Return to Bangkok (by Niki)

Although we regretted leaving Chiang Rai too early, we were also excited to return to Bangkok. It would have been easy just to head straight to the islands but we both felt like Bangkok needed another go being such a huge city with so many things to do and see. Unfortunately we couldn't stay in the same lovely guesthouse as before but we lucked out and found a nice guesthouse in more of a touristy place than last time which allows us to experience more nightlife.

We only had a half day on our first day and we decided to do something quirky and go to Mansion 7 which was a night market turned into a spooky themed area with bars and restaurants and of course a haunted house to top it off. Of course this was supposed to be easy to find as usual (I swear half of traveling is navigating!) but google lead us astray with the wrong address and we literally took a taxi to the complete wrong end of the city where we inevitably ended up at a plaza we didn't really want to see. We found a cafe where we accessed wifi and learned of the grievous error and we literally left immediately and took a taxi to the nearest metro station. Having made such an effort to get there, we were at first a little disappointed with Mansion 7 because it was fairly empty at the time and not exactly what we pictured.

Nonetheless we settled in at a cocktail bar for some drinks and we ended up having a pretty fun time! The drinks were mostly themed with names like "Creepy" and "Shock" and we were thoroughly entertained by the bartender who kept showing us different magic tricks. Or rather, Josh was entertained by him while I was entertained by Josh attempting to mimic the tricks! He did buy a magic kit in India if you can believe it so I am preparing to be wowed any day now! ;)

After a couple of drinks we made our way to the haunted house. At first I thought it would be so goofy but before long you find yourself just getting into it, especially as the entire trek through takes about a half hour. I made Josh go first for protection and we were tethered together by a rope so we couldn't leave each other. The premise was that you have to find the door out of each room to move on and this was tricky as some of them were pitch black! Others had eery collections of dolls, dead bodies in bathtubs, dark furry things moving in the corners and all of them had scary noises with the creepiest room being an olden day ballroom with freaky classical music. The most intense part of the whole thing was that there were actors! At any time a real person jumps out and starts chasing you sometimes in the guise of a zombie or like the girl from The Ring. The entire time you are aware it is completely fake and yet your heart pounds in spite of that knowledge. It was very thrilling and something I never thought we would experience in Bangkok!

The next day our host gave us the idea to explore the Jatujak weekend market which is apparently the biggest outdoor air market in Southeast Asia! It also had a lovely park adjacent to it so that you can grab some street food, rent a mat, and have a lovely picnic on the grass. It was fun just seeing all the people and families out enjoying the weekend. The market itself was amazing! It was impossible not to get turned around and if we ever left an item saying we would think about it and return, there was literally no hope to find that stall again. The market had everything from clothing to housewares to pets even! The puppies were oh-so-cute but a little reminiscent of puppy mill practices. Clothing spilled out from bins and off hangers; anything from second hand Vans to vintage dresses to funky T-shirts. Name it and you could find it. We bought a couple of items but as we are fairly tight on space in our backpacks (they are only 46 liters), we were pretty picky with what we purchased! The market was an absolute blast and probably the best one we have been to because there was virtually no pressure to buy anything. Shopkeepers look like they are having fun and in fact a lot of them sit outside their shops sharing a beer and a laugh with friends while you look around. We were glad to be in Bangkok on the weekend so we were able to take in the infamous J.J. Market.

That evening we had dedicated ourselves to seeing the seedier side of Bangkok for which it is somewhat famous. The red light district we choose to see was the smallest one called Soi Cowboy. The street was very cheesy and in your face with the flashing neon lights but I suppose it gets the point across pretty clear! We were pleased to see a lot of tourists (including a lot of couples) having drinks on the strip so we didn't feel to out of place. We did have to evacuate the first establishment fairly quickly though when some strange Russian fellows decided that I looked Russian and they would not stop speaking to us in Russian despite our protests that we could only speak English. I guess the weird characters you meet is all part of the experience.

Moving on we found a better place and an intriguing woman to chat with about the industry. It's difficult to say whether she was being honest but she was pointing out a girl who was sixteen years old and telling us that the average girl might make 12,000 baht a month (~$400). It was interesting to talk with someone who was clearly unfazed by the industry and it was interesting to see the industry at work first hand. More than anything I noticed how unenthused the girls were and they all made faces at me to be funny, trying to display their contempt about whomever they were dealing with at the moment. Most of them came up to me and wanted to meet me for whatever reason. I did find it rather comical with all the girls laughing to each other and including me and everyone else being seemingly oblivious although I had to resist the urge to tell them to go back to school! I can't say I particularly "enjoyed" the experience but I will chalk it up to life experience I think.

Having had a very late night the evening before, we were fairly slow moving today. As such we planned to see the Jim Thompson house as our only sight for the day and I am so glad we went!

The Jim Thompson house is almost a memorial to the man that created it and also a museum of Thai architecture and Chinese artifacts. Born in 1906 in America, Jim Thompson enlisted in the war which took him to Asia where he fell in love with Thailand. Divorcing his wife, he left for Thailand in the 1940s calling it home for the rest of his life. He became famous and wealthy in Thailand for having revived the dying Thai silk industry when he set up a shop and presented his silk to Vogue in the 1950s rebooting the export industry. Even the Queen payed homage to his shop!

Having gained respect and wealth, he became the owner of a plot of land with six traditional Thai houses on it which he renovated and remade for his own purposes (his profession was an architect). The houses were fantastic to see, each being a quirky blend of a traditional Thai house with elements of the west. He was Christian but also believed in Buddhism and being a lover of antiques, he had quite the collection of Buddha statues including one from the 7th century. In his garden he had a traditional spirit house which is a small doll-like house that is made to house the spirits so they will not enter the actual house; every day an offering of food, flowers, and incense is provided to it. With his love for all thing Thai he even turned the walls inside out so that he could look upon the beautiful carvings while inside his home rather than outside. The houses were no longer on stilts (this was common due to flooding) but they held the traditional shape of being broader on the bottom and narrower on top which feels like a mind trick when you look at a window. Unfortunately he only resided there for eight years before his disappearance in Malaysia where he was never seen again. The house was really beautiful to see and a wonderful example of traditional Thai features that I had never heard of before.

Since that was the only thing on our agenda today we decided to fulfill our hope of going to the IMAX theater and seeing Skyfall, the new Bond movie which was great! Tomorrow we are off to the islands although the weather would warn us away if our flights weren't already booked. Hopefully we will see some sun and not just a downpour while we are there!