Life in Thailand, part 2: Bangkok

My flight landed at Suvarnabhumi (pronounced, "Soo-ahn-a-poom") Airport about 30 minutes late, and I was left rueing that I hadn't listened to the dodgy looking middle-aged farang-who-lives-in-Thailand guy who told me, in the check-in line, to try and just take my small suitcase on the plane as hand luggage. It took 55 minutes for the first bag to appear on the carousel. Apparently (that word again!) Suvarnabhumi is notorious for that. Store it away for next time.

On the way to Chiang Mai airport I had been pretty stoked, because I had my most successful exchange in Thai EVER. The taxi driver and I chatted quite merrily for the whole 20 minutes and I didn't lapse into English once. Good, right? I don't know what happened to my brain during that 1 hour flight though, because during the 20 minute ride to my hotel in Bangkok, I struggled to understand anything the driver said in his thick Southern accent.

I've never been to Bangkok before. In fact, it's been a long time since I was in a truly modern, fully industrialised Asian city - maybe not since China, and that was nearly 10 years ago. Bangkok is a massive, pulsing metropolis, with tangled expressways cutting swathes across endless twinkling lights, impressive traffic jams and equally impressive smog.











The view from my hotel room; the Skytrain pulling into the station

My digs were pretty plush. I'm not used to staying in such places and to be honest I'm not sure that I felt comfortable about it (Thais opening doors for me, pressing lift buttons for me, bringing things to my room, etc) but it was nice. Spacious room, cable TV, plus I managed to dodge paying exhorbitant prices for the hotel wireless network and found free WiFi through my mobile phone company.

I headed out after breakfast on Saturday, crossed the road, and found myself in a big square slap bang in the centre of the highest concentration of massive shopping malls I have ever seen! Heaven. Amazingly, even earlyish on a Saturday morning, the traffic was bumper-to-bumper with the usual Thai traffic chaos being controlled (with variable effect) by shouting traffic police. The central Skytrain station is right near here so there is activity everywhere - above, below, around. Lots of sensory stimulation.

I like cities.

Spent the day with my friend Gam (my roommate at a conference back in 2000) and a bunch of her friends. Whilst wandering on my own for a while in the afternoon, I stumbled across what appears to have been a huge highschool scrabble tournament. Also saw lots of Thai popstars performing at stages in and around the shopping malls. I didn't know who they were, but I squealed along with all the other girls, just for fun. On Sunday we went to Chatuchak Market, which is impressive in both size and also for being one of the hottest places I have ever been. Melting.

Embarrassing "Q is an idiot" story for the week: I'd bought a dress on the Saturday at a small boutique in Siam, and was wearing it at Chatuchak. We found the stall where the designer sells a few of her things on weekends, where it was pointed out by the girl working there that I was wearing the dress back to front. Niiiiiiiiiiice.

Anyway, overall my Thai shopping vocabulary ("Lot iik daay may? Phaeng maak maak!" - semi-weird phonetic spelling, nobody knows how to romanise Thai, Thais included) has improved immensely and I've got to know just a little bit of the big city. I'll have to go back there sometime.

So that was my little taste of Bangkok. Or rather, Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit. Unsurprisingly, Thais shorten it to "Krung Thep" ("City of Angels"). Whatever you want to call it, it was like a different planet.

The most surprising thing - and it felt kind of odd - was what happened when I arrived back in Chiang Mai. I was sitting in the taxi, chatting to the driver, and I had this funny feeling in my stomach; I realised that it felt like I was coming home. In the evening I headed out to the Sunday "walking street" (night market) for the last time with Zach and Jenny, and ambling along those crowded streets with all the lights, the laughter and the banter, made me realise that even though I've only been here for a month (a month tomorrow!) I am already beginning to leave things that I love behind. And I have been here long enough now to realise that Chiang Mai is not about the Night Bazaar or the elephant shows or the rooftop bars near Tha Phae Gate or the cooking schools. It's about the easygoing people, chatting with random vendors, the relaxed feel, the balmy nights, the crazily varied food, walking for 10 minutes and being in the forest, quiet afternoons in airy, spacious temples, buying soy milk at the same trolley every night, the insane motorbike drivers, the feeling that even though things are changing, this is still a place with a soul.

Ugh - so soppy!










View of the walking street from atop Tha Phae Gate; a random truck full of dragonfruit

Clearly, I'm feeling pretty reluctant to leave next weekend. But I'm here to start a job, and I really am excited about doing that. Tonight I have a meeting with the doctor I'll be working with - she has a whole host of projects and work she'd like me to consider. It's nice that others have given it so much thought.