Bangkok: July 2015

The view from our studio

I have to be honest. The next two weeks were not very exciting. They were boring, but necessary. In the two weeks we spent in Bangkok, we did very little sightseeing. We needed some down time and booked an apartment for a week. The week of relaxation was so good, we booked an additional 10 days. 

So what did we do? Well, to start, we ate chicken. Lots of chicken. There was a lady across the street who set up shop everyday, except Mondays, and offered lunch. She made all sorts of things, but what we loved was the barbecue chicken. It was lightly marinated, healthy, and delicious. We would each order a couple thighs, a serving of rice, and it came with fresh cucumbers and a homemade spicy sauce.

Our cook in Bangkok

Her name was Jet, and we visited her so much, she knew exactly what we wanted, and started throwing in a whole cucumber just for good measure. The best part…the whole meal cost us $4. We loved it so much in fact, we would eat lunch on the street with the people, and buy the same thing to take home and warm up for dinner. This is what we lived on for over two weeks. Life was good. 

Javier booked this place strategically because of a park that was close by. There is a man-made lake with a track around it. In the evenings it is full of walkers and joggers. Bicycles have their own track as well. We learned to go running after 6pm. At 6pm, the music starts blasting through the massive speakers, and you have to stop whatever you’re doing, turn to the flag and pay your respects. We didn’t do this the first time, and got yelled at by police officers. If you’re watching TV or listening to the radio, everything is interrupted for the national anthem. Everyday at 8am and 6pm.

Running in Bangkok during summer is no joke. We slowly got used to it, but it was a struggle. We had to take frequent water breaks, and only managed to run a few laps. We also had an amazing gym at the apartment complex. So after our run, we’d walk home and go to the gym to stretch, lift weights, whatever. There was also a nice pool, that we sometimes used to exercise or just lounge around. We used the time to blog and rejuvenate. 

Terminal 21

We were a stone’s throw from a place called Terminal 1. It is a mall that has several floors. Each floor has a different theme. One floor had a San Francisco theme, complete with a Golden Gate Bridge, except the cars on the bridge were on the wrong side of the road. 🙂 There was an Istanbul floor, with Turkish lamps and rugs everywhere. It was a cool place. On the days we couldn’t eat Jet’s chicken, we would eat here. There was a place that sold fancy Thai food. Javier loved it so much, it was usually our default. The top floor was a movie theater, so of course, we saw a movie. Before the movie started, we had to stand in the theater and show our respects, while they played the “King’s Song.” The only downside…the popcorn was terrible!

The away fans

During our extension, we decided that we should do SOMETHING. We started with a local soccer game. We didn’t know what we were doing, and apparently ended up sitting in the rowdy, away-team section. At half-time, we walked around and even though we didn’t have the correct ticket or stamp, we walked right into the nice section of the home team. There was a huge difference between the two areas. We paid for cheap seats and ended up sitting with the fancies! The game was fun. The teams were not too good, but what did we expect? Either way, we had a good time. 

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We went to the dentist and doctor. We were both in need of a teeth cleaning, and I needed a checkup. We knew that Thailand was a huge hub for medical tourism, but we were not expecting for the facilities to be as nice as they were. It was like being in a nice hospital at home. Everyone spoke english, and it was all very clean and efficient. We were both very impressed. Our teeth cleaning was one of the best either of us had experienced. While a little painful, the dentist did a phenomenal job. I don’t think my teeth have every been so clean, nor will they ever be again. 

Sayani’s Bday

During our time, we celebrated Javier’s niece, Sayani’s birthday. We bought donuts and candles, facetimed with her, sang, and had her blow out her candle. We spent quite a bit of time with them. They were having a party and Sound of Music sing-a-long. We hung out, and his family took us from room to room so we could take part in the festivities. It was really nice, and made us feel like we were there with them. 

For 4th of July, we knew we wanted to celebrate, but didn’t know where to start. I did some research online, and was pleasantly surprised to find that there were quite a few options. We decided to go with the party thrown by the American Chamber of Commerce.

Happy 4th of July

They were having a big picnic, where there would be food, games, and live music. It did not disappoint. We ate all the American food we could stomach- pulled pork, BBQ ribs, hamburgers and hot dogs, and sampled chili from the cook-off. We drank beer and lemonade. For dessert, apple pie. It was decadent, and we were stuffed. We took part in a couple of the games. We lined up for tug-of-war, and it ended up being girls (and Javier) on one side and guys on the other. Uncle Sam pointed out this imbalance and a couple of huge wid-western looking guys stepped up for the girls, one was basically our anchor. I thought we would still lose given the sheer number of guys on the other side. Well, I’m happy to say that the girls plus three guys prevailed against the men. They were shocked, and we were happy. Before the official business began they had two young Thai girls sing the American national anthem and the Thai national anthem. While both girls did a great job, the younger, who sang the Thai anthem, was exceptional. We were surprised at the number of Americans. In the middle of Bangkok, there was a festival MC’d by Uncle Sam, playing classic rock, and everywhere you turned…english. It was fun. 

The dry floating market

We also managed to visit the floating market at Amaphawa, as well as the Grand Palace. We decided on the Amaphawa floating market because we had read that it was less touristy and more true to how the floating market used to be. What we didn’t realize was that the floating market portion of the show didn’t start until 6pm. So, when we arrived, there was nothing floating. There was a whole lot of activity going on along the banks, but there was no water. We didn’t know why, but went about our business eating seafood and drinking coconut water. We purchased our return ticket, and as we were getting ready to leave, they opened up the dam, and in came the water. So much for our floating market experience. 

Wat Pho, Bangkok

The Grand Palace was a better experience for us. The palace was so colorful with beautifully detailed flowers, lions, and dragons. There are several burial stupas on the grounds, and a small Buddha made of Emerald. Next to the Grand Palace is Wat Pho, with the largest reclining Buddha in Thailand. At Wat Pho, there are anatomical drawings on the walls, that were once used as teaching tools for the massage school. Wat Pho is known as the leading school of massage in Thailand, although we didn’t partake.

Aaaand, that’s all folks! Sometimes, we’re not very exciting.

To see more pictures of Bangkok, click HERE.