Bye Bye Bangkok

Sat 9 July 2016

Today was the big day. We were heading to Chiang Mai, a town located in the mountains of northern Thailand. We hopped on an hour flight and were greeted at the airport by Charles, our AirBnb host. He gave us a driving tour of the small town and then showed us his movie collection and how to work his big screen tv. The afternoon was filled with delivery food, movies and naps on the couch. After resting up, we did some exploring of Chiang Mai. I brought mom, dad and Candace to the first hostel I ever stayed in, baan kuhn 2. They got to meet New, the woman who befriended my friends and I when we first arrived in Thailand and helped us to have one of the best christmases ever (as far as Christmases away from home are concerned). She was so happy to meet my family that she gave all of us traditional elephant tunics and handmade bags.

For dinner we enjoyed some street food dishes, including mango sticky rice, banana nutella pancakes and pulled pork from the infamous cowboy hat lady. Everyone enjoyed it, and no one got sick :)

After, we headed to the bar scene and sat at a popup truck bar that served up cold beers and a pretty decent music selection. How did we get home you ask? We took our very first tuk-tuk ride as a family :)

Last day in Bangkok

Fri 8 July 2016

Bangkok is famous for many things, one of which is the absurdness of its shopping malls. We decided to spend the day inside the A/C and visit MBK, one of the biggest, and best known for for its tech selection. MBK is great because they bring the outdoors inside: the basement floor includes market vendors and bargain prices. The upstairs includes a food court with foods from around the world (even Chicago was featured!) and areas for thai cultural events. We got to watch girls in traditional clothing make dessert cups (we then got to try them!)

That evening, we met my friend Jenna for dinner on the Wine Connection patio. Wine Connection is a favorite spot of ours because it is close to school, my apartment and has great deals on wine. Wine is usually very expensive in Thailand because it's all imported, so it's great to have a cheaper option.

After dinner I took Candace to a favorite going out spot of my friends and I, Bombay Blues. It's an Indian Restaurant with a swanky vibe- tables are close to the ground, seats are floor pillows and shoes are left outside. Although we happen to love the place, Candace didn't seem to think it had quite the same appeal. The best part though? Taking Candace on her first motor bike ride. We managed to get a two for one deal, so Candace got to be sandwiched between me and our thai driver while enjoying the sights and sounds of Bangkok nightlife.

live chickens, frog legs and fish, OH MY!

Thursday 7 July 2016

"Jaclyn, you cannot do to us what you did yesterday."
Ok, so maybe keeping my family moving from 10am-10pm on their second day in Bangkok was a bit much. I decided to scale it back for their third day.
We started off with a visit to the Khlong Toei Market, an outdoor market in the slums utilized almost exclusively by locals (tourists don't even know the place exists). Because Bangkok is such a big city- 8 million and counting- and there are so many expats, sometimes it's easy to forget that the city is actually located in SE Asia. The local culture of this market is a hearty reminder of just how "non-western" pockets of Bangkok really are. The ability to speak thai along with a strong gag reflex are absolute musts here; the stench is one of pig carcasses, live fish and chicken poop baking in the hot sun.

As we walked the banter between stall owners increased "farang, farang" (white man, white man). They had seen farang before, but this one was whiter than the rest. This one was so white he needed to be touched to determine whether or not he was actually a real human being. The vendors argued over who was going to do it, and finally, one stepped up to the plate. As we were walking, he reached out and grabbed Stew's arm, looking up at him with big wondering eyes. Yep. This farang was 100% real and they couldn't believe it. The market visit turned out to be just as shocking for the thais as it was for us.

After relaxing in the A/C, away from the market stench, we were ready to head back out for a western dinner at Hemingway's, the happy hour bar my colleagues and I have drinks at on Fridays. We then took a taxi to Rajadamnern Stadium for a muay thai fight. Established in 1945, it's the oldest stadium in Bangkok. We were able to watch over 9 matches all with fighters of different ages and weight classes. But the best part, by far, was drinking Chang beer through straws. Yuuuum.

