Photographs of Thailand, set 5 of 6
And yet more photographs of Bangkok.
(Courting Couple in Lumpini Park, Bangkok. March 2008)
The veranda at the hotel. I loved having morning juice there. But even at 6am, it would already be hot.
More river traffic:
The line to the ferry (we took one, a different one, later, and it was amazing how polite everyone was even when it was so crowded. And nobody was surly).
Piloting in the river must be tough! Also, note the big portrait of the King on that building.
River stuff:
Streetscapes of an early morning, on the way to Jim Thompson's house:
Thompson was a farang who became an influential silk merchant in mid-century and popularized Thai silk all over the world. He also built this amazing, traditional Thai house. When he mysteriously vanished while on vaction in Malaysia (to this day nobody knows what happened to him, but the latest hypothesis is that he got accidentally run over and the driver disposed of the body), his house became a national museum.
We got there so early it wasn't open yet, so we wandered around the neighborhood and the little neighborhood canal:
And then it was finally open:
From there, it's a quick detour through unprepossessing-from-outside but super fashionable mall, MBK:
And through traffic:
I loved the random ads:
I am blanking on the name of this neighborhood but it's one which, until recently, has been fairly fashionable. Siam Square, I think.
We used Skytrain a lot that day, Bangkok's answer to Metro, and with its airconditioned cars, above the madnes of traffic, clean and cool stations, and just general awesomeness, one of the neatest things in the city.
Ad in the train:
Schoolgirls at the station:
Yes, they sell this inside the stations. Argh! So yummy, so good, making me so hungry!
Views from skytrain windows:
This is what a skytrain platform looks like:
From then on, to a non-touristy part of town (blanking on the name) to look at a house of a former Princess. Only people there were employees, us, and a pair of Japanese tourists. It was awesome to wander around in the quiet midday heat:
Modern and rather old, side by side, as they often were:
On to Victory Monument, apparently the place for people watching. And traffic watching, of course.
I didn't know what this was an ad for, in the store nearby, but it looked awesome.
And from then on, to the fashionable Sukhumvit. This is where a lot of expats live, apparently.
I love this picture at a station.
Motorcyclists everywhere. This was their usual concentration, and they would rush in, like mad, ahead of all other traffic.
Ronald mcDonald doing a wai. It's the little things that remind you that you are elsewhere.
We went to Red Cross's snake-handling show. They do it once a day (they keep them there to get venom for antidotes). It was scary and awesome (we also saw snake eggs hatch, eeee!). We even took a pic with a python around our neck, which is part of some Thai wedding rituals apparently. Heeee. Mr. Mousie can't get away now :)
The huge and gorgeous Lumpini Park:
More skytrain:
Colorful boat:
(Courting Couple in Lumpini Park, Bangkok. March 2008)
The veranda at the hotel. I loved having morning juice there. But even at 6am, it would already be hot.
More river traffic:
The line to the ferry (we took one, a different one, later, and it was amazing how polite everyone was even when it was so crowded. And nobody was surly).
Piloting in the river must be tough! Also, note the big portrait of the King on that building.
River stuff:
Streetscapes of an early morning, on the way to Jim Thompson's house:
Thompson was a farang who became an influential silk merchant in mid-century and popularized Thai silk all over the world. He also built this amazing, traditional Thai house. When he mysteriously vanished while on vaction in Malaysia (to this day nobody knows what happened to him, but the latest hypothesis is that he got accidentally run over and the driver disposed of the body), his house became a national museum.
We got there so early it wasn't open yet, so we wandered around the neighborhood and the little neighborhood canal:
And then it was finally open:
From there, it's a quick detour through unprepossessing-from-outside but super fashionable mall, MBK:
And through traffic:
I loved the random ads:
I am blanking on the name of this neighborhood but it's one which, until recently, has been fairly fashionable. Siam Square, I think.
We used Skytrain a lot that day, Bangkok's answer to Metro, and with its airconditioned cars, above the madnes of traffic, clean and cool stations, and just general awesomeness, one of the neatest things in the city.
Ad in the train:
Schoolgirls at the station:
Yes, they sell this inside the stations. Argh! So yummy, so good, making me so hungry!
Views from skytrain windows:
This is what a skytrain platform looks like:
From then on, to a non-touristy part of town (blanking on the name) to look at a house of a former Princess. Only people there were employees, us, and a pair of Japanese tourists. It was awesome to wander around in the quiet midday heat:
Modern and rather old, side by side, as they often were:
On to Victory Monument, apparently the place for people watching. And traffic watching, of course.
I didn't know what this was an ad for, in the store nearby, but it looked awesome.
And from then on, to the fashionable Sukhumvit. This is where a lot of expats live, apparently.
I love this picture at a station.
Motorcyclists everywhere. This was their usual concentration, and they would rush in, like mad, ahead of all other traffic.
Ronald mcDonald doing a wai. It's the little things that remind you that you are elsewhere.
We went to Red Cross's snake-handling show. They do it once a day (they keep them there to get venom for antidotes). It was scary and awesome (we also saw snake eggs hatch, eeee!). We even took a pic with a python around our neck, which is part of some Thai wedding rituals apparently. Heeee. Mr. Mousie can't get away now :)
The huge and gorgeous Lumpini Park:
More skytrain:
Colorful boat: