Our trip to Phuket was so successful I started looking at where to go next. Thankfully, my good friend Kim Gipson went to Bangkok and her stories and pictures convinced me to go too. Truthfully, I just liked the way Bangkok sounds. Bangkok has always seemed mysterious and exotic. It's one of those places that you read about, see on the Travel Channel and in movies, but never think you'll actually go.
First, a note about time in Singapore. The temperature here never changes so there isn't a beginning or an end to any seasons which tends to make time just sort of disappear. You go to sleep on a Monday night and wake up to Saturday morning it seems. We went to Phuket in July, the kids started school and we had visitors in August, October was a blur, we hosted Thanksgiving in November and before we knew what was going on it was the end of 2009.
So, long story short I hadn't taken the kids anywhere in five whole months. I WASTED FIVE MONTHS THAT I COULD HAVE BEEN TRAVELING. Dangit. OK, time to catch up. I find cheap plane tickets and start searching for a place to stay. Over lunch with a friend she tells me she's been to Bangkok several times and has a lady there named Rat (not her real name, of course) who is her guide. True to the Thai people, Rat is one of the most resourceful people you will ever meet. She also runs a bed and breakfast (here we go again) and a taxi service. The idea of a guide intrigues me as I've never hired one before being a DIY kind of person but I thought it would be a good idea as Bangkok is big, several of the things I wanted to do were out of the way, and Bangkok isn't always the safest place. Plus, there was a lot of political strife in Bangkok at the time with the party called the Red Shirts threatening to riot any day. I hire Rat and the kids and I take off.
Bangkok was crazy! It's loud, smelly, and crowded in a way you just can't get enough of. Kind of like an Asian version of New Orleans. Everything is interesting and different. My kids started rolling their eyes about the 1000th time I said, "Pay attention to everything. You may never see this again." Day one took us to the floating market. You get in a small man-powered, or in our case woman-powered boat and coast down a narrow canal with homes on either side. The boats are made out of wood and are long and narrow. The bottom is somewhat flat for the times when the water is shallow and the lip of the boat is only about four inches above the water. In fact, if a boat came by that had a motor and created waves, we got wet. The homes weren't too unlike ones you'd expect to find in rural south Louisiana. They were built on stilts, crafted out of wood, had large porches across the front, and had steeply pitched roofs. See, a lot like south Louisiana. We took a sharp left and the world changed. Where we had been gliding alone in a residential canal, now we were in a bustling marketplace. There were boats everywhere. People were shouting to draw attention to what they were selling. We could smell food cooking and there was fruit everywhere. Rat bought us some papaya and it was the best I had ever eaten before or since. The range of goods for sale blew my mind. I could buy a hamster, or a sequined purse, or plates, or bbq chicken, or silver or a puppy or...
If you go to pretty much anywhere in Asia you have to be prepared to haggle. Especially when you have blond hair and fair skin and travel with children. People would see me coming with children and shiver with joy. They know how to play the game - you're going thru a crowded market and all the sudden your three year old is holding a toy and looking at you with pleading eyes. Double dangit. The lady that gave your angel the toy is sporting the biggest smile you've ever seen. You ask how much and they tell you the trinket costs the equivalent of $35 American dollars. Let the games begin. So you counter with $.10 and they act offended. They counter with $20 and you act offended. Both parties are smiling the entire time. The money in question is in the Thai currency of baht so you have to know your exchange rates before you go. You counter with $.50 and they say "ok, ok, for you $8. Is good for me, is good for you." It's hot and you're ready to go so you pull out what amounts to $2 and say "This is good for me. Final offer." They refuse so you start to leave. Then they make a fuss, usher you back and agree to $2.10. You leave and your guide tells you you paid too much. It's like this everywhere. If you aren't in a department store or restaurant, you'll have to haggle. Even if you enjoy the bargaining process, you reach a point where you just want to buy a diet coke or piece of fruit without all the commotion. My kids are now experts at keeping their hands in their pockets and saying "no, thank you" over and over.
At the end of the experience, BGC (baby girl castello) had a jewelry box, BBC (baby boy castello) had a toy, and I had a shadowbox with butterflies, bugs and a bat and some awesome traditional hats - you know, the kind that sort of look like lamp shades. We enjoyed the floating market but needed to head to our next destination for the day: the Tiger Temple.
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