Bangkok, Thailand

[IraGlacialis]

Due to the move back to the old thread, the previous thread I made on Bangkok was lost in the reshuffle.
Here's the old thread, http://mybb.kcrag.com/showthread.php?tid=14156.
However, as I desire to add more pics, I will make a partial clone of it, then proceed from there.

So, let's reiterate from the beginning (as of June 8, 09):

I am currently in the land of temples, sois, royalty, damn good cuisine, ex-pats, coups, lady-boys, sexual exploits, and 7-Elevens... among other things.
This is for the purpose of visiting my relatives and am soon going to get out of the city to do a marine bio research internship.

I might as well get the negative aspects out of the way.
First thing you will notice when getting off the plane is the stink. Yes, that is waste you smell. This is due to the fact that the sewers are open. There is a reason that only water drank is bottled. Besides that, the city is filthy; there is garbage all over the place. The air pollution is noticeable, especially those with asthma and sensitive lungs in general. Oh and the noise pollution... the fucking noise pollution...
When you guys complain about how inconsiderate drivers in KC are to pedestrians, frankly, you don't have shit to complain about until you come here. Pedestrians don't have the right of way, it is the drivers that do. If there is no pedestrian overpass, the key - fucking mosquitos - the key to crossing a road is timing; if you are from out of town, it is best to cross the moment a couple of locals start crossing (go alongside a food cart for extra protection). The rules when driving is that there is pretty much no rules. People will change lanes, change direction, go in between lanes, etc at a moment's notice. Motorcycles and mopeds will be zipping between the cars all the time. Unless you have done it before or have experience in similar locals, driving is not recommended.
There a lot of beggars. Many are guys afflicted with some horrific ailment such as elephantiasis. Some are kids in uniform who say that they need to get to school. HAVE NO PITY ON ANY OF THEM. There are shelters to take these people in; they chose this path and actually form organizations that map where they will beg.
Urban planning is a foreign concept here. Condos just are going up randomly all over the place in cookie-cutter fashion.
I'm not going to bother going over the corruption.

Not really negative or positive; most places charge extra for foreigners. Fortunately for me, all I have to do is keep my mouth shut (I can't speak Thai to save my life) and have my relatives get the tickets.

That being said, I love this city (though I may not like it sometimes). It is like a third home to me and its part of my heritage.
Food is excellent and cheap. Oh it's so cheap. Praise the exchange rate and the good deal its prophet. You can get a well-portioned, nutritious, good-tasting, from-scratch meal for less than a U.S. buck. Temporarily getting food poisoning, due to the digestive system not being used to the local stuff ingested, is completely worth it; besides the system will get acclimated sooner or later (it depends of the person). Due to the proximity of the sea, there is much to be found among seafood. Grouper is nice, though I am one to extol the virtues of the mud crab steamed with sweet sauce. Horseshoe crab, that funny-looking arachnid, is awesome as a salad served in its shell. And then comes the selection of fruit: custardy sweetsop, sweet mankrut, mangos of varying ripeness, creamy durian (at least I prefer it to be overripe), fresh coconut juice from the shell, rambutan, lynchee, longan, jackfruit, guava, etc, etc... I am usually not one to judge, but if there is not a single fruit that can be found in Thailand that you do not like, something is wrong.
There is much to be said of the diversity of flora and fauna, especially in a city as dense as this. Whether it be listening to the geckos at night, feeding giant catfish at the Chaoprya River, or watching a meter-long water monitor sunning itself lazily on a sidewalk. And of course there be the cultivation of orchids.
Awesome public transit system. The BTS is a two-routed elevated system, while the MRT is a single-line subway. Both systems are speedy and are helpful in avoiding traffic. Soon a system to connect both MRT an BTS to the airport will be completed.
The culture is one thing that can never be underestimated here. It is expected from such an old capital city located in a central location of the nation. There are many temples to visit, most several centuries old and showing off Thai architecture at its finest. It is especially fascinating seeing traditional shrines right next to gleaming office skyscrapers. In general, the Buddhist is quite evident from the venders selling jasmine wreaths in gridlock to young monks going for food donations. Plus museums such as the National Museum and Royal Barge Museum are prevalent. Though, frankly, if you want to see more distinctive culture, get out of the city.
And possibly the greatest person here is King Rama IX. He is a renaissance man who has done more for this country in fifty years than the parliamentary government can hope to do in a century. Even without leste majeste laws in place, it is doubtful most people here will say anything bad about him, unless they have an axe to grind or need attention.

