Final three weeks

Well, it's time to move out from Bangkok once again, a little over a year after I came back. That's life: you go wherever the wind takes you. I could, of course, resist not uprooting my self from what I regard as my second home, but it's more of a strategic career decision for me to follow where better opportunities are found.

Another three weeks and I'm off to another city in another country. The worst part about it is leaving Bangkok and my friends here.

I've always expressed my love for this city, imperfect as it is. But over the seven years here I've grown intimate with its idiosyncrasies and rhythms. I'm braver to entrust my life on a raging motorsai driver. I don't mind getting a sprinkling of stinking canal water while taking a boat ride on Saen Saeb. Or I can confidently say mai sai cho rot and the cook actually understands it because I have perfect tone now (or so I'd like to believe).

It's definitely tempting to just get cozy with my life here even if it does not give me long-term security (especially job-wise). In Bangkok, one somehow always gets by.

I question the idea of starting all over again in all aspects of my life: career, friends, habits, brand of toothpaste, etc. I am too old for having to go through the trouble, chai mai?

As I'm on the cusp of a major transition I really don't have answer to these questions yet. I have to wrap things up at work and in my apartment in the next three weeks, not to mention the apartment search in a city completely unfamiliar to me. So, there are more important things at hand than wax lyrical about the end of my love affair with Bangkok.

Anyway, in my last few days here I tend to take all experiences in while they last. I seize the noise of the city outside my window, or take a mental photo of this today's sunset, or slurp my noodle soup a bit louder. There's also not missing on every opportunity to spend time with friends.

But I'm not going far away. I'm just going to a neighboring country. I'm sure Bangkok will always be here to welcome me back.

The Ladies Who Brunch

The Pinoy Gay Mafia made a short trip across the Chao Phraya River two weekends ago. I've heard of the Bangkok Tree House about a year ago, back in its construction phase. Its concept of being an eco-friendly hotel immediately caught my attention. Its location in the so-called lungs of Bangkok is equally interesting (I've written about a previous visit to Phra Padaeng).

Norlash organized the little brunch on a Sunday morning. We just rode the Skytrain to Bangna, took a short cab drive to the river, and then a quick trip on a boat. It's that easy but being in such a verdant place made us feel like we were far from the city.

One of the things that we noticed right away are the wooden decks draped with white cloth. I know, it's a dramatic welcome (not exactly intended for us though). I was also immediately impressed to see the mirrored exterior walls of the rooms, thus reflecting its surroundings of lush palm leaves. It's like double the view!

The restaurant has all these bamboo tubes, for lack of a better term, hanging from the ceiling, which are then reflected by the mirrored table tops. The bayots instantly fell in love with the place.

Brunch lasted for about four hours of delicious food, very friendly staff, and a pleasant breeze from the river. (It was still freaking humid though as it is the height of summer in Bangkok.)

The staff offered to bring us around the rooms, which I've seen in many blogs and such. The first floor is basically the shower and toilet, the floor of which is glass. You can watch the crabs and fish as you sit on the throne!

An odd-looking staircase leads to the bedroom on the second floor. And then one floor up is the roof deck, perfect for sunbathing at daytime or stargazing at night.

The Pinoy Gay Mafia is already cooking a plan to spend a weekend there (hopefully when it's not as humid anymore).

After brunch, we walked around the swamp... well, we were walking on narrow concrete planks or walkways. It is in fact the perfect place to get lost in on a bicycle. Well, that should be for next time.

Visiting Baan Silapin

My Pinoy friends in Bangkok visited Baan Silapin (Artist's House) on the Thonburi side of the Chao Phraya River last Sunday. Norlash read about it in an in-flight magazine and next thing we know we were following the twisted sois leading to the house.

Baan Silapin is located along one of the canals zigzagging through Thonburi. I heard that before the days of concrete roads one goes around Bangkok on boats plying the canals. The place must give Bangkokians a nostalgic kick because there's quite a number of Thais paying the place a visit last weekend.

We got there early, so for roughly an hour we had the place to ourselves, just exploring the spacious wooden house. Half of the space on the first floor is for art crafts stuff like lithography and mask painting, and the other half is dedicated to masked dance performances. The second floor has lots of open spaces with the walls filled with oil and watercolor paintings of the house and its neighborhood. At the center of the courtyard is a brick chedi that's 300 years old.

