Dear Rachel,
Sitting in the “Nice Kitchen” vegetarian breakfast cafe, the sun is coming up and I watch monks in orange robes wandering the streets with their alms bowls. The air is pleasantly cool, about 60 degrees, and I have just ordered a banana, cinnamon, raisin pancake with a strawberry smoothie. I declined the tea because I do not know the source of their water. So far I have not felt ill, although my sleep patterns are still adjusting. Last night was the first time I went to bed at dark and rose with the sun.
Sorry for not writing sooner, I wrote a letter to your father while in Bangkok although I have yet to find a post office to send it off.
I just received my smoothie and it appears to be filled with ice, so I guess it is hard to avoid drinking the water here, probably a stupid move on my part. So far I have always carried water with me and yesterday I went to an Indian restaurant and had saag paneer and drank from my own water bottle.
I left Bangkok after two days because it was very hot (100 degrees), the air was polluted, the traffic insanely dense, and the parts of the city I visited were not friendly to pedestrians. My hotel was awesome but getting around was hard because the streets are a tangle of circles, squares and other shapes and on my first walk I became lost after 30 minutes and wandered about for an hour more, sweating profusely, and finally gave in and hopped into a taxi, who also became lost and dropped me off two blocks from my hotel and I almost lost the thread trying to find my way there.
The next day I tried walking to the subway station one mile distant but got lost again and had to take a cab. I exited the subway at Sukhimvit Rd and it was a most unpleasant walk. I was carrying my full pack (35 pounds), it was 100 degrees again, the traffic was worse than the previous day, and I ended up in ultramarathon mode, one step in front of the other. When I had to take an overpass to cross a busy road I was thankful that I had been walking up and down the hill at the arboretum for the month prior to my leaving. After one mile of the walk from hell I jumped into another cab and told him to take me to Lumpini Park, the biggest green splatch of crayon on the map. I was hoping to find respite from the exhaust fumes and noise and when I exited the cab was disappointed to see a large statue of a military man surrounded by a large circular tract of concrete slabbing. However, after passing through the concrete entrance gate I entered the park and was greeted with silence and clean air.
The park was large with ponds and old trees and pedestrian paths. I found a bench in the shade and poured water on my head to cool down. I sat there in blissful terror for 45 minutes. Bliss because the present was finally something to my liking and terror because I had no idea where I was headed. I had checked out of my hotel with no real plan. I was hoping to find a hotel closer to the city center but the city was too hard to navigate on foot and I found nothing which looked acceptable. As I sat on the bench I remembered seeing a subway station entrance next to the military statue. I knew from my first subway ride that the final stop was Hua Lamphong, which is where the train station is located. I decided to ride the subway to Hua Lamphong and find the train station and then maybe buy a ticket to Chiang Mai.
I was not very happy at the moment and decided getting out of Bangkok would be the best thing. After arriving at Hua Lamphong I discovered the train station was connected by underground tunnel, so I walked easily into the terminal and located the information desk and decided to buy a ticket for the 18:10 train to Chiang Mai, second class sleeper, only $25.
It was noon so I had six hours to wait. The station was packed and I decided to ride the subway back to the park. I wandered around as best I could (still carrying a 35 pound pack, hello Meijer!) and then a thunderstorm rolled into the city and I found shelter at a stone table with canvas overhang. A Chinese family of four, apparently on holiday, soon joined me. One hour later the rain stopped and it cooled things down, although now my clothes were damp and my shoes soaked (which later led them to stink profusely). I wandered to the floating island and photographed large lizard-like creatures and then I rode the subway back to the train station at Hua Lamphong.
After waiting pleasantly in the cool hall for two hours I boarded the train and had a pleasant enough fourteen hour journey. I exited the train the next morning and was greeted to cool mountain air and a row of cab men calling to me and the other disembarked passengers. “Where to go my sir?” “I don't know.” “You come with me, I take you.” “Ok.” So I followed the cab driver to his vehicle, but rather than a cab it was a tuk tuk. I learned from my travel readings that tuk tuks are not a good deal and usually a scam is involved so before getting into the tuk tuk I asked to negotiate a rate and we agreed upon sixty baht (two bucks). I am happy to say the driver was friendly and no scams were involved, although he did hand me a laminated brochure for a guest house.
I left the tuk tuk just outside the gates of the city center and wandered backwards down a quiet soi and found a beautiful oasis called K.Thip Village, but the price was too high so I sat in the grass outside the lodge and read my map. I got up and within a block found the Pagoda Inn guesthouse and settled on a room for $16/night. The room is nice enough and the hotel has a pleasing eastern ambiance of stone steps and foot bridges. I have huge windows on the second floor but they look out upon the green garden terrace and thus anyone can easily look up into my room. The bathroom has a seat and a place for toilet paper but no paper was available, the shower had no hot water (and later discovered the drain was clogged), and some of the appliances did not work (fridge, light fixtures). The first thing I did was ask the manager about the toilet paper and he gave me a puzzled look, saying I could buy some down the road. So I took off down the road, exploring and in search of T.P. I walked into a 7/11 and bought T.P. and a pair of scissors to cut my hair and shaving gel. I had a pleasant walk through the old city, the small cobbled sois filled with charm and character. Feeling famished (the train offered me the sorriest breakfast - two pieces of stale toast and an orange sugar drink - 100 baht) I stopped at an Indian restaurant and filled up, but the saag paneer was similar to the food in Bloomington, heavy in oil, so I ate half, total cost for that and naan was 90 baht, a better deal than the train.
Later in the day, back in my room, I showered (they fixed the hot water valve but the clogged drain made me end the shower after five minutes, the bathroom being flooded) and relaxed in bed, booking a place called CM Apartments for the next day. I hope CM Apartments is decent, I need to unwind and have a hot shower and a clean room and then attack my next goal - finding a place to live long term for a cheap price ($300-$450 per month).
My banana pancake now finished and half a smoothie drank (if I am going to get sick, drinking half is better than drinking all), I will end my letter from the “Nice Kitchen.”
Love, Jim
