Probably not. Over the course of 48 hours, I had 3 hours worth of massage for $18. But it wasn’t all lying prone and being manipulated by small, nimble hands. I did manage to fit a few other things in…..saw a few sights, bought some Thai silk and ended up meeting some folks and enjoying some good food an conversation.
It’s always better to experience food with a local
I met a friend of a friend – a Bangkok native – for lunch. She went to graduate school in the US, but has since returned to Bangkok where she lives and works. She took me to a lovely traditional Thai place where we sat in the garden and ate and talked for hours. It is a very old place that the locals have been going to for decades. In fact, I was the only farang (white foreigner) there. We had a medley of fabulous dishes including a green curry, a spicy pork and beef with holy basil and garlic – all served with a variety of wonderful sauces and rices. Some things were quite hot! But it was amazing.
But there is also no substitute for familiar, old favorites
I also met up with an American friend - we watched women’s World Cup soccer in an English pub and ate like kings in the Middle Eastern district. He was breaking fast from Yom Kippur, so we ate an endless meal of hummus, eggplant, mixed grill, fresh bread, pilaf and more. He because he was ravenous from fasting, me because I have little self control when it comes to tasty Middle Eastern food (thank you to Iltug for introducing me to this wonderful cuisine). There really is no shortage of international dining options in the city – anything and everything is available.
So far so good, hey? Between massages and fabulous meals, I cannot complain.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Funny things about BKK
OK - so I have been here now nearly a week and have some initial observations.
1) this place can be cheap or ridiculously expensive - If you insist on eating / shopping Western, be prepared to pay NY prices. If you go local, you can buy a dress for $15 or dinner for $2. I paid $6 for strawberries which happened to be the same brand I used to buy in NY / CT. I hear BKK has the most Western influence of any Asian city. This is evidenced by all of the Western brands / chains you can find. I find it particularly amusing that some of the dining options in my office park include Au Bon Pain, Starbucks, Sizzler (yes, Sizzler), Baskin Robbins, 7-11 and MacDonald's. On the flip side, there are lots of incredibly elegant options. I went to a place last night on the 64th floor of a posh hotel and paid $100 for dinner.
2) any Western male is good looking (to Thai women) - Young or old, hairy or balding, fat or skinny, tall or short...Western men are dripping with Thai women (actually, usually girls). But then again, not all Western men are looking for that sort of thing. I had dinner with a lovely Frenchman who is also here for work who says he is not into that scene (what do you think? should I believe him?).
3) people are really into taking care of their bodies - There are gyms everywhere and they are always full - with Thai and non-Thai alike. For every gym there must be 5 massage spas. And then there are plenty of clinics for lasering, botoxing, liposuctioning....you name it. It can be done here and for about 1/10th of what it would cost in the US. And if you have body image / weight issues, don't live in Asia. There are people so tiny that I swear I could fit them in my [admittedly] large handbag. My thigh is the size of some of the women's waists. No, I am not exaggerating.
4) if you can play charades, you can navigate BKK - I never thought I would say this, but....thank you Grandmother for insisting the kids play charades at family dinners. What I thought was simply amusement for the adults (and torture for shy children like myself) , turns out to have been early childhood training in the art of communicating through gestures, which has proven particularly useful when neither party speaks a common language.
5) wine is expensive (very), beer is not - If you want a beer, it can be had copiously and cheaply. Wine is a different story. While both old and new world options are plentiful, expect to pay handsomely for even an average bottle. This is because the Thai government taxes wine imports at 400%, so your average $20 bottle in the US will run you $80+ here. This is the second highest wine tax in the world (so what is the first, you ask? India at 450%).
6) this is a mall city - Because of the heat, malls are a form of entertainment. It is not unusual to spend an entire day in the mall. (I realize some of you who know me well will find this amusing because this is actually quite normal behavior for me.) The reason why people do so is because of the heat. So on weekends you can find all sorts of indoor entertainment that can keep you occupied for hours. And there is not just shopping. There are elaborate food courts with first rate food. There are Imax movie theaters and aquariums. There are massive expos - right now at the mall next to my hotel / apt there is a live butterfly exhibit with over 4000 exotic butterflies under in a 5000 sq foot, 12 foot tall terrarium.
-Joanna
1) this place can be cheap or ridiculously expensive - If you insist on eating / shopping Western, be prepared to pay NY prices. If you go local, you can buy a dress for $15 or dinner for $2. I paid $6 for strawberries which happened to be the same brand I used to buy in NY / CT. I hear BKK has the most Western influence of any Asian city. This is evidenced by all of the Western brands / chains you can find. I find it particularly amusing that some of the dining options in my office park include Au Bon Pain, Starbucks, Sizzler (yes, Sizzler), Baskin Robbins, 7-11 and MacDonald's. On the flip side, there are lots of incredibly elegant options. I went to a place last night on the 64th floor of a posh hotel and paid $100 for dinner.
2) any Western male is good looking (to Thai women) - Young or old, hairy or balding, fat or skinny, tall or short...Western men are dripping with Thai women (actually, usually girls). But then again, not all Western men are looking for that sort of thing. I had dinner with a lovely Frenchman who is also here for work who says he is not into that scene (what do you think? should I believe him?).
