Botched Up Bangkok Weekend

Not long after our return to Singapore in July, John found himself organizing a business trip to Bangkok with a client there. The necessary work was to take place over Friday and part of Saturday leaving the rest of the weekend free. He thought that I might like to join him armed with my new camera for some photo-shooting and exploration. It's not like we haven't been there before but it's been quite a few years so I was persuaded to take John up on his offer.

Hotel Lobby with Staff

The first surprise upon our arrival was our hotel, the Hua Chang Heritage Hotel. It's situated amid the hustle and bustle of the business district but once inside I felt we stepped into something out of Alice in Wonderland! Besides the oddball, contemporary furniture in the lobby, the staff were all wearing pantaloons with long white stockings and black shoes which only added to the effect. Once we checked in and entered our room, we were greeted to a vision of brilliant white decor in a cloud of pink light created by deep red voile curtains. The bathroom was a glass, chrome and marble spectacle but also sported an old fashioned deep tub. Together it all reminded me more of a honeymoon suite than a businessman's (or woman's) hotel stay. At least the bed was big and comfortable which proved to be a good thing...

Silk Cocoons

John duly set off to visit with his client while I headed to a nearby tourist attraction known as Jim Thompson's House. He fought for the U.S. Army in WWII but afterwards ended up in Thailand where he started a then unique business of organizing local silk weavers to make cloth for export. He was also a prodigious collector of local artisan's work and historical artifacts. Eventually Jim Thompson constructed a home for himself that comprised a collection of six teak buildings put together using mostly authentic Thai building techniques and fittings. Unfortunately while he was on a trip to Malaysia in 1967, Jim Thompson mysteriously disappeared. To this day, there are no clues to explain what happened. Fortunately his home was preserved and opened to the public with the proceeds contributing to various Thai projects aimed at promoting Thailand's artistic and cultural heritage.

Behind the site for Jim Thompson's House runs a canal used for transport and commuting by local Thai's and tourists around Bangkok. Across the footbridge there is an old housing quarter that used to be largely Muslim but now sports a variety of ethnic locals. However, the houses and vendors remain authentically old-style. Despite the fact that it is in the heart of Bangkok, it feels like a very rural community. I enjoyed walking through it and found an abundance of photo opportunities.

Canal between Jim Thompson's House and Old Quarter
with Bangkok Cityscape in background

Later I was invited to join John with his clients for a Thai meal. His colleague provided the name of the restaurant and also conveyed it to my taxi driver.  To my frustration the traffic was so horrendous that it took one hour to get there although it turned out the location was less than 1-mile away! On top of that, the taxi driver acted as if he was mad at me and refused to give me change. Nonetheless the meal was a delicious feast that included a countless number of dishes shared by all. Unfortunately, that also ended up being about the only time we enjoyed together that weekend. Sometime that evening John came down with a viral infection of some kind that left him running a very high temperature and feeling like doing nothing but curling up in that big comfortable bed.

On Saturday, despite John's continuing fever, he felt it necessary to conclude his business. He hoped that somehow he'd get through it and by the afternoon be feeling better. So I went off this time to explore one of the royal wats (temples) that caught my interest in a not too far away locale near Dusit Palace where the royal family of Thailand live. To my relief, this taxi ride took only twenty minutes.

Main Temple (Wat)

Tuk-tuk

As I walked up the steps to the temple entrance standing just off to the side was a large portrait of an older woman and I noticed a number of tables and tents set up in the surrounding area. I determined this must be a funeral ceremony so avoided proceeding inside the temple but explored the grounds instead. Here I enjoyed the striking Thai architecture as well as a number of statues and sculptures of various figures including lions, dragons and Buddhas. At the rear of the property I came upon the monk's quarters and observed a bit of their daily life for awhile. Afterwards I tried to get a tuk-tuk back to our hotel but was put off by their blatant attempts to rip me off with the fare (at least 4x what I had paid the air-conditioned taxi to take me there)! Eventually, now feeling very hot and sweaty I located a taxi and negotiated a fare I could live with (yes, he covered up the meter so that I was forced to pay the negotiated price).

Back at the hotel, I came into our darkened room to find John sleeping. I left him there and went down to the pool for awhile. Later I ate a meal alone. On Sunday John woke up feeling barely human again. He managed to get out and go for a massage at a local spa down the street with me. Then before we headed to the airport we made a stop for a drink at a restaurant along the Chao Phraya River that runs through the heart of Bangkok down to the Gulf of Thailand.

Enjoying drinks along the Chao Phraya

Needless to say, John saw his doctor in Singapore on Monday morning. After many blood tests (to John's horror - he hates needles) they were very concerned that his immune system was quite compromised but it did start to rebound on it's own. No specific virus was determined though the specialist in infectious diseases left the impression it was likely secondary dengue fever (something he did contract earlier this year). He's still a bit on the rebound but has been declared basically healthy again though when (or if) we return to Bangkok again given my frustrations and his illness remains to be seen. In the meantime, you can see a collection of photos from my weekend adventures and the funky hotel here!