Bangkok Highlights February 12-16

Many would consider going to Thailand a trip of a lifetime. I was so privileged and blessed to grow up here and to have been able to return many times. But even with great familiarity it was interesting and fun to have some new experiences as we played tour guide for Andrea’s parents, Brian and Bobbi, as well as to see some familiar sights through their eyes.
Here are a few highlights.

Getting to the Grand Palace early enough to beat the initial crowds. Seeing and hearing Brian and Bobbi be in awe of the beauty and exquisite artistry there somehow made me see the magnificence of it again for the first time.

Riding a Tuk-Tuk with 6’4” Brian and seeing the wide grin on his face, he almost squealed like a school boy. Great fun!

Renting a long tail boat, going up the mighty Chao Phraya river and then back into the canals that still exist almost to the point where at some points the canal was just a little wider than our boat. These canals used to crisscross Bangkok (thus the name Venice of the East). It is nice to see that some are still very much in existence. It was fascinating to see real life along the canals and even though we were still very much in Bangkok, to soon find ourselves navigating through lush green orchards and country side. Sadly due to the floods this past year, many of the fruit trees in some of the orchards have died.

The long tail boat dropped us off at one of Bangkok’s most recognized landmarks, Wat Arun, Temple of Dawn. In all my years here, I had never been and it is really worth seeing up close – and climbing (as we did!) Afterward we crossed the river and found our way to the Deck at Arun Residence (a very cool boutique hotel across from Wat Arun), had a delicious dinner, watched the sunset and Wat Arun lit up for the night.











Having a Golden themed day as we went to Golden Mount as well as Vimanmek Royal Mansion which is the worlds larges golden teak building (three stories) constructed entirely without any nails. It is a beautiful building and reminded me (on a much much grander scale) of some of the old buildings/homes we used to stay in at Huahin many years ago.


(Photo on left: Golden Mount, Photo on the right: Vimanmek Mansion)











Another fabulous former residence we visited and again somewhere I had never been was Jim Thompson’s House which still stands as one of the best preserved traditional Thai houses in Thailand and is well worth going to. It is an oasis of calm and tranquility surrounded by the busyness of Bangkok. Jim Thompson was an entrepreneurial American who revived the art of Thai silk weaving. He has always intrigued many people as he mysteriously disappeared and was never found while staying in the Cameron Highlands (where I attended elementary school.) When we were in Malaysia three years ago, I literally stumbled upon the cottage he was staying. Strangely, it was empty, abandoned and unlocked - the mystery still lingers.

If I could live in either Vimanmek or Jim Thompson’s house (or just a room in one of them) I would be a pretty happy camper!

Another literal HIGHlight was having dinner up the Baiyoke Tower where we had gone with Brad in January. Again, we were the recipients of spectacular scenery and food.
Duncan

Back "home", changing plans, and the next few weeks...

Last Saturday, after we had said goodbye to Andrea’s parents, we moved into Union Tower, our home for the next few weeks before we return to North Carolina. We moved in three years and two days to the date that we moved in last time we were here in 2009 AND we are in the same apartment we lived in too – it’s like we moved home…one of our many homes scattered around the planet! For pictures, go here and if you want to know how we ended up at this apartment originally, go here. The street is just as busy, the brothel below us is still just as busy and the Express Rail line out to the airport that was being built last time is finally running. Phii Fai, the front desk receptionist/manager is still here and it has been great to see her again. Since we were last here she has battled cancer but thankfully is doing well now.

We did have two great weeks with Andrea’s parents exploring Bangkok for a few days (top photo at the Grand Palace) before heading north to Chiang Mai (Andrea's parents with elephants in Chiang Mai) and finally to Siem Reap, Cambodia and Angkor Wat (final two photos). We have some great pictures to post which may have to wait until we have access to faster internet access as what we have currently is a little slow. We are also aware of how fast time is going. Andrea was always scheduled to return on March 14 while I was going to leave two weeks later after spending some time in Maehongson where I grew up. Plans have changed a little as I will actually leave the day Andrea leaves and instead fly to Singapore to spend the two weeks working there. My company back in the US is setting up an office in Singapore and I’ll join one of my supervisors to do some training. I am excited to do this but it means that the two weeks in Thailand I had planned for after Andrea left have vanished and so I am going to go up to Maehongson this next week for a few days while Andrea stays here and continues to work on her thesis. Prayers much appreciated as she is hoping to finish it in the next 10 days!

So hold on for more pictures and highlights of the past two weeks. They will be coming - and there are some good ones. I have also updated our trip advisor account and reviewed the places we stayed in case anyone is interested. Find them here.

