Blingin' in Bangkok

 As we got in our dark pink cab (psh, you ride in yellow cabs?) out of the Bangkok airport and drove towards our friend Dan’s house a wave of happiness washed over me. You could smell and even feel it in the air; we had landed in a tropical country.  The scenery immediately reminded me of Mexico, and you know how that melts my heart. Some people say ‘I try to see the good in people.’ I say ‘I try to see the Latino in people.’

The 'Diva' ride. The only ride.

        Anyhoo, as we drove through the streets, kids and even a few adults were playing with buckets and water guns. Anyone who crossed their path was going to get it. What might you rightfully ask was going on? Songkran of course, or Thai New Year. Not a single person could tell me the exact significance of this New Year water fight. So I had to speculate it was some sort of washing the slate clean for a fresh start to the coming year type thing, or maybe it’s just for some down home fun! We arrived on the last day of the festival so the partying and water fighting had worn down and only the dedicated remained.  As soon as we unloaded our luggage, I insisted we take a look around and get in on the action. After walking no more than a few blocks we approached what looked like a rowdy crowd.  In the blink of an eye I was grabbed by the arm (to prevent fleeing of course) and several milky buckets of water were poured over my head. How dare they, we were unarmed! The milkyness of the water initially made me raise a brow but no cause for alarm it was just talcum powder. You may have to worry however if you are in a part of the city or country where they really go wild because you will be ingesting water like it or not.  I guess it’s a fair trade, party in a far away land and pay by way of muddy belly for a few days.  Just before stepping in to our evening’s meal I wrung out my hair and dress in an attempt to look decent after several drenchings, not sure I succeeded...

They get close, not happy ending close but close enough.

Our gracious host Dan and his gf Duong.

Its healthy, go ahead-indulge.

Yummy eats near Ekkamai BTS

Many people’s experience of Thailand is one of an anything goes party paradise.  Men rally in the fact that Thai women always smile at them and many are available for whatever type of company you might chose. Stories definitely had me imagining a Tijuana type playground of debauchery. While all those stories are true (read em- sleaze fest!) and if you seek you will find, I saw relatively little of this aspect. Our guide Dan an American implant in Thailand has lived there around 6 years. His girlfriend is from an upper class Thai family and as such he showed us that side of Bangkok living, only the high brow! The first stop was fifteen dollar foot massages followed by thirty dollar couples massages. The week spent in Bangkok was filled with more spa services than I get in a whole year at home and probably all for the cost of only one or two!  The places he took us were on the higher end, I never imagined I would be eating caviar and foie gras at an upscale hotel on my visit, but there I was.  Daniel was of the opinion that with the heat and dirty streets one could maneuver the sky train to never touch the street or leave the air conditioning. That’s definitely one way of experiencing it, but I was antsy to get down and smell the people.