The coffee revived us so much that we plunged into the day by jumping in the back of a taxi, the driver quoting us the outrageous price of 400 baht, which prompted me to clutch my heart involuntarily crying "pang maak!". He laughed heartily and ammended it to 300 with the addition of "Happy New Year!" and something about money. I firmly got him down to 250, which is still too much, and we both knew it, but off we went to Chatuchak Market...the colossal weekend free-market debauch which has been servicing this corner of Southeast Asia since the time of the Silk Road (and looks like it too!). I must admit I had misgivings about doing this on our first day, but Muzzy is ever the optimist and both of us, fueled by coffee, breakfast, humidity and the fact that you just have to plunge right in, were up for it! It is still its crazy, overcrowded, overheated sensory overload of smells, sights, and sounds. I bought some sweet little face beads, which made me so happy we stopped for an iced mocha treat at a small corner coffee stand that we found in Chatuchak a few years ago. Lucky us! The owners are closing the stand and moving back to Chiang Mai on the 13th of January. Muzzy took some photos, which we will try to post in the future. It was great to share in the farewells and sip a gigantic iced mocha. We would have missed the stand entirely if we hadn't decided at the last minute to visit the market today.
As usual, Chatuchack is not for the faint of heart. It opens, sort of, at 9:00 am and if you aren't out of there by noon, you are probably a shop owner or too burned out to know when to leave. Being somewhat jet-lagged, we made our escape in a timely manner and were back at the New Siam, lying on the bed, well before lunch. We debated the pros and cons of a trip by river taxi to Wat Pho for massage, and finally decided on lunch at the small cafe next to the New Siam that Sarah recommended. We thought we would eat and then check out massages closer to our guesthouse. Both decisions turned out to be total winners. The friendly owner of the New Siam, whom we have dealt with now for several years, recommended the new "Spa" across the street at the New Siam Riverside. I'm telling you, these people are marketing mavens. Four hotel/guesthouses catering to every level of backpacker, flashpacker and tourist, taxis, travel service, internet and now a Spa and Wifi! The cafe, whose name I will find, is definitely a gem. It is a Thai street cafe serving khao mun gai (chicken and rice) with a few variations, simple, inexpensive and delicious...not too many farang (us), mostly working Thais. The massages we had afterward were half the price of Wat Pho, which isn't expensive either, and were FANTASTIC. I finally understood through the grunts and groans and squeals of pain, that this is one of the things you come to Thailand for...that and the food, the people, the sights, the smells, the crazy traffic, etc. etc. And I wasn't the only one groaning...Muzzy was right there beside me. 350 baht for an hour and a half and I am officially on vacation. We have already decided to go back tomorrow...it's right across the street which allows us to stumble up the stairs to our room with little effort. We have extended our stay in Bangkok one day, booked the tickets into and out of Yangon for less than they were at home, and are looking forward to Jok Pochana and a big bottle of beer tonight.
If you don't know about the Weekend Market in Bangkok, look it up. It's a crazy wonderful place, variously known and spelled JJ Market, Chatuchak, Jatujak, etc. Anyone of those searches will get you there, or, better yet, buy a ticket. It's an E coupon all the way!
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Sawadee
We made it! battered and buffeted and not used to staying up for 24+ hours, we pulled into the New Siam II only an hour later than scheduled. It was 3:00am when we finally bounced like tossed coins onto the crisp white sheets of our second floor in the back room. We had no illusions about sleep, but being horizontal with a pillow under our heads, stretching and turning to the whirring of the overhead fan was good for two or three hours of dozing, tossing, and dozing again. Truth be told, we were biding our time until we could stumble over to Ricky's for much needed coffee and breakfast. Now, Ricky's is no great shakes (no pun intended) when it comes to food, or atmosphere for that matter, but it is the idea of Ricky's that pleases. Coffee so strong it stands up and salutes you in the morning, a bowl of meusli, fruit and yogurt...not Thai, but full of fresh pineapple, papaya, banana and the attractive but tasteless dragon fruit, and a Mexican omelette for Muzzy, was the start we had been dreaming of for the last few months. Ricky's looks a little worse for wear, but then, so do we. It's railings are listing and swaying, and the tables tend to stumble on the uneven floorboards. The sign announcing its hours as 07:00-21:00 was amended with a Sharpie at some point to read 08:00 but the ink has worn off. The time is 08:00, not 07:00, and the cadre of sleepy Thai girls who arrive just a little after 08:00 on the backs of motorbikes or out of the cover of a tuk tuk attest to the fact that we are, indeed, on Thai time.
The coffee revived us so much that we plunged into the day by jumping in the back of a taxi, the driver quoting us the outrageous price of 400 baht, which prompted me to clutch my heart involuntarily crying "pang maak!". He laughed heartily and ammended it to 300 with the addition of "Happy New Year!" and something about money. I firmly got him down to 250, which is still too much, and we both knew it, but off we went to Chatuchak Market...the colossal weekend free-market debauch which has been servicing this corner of Southeast Asia since the time of the Silk Road (and looks like it too!). I must admit I had misgivings about doing this on our first day, but Muzzy is ever the optimist and both of us, fueled by coffee, breakfast, humidity and the fact that you just have to plunge right in, were up for it! It is still its crazy, overcrowded, overheated sensory overload of smells, sights, and sounds. I bought some sweet little face beads, which made me so happy we stopped for an iced mocha treat at a small corner coffee stand that we found in Chatuchak a few years ago. Lucky us! The owners are closing the stand and moving back to Chiang Mai on the 13th of January. Muzzy took some photos, which we will try to post in the future. It was great to share in the farewells and sip a gigantic iced mocha. We would have missed the stand entirely if we hadn't decided at the last minute to visit the market today.
