It should be known that for the entirety of my stay in Bangkok I had the song "One Night in Bangkok" stuck in my head. This was frustrating due to the fact that I in fact had two nights in Bangkok. I created my own version of the lyrics since I didn't really know them in the first place. "Two nights in Bangkok with my Thai friend Koiister - Maybe I'll make it down to Koh Phi Phi."
Kitty straight kickin it in his sweet vest, 0 hoots given
My first night I set out on a journey to find Bangkok's Chinatown and soon ended up stumbling through a sprawling flower market with too many stalls and shops to count. Such a unique combination of aromas: a perfume mix of all kinds of flowers mixed with the heavy stench of car exhaust and the occasional whiff of sewage. That's where I find myself at odds with this city. It's has such beautiful people, temples, and culture, but it's contrasted with pollution, scammers and civil unrest. Plenty of grit, but then again it does give the city character.
I try my best to save my appetite for Chinatown, but the walk proves too much for an empty stomach and I cave. My second meal is had at a little outdoor street stall with a seating area hugging a canal. I ask for one of whatever it is they make, and sit at a little table surrounded by young locals chatting up a storm. A boy that couldn't have been older than 9 drops off a tin mug of ice water and smiles at me. It's a family business and everyone chips in, they all seem to be in good spirits. To my left the canal is alive with bats that dart back and forth just above the water's surface, hunting down their meal.
My own meal arrives - a bowl of noodles, broth, pork, pork blood cake, and all the fixins. I accidentally add one too many spoonfuls of chili powder and soon find tears running down my cheeks and endorphins flowing. Thailand's definition of spicy is about 3-4 notches above America's. If you stop, you lose! Gotta power through it. I finish up, wipe off the fluids my face is pouring out, and pay for my meal. 30 Baht - less than a dollar!
Finally after an hour of wandering I make it to my destination. Bangkok Chinatown is much like Chinatown in San Francisco...and Chinatown in New York. I guess Chinatowns are the same everywhere you go - Chinesey. The highlight is a Thai dessert I come across that contains various sweet beans and otherworldly fruits topped with shaved ice and some kind of clear brown nectar. Different, yet incredibly tasty.
When it comes time to hitch one of the neon pink cabs back to the hostel I learn they can't get too close to Victory Monument due to the protest. I'm dropped off close enough and a short stroll leads me back to tent city next to my hostel. Up on a street-side stage, a pair of Thai dudes dressed in drag tell what I imagine are jokes, and sing a passionate duet in Thai. The crowd eats it up.
Pink taxis galore, can't miss em
Before I hit the hay there's a music joint around the corner that lures me in with the sound of brass. Saxophone is its name, and sure enough it's got a sax-man or two saxing hard alongside a band. I draw a bit while they play some old jazz standards. Feeling like Catcher in the Rye Bangkok style for sure.
Some real yip jump music for the ol' ears
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