Bright Lights, Big City 3

Our friend, Steve, met us for breakfast this morning - the Pathumwan Princess Hotel has a very nice buffet.  They are, however, pretty strict about the closing time.  Although they didn't ask us to leave or rush us through, their clean-up routine was not to be trifled with - tables and chairs all around us were moved and the big floor cleaner hummed past our table.  It was entertaining to see the staff running through their clean-up duties like a well-oiled machine - very efficient.  We got the hint...

We grabbed a taxi from out front to take us to the Chatuchak (or Jatujak) Market.  Our taxi driver was quite chatty; he asked us where we were from, and when he heard we were American, he said how much Thais like America and like Obama.  "He good man!"  I wonder if he says that Thais like your country no matter where you're from?

Chatuchak Market is one of the world's largest weekend markets, covering over 27 acres, with more than 15,000 booths selling almost everything you could imagine.  When we first entered the market, it looked ordinary and unassuming, but every corner revealed more and more treasures.  There are stalls along the main road (which, oddly, is not closed to automobile traffic), but those stalls only scratch the surface of what is Chatuchak Market.  Turn down any one of the dozens of "alleys" into the covered area and you are in a maze of colors, smells, and sounds.  The market is vaguely divided into categories, but we enjoyed just wandering to see what we might stumble upon.  We saw a man cooking prawns in a huge wok - Steve informed us that this guy was pretty famous, so we took a picture with him.  Here's a youtube video of this guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S-jPz0uBvY

We browsed through aisle upon aisle of ceramics, clothing, silks, bags, shoes, trinkets, incense, soaps, teak wares, plants, and jewelry.  I bought a couple of pretty, colorful necklaces.  They even have a section for pets, with lots of birds, bunnies and adorable puppies.  I found this a little troubling, to be selling puppies when there are so many stray dogs in the city; but the puppies sure were cute.  We saw one girl carrying a tiny puppy in what appeared to be a gift bag, feeding him from a baby bottle.

We spent a little over an hour, then stopped for some refreshment.  I had a mango smoothie that was delicious and refreshing on a hot day.  The drink came with a clever "cup holder," a cross between a plastic grocery bag and a drink caddie.  Check it out on the left.
As we headed toward the exit, we came to a booth selling pop-up cards.  Upon closer inspection, the details of the cards were amazing, and the seller said he designed many of them himself - a true artist.  We spent several minutes and several bahts at his booth: K.Popupcards.  The seller was such a lovely, gentle spirit who was modest but very proud of his work.  We agreed this booth was the best find of the day.

Found a taxi to take us back to Siam, the area of Bangkok where we were staying.  Steve took us up to the food court on the top level of the MBK mall.  He explained how the food courts work - you pick up a card when you enter, give the card to whichever food vendors you wish to buy from, then pay on your way out.  He told Tim we could use one card for the both of us, so Tim slid his card back on the register counter.  The clerk was helping another customer and he didn't want to bother her.

 The food court had ethnic foods from many different cultures.  I got some chicken from the noodle vendor, Steve got some roasted chicken, and Tim just had a fruit drink.  The food was good and the sitting area was clean and pleasant.  When we approached the cashier to pay for our meals, she demanded a card from Tim.  We tried to explain to her that we shared a card between the two of us, but she was having none of it.  Everybody must have a card!  (She must be introduced to the Soup Nazi).  With the language barrier, we were getting nowhere.  I asked her to let me pay for mine while we sorted it out, so the people behind us could pay.  But she whipped out her "CLOSED" sign, and forced everyone over to one lane.  Security was called, and we again tried to explain our situation.  She finally let me pay, and we thought we were OK, but she stopped Tim from leaving and made him stand inside.  So Steve and I were on the outside and Tim was being held captive.  (It could just as easily have been me, but I happened to be holding the card when we paid).  Finally, after what seemed an interminable amount of time, they brought the clerk from our entrance over, and she did verify that she did, in fact, find a card sitting on her register counter and didn't know where it came from.  Escaped by the skin of our teeth on that one - thanks, Steve!  Now we know - one card for one customer!

We returned to the hotel lobby and collected our luggage.  Our driver arrived right on time, and we said our good-byes.  It was an exciting and exhausting weekend; we were happy to be back "home" in Pattaya.