Bangkok TBD

I had just shy of 24 hours in Bangkok before our group would depart by overnight train to a city in the Northwestern part of Thailand, near the Laos border. I had a few more disappointments to endure before things got better.  I was intent on salvaging my foodie tour, if at all possible. The guide wIuld meet me at the hotel, where I would stash my bags and we would head out for a few hours. In short, it was a bust. The guide wasted no time in trying to talk me into a tour of a flower market and temple instead, proclaiming the traffic too challenging to make much of our time.   By then, I was ready to have a proper meltdown. From gate to hotel had been a torturous 2 hours in immigration lines with sketchy looking people and relentless fume spewing  traffic. Where was all that happiness that Thailand promised?

I explained through clenched teeth that flowers were of no interest to me, and we set off by taxi, me trying to manage my spiraling foul mood, my guide, perhaps dealing with his own issues.  It was not a match made in heaven. We did make it to a wonderful market in the end, but the experience was mediocre at best and after a madcap race to get back to my hotel to meet my group, I handed over the fee with barely tamped down disgust. I felt robbed. Was this a sign of things to come?

Just as I completed my transaction with the guide, I was greeted and whisked away to our group meeting point by Rich, pronounced "Rit".  The meet up point was across the street from the hotel and as we stepped outside, I did not recognize my own street. The foodie guide and I had gone through a different exit, so it had been a few hours since I had seen my chaotic street, which has been crammed with taxis, motorbikes and cars.  The street was transformed into a pop up festival. 

 People, many, many foreigners now filled the streets wearing their best bohemian outfits, many barefoot, some with small children.  Food stands crammed both sides of the street,  their vendors offering an astonishing array of dishes with the freshest of ingredients--soups, grilled meats, fish and fruit, noodle dishes, and more.  American music blasted from the restaurants that blended the indoors with outdoors.  Massage parlors were set up street side.  

 Colorful  lanterns strung across the street added to the festival atmosphere.  This was "Bourbon Street, New Orleans," on steroids, but without the obnoxious drunks and focus on alcohol. The food vendors are serious chefs, adjusting food orders to preference and serving the food restaurant-style at small cafe tables with plastic chairs on the sidewalk.   Bangkok is a city that is meant to be experienced at night.  Later, I would enjoy my first street food of Thailand--vegetable Pad Thai, at the encouragement of my travel savvy roommate, the first of many delicious $1 meals to come.

Things continued to improve when I met my group. There were 9 of us and everyone was in great cheer. Two couples, one father and son, all Americans, one Canadian  woman traveling solo, who would be my roommate when we stayed in hotels, and one Australian  guy traveling solo.  Rich gave us a thorough overview and did not shy away from providing us the important cultural context, including a brief description of his own 12 years as a monk, his tribal background, and bhis extensive experience as a guide. I exhaled and ordered a second beer. Everything would be fine. I was in good hands, my group was friendly. 

Having been warned about traffic fumes, I opted out of our group's first day of activities. I was sure that a case of bronchitis was attempting a landing in my chest, and as an asthmatic, this could spell disaster for my next 11 days of trekking, biking and kayaking.  Instead, I had the good fortune to be personally guided by a young, beautiful Thai woman, a relative of my brother-in-law's in-law.  Parichat is a nurse who moved from her small town in Northeastern Thailand to get her masters degree and eventually work at a private hospital in Bangkok. Parichat was the epitome of grace, giving up her precious free weekend time to spend a half day with me checking out sights in Bangkok.  I told her that I wanted to go on a boat.  Bangkok has a complex system of canals that are still used for transport and commerce.  But first, lunch, again at a roadside pop up restaurant amongst native Thais. Then, a quickie tour of Golden Mountain, a Buddhist temple that affords incredible views of Bangkok, which is a vast and sprawling city of over 11 million people. 

Afterwards, we climbed onto the commuter canal boat at the first stop.  The long wooden boat could hold up to approximately 100 people.  Climbing in and out of the boat requires just that, climbing.  Parichat bought us tickets for the "end of the line," which I found out later was new territory for her as well.  We settled into of the bench near the front, strategically avoiding fumes, but more important, splashing water that was clearly highly tainted by raw sewage.  

Houses and shops lined the canals, the first of which were no more than shanties, leaning alarmingly, and then finally modern buildings and many, many buildings under construction.  The end of the line was about an hour on the canal. Parichat and I laughed as we ducked sprays of polluted water and watched the locals climb on and off the boat.  

It would be unfair to judge Bangkok based on 24 hours, but as a beginner traveler of Asia, I was not charmed. Later that day, I joined my group, after saying my goodbyes to Parichat, and we settled into our cozy bunks on the overnight train to Chiang Mai.  Onward.