Bangkok From the Eyes of a Pampered Singaporean

My first trip to Thailand. Can't say the same for the rest of Thailand, but Bangkok is a quirky place. It is a place of bad traffic, terrible pollution, "money laundering", raunchy T-shirts, "have size can try", Pashmina, funny English, money swatting, tuk tuks and Coffee Me Travel Agency.

Traffic: Bangkok has got terrible traffic. It took us almost 2 hours to get to the hotel. Traffic was sluggish and I was getting restless being stuck in a cab for that long. The taxi driver must be frustrated as well. He made an agonising moan when we continued to be stuck in the traffic for 15-20 mins with the hotel less than 5 metres away. I thought that was quite comical of the taxi driver seeing he should have already gotten used to the terrible traffic in Bangkok.

Pollution: I am sure those who have been to Bangkok will readily agree with me that the pollution there is bad. Everything is dusty from motor-vehicle soot and I think my lungs must have turned at least 1 shade darker after breathing the Bangkok air for 4 days. When I blew my nose, the mucus was black! I was not ready for this so I asked Craziblues if she noticed any black things from her nose when she was cleaning it. Having been to Bangkok before, Craziblues just gave a wry smile affirming there were black things from the nose.

Tuk Tuk: I have people and travel guides telling me it is more expensive to travel by the BTS or MRT then tuk tuk or cab, but frankly speaking, I think it is actually more expensive travelling by tuk tuk. We went Suan Lum on the first night. Took the BTS to Sala Daeng station and walked 15 mins to Suan Lum. That was only 20 bht per head. We decided to take a tuk tuk back to the hotel, but the driver quoted us 300 bht. Further negotiation was not allowed because he said our hotel is far from Suan Lum. Decided to take the MRT from Lumpini station to Si Lom station then transfer to BTS all the way back to hotel. In total that was only 35 bht per head. A far cry from the 300 bht quoted by the driver. (x_x)

Money Laundering: Well, this is a joke between me and Craziblues. Less than 10 mins walk to the right of our hotel is this official building dealing with money laundering. Being an official building naturally there are country flags on poles just outside. Problem was, one of the flag has a tendency to block the view of an important word making the building a "Money Laundering Office". It was actually the Anti-Money Laundering Office. :D

Coffee Me Travel Agency: This is one of the good finds we had in Bangkok. According to the signage it provides information for tourists. Actually it serves food and at the back there are broadband computers for use at a very reasonable price. Maps of bangkok and other parts of Thailand are sold there and you can also book local tours through them. Why is this a good find? For 120 baht (~$5), you can get an English breakfast set comprising of pineapple or orange juice (it's actually mandarin orange lol) + tea or coffee + toast with butter or jam (they serve both butter and jam for you to spread) + baked beans + egg (scrambled or ... I forgot what's the other option) + bacon or sausage (I ordered sausage but there was a slice of bacon as well, not too sure if they've misplaced it from Craziblues' order lol). We had sandwiches the next day, and prices range from 30-55 bht. By the way, the sandwiches are good with plenty of fillings. *drool*

The internet charge is 35bht/hr or 20 bht for 30 mins. According to Craziblues the connection is quite good, not sluggish at all. Another good thing about this shop is they do not mind you hogging their seats after you finish your meal. It was an idyllic life reading about Jack the Ripper and watching where the ants are going while waiting for Craziblues to check her email. We were disappointed to find the shop closed for a day's rest on Sat (02/11/2006). Just when we were thinking of eating to our fill before hitting Chatuchak market.

This little shop is located less than 5 mins walk to the right of Asia Bangkok Hotel.

Raunchy Tees: Not sure if the Thais know what those T-shirts are saying, but they are going at a really cheap price of 99 bht per piece. Then again, I suppose they should know. Some of the T-shirts are pictorial showing stick figures having group sex... Some of the really funny ones include a sperm in the shape of the Nike logo with the slogan "Just Did It!", a Tee showing the various sex positions you can try from Mon-Sun (didn't use real human figures of course), and Mission Impossible featuring a couple in cartoon having difficulty mating because their tummies were too big. LOL

Have Size, Can Try: This is a refrain I kept hearing from sales girls trying to get me interested in their shoes, and they all say it in the same sing song manner. Maybe this is some Thai way of speaking... Actually it sounds kind of familiar; just like the way we counsel patients on painkillers, "For pain, no pain, no need." Everything is super truncated, but those few words are enough to get the message across.

