Andy's Asia - Life in the Village

After last weekend in Hua Hin and Phetburi, I decided to take a low key weekend here in the City of Angels. On Saturday, I had a leisurely breakfast of a hot chicken sandwich and iced coffee, read the Bangkok Post and headed off to Chatuchak Weekend Market. You can get ANYTHING you could possibly want or need at this huge market. I've posted some pictures from the market following this post. From fruits and veggies, to pastries, clothes, watches, videos, crickets, bunnies, fish, dogs, hamsters, mice, feather dusters, brooms and fountains, it's all here and available to buy at a good price. The market is a good mix of farang, Thai and other Asians wandering about and looking for bargains. While not the "must-see" that the Grand Palace is, if you're here for more than one weekend, it's good fun. On Sunday, I had a lazy day at the apartment. I slept late, then I made myself a farang breakfast of eggs and potatoes, of course I had to put a few chilis in

big smiles after a successful morning of shopping! 

Veggies and fruit! 

This droll dude is making rice cakes with caramel topping 

Making and selling Khanom! These little pastries are very yummy! 

Selling fruit and juices 

Really cute bunnies for sale, apparently in good health! 

Roasting corn. Yum!! Thai people love their corn! 

This scene reminded me of Japan. Young people giving away a new toothpaste at Chatuchak Market 

Selling feather dusters at Chatuchak Weekend Market 

Yesterday was a holiday here. It was a special day honoring a monk. The holiday is called Makha Buchare (spelling differs sometimes). I went to the Grand Palace complex which includes the Grand Palace and Wat Preah Kaew. It is one of the "don't miss" tourist attractions in Bangkok and for good reason. If you come, don't miss it. It is truly spectacular. As you all know, I am not a big fan of "tourist" places but if you can only go one place in Bangkok, forget the snake shows, the elephant shows and the floating markets, head for Wat Preah Kaew. After Wat Preah Kaew, take a five minute walk to the Chao Phraya river and hop on a long tail boat to go across to see Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn). You can do the whole kit and caboodle in 4-5 hours easily. However I definitely advise you to arrive at the Grand Palace as close to the 10am opening as possible because it gets both very hot and very crowded later. Yesterday I got a late start and didn't arrive until th

This little girl was holding the huge umbrella for her father while he took a picture of her mother.  

This little one wanted to walk "own self" 

This little boy was posing for his father 

The woman on the left is 78 and her son was bragging that she can still walk. Yikes! 

Woman exhausted after or during worship. She'd HATE me if she knew I took this picture 

When worshipping at a temple, one circles the temple three times. 

Woman with flower for Makha buchare at Wat Preah Kaew 

No, I did NOT put this flower on the rocks. Taken at temple in Phetburi. 

Big Buddha at Kao Takiab near Hua Hin 

Monkeys "playing" at Big Buddha in Kao Takiab! 

Boy fishing at Kao Takiab. He caught one tiny fish! I hope it wasn't supposed to be his dinner 

Beach boys at Kao Takiab near Hua Hin 

Over the weekend, I went to the famous beach town, Hua Hin. I took a fairly inexpensive air conditioned van from Bangkok to a hotel I had never seen. When I got to the hotel, I was appalled to find that the room I was given was facing out over the busiest and noisiest road in Hua Hin. To top it off, the glass in the windows was less than one centimeter thick. Fortunately after about 45 minutes of discussion, they were able to move me to a quieter and nicer room at the back of the property for one night. I took a stroll on the beach, finally got checked in and went for a tasty and spicy seafood dinner. The next day, I had to move back to the original room or find a new hotel. Fortunately I decided to look for a new hotel. I found a fantastic place a bit off the beaten path in an area just south of Hua Hin called Kao Takiab. It had a wonderful beach and it was very easy to stroll along it, watching the locals, the farangs and the temple dogs running freely. After a swim in the ocean to c

Basket vendor's cart on Soi Si. 

Roosters on traffic island at Thanon Sukhumvit mum Soi Si. This is after all the year of the Rooster! 

Khun Chiit, my barber in Bangkok, and I after my shave, haircut, manicure and pedicure. Felix, my barber in Denver, wonders what she has that he doesn't!! Other than all that for less than $10 of course!!

Hello again! Who knew that a Traditional Thai Massage could be dangerous?! On Sunday, I decided to treat myself to a 2 hour $12 massage. The masseuse did an amazing job for the first hour and 45 minutes. Then as she put her full weight on my back with her knees pressing into my back muscles, I heard and felt a sharp CRACK!!! YIKES!! She finished the massage, not on my back of course and I thought that maybe I was ok. No such luck, yesterday I went to the hospital and the Doctor confirmed that I have a cracked rib. Those of you that have experience with rib injuries know that unless you have difficulty breathing, there is no actual treatment for rib injuries other than letting time heal it. Unlike previous experiences at Bumrungrad Hospital, this one was less than satisfactory. I waited for 90 minutes before I got to see a Doctor. I hope there is no next time, but if there is, I'll call and make an advance appointment. One segment I want to begin including in my blog entr

Hello all! Here I am, back in the hot and humid Land of Smiles. I've been here a week so far and had a slight flu relapse and an uncharacteristic bout with "Delhi Belly". Needless to say, I've been slowed down a wee bit. But enough about me! Probably the most significant thing that's happened here since I've been back is the election. After a rough past year for the incumbent Thai Rak Thai (Thai Love Thai) party including the violent Tak Bai incident that I discussed in the fall, they handily won the election. In fact, it was a landslide. The current Prime Minister, Taksin Shinawatra's programs and policies were completely endorsed by the Thai people. One enormous plus for TRT's easy win was the government's handling of the Tsunami tragedy. With a few exceptions (identification of the bodies for instance), the response by the government was swift and effective from all reports. Clearly the Thai people approved overwhelmingly. I asked a f