Amphawa Floating Market. Voyaging through the Canals

Touring Amphawa on an overcast afternoon

Amphawa is more than just another commercial market in Thailand. Amphawa is an experience of traditional Thailand, of what Bangkok may have been several hundred years ago. The local government and community here go to great lengths to blend modern culture with Thai traditions from many years ago, earning a nod from UNESCO in the form of an honorable mention several years back. Residents live in small houses located along the klongs and vendors fill their boats with wares in the morning before traveling a short distance up the klongs to Amphawa. Throughout the day, children laughingly swim in the canals, while in the evenings, many residents catch fish from those same waters. The waterways around the floating market are well-maintained and have a very lived in and authentic “feel” to them when contrasted with many “touristy” destinations around the Thai capitol.

Amphawa Floating Market: The Best. The Biggest. The Food.

Taking a Thai longboat through the canals of Amphawa

When people visit Bangkok for the first time, they often have a checklist of items to see and experience. Usually this includes the Grand Palace, the newest shopping mall nicely situated on the Chao Phraya River (namely, Icon Siam), possibly some Muay Thai, and a walk around various local street food market. This merely scratches the surface of what the exotic City of Angels in the far away land of Thailand does have to offer, but is reasonable given the limited timeframe afforded by vacation travel. No matter how short the trip, however, Tiger and Bird would like to suggest adding another item to the list: Amphawa, one of the largest floating markets in Thailand. Tuk tuks and tourist-traps will tout other floating markets near the capitol, but if you’re looking for the legit real deal, an authentic market mostly frequented by local Thai people, then Amphawa is the place for you to go.

Loi Krathong at Chulalongkorn University and on the Chao Phraya River

Fireworks for Loi Krathong over the Chao Phraya river and Sathorn district of Bangkok

Loi Krathong is celebrated all around Thailand on the night of the 12th full moon, which this last year fell on November 28, 2012. At dusk, small floats called "Krathong's" are launched on the rivers and ponds, and in Bangkok the evening is crowned with a fireworks display over the Chao Phraya river. If viewed from the right vantage point - the above photo taken from one of the five-star riverside hotel restaurants - the view and atmosphere is absolutely magical. The small river boats with their candles glisten on the river far below, and the bright lights of the sky lanterns flicker in the dark as they make their quick ascent to the heavens. In the meantime, the fireworks begin to explode and burst into many colors over the river. Faint music from the river barges and boats drift skywards, some reaching up to the fortieth floor of the restaurant. Home made fireworks continue to also periodically add their clamor long into the night.

But I diverge! This was my first year to celebrate the Loi Krathong festival with my friends, since for 2011, the immense and terrible flooding dampened the festivities. So this year, with some hesitancy, I talked with some friends and discussed where we could celebrate. We finally decided on visiting the Chulalongkorn University, since the campus tends to be highly energetic with thousands of students converging on the central square, and then moving on to Asiatique for a higher-end experience.

Loi Krathong at Chula University! People releasing small boats equipped with candles into the water

Once we arrived at Chula University, we were taken aback at the number of students around the square, which was much larger than a football stadium in terms of area. Along the pathways, numerous students were waiting around to take part in a parade that would walk through the center of the square. On either side of the square, which was far in the distance from where we arrived, were food stands, entertainment, and several live performances by local bands. Also fun was to talk with the students about which college they represented, about their traditional dress, and just joke around with them. Students ARE cool, after all!!

A small pond is located on the western side of the square and here the students and faculty release small krathongs with their lights (this can be seen in the above photograph). The fish must indeed have a feast! Thousands were released and floating around by the time we arrived. Personally, the skylanterns are more interesting since they are launched and continue skyward and can carry for many miles. The krathongs tend to lose their lights after maybe five minutes, which results in many lights near the shore but dark little boats toward the middle of the pond.

