The Tale of the Wanderer:Bangkok Trip, 16th-20th march 2009

my long time seri puteri friend, Anne, was gracious enough to extend an invitation to join her in Bangkok where she periodically has meetings. she extended the invitation in Dec, when we were on our way to our 5 ilmu gathering in JB. last 2 months, Anne reminded me of her invitation - and after mulling it over, i decided to give Bangkok a try and booked a flight - with MAS! and it's only RM451 for to and return tickets. i didnt have that sense of anticipation, because i was so busy that i didn't have the time or luxury to plan. there was the teachers debate (which i hated) and the tuition classes (i hate the SAT classes) and also Zek's grand wedding reception (this i love because it involved eating! hehehe). i didnt even check the list of halal restaurants that Anne's colleague in Bangkok sent. but come monday, i was excited to be on my way to Bangkok. Anne has been there countless of times and advised me on the dos and don'ts. the Suvarnabhumi airport is huge - it resembles a giant worm. the hotel car was waiting for us, and we were whisked to the centre of Bangkok and there i caught my first glimpse of Bangkok life. the roads are narrower, and the traffic is even worse than KL's. i saw tuk tuk, and also saw a man selling ironing board cover in the middle of the road. just to show you that the impoverished are really poor. we stayed at Silom area, and the hotel is just beside Anne's office. after checking in, she brought me to Lailai Sap, a street market almost like Petaling Street or Chow Kit, which is just a few metres away from the hotel. that meant i could shop like mad if i wanted to.

that evening, Anne's colleague, Nazmi, brought us around Silom area, and i saw that the Thais love street food. there were stalls everywhere - selling grape tomatoes, sweet and sour unripened mangoes eaten with chilli salt, and other meat stuff. the thais could eat anywhere, even amidst the fumes and smoke of the traffic. we dined at Deen, a halal restaurant, and i got my first taste of authentic Thai tom yam - and for my sensitive tummy's benefit,Nazmi told the tauke to make it less spicy and sour. it was divine. in fact, for all the dinners in Bangkok i sampled 3 types of tomyam - the clear tom yam, the red tom yam and the milky tom yam.

on the first day, i shopped at Lailai Sap with anne's colleague's wife. anyone can go crazy here, with all the cheap stuff (including the imitations). wafts of sweet scented jasmines can be smelled almost everywhere, as the Thais use them for their prayers. the sellers will weave the jasmines and roses into wreaths, almost similar to the ones we see here, the ones the Hindus use in their prayers. the roses are different than the ones sold in Malaysia, in fact i prefer theirs. i must say that even until the last day i was in Bangkok, i still couldnt get used to the big denominations of Baht. 500 Baht might seem a lot but it's roughly around RM50, and i was so confused that sometimes the sellers helped me by telling me which notes is which. even Nazmi sensed my confusion that he told me the colour of the notes that i was supposed to give to the seller.

anyway, after feeling hot and tired bargaining, we decided to take a tuk tuk and find a halal restaurant. that's when i met Nui, the ever so friendly tuk tuk driver. his English is dismal, and yet this friendly guy managed to bring us to wherever we asked him to, and on that first day, he was telling a lot of stuff to us, most of the time in Siamese. it's like hens and ducks talking together. he brought us to the Indian Muslim quarter, and was sweet enough to wait for us while we ate. we went to the first shop, and was informed by a sullen lady that they didnt cater halal food (even though the signboard did state they have halal food). we then went to another shop not far away. out of hunger, we ate whatever was available (because most of the food and the drinks that we asked for weren't available). i was very dissatisfied with my lunch. me with the tuk tuk and Nui the tuk tuk driver

we then went to MBK, Bangkok's biggest shopping mall. by then, the mall lost its attraction to me, because they only sell the same thing. i prefer to discover "hidden jewels" at the street market and bargain. with unsatisfied hunger still gnawing, i went into a supermarket and found pulut with sweet mango and santan, and also dried mangoes and cranberries and bought those. on the second day, Nui promised to bring us sightseeing and also places for more serious shopping. he brought us to Chao Phraya, which i had been on the previous night when Nazmi brought Anne, Herbie and me for dinner at Klong San, which is next to Hilton. Chao Phraya at dusk, waiting for a boat to take us across

anyway, we wanted to see the famous water market, but that is 100km outside Bangkok, and obviously Nui couldnt take us there in his tuk tuk. the lady in charge of the chartered boats gave us time to discuss, and so we decided to take a laidback cruise along the Chao Phraya. the boat was very slow, so slow that all the other boats carrying tourists overtook us. no this wasnt the boat that we took

there were temples everywhere on both sides of the banks. occasionally, we saw a barge carrying cargo. one or two catamarans could be seen, feeding on fish, which from time to time emerged to the surface. after almost an hour and when we were almost lulled to sleep, the boat made a turn into the water village, and that's when we saw a few sellers selling wares on their sampans. i bought some souvenirs from one of them, and because they sell wares on sampans, they overcharge the wares. after the cruise, Nui took us to Pratunam Market, where he claimed all Thais love to shop because everything's cheap. Pratunam Market is bigger than Lailai Sap, but definitely smaller than Chatuchak (the market i didnt go to because it only opens on the weekends). you can find just about anything here, from bellydancing costumes to kinky lingeries. it was a hot day, and after walking and walking at the market, i was definitely tired. again, Nui waited for us as we lunched at a halal African shop. then Nui took us to see the sleeping Buddha at one of the temples. we were supposed to go to another temple with a bigger sleeping Buddha, but because of a pressing business, Nui brought us to another place. we met with the caretaker of the temple who said that he supplies thai silk to KL. we then went back to our hotel, and bid farewell to our favourite tuk tuk driver, who was clearly sad to see us go. the next day, i did my last shopping at Lailai Sap. while walking to the bank, i was mesmerised by the simple beauty of the lotus flower, just as i was mesmerised by the red poppies grown wild in profusion across the English and French countryside. i then went to have lunch by myself at Cilipadi Restaurant, a Malaysian restaurant, and it was a relief to be able to slide into the seat, watching Astro, talking Malay to a fellow countryman and eating Malaysian food. that night, Nazmi brought Anne, Herbie and me to Suan Lam market, a tourist haven. the four of us then had a foot and shoulder massage session that lasted an hour. it cost only RM25 or 250 Baht plus some tip for the masseuse. the next day, i left Bangkok. i was recounting the friendly faces of Thai people, the customary bowing and the way they put together their hands in greeting, when suddenly the ugly part of Bangkok came flooding in front of my eyes - old mat sallehs with long haired and long legged Siamese girls.

nevertheless, every time i return to Malaysia, i always feel relieved to be back home, and i always cherish the fact that i'm a malaysian.

always.