Seeing Old Friends

After we left Thailand for the States, we would start making trips back over to Bangkok every couple of years to see my wife's family and our friends.  Some of my friends were former colleagues at the school where I taught.  For years I kept in touch with several of them.  I'd always reach out to let them know that I'd be in town, and we'd make plans to get together.  We'd meet up at malls - usually at Starbucks at Siam Paragon, Central World or the Emporium.  Sometimes we'd meet at restaurants or entertaining parts of town, like Soi Nana or the Arab Quarter.  Once, I remember meeting a friend at the Wine Pub on Soi Raagnam.  He told me that Wednesday was 200 baht Fish & Chips night.  We went for it!

Wine Pub at Pullman Bangkok King Power (hotel)

Pullman Bangkok King Power 

(official website)

Experience a sweet attack as you savor new-world flavors from the cellars of Wine Pub.  This is an award-winning bar that masters the perfect formula for a fine dining treat. The wine bar develops an energetic ambiance that brims with young blood eager for a taste of the most popular appetizer, deep-fried oysters. With cozy interiors and more than 100 select labels, Wine Pub offers the most flamboyant combination – a mouthwatering spread of cheese cutlets and South African Chardonnay. This is all served in a French bistro type environment.  - source

Wine Pub has since gone through a name change and overall make-over.  It's now Glen Bar.

Sky Dining in Bangkok

On our fist day getting out and seeing the city again, Kade and I went over to Siam Discovery, one of the giant malls on Sukhumvit Rd.  We went upstairs to the 7th floor and found some restaurants.  It was an unusual time of day, which explains why there were no customers.  It still was a big surprise, since Bangkok, and especially its malls, is usually overcrowded.  We got a seat near a window and I did video of the skyline looking back towards Pratunam.  One of the towers over to the left of the tallest skyscraper is the condominium where Kade and I lived after getting married in 2003. Food in the restaurant was quite delicious, and we enjoyed having the space all to ourselves.

Caffeine Fix

This was a nice little discovery in Bangkok.  It was a fairly close walk to where Kade and I used to live in the Thonglor area.  Bangkok has a great cafe culture - and I mean coffee shops.  They have the international brands (Starbucks, for example) and regional chains (Black Canyon. Coffee World, etc.), and a lot of small, independent coffee houses.  If you get the idea that you can't have your quality caffeine fix in Thailand, you would be very mistaken.  Could even be better than back home!  Since  our visit here, this place has a revised name.  It's now Cafe Symphony Coffee-Bike at Thonglor.  I do recall seeing bicycles for sale, or an area where they could be parked or serviced.  And I pretty sure this shop has a Japanese-backing to it.  There are lots of Japanese expats living in Thonglor.

Major & Buddha

The King Power Duty Free Complex on Soi Rangnam has a glass atrium museum.  The day we visited, the exhibit was Journey of The Buddha.  If we had stayed longer, Kade would have accidentally knocked over one of the statuettes.   The video above is evidence enough!!!

Thailand Cultural Center - Bangkok

The video above is one I found on YouTube.  The guy does a very good explaining the area.  When Kade I visited the Thai Cultural Center in 2013, it was really my idea.  It was a very hot day.  I remember once we got to the area, we went inside an office tower and had a meal in the food court.  There were hundreds of workers on their lunch break, sitting with their friends and colleagues.  I am such a people-watcher, a trip to a food court can be rewarding.  When Kade and I got done, we made our way to the Cultural Center (video two), and did a very brief look.  We strolled the gardens, then went inside a history museum.  After that, we jumped into a taxi and went home.  When you're in Thailand, the heat can really get to you.  This was one of those days.  Always best to stay very hydrated and wear a lot of sunblock.

I'll Get You, My Pretty (Wizard of Oz)

I was still wearing my mask then - not because of pollution, but due to the fact I was recovering from the flu.  The doctor gave me the "green light" to walk around time.


Pretty girls (Pretties) are used to promote products in Thailand - often luxury products.  These pretties are sometimes born pretty (good genes); other times, they are created through elaborate and detailed surgical procedures.  Being beautiful in Thailand, much like anywhere, is in itself a luxury, and people (mostly women) go to great lengths to preserve and attain it!

Terminal 21 - Bangkok

Terminal 21 is a mega-mall with an airport/travel destination theme.  Each floor represents a world-class city:  Tokyo, London, San Francisco, Istanbul, Rome, Paris, etc..  One day Kade and I looked around around (video one).   Another day, I returned with a friend.  Tons of great restaurants, and a pretty amazing food court.

Shout-Outs

That's me at the bottom of the video.  We were inside Siam Center (mall).  I managed to mention a few people and places of interest!

Valentine's Day in Bangkok

Kade and I walked around the newly remodeled Siam Center (mega mall) in Bangkok.  As always, so much to see and do.  The energy is pretty incredible.  I wore my Farrah Fawcett t-shirt!

Rose & Pao

Kade and I stopped by to visit  couple of friends at the All Seasons office tower in Bangkok.

