in which you have landed.  Don’t go to bed!  This will only prolong the adjustment to the new time.  Drink plenty of water, and avoid stimulants like caffeine, and be sure to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.”

I think the next time we advance five hours in time after an eight-hour flight, I’ll suggest to Deena that we stop on the way to our apartment to pick up some fruits and vegetables and see if I can avoid an uppercut to the jaw.  Common jet lag advice generally applies to long trips made to fantasyland and offers no real help to the weary traveler.  Drinking a lot of water is something I heartily condone in all aspects of life, so that’s a given, but here’s the only jet lag advice that makes sense:  It’s going to take several days for your body to adjust to a new time zone anyway, so go to bed for crying out loud.  When you do wake up, you’re going to be in a fog, so eat a Snickers bar and chase it with vast quantities of caffeinated beverages until things get better.  If you feel the need to purchase fruits and vegetables, go ahead and use them to pelt pedestrians from the balcony to help alleviate the waves of irritation brought about by jet lag.  There, I just saved you hours of time potentially wasted trying to find a jet lag cure, and I’m sure I wouldn’t know anything about a hangover….

After an amazing eight days in Jordan, we made a major jump to southeast Asia and flew to Bangkok, Thailand three days ago.  Our eight-hour flight left Amman, Jordan at 2:30 AM, and the plane landed in Bangkok at 3:30 PM having gained five hours in the process of crossing time zones; so in essence, we lost a whole day.  Under normal circumstances, I might resort to a wee bit of whining about the brutal travel schedule, but in this case all whining is negated by the fact that we flew first class, something in all our years of traveling we’ve never done.  We flew on Royal Jordanian Airlines, which is a partner with American Airlines, and Deena had enough points in her arsenal to upgrade us all to first class, and looking back, I’m not sure if it was a blessing or a curse.  

We had a four-hour drive from south Jordan to the Queen Alia airport. We arrived in Amman at 6:00 PM and then waited for three hours in the departure lobby until check in at 9:00 PM—then everything changed.  As first class passengers, we had a private check in seated in comfy chairs with no long lines.  We proceeded to the private passport control officer followed by a private security screening in which we were able to keep our shoes on.  I still got a good frisking, and the guy in the suit gave us some grief about our shampoo being stored in bottles without labels, but no big whoop, because we were headed to the Royal Jordanian Crown Club lounge, which took up the whole second floor balcony of the airport and included a buffet, plush seating areas, secure wifi, charging stations, and unlimited beverages. We got a head start on the jet lag with plenty of water and caffeinated beverages.  Occasionally on our way back to the buffet, we looked over the rail down at the little people below buying overpriced airport food as they schlepped to wait for their flights in hard, uncomfortable chairs, but we felt absolutely no pity for them whatsoever.

Even after living the Romanesque lifestyle we enjoyed in the lounge, we were weary when it came time to board at 1:45 AM, but things were still looking up as we entered the front of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner through our own first class entrance and didn’t suffer any contact with the riff raff back in economy.  The first class area took up the front quarter of the plane, and the the chairs were coupled in three sections four rows deep.  Did I write "chairs?"  I meant to write "leather recliners" encased in their own cubicles that stretched out completely flat when it was nite-nite time.  We each had fluffy pillows, thick blankets, nice headphones, and our own toilet kits in Aigner pouches.  

The flight attendants served us chilled juices before takeoff, and once we were at 30,000 feet, I watched Jason Bourne kick some serious butt on screen while dining on tender filet mignon and potatoes duchesse.  After a hot towel rinse, it was lights out, and we all managed to sleep for several hours even though there was a dude snoring that sounded like he was attempting to suck a large, wet octopus through a small straw—they somehow let a peasant into first class.  Upon landing in Thailand, we leisurely collected our bags and left the aircraft through our own exit while the crew held the cattle in the back of the plane until we were safely in the concourse.  First class was awesome and a tremendous blessing but also a curse because we now know how the other half lives, and we’ll be thinking about them the next time we’re back with our own people in economy.

