last day in bangkok
well, my last day in bangkok was actually the best. i decided to wander with no destination in mind and wound up in a couple of fully thai (no other foreigners) neighborhoods. lots of food stalls in little alleys with people eating lunch or a snack. stalls with dried squid, grilled chicken, lots of stir fried noodles, and fresh pineapple for sale - my favorite! (i have eaten so much pineapple since i have been here!).
at one point, i thought to myself that an iced coffee sure would be nice. and lo and behold, what to my wandering eyes should appear, but a lovely little store front - with big potted green trees on the sidewalk, peering in i see teak wood tables with a small menu on each one. The name - The Old Bangkok Tearoom. I walk in - its decorated in this antique thai way - charming, dark yellow walls, gorgeous teak tables and carved one armed chairs. i ordered an iced coffee which came with coconut cookies. harry connick jr was playing (not great - but music to my ears compared to the obnoxious, non stop techno everywhere else!). it was a lovely place to stop. and it turns out its a fancy hotel - the old bangkok inn - they have a website - check it out http://www.oldbangkokinn.com/about.php
as i am sitting there, the young guy running the place (i think), who spoke beautiful english, not a hint of an accent (probably studied abroad), started to talk to me about my trip- i told him it was mylast day in bangkok - and he asked me where i had been - and he suggested that i go to jim thompson's house (where i had been considering visiting that day too). he told me that i could catch a canal water taxi right up the street for 8 baht (pennies) that would take me right there. he said travel like a local. so i followed his advice. the water taxi was fun - completely local, in fact, they raise these tent like coverings so you can't really see anything as you zoom up the canal, and so that the awful water doesn't spray all over you. getting on and off is a bit hairy, since it never fully stops, you just kind of climb out and jump to the pier, hoping that you'll make it! jim thompson's house was interesting too - nice gardens and and an impressive art collection - mysterious character too - he disappeared without a trace -
all in all a good day.
at one point, i thought to myself that an iced coffee sure would be nice. and lo and behold, what to my wandering eyes should appear, but a lovely little store front - with big potted green trees on the sidewalk, peering in i see teak wood tables with a small menu on each one. The name - The Old Bangkok Tearoom. I walk in - its decorated in this antique thai way - charming, dark yellow walls, gorgeous teak tables and carved one armed chairs. i ordered an iced coffee which came with coconut cookies. harry connick jr was playing (not great - but music to my ears compared to the obnoxious, non stop techno everywhere else!). it was a lovely place to stop. and it turns out its a fancy hotel - the old bangkok inn - they have a website - check it out http://www.oldbangkokinn.com/about.php
as i am sitting there, the young guy running the place (i think), who spoke beautiful english, not a hint of an accent (probably studied abroad), started to talk to me about my trip- i told him it was mylast day in bangkok - and he asked me where i had been - and he suggested that i go to jim thompson's house (where i had been considering visiting that day too). he told me that i could catch a canal water taxi right up the street for 8 baht (pennies) that would take me right there. he said travel like a local. so i followed his advice. the water taxi was fun - completely local, in fact, they raise these tent like coverings so you can't really see anything as you zoom up the canal, and so that the awful water doesn't spray all over you. getting on and off is a bit hairy, since it never fully stops, you just kind of climb out and jump to the pier, hoping that you'll make it! jim thompson's house was interesting too - nice gardens and and an impressive art collection - mysterious character too - he disappeared without a trace -
all in all a good day.
posted by Roxie | 6:22 PM
1 Comments:
Jim Thompson was an american. studied architecture at prnceton and worked as an architect in ny. during WWII he came to thailand - and then the war ended - he liked bangkok. and then he discovered the dieing (not dyeing) thai silk trade. he revived it and made a fortune selling thai silk. he also revered and respected thai art and history. in the 1950's (i believe) he mysteriously disappeared in the cameron highlands. he went out for a walk never to be seen again.
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