Time Spent in Bangkok

Pubs

There are an incredible number of British pubs in our area: Robin Hood, the Londoner, Dubliners, and the Sportsmen to name a few. This is no doubt the result of about 51,000 Britons living here. We’ve visited three and one isn’t that different from the other except in terms of food and specials. All have a number of TV screens playing sports, all offer a variety of spirits, and each one has an interior of dark wood. We were very excited to see breakfast offered at Robin Hood’s so one Saturday morning we treated ourselves to eggs Benedict. Sadly, it was one of the worst breakfasts I’ve had. I’m not sure what the sauce was but it certainly did not taste like Hollandaise.

One Sunday night we tried the carvery at the Londoner and were pleasantly surprised. A variety of salads, smoked salmon, shrimp, cheese, breads, and two kinds of soup were available. The meat was pork, beef and chicken and the chicken was moist. There were scalloped potatoes, cauliflower, mixed veggies, and several desserts. At just under 15 dollars each, it wasn’t cheap but it was worth it.

Khao San Road

Khao San Road is a backpacker’s haven and where we stayed 14 years ago on our first visit to Bangkok. At that time, I remember thinking it was a super place to stay. There were used bookstores with books in English, restaurants serving Western food playing pirated movies in English, and there were Westerners everywhere! Living in Korea at the time, I was somewhat starved for Western culture; this time I had no desire to return there.

Then we read that it had evolved – and according to Lonely Planet, was “the coolest district in Bangkok.” Since everything was closed due to the 5 day ‘National Holiday’, we decided to pay a visit. Our first flagged taxi frowned and refused to take us there, the second agreed but on route worried about flooding and one road we travelled on did have about a foot of water across it but Khao San itself was dry.

We walked the length – about 500 metres - and left.  The place felt dirty and seedy and neither of us was impressed. There were a few open air restaurants with cheap plastic tables and chairs, a MacDonald’s and a Burger King, two food vendors both making pad tai, several vendors selling Tshirts with logos like ‘I heart Bangkok’ or ‘Let the Froth be with You’ (Starbucks). Other vendors sold loose dresses, baggie pants, hair bands, bracelets, and bags, and three vendors sold fake I.D.s. Signs sticking out of buildings advertised hotels and coffee shops and dark alleys with more shops branched off the main road. I hope that Bangkok offers more options than Khao San Road for the budget traveller. It wasn’t a place I’d want to stay.

We decided to head to Siam Paragon for their spectacular food court and a tuk tuk driver tried to convince us to go with him for 100 baht. We laughed because we knew a taxi was only about 80 so we chose the comfort of a/c for less. Lunch was seafood tum yom gung for Ian and pad tai again for me (I can’t help it, it’s so yummy!). Lunch came to about 6 dollars total.

Planetarium

On arrival to Bangkok, we discovered a tourist book in our house called Top 10 Bangkok and we have been using it a lot. Under Top 10 Children’s Activities was the Planetarium at the Science Centre so we headed there today. The address was 289 Sukhumvit so we took a taxi in the direction we thought it would be but the numbers started going up instead of down so the cab turned around and went the other way to find the same thing happening. It was most strange. Luckily we had the book with us so the cab driver called for directions and it turned out that we had headed the right way to begin with. The poor driver kept apologizing but it wasn’t his fault.

The lady in the ticket booth informed us the planetarium didn’t open till 2:00 (it was 11am) so we bought a ticket for the science centre and went in. To our dismay, everything was in Thai. You’d think if the place was recommended in a tourist book, they would have said it was in Thai. Ian and I made the best of it but it was pretty boring. We couldn’t read anything and there was a lot to read. We grabbed some lunch and then visited the building on site called the Aqua-life Centre. It was very small with a few aquariums inside with some species of fish that we haven’t seen before. We poked about and then headed to the planetarium.

An older female employee met us at the door. She looked at our tickets, mumbled under her breath looking at the clock then said something to the security guard. He came from behind the desk, turned on a flashlight and motioned for us to follow him into the theatre. Turns out, there’s a show that STARTS at 2pm and it was already underway.

It was pitch black inside and we settled down into our seats. They didn’t lean back very far so we mostly had to crane our necks to look at the sky of stars above us. The narration was in Thai so again, we were out of luck. I don’t understand why this was listed in an English tourist book! The show went on for another 30 minutes.  It got frightening at the end when large meteors hit the earth causing tidal waves and destruction (I swear I heard the word Hiroshima). Strange.

A Thai Restaurant

We decided to head west of our street and found a fantastic Thai restaurant called Puangkaew located on 108 Sukhumvit soi 23. It’s a tiny place where one can feel comfortable in shorts or dress. We ordered som tum thai (spicy papaya salad), rice, tom kah gai (chicken coconut soup) and red curry with chicken. The papaya salad was spicy and fresh, the broth in the soup was delicious but the red curry was the dish that really topped the meal. It was amazing. I think our meal with two ice teas came to about 12 dollars. We’ll definitely be back.

The Snake Farm (Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute)

In 1929, his Royal Highness the Prince and VP of the Red Cross Society of Siam, persuaded his three siblings, friends and relatives to donate funds to help with the treatment of patients hurt by venomous animals, as well as, aid in the construction costs of the Simaseng building for public education.  After 70 years of operation, the Simaseng building becoming dilapidated and was rebuilt by the Red Cross Society with an opening ceremony in 2008.

Apparently Thailand has over 200 different kinds of snakes with 60 of those being venomous so you can see why there is need for such a centre as Simaseng. Here they not only educate the public but produce anti-venom serum for snake bites nationwide. Venomous snakes are milked daily to produce the serum (which you can see at an earlier show). Some of these poisonous snakes have been found in kitchens, along roads, and in backyards so it isn’t just in the jungles that you can come across one.

We arrived just before the 2:30 show and were rewarded with quite an experience.  The audience is seated on raked cement benches and one at a time, different snakes are brought out. Often they are let loose on the pavement before the audience. Only one snake tried to get away; most sit waiting for a chance to strike the handler.

The MC spoke in both Thai and English and explained the various snakes and the effects of their venom to a mixed audience of Thai, Western, adult and children. He showed us his finger where 5 years ago, he was bitten by a snake. He spent a month in the hospital where he almost died. He explained that snakes have very poor eyesight so when you come across one, you should remain very still as they will only strike when you move. It is also interesting to note, that should you be holding a snake, their eyes will stay riveted on your head so they don’t think to bite the arm holding them.

We were introduced to the King Cobra, the Siamese Cobra (which was quite pretty), the Banded Krait, a green Pit Viper, a Sunbeam snake that sparkles as the sun hits it, and few others that I cannot remember. One snake could actually jump to 2 metres – that’s the one that tried to get away. It was fast! The best was the Burmese python because we were invited us to get our photo with it. No one volunteered but I sure did.  Down I went with Ian close behind.

The snake was very heavy and although hard and dry to the touch, was also soft; sort of like a hard pillow with a tough exterior. The snake moved around a bit to get its bearings but mostly it was inert. Once Ian and I got our photos the Western people in the audience lined up but no Thai people joined us. I managed to squeeze in a photo at the end solo.

Following this little adventure, we went into the exhibition building where we learned more about snakes: skin shedding, eggs, babies, various snake bites and what to do when bitten, etc.  Outside, we wandered around examining different snakes in natural looking habitats. There was a huge elephant snake twirled around a tree stump and in a large cage were two cobras sitting up looking at us ready to strike. Most of the snakes were curled up sleeping. Overall, it was a good day.