Last Day in Bangkok: A Paddy in Potung, Lumpini Park, Khlong Canals, Giant Reclining Buddha, Chinatown

Big day. Bigger Buddha. Best that we start at the beginning… or in this case, the night before.

---

Getting our Paddy on at the Potung Night Market

It all starts with creepy crawlers. You see, I wanted bugs… you know, edible insects. I had that deep craving for them – like ya does. I had been talking about crunching down a quality assortment of crickets, scorpions and milkworms the whole trip. We’d heard they could be found in a night market a mile or so away from our hotel. Stasia had the wherewithal to start our expedition in the daylight since it involved a fair bit of navigation. Zephyr decided to take the night off and stay back.

We were off on our date and no sooner had we exited the hotel when the clouds burst and a monsoon started. The doorman handed me an umbrella and off we went – shorts, sandals, 85 degrees and raining cats and dogs.

We found the district – vendors were just beginning to cart in their wares and the early bird prostitutes were sauntering by. It was a long alley with a few restaurants and a bunch of dodgy looking sex clubs.

We spotted an Irish pub and remembered that wise old saying: ‘When in a strange place and you’re not sure where to go, find an Irish pub‘.

We sat right down, had a lovely time over a few pints, met some Laplanders and smoked a few ciggies.

After basking in the glow of the ale and good conversation, we decided to get out of that area and bring Zephyr some dinner before the night enveloped the alley. Alas, bugs would have to wait for another time.

---

Parallel Parking in the Morning

Lumpini Park is a lush, green, peaceful oasis in the middle of Bangkok. For this noisy Mecca, it’s quite rare to find spacious green lawns, paddle boat lakes and secluded leafy pathways. Stasia and I, after our 5am coffee ritual, walked the half mile there – me decked out in my running togs, her in a lovely summer ensemble.

So this is where all the runners are! I ran a couple miles on the pathways through the gorgeous grounds while Stasia joined a large group doing Tai-Chi. We both felt so rejuvenated!

The park had lots of interesting bits – the turtle egg zodiac, the rusty outdoor weight room, the obligatory Buddha shrine, the curious statue titled ‘Women in the Next Three Decades’. Most of all, I loved seeing all the runners. Made me feel good.

After heading back and enjoying a blissful breakfast and short respite, we hit the road for some sightseeing.

---

The Venice of the East

The canal ride was interesting – but the part I liked best was gawking at the outboard engines on these things. Huuuge motors and sounded like Harley Davidsons. They looked like something you’d find on a pod racer from SW Episode 1. I got a thing for machines and this was pure power.

Otherwise we saw lots of ramshackle river-side dwellings amidst a handful of radiant temples. We did see a 6 foot long Komodo dragon and that was pretty cool. Stasia bought a lovely portable hat/fan from a merchant boat that approached us.

---

Giant (no really… gargantuan) Reclining Buddha

I thought I’d seen all the Boood’s one could see in a week. From the tiny ones on car dashboards to the big ones on hills – and the thousands in between. As many as we had already seen, today it felt as if we saw that many again, and to top it off, one of them was a 150 meter long gold-plated giant. Absolutely stunning!

Zephyr joined some of the monks and other visitors by placing pennies in 100 bowls lined up. There was some significance to the gesture as it helped with the temple upkeep. Additionally, it supposedly brought the benefactor good luck, though I checked in with him afterwards and we both agreed that luck is completely dumb (as in random and not discriminating).

The temple-city in which biggest-Buddha reclined was equally beyond measure. Every structure a feast for the eyes… it was overwhelming… that is like the 5th time I’ve been floored since arriving. But it was so much to take in and process. When we came upon the First Thai King’s collection of 394 larger-than-life gold-gilded you-know-who’s, I had to ask myself… why? Why so many? Why more than one? Repetition seemed to be a recurring theme on this trip.

On the way out I saw ever more – in the city blocks that followed were shop after shop selling statues of the enlightened one in every shape and size – up to 20 feet tall! Each had hundreds – it was total Buddha overload.

We left and gave our eyes a short break until they were again riveted out of their sockets…

---

Chinatown

Chinatown here is like Chinatown in LA, San Francisco, Melbourne… a bristling bazaar with bowls and baskets filled with fish and vegetables you’ve never heard of. Definitely a destination for those seeking unidentifiable fleshy sea-faring masses, assorted intestines and pig hearts. Stasia was excited to find the tea vendors, where she was encouraged to smell and eat the leaves. She purchased oolong, red tea and kuan in – and purchased the cutest little clay teapot to brew them in. I found a giant bag of saffron for $1.50.

The streets were choked with life – screaming graphical hanzi on towering signage, street vendors spilling out of doorways, the constant flow of passerbys and never ending river of traffic. It was the stuff of childhood imaginations – you’d seen imagery like this in movies but never in person.

Nai tried to get us into his favorite fish balls joint but we collectively revolted. We came for noodles by god! He knew just the place and moments later we were enjoying the BEST duck noodle dishes. Sweet and salty – the duck was melt in the mouth perfection.

The perfect end to this epic visit.

We got to the airport, gave a sad goodbye to our new friend and thanked him (with hugs and a generous tip), and boarded the flight to Tokyo.