Venice of the East

The last day in Bangkok, we took a tour of the Chaopraya River. A private boat owner took us around for over an hour to see the canals. We had met the gentleman a few days before and agreed on a fair price. We stopped at a floating market but asked him to shove off immediately when we realized that all the boaters were simply docked, cooking in their boats, waiting for you to walk by to eat...and it was too early for that. Floating markets are unique here...Bangkok was once known as the Venice of the East, because people would sell their goods in their boats, floating up and down the river and coming up to your boat. We did have one woman come up to our boat to do just this, but we couldn't settle on a price and didn't want anything she had anyway, but it was cool to barter with someone on another boat in the middle of the river.

The boat driver stopped at a stand alongside the river. He didn't pull up to the bank - instead, he waited for the women to send a bucket out to him on a string by pulley, filled with bread. We put 10 bhat in the bucket (about 30 cents) and threw chunks in the water. Catfish came out of the woodwork. There were so many, some of them were actually not in the water at all, flopping on top of the many fish below them. They had huge, gaping mouths. I figure, if I could eat fish, and if I were desperate enough to eat one from this filthy river, I'd come here and take one of these catfish, because these bottom-feeders are stuffed each day with primo bread. This river is best measured alongside the Hudson for cleanliness - actually, the Hudson might be cleaner (never thought I'd say that). We did see boys swimming in this water and another woman doing her dishes in it, ...someone, gag me to DEATH, was brushing their teeth in it. Shoot me in the face. I can't even deal with it.

It was actually quite fun; the juxtaposition of dumpy houses that must flood every time a boat drives by too quickly, and the gaudy, super elaborate temples in between, certainly made it an interesting journey. Sometimes we'd pass other boats that would kick up waves, and the water would splash us over the side - my mom stuck her face in my dad's shirt, thinking she could get some sort of disease from the water...she probably was afraid of contracting some water-borne disease. But, hey, let's ask the man who brushes his teeth in it each day!

We took a cab to the Weekend Market, where our hearts were broken in pieces at the sight of the sales of animals. It wasn't a row of pet stores. Sting rays in bags of water, overheated albino frogs, baby squirrels in tiny cages, water-deprived kittens...in bags as far as the eye could see (see below). There were signs on the aquatic tanks that you couldn't take pictures - probably because they had gotten the fish illegally. Same with the baby owls. We found solace in a very western food court where we collapsed from the heat. Pineapple fried rice was the pick of the day, and we wandered around to find cheap, over-sized bottles of water to keep us alive until we could reach air conditioning.

Dinner that night was at Kim and John's house. We waited for John to pick us up at the BCGH. I wasn't as tired as everyone else and spent a lot of time in their gift shop, where they sold goods made by all kinds of Christian organizations - leper colonies, children's shelters, women rescued from the sex trade, etc. I found little hand-sewn elephant ornaments to send to everyone that is financially supporting us...they'll be mailed when we get back. John brought us to their home, which is beautifully decorated. We had a lovely dinner and enjoyed cakes and chocolate chip cookies for dessert (manna from heaven!).

We headed to the night market afterwards, where I accidentally got a woman to drop her prices unbelievably low on a silk dress that I wasn't actually interested in (I'm not cruel...she just wouldn't take no for an answer. Afterward, I felt bad about it, but I really wouldn't have worn it). We didn't stay long, with an early flight the next day. Headed back to Khao Lak, to share our home with my parents. Mangos, beaches, air conditioning, here we come!