First Observations from the 'Kok!

Greetings from Bangkok! Having been here almost three weeks already, I feel that I have figured everything out and can give you some keen observations. Note that some might feel these observations are culturally insensitive and just show what a jackass I am. Either way I will not be deterred!

The New Airport
As luck would have it I flew into the new airport (Suvarnabhumi) the day it opened! Under construction for over 10 years it is the largest airport in the world (rumor has it anyway – and I’m not going to check these “facts” – as Nehm would say, why let the truth get in the way of a good story). It did seem pretty massive from my plane window. And it certainly wasn’t 100% operational as there were tons of jet-ways open and ready for us, but instead we pulled off to the side and exited outside to buses that were waiting for us. And um, yeah – it was a 747, so you can imagine that process was pretty fun. The bus ride seemed to take forever – I think I saw the whole airport – but once inside everything went smoothly – customs, immigration, baggage, etc. I can’t really complain.

Weather
Guess what? It is hot and humid and damp. Thailand has two seasons – dry and rainy. We are currently at the end of the rainy season, which is the “cooler” time of year. I am sweating a ton, although I haven’t pulled any “green shirts” lately – Thomas you will be happy to know this! The temperature doesn’t really change much, the average highs are from the low to mid 90s year round. But it is the humidity that really makes it uncomfortable. I don’t know how to describe it – maybe this is the best way: as soon as you turn off the AC in your place, you can feel the heat attacking. Not after 20 minutes or an hour – you can actually feel it the moment you turn off the AC. It still rains quite a bit, and is cloudy a lot – which really helps – when the sun comes out it just boils.

Where Do I Live?
I live in Bangna – right across from the Central mall. It is pretty close to downtown – an easy cab if there is no traffic. Also – it is easy to navigate Bangkok via the train system – although I am far enough out that I need to take a cab to the last train stop – only about 5-10 minutes though. I live on a street right off on the main Bangna highway – which has a ton of traffic. The mall is on the other side of the highway, and it takes 10 minutes or so to get there, as you have to walk to the pedestrian bridge to get across the highway. There is also an elevated part of the highway – which I think is express and/or a toll way – it is the highest elevated highway I have ever seen. It looks really strange to me. Maybe I’ll add some pictures.

Central Mall
Yes, I realize I am writing about a mall. But I have to! So it is called the Central Mall because Central department store anchors the mall. And it is like any mall you would find back home: 6 floors, tons of chain stores, movie theatre, etc. They even have a water park on top of it! And it just floors me – because the area is pretty Thai – a few foreigners (farangs) here and there, but a lot of the area is pretty poor. And the mall is not where they are going. I guess there must be some burb-y areas around somewhere. But the mall is expensive – pretty much like prices back home. It is an interesting contrast for sure. And yes, they do have a Starbucks at the mall – but I have only been there once! So here’s a good example of the contrast – my Iced Venti Americana was MORE expensive at the Central Mall than it is in Chicago. Yet, when I cross the highway and stop at a food vendor on the way home, my lunch costs about 30 cents.

An Interesting Cab Ride
Cabs are usually pretty cheap: $3-$5 to get a lot of places. However, sometimes it is tricky in getting to those places, as a lot of the cabbies don’t speak much English (and I’m not trying to say they should, just pointing it out). Being a tourist downtown it is probably no big deal, as they know all the hot spots, etc. For us getting somewhere downtown or the train station is no problem. However – trying to get back, or get somewhere non-touristy can be an issue. It can be interesting trying to tell them to make a U-Turn or go to your place, etc. And if you say something in Thai – you have to say it slowly and over and over again because you are murdering it and they won’t understand you. It is funny – when they finally get it you can see it register and they tell you how you should say it, and I remember that for like 12 seconds. Many of the cabbies also cannot read so even if you have your destination written down in Thai, it may not help you too much. Anyway – my strategy so far has been to be a gentleman and open the cab door for Margaret so she gets in first.

The first venture for us downtown was to Sukhumvit Road – a trendy area loaded with restaurants, shops, souviners and ex-pats. It is easily accessible by the sky train – which is how we got there and back. However, as I said, the last stop out is still 5-10 minutes away from my place. And on the way home it was pouring rain. We got in a cab, and the ride took closer to an hour. I have never seen anything like it – the streets were completely flooded, traffic was almost at a standstill. It was so amazing that we took tons of pictures – I felt so badly for the people on their Vespas – they were basically half covered in water. And then our cab started to flood! Seriously! You could hear and feel the water hitting the floor of the cab. And then Margaret tells me that her feet are wet and sure enough water is coming into the cab, although only on Margaret’s side. But like the gentleman I am, I scrunched my legs against the door so Margaret could move her dainty little feet over to my dry side of the cab.


Other Quick Things

• Ok, I may get lots of rolling eyes for this un-PC comment – but I find this really weird. It seems as if the Thais are pretty laid back – they walk slowly, take their time at doing things, etc. yet they are still very aggressive. It is so odd and I don’t even know how to describe it. It can take forever to get across that pedestrian bridge b/c you can get behind a bunch of people walking so slowly and there is no way around them. Yet if you slow down while going up the steps you are likely to get a polite little shove. Or if you are waiting in line, you better be aggressive because if you just wait there people will cut in front of you. Being how I am, the other day two people went in front of me while I was waiting in line – they didn’t think anything of it.
• There are stray dogs everywhere. A former boss of mine at Tucker Alan lives out here now (that’s you Kevin) and he had them on a list of things describing Bangkok (they were part of the “not so good” things) and called them Soi Dogs (street dogs - and how I randomly decided my blog name). Anyway – a lot of these poor critters are in pretty shabby shape – Margaret nicknames them dead dogs, as they are always sleeping in just about everyplace you can imagine.

• There are more employees at Central Mall than there was population in Ann Arbor when I grew up there.
• Cheap things: rent; food (especially from vendors, but at a lot of restaurants too); fresh fruit (so awesome – the fruit vendors cut up slices of watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, mango, etc. and give you a little bag full); beer; taxis; DVDs (the, ahem, “un-official” copies - $1-2 for a movie, a bit more for a TV series – note that Margaret and I just finished the first half of the first season of Prison Break and are ADDICTED); bottled water (say 20 cents for a normal sized bottle); and Peninsula Hotel knockoff slippers.

• Expensive things: wine; groceries (it is actually more expensive to cook here than eat out); most flights; anything at the mall; and Peninsula Hotel official slippers (I assume).
• Some photos - Chao Phraya River and Chinatown:

• Some photos of the "old ball coach" and her Timberwolves footie team (Nehm and other Minnesotans - be sure to check out the T-Pups logo - hopefully this won't lead to a cease and desist letter!):

• My trip to Thewet area - this is what the heat will do to you!