Bangkok is a miserable city. It’s large enough to attract people looking to make a quick buck but not large enough to have proper regulations and rules. It was interesting to look around at in the same way reading a Russian novel is interesting: it’s different and stimulating. But it’s not comfortable and it’s not somewhere you want to stay for that long.
I’m also just coming to terms with the fact I am going to be hot and uncomfortable for five weeks.
DW: Our serene breakfast was punctuated by Rung, the waiter/handyman/boat captain, requesting a Tripadvisor review. He proceeded to helpfully stand over Caitlin’s shoulder and guide her at every step on how to complete. Rung was very careful to note that his name should prominently appear in the review. It was hard to say no, especially as Rung was the one who had chanced upon us lost in the backalleys yesterday and guided us to the otherwise unfindable service entrance of the hotel. CR: Rung was, to the best of my knowledge, an eternal henchman of the property, much like in The Shining. He knew all and was everywhere. While back in Sydney internet footprint would have been reason enough to fight back, there was an primal understanding in me that I follow Rung’s instructions. I knew I’d made the right decision to award five stars under duress when we departed the hotel to explore the city and Rung made us give him our room key. That’s a great way of signalling ‘I can really fuck shit up for you if you don’t obey me’, without having to waste time on Google Translate.CR: Not sure what Rung was so stressed about. I would have given five stars anyway. What a pretty way to wake up in a chaotic city.CR: Our private chariot across the river to the city proper. Yep, there’s Rung up the front. I enjoyed having the only (permitted) access be via boat. Boat transit in the early 1900s was a very common way of getting around Bangkok. People would sell food from boats and hang out and have a chat on the river. I felt like I was experiencing a little slice of ‘back in the old days’. The river does make the city feel so different to Australia. It’s importance in daily life has declined in Bangkok but it’s still very much a functional part of the city, not just scenic.DW: Some of the offerings on this lion statue appear to have been freshly bought from nearby vendors as the iced drinks were still condensing.DW: We have mastered the ordering of coffee from yet another country. Thankfully everywhere in South East Asia has stolen the English word ca-phe which helps somewhat.DW: The concept of themed alleys seems universal to South East Asia. This alley was for mixed produce (weird pears, strips of pork hanging, bags of prawns). It was bustling. Not one block away was an electronics alley with a sub-alley devoted to boomboxes. It was dead. There is a cross-functional axis as well as most alleys contain a single man selling smut and a penis pump out of a bag on a stool.CR: All the grimy, sweaty alleyways had us hankering for aircon. This drink cost x10 as much as the street coffee this morning but goddamn it was worth it to sit undisturbed in a constant 20 degree atmosphere. Dad I think you may have paid upwards of x100 for such a reprieve.CR: On the back of this trip I would recommend to Sydney city council more elephant themed monuments. They’re just cool animals.CR: Lunch is at a university campus canteen. It took me a little bit to understand how to order. I needed to write my order on a little slip of paper, wait patiently for one of the cooks to make eye contact with me and take the paper. A grunt of understanding was given to acknowledge my order made coherent sense. Then just sort of mill around until the combination of dishes on the counter resembled what I ordered and hand over cash. You think the Western world has a better handle on processes but sometimes I wonder if we’ve just overcomplicated things. This small business solution to organising orders had an air of chaos but I got my lunch no problems.DW: This was actually our second attempt to see the Grand Palace. Caitlin’s three-quarter length pants were turned away the first time as too immodest. #StreetCatsDeserveNapsCR: Declan participating in spiritual scam (sorry, ‘donation’). I look forward to our year of good fortunes ahead. Little lady with lotus hands in the background was doing some pretty enthralling tiktoks with mum at the temple. Declan commented that, unlike Christianity, Thai Buddhism is very inclusive in their spaces. I agree. It makes it more of a fun community event for everyone to enjoy to whatever degree they’d like, rather than just congregating at church and listening passively to a sermon. Also, donation mindset is much stronger when everyone is comfortable. DW: I actually said that you feel like you are intruding less in a holy space when the monks have multiple income earning activities happening in the area. A Christan church expects you to be solemn and quiet and contemplate. A Buddhist temple can have a head monk on a stool grinning and spraying everyone passing in front of him with holy water and a jar in front for 100THB donations.
DW: The Grand Palace is working hard to live up to its name. Even the PVC plumbing has been painted gold. CR: Image speaks for itself.