Hope that is a good summary. One more word of advice: if any of you decide to come here, don't be like a Japanese/Chinese tourist. They are aggravating as hell. Don't know whether it is the way they go in these packs or the apparent lack of respect they have in places.

[IraGlacialis]

And now, the previous pics (to prevent post photo overload, the pics will be spread out a bit):


6-08-09

Bangkok Skyline

BTS

A soi.

The majority of these pic were taken at or around Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn).

Restoring a door.

Across the river.



Grand Palace, No longer inhabited. Awesome mural of the Ramayana and location of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

Really steep steps.



Royal Naval Headquarters. My aunt, being a captain, showed me around the place, though I didn't take any pics. Since the base was adjacent to the temple complex, I could go straight to the temple.







Chilling by the pond. There were actually a couple 2-meter monitors swimming in the pond as well.

Royal Throne Hall



6-09-09

Here are some pics that were taken today. Mostly from Siam and Ratchaprasong districts, though the last few are from Asok.


CentralWorld. Largest shopping center in SE Asia.





Arawan Shrine. A Brahman shrine made when the Hotel Arawan was going up in the 1950s. The devotional come here to give offerings and pray for good luck. Very aggressive incense and flower venders nearby.









A Dharmic equivalent to holy water.





A random shrine.



The guy on the billboard is the current king.

[IraGlacialis]

Part 2 of previous posts. After this, all pics posted will be new ones:


6-10-09

As per request, I got some pics of the more "average" Bangkok.

This first few pics were taken from a cab.
As you can see, separate houses are quite uncommon in urban Bangkok. The upper floors are residential while the street-level is commercial.
Those that are separate tend to be pre-50's (like the the one I am staying in now). Plus the inhabitants of these homes are extended families, not nuclear (though the property may consist of the main house, with several houses added to it (these "satellite homes" are for the married couples and servants/maids)). The property is, in essence, passed down to decedents. 







View from a hospital.

The soi near my relatives' house.

Your average streetvender. The Thai equivalent to the hotdog vender/fast food. The stuff they have can vary from fresh fruit, to noodles, soup desserts (hot or cold), salads, drinks, meat, etc. Very cheap and good when on the go or if you just want a meal at home.

An assortment of street dogs. Strange as this may sound, the street dogs here are the nicest street dogs you can ever come across. They are just so nonchalant and intelligent (if you watch them, they actually look both ways before crossing roads; makes sense considering all the dumb ones get killed off pretty quickly). Oh and it is common for people to leave food for them outside their property.










6-12-09

A shot inside the MRT. One noticeable thing about Bangkok public transport (BTS, MRT, and buses) is that schoolkids go to school alone on them. There is no school bus. It's a sharp contrast from over-protective America. In fact, kids as young as early elementary/kindergarten will ride the public transport unaccompanied by an adult.

A shitty self-portrait.


Bangkok at night. As with any big city, Bangkok doesn't stop when the sun goes down. It just keeps going... to my chagrin when I'm trying to sleep. The following pics are near our house, so I just went out earlier and shot some pics.

I said I probably wouldn't take any pics of the beggers/vagrants. Well, here some are. First is your typical mother-with-child-(child-may-be-her's-or-not) beggar.

This next one... yeah... I almost got sick to my stomach...
This is not a begger but simply a vagrant. You know, the urban MO equivilant being those crazy guys that smell of piss and talk to themselves.
Oh and I later found out that my assumption about the vagrant being a female was incorrect...

Disgusting. The city really needs to be harder on them. And, of course, westerners are the ones who get duped.

Anyways, now that we got that unpleasantness out of the way...
More venders. They also tend to come out in flocks when the sun goes down. It's from them where most people get dinner. Awesome selection.


Soi Cowboy. Think of it as Power&Light's older and... um... rougher sibling. One of Bangkok's famous places for nightlife. Bars and stripjoints. Oh, and what you may think is a woman might actually not be. And, no, I did not go in there. I'm not a nightlife type of person.


It is evident on how busy the city gets when you see the amount of traffic the MRT and BTS gets.







And of course, more Bangkok gridlock.