As usual, Chatuchack is not for the faint of heart. It opens, sort of, at 9:00 am and if you aren't out of there by noon, you are probably a shop owner or too burned out to know when to leave. Being somewhat jet-lagged, we made our escape in a timely manner and were back at the New Siam, lying on the bed, well before lunch. We debated the pros and cons of a trip by river taxi to Wat Pho for massage, and finally decided on lunch at the small cafe next to the New Siam that Sarah recommended. We thought we would eat and then check out massages closer to our guesthouse. Both decisions turned out to be total winners. The friendly owner of the New Siam, whom we have dealt with now for several years, recommended the new "Spa" across the street at the New Siam Riverside. I'm telling you, these people are marketing mavens. Four hotel/guesthouses catering to every level of backpacker, flashpacker and tourist, taxis, travel service, internet and now a Spa and Wifi! The cafe, whose name I will find, is definitely a gem. It is a Thai street cafe serving khao mun gai (chicken and rice) with a few variations, simple, inexpensive and delicious...not too many farang (us), mostly working Thais. The massages we had afterward were half the price of Wat Pho, which isn't expensive either, and were FANTASTIC. I finally understood through the grunts and groans and squeals of pain, that this is one of the things you come to Thailand for...that and the food, the people, the sights, the smells, the crazy traffic, etc. etc. And I wasn't the only one groaning...Muzzy was right there beside me. 350 baht for an hour and a half and I am officially on vacation. We have already decided to go back tomorrow...it's right across the street which allows us to stumble up the stairs to our room with little effort. We have extended our stay in Bangkok one day, booked the tickets into and out of Yangon for less than they were at home, and are looking forward to Jok Pochana and a big bottle of beer tonight.
If you don't know about the Weekend Market in Bangkok, look it up. It's a crazy wonderful place, variously known and spelled JJ Market, Chatuchak, Jatujak, etc. Anyone of those searches will get you there, or, better yet, buy a ticket. It's an E coupon all the way!
The coffee revived us so much that we plunged into the day by jumping in the back of a taxi, the driver quoting us the outrageous price of 400 baht, which prompted me to clutch my heart involuntarily crying "pang maak!". He laughed heartily and ammended it to 300 with the addition of "Happy New Year!" and something about money. I firmly got him down to 250, which is still too much, and we both knew it, but off we went to Chatuchak Market...the colossal weekend free-market debauch which has been servicing this corner of Southeast Asia since the time of the Silk Road (and looks like it too!). I must admit I had misgivings about doing this on our first day, but Muzzy is ever the optimist and both of us, fueled by coffee, breakfast, humidity and the fact that you just have to plunge right in, were up for it! It is still its crazy, overcrowded, overheated sensory overload of smells, sights, and sounds. I bought some sweet little face beads, which made me so happy we stopped for an iced mocha treat at a small corner coffee stand that we found in Chatuchak a few years ago. Lucky us! The owners are closing the stand and moving back to Chiang Mai on the 13th of January. Muzzy took some photos, which we will try to post in the future. It was great to share in the farewells and sip a gigantic iced mocha. We would have missed the stand entirely if we hadn't decided at the last minute to visit the market today.
As usual, Chatuchack is not for the faint of heart. It opens, sort of, at 9:00 am and if you aren't out of there by noon, you are probably a shop owner or too burned out to know when to leave. Being somewhat jet-lagged, we made our escape in a timely manner and were back at the New Siam, lying on the bed, well before lunch. We debated the pros and cons of a trip by river taxi to Wat Pho for massage, and finally decided on lunch at the small cafe next to the New Siam that Sarah recommended. We thought we would eat and then check out massages closer to our guesthouse. Both decisions turned out to be total winners. The friendly owner of the New Siam, whom we have dealt with now for several years, recommended the new "Spa" across the street at the New Siam Riverside. I'm telling you, these people are marketing mavens. Four hotel/guesthouses catering to every level of backpacker, flashpacker and tourist, taxis, travel service, internet and now a Spa and Wifi! The cafe, whose name I will find, is definitely a gem. It is a Thai street cafe serving khao mun gai (chicken and rice) with a few variations, simple, inexpensive and delicious...not too many farang (us), mostly working Thais. The massages we had afterward were half the price of Wat Pho, which isn't expensive either, and were FANTASTIC. I finally understood through the grunts and groans and squeals of pain, that this is one of the things you come to Thailand for...that and the food, the people, the sights, the smells, the crazy traffic, etc. etc. And I wasn't the only one groaning...Muzzy was right there beside me. 350 baht for an hour and a half and I am officially on vacation. We have already decided to go back tomorrow...it's right across the street which allows us to stumble up the stairs to our room with little effort. We have extended our stay in Bangkok one day, booked the tickets into and out of Yangon for less than they were at home, and are looking forward to Jok Pochana and a big bottle of beer tonight.
If you don't know about the Weekend Market in Bangkok, look it up. It's a crazy wonderful place, variously known and spelled JJ Market, Chatuchak, Jatujak, etc. Anyone of those searches will get you there, or, better yet, buy a ticket. It's an E coupon all the way!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment