A Weekend in Bangkok

Before traveling to Bangkok I had heard I would either love it or hate it. My brief stay here has led me to the general conclusion that I like it. I don’t love it, though I certainly could see living here for a few years, as it feels strangely similar to New York, as I write I’m in Lumphini Park, which could easily be central park if you took away the palm trees and water monsters. It’s another big city, and aside from the oppressive heat, it really feels like home. Siam center in basically Beverly Hills indoors. And when I lived in Brooklyn and Pasadena much time was spent in neighborhoods where English was non existent and ordering was based on pointing. Food wise, Bangkok does not disappoint, from cheap street meals to local jaunts for fried chicken (Soi Polo fried chicken) to Pad Thai (Thip Samai), nearly everything we’ve eaten has been delicious, and for the most part ridiculously cheap-fried chicken, papaya salad and rice for two: $4.50. The benefit of our incessant food tourism has been two fold, first, we’ve eaten fantastically, and cond our wanderings in search of perfect pad thai has brought us through nearly every neighborhood in Bangkok. Plus, It’s hard to imagine being food homesick here, though it’s reassuring to know if I really needed a wood fired pizza, I could get one. Though Bangkok to many merely represents westernization, and therefore holds little interest, It is admittedly a nice to feel at home for a few days, to go to the movies (in a nicer theater than I’ve ever been in before), pick up necessities, and easily navigate public transport, in high air conditioned fashion. There are of course, things I don’t like about Bangkok, just like any major metropolitan city, and to be honest Khao San is pretty gross, but overall it’s an easy way to ease into south east asia. Plus anywhere that can feed me this well, for this cheap, will always win in my book.
Today we head to the airport, for a week in Burma!

Pictures from Bangkok:

Wat Arun