The lines at passport control were long and slow-moving, and it took about an hour to get a stamp and be declared officially in the country of Thailand.  We thought about taking the train to our neighborhood, but after all that travel, we settled on a taxi. Remarkably, the cost was the same.  We’ve spent the last two months in cool climates, even in the desert, and the ninety-degree wet blanket of humidity that walloped us upon exiting the airport was a bit of a shock.  We figured out the taxi queue quickly, and we soon had a friendly driver speeding us away from the airport on a turnpike lined with billboards informing incoming tourists that getting a tattoo of the Buddha is disrespectful and illegal—there goes that activity.  Neither Deena and I nor the kids remember much about the drive from the airport since we all kept nodding off, but we do remember arriving at our apartment situated on the seventh floor of a twenty-eight story high-rise and meeting our delightful host, Kanit.  He was polite and respectful and showed us everything we would need for a comfortable stay in downtown Bangkok.  After Kanit left us to get settled, you know what we did?  Yep, we went to bed for a while, then got up and drank lots of coke and coffee and ate cheap sandwiches from the 7 Eleven next door—Welcome to Thailand!

Leading up to this part of our trip, I had been the most apprehensive about visiting the Asian countries mainly because of my lack of knowledge about the history and lifestyles of the region.  Other than visits to the Chinatown areas of major American cities and setting off Chinese firecrackers on the fourth of July, I haven’t exactly immersed myself in Asian culture, and my historical interests lie mostly in the area of western civilization.  Concerning Bangkok, it also didn’t help that almost every book and article online that we consulted prior to our visit said something to the effect of, “Most people who come to Bangkok for the first time hate it.  It’s dirty, crowded, and it smells horrible.”  Well, we must not be “most people,” because after spending three full days here, we love it, and we keep thinking something must be wrong with us.

Deena and I got out early on our first day to walk to the grocery store, and I think it’s the first time in a new country where we didn’t feel out of place.  We walked to an amazing grocery store and enjoyed looking at all the food vendors along the streets as we strolled, and even though there were people walking and riding scooters everywhere, most were polite, many welcomed us, and almost everyone smiled at us for goodness’ sake—we’ve been in other countries for weeks without receiving a single smile.  That afternoon we were feeling semi-normal, so we ventured out to solve the Sky Train, a five-story elevated train that connects most of the major districts of Bangkok and is an attempt to fix the gridlocked traffic of the city.  Aided by the friendly transit agent at the station, we again were amazed by the ease with which we quickly figured out the ticketing process.  For the paltry sum of $3.85, we were soon soaring over the streets of Bangkok enjoying the least expensive way to tour the city in air-conditioned comfort.  

The train weaved in and out of residential areas, business districts, and huge green spaces with great views of the busy streets below.  Many of the avenues were bordered with canals lined with giant banana and schefflera trees, and rooftops displayed colorful buddhist shrines with their bases covered by offerings of bright yellow marigolds and purple orchids.  We could also see huge colorful portraits of the late King Bhumibol mounted in thick, gold leafed frames.  The King was eighty-eight years old when he died. He had reigned for seventy years, and according to the exhaustive research I performed by looking at one extra website, he remains the longest reigning head of state in the world. He was loved by his people, and they are now in a period of mourning for him, which will last for a year.

The train was crowded, but the passengers were respectful of others, and the ride was smooth as we zoomed toward the Central World Offices, a huge six-story mall that is part of a shopping district in central Bangkok connected by a three-kilometer overstreet walkway.  The mall was immense, and it took a while to find the store we needed, but a short time later, I was the proud owner of a new computer that replaced the one I had burned up in Jerusalem.  The sales clerk didn’t speak much English, but he was super friendly and anticipated every question I had including the one about a warranty, and he made a circle in the air with his finger and said with a big grin, “Worldwide, one-year warranty.”  Good enough for me.  

There is a lively food court behind our apartment building with vendors selling every form of Thai food imaginable, and we had a flavorful and inexpensive dinner to celebrate our first day in Bangkok.  Our building has twenty-eight floors with a rooftop garden and a panoramic view of the city for kilometers around, and a good many of Bangkok’s 581 skyscrapers are visible from the perimeter rail.  Deena and I stayed up there for a while taking in the sights of the city during sunset and enjoyed the warm breeze on our faces before heading down to turn in for the night.