In Good Hands

I contracted the H1N1 virus (Swine Flu) on my trip to Thailand in 2013.  It could have been at an airport en route, on a flight or even back in the USA just before I left.  There had been some cases in the Northeastern USA not long before departure.  Who knows?  All I can say is that on my third or forth day in Bangkok, I developed a pretty serious fever.  Kade was with me, and we were both alert to this.  Not even two hours passed before we went to a local hospital (Phaya Thai 2), where I was evaluated and diagnosed.  I was placed on some anti-viral meds and antibiotics.  I was told to wear a mask and stay away from the general public until the major symptoms disappeared.  For at least a week I was in the bed.  Luckily, I had the best nurse - Kade!  She brought warm comfort foods and plenty of fruits.  I slept a lot, and watched some cable TV.  I could tell fairly early that the anti-virals were kicking in; I was feeling better.  After two weeks, I felt like venturing out.  But when I went out on the town, I always wore my mask.  In the 13 or so years of both living in Thailand or taking trips over there, it was the only time I had been seriously sick. The care I got over there was excellent.  And when I returned to the USA and saw my family doctor, I shared the report the Bangkok hospital gave me, and put out all the prescription meds to show.  My doctor said I got highest standard of care (at Phyathai 2 International Hospital), and was given the same medication and treatment that I would have received in the USA.   

On a single day, Kade brought in all these fruits:  guava, rose apple, pineapple, pomelo, papaya and mangosteen.  Sometimes it pays to be sick!!

Once I got the green-light to do normal activities, a former student-turned friend of mine came by to visit.  In fact, she is a bonafide nurse.  She brought along some higher quality masks and some over-the-counter treatments.  Really meant a lot.

I was going to take a solo trip to Japan (from Bangkok) this trip, but the virus put an end to that plan.,

MJ Wear

my Michael Jackson t-shirt 

To see how I made this MJ shirt purchase, just see the video below.  Start at the 7:30 mark, when I buy an iced coffee.  At outdoor markets in Bangkok, you must know how to haggle. 

wearing my shirt in Hendersonville, NC

Who was Jim Thompson?

Kade outside the silk shop at the Jim Thompson House Museum in Bangkok, Thailand

Jim Thompson mural on wall

Gotta Love Durian

Durian remains one of my favorite fruits.  I made this video - roadside kiosk in Sri Lanka, then the Khaosan Road area in Bangkok.

But Thailand has the best ones!  The reason I am eating one in bed is because I had just emerged from a serious case of the flu (H1N1 virus).  When I started getting better, Kade brought me some durian.  What a treat!!!

The Big Mango

Here are highlights of our month-long stay in Bangkok (aka The Big Mango)!

Meals with Family

The last couple of visits to Bangkok Kade has enjoyed going out to restaurants with her family.  Everybody gets a plate of rice and then dishes are shared.  That's actually a very common way to eat in Thailand. You sample many items that way!

Ramen

Whenever Kade and I travel to Thailand, there's almost always a stopover in either in Tokyo or Seoul. And when we purchase our tickets, we make sure we stay at the airport at least a couple of hours so we can eat some good food.  Of the two airports, for dining, we prefer Seoul, where I can find my favorite Korean dish, Cold Noodles (Naengmyeon).  In 2013, on our trip to Bangkok, we had a layover in Tokyo. We stopped by a small cafe in the airport and ordered up some delicious ramen (see above).

TOPS

Considering that I was not feeling well most of my time in Bangkok - fighting a serious bout with the flu and then a secondary throat infection - big plans, like traveling to Japan for a couple of weeks or at a minimum traveling solo around Thailand, perhaps going to Pai and Mae Hong Son in the Northwest and the dinosaur archaelogical site and museum in Khon Khan, all had to be canceled.

Towards the end of our vacation in Bangkok, I made a list of things that I most enjoyed this trip.  It seemed to me, whether staying in the room or wandering about in the neighborhood or taking the sky train to parts of the city quite far from where we stayed, what ended up invigorating me, and what boosted my morale the most, were comfort foods.  Therefore, when I made my list, everything fit predictably into the food and drink category.

Click each item to discover more

Pomelo, Bubble Tea, Sabai Jai Gai Yang, Coconut Juice, Kway Tiew Nahm Sai, Boat Noodles, Khanom Wan Thai 

 

 And BOTTOMS

Living in Thailand almost five years, and then going back for visits fairly regularly since we "migrated" to Asheville, makes it also worthwhile to take stock of what facets of life in Thailand (in particular, Bangkok) that I don't like or simply find disturbing.  Of course, countries, like human beings, have much to admire and leave lots to be desired.

 

1.  the bar girl scene, and the pervasiveness of prostitution

2.  air and street level pollution

3.  the protection of free thought and speech

4.  pressures on women to attain/maintain an almost unreachable standard of beauty

5.  overcrowding, and lack of personal space and privacy that results

6.  pervasive corruption in political and business spheres

7.  abject poverty and lack of social safety nets that force people (and children) to beg

8.  time lost in traffic jams

9.  lack of effective urban planning

10. in-your-face, 24/7, commercialization

Lucky 13?

Almost thirteen years to the month when I first met Kade - back when she was working at The Jim Thompson House in Bangkok - together we "took a walk down memory lane" and went back to the spot where it all began.  After watching the video below, if you desire to learn more about that very first encounter, back in March of 2000, click here.

Monument & Throne Hall

One evening, Kade's brother drove us to the Rama V Equestrian Monument.  Rama V (Chulalongkorn) is a king of great significance in Thai history, and this monument to him stands in the Royal Plaza in Bangkok.  Behind it is a remarkable palace.  At the end of my video, you can get a more complete description of these two landmarks.  Enjoy!