Arriving Bangkok, we cabbed at high speed along 8 lane expressways shared with late model luxury vehicles and 4x4s (there seem to be no old cars here).
Unknowingly, we had arrived in the midst of the Water Festival celebrations. It is fitting that we chose the Asoke Residence (pronounced "ah so" ending with a very soft "k") because walking back to the Asoke after a light dinner, we were A-SOAKED by fun-loving, frolicking Thais who found it quite hilarious to dump buckets of water on passersby. Accompanying shots from water pistols and high powered water guns together with merciless blasts from garden hoses ensured that we were thoroughly soaked...right down to our moneybelts.
The Asoke Residence appeared so grand and spacious when we booked on the net. We were a bit underwhelmed...wide angle lenses should be outlawed! And as is often the case in Asia, the old stands alongside the new, luxury next to squalor, plenty amid want...our hotel was no exception.
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| ...not bad but not as grand as the online images... |
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| ...very small pool area off the cafe |
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garbage and construction refuse
was piled high just outside the hotel gates |
Oh well, live and learn...at least our accommodation was within walking distance to both the subway and the above ground rapid transit systems.
So the next morning we took the metro to the last station, Mo Chit, and strolled to the Chatuchak Market.
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| Must see for shopaholics, but only open on weekends... |
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Looking towards the Chatuchak market from the
Mo Chit station overpass |
Now, anyone who loves shopping is going to love this market. Almost anything you can imagine can be found here for cheap...feel free to bargain...
This is NOT your run-of-the-mill market...Chatuchak dwarfs London's Camden Market and is home to more than 8000 vendors...there are 27 official street entry points...miles of narrow passageways...vendors selling cooked foods, vegetables, fruits, electronics, clothing, arts and crafts, watches, jewelry, shoes, knock-off anything, and everything under the sun.
The following is a small glimpse of a tiny section of the market (we had to leave after only 40 minutes because Mrs. Mundain was about to erupt...but that's a different story).
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| Goodies of every type skewered and ready for bbq.. |
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| Marinated meats, seafood, fishballs ready for the grill |
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| briased chicken... |
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| fried chicken |
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| you pick 'em... |
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| we cook 'em... |
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| ...or buy pre-cooked |
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| ...the usual souveniers and knick knacks |
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| salted mango with fresh chopped chili, a 30 cents snack |
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| deep fry specialists...spring rolls ...fish n' chips...banana fitters |
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The deep fryer lady and her neighbor, the fresh fruit lady...
there are hundreds of food vendors... |
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Assorted fresh fruits...pineapple, starfriut, kiwi, limes, mangos,
bananas, strawberries, lychees, |
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| Mrs. Mundain was used as a decoy... |
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| ...as I tried to get a shot of this scary dude, without being too obvious |
Chatuchak gets a big Mundain thumbs down, which of course, means it's not mundane at all; no matter how I tried to be bored and disinterested, I couldn't. Heck, I'll even admit to buying a shirt or two, or three, or four...
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