Bangkok Dangerous

You may know Bangkok from Nicholas Cage's terrible movie flop Bangkok Dangerous, but most know it as an economic and cultural center of Thailand. It was our first stop on our trip with Craig and Ranae, the first two days of which Kendra wrote about below. By the way, there was nothing dangerous about our trip to Bangkok (other than the Thai drivers in the city), I just think it's a funny term.

On the third morning of our stay in Bangkok, we ventured from BCGH to the Jim Thompson house. Jim Thompson revived the Thai silk industry following World War II, and with the revenue generated from his substantial success, he built an excellent house in Bangkok. Consisting of six antique Thai teak houses, the complex, now run as a museum, has excellent grounds and is replete with antiques from Thompson's collection. Mysteriously, Thompson disappeared without a trace while on a trip to the Cameroon Highlands in Malaysia when he was 61. People suspect foul play or CIA involvement in his disappearance, but nothing's been proven. The House-Museum is Bangkok's second most popular tourist attraction (surpassed by the Grand Palace) and we greatly enjoyed the tour.

My favorite part of the Jim Thompson experience, however, followed the tour. Kim Quinley gave us directions to an old, out-of-the-way factory that was one of Thompson's original facilities and still makes silk the old fashioned way. We took a single-track concrete footpath along the canal adjacent to Thompson's house down to a little bridge and crossed over. Boats sped down the green water and cramped shops and tiny homes lined the opposite shore. We pressed onwards until we saw the sign leading us down a narrow alleyway to the shop. What we saw inside was incredible. Two men were pulling on silk strands looped around a pipe and warmly welcomed us inside the tiny factory. We went into a stiflingly hot room to the left that had 4-foot tall cauldrons bubbling with deep red and pure black dye. The fibers being dyed hung above above the cauldrons and an old man eating his lunch greeted us kindly. We then went on to another room where a woman was using a big wooden machine to make fabric from the silk threads. It appeared to be quite complex and required her to coordinate all four limbs while managing the spools of thread. There was also a little shop area where they sold the products made from the wonderful fabric. It was incredibly authentic and I loved our visit to the little factory.

The next stop on our tour of all things Bangkok came in the form of the country's museum. I was, to be honest, underwhelmed by the experience but there certainly were highlights. Tales of the country's history wrought with stories of elephant combat were definitely of interest, as were the sections showing musical instruments, weapons, and ceramics. Our admission fee certainly wasn't used for maintenance, however, as the facilities (other than those visible from the street) were lacking in upkeep. If you're a history buff I think you'll find it interesting, but probably wouldn't recommend this stop to visitors myself.

Following our trip to the museum, we retreated for some rest in our air-conditioned rooms at BCGH. Craig, Kendra, and I then ventured out for a most enjoyable experience- high tea at the luxurious Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Following our very low-budget lifestyle in Khao Lak (Craig and Ranae thought our outrage of having to pay more than $1 per meal at a Bangkok restaurant was quite entertaining), such an occasion as this was an incredible contrast. Craig very generously treated us to the experience and I must say that I recommend it highly if you: 1) love expensive things and enjoy gorgeous high-rise views of the river and Bangkok skyline, 2) greatly enjoy tea and value the history of the tea room as the Author's Lounge, where numerous greats came to reflect and write (Merideth Jeffries- this place is made for you and we thought about you while we were there), or 3) hate your money. The decadence of the experience certainly came at a price, and we're extremely grateful for the experience. I'd also like to just quickly clarify that we're doing our best to be good stewards of the money we've been blessed with by our supporters- thank you again for helping us and making this trip (the mission to Khao Lak) possible.

The evening also had its adventures: joining the parade of Red Shirts (thousands of supporters of the previous Prime Minister who want the dissolution of the current government and an open election), $1 dinner of noodle soup from one of the legion of noodle carts along a busy Bangkok street, and a trip to the Night Bazaar at Lumpini Park, where we looked at the army of merchants selling all sorts of items.

All of this was just one day in Bangkok- a crazy city with destitute slums, luxurious tea rooms, and everything in between.