Simmi, Mike & Naiya in SE Asia: Bangkok

The last 2 days of the trip were spent in Bangkok. We flew back home on July 29. The last time we were in Bangkok was back in 2000 when we spent a month traveling around Thailand. I have to say I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with Thailand. Love the food, hate the scams and the people who try to take disadvantage of tourists. Throughout this trip we’ve been hassle free, scam free and our guard has been down. The moment we stepped into Bangkok that changed. Immediately faced with argumentative cab drivers, tuk tuks who charge 3 times the price and scammers who try to derail you from your real agenda and then get pissed off when you say no. I was glad we only booked 2 days here.

Part of the problem is that we’re staying in a super touristy part of town. Beside the famous Khao San Road. Crazy, party, backpacker madness. At night things get really insane. There a thousands of people on the streets. I literally refused to let go of Naiya's hand as we walked the circuit. Here you’ll see rotisserie alligators, fried bugs which Mike and I tried (only small crickets, couldn’t stomach the tarantulas or cockroaches), lots of bars and street food. It’s a paradise for 20 year olds who want to party all night and puke all day. Admittedly we’re way past our 20’s but we do still like a good party! But we also like authentic travel experiences and meeting locals. Khao San brings out the worst of the worst - tourists and locals alike (ok maybe not as bad as Patpong where foreigners go to watch ladyboys and strippers and participate in other questionable things).

Khao San Road

Bugs for snacks

Dried something or other

Khao San Road

Alligator

One of the reasons for spending time in Bangkok was to see Jay Fai, Michelin star street food chef. We had read lots of reports on how difficult it was to get in but decided to try anyway. We arrived at around noon, as instructed to put our name on a list. We were #58. The list went to #65. Based on our research and our number we calculated our return time to be around 10 pm. We certainly weren’t going to spend the entire day sitting around waiting for them to call our # especially since they didn’t even open till 3 pm. She was there at noon though setting up. She cooks every single dish herself so we knew service could be slow - another factor in calculating. N was just as excited as I was to see her. We returned as planned at 10 pm. To our dismay they had bypassed our # and reopened the list at some point only to have it closed once again. So we watched as she made her ginormous $42 crab omelettes and wished we were the ones eating them. On the flip side we did get to experience Michelin mentioned noodle dishes from Thipsamai next door. I had Pad Thai wrapped in egg. Touted as the best authentic pad thai in Thailand.

Waiting for food at Thipsamai

Jay Fai

Bangkok and Laos have no shortage of spa/massage parlours. You can get a massage for under $10 in addition to other spa services. While in Laos N and I got mani and pedis and I got 2 massages. My last massage was done by a young boy (between 15-20). When I was done, as I sipped on my tea I was struck by how overstaffed this and every other place was. I know it was low season but does it ever fill up? Looking around there were so many of them on their phones killing time waiting for the next customer. How did they get here? Did they like their jobs? Everyone looked less than enthusiastic. Did they get paid well? Was there something more sinister at work here? Did they take young kids and make them work as masseuses? I don’t know but this last thought stuck with me and made me uncomfortable hesitant to engage in any other services.

Day 2, first on the agenda was to check out the Grand Palace. Upon arrival we discovered it was the Kings birthday and private events were being held there so it was closed to the public. Thai people dressed in yellow lined the streets to catch a glimpse of him. We decided to stay to check out the action. The King was scheduled to have lunch and dinner at the Palace with a break in between. This turned out to be a great opportunity to meet some really nice locals who filled us in on what was happening. During the Kings departure break we were actually allowed to get in to see certain parts of the palace for free. This also allowed locals to sign his birthday cards which were inside. This occasion was a big deal resulting in a national holiday the next day. Thai people seem to be very proud of their King although I sat beside someone on the plane to Hong Kong the next day who said not everyone was so keen on him but they would never express that in Thailand, he then made the neck slashing motion...All of the pomp and circumstance surrounding the ceremonies enabled us to meet real people who were nothing but amazing. From providing us with info on what was happening to giving us a place to sit, candies, water, cold drinks and even a free lunch! Celebrations continued into the evening, where we got fed dinner, handed a candle to participate in the candle lighting ceremony and watched an awesome drone light show. We had such a great and authentic feeling day. It was a nice way to end our trip.

Kings b-day

Kings b-day at night

Lots of streets adorned with this cloth.
This pic is in front of Grand Palace

As we settle in to home life, we have lots to think about, reflect on and process. We’ve made some amazing memories, met some wonderful, kind people and hopefully left N with some lifelong memories and learning. She was ready to come back but I could keep going. Travel is a funny thing, it can be so hard at the time (taking you outside of your comfort zone, mentally and physically) but so addictive and rewarding afterwards.