Soon enough the house was filled with mostly local tourists. Doing the lithographs proved to be popular, with various levels of success (mine was a bloody mess). As the house is along the route of tourist boats, there's always a boat or two passing by, and their passengers always bring out their cameras to take pictures of the house and its visitors.

In the afternoon we were treated to a puppetry performance.

The visit is a refreshing break from the malls of Bangkok, where we usually spend our weekends. I used to be quite earnest in exploring places similar to Baan Silapin, such as old neighborhoods, temples, and museums, but I had been lazy the past few years. Visiting Baan Silapin is a welcome reminder that I should spend less lazy weekends and instead explore more this beautiful city.

The Czarina of Penang Runs to BKK

Dios mio, kapagod the weekend tawas (for the kili-kili)...

As mentioned in a previous post, THE Czarina of Penang sneaked into BangCock for three days. He arrived last Friday and left this afternoon. The Czarina is actually on a run from the Malaysian immigration bureau (read: visa run ito).

Well, needless to say, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) had to send their best person to show the Czarina of Penang around the City of Angels. Yeah, that best person is me no less. *Blush.*

So on his first evening here he was given a grand welcome by top BangCock celebrities Bubbles and Liawayway. Us four girls had a drink at Lang Suan. We tried our best to maintain our finesse as we drooled over the many exquisite male species surrounding us. More drooling happened when we ended up in the Silom gayborhood.

Oh, you should commend us for our self-restraint. Now let's say this together... CHOOOZ!

The next day, I brought the Czarina to the Golden Mount where we had a 360-degree view of the Rattanakosin Island neighborhood. The Czarina nearly broke his knees climbing the tall temple. And then he also nearly broke his frail back from too much crouching and kneeling all in the name of a good photo.

From there we hopped on one of those long-tail boats that traversed a foul-smelling, yet charming, canal in downtown Bangkok. We eventually found ourselves in major tourist trap MBK where we had lunch with Heidi and Hye Kim Park.

Crossing over to the Bangkok Arts and Culture Centre, we met met Bubbles and explored the recent exhibit, which was about motherhood (I did not read enough of the captions).

Goodness, it was utong (nipples) galore!!!

Shout out to Lyka Bergen at this point. Tse!

Going back... of course Bubbles werqed the art pieces... or wait, he is an art piece himself, no?

In the evening, the Czarina and I had to step into our couture gowns for Lea Salonga's concert with the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra. Her brother Gerard Salonga was the conductor. See Lea Salonga's Wikipedia entry here.

The Czarina and I were surprised to see the humongous Queen Sirikit Convention Centre fully packed. There were of course gazillions of Filipinos in the crowd.

It was a dream come true to watch Lea, my first time in fact.

At the start of the concert she said that she just came out from a hospital in Bangkok where she was treated for a serious case of tonsillitis and some kind of throat or respiratory infection.

Nonetheless, she managed to deliver a goosebumps-inducing performance of popular Disney songs and pieces from Broadway and West End musicals. The crowd was on its feet when she finished a haunting rendition of "I Dream a Dream" from Les Miserables.

Interestingly enough, she invited a male audience member to sing "A Whole New World" (from Aladdin) with her. Eventually four men ended up on the stage with her, two Thais and two Pinoys.

The Czarina and I laughed at the idea of doing a karaoke session with the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra. Good gawd, now we know who to invite on our next birthday parties, no?

Apres the concert, the Czarina and I rushed to the Moon Bar at the Banyan Tree to meet Neomie Lenoir, his BF Chutima Durongdej, and a number of his friends for some "farewell drinks". Neomie has finished his internship and is going back to France tomorrow.

From Banyan Tree we moved to Silom for yet another night of dancing squeezed between the ravishing men of BangCock.

I will end this report with a note to Czarina...

Gagah kah, di pa tayo tapos sa processing eh nang-iwan kah nah. Tseh!

Khop khum maak kha for the latest additions to my modeling portfolio. Asus!

And please don't forget to fill out the Tourism Authority of Thailand feedback form because my promotion rests on that. Hope you had a wonderful time in the Land of Smiles and see you again soon, mare.

(All photos in this post are by the Czarina of Penang.)

Ode to BKK: Shophouses

On my first six months in BKK I regularly made it a point to explore the city. I'm quite lucky that I live on the fringes of Rattanakosin island or the old quarter of Bangkok where one finds its centerpiece, the Grand Palace.

So after work, while there's still some sunlight, I'd rush towards the nearest temple or old palace that I located on the map or perhaps just ride the boat and soak in the river-side atmosphere.