Legend. 1. Shopping in a small store decked out with craft-like holiday treasures 2. Buying food from some of the food stands lining the paths for the festival at Chulalongkorn University 3. Fancy, highly decorated krathongs - floats to be placed in the water for good luck or similar purpose. 4. Numerous beauty pageants are held every year on Loi Krathong. For the various universities, the most beautiful student is selected as representative for the institution for the ensuing beauty competition. This is the 2012 representative at Chulalongkorn University, the number one university in Thailand. I had the opportunity to meet her afterwords; her English isn't bad! 5. The beauty queen is selected from a separate competition between each college of the university, and the winner is carried like a queen around the central square!

Many students were selling light-up accessories (think Minnie Mouse ears for the ladies, etc), sparklers, and noise-making toys. The venders, of course, had such options as buttered popcorn, fried chicken pieces, sausages, pork balls - all Thai-style, and all affordable and delicious!! Coupled with the live music, the environment was quite nice. The parade itself was rather interesting and fun to watch. Each department would walk by the judges situated in the center of the square (I believe one of the judges was the president of the university), and would perform one part of the play. The play appeared to include many different aspects of Thai culture, ranging from farming to sailing to the reaction of youth to rock music. To be honest, even the Thai friend who took me here had some difficulty understanding entirely what the play was about. The ladies from the beauty pageant, such as those shown below from the accounting department of the business college, also took part in the parade.

Beauty competitions are also held at the various university campuses between various departments on Loi Krathong

After several hours, we found it quite difficult to tear ourselves away from the university, but we finally made it over to the BTS before traveling down to the riverside station. At that point, we came to the unsettling reality that everyone and their family was down by the river. Millions of people, all hoping to make it to the riverside, and many of them headed to Asiatique. With the boats filled and traffic literally not moving at all, we decided to walk down to the venue. It's roughly a 2km (1.25 mile) walk. The sidewalks were crowded with people and motorcycles busily heading somewhere and everywhere. At one point, we became quite weary and finally decided to take motorcycle taxis over to Asiatique. Now, the road is typically four lanes, but on this day all the traffic headed towards our destination was filled and not moving. Not only the two lanes usually used to move traffic in that direction, but also a third lane that was supposed to be going the opposite direction. Finally we found motorcycle taxi drivers, and we offered the two of them 200 baht to take us over to Asiatique - ten times the usual fair. Laughingly, they shook their heads and indicated to us that we couldn't make it over their no matter how hard we tried - to busy. At that, we noticed one of the five star hotels located nearby. The venue was one of my favorites with a great riverside restaurant - pricey, but come on, we were desperate! The decision turned out to be the right one by far! Great river views and relaxing. The higher prices also guaranteed that space was available even on such a busy day.

Buffet dinner at Riverside Chatrium. My group stopped here just for drinks before heading to the 36th floor "Silver Waves" restaurant for a stunning view of the fireworks later on in the evening.

The evening turned out to be quite magical, as we migrated from the riverfront up to a Chinese restaurant located on the 36th floor. Faintly, the hustle and bustle of the streets was replaced with the sound of just openness, with music drifting upwards from the numerous barges and dining cruise ships lining the river awaiting the fireworks. We munched on an excellent Peking duck and fried rice, and I also enjoyed the nicety of a long island iced tea to help top the evening off. Then the fireworks began. The journey was unexpected, naturally, but quite enjoyable! Below is a long-exposure shot of the river from the Chinese restaurant. Bon Appetit!

Long-exposure photo of the fireworks over the Chao Phraya river and the Sathorn district of Bangkok. The atmosphere at "Silver Waves" at the Riverside Chatrium was also quite fantastic! Highly recommend to avoid the millions of people crowding the streets far below. Brightly-lit boats coasted up and down the river. The yellow streaks in the photo are not mistakes! Those are skylanterns that are gradually drifting skywards. The smoke comes from the fireworks. Enchanting, to say the least!!!