3) people are really into taking care of their bodies - There are gyms everywhere and they are always full - with Thai and non-Thai alike. For every gym there must be 5 massage spas. And then there are plenty of clinics for lasering, botoxing, liposuctioning....you name it. It can be done here and for about 1/10th of what it would cost in the US. And if you have body image / weight issues, don't live in Asia. There are people so tiny that I swear I could fit them in my [admittedly] large handbag. My thigh is the size of some of the women's waists. No, I am not exaggerating.
4) if you can play charades, you can navigate BKK - I never thought I would say this, but....thank you Grandmother for insisting the kids play charades at family dinners. What I thought was simply amusement for the adults (and torture for shy children like myself) , turns out to have been early childhood training in the art of communicating through gestures, which has proven particularly useful when neither party speaks a common language.
5) wine is expensive (very), beer is not - If you want a beer, it can be had copiously and cheaply. Wine is a different story. While both old and new world options are plentiful, expect to pay handsomely for even an average bottle. This is because the Thai government taxes wine imports at 400%, so your average $20 bottle in the US will run you $80+ here. This is the second highest wine tax in the world (so what is the first, you ask? India at 450%).
6) this is a mall city - Because of the heat, malls are a form of entertainment. It is not unusual to spend an entire day in the mall. (I realize some of you who know me well will find this amusing because this is actually quite normal behavior for me.) The reason why people do so is because of the heat. So on weekends you can find all sorts of indoor entertainment that can keep you occupied for hours. And there is not just shopping. There are elaborate food courts with first rate food. There are Imax movie theaters and aquariums. There are massive expos - right now at the mall next to my hotel / apt there is a live butterfly exhibit with over 4000 exotic butterflies under in a 5000 sq foot, 12 foot tall terrarium.
-Joanna
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Welcome to Bangkok
So I have arrived in Bangkok...
My room is actually a 1BR suite which has a kitchen, see the living room at left. So I made my way to the market last night to buy a few items. It was in a fancy mall next door which also had Gucci, Prada, etc...I'm pretty certain I overpaid. (Considering that 2 bags of groceries were $40, and one can eat a lovely shrimp stirfry at a restaurant for $3). Not surprisingly 75% of the items I could not read because they were in Thai characters, however it did surprise me that I could not actually visually recognize a lot of foods. So, I stuck to the basics for now - fruit and yogurt and such. There were quite a lot of American and European foods, at a premium of course - I found my favorite cereal, Haagen Daaz and V8 juice. But it is so cheap to eat out that I really don't need to cook - it hardly seems worth the effort. I just wanted to have some snacks around so I would not be tempted by the sinister Toblerone candy bar and Pringles chips in the mini bar.
It's hot and humid. Very humid. I am told we are entering the winter, so I can only speculate as to what the middle of summer must feel like! But much like the southern US, I find that the indoors is over air conditioned, so I am freezing most of the time.
I am staying at what is called an "executive 
serviced apartment" called Emporium Suites. This is basically the equivalent of a 4 or 5 star hotel but for longer term stays. Some people actually live in these as permanent residences, but for Unilever it is the place where everyone stays initially - thus it has earned the nickname "the Temporium." While it is certainly posh, I am not keen on viewing the fire exit plan on the back of the door every time I go in the bathroom - a proper apartment would suit me more. And strangely, it smells very heavily of lemongrass. But I am enjoying the view from the 41st floor where I am staying.
serviced apartment" called Emporium Suites. This is basically the equivalent of a 4 or 5 star hotel but for longer term stays. Some people actually live in these as permanent residences, but for Unilever it is the place where everyone stays initially - thus it has earned the nickname "the Temporium." While it is certainly posh, I am not keen on viewing the fire exit plan on the back of the door every time I go in the bathroom - a proper apartment would suit me more. And strangely, it smells very heavily of lemongrass. But I am enjoying the view from the 41st floor where I am staying. 
My room is actually a 1BR suite which has a kitchen, see the living room at left. So I made my way to the market last night to buy a few items. It was in a fancy mall next door which also had Gucci, Prada, etc...I'm pretty certain I overpaid. (Considering that 2 bags of groceries were $40, and one can eat a lovely shrimp stirfry at a restaurant for $3). Not surprisingly 75% of the items I could not read because they were in Thai characters, however it did surprise me that I could not actually visually recognize a lot of foods. So, I stuck to the basics for now - fruit and yogurt and such. There were quite a lot of American and European foods, at a premium of course - I found my favorite cereal, Haagen Daaz and V8 juice. But it is so cheap to eat out that I really don't need to cook - it hardly seems worth the effort. I just wanted to have some snacks around so I would not be tempted by the sinister Toblerone candy bar and Pringles chips in the mini bar. 
My plans for the rest of the week include a lot of random meetings for drinks and coffee.....friends of friends who happen to be in Bangkok. I have never met these folks before, so I tell them to look for the tall American with the long brown hair. Believe it or not, that it a pretty distinctive description here. If I seemed tall in America, you can only imagine how large I seem here.
From my bird's eye view,
Joanna
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