[staubio]

I'm so glad you reposted this. In my avoidance of the old forum software, I missed it the first time around. Not only is it awesome to see this incredible city but your photos are also fantastic, too. Thanks for sharing!

[KC_Hams]

Thanks for posting the pics. They bring back great memories. I was there four years ago. We stayed near Sukhumvit. I hope to go again...sometime.

I did learn a little Thai. I learned how to say "not spicy" since I can't handle spicy foods. I found the people to be very gracious when I tried to communicate in their own language.

[IraGlacialis]

I did learn a little Thai. .... I found the people to be very gracious when I tried to communicate in their own language.

Yeah, even though I can't speak Thai except for the basics (and I don't try to speak Thai in public settings because I am really bad at the tones), I still try to go as much without communicating in English when getting something. This is so I don't have the stigma of being a foreigner hovering over me, to keep the communication to the point, and also due to the fact that many venders can't speak English anyways (and it is selfish to expect them to anyways).

How do I communicate while keeping the English at a minimum? Oddly, I still understand Thai pretty well (though numbers still trip me up), so I mainly gesture and say short responses (ka, mai, *food type*, etc) while the vender/waiter talks to me; I simply end up coming off as a very quiet Thai adolescent.



On another subject, one thing I really like about Bangkok is how, excluding the obvious gas stations and general stores such as 7-Eleven (I'll come back to that later), the majority the chains (local and foreign) are grouped up in the malls (even if there is several malls adjacent to each other; I don't know how that is possible). You will not find a stand-alone fast food chain joint anywhere in the city.
This allows mom-and-pop joints to flourish. It is literally almost impossible to go around the city without there being some independent food establishment.

Though again, as a word to the wise, if you are to eat locally, be prepared to have an upset stomach for a while as your system attempts to acclimate itself. Probably bring some vitamin C tablets to boost your immune system as well. Oh and always be cautious of ice.

[IraGlacialis]

Now here is a new set of pictures. Though I confess the next few will be a couple weeks old as I have been out of the city for research work (will have a thread for that).

The next set of pics are of the university that I am studying through, Chulalongkorn University. It is the first university in Thailand, being establisehd by none other but King Chulalongkorn or King Rama V (possibly the most notable king in the Chakri Dynasty, other than the current King Rama IX).
Structure-wise, it could be compared to MU due to it being a public school (it is currently headed by one of the princesses) and its large size. Prestige-wise, it is equivalent to an Ivy League school.






















The building to the right is the original university structure, now the main auditorium. The rest of these pics will be of the "old campus".

Here is King Chulalongkorn/King Rama V. Reigned from 1868-1910. He is probably the most revered king in modern Thai history (though the current king is getting there). This is due to the fact that he was instrumental in modernizing Siam through infrastructure and education, invoking social reform (abolished slavery, prostration, etc), and help keep Siam the only SE Asian nation to never lose its sovereignty (due to playing diplomatic games with France and Britain).

[Roanoker]

I think I commented on your pictures when you first posted them, on the new/old, temporary site, but I must say again--or in addition--that your pictures are marvelous. You have an excellent eye for photography. I especially like your use of varying distances, depending on the subject. Turtles (love them) up close, corner of building reaching to the sky, markets near and far. I remember liking the colors your camera picked up.

Don't lose your camera!

[IraGlacialis]

I think I commented on your pictures when you first posted them, on the new/old, temporary site, but I must say again--or in addition--that your pictures are marvelous. You have an excellent eye for photography. I especially like your use of varying distances, depending on the subject. Turtles (love them) up close, corner of building reaching to the sky, markets near and far. I remember liking the colors your camera picked up.

Don't lose your camera!

Thanks.
I know that the turtles were kinda random. I tend to be slightly ADD when taking pics, one moment I'm intently focused on my tight schedule while at the same time capturing the campus while I wait, the next moment it's "Oooh turtles..."

Don't worry about me not losing my camera; it's practically my precious and has been through quite a lot.  :D
Though it is coming time when I will probably need to upgrade to a more powerful sensor.
Interestingly, as much as Thailand is known for cheap electronics, cameras and camera accessories are actually more expensive here than in the US.

[IraGlacialis]

Wat Hua Lumphong


Another shrine to King Rama V. It is common practice to attach gold leaf to statues of Buddha, past monks, and really important past people.





The adjacent private school.

[mykem]

Wonderful!!