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Fashion Show in Amazing Thailand

Model walking through the crowd in Emporium Shopping Complex

Adventures always abound in every city in Asia! And I happen to personally love the diversity of culture, food, and people found in Bangkok. Slightly over a  year has passed since my last entry, and I've decided to make the foray back into the digital world of journaling a few chosen moments of life's adventures and sharing these with the world (perhaps more simply stated by the word "blogging").

Time passes by so quickly and when life is great, it's easy to "live" and enjoy that life.. however, I find that this leads me to quickly forget the simple joys that come by from day-to-day and then those memories slowly pass. Better to record those moments through photos and quick notes that are capable of bringing those memories back to life in an instant! So here I find myself, a year later, writing again on this blog. The sunlight streaming through my open window and the city of Bangkok lying in all its glory, sprawled out before me. The skytrain and sound of traffic from the myriads of roads fill the air, and the faint laughter of some of the ladies from the pool below drifts in. The occasional aroma of an Italian lunch or a spicy pork dish is carried by the lazy breeze up the building, wafting in through the open windows. But enough! The show must go on! as they say.

The Show
Pierre Talamon is a fashion designer based in France. A show demonstrating some of the men's wear he designs was held on October 18, 2012, at the Emporium Shopping complex. I was supposed to meet a friend of mine, who suddenly called me forty minutes before our meeting and invited me to go to this "fashion show" with her and instructed me to "dress appropriately" (more specifically, to wear a suit :p). At the time I was working in my apartment with some online projects, but grudgingly donned the requested business casual/professional, with a jacket, and headed on out. I always love new experiences, and the idea of attending a fashion show - even if it was for men's clothing and not lady's swimwear - definitely had appeal.

Many people in attendance wore suits and nice dresses, and general jovial atmosphere prevailed, as is the case in many large gatherings. This was accentuated and perhaps assisted by the presence and availability of many "Hors d'œuvres" (appetizers) and good-quality red wine. After a short time, the models started coming out, walking through the crowd and sporting their Pierre Talamon attire. I am no fashionista, but I liked it. Classy yet casual. Two of the models, shown below, seemed to draw everyone's attention.. Navin Yavapolkul (Navintar), a famous Thai singer, and the other - incidentally the only lady in the show - the 2005 Miss Universe title winner, Natalie Glebova. In person, they are both visually stunning and VERY photogenic.

Navin Yavapolkul (Navintar) modeling a suit

Natalie Glebova steals the show!!

The models showed off two sets of clothing, with a short intermission in between the walks to accommodate changing. A quick video below shows some of the models during their last walk through the crowd. Leading the group is the Thai singer. All in all, the night was quite fun and to top it off, the attendees were given some very nice gifts (for myself, it was a pair of fancy cufflinks). I now have need of a dress shirt that requires them!! Amazing Thailand? Indeed, but also a place to expect the unexpected!

Pierre Talamon Men's Fashion Show in The Emporium, Bangkok, Thailand

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Outdoor Theater at the MBK Bangkok and shopping!

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.

[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

Diving with sharks at the Siam Paragon!

Siam Ocean World
The lowest level of the Siam Paragon shopping complex houses the Siam Ocean World, the largest aquarium currently found in South East Asia (unrelated but interestingly, Thailand's only 3D Imax theater is found at the top floor. The Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Maserati, and Porsche showrooms are found on intermediate floors... but I diverge!).

The Siam Ocean World focuses primarily on aquatic life found in the oceans, although a wide variety of creatures can be found here. Among the mix are spider crabs, sea otters, penguins, sharks, and sting rays. One of the primarily features of the exhibit is the The facilities and tanks appear to be kept in immaculate conditions with each exhibit decorated to simulate the surroundings of the jungle, ocean, etc. I really recommend taking a look! In several days, I'll have a more complete summary under the "Places" page.