CR: An intensely stressful public ferry to the terminal where the private hotel ferry (Rung) collects us. To board the public ferry you have to buy a ticket. The ladies selling the ticket don’t really care where you are going and give you a fare that is approximately right. I got told to shut up by the main lady in charge when I tried to tell her the ticket she gave me was wrong. She held tightly on the shoulder and said, “you need to listen. Ferry in 30 minutes.” It wasn’t. Ferry was in four minutes. She sheepishly refunds our ticket and gives us the right one and when the ferry did come four minutes later we even got a little apology. You’d think there would be timetables. There’s not. There’s just two ladies policing the queue running around checking people’s tickets (which may or may not be for where they want to go) and heralding them to the boat in a state of urgency I’ve never witnessed on public transport. The Thai people seem equally as baffled and revert to the same submissiveness that we naturally assume as tourists. The frantic intensity of the ferry terminal, all without any actual of control of events unfolding, is not dissimilar to the trading floor. These ferry bitches would be making millions in another life.CR: Valentine’s Day for some is a luxurious dinner out where they can play on their phone and ignore their partner. For us, we anxiously collect our bags and tackle Bangkok traffic and taxis to get to the train station for the 12 hour (minimum, Thaitime) overnight trip to Chiang Mai.
When I grow up I want to be a ferry bitch 👊 I would put Rung is his place!! The photos are great! Especially street cat 🐈
One of my bits of dad advice was in 2010 when we went to soundwave which was outside all day in summer in western Sydney. Despite Caitlin demanding to where a black t shirt and black jeans I stood my ground and said no because you will die of heat exhaustion. It ended up being nearly 40 c all day and you were one of the only kids wearing white which I remember you saying turned out to be a good idea. 16 years later I see my sage advice being ignored. You are right about the shop. I would have paid $50 to enter and I would never have left. My idea of hell would be spending time in an overcrowded Asian jail. I have a feeling the ferry ladies might be skimming a bit of the ticket cost from tourists. This whole trip just seems like an excuse for Caitlin to read novels in some exotic locations.
The ferry ladies were ruthless beyond compare.
Dad: Or Soundwave in Asia. That might be an equally dreadful hell.
To be honest I am really falling behind in my book reading schedule… To keep pace I should have finished at least two books already. I haven’t finished any…
Rung hovering over the Tripadvisor review and then taking your room key is genuinely unhinged (in the funniest way). Also the ferry terminal chaos… Question…? are you still team “Bangkok is misery” now that you’ve escaped to Chiang Mai, or did it grow on you at all once you got your bearings?
Bangkok always miserable. Have you been Maddy??
Im good Caitlin, missing ur voice! As u say, reading these while killing time at work shhhh! but ill tell u what its making my day a lot brighter
This is a safe space for not working on work hours 🙂
When I grow up I want to be a ferry bitch 👊 I would put Rung is his place!! The photos are great! Especially street cat 🐈
One of my bits of dad advice was in 2010 when we went to soundwave which was outside all day in summer in western Sydney. Despite Caitlin demanding to where a black t shirt and black jeans I stood my ground and said no because you will die of heat exhaustion. It ended up being nearly 40 c all day and you were one of the only kids wearing white which I remember you saying turned out to be a good idea. 16 years later I see my sage advice being ignored. You are right about the shop. I would have paid $50 to enter and I would never have left. My idea of hell would be spending time in an overcrowded Asian jail. I have a feeling the ferry ladies might be skimming a bit of the ticket cost from tourists. This whole trip just seems like an excuse for Caitlin to read novels in some exotic locations.
The ferry ladies were ruthless beyond compare.
Dad: Or Soundwave in Asia. That might be an equally dreadful hell.
To be honest I am really falling behind in my book reading schedule… To keep pace I should have finished at least two books already. I haven’t finished any…
Rung hovering over the Tripadvisor review and then taking your room key is genuinely unhinged (in the funniest way). Also the ferry terminal chaos… Question…? are you still team “Bangkok is misery” now that you’ve escaped to Chiang Mai, or did it grow on you at all once you got your bearings?
Bangkok always miserable. Have you been Maddy??
Im good Caitlin, missing ur voice! As u say, reading these while killing time at work shhhh! but ill tell u what its making my day a lot brighter
This is a safe space for not working on work hours 🙂