Bright Lights, Big City

Friday arrived at last, and I packed my bags for a weekend in Bangkok.  Mick and I drove to the airport to collect Tim from his travels.  Along the road I saw a pickup truck with high, fenced sides carrying a huge load of pineapples.  I've seen trucks piled high with pineapples before, but this truck had the pineapples lined up in perfect little rows.  I tried to get a picture, but traffic was moving too fast.  I thought to myself, "I bet this guy would be really good at Tetris."

We had about a twenty-five minute wait, and Mick stopped the car right in front and walked over to the other side of the road to talk on his cell.  Then he came and said he was running in to use the toilet.  You know how antsy security is at Detroit Metro Airport if you sit in front of the building more than a minute or two?  I was a bit anxious about what I might do if security came and told me I had to move, since I don't have a Thai driver's license.  When a guard stepped up to the front of the car and was inspecting our Ford sticker, I quickly used my Google Translate app to figure out how to say "driver toilet."  Luckily, I didn't have to use it (phew).  I did enjoy looking at the images of the King across the front of the terminal - so cute as a little boy!

Mick, and then Tim, finally came out and we headed for the hotel.  I could tell Mick was not too comfortable driving in Bangkok, although to me the traffic is just as crazy in Pattaya.  The greater Bangkok metropolitan area, though, has a population of over eight million people!  Mick said once several years ago he was trying to find his way out of Bangkok for three or four hours.

Our hotel, The Pathumwan Princess Hotel, was right in the center of the city, and adjacent to Chulalongkorn University ("the Harvard of Thailand"), where our friend, Steve, is teaching a five-week course.  We got a lovely room on the twenty-eighth floor, overlooking the athletic fields and pools.

A nice young man with excellent English brought our bags to our room, and gave us lots of details about what we might want to do in the area.  The hotel is attached to the biggest shopping mall, Mahboonkrong, or MBK.  We were told this multi-story mall is quite legendary.  We decided to check it out tomorrow.  

Went to Cafe Bistro in the hotel for our complimentary dinner - what a spread.  The host took us on a tour of the all-you-can-eat buffet with all kinds of Asian and western delights. The host asked us what kind of fish we liked by the section that had raw fillets out on platters.  I said I liked salmon, and Tim said tuna.  I was half-thinking he would take our choices to be grilled up for us, but he came to our table with two plates heaped with the raw fish that had been cut into bit-sized pieces.  It was pretty good, especially with the wasabi and soy sauce, but it was way more than we would have taken for ourselves.  We muscled down what we could.  Also had something called "roti," which is a round of dough that is cooked on a griddle.  The gentleman who prepared it for me said that in Sri Lanka, where he is from, they traditionally have their roti with cooked vegetables or curries; but the Thai people prefer theirs sweet.  I had mine with chocolate, of course.  Here's a video of a Thai street vendor making roti: Street vendor making roti

The next day we spent a few hours wandering the MBK, as Steve was teaching until 4:30.  We picked up a few items, including a Manchester United jersey our driver has been wanting, and some DVDs that we had to order, then come back in half an hour when they were ready.  Also found an inexpensive replacement for Tim's IPhone charger, and a drawstring bag for me, so I could finally dump the the promotional freebie I'd picked up in the states, and had been wearing on my back for the last few months.  (I can finally use the word "few" when I talk about the months we've been here).

there's the King again...

no caption necessary :)

We wound our way back to the hotel, which has pretty tight security.  There are guards at all the entrances with wands to check your bags for weapons, and a metal detector to walk through.  We didn't see that at our hotel in Pattaya.  It does make one feel safe.  Explored the hotel a bit - it has a pretty big athletic complex, with lots of machines, free weights, classes, squash and tennis courts, boxing bags, etc., and a lovely poolside cafe.  An employee was juggling in a courtyard as we passed - thought of Ron and the Johnsons.

Will meet Steve at six... time for a quick nap...