Down the Chao Phraya...[Entry #9 June 27 2011]

[Above: A view of the Chao Phraya river going south.]

Entry #9 June 27, 2011:

        So today was a rather interesting day, I woke up late, it was raining and very overcast. Honestly for the first part of the day I should have stayed home. I realized earlier today I have been neglecting some of my food experiences for those of you who are interested. One thing that recently I tried and I wasn't sure if I wanted to was a very small piece of Durian fruit. I have to say this fruit has a nefarious legend surrounding it, but actually it was not as bad as the reviews I have heard about it go. Yesterday when walking around in the weekend market I ate a small piece inside a mall, I do not know if it was because the fruit was very fresh, or cool but it hardly had any smell and the taste was not all that strong. I can certainly see why some people say it is an acquired taste, as I would describe it similar to eating a piece of Bree or blue cheese alone. It has a very similar consistency and actually has a stronger after taste then when you first eat it. I really do not plan on eating much more as it isn't really my taste in food, but I am going on record and saying this fruit isn't all that bad. It's worth trying at least once to see if you like it not, I suppose just like all things in life.
        Back to today's adventure though! Today I decided to go to the 'Chinatown' district, honestly I had no real conception of what to expect, except the trip seemed a bit more arduous to get there, and that the online references all cite this area as a place to shop for gold. Although I would love to have a budget to go buy gold whenever I like, I was really hoping perhaps to find some traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and perhaps try an acupuncture session. Unfortunately I didn't really do any research into looking for where I could find these and of course though my random traveling through streets and back alleys I did not find any of these businesses. Initially the trip started the same, my 5-10 minute walk to the BTS station, then the new and exciting part of the journey was taking a river boat up the Chao Phraya river to the pier that opens up into China town. I have to admit, the cost seems negligible, about 25 baht = $.80 cents for a one way ticket a couple kilometers up river. The directions and stops are a bit more confusing then the MBS (skytrain) and MRT (subway) but there are information desks who are more then willing to help. Additionally you have to be careful which boat you get on, because I took a ferry which just crossed to the other side of the river, rather then go to other stops and ended up having to walk back across the river along the highway. However this provided the beautiful shot of the extremely overcast day. I have to take a moment and explain that I was drenched in sweat by the time I made it to China town, the humidity today, because of the rain and the clouds was absolutely aweful, it really didn't feel that hot, but I was sweating horribly.
        Once I got to China town, I was a bit disappointed, I don't know what I expected, but honestly this was the worst travel experience I have yet had in Bangkok. The streets are very narrow, so there is very little room to walk, extremely crowded and because there is SO MUCH merchandise you can barely see anything other then what is rubbing up against your face as you walk. I walked through a market which felt half the size of the most the markets I had gone through which were already teaming with customers and sellers, and it felt a bit overwhelming. I have to admit it may have been the heat getting to me though, because by this time I was already starting to feel dehydrated and showing signs of it. The markets all seemed to sell goods, slightly overpriced, or really useless junk or gold. Seeing as I was in the mood for none of these things I opted not to buy anything and save my money for better food and entertainment. I do have to say the Chinese area did seem to be more segregated in that each street you walked down had a particular purpose, such as the street with all gold vendors, or the street with all fruit vendors. Probably the best part of this experience was trying a new drink, typically you can get bottled orange juice (concentrate, not the real thing I think) anywhere in Bangkok. Here however they were selling some sort of lime juice, it tasted very much like lemonade, and might have been but had a zesty kick to it. Very invigorating when you are extremely thirsty. I wandered through what looked more like business district, where no real shops operated, only import/exporters and got some rather strange looks, but I did manage to find several shrines tucked away in back alleys that were interesting to see. By this time I absolutely berated by the heat and tried to get back as quickly as I could, waiting for the boat on the Chao Phraya river comes with the cheap cost I think. What I did notice however, which I would never have seen if I didn't wait so long, is right by the dock there was a man with a bunch of fish pellets, you could pay to feed the fish along the rivers edge, and right by the dock there were so many fish swimming in this small area, they were actually swimming across one another. For about a 30 foot square it looked like the river was made of only fish.
        After my tumultuous experience at the China town district, I retired to my room for a shower, water and a bit of rest before having dinner with a new friend Ying. She graciously was willing to meet with me and help me practice my Thai. I am embarrassed to say her English was excellent, and my Thai was very lacking. I think I may start spending more time in individual study, because I really do want to speak the language fluently, and it takes practice on my part. What is funny, is that I probably had one of the best meals thus far in Thailand at a restaurant that she suggested. It was very chic and served western and Thai food, but it was not very expensive. Ironically though I did not eat Thai food, I ate pasta carbonara, which is a dish for some reason or another have tried in every country I have ever been too. I will attempt to find the name of the restaurant tomorrow because I would not mind going back again. I did however try a Thai desert, Bua Loi and Tub Tim Grop. One was served warm, the other on ice, and I have to say Bua Loi was a little bitter sweeter but not too sweet. It was just the right mild flavor, and I hope to have it again as it seems beautifully flavored, very delicate which is something of a rarity I feel as Thai food tends to be extremely complex and layers of taste stacked on top of one another. To give you an example of what I mean, I ordered a salad last night after a long day and it consisted of: Iceberg lettuce, onions, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, then topped with american cheese, sliced hard boiled eggs, slices of ham and chicken, all of these flavors and then thousand island dressing on top of that. I think in Thai food there is a tremendous amount of complexity, now this isn't a bad thing, just different from some of my previous experiences and I hope to adjust. Bua Loi, the desert I had tonight was just the opposite, a smooth blending of a few flavors delivered perfectly. I was very fortunate to end this hot and humid day with some lovely company and a nourishing meal. Tomorrow I think I will spend more time recovering in my hotel room then previous days.