Two Beers and a Pretzel

Chatuchak Market is the largest market in Thailand, and arguably, one of the largest in the world.  At roughly 1/2 a square mile with over 5000 shops, it’s so big and popular that many city maps have a special section just for this market. There are entire sections of clothing, home decor, Buddhist trinkets, plants, pets, crafts, etc…

The main streets through the market are wide.

Some shops had some pretty funny merchandise:

I started by making a b-line for the tropical fish and pet area.  I imagine about 8 acres of aquarium shops.

For all my aquarium hobby friends, you think you’d be in fish-heaven, but it’s not exactly as good as you imagine.  There are hundreds of stores of varying quality.  Some of the best ones are the planted tank specialists, reef shops, guppy stores, fancy goldfish shops, and the arrowana only stores.  There were very few cichlids and catfish.  You had everything from nice display shops to people selling hundreds of pre-bagged fish.

The most popular and expensive fish were Red Arrowanna from breeding farms in Singapore, and Flowerhorns (which were happily advertized as hybrid, crossed, or manmade – it was a selling point)

Substrate and rocks were about 20 Bhat per kilogram (25 cents a pound)

The reef shops were the same quality as the top end shops back home – with only the expensive equipment.  Not really any cheaper either..

Sadly, there were an abundance of fish that cannot survive in captivity, and many of the fish-only saltwater stores had obviously sick or caught with cyanide looking animals.  Here was a full tank of obviously starving Moorish Idols…

On the way out, I ran across a place selling chickens.  To draw a crowd, they had a ring setup for cock-fighting.

After that, I had had enough of the sights and smells of the market and headed back to the guesthouse to rest up for my apperance at the Indian Consulate to get my visa.

Yesterday (May 28th) I cruised town to see some of the more famous Buddha statues, then watched a Muay Thai kickboxing match.

The Emerald Buddha is in Wat Phra Kaew, a temple on the grounds of the Grand Palace.

This palace complex is one of the most ornate things I’ve ever seen.  By comparison, this would be neon pink, and the superb art and marble work in the Vatican would be beige.

When you first see it, it’s stunning.  After a few hours you start to get used to the decor.

After the palace, I went to the giant reclining Buddha at Wat Pho…

…then to the Giant Standing Buddha…

This is near the Ratchadamnoen Stadium where I sat ringside for 7 Muay Thai Kickboxing fights.

This is the national sport of Thailand, so the crowd really gets into it – yelling for each landed blow – especially knee hits.  When the ‘better’ fights occur, blood is a pretty common sight.  These fighters were only 110 lbs, but tough as nails and quick as could be.

If you’re a fan of ’80′s pop music, you’ll know from the title that I’m in Bangkok, Thailand.  Oddly, after some wikipedia research, it turns out that the music was written by members of ABBA – I never knew that.

Anyway, after a number of recent nights of revelry, I’ve been taking it easy.  The Woolshed bar in Cairns runs a brilliant promotion where they give you a full dinner including drink and desert for $10AUD ($8US).  Backpackers flood in, and my crew was no exception.  It was not easy meeting up because my SIM card ran out of credit while I was texting Corinna the details of when and where.   Aaron, Roberta, Jenny, Jimmy, Corinna, Henry, Chris, Matt, and a few others met up to see me off.  Then I went back to the hostel and to bed because I had to catch a flight to Sydney the next day.

In Sydney I had a 5 hour layover before the flight to Bangkok… There was a bit of a hassle since I did not have a printed copy of my onward ticket…  In the end, having that page saved in my laptop was enough.  Then 10 hours of the excellent entertainment system on the Emirates Airways Boeing 777.  I watched episodes of Cheers and Slumdog Millionaire – what a movie!

I got my luggage and made it to the street at 2AM.  No one was offering a reasonable fare into town, so I went with a not quite a rip-off hotel near the airport that was offering free transfers and free breakfast for 1500 BHAT ($44… $1.00 = 34 BHAT).  The taxis wanted 1000 BHAT just to get to town, and this hotel took me into town for free the next day.

Once in town, I got a room at Lamphu house in the Bangalamphu neighborhood.  Decent place, and recommended by Lonely Planet.  The best part is that unlike other guesthouses and hotels around here, they do NOT allow unregistered “guests” beyond the lobby.  I’d imagine it reduces complaints and theft.

I’m paying $10 a night for a 2 bed room with a fan (no AC).  Tomorrow I upgrade to the room with AC for an extra $5, although the nights are not as sweltering hot as the days, so sleep is decently comfortable.  Wifi internet is 85 cents an hour – A nice change from $5/hour in Australia and New Zealand.

I bought some new travel pants in Oz, but as always, they’re way too long, so since there are a ton of Tailors around here, I’m having 3 pair of travel pants fitted for cheap.

Bangkok kind of reminds me of an Asian version of Buenos Aires without trash blowing down every street.  It’s actually relatively clean (from a litter standpoint).

Against the better advice of most guidebooks, I hired a Tuk-Tuk to drive me around town.

The reason this is ill advised (other than weaving thru heavy traffic on a 3 wheel moped) is that these guys operate on commission, so they try to push you into every suit shop, restaurant, fake gem store, and tourist trap that pays them.  I told the guy I’ll I go to all of his commission places if he shows me the town for free.  It was fun to start, but after the 4th suit shop offering me “just like Tommy Bahama, but not that pictured pattern”, it started getting annoying.  And the jem shop was a total ripoff.  I did however, get a decent overview of the town, see a few sights, and have an experience far more involving than a simple cab ride.

A guy in this Buddhist temple told me that this is known as the “Lucky” Buddha because when the Japanese bombed Bangkok in WWII, 2 bombs fell just outside, but did not go off.

The same guy recommended that I try the T.A.T. (government travel office). I also had the driver take me to a number of travel agents. All were a ripoff – trying to get me to spend $2000 for 3 weeks in Thailand, and claiming $150 per flight, and $150 per night at fancy hotels.

I left there and ate some great Panang Chicken at a fancy establishment for roughly $10 (not a deal).

Those little round things are a type of eggplant…  interesting texture.

I’ve also had some phenomenal Tom Yum soup and a 7up for $2 at a small dive along the street where I’m staying.  That was really good, and a great deal!

Yesterday I was caught in a monsoon, so I had to buy an umbrella.  Whatever happened to plain black?  The least effeminate choices were between Care Bears, My Little Pony, and a red one with a dog and the word “Happy”.  I snagged it just in time, as the next guy in line got stuck with the Care Bears.

I’m currently planning my side trip to Angkor Wat, Cambodia.  Looking at international airfares on Expedia, I may need to take the bus (6 hours).  However, flying within Thailand is super cheap on Thai Airways…  basically $30 each way.  I’ll check on the discount prices to Siam Reap tomorrow morning thru the travel desk at my guesthouse.  I’m guessing I can get a round trip for under $100.

So the plan is (in no particular order):

Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand for cooking lessons, elephant treks, the Golden Triangle (Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar) and see the long neck women.

Ko Pha-Ngan for the full moon party on the 7th and some beachside relaxing for a few days there and at Krabi / Koh Phi Phi on the Andaman Sea

See Angkor Wat in Cambodia,

Back to Bangkok and on to Bangalore, India on the 16th.

Somewhere in there I need to get my visa to India – they say it takes 6 days, but I just read that if you submit your pasport on the 5th working day of the month between noon and 1, you can pick it up between 3 and 4:30 that same day.  We’ll see…