Sunset from our roof

Next day, we were up early and ready to see more of the city, so we had a quick breakfast and walked down to the sky train station heading toward the river and the water taxis.  For about a dollar each, we took a long ride through the middle of the city on an old tour boat that cut through the chocolate brown water of the Chao Phraya river with ease.  It was already ninety degrees and humid, but the breeze generated by the boat on the water was helpful, and we enjoyed the ride that lasted close to an hour.  We were hungry by the time we jumped off at the Tha Tien pier near the Grand Palace, so we walked around for bit until we found a small six-table restaurant in an alley full of shops, and we settled in for lunch.  We were the only tourists in the place when we chowed down on big bowls of noodles in savory broth with spicy pork and vegetables—the whole meal cost four dollars.  

I wanted to see a Buddhist temple, but the crowds around the Grand Palace were huge because citizens were coming to honor the late king; so we hired a tuk tuk to take us around for a couple of hours, and we had a blast.  A tuk tuk is a cross between a motorcycle, a dune buggy, and a covered wagon, and the men that drive them, including our driver, are certifiably insane.  We zipped in and out of traffic while our driver laughed maniacally and still managed to point out the sights while we held on tightly to the rails of the cab.  Our driver took us to Wat Sitaram that contains a three-hundred-year-old golden, reclining Buddha, and told us to take our time walking around.  We took off our shoes and spent a long time checking out the temple and taking pictures of the statues. We finished our visit by taking turns banging the huge gong in the courtyard.  We were the only ones there the whole time, and we had a blast at a small cost of a two dollar donation.  For the remainder of our tuk tuk ride, we toured the busy streets of Chinatown which was a bright red-and-gold assault on the senses as the streets and sidewalks were packed with people eating, shopping, and darting in and out of the colorful storefronts.  Our driver bid us a toothy goodbye as he dropped us off at our pier and charged us the equivalent of six dollars for a two-hour trip.

Reclining Buddha

Our apartment building has an infinity pool on the sixth floor, and we spent the late afternoon relaxing there after our adventures in town and the journey home by boat and sky train.  Because street food is so cheap and delicious in Bangkok, many locals eat out for every meal, and we joined a crowd of them for dinner in a neighborhood eatery and had more incredible food for about six dollars.  Including the cost of our apartment, meals, and transportation, we’re spending less than eighty dollars a day for the four of us, and it’s a great feeling after spending a lot more in the Middle East.  The baht is the currency in Thailand, and one US dollar equals about thirty six baht.  Many travelers and backpackers flock to Thailand for the laidback lifestyle, the food, and the ability to stretch the baht far into their budgets, and now we understand why they come.

Saturday was market day, and the Chatuchak weekend market was in full swing by the time we arrived after a long sky train ride. It appeared that at least a third of Bangkok's population was there was as well.  It was brutally hot and humid, but fortunately water was twenty cents a bottle and available everywhere.  Also known as the JJ, the weekend market is spread out over eight-thousand stalls broken up into twenty-seven sections with vendors selling knock off designer items, jeans, shoes, antiques, and anything else upon which a price sticker can be placed.  We were in the market for jeans, sunglasses, and raincoats, and by some miracle we found Levis jeans for the kids right away.  The tourist guides advise buying items you like right away because you’ll never remember where they were located in this immense market if you try to comparison shop.  The jeans cost less than ten dollars a pair so there was plenty of room in the budget for sunglass which we found for two dollars a pair, and Joseph even got a new pair of Nikes for twenty dollars.  We spent three dollars for big bowls of pork and noodles and ate a late lunch under the fan in a small vendor stall before heading back to the train station for the long ride home proudly carrying our bags full of bargains.

Lunch at the market

The kids reluctantly spent the afternoon doing schoolwork while Deena and I took naps by the pool.  Bangkok has a population of ten million people, so it does have a crowded feel with the streets constantly full of cars, scooters, and tuk tuks, and the sidewalks are always packed with pedestrians and vendors at all times of the day and night.  Is it dirty and smelly like the guidebooks say?  No more than any other large city we’ve visited, and the smells in Bangkok are typically coming from meat frying and vegetables sauteing on every street corner.  We still have a few more areas to explore before our time here is over, but so far Bangkok has been an exciting and refreshing place to call home for a few days.

The roof view at night