Bangkok - Brews, Snooze and Street Foods

Brews, snooze and street foods. I can’t say I have done much since arriving in Bangkok last Wednesday. Quite frankly, I’ve been tired! India was non stop and after a couple of days in Bangkok it all kind of caught up with me in a good way as I began to sleep better than I have since leaving home a month and a half ago.

While in Bangkok I've managed to get in a couple of nice runs around Lumphini park. I almost tripped over a 4 foot long lizard while doing so. Bangkok is still hot and humid without much wind so my six mile runs were more than suffice to satisfy my desire for exercise. While in India I rarely had the opportunity or interest to go for a run.

Last night I joined a Dutch couple who has traveled from Moscow on the the Trans Siberian Railway and through China. Like me they are taking a break in Bangkok while securing a Vietnam visa and will be traveling a similar path as myself through S.E. Asia. They’re staying at the same hostel as I am. There’s a nice selection of street food vendors pretty much right out the door so we chose to eat there for the evening.

Thailand is all about food and in Bangkok the streets often smell like food. Street vendors are everywhere. Most do a good business and food is usually prepared nice and hot so for the most part it’s safe to eat on the street. In general, things are usually kept quite clean but common sense still applies when choosing where to order. You can expect to fill up on about $1 or $2 USD so it’s the obvious choice for the budget traveler.

The Dutch couple and I wound up in a nice cosey little place set upon the ground floor of an old building. It’s basically where vendors store their carts. In the evening they roll the carts out to line the streets and set up tables inside. It had been raining so the inside area looked inviting. The atmosphere was lively with locals and the whole front of the building open to the street. The walls are decorated with Thai advertisements for beer and the like including a posting for the Hostel we were staying at. We watched vendors cooking and people walking by while enjoying dinner. Ceiling fans stirred up a nice breeze and with a friendly wave a smiling man brought us large bottles of beer. The atmosphere was very inviting and the pleasant attitude of people working there made hanging out after dinner all the more enjoyable. We agreed it was better than a bar so we ordered more beer and swapped travelers tales as travelers drinking beer often do.

I’m generally not all that crazy about big cities but I really like Bangkok. I enjoy visiting large cities but I’m seldom inclined to spend too much time in them. Some places I’d assume never set foot in and others I quite enjoy for at least a few days. I first passed through Bangkok 20 years ago and stayed on Khao San road when it was kind of a sleepy backpackers hovel for budget accommodation. Now it’s overrun and crowded. Bangkok was still kind of like a third world city back then but now it’s anything but a third world city. Bangkok is very modern, organized, orderly and clean. High rise apartments and office buildings fill the horizon. Although the streets are busy thery are not hectic. There are large shopping centers that are well on par with any other modern western shopping center. I could take you to places in Bangkok that look more like the Galleria area of Houston than Thailand. Right now I’m sipping coffee in posh Starbucks listening to smooth jazz and feel more like I’m in San Francisco than Asia. But then again, I can walk around the corner and order a Pad Thai for $1 from a lady who doesn’t speak any English. Bangkok is an interesting mix of old world and new world that appears to be working quite well.

Tonight (Monday) I’ll be hopping a train for Chaing Mai as I shift gears and get ready to travel into Laos. I’ll spend a little bit of time in the north of Thailand but I’m more fascinated by Laos and Cambodia. At some point I’ll hop the border into Vietnam for a look see but doubt I'll spend too much time there. I only have until mid Decemember and there is so much to see and do. I’m hoping to get in a fair bit of hiking and plan to visit some national parks. I have no solid plans. Just a loose framework. I’ll be winging it as I go along. That’s the way I most enjoy traveling. Chaing Mai is supposed to be really nice and easy so I’m looking forward to it. Time to jump back in after 5 nice restful days in Bangkok….