The Thais that Bind:
Our 20th Anniversary Trip to Bangkok.
Our 20th Anniversary Trip to Bangkok.
The day on the bay.
Monday
We got up early again to meet Tong at 7am. She was driving today (having
borrowed her husband’s car), and we wasted no time in hitting the road.
Again, we stopped for those incredibly delicious coconut puffs, then
returned to the Maeklong Railway Market in time to see everyone pick up
their wares and scatter as a train approached.
Next, we stopped to picked up some monkey food…huge, heaping bags of
bananas, watermelons and baby mangos. Fully loaded, we drove onward
to the secluded fishing village on the Bay of Bangkok. There, we said hello
to Reed, the fisherman, and his family and boarded a boat (bringing
aboard our massive haul of fruit). We headed out and saw a few cockle
farmers and oyster traps, and some houses/huts on stilts across the river
delta, but progress was very slow due to the wind and choppy waves.
We headed into the thick of a dense mangrove swamp, and when the boat
finally came to a rest, both Tong and Reed began to bellow out loud,
shouting monkey calls. This lasted for a few minutes, until the first of the
monkeys began to arrive. A few were bold enough to swim out to meet the
boat, but most stayed on the river banks, screaming for food.
Chris, Tong and Reed started throwing chunks of fresh fruit to this
gathering chorus of primates, who were all too happy to snatch them up
and consume them with blinding speed. The more we threw, the more they
wanted. Everyone got in on the act…youngsters, oldsters, male and
female, even mommy-monkeys with little babies clinging to them. Marisa
busied herself with her camera, and came away with literally hundreds of
amazing shots (click here to see some highlights).
We visited a few more spots along the river within the mangrove forest,
feeding different troops of monkeys. While we were feeding one troop, one
of the troops we had fed previously followed our boat to the new site to get
some more, sparking a confrontation between the two troops. The alpha
males squared off to fight, and several others joined in before it was over.
A mass of spectators formed around the combatants, shouting and jeering
and creating a great deal of sound and fury.
These menacing monkeys had a bounty of fresh fruit, free for the taking,
just a few yards away. And all they wanted to do was fight over what they
thought was “theirs." The smarter monkeys stayed out of the fray, and
gratefully accepted the gift of food that we were so happy to give. They ate
well that day.
There’s a lesson there.
We returned to one of the houses on stilts, and there was a fabulous feast
of fresh Thai food waiting when we arrived. We gorged ourselves on fresh
seafood: fresh crab and prawns, catfish covered in shrimp paste and deep
fried, spicy fish with loads of ginger and cilantro, and a spicy soup with
tamarind and catfish. We ate it all. After our feast, we took some time to
rest on cots and take a few pictures. It’s not the most photogenic spot,
because of the sparse, wide vistas, but it is a serenely beautiful place to
relax. We've rarely felt so far removed from our home, and yet so
completely “at home” at the same time.
After our rest, we returned to the village and then started the hour-long car
ride back to Bangkok. We stopped at an ATM near the Pen. There was a
brief, comedic episode of trying to cross six lanes of street, with Tong and
a policeman stopping the traffic for us. Eventually, we made it and then
settled up with Tong (plus a nice tip; she did a great job!), and said our
goodbyes.
We really enjoyed our two days with Tong--we learned a lot and felt like we
had some really out-of-the ordinary experiences. We also enjoyed just
talking with her and learning about her family (she's had a rough time of it
lately) and her work. How does she ever keep up the pace that she does?
The afternoon was still early, so we took the Skytrain to the stop near the
Jim Thompson House, and took the tour. It is a fascinating place, filled with
great art and artifacts, and providing a wonderful glimpse of what life was
like here in the mid-20th Century. The story of American ex-pat Jim
Thompson is a very interesting one, and might make for a good movie(our
tour guide pointed out what she believes to be the resemblance to Bruce
Willis, so we nominate him for the role). After the tour, we shopped at the
gift shop—dropping most of what we would spend on souvenirs for the
entire trip. Upon our departure from Bangkok, a United Airlines agent
noticed the Jim Thompson bag sticking out of Marisa's carry-on and
politely informed us that there was a store in the terminal if we were
interested.
