Bangkok Day 3
Saturday morning was reserved for one thing and one thing only - shopping at the Chatuchauk weekend market. This famous market is gigantic, with several narrow alleys of shops containing everything from clothes to food to furniture. We decided to take a 
tuk-tuk out to the market, which was an interesting ride but really not worth it because A/C taxis are just the same price anyway. Since Nima had been to Chatuchauk before we had an idea of what to try to hit. She picked up a couple shirts (I think), and I found some interesting stuff but buying any clothes from these Thai markets is risky because of the chance of color bleeding and shrinkage. I ended up picking up a pair of cotton fisherman's pants for 100 baht. We found a cool t-sh
irt store Nima went to last time, but unfortunately they didn't have the "Mullet" t-shirt we were hoping to find. By about 11am I was finished shopping, so I parked myself at a cafe/bar with a Singha while Nima continued shopping. There I ended up talking to a couple American girls who were in Thailand for the Peace Corps, each stationed in a village a few hours north of Bangkok. It was interesting to hear their experiences being in small villages teaching English. Both girls agreed that the hardest part was the mental challenge of being in isolation without much contact (internet, phone) back home - which led them to having read dozens of books over the last 6 months. After a couple beers, Nima finished up with the shopping and we headed back via skyway and boat taxi.
We decided that for dinner we wanted to get some good
Mexican food (I know, we're in Thailand), but it was really a craving that I had since being in Sri Lanka because I haven't had any good Mexican food since March. We heard of a good Mexican place called Senor Pico at Hotel Rembrandt in "downtown" Bangkok. After taking a much needed afternoon nap during the downpour, we headed off to an early dinner. I don't know if it was my craving of Mexican or the food itself, but I don't think I've ever savored refried beans and real cheese that much. The food definitely hit the spot, and the restaurant added a nice touch of live Latin music as the night went on. We had a nice, leisurely dinner that lasted a few hours before we headed off to check out some BKK nightlife.
We picked out a couple bars to check out on Soi 33, close to the restaurant and in the center of town. According to a guidebook I found there's a jazz/blues bar called Mojos down that road so we decided to check it out. Unbeknownst to us, Soi 33 was full of what Bangkok is known for, "massage parlors" and "sports bars" that cater to out of town male guests. As we walked down the street pretty much all we saw were a couple Thai girls enticing passer-bys to enter their establishment. Nima was getting upset at the whole thought of BKKs industry, and though we ended up finding the bar on the way back down the street there was nothing going on inside, so we decided to find somewhere else all together.
As we were walking by some of the seedy bars I did notice signs that the FA Cup final between Liverpool and West Ham United was going on that night. Nima spotted a bar called The Londoner, which was sure to be showing the game. We headed into the packed pub and luckily
found a spot at the bar where we parked ourselves for the next 3 hours. We noticed at the pub an unusually high number of old white men with young Thai women on their arm, something you see everywhere in BKK. Its kinda pathetic when you see the two people pretending they are together yet they can't even communicate. But otherwise, the bar will chock full of lads enjoying the match. In case you missed it, the match itself was incredible, with West Ham scoring a shocking 2 goals early. Down 2-0 in soccer is pretty much a guarantee you're cooked, but Liverpool chipped away thoughout the match to get it to 3-2 with 10 to play. Steve Gerrard then scored on a lazerbeam in stoppage play to tie things up. By then it was midnight and we had an early appointment in the morning, so despite the high drama we decided to take off for the night and get some rest. As it turned out, the FA cup final went to penalty kicks with Liverpool prevailing, marking it one of the best FA cup finals in history. Although we missed the ending, we still had a fun, fantastic night out in Bangkok.
tuk-tuk out to the market, which was an interesting ride but really not worth it because A/C taxis are just the same price anyway. Since Nima had been to Chatuchauk before we had an idea of what to try to hit. She picked up a couple shirts (I think), and I found some interesting stuff but buying any clothes from these Thai markets is risky because of the chance of color bleeding and shrinkage. I ended up picking up a pair of cotton fisherman's pants for 100 baht. We found a cool t-shirt store Nima went to last time, but unfortunately they didn't have the "Mullet" t-shirt we were hoping to find. By about 11am I was finished shopping, so I parked myself at a cafe/bar with a Singha while Nima continued shopping. There I ended up talking to a couple American girls who were in Thailand for the Peace Corps, each stationed in a village a few hours north of Bangkok. It was interesting to hear their experiences being in small villages teaching English. Both girls agreed that the hardest part was the mental challenge of being in isolation without much contact (internet, phone) back home - which led them to having read dozens of books over the last 6 months. After a couple beers, Nima finished up with the shopping and we headed back via skyway and boat taxi.We decided that for dinner we wanted to get some good
Mexican food (I know, we're in Thailand), but it was really a craving that I had since being in Sri Lanka because I haven't had any good Mexican food since March. We heard of a good Mexican place called Senor Pico at Hotel Rembrandt in "downtown" Bangkok. After taking a much needed afternoon nap during the downpour, we headed off to an early dinner. I don't know if it was my craving of Mexican or the food itself, but I don't think I've ever savored refried beans and real cheese that much. The food definitely hit the spot, and the restaurant added a nice touch of live Latin music as the night went on. We had a nice, leisurely dinner that lasted a few hours before we headed off to check out some BKK nightlife.We picked out a couple bars to check out on Soi 33, close to the restaurant and in the center of town. According to a guidebook I found there's a jazz/blues bar called Mojos down that road so we decided to check it out. Unbeknownst to us, Soi 33 was full of what Bangkok is known for, "massage parlors" and "sports bars" that cater to out of town male guests. As we walked down the street pretty much all we saw were a couple Thai girls enticing passer-bys to enter their establishment. Nima was getting upset at the whole thought of BKKs industry, and though we ended up finding the bar on the way back down the street there was nothing going on inside, so we decided to find somewhere else all together.
As we were walking by some of the seedy bars I did notice signs that the FA Cup final between Liverpool and West Ham United was going on that night. Nima spotted a bar called The Londoner, which was sure to be showing the game. We headed into the packed pub and luckily
found a spot at the bar where we parked ourselves for the next 3 hours. We noticed at the pub an unusually high number of old white men with young Thai women on their arm, something you see everywhere in BKK. Its kinda pathetic when you see the two people pretending they are together yet they can't even communicate. But otherwise, the bar will chock full of lads enjoying the match. In case you missed it, the match itself was incredible, with West Ham scoring a shocking 2 goals early. Down 2-0 in soccer is pretty much a guarantee you're cooked, but Liverpool chipped away thoughout the match to get it to 3-2 with 10 to play. Steve Gerrard then scored on a lazerbeam in stoppage play to tie things up. By then it was midnight and we had an early appointment in the morning, so despite the high drama we decided to take off for the night and get some rest. As it turned out, the FA cup final went to penalty kicks with Liverpool prevailing, marking it one of the best FA cup finals in history. Although we missed the ending, we still had a fun, fantastic night out in Bangkok.
posted by SM at
5/26/2006 12:52:00 AM
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