City of Angels

I have become aware that keeping this blog might in fact be the most self indulgent thing I've done in years - writing about my daily activities and thought processes and expecting that others will find in interesting and want to read more. My varsity friends would remind me of how I was once quoted saying "focus on me", in what context I don't care to remember. However, I find myself repeating those words over and over again in my head, but this time as a mantra, acknowledging that I have been plover-bombed with a once in a life time opportunity to "focus on me" in a way that I don't think I ever knew possible. It is not an arrogant, self centred focus that I'm talking about. Rather, it's an opportunity to get to know myself again, assess what it is that I've been spending my time and energy on in recent years and deliberate better, more fulfilling ways to celebrate this journey called life. 

View of the Chao Phraya river from our hotel room

It's an opportunity to question and define what it is that I truly believe, without others judgement and question. What a privilege that is! To be handed the equivalent of a 6 month deluxe "soul" spa package - with all the trimmings of course because it takes place in Singapore! A million miles away from everything and everyone that is known to me. Save for my incredible husband, without whom this entire experience would never have taken place.

When you realise that the road ahead has in fact already been determined, and the joys and heartaches are already known, travelling (both literally and figuratively) becomes a much less stressful endeavour and "enjoying the ride" rings true, louder and louder each time. The "order" we put into the "kitchen of life" doesn't always make its way onto your table in the manner you expect it to. This has been the cause of so much of my stress up until now but I'm ecstatic to report that I've found a different way of looking at my map, through eyes I never knew I had.  

It is ironic that I had this revelation in Bangkok of all places, amidst the deafening chaos and polluted air that characterises 'the City of Agels'. Perhaps aided slightly by the sheltered calm that was the Shangri La Hotel, I sat at breakfast on Saturday morning on my own and wrote a poem! For the first since my matric year, I wrote a poem. Not a particularly good one, but one that captured my revelation and made me excited to be where I was...

Knives and forks clutter, the day settles in.

What does it hold? Where to begin?

The river, the sky, the silk and the tea,

Bangkok's inner City is as restless as me.

A flower falls into my lap, it's pretty, pink and small.

'Be present in this moment dear and revel in it all'.

Tuk-Tuk dashing across town

With a changed heart, I embraced the day and headed off to find those angels....unfortunately they were not forthcoming but instead, the buzz of a city that literally DOES NOT sleep engulfed me and I decided to go with the flow. I can't even tell you where I went and in what order I saw things but I managed to find my way onto the SkyTrain and later onto the MRT which took me away from the Chao Phraya river and towards Siam Square. I was surprised to not see too much evidence of the recent flooding that has taken place in Bangkok, save the stacked sand bags and blue rubber tubes that obviously carried water our of the city and into the river. The river was at it's full capacity though and I wondered what it normally looked like when floods hadn't dominated the headlines for weeks on end.

Side ally industry



How you know which one goes where is beyond me!



Although not much litter can be seen on the streets, Bangkok's industrial nature is evidenced by the grime and "blackness" that smudges the buildings and collects in every outdoor corner. At any given time there are at least 20 different activities taking place around you - food cooking in massive pots on the side of the road, fragrancing the clothes that are being sold right next door; tuk-tuk's dashing over payments to avoid red robots; pedestrians trying to cross the grid locked streets; people queueing for buses and the smell of dried fish and durian in the air. It was a sensory assault, resulting in me walking down one street, feeling quite bewildered and deciding that it was too much for me before ducking off into a side ally to breathe and regain my composure.

Giant shopping malls in the distance

I managed to find my way to the 'shopping district', where 5 massive malls stand side by side enticing shoppers and mall-rats alike. They were a welcome haven to the madness outside but to be honest, I wasn't in Bangkok to marvel at designer clothes so after a wee stop and a frozen cappuccino I headed back out onto the streets. I didn't feel like I was in Thailand, probably because everyone who goes to Thailand has Phuket or Pi Pi Island as their destination and those are the stories I have heard. At one point I felt like I could have been in downtown Rissik Street to be honest but I was sure that there was more to this place that I just hadn't discovered yet. After exhausting myself completely and walking round and round in circles for about 2 hours, I decided to head back to the hotel.

Having a drink in a fab gaudy little restaurant

I'm discovering that one of the greatest pleasures of being a 'trailer wife' is that you get to stay in fancy hotels and enjoy the amenities for no good reason at all! I spent an hour or so next to the pool, ordered an insanely overpriced diet coke and read a few chapters of my book. Focus on me, remember :) Nick managed to join me for a swim and a drink before his dinner and I found my way to a massage house just down the road from the hotel. Oh my goodness! The most incredible foot massage I've ever had - 1 hour for Bhat250 AND she gave me a free 20 minute neck and shoulder massage. Ridiculous! At that rate you could have a massage a day!

Writing - I'm addicted!

I had joined Nick and the other conference delegates for dinner the previous night so I opted for a bath and room service this time round. The first bath I've had in 6 weeks which is huge for me as I'm a

'2-baths-a-day' girl in JHB! I enjoyed my 'dinner for one' snuggled up in my starched white dressing gown and slippers and was happy for it.