Several weeks ago, I stopped by a booth near the entrance and asked about the various options for membership. In the ensuing discussion that touched upon fun areas of Bangkok to visit, I found that the Siam Ocean World held much more than just general admission to see the fish, reptiles, and other animals. The attractions include the opportunity to:

- Dive with the sharks

- Walk along the aquarium "ocean" floor

- Take a Glass-bottom boat tour

- Go on a "Back of house tour"

- have a "Shark Encounter"

- watch a 4D movie ("Sanyo 4D Adventure")

As soon as I heard about the opportunity, to dive with the sharks, I took the bait. Additionally, I found that if I purchased a year-long membership card, then I could go to see the aquarium free-of-charge whenever I wanted and get a significant discount on diving with the sharks. The cost for going on the dive with the sharks tour would cost the same as first getting the year-long membership, and then going on the dive (which I subsequently did today!).

Scuba diving with the sharks

Popeye guides me over one of the many Siam Ocean

World passage [photo below]

After making an appointment yesterday, I arrived at the Siam Water World early in the afternoon for a leisurely scuba diving trip through the aquarium -- since this was my first time scuba diving, I arrived early for a quick overview and lecture about the equipment used and safe diving. My instructor was from Vermont - nicknamed Popeye after the cartoon character tattooed on his arm. After meeting near the entrance, I was whisked away to the back, given a wet suit and speedos and told where I could change and store my stuff. Surprisingly, all scuba equipment - including cleanup equipment like towels, lockers, locks, and showering facilities - are provided with the program.

During our overview - and after I changed into my wet suit - groups of tourists taking the back of house tour would pass by. At that point, I found we would also be traversing the aquarium for thirty minutes! During this time, we would also pass by the numerous glass passageways and windows into the aquarium.

I soon found that in addition to my very-tight feeling wet suit, I would be using gloves, "slippers", face mask, 20lb weight belt, and 20lb airtank (which fits on much like a heavy-duty backpack). After reviewing the basics (breathing, going down, going up, and checking on air pressure), we took the plunge. The only really strange phenomenon was breathing entirely with my mouth underwater. I'm fairly good at swimming, having taken years of swimming lessons and practiced regularly in pools, lakes, and the ocean... however, for the life of me, I found it quite difficult to stay upright, tending to float belly-up with the heavy air tank below. Despite these difficulties, we navigated the tank successfully within the thirty-minutes, and the experience was unforgettable.

The fish would swim all around, in front, above, and around. The sharks also came so close that if I reached out, I could have touched them! The instructor, however, had previously emphasized that such actions are inadvisable and not allowed. Several times, the sharks came so close that I could see their teeth. The hammerheads were fun, as were the multitudes of multi-colored fish. In addition to seeing and experiencing the aquatic life, I also had the opportunity to find out what it might be like to be a part of the exhibit! Many tourists were snapping pictures and little tikes waving at the divers in the tank. Overall, the experience was wonderful and unforgettable. After all, how many people can say that they've been scuba diving in a shark tank??

Legend.

[Left to right] 1. Scuba-diving in front of the main glass of the aquarium 2. Kneeling on the ocean-floor and watching the fish (and the myriads of people taking photos!) 3. Oh! A shark!!! 4. Swimming through shark-infested waters 5. Waving to the cameras

Return to Greatness

Bangkok as seen from the skies...


[Left] Highways and waterways all seem to be placed so that they head directly into the heart of Bangkok. [Right] Even though the sun had just popped up after one of the daily monsoon rains, we could still see the outlines of downtown.


Yes, indeed! I am now back in Thailand after a short hiatus to several other Asian regions... return to greatness is not exaggerated... wonderful weather, tasty food, excellent shopping, and friendly people (I've talked with friendly groups of individuals of the fairer sex and was just told today by a girl at a checkout counter - in a very, very quiet voice - that I was "very handsome"). Of course, one of my favorite haunts is a place in downtown Bangkok called the "Siam Paragon". This mall has, in addition to hundreds of shops and restaurants and a theater containing Thailand's sole 3D IMAX screen, a floor that sells brand new cars. I stopped by the Lamborghini store to check out the latest stock.

