MBK Center Bankok
Several performers from the outdoor show
The MBK Center is another massive shopping complex in the downtown of Bangkok, with a large Cineplex occupying the top floor. A nice assortment of restaurants can be found among myriads of clothing stores. Here, you can get two suit pants, jackets, dress shirts, and ties for about $300 (US dollars). Also, let's keep it quiet, but I suspect many knock-offs of major brands can be obtained here as well.
Easily accessible by the BTS - just hop off at the "National Stadium" stop - myriads of shoppers from all over the world converge on this area on the weekends. Nearby is a large art museum with some nice exhibits. I really enjoy this area, although the continuous crowds always begins to get on my nerves after several hours.
Yesterday, I stopped off at the MBK to grab a nice dinner, and I was surprised to see an outdoor show preparing to start outside (see pictures below!). I'm always up for improvising, so I talked to some of the people working at the tents and found out that they were also handing out free food! After helping myself to some freshly-made Pad Thai and a coke, I sat down to wait for the show. The musical instruments actually attracted my attention almost immediately... the drumming and various sounds were quite different than anything I've heard in the West. The performances appeared to be comedy sketches that sometimes involved extensive dialogue and playful arguing among the performers. At other times, the players would sing ("players" I guess is appropriate assuming that they are part of a theatrical group). During the performance, young girls would walk among the audience selling them strings of ribbons resembling Hawaiian "leis". At first, I assumed these were for the purchaser, but later saw the audience going up occasionally, usually towards the end of the performances, to place these on the head or in the hands of the performers. It appeared that each performers would try to outdo the others in the number of these "leis" collected. In all, quite fun in spite of the light rain!
Legend.
Shopping!
Shopping in the regular markets in Bangkok is quite fun. The culture is very much different than that of the USA in so many different respects. The frozen dinners frequently consist of chicken, some form of noodle or rice, a spicy sauce, and possibly a fried sunny-side up egg. Hotdogs (sausages) of all types and descriptions (spicy and non-spicy) can be purchased from almost any street vender. Coconuts cost about 50 cents. Durian and milo can be found as flavors for beverages and ice cream. Many products are imported from the South - New Zealand and Australia - including honey and various types of meat (including New Zealand lamb leg steak, below!). Also, some sections of the grocery store are dedicated to all types, shapes, sizes, and labels of rice. Another section is dedicated to cane sugar and brown sugar. An entire aisle at the place I stopped today was dedicated to all sorts of sauces (soy, fish, and others). I myself find it entertaining to just walk around the store and see what's for sale.
[Left] Lamb steak [Middle] Chicken dipping sauce [Right] Rice section of the supermarket -mainly sold out
Several performers from the outdoor show
The MBK Center is another massive shopping complex in the downtown of Bangkok, with a large Cineplex occupying the top floor. A nice assortment of restaurants can be found among myriads of clothing stores. Here, you can get two suit pants, jackets, dress shirts, and ties for about $300 (US dollars). Also, let's keep it quiet, but I suspect many knock-offs of major brands can be obtained here as well.Easily accessible by the BTS - just hop off at the "National Stadium" stop - myriads of shoppers from all over the world converge on this area on the weekends. Nearby is a large art museum with some nice exhibits. I really enjoy this area, although the continuous crowds always begins to get on my nerves after several hours.
Yesterday, I stopped off at the MBK to grab a nice dinner, and I was surprised to see an outdoor show preparing to start outside (see pictures below!). I'm always up for improvising, so I talked to some of the people working at the tents and found out that they were also handing out free food! After helping myself to some freshly-made Pad Thai and a coke, I sat down to wait for the show. The musical instruments actually attracted my attention almost immediately... the drumming and various sounds were quite different than anything I've heard in the West. The performances appeared to be comedy sketches that sometimes involved extensive dialogue and playful arguing among the performers. At other times, the players would sing ("players" I guess is appropriate assuming that they are part of a theatrical group). During the performance, young girls would walk among the audience selling them strings of ribbons resembling Hawaiian "leis". At first, I assumed these were for the purchaser, but later saw the audience going up occasionally, usually towards the end of the performances, to place these on the head or in the hands of the performers. It appeared that each performers would try to outdo the others in the number of these "leis" collected. In all, quite fun in spite of the light rain!
[TOP ROW: Left to right] 1. Preparing for the outdoor show, view from the above-ground walkways (free food and drinks provided for the spectators in the chairs!) 2. View of the stage from ground-level 3. Pavilions where free food and drink are prepared. I tried, unsuccessfully, to find out why the food and drink was free. Language barrier, donchaknow 4. Musicians playing pre-show 5. The show has started! The performers seem to sometimes sing, sometimes argue playfully on the stage (I believe this show was some sort of comedy)[BOTTOM ROW: Left to right] 1. Performers arguing with one another (three princes maybe and one princess...) 2. Performer singing 3. The show appeared to be made of many different scenes, possibly many different stories. At the peak/end of each story, the performers seemed to be competing with each other, trying to make people laugh and enjoy their antics. During this time, if the audience members enjoyed the show, they could purchase strings of ribbons from girls selling them in the "aisles" and then go to in front of the stage to place them over the head or in the hand of the performer. This lady had just finished singing, and apparently the audience enjoyed her performance
Shopping!
Shopping in the regular markets in Bangkok is quite fun. The culture is very much different than that of the USA in so many different respects. The frozen dinners frequently consist of chicken, some form of noodle or rice, a spicy sauce, and possibly a fried sunny-side up egg. Hotdogs (sausages) of all types and descriptions (spicy and non-spicy) can be purchased from almost any street vender. Coconuts cost about 50 cents. Durian and milo can be found as flavors for beverages and ice cream. Many products are imported from the South - New Zealand and Australia - including honey and various types of meat (including New Zealand lamb leg steak, below!). Also, some sections of the grocery store are dedicated to all types, shapes, sizes, and labels of rice. Another section is dedicated to cane sugar and brown sugar. An entire aisle at the place I stopped today was dedicated to all sorts of sauces (soy, fish, and others). I myself find it entertaining to just walk around the store and see what's for sale.
[Left] Lamb steak [Middle] Chicken dipping sauce [Right] Rice section of the supermarket -mainly sold out