Well that's pretty much how I fell in love with Bangkok and all it's hidden, old-world charm and pulsating sidewalks.

I remember getting lost quite often then but we all know it's part of the fun and that's how I also went deeper into the less-visited parts of town.

I wonder how it happened but on more than one occasion I'd find my self ending up in the Giant Swing close to the Bangkok City Hall. I love that part of the city though especially during sunset.

I haven't wandered around Rattanakosin in a long time now perhaps because I always head to the mall instead (I know, I'm embarrassed). OK, blame it on the bloody weather. (Yeah right!) But lately Bangkok is mostly overcast and it is thus more encouraging to go out.

So yesterday I decided to venture back into Rattanakosin and of course I had to start from the Giant Swing.

I read in the paper last week that some government agency will restore the old shophouses at the back of the Defense Ministry building. I did not even know that there's a collection of shop-houses there. Damn, I've not explored well enough. Gosh, I have this big love affair shophouses, I don't know what exactly draws me to them.

I reckoned I should immediately see the place before it's restored to perfection, before it would become boring already.

I walked from the Giant Swing and strayed into the narrow alleys until I found the canal at the back of Defense Ministry building where across it the rows of shophouses stand, perhaps three long alleys of them. I could only recall one of the streets being called Phraeng Nara Road.

My guess is the shophouses were built in the late 19th century to early 20th century and are owned by the Crown Property Bureau (as is the case for most shophouses, or so I heard).

Indeed the shophouses are in bad need of some serious repairs. The roofs are a patchy affair of tiles and corrugated iron sheets. Many of the wooden trimmings on the windows and doors are weathered. Some of the wooden window shutters were already replaced with jalousies, to my horror. And of course the ubiquitous, unsightly electric wires crisscross the alleys.

I observed only a few of the shophouses serve their original (or perhaps also traditional) purpose of hosting a shop on the first floor and the second floor being the living quarters. Currently the shophouses are mostly used solely as residences with those repugnant steel shutters serving as doors.

The area though has a pleasantly quiet neighborhood atmosphere with children running around the pavement, grandmothers fanning themselves while watching the street scene, a man repairing a shoe with furrowed forehead, old men deep into a game of chess, and colorful laundry billowing in the afternoon breeze.

I also found an old school in the area, its intricate wooden trimmings (I honestly don't know the appropriate term for these details) arching over the pavement and its walls beaten by time.

I gathered that the school was built in the reign of King Rama V (around the latter half of the 19th century). Together with the surrounding shophouses, it would truly be a heritage treasure if they could be restored properly.

One corner opened to yet another string of two-story shophouses with green window and door frames. These are generally tranquil neighborhoods except for the muffled cacophony of cars and motorcycles clogging the main streets nearby.

I wonder if on weekdays there'd be more activity in the area as it seems that on my visit most of the shops were shut, although at least it made the visit certainly relaxing.

Having soaked in enough of the community, I crossed the canal towards the Defense Ministry building, walked around the walls of the Grand Palace, and eventually ended up in a tiny park.

From there I walked towards the direction of Khao San Road (I needed new fake Wayfarers for an upcoming trip), passing by a couple of temples, crossing a number of canals, and captivated by more shophouses flanking the streets.

I'm sharing more pictures below. I was playing with PhotoScape last night, hence the effect. I'm so getting married to PhotoScape tomorrow. I also did some lay-outing on PhotoScape that I posted on Facebook... check it here.

Ode to BKK: Hidden Beauty

[This entry is recycled from a "photo blog" I posted on Facebook last April, just around the Songkran Festival. Few of my Facebook friends must've read this before but today I'm sharing it on the blog as part of the series on BKK. I think the post captures my mood when I took these photos, showing how, in myriad forms, the city kindles inspiration even in the most unlikely places.]

I walked from the Democracy Monument to my building last Saturday afternoon. The streets were pretty empty. Most people of the city were away for the Buddhist New Year.

I found my self in a neighborhood of shop-houses, which are some of my favorite architectural features of Bangkok particularly in Ratanakosin Island and the adjoining area.

That afternoon, I was lucky to see more than just the rows of shop-houses that were mostly shuttered for the long holiday anyway.

I stumbled into an old building that did not look traditionally Thai to me, I guess constructed at the turn of the century when Bangkok went through a major face lift, including the addition of many Western-style buildings.

I remember being drawn to the building several times before while riding a cab, but not until last Saturday did I see it up close. I’ve always wondered what it was for. Clearly, it is not being used at the moment, perhaps for many years now.

