We make a huge mistake when we leave our hotel our first
morning in Bangkok: we fail to bring a map. Anyone who
has ever traveled with me is probably unsurprised by this – we would all
think I would stop continuously failing at maps by this point, but alas, after
all these years traveling internationally, I remain perpetually map-less. We
also neglect to look up the opening hours of the tourist sights we intend on
visiting.
So, we quickly find ourselves lost, sweaty, and staring at multiple
closed signs. In all fairness, we are
also quite distracted with the art of “catching up.” It has, after all, been months since we have
seen each other, so we toss away our original plan of a heavily-packed day of
tourist attractions, and decide, instead, to have a beer on Khao San Road, infamous
for its backpacker party scene, and focus on being sisters instead of being tourists for a bit.
It is
here, amongst the ticky-tacky tourist shops, massage and tattoo parlors, tuk-tuk horns, and
crowded open-air restaurants that Susan experiences her first Chang beer.
It is also where she first tries Pad Thai in
its homeland – only one of the many times she will enjoy the dish on this journey –
and where she experiences her first Southeast Asian torrential downpour. The
first two she loves; the later, she loathes.
When the rain finally stops and we finish our third round of
Changs, we stroll through the city, eventually discovering Wat Chana
Songkhram, a Buddhist temple, crafted during the Ayutthaya period.
The buildings within this Wat are all intricately decorated; tiny angular
patterns of gold and jewels rim the windows and doorways and countless gilded Buddhas line the interior walls. I often find I could stare at the faces of temples for hours and notice a million different artistic wonders. This one proves no different.
Visiting the temple marks another first for Susan, a detail I find
humorous, as this element has become so ordinary in my current life, I hardly
notice them anymore.
At night, we opt for a cruise on the Chao Phraya River. Admittedly, this is a huge tourist activity
with overpriced drinks and a cheesy atmosphere, but we find it an easy, lovely,
and relaxing way to spend our first evening in Bangkok. Traditional music and
dancers serenade diners and the performance is quite mesmerizing. The dancers are dainty and beautifully adorned in
colorful costumes, gold jewelry and gold head pieces, their tiny fingers
bending rhythmically back and forth, almost as though they are not fingers at
all but rather flames dancing atop a candlestick.
After dinner, we watched the sights of the city come and go
from the upper deck of our boat.
The
Royal Grand Palace, bridges, skyscrapers, and Wat Arun, now lit, create a path for
us down the darkened river. The sight of
the thousands of lights reflected into the water is beautiful and soothing.
As the evening draws to a close, we climb off the boat, very much ready for bed, and
for a new day of adventure and sisterhood.
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