I love arriving in Bangkok. It's like stepping out of my regular life and into a more relaxed version of me. That first step outside the airport is the pivotal moment in making my jet-lagged mind realize that I have arrived, and not for the reasons that most people think of - the heat, the swarms of people, the endless rows of cabs waiting for you. No, what gets me first is the smell - part smoke, part incense, part jasmine, part smog, part jet fuel, part diesel and propane, part sweat of humanity, both farang and Thai. Bangkok and Kathmandhu smell the same and unless you have experienced this, or at least paid attention when you have arrived, you'll know what I mean. No other two places I have been, and there are a lot of them, smell like BKK and KAT. I think the major underlying smell that triggers my senses, and memories, is the smoke and incense. Although Bangkok is not the mountainous world of Nepal, I immediately think of the Himalayas when I arrive here.
It wasn't the perfect trip to get here - my flight from Ottawa to Washington was delayed so I had to be rerouted in order to make any connections to Asia. The travel gods are jokers - they were initially goodto me and instead of the convoluted Ottawa-Washington-LA-Beijing-Bangkok flight that I could have been stuck with, I was lucky that two business men grabbed an earlier flight to Chicago, which freed up their seats for me, followed by connections to Hong Kong and Bangkok with Cathay Pacific. Hmmm.. United versus Cathay Pacific... let me think which might be more pleasant!! Similarly, the routing was much more ideal - 15 hours to Hong Kong, but then only 2.5 to Bangkok. But alas, the travel gods give and take and in this case their blood sacrifice to providing me with a better airline (and better food) and a preferred routing was my luggage. It didn't arrive in Bangkok last night, which really wasn't surprising. I was able to file a lost luggage report, leaving the fate of all my packed crap in their hands, and came to the Best Western to await its fate. Luckily,Thai Airways called this morning and the wayward luggage has been located and will be delivered to the Samsensam Place Guesthouse around midnight tonight. Yeah!! The travel gods are like Kokopelli, the Hopi Indian trickster god.
I always stay at the same Best Western near the airport upon arrival in Bangkok. Been staying here for 7 years now and I like the predictability, the "welcome home" feeling it gives me. I wake up, generally go for a run (although not this morning as all of that gear is in my luggage) and then walk slowly through the market back to the hotel. This morning instead of a run, I walked down to the local market in order to find socks and breakfast.
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| Fruit vendors at the local market. No mangosteens for some reason. |
Local markets in the morning fascinate me. I love wandering around the veggie and meat/fish sections, although I always feel conspicous. It's not like I am going to buy a whole live carp or a pig head, and I know the vendors know that, but I still like to look. It's always fun to play "what in the world is that?" with some of the items!! This is real Thailand, not the farang markets in downtown Bangkok, part of the reason I like making this my first stop upon arriving.
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| Flowers for offerings |
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| Random stuff for sale with soi dog in a t-shirt |
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| Men selling amulets - these guys are here every year, no fail. |
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| Mmmmmmm... bbq'd chicken.... |
This morning I was able to score socks for $1 (the only ones I have with me are my black compression socks for flying and I would like like a tourist walking around with kneehighs and shorts...) and then found pork and greens with rice for breakfast. Simple but oh so quintessentially Thai. I followed that with fresh espresso before walking back here to the hotel. Welcome home!
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| Printed on the side of a delivery truck. |
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