Its beauty is not lost though, especially in its splendid details of floral motifs on the grills and on the reliefs generously adorning its facade, together with cherubs’ faces on its columns. On the second floor, green windows give the structure a streak of color while an ornate arch serves as its crown.

Turning right on Dinso street, I crossed the canal in Saphan Wan Chat where I saw this arched bridge spanning the fetid, muddy water. A tree is on one side of the canal, its red flowers seemingly put afire by the setting sun.

The juxtaposition of the graceful curve of bridge and the radiance of the tree, both reflected on the putrid waterway, is entrancing, an image that one often finds in the most unlikely corners of Bangkok if you keep your eyes open.

Ode to BKK: The Chao Phraya River

In roughly three weeks I'm officially celebrating my second year in Thailand. I reckon I should come up with something on this blog to mark the occasion, well basically just for the sake of it.

OK, let's say for the sake of nostalgia. You know me and nostalgia are like thisclose. LOL.

What better way to honor my two years in this city than to dedicate a number of posts to Bangkok, a place that I call my home. It's quite obvious in this blog that I have this big love affair with the City of Angels. I'd marry it if it were possible.

So for the coming weeks I'll write about the different aspects of the city that has made it more endearing to me.

I shall start this "series" with the Chao Phraya River.

On my first morning in BKK, the view of the river captured me right away.

From my building, the Chao Phraya is only about three minutes away via the temple grounds. I was quite surprised how wide it actually is, at least in that stretch near my building. Looming nearby is the majestic Rama VIII bridge with its signature pylon and golden suspension cables.

A few days later, I braved riding the commuter boat, which I recorded in this post: "Found in the route were barges, bridges, markets and pubs cantilevered on the murky water, more piers, canal exits, and some smaller boats that have shorter routes. The roof of a number of wats (temples) and the spires of the Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), together with towering hotels, are only some of the more majestic sights along the river."

Regular days on the river are usually a frenzy of crisscrossing commuter boats, speeding long-tail boats loaded with tourists, slow tug boats, and occasional men in jet skis (jing jing!). The many bridges spanning it are usually clogged with vehicles.

Taking over in the evening are garishly-lit boats brimming with tourists snapping pictures of the Wat Arun and Rama VIII bridge. Oh, don't get me started on the loud music playing from those tourist boats.

Soon enough, I developed a close affinity to the river, making it a point to take the boat on Friday afternoons as a ritual of sort. I love being soothed by the bobbing boat along with other weary commuters.

Late afternoons on the river are always spectacular. The golden roofs of the Grand Palace for instance are best viewed during this time as it glimmers in the sunset. Often I find my self going to the pier near the temple to just watch the sun slide in the horizon and slather the sky with different shades of orange and red. Or if I'm in the mood for walking I head off to Phra Arthit (about twenty minutes by foot from my building) to observe people, sometimes to read, or more of watching the sunset.

In the many months I've been observing the Chao Phraya, I noticed that it has it moods as well. In the dry months, it turns grayish and the water is relatively low, revealing the spindly legs of the piers that dot its banks. In the wet season, the water is muddy and it usually rises to even flood some parts of the city.

As a city absorbed in rituals, I've seen the Chao Phraya decked in resplendent rowers during the Royal Barge Procession, or glimmer to the small floats that people release on the Loy Krathong Festival.

But what amuses me most among these rituals is when, on no particular occasion, people feed the pigeons infesting the piers (or at least the pier closest to my building). Below the piers are humongous fish that live on a daily diet of stale bread (what did I tell you about carbo-loading?!). This feeding ritual is part of merit-making among Buddhists, I heard.

Whenever I have friends coming over to BKK, I try my best to bring them to the Chao Phraya because I think that the river shows them a good slice of life in the city. I'm quite lucky that they love the Chao Phraya as much as I do! (Gosh, otherwise I would feed them to the pigeons, no?)

I think for any visitor to see the real Bangkok, he has to see the river. Bangkok is practically born along the banks of the Chao Phraya and since then the river has served more than just commercial or touristic purposes but it is also one of the epicenters of Thai culture and rituals. The city and the river are pretty much inseparable.

And personally, the Chao Phraya would always be a main part of my life in Bangkok. It is a constant source of fascination and inspiration as the river constantly changes and there are always new things to discover. Also, over and over again, it has served as my refuge from the craziness of the city and the madness of my own mind.