One of three three Lamborghini gallardo-style cars in currently in stock..
psst... they come in orange, yellow, and black... prolly tag in at around a cool $1,000,000 each too

Today is a national holiday in Thailand! Without work, I slept in a bit before heading downtown Bangkok via the BTS (Bangkok Transit System)... basically, the skytrain - a train that goes above-ground on an elevated track. The MTR goes underground, basically a subway (or the "L" if you're from Chicago). After making various stops at some of my favorite haunts, I grabbed a nice dinner and some snacks before heading back to my place to post this update! I'll try to update more frequently in the future, but believe me, hopping around from place to place can be very exhausting!



[Left] Seabass with a fresh garden salad, garnished with a lemon (?). The drink is what the restaurant termed a "banana lassi" (lassi refers to the type of drink made in India, mango lassi or similar I presume). Absolutely delicious, although technically the drink is more like a Western-style smoothie. [Right] A dozen assorted Krispy Kreme donuts. Can't get too much better than a mornin' munch on a Krispy Kreme!

The Rainy Season

Yes! In the warmer areas of the world - right now I'm referring specifically to Thailand - there are rainy seasons and drier seasons. The May-August months tend to be warm and quite moist. Indeed, if you take a look at the local weather [click here for the link; discouraging, isn't it?], you'll find that tomorrow it will rain. Sunday it will rain. Monday it will rain. Tues-... well, you get the picture, I'm sure! This is the rainy season. I carry an umbrella with me for that time of day when the rain appears. Last night, for instance, it rained. But when I woke up this morning and went exploring, I was astonished.

Cars traversing a partially-submerged street [left]. Banana (?) trees overhanging a flooding creek [right]

At night, many of the small streets had some water in it, so I grabbed a ride from a taxi! The taxi driver was clearly not happy about the conditions of the road. I hadn't realized it, but the road we were traveling on became partially submerged at one point. When we went over a bump in the road, I felt the bottom of the car hit the water below - hard. To compensate, we left the driver with a nice-sized tip.

The Bangna Post

Greetings, salutations, and welcome to this weekend edition of the Bangna Post! Yes, today we are happy to report that Chris has completed his transition for vacation in Thailand. He's settled in and ready to explore the countryside. This last weekend he spent time tramping around the busy streets of Bangkok. Before posting, I played around a bit with the placement of the usual "copyright chris" markers. Please enjoy the pictures below!

The BTS skytrain in Bangkok, Thailand. This is an elevated train system that traverses many areas of Bangkok. With an expansion due to open in August 2011, additional stations will soon open, including one in Bangna! The subway - called the MRT in Thailand - is operated by a separate company. Therefore, although you can obtain passes for both services, a single pass cannot be used for both!

On Sundays the BTS can be very crowded! This is near the "Siam" BTS station, surrounded by many different shopping malls and entertainment venues (not to mention the myriads of small eateries)... [left] A small eatery that seemed very popular with the locals! I think it would be popular with internationals, too. [right]

Even street venders get tired. Good thing that everyone is very honest [Left]! Power lines in Bangkok can sometimes seem... how shall we say it... unsafe? Take a look at the (live) power lines wrapped around the (metal) railings for the pedestrian overpass! [right]

One of the more artistic shots... some trees on the streets of Bangkok!

Food stalls in an alleyway. The cleanliness can perhaps be put into question... however, the food is good, and my rule of thumb is 1) stay away from seafood and 2) stay away from fresh fruit products and ice if the place seems questionable. This area seems perfectly fine to me, but some of the food stands outside of the city limits may seem otherwise (although the vendors are always very nice!).

The art museum of Bangkok. Near the "National Stadium" and "Siam" BTS train stations.