I've explored Bangkok a lot, have been in and out of alleys and odd little shops and parks and temples here and there and everywhere, but yesterday I did something new ... and felt ... well, simply joyous, connected to what I love to do (biking and exploring) and reinvigorated a bit more toward this city which I call home.
My wife, Tan, and I were afforded this opportunity via a friend of ours (P'Jum) who invited us along on a trip with William Tuffin, the manager of Grasshopper Adventures. Tuffin, along with one of his guides, Damri "Seen" Suwamin, was test-running a new "premier" route in the city, a 6-hour special, which began at 4 in the afternoon and circled back home (an office on Ratchadamnoen Avenue) by 10 p.m. That's a pretty good amount of exercise in the city heat, but it was at a good moment in the day.
Now, let it be known that I have a cantankerous kind of
relationship with the Big Mango. I have enjoyed the moments, mainly when I've been free of work responsibilities, when I've gotten to wander and explore and connect with all the personalities who wander in between the concrete and glass, but I rail now and again against the insufferable traffic, the heat, the often overwhelmed trash removal system, the crush of people (especially in certain key intersections) as well as the spiritless faces of the commuters who are usually buried in their I-Phones on the SkyTrain and aged buses.
But ... I'm willing to apply layers of appreciation to help refine my attitude ... and Tuffin and Seen acted as yesterday's bike-bound "agents of refinement."
Now let it also be know that I usually have little desire to hop on a bike and head out into traffic (case in point: our two bikes that we shipped down from Roi Et have been chained up since we moved into our Victory Monument apartment), and up to now, the vast bulk of our biking has been confined to making circles about Suan Rot Fai park (which is all to the good, if you're into biking around in circles).
But hop on a bike and into traffic we did yesterday, cutting through a complex historical parade, of people dressed up in the hottest part of the day in very what seemed like the most uncomfortable historical costumes they could find, celebrating the 232nd anniversary of Rattanakosin (the move from the west side of the river and Thonburi "old Bangkok" across to the east side of the river). Guide Seen (an appropriate nickname considering) was the cool presence up front, and he quickly got us away from the crowds and into quieter terrain.
The tour could have been sub-titled "an overview of the religions and historical context of early Bangkok." During the course of the six hours we visited three temples (Wat Kalayanamit, Wat Arun, and Wat Po), one church (Santa Cruz), and one mosque (Bang Luang). But a lot of it was new to me, an area that was on the checklist of things to get to in Bangkok should the opportunity ever arise.
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| Wat Po at the best time of day |
But it was the way we did it which was the most fun, zipping in and out of back streets and into alleys so tight there was only room for the bicycle, veering on and off main roads and actually using bike lanes (I was glad to see the city had improved the bike lane along Phra Athit Road by putting up obstructions to block people from parking on it), crossing the Chao Phraya by boat with our bikes stacked in a corner, cruising alongside the river on the raised walkways that are only mainly used by fishermen, and dodging Burmese workmen in the Flower Market area.
I was never terrified (once I get going on a bike I can get a little bit cocky) but I did enjoy the one time a taxi driver ignored my right turn signal and blew by me on the right. That was the most annoying moment, on a rare time we were on a main road.
But the most sublime feeling of the ride came for me when the sun had long gone and we rode about with our flashy front and rear lights into the flood-lit premises of Wat Arun and Wat Po after dark (the single BEST time of day to be in those temples). I had been at both those temples plenty of times but not enough late in the evening.
I'm going to avoid providing a blow by blow (you should experience this yourself if you're living here or visiting. Hint: friends, come visit), but here are the top five moments of my trip:
1. Stopping to rest while Seen took a mosque prayer break.
2. The sounds of the bar crowds along Phra Athit Road and the single best jolt of cool breeze I got shortly thereafter.
3. Looking up to see the intense red of Wat Arun (once the tallest structure in Bangkok) as we came around a corner.
4. The little cake and limeade snack near Santa Cruz Church.
5. The moment, when I was riding along the river on one of those walkways, and Tan said something along the lines of: "So, you're feeling a little more appreciation for my Bangkok, hmm?" and I just laughed.
A good day indeed yesterday. Bangkok, I feel refined.
Now, about the trash removal ...
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