Bangkok (January 3, 2010)
There is much to see and do in Bangkok, only one more day to do it, and so much traffic in the way. We would begin with a market walk in Chinatown, followed by a dim sum breakfast. Then we would tour the newly renovated temple housing an enormous solid gold Buddha. Leaving Chinatown, we would make our way through thick traffic to a pier on the Chao Phraya River for a charter boat to take us on one of the larger canals, Bangkok Noi, to the Royal Barge Museum and sites beyond. Somewhere, we would squeeze in a quick lunch before returning to the Grand Tower for one more massage before one more remarkable dinner at My Choice. Or would we? Schedules have been unraveling since day one due to the New Year holiday…
Traffic on the way to Chinatown was light at 7:00. We alighted in front of Hua Seng Hong for an hour of exploration of the nearby markets. Situated in a labyrinth of alleys, vendors displayed a wide range of goods, from snacks and ready-to-eat meals, to raw meat and poultry, from strawberries to puffy fried fish stomachs. Nor was the market limited to foods: there were bagged and bulk teas, holiday decorations, and everything you might expect in a huge outdoor “dollar store.” When we arrived back at the restaurant, we learned that opening time was not until 9:00, so we kept shopping. At one point, I turned down an alley I thought would be a shortcut. Between sharp turns, pools of mud, and surprised stares, I determined that this was not, in fact, taking me where I needed to go. But fortunately I arrived back just a few moments late and we took our seats at what would be the shop’s first table of the day.
Dim sum in Thailand differs from the Cantonese style dim sum best known in the U.S. The major ingredients remain pork and shrimp (and rice flour, tapioca starch, and wheat pastry), but the bites are smaller and the flavors simpler. We compensated for this by ordering a huge number of different dumplings and buns. And a roasted duck with an orange hued skin which had been fully boned and tasted very delicious with a dab of chilli-infused black soy sauce.
The nearby Wat Tri Mit Wit Thayaram was crowded with numerous groups, including one associated with Princess Cruises. Climbing three level of marble stairs, we threaded our way through the crowds to catch a glimpse (and some photos) of the unbelievably shiny gold Buddha. Young monks were busy recycling offerings: receiving the offerings that had just been purchased downstairs, and then taking them down through a side door and putting them back up for sale. In previous years when the temple was more modest in size, there was a lively market on the ground level, but after the redesign it seems to have disappeared, so we were ready to move on.
We pushed through the crowded marketplace at Tha Chang pier, and emerged on a private boat ramp where our longtail boat was ready to ferry us around Bangkok’s waterways. With only eight aboard, we had plenty of room to stretch out, but there was no escaping the sound of the loud, powerful engines of these boats as they zipped up and down Chao Phraya and the canals.
Our first stop was the Royal Barge Museum. These intricately carved and ornately decorated craft are reserved for royal processions. We watched a set of videos about the history of the royal barges, the latest addition to the collection, and the logistics involved in planning a procession. While the narrator’s soft voice did lead a few heads to nod, it was difficult to leave the oscillating fan and wander over to the barges themselves to inspect the intricate woodwork, and gawk at their shimmering decoration.
Back in our boat, we headed to Ban Bu, a village that has preserved the craft of hand-making bronze. Traditionally, monks’ alms bowls were hand-made in small workshops like these, but now they are mass-produced like most other metal products. On my previous visit, the noise from the hammering and grinding, and the heat of the fire on top of the heat of Bangkok, were oppressive; it is not difficult to understand the attraction of mechanizing this process. Today, the last workshop and its adjacent store were closed, but somebody called somebody and eventually the store opened. The stock was depleted because December is a strong period for sales, but we still found a few beautiful pieces to bring home.
We worked our way further up the canal to Yok Yor Restaurant. Because our schedule had slipped, we skipped the five course meal and just had pad thai with shrimp. A squeeze of lime juice, a little chilli-infused vinegar, and a sprinkle of ground roasted dry chillies helped address a slightly heavy touch with the sugar. An icy limeade and we were ready to move on. Our last stop was the Watchalong Temple, home of an ambitious construction project to build a new temple inside an immense concrete ship modeled on a royal barge. It seemed to me that a lot of progress had been made since 2008, but clearly this project would not be finished any time soon. We raced back to the pier, accelerating to get ahead of a tugboat towing a massive barge, and made our way through traffic back to the hotel.
We again took the short walk to My Choice for dinner, and tonight we got only one set of each dish so we could try more things. We started with a salad of slivered banana blossoms, topped with fried shallots and a delicious lime-based dressing. Banana blossoms are very astringent, but this preparation made them as tame as marinated artichoke leaves. We nibbled our way through a plate of fish chips, featuring white fish shaved to the thickness of potato chips, deep fried, and topped with fried holy basil; a water mimosa salad with bits of chicken and shrimp, and a dollop of coconut cream; a spicy dip of salted crab and rich coconut milk, served with raw vegetables for contrast; a hot stir-fry of squid with basil and garlic, and many clusters of green peppercorns; grilled pork flavored with lemongrass; a coconut milk-based seafood soup; and Chinese black olive fried rice. After all that, there wasn’t room for dessert, but we did have one more order of the pork.
Tomorrow we leave at 5:30AM for points North, so it was time to start repacking so I could leave the snorkel gear, beach stuff, and recent purchases in Bangkok. If only I can stay awake that long…
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