The Never Ending Day

6th July 2016
Started with a great breakfast on our balcony overlooking Bangkok.

We had to set aside one day to do the "touristy" bits of Bangkok, which included visiting the Grand Palace and Reclining Buddha, both of which are incredibly important to thai heritage and culture. Getting to the Grand Palace is no easy task. We took the BTS skytrain to the river. Then we got on a riverboat ferry (don't buy tickets at the actual ticket window because they cost 150b, but rather walk around the window and buy them from the peddler on the pier for just 40b-- I think this would be Thailand's equivalent of "scalped tickets") After getting off the ferry, walk another 15 minutes or so to the Palace grounds. All the while, make sure not to get scammed by the tuk tuk drivers (they'll offer to take you to the Palace but bring you to a gem store and suit maker first) or the peddlers (they say the Palace is closed for this or that holiday but for a special fee they can get you inside). Keeping our heads down and our wits about us we followed the white walls around until we made it to the Palace entrance. Feeling incredibly proud of ourselves because we had not been duped, we started to head inside. Minutes later we were stopped by guards and told our clothing was not acceptable. This was impossible-- I had entered palaces and temples before. I wasn't a normal tourist. I lived here. I knew the rules. Our knees and shoulders had to be covered. Check. Check. No. This was the King's Grand Palace. Shoulders weren't good enough. Knees weren't good enough. Full legs had to be covered and shawls were unacceptable as arm coverings. Fail. Looking like total tourists, tails between our legs, we joined the obnoxiously long clothing rental line. Mom, Candace and I came out with oversized blouses while dad was wearing a pair of pants big enough to fit all four of us. Check out the photos below for the cutest all american family you've ever seen.

The ornate details and decor of the Palace and its grounds were beautiful, however wandering in the scalding heat in our borrowed clothing sans shoes was less than desireable. After spending less time than the King would have appreciated, we were ready to head out. However, we quickly found that the grounds layout designer must have been in cahoots with the IKEA layout designer- there weren't any exits, only paths leading through. We were going to have to walk all 2 million square feet of the grounds before bowing out. Touche King Rama IX, touche.
During a few million foot walk, you learn a thing or two. Here are a few of the things we learned about the Grand Palace:
 -official residence of the Kings of Siam (and now Thailand) since 1782
-the grounds are divided into many quarters, including: the temple of the emerald buddha, the outer court, the middle court, the inner court and the gardens
-the King, Rama IX, does not currently live in the palace, but official events are still held here

After finishing our 2 million square foot walk and returning our borrowed clothing, we were on to the next tourist attraction: Wat Pho, aka The Temple of the Reclining Buddha. Thank goodness for us, Buddha isn't nearly as strict as the King so we were allowed to enter the complex wearing our own clothing (minus our shoes of course!) The reclining buddha is fascinating because it's just that: over 150 feet of golden encased buddha in a reclining position. As you circle the buddha, you'll notice 108 bronze donation bowls, symbolic of the 108 positive actions that helped lead buddha to perfection. It's said that making the bowls ring (by adding money to them) brings one good luck and helps wishes come true.

After a long day of walking we made our way back to the ferry, which dropped us at the BTS just in time for rush hour- there's nothing like being sardined between multiple thais after a long day in the Bangkok heat.

But we weren't done yet. No siree. No time for jet lag here. This was already our second day in Bangkok. We needed to pack in as much as humanly possible because we only had eight days left. So we headed to dinner with my Thai Teacher, June and my Nanny, P'Nun. June and P'Nun advised us regarding what to order. We had a thai family style meal, complete with durian ice cream and sticky rice for dessert. How did we know when to ask for the check bin ka? Simple. When Stew fell asleep at the table.

But our night was just beginning-- Wednesday nights meant free flow champagne at Ku De Ta. My girlfriends were already there. Going wasn't even a question. Candace's response to my invitation- a look that could kill and a slammed bedroom door. Guess we'd have to save free bubbly for another time.