Pashmina: It is one of the materials used to make shawls, and it is all over Bangkok esp the first and top floor of MBK (Mah Boon Krong) Centre. Not sure if the ones I bought are the true blue Pashmina, but only testing the fabric in air-conditioned room would tell. Apparently, pashmina is made from the undercoat that goats develop in cold weather. According to those who owned one, it is able to keep the body warm although the shawl looks thin.

Funny English: I guess this happens to all countries where English is not the native language. Not saying Singapore is perfect. However, there is a limit to how much one can tolerate. For example, there was this food place in Platinum Mall which used some really hilarious words to translate its Thai menu. What I think they are trying to convey is the word "fragrant", but when translated it came out as "Seafood Mix All with Offensive Odor and Rice". I almost burst out laughing while I stood outside the shop trying to decide what I wanted to eat. Anyway, just to be on the safe side, Craziblues and I steered clear of those dishes with "offensive odor". LOL

Then there was this signage outside Coffee Me Travel Agency that says "Oversea Call". Craziblues remarked that we can only call over one sea. :D

Money Swatting: I thought this is some common practice, but when I think back I only saw the shop owners in MBK centre do this. Basically, the shop owners would use the first earning for the day to swat at all the goods in the shop in hope that the luck from the first earning would carry on for the rest of the day. I really wanted to laugh when I saw them doing that, but I guess that would be disrespectful. Anyway, I am not complaining. Usually, by 12+ if the shop has not made any business they would give you really good discounts. That was how I got a pretty pashmina shawl for my mom at a discounted rate. The sales girl immediately took my money and started swatting all the pashmina and thai silk she's selling. LOL

Good Buys
If you're ever in Bangkok and need socks, try this shop located at the top floor of Platinum mall. The shop sells socks (there are many variety) at wholesale rate, and I really do mean wholesale rate. 3 pairs of ankle socks cost only 57 bht. That is about S$0.85 per pair, and if I recall correctly the cheapest we can get in Singapore is 3 for $10. Between Craziblues and I, we bought 13 pairs of socks. It was so cheap that I forgot to bargain. Anyway, the owner also sold me one scrungee at wholesale price, 25 bht instead of the 35 bht quoted on the shop floor. Apparently when buying from wholesale shops they will require you to purchase a minimum number before giving you the wholesale price. Eg. in this case, I should be paying 35 bht for 1 scrungee, and 25 bht each if I purchased 3 scrungees and above.

Handphone trinkets, the flat spongy type with a screen wipe on the back. There are many designs available, mostly Sanrio's characters such as Little Twin Stars, Melody etc. Again this is wholesale. Craziblues bought 12 trinkets at 50 bht. Divide that up and it's about S$0.17 per piece. It is located in Platinum mall, near the shop selling socks I mentioned above.

Pashmina from MBK is a good buy too. At least from the stall that I went to on the 6th floor. It is the first stall next to Watsons. Gave me 120 baht discount for a simple 2-toned pashmina (was originally 350 bht), but then again, I bought more than 1 shawl from her (no this was not the stall that I was referring to in my comment about money swatting). Anyway, I like the auntie. She's very friendly and readily gave the discount without me asking for it. I like owners who gave discounts without me asking for it. :p

A point to note for those who wanted to buy things from departmental stores. Go when it is near the Thai king's bday. According to one of the store owners in MBK, many shopping malls and Far East Plaza-like stores are now having sale in celebration of their king's bday.

Conclusion
Although it was an exciting shopping trip with many funny incidents, I do not think I would want to go back that soon. Bad traffic, pollution and airport inefficiency put me off. Language barrier is another issue. I absolutely do not understand what the Thais are saying and cannot read their Thai language. Sometimes it's really chicken and duck talk. At least I speak rudimentary Japanese and I can read some Japanese (even if I do not understand the meaning of the hiragana, I can still guess if there is kanji).

In addition, like what Craziblues said, I'm overly pampered. I cannot stand the hot and humid weather in market places such as Chatuchak and Pratunum. Was perspiring like crazy in these 2 market places, and that did not set the mood for me to weave round the shops for good buys. Felt bad that I kept hurrying Craziblues because I could not stand the heat and wanted to get out ASAP. Give me the mountain coolness of Blue Mountains down under, or Akan National Park in Hokkaido any time.