Looking at our map, it seemed natural to take a khlong taxi from that
neighborhood to Wat Saket and the Golden Mount. It was our
understanding that a seasonal street festival was taking place there, so
why not? The water taxi proved to be more like a bus…and a rather small,
unsteady and crowded one at that. These look a little funny at first with
helmeted attendants in black uniforms crouching on the sides, and they
require a bit of dexterity to get in and out—but they’re convenient for certain
destinations. Once aboard, it became somewhat obvious to us that we
couldn't tell which stop to get off at. We asked the western-looking guy
sitting near Marisa (the only non-Thai aboard the craft) if he knew what to
do, and he happily gave us directions.
Disembarking, we walked straight into the thick of the street festival. Tons
of people everywhere, crowded around food stalls, clothing vendors, toy
mongers, small carnival rides, religious amulet merchants, etc. It was a
crazy cacophony of sound and vision, giving us both that “we’re not in
Kansas anymore” feeling.
We found our way to the entrance to the Wat, and climbed most of the way
to the top. Most of the way up, we saw large, metal bowls for giving alms
with clanging bells above them. Many people made the traditional
procession up the winding path, dropping a coin in each bowl, then ringing
the bells. There is a fairly nice view of the city from up top, but we didn't stay
long. Coming back down, we got ourselves turned around and had a hard
time finding our way back to the khlong water taxi stop (thanks to the nice
Austrian couple who helped us find our way!). We rode the boat back the
same way we came, then took the Skytrain and ferry back to the hotel.
We freshened up, then took the Skytrain (again), this time to the Sukhumvit
area. We got off at the Nana stop, intending to have some light dinner at
Via Vai on soi 11. Unfortunately, we found it’s closed on Mondays (or, at
least this particular Monday). So, consulting our Nancy Chandler map, we
discovered we were fairly close to another recommended pizzeria,
Limoncello. After all the Thai food we’d consumed, it was a refreshing
change of pace. We enjoyed a decent light dinner of caprese salad and a
mushroom/artichoke pizza with wine and, of course, limoncello shots as a
capper (all for about 1500 baht).
We walked around a little afterward, but soon grew tired and returned to the
hotel via the Skytrain. After two very busy days, we were very tired.
Next: Our last day and the trip home
See all of our Bangkok photos
our travels
home
contact us
Monday
We got up early again to meet Tong at 7am. She was driving today (having
borrowed her husband’s car), and we wasted no time in hitting the road.
Again, we stopped for those incredibly delicious coconut puffs, then
returned to the Maeklong Railway Market in time to see everyone pick up
their wares and scatter as a train approached.
Next, we stopped to picked up some monkey food…huge, heaping bags of
bananas, watermelons and baby mangos. Fully loaded, we drove onward
to the secluded fishing village on the Bay of Bangkok. There, we said hello
to Reed, the fisherman, and his family and boarded a boat (bringing
aboard our massive haul of fruit). We headed out and saw a few cockle
farmers and oyster traps, and some houses/huts on stilts across the river
delta, but progress was very slow due to the wind and choppy waves.
We headed into the thick of a dense mangrove swamp, and when the boat
finally came to a rest, both Tong and Reed began to bellow out loud,
shouting monkey calls. This lasted for a few minutes, until the first of the
monkeys began to arrive. A few were bold enough to swim out to meet the
boat, but most stayed on the river banks, screaming for food.
Chris, Tong and Reed started throwing chunks of fresh fruit to this
gathering chorus of primates, who were all too happy to snatch them up
and consume them with blinding speed. The more we threw, the more they
wanted. Everyone got in on the act…youngsters, oldsters, male and
female, even mommy-monkeys with little babies clinging to them. Marisa
busied herself with her camera, and came away with literally hundreds of
amazing shots (click here to see some highlights).
We visited a few more spots along the river within the mangrove forest,
feeding different troops of monkeys. While we were feeding one troop, one
of the troops we had fed previously followed our boat to the new site to get
some more, sparking a confrontation between the two troops. The alpha
males squared off to fight, and several others joined in before it was over.
A mass of spectators formed around the combatants, shouting and jeering
and creating a great deal of sound and fury.
These menacing monkeys had a bounty of fresh fruit, free for the taking,
just a few yards away. And all they wanted to do was fight over what they
thought was “theirs." The smarter monkeys stayed out of the fray, and
gratefully accepted the gift of food that we were so happy to give. They ate
well that day.
There’s a lesson there.