Food

Hot off the street - deep fried sticky rice goodies and a banana chocolate crepe - total cost 40 Baht (about $1.33)

During Lunar/Chinese New Year, tables were set up to make offerings at the shrine outside MBK. The MBK sign behind the tables advertises the weekly Thai Boxing Fight night!

Grilled fish stuffed with lemon grass and herbs.

Andrea enjoying a Banana Roti!

School Days

A few more photos of our time in and around the Chula campus.

Andrea's first day of school.
Chula's Track and Field/Stadium

Sasin (the business school) usually holds a big party on Halloween which was cancelled this past year due to the flooding. Here they set up at the entrance of the school for the Heroes vs Monsters theme.

Our room for the past 6 weeks at Sast International House

A beautiful door on Chula's campus

Sunrise...

Friends/Small World Photos

We are going to be offline for the next two weeks as Andrea's parents will be visiting. But we have a few posts scheduled for your viewing interest!

We have continued to enjoy time with new friends here and catch up with friends from the past. Photo below - Andrea and some of her classmates on their tour of Chiva Som in Huahin.

We have really enjoyed hanging out with Fink and Fern and their friends on Sunday evenings after Fern has finished playing with the Bangkok Symphony at Lumphini Park. (Photo below, clockwise from top, Fern, Fing, Nan, Boss, Nalinee and Finda)

Clearly we have found a new eating spot with Fink and Fern! Photo below - Same place as previous photo (Fink and Fern, Andrea, LJ and Fink's dad.) Fink's dad is a well known musician in Thailand. LJ spent 4 years Tennessee during elementary school and also has a band named Kobe. A new video by Kobe can be seen here. Andrea unexpectedly had a Thai version of "turducken" - a hotdog, wrapped in ham, wrapped in chicken and deep fried!

We had a blast from the past surprise visit from Monty and Mary Smith. Monty was the Pastor of a church in Tacoma that at one point housed Northwest Leadership Foundation and Hilltop Health Ministries/Sound Youth Counseling. Monty (similar to Bradd in this earlier post) was literally walking out the door of NLF when a former colleague of Andrea and mine said..."You're going to Thailand..." Anyway, unfortunately Andrea had a prior interview scheduled for her MP, but I had a great evening catching up with Monty and Mary.

(Photo below - Iven, Kashmira, Izayla and Elian)

How do you get around Bangkok if you have four kids? Andy and Anne (Nini) sometimes do it on two bikes - 2 in the trailer, one on the back and one in the front!)

Duncan

What causes more offense? (Part 4 of Meat, Dogs and Skin)

Question. Which of these photos disturbs you more?

(Ok, this first one is just of clueless tourists who think they can roll out of bed and wear boxers around town...and specifically in the mall. I can deal, but really, could they not manage to dress up a little more?)

It's the next three that I really want to know about...

Hungry dog on the street...

Hungry homeless person sleeping on the street...

"Hungry" women for sale on the street...

These are the images and the realities of the Bangkok streets that I often cannot get out of my mind. Your thoughts?

Duncan

Skin and privilege (Part 3 of Meat, Dogs and Skin)

One other observation from Chula’s campus…As we are surrounded by Thai university students in their uniforms (yes, university students still wear uniforms – white top, black skirt/pants) we’ve noticed that there are very, very few dark skinned Thai students.

Keep in mind two things. First, so many Thai beauty products (lotion, cream, even deodorant) are advertised as “whitening.” Their selling power is based on the ability to make your skin whiter. The lighter and whiter your skin the better – this is the ideal that is held up. Most Thai's who work outside will be very careful to cover up completely (see photo of Thai women working at a construction site, wearing head covering, wide brimmed straw hat and finally a construction helmet.) Many (most) Thai celebrities will be very fair skinned and often one parent will be Caucasian.


Second, Chulalongkorn University is the Harvard (or Duke if you want) of Thailand and Thai universities. Only the best are afforded the opportunity to attend. This is similar to what occurs in the US where it is often only those with privilege and power who are able to attend the elite universities. The upper tier schools in the US may have some ethnic diversity but will have far fewer students from a diverse economic background. Here at Chula it appears on the surface that elite also translates as fair skinned.

One area you won’t find too many light skinned Thai people is a few streets off of Chula’s campus. It’s surrounded by a real Thai neighborhood and with many places to fix taxis and Tuk Tuks. It also seems to be the place to go if you want to buy an engine block, radiators, or pieces of an engine. I call it Engine Alley. The streets are slick and dark with oil and in some places engines are stacked as high as a one story building. I get strange looks when I pass through but it sure is an intriguing place.

Though separated by just a few streets from Chula's campus, it is a world apart.











Duncan