River ferry that i spent most of Sunday on



After breakfast on Sunday I headed back to my room to brush my teeth, put some sun block on and then head out onto the river. However, on arriving at my room I discovered that the maid was busy and she asked that I come back later. So I wandered round the hotel admiring the chandeliers and then returned to my room but she was STILL busy! I decided that it wouldn't kill me to spend a morning with unbrushed teeth and I could do with some sun so I left. (In retrospect I don't now why I didn't just go into my room and brush my teeth but at the time I clearly wasn't thinking and was being a bit of a moron). I popped a spearmint and headed out to Central Pier where I was told by the concierge that I could get onto a river boat that would take me to all the tourist attractions.

46m long reclining Buddha at Wat Pho

Beautiful mosaic covered buildings at Wat Pho

What a treat! I got on the boat and enjoyed the ride up the river, taking in the Bangkok that I hadn't managed to see the previous day. It is truly Thai with it's thin pointy roof decor and lots of gold and coloured mosaic. I hopped off at Pier 8 as I quite fancied the idea of seeing the reclining Buddha in the Wat Pho Temple. As I entered the temple I saw a great big sign saying that woman needed to cover their shoulders on entering. I was wearing a sleeveless top so I rushed outside and started looking for a street vendor selling pashminas or scarves. Thankfully I found one, draped it around my shoulders and went in to buy my Bhat100 ticket. You leave your shoes at the entrance and step into the cool, high ceilinged chamber that houses the reclining Buddha. He is magnificent - 46m long and gilded with gold leaf. He has mother-of-pearl inlays on the soles of his feet and he literally dwarfs the shelter he lies in. The statue is symbolic of Buddha's death and passage into nirvana and is absolutely breathtaking to see. After trying to get a decent photo of him, I ambled round the rambling grounds of Wat Pho for a good hour admiring the giant granite statues that decorate the courtyard and the incredible mosaic work that adorns the temple buildings.

In and around Wat Pho grounds

I ambled through the food market on my way back to the pier and found a huge bag of cashew nuts for next to nothing so bought those for Nick (they are his favourite) and then headed back down the river. Nick and I had agreed that if I could get us onto a river cruise in the evening, we would do that instead of having dinner at the hotel. I headed towards River City, an upmarket shopping mall where I was told I'd be able to book us onto the Grand Pearl for a river cruise and buffet dinner. Unfortunately they were booked up and the cruise run by the Shangri La was not operating on Sunday nights. So I hit Google and managed to find a deal, departing at 7.30pm from Pier 2 at River City. I was ecstatic. At least Nick would get to do one touristy thing in Bangkok and a night time cruise on the river wasn't a bad option!

 

Little did we know, we were in for a quite an experience as we caught up on our respective day's activities in the pristine gym at the Shangri La. I blow dried my hair and put some lipstick on and we headed our for our dinner on the river.

View of Wat Arun from the river

The boat was huge, probably able to seat 300 people. We managed to find our way to a table on the upper deck and we ordered cocktails and waited for the other 298 people to get on board. Then we were off! There was an instant rush on the buffet dinner - I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it! People were standing 3 rows deep shoving their plates through any gap to try and get at the food. We saw at least 3 plates of food overturned onto deserving passengers and for the first 15 mins we didn't even look at what we were cruising past as the people were far more entertaining. As was to be expected, the food rush subsided and Nick and I managed to help ourselves to some extremely spicy Thai cuisine and decided to order another cocktail rather than get seconds. The river and the temples by night were spectacular, creating a sense of eastern allure and mythological mystique with their golden exteriors glittering in the moonlight. We enjoyed the sights to a very loud and very bad female lounge singer who seemed to be very popular with a particular group of men who danced for the entire duration of the 2 hour cruise.

Back on dry ground, we found a spot for a nightcap and observed the pretty young Thai girls with crusty old Caucasian men. 'City of Angels' they tell me....I don't think so!

Nick had to change our flight to leave earlier on Monday as he had a dinner that he need to get back to Singapore for so we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and headed to the airport at 10.30am. I was quite glad actually to be going 'home' to Singapore - I feel so much more comfortable here and its made me a snob for cleanliness. Bangkok was fun and I'm glad I got to see it but I don't think I'll be rushing back to visit it in a hurry. I think that the beaches or Thailand are far more down my ally so I'll think we'll head in that direction the next time.

I'm still undecided what Nick and I are going dressed as to his Christmas doo on Thursday night...the theme is "You'll go down in history" and I'm struggling to come up with an original idea. Any suggestions in this regard would be most welcome.

It's 9.30pm here, poor Nick is still not home from work as there seems to be a new instruction from India keeping them busy. Tomorrow's Wednesday already and we are looking forward to a weekend 'at home' this week. Brig arrives next weekend - I can't believe it's Christmas already!

Much love to you all and miss you dearly.

xx