Little Moments in Sukhothai
Stopping in Sukhothai to break up the trip between Bangkok to Chiang Mai turned out to be an excellent decision. Had we not stopped, we never would have gotten to…
…watch a Thai toddler with a full-blown mullet rock it out to Michael Jackson concert footage in a biker bar called Choppers…
…see that Thai school kids are just like their Western counterparts… (We watched them dilly-dallying before getting on the “school bus” they shared with tourists returning from Old Sukhothai – i.e. a truck with a roof and benches in its bed. While the driver honked impatiently, they took their time stuffing themselves full of sugary Thai soft drinks and french fries and making sure they got in the truck with the cool kids.)
…finally, after months of saying let’s rent a bike!, feeling the sun on my face and wind in my hair as we pedaled around the ruins left behind by the ruling class in the 13th and 14th centuries.
Little moments like these are what make travel memories that make you smile.
Bangkok Bonus: Pak Khlong Talat
As I mentioned earlier today, my absolute favorite thing about Bangkok was the Pak Khlong Talat nightly market and its kaleidescope of colors. So, because I couldn’t choose just one to show you what it is like to be surrounded by flowers, here’s a bonus post for your Monday:
12 reasons to love Bangkok and counting…
I love Bangkok. I know some people hate it. They say it is crowded, noisy, and smoggy. Maybe this is so, but coming off a month in India, Bangkok seemed positively calm, orderly and clean. Bangkok reminded me of an Asian New York City – no matter how many times you go, you can always find somewhere new to explore and something new to do. It being our first time in Bangkok, we barely scratched the surface in our week in the city, but coming up with reasons to love Bangkok was not hard. Bangkok, we’ll be back.
1. Bangkok is where you can get things DONE. We had a big to-do list in Bangkok and accomplished everything with ease. As compared to say, India, where it took us four days just to buy a train ticket out of Delhi. In a matter of days, we finished Christmas shopping for our families; shipped said presents home; bought Christmas cards featuring a monk with sunglasses and who-knows-what sort of message in Thai; bought new shorts for Sean and a new dress for me; got Sean’s hairs cut; replenished our toiletries; bought guidebooks (at a discount, of course) for our southeast Asian travels; and got my camera cleaned at an official Canon center in the MBK mall for a fraction of what it would cost at home.
2. Bangkok is modern. Although other cities in southeast Asia can fool you into thinking they are modernized and sleek, eventually something crazy happens to make you remember that you are in the middle of an area that operates with inefficiencies, corruptions, crazy rigged vehicles and squat toilets. Not that this description couldn’t be applied to Thailand, but for the most part, Bangkok can hold its own better than its regional neighbors against other world-class international metropolises. There’s something comforting about knowing that no matter where you are in southeast Asia, as long as you get back to Bangkok you can accomplish tasks (see number one), experience modern conveniences you can’t find elsewhere, and obtain healthcare if needed on par with what you would receive at home.
3. Bangkok has movies galore. Nothing erases homesickness quite like watching a Hollywood film in the theater. Although we’ve tried to catch good movies on the road before, our timing was never quite right. In Bangkok, however, we had our choice of films from a plethora of theaters, prompting us to go twice in one week. (We saw Eat, Pray, Love and the Pittsburgh-based Next Three Days, if you are wondering. We also caught the Social Network for $2 the following week in Chiang Mai). Just like home, movies in Thailand come complete with giant popcorns and Cokes. Quite unlike home, movies are cheap (about $4), seats are assigned, and everyone gives a standing ovation to the King before the movie starts.
4. Bangkok has cheap, tasty street food… From our favorite pad thai in Thailand for under a dollar, to stir-fries galore, to fresh fruit stands, to fried pancakes with bananas and Skippy peanut butter, to mango and sticky rice, Bangkok is yummy.
5. …and Bangkok has street laundry. We paid way too much at our guesthouse for our first load of laundry before we discovered the coin washing machines randomly stuck outside shops and homes. Awesome.
6. Bangkok has fabulous, cheap massages. $4 neck-and-shoulder massages. Need I say more?
7. Bangkok is shiny and pretty. Whether illuminated by sunshine or street lamps, the wats in Bangkok positively shimmer.
8. Bangkok has a BIG Buddha. I’ve decided that I like my Buddhas big. The bigger, the better, and Bangkok has one of the biggest in Thailand. The reclining Buddha at Wat Pho is HUGE. I was memorized by his giant marble-inlay feet, relaxed posture, and melodic pings of coins hitting metal as Buddhist devotees circled the room.
9. Bangkok has nooks and crannies. While dodging the zany traffic on Bangkok’s main streets and street vendors on the sidewalks can drive you bonkers, the sois (side streets) are quiet and peaceful. You’ll find families living in their shops, children playing in the streets, budding guitarists, tropical flowers, tailless kitties, and you-never-know-what-else in the sois.
10. Bangkok has shopping. From everything under the sun at the enormous Saturday market, to cheap knock-offs on the street, to fancy stores at the malls on Silom Road, to up and coming designers in Little Siam, you can shop until you drop in Bangkok.
11. Bangkok has waterways. I loved discovering random canals lined with tropical greenery tucked between streets, and loved even more that Thais put their rivers to good use by running water taxis up and down to avoid the congested streets.
12. Bangkok has flowers. If there is one thing that makes me happy, it’s colorful flowers, and Bangkok’s nightly market, Pak Khlong Talat, has them in abundance. Strolling through the market, surrounded by tropical flowers on all sides, made me feel like I was in a kaleidescope. The market was hands down my favorite part of Bangkok. I loved Pak Khlong Talat so much, I’m saving my photos from the market for its own post.
Silom Road at night
A Bangkok canal
Shiny wat
The fancy mall, Siam Paragon
Little Siam
A random soi in our 'hood
Now that's a big Buddha.
Medium sized Buddhas, but bonus points for having a bunch of them.
Street food!
View from Roof View Place during the King's Birthday celebrations
Steeler Nation Comes to Cambodia.
Tomorrow morning, at 6:30 a.m., from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, we’ll be watching the Steelers play the New York Jets in the AFC Championship game at Heinz Field. And though I’m not a morning person, and it won’t be nearly the same as watching the game at home, it will be awesome.
I realize not all of my readers may not be Steelers fans. To outsiders, it may be hard to understand the fanatical reverence Pittsburgh has for its Steelers. It may be hard to understand why being away for the entire season was a serious concern we had about taking this trip. It may be hard to understand why I just won’t shut up about it.
There’s many reasons why Pittsburghers love their Steelers. Because they are blue-collar work ethic, personified. Because they’re in contention, almost every year. Because they’ve won more Super Bowls than any other team in the NFL (6, to be exact). Because it’s tradition. Because it’s contagious. Because they get you through the winter, without fail.* Because it’s fun.
*The Facebook status of almost all of my Pittsburgh friends for the last few weeks has mentioned something or other about the game. People are pumped and in cold, dreary January, what else is there to be pumped about? At kickoff during Sunday’s AFC championship game, the temperature is supposed to be 13 degrees. We met an American guy from San Diego in Thailand and the topic of sports came up. I don’t really follow sports, he said. We’re usually outside doing things instead of watching t.v. Well, in Pittsburgh, there’s nothing to do in 13 degrees. Except sit in the cold at Heinz Field, of course.
To give anyone who wonders what is like to be at Heinz Field during the playoffs a taste of the excitement, check out this video:
I’d tell you to put watching a Steelers game at Heinz Field on your travel bucket list, but be prepared to pay a scalper top dollar because every.single.game is sold out.