We returned to one of the houses on stilts, and there was a fabulous feast
of fresh Thai food waiting when we arrived. We gorged ourselves on fresh
seafood: fresh crab and prawns, catfish covered in shrimp paste and deep
fried, spicy fish with loads of ginger and cilantro, and a spicy soup with
tamarind and catfish. We ate it all. After our feast, we took some time to
rest on cots and take a few pictures. It’s not the most photogenic spot,
because of the sparse, wide vistas, but it is a serenely beautiful place to
relax. We've rarely felt so far removed from our home, and yet so
completely “at home” at the same time.
After our rest, we returned to the village and then started the hour-long car
ride back to Bangkok. We stopped at an ATM near the Pen. There was a
brief, comedic episode of trying to cross six lanes of street, with Tong and
a policeman stopping the traffic for us. Eventually, we made it and then
settled up with Tong (plus a nice tip; she did a great job!), and said our
goodbyes.
We really enjoyed our two days with Tong--we learned a lot and felt like we
had some really out-of-the ordinary experiences. We also enjoyed just
talking with her and learning about her family (she's had a rough time of it
lately) and her work. How does she ever keep up the pace that she does?
The afternoon was still early, so we took the Skytrain to the stop near the
Jim Thompson House, and took the tour. It is a fascinating place, filled with
great art and artifacts, and providing a wonderful glimpse of what life was
like here in the mid-20th Century. The story of American ex-pat Jim
Thompson is a very interesting one, and might make for a good movie(our
tour guide pointed out what she believes to be the resemblance to Bruce
Willis, so we nominate him for the role). After the tour, we shopped at the
gift shop—dropping most of what we would spend on souvenirs for the
entire trip. Upon our departure from Bangkok, a United Airlines agent
noticed the Jim Thompson bag sticking out of Marisa's carry-on and
politely informed us that there was a store in the terminal if we were
interested.
Looking at our map, it seemed natural to take a khlong taxi from that
neighborhood to Wat Saket and the Golden Mount. It was our
understanding that a seasonal street festival was taking place there, so
why not? The water taxi proved to be more like a bus…and a rather small,
unsteady and crowded one at that. These look a little funny at first with
helmeted attendants in black uniforms crouching on the sides, and they
require a bit of dexterity to get in and out—but they’re convenient for certain
destinations. Once aboard, it became somewhat obvious to us that we
couldn't tell which stop to get off at. We asked the western-looking guy
sitting near Marisa (the only non-Thai aboard the craft) if he knew what to
do, and he happily gave us directions.
Disembarking, we walked straight into the thick of the street festival. Tons
of people everywhere, crowded around food stalls, clothing vendors, toy
mongers, small carnival rides, religious amulet merchants, etc. It was a
crazy cacophony of sound and vision, giving us both that “we’re not in
Kansas anymore” feeling.
We found our way to the entrance to the Wat, and climbed most of the way
to the top. Most of the way up, we saw large, metal bowls for giving alms
with clanging bells above them. Many people made the traditional
procession up the winding path, dropping a coin in each bowl, then ringing
the bells. There is a fairly nice view of the city from up top, but we didn't stay
long. Coming back down, we got ourselves turned around and had a hard
time finding our way back to the khlong water taxi stop (thanks to the nice
Austrian couple who helped us find our way!). We rode the boat back the
same way we came, then took the Skytrain and ferry back to the hotel.
We freshened up, then took the Skytrain (again), this time to the Sukhumvit
area. We got off at the Nana stop, intending to have some light dinner at
Via Vai on soi 11. Unfortunately, we found it’s closed on Mondays (or, at
least this particular Monday). So, consulting our Nancy Chandler map, we
discovered we were fairly close to another recommended pizzeria,
Limoncello. After all the Thai food we’d consumed, it was a refreshing
change of pace. We enjoyed a decent light dinner of caprese salad and a
mushroom/artichoke pizza with wine and, of course, limoncello shots as a
capper (all for about 1500 baht).
We walked around a little afterward, but soon grew tired and returned to the
hotel via the Skytrain. After two very busy days, we were very tired.
Next: Our last day and the trip home
See all of our Bangkok photos
our travels
home
contact us
Maeklong Railway Market
Tong buying mangoes for the monkeys, Maeklong
Railway Market
Railway Market
Cockle fisherman
House on stilts, Bay of Bangkok
Feeding the monkeys
Feast at the fishing village
Jim Thompson House
Street fair from Wat Saket
