On our last full day in Bangkok we had more exploring we wanted to do. Bangkok is so full of interesting nooks and crannies that I think you could explore it for years and still see new things. After viewing the sunrise from our perch once more, we rode the elevator downstairs for that always fun and fulfilling breakfast in the lovely dining area.
Bangkok is increasingly more smoky with each day. Definitely not a clear view anymore.
I always like to choose the small table just outside the office of the patriarch, who, I presume, built the hotel into what it is today. I know nothing of the hotel's history, his history or how old he is now but he sure looks old. Every one of the staff provide him a great deal of respect. When he enters the dining area he makes his way to his office in the corner of the dining area. He sits down at his desk and not thirty seconds later his coffee, tea and a slice of toast on a plate are placed on his desk in front of him. The day's newspaper is already there off to the side. The newspaper and a toast are exactly what my father enjoyed as soon as he came to the table every morning in his old age. That's probably why I position myself outside the patriarch's door at the table where I have a good view of him - a clear view for those memories of my father to come alive. The way he attempts to refold the sections of newspaper is exactly how my father tried to refold them. I marvel at how similar he is to my father even though aside from the toast and newspaper there probably isn't one thing they had in common. But I bask in those small similarities and hold close to the familiar feeling as I eat my toast.
Today when we went out the front door of the hotel we turned left as opposed to right yesterday. The hotel's neighbors are all businesses that package and ship stuff. The sidewalk is an obstacle course of all manner and shape of cardboard boxes freshly taped up, addressed and ready to be put on delivery guy's motorbikes or into box trucks. Even entire car bumpers are bubble wrapped and lying there waiting and once again we are reminded how there are always sections of towns or cities where businesses are similar in a location. Whole parts of towns are devoted to one thing, business after business dealing with the same product or service. I find it strange because I'm an American and we are not as efficient. If you have been a resident in any town in Asia for any length of time you will have found out what quadrant of town will be the rope stores or the bag stores, most of the tire shops, and in this case, a whole lot of packaging and shipping businesses. We have seen this sort of congregating of businesses all across Asia. Of course, interspersed were other odd shops and often we couldn't tell what exactly they were selling.
I love these stores that look like a jumble of stuff.
Across the street from us was Khlong Phadung, the same khlong we view from our hotel room. We walked along it and then crossed to the other side and came across something I had actually marked on Google Maps quite some time ago when we were looking for restaurant possibilities - The Railway Club of Thailand. We had never seen it in person. Turns out it is a great place, a spacious Thai food court similar to the one in Bangkok's Don Mueang Airport but more inviting, more airy. I believe it was built to serve the thousands of railway workers since it is located not far from Hua Lamphong Station (Bangkok's now former central station) and next to the State Railway of Thailand administrative office complex. We were stuffed from breakfast but someday I'd love to try the food there. We saw that all the vendors had the usual Thai dishes and prices were very low. It was relaxed and clean - a lovely atmosphere in an old Thailand sort of way, which I love. Terrazzo floors too!
As we walked further along Khlong Phadung we found ourselves in a warren of clothing shops. We enjoyed getting lost in the network of tiny alleys all lined with brightly colored clothes for sale. We came to a crossroads (crosswaterways) of khlongs, Khlong Saen Saep, one we had taken many times from the Khao San Road area all the way to Pratunam. I feel as though the water taxis in Bangkok are the fastest and definitely the cheapest way to cross long distances in Bangkok. And they are fun too.
The intersection of Klongs Phadung and Khlong Saen Saep.
The clothing warren we were lost in gave way to a fruit and vegetable market, Padung Krung Kasem Market which was winding down for the day and was quite a filthy area. We were not in the most prosperous part of town. We were sort of looking for a basic kitchenware store to get lost in because we were wanting to look for little spoons and such. I wanted to see if I could find little metal bowls like the ones our hotel steamed eggs in every morning because I wanted to duplicate them when I get home. We did find such a store across from the market and, rare for us, it was a flurry of a buying spree. I found the exact metal bowls for cooking eggs and we also bought: fine sieves, small spoons with long handles, coffee "socks", stainless steel cups, a food grater, a wok spatula as well as other stuff. After that we were hot and exhausted. We passed more papayas than we had seen on our entire trip combined and stopped short when we saw a Thai tea vendor who was beating the heat by sleeping. We woke her up and she groggily made us two delicious Thai iced teas. A Thai person in Thailand can still make superb Thai iced teas even having just been awakened.
That was it for the heat of the day was upon us. We walked back towards our hotel but then I spotted a roll of bubble wrap deep inside a packaging business. Just to be safe I thought we could use some bubble wrap on the top of our bikes inside their boxes so we purchased four meters. Then it was a retreat to our hotel room to do the final packing of our new purchases, throw in the bubble wrap and seal up the boxes.
Andrea took a nap while I hit the streets again, always curious, always looking to take photos, never getting my fill of Thailand and enjoying the thrill of just being in Asia. It was my farewell walk around the neighborhood before we went to find dinner.
One of the hippest places in Bangkok. Mustang Blu is a late 1800's building that was many things through the years but then was abandoned for decades before a designer bought it and turned it into a ten room bed and breakfast. To see a bunch of photos of the inside look at this website: https://design-anthology.com/story/mustang-blu
Bruce LellmanTo John SolemIt really is. I've never been willing to spend $200 for a night anywhere but this place might be the one where it would be such an experience that it might be worth it. Comes with breakfast too! Reply to this comment 2 months ago
Each of these sets of doors are individual homes. They are all teak and although I love raw, unpainted teak the Thais often choose some nice color combinations.
Since we loved the pad Thai from a street vendor the night before we headed there again. We rarely get pad Thai in Thailand because we rarely see it and there are so many other things to eat instead. But, here is some advice to remember; if you find a pad Thai cook and that's all they make, then you had better eat there. Pad Thai is complex and takes a lot of time to prepare. Each dish is cooked separately. If two people order the same thing a good pad Thai cook will make them separately and not one big batch that they divide in two. We had found such a pad Thai cook not far from our hotel and we were sticking with him. It was some of the best pad Thai we had ever eaten and a fitting last dinner in Thailand. The night enveloped us as we sat on rickety metal stools on the sidewalk. The cook's son sat near us on a cement step, stuck at his parent's food cart after school but completely absorbed in his phone until his father yelled that the next dish was ready. Then he jumped up and brought the dish to the diner. Andrea and I didn't have much to say to each other, maybe we were absorbing our last evening in Bangkok, our last evening of our trip. I sensed she was ready to go home and I felt a bit like I could stay forever.
Our last dinner, ironically pad Thai. Ironic because we only ate pad Thai a couple of times on the entire trip and because I would guess most foreigners think everyone in Thailand eats pad Thai all the time. Fried rice and krapow are eaten a thousand times more often.
