One night in Bangkok ...

Actually it was three nights but that’s not how the song goes. Anyway, we were told by Chiang Mai immigration that they could complete my visa right there but Sarah would have to go to Bangkok for hers. It turns out that such information was false but that’s another story. We had already decided to take a long weekend to the place that Travel & Leisure magazine has named the world’s best city, four years in a row.

The choice of hotels in Bangkok is vast and many decent ones are less than $40 per night. These are the type that might be $70 - $80 in Canada and most include breakfast in the cost. We knew we were in a high class affair when we read the sign in the stairwell that warned us it was illegal to bring prostitutes to our room. Sarah was disappointed but we agreed to stay anyway.

Not long after our arrival we took a long-tail boat through the Chao Phraya River and its various channels. Bangkok transports thousands of its citizens per day using water taxis and the hundreds of canals give it the title Venice of the East. (It should be noted that several other cities in various countries also lay claim to that title) We even saw crocodiles during our 1 hour trip, along with hundreds of houses built just above the level of the water. Most of these places were quite rundown and definitely not the sorts of mansions we often see along the water in North America. Near the end of the boat trip, an elderly woman rowed a boat toward us wearing a big smile and we thought how nice it was she was coming to greet us. To our surprise (and pleasure) she was selling beer right out of her boat. Naturally we accepted and she even talked us into buying the boat’s pilot a beer as well.

Have you ever heard of Jim Thompson? We certainly hadn’t but he was an American who revitalized the silk industry in Thailand during the 1950s and 1960s. He was probably the most famous American in Asia during that time but in 1967 he mysteriously disappeared in the jungle of Malaysia and no trace of him has ever been found. He designed and built his own house in Bangkok using traditional Thai styles as well as pieces from six different dwellings. We visited this magnificent home which is now a museum.

Put up your hand if you’ve seen the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai (Sorry, an old teacher habit). It’s a mainly fictional story about a Japanese prisoner of war camp in Burma (now called Myanmar) during World War Two. The Japanese forced the prisoners to build a bridge over the river in order to transport supplies between Burma and Siam (now called Thailand). The bridge was used for two years before being blown up by the Allies. However, it was re-constructed in the 1960s and is still in use today. We visited the area and took the train over the bridge. By the way, the movie won 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture.

A visit to see The Golden Buddha was another of our Bangkok trips. This statue is 10 feet tall and weighs approximately 5 tonnes. IT IS MADE OF SOLID GOLD! Using today’s gold prices, the statue is worth 250 million dollars. It is believed that at one time the Buddha was coated in stucco and painted to disguise its true value. Later, when Thais were moving the Buddha, the statue fell and pieces of the stucco broke off, revealing the golden interior. (Once I found $20 in a pair of shorts I hadn’t worn for a year, so I know how the Thais must have felt)

Khao San Road is one of the more famous areas of Bangkok. It is a street filled with bars, restaurants, live music, sellers, buyers, food, drink and more. It is, depending on your taste, either an assault on or a heavenly experience for your senses. This road was quite close to our hotel so we visited there a couple of times to sample its nightlife. Even though it was hot and humid, as well as being the low season, the street was packed with revellers, mainly tourists like ourselves. An amazing, if somewhat overwhelming, experience.

Until next time ……