Bangkok Boogie
I was schooled in the art of getting around Bangkok today. I needed to go downtown to the MBK, one of Bangkok's several malls. And while we could have taken a taxi directly from Assumption (or ABAC, as it is called) to the mall, but that would have been expensive and slow given the time of day. So the cheapest way to get there is the Khlong boat, a large, covered boat that motors up and down the Khlong, a canal that reminds me of a much dirtier version of the LA river during a storm. But I get ahead of myself. In order to get to the nearest Khlong stop (which is a dock at the end of an alley) one has to either hail a cab, which we didn't, or hop on a motorcycle taxi, which we did. This was my first experience on the back of a motorcycle, and I have to say that the speed and the proximity to other, less open-air, traffic left me grinning ear to ear when I put foot to terra firma again. While not generally amused by high speed and traffic cocktails, I have to say that motorcycle taxi is my new favorite mode of transportation.
The Khlong boats are everything they sound like. Their name is perhaps their best descriptor. They pull up along docks along the cement bank and pick up those passengers nimble enough to jump aboard while others scramble off. Benches running perpendicular to the long axis provide seating for well over 50 people, maybe 70 if they're all Thais. There are many of these boats running up and down the Khlong, in both directions, at relatively high speeds. The water they run in is perhaps best described as a combination gutter, sewer, thoroughfare, landfill, watery grave that the locals use for pretty much everything, including swimming in. I've been told that dog carcasses are not an uncommon sight and that human remains are a more uncommon but not unheard of form of debris. But all in all, an efficient way of getting around.
At the last stop we got off and walked the rest of the way. A taxi could have been in order, but the traffic is so bad that walking makes more sense. The MBK itself is an impressive monument to modern consumerism. It is a seven story mall, each story containing a different category of wares. For example, the fifth floor is all food and the sixth floor is a hodg-podge of non-permanent vendors selling everything from clothing to handmade furniture. We spent a good five hours starting at the top and winding our way down. The trick, apparently, is to see virtually everything. Which we did. I found a couple of pairs of much needed pants, a shirt, and some shoes. After dinner at Dunkin' Donuts (and no, that's in no way any more nutritious here than it is in the states) we decided to take the Sky Train home. The Sky Train is a relatively new addition to Bangkok's transportation options, and it runs over Bangkok on a raised track much the way a monorail at Disneyland does. This train took us to Ekkemai bus station from which we took a cab back to ABAC.
There are at least a few other ways of getting around Bangkok, including motorcycle/chariot hybrid called a tuk tuk, but I'll just give 'em to you as I take them. As for me, I'm feeling slightly less confused about the overall layout of Bangkok and how one might get from the University to, say, the Red Light district....but more on that later.
The Khlong boats are everything they sound like. Their name is perhaps their best descriptor. They pull up along docks along the cement bank and pick up those passengers nimble enough to jump aboard while others scramble off. Benches running perpendicular to the long axis provide seating for well over 50 people, maybe 70 if they're all Thais. There are many of these boats running up and down the Khlong, in both directions, at relatively high speeds. The water they run in is perhaps best described as a combination gutter, sewer, thoroughfare, landfill, watery grave that the locals use for pretty much everything, including swimming in. I've been told that dog carcasses are not an uncommon sight and that human remains are a more uncommon but not unheard of form of debris. But all in all, an efficient way of getting around.
At the last stop we got off and walked the rest of the way. A taxi could have been in order, but the traffic is so bad that walking makes more sense. The MBK itself is an impressive monument to modern consumerism. It is a seven story mall, each story containing a different category of wares. For example, the fifth floor is all food and the sixth floor is a hodg-podge of non-permanent vendors selling everything from clothing to handmade furniture. We spent a good five hours starting at the top and winding our way down. The trick, apparently, is to see virtually everything. Which we did. I found a couple of pairs of much needed pants, a shirt, and some shoes. After dinner at Dunkin' Donuts (and no, that's in no way any more nutritious here than it is in the states) we decided to take the Sky Train home. The Sky Train is a relatively new addition to Bangkok's transportation options, and it runs over Bangkok on a raised track much the way a monorail at Disneyland does. This train took us to Ekkemai bus station from which we took a cab back to ABAC.
There are at least a few other ways of getting around Bangkok, including motorcycle/chariot hybrid called a tuk tuk, but I'll just give 'em to you as I take them. As for me, I'm feeling slightly less confused about the overall layout of Bangkok and how one might get from the University to, say, the Red Light district....but more on that later.
posted by Ryan at 7:24 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home