We woke up still full from our feast the night before, but we decided to go out and get some coffee to start the day. We found a small coffee stand on the other side of Asok station with some seating, so we ordered up some mochas. Thai coffee is pretty good, too – and a great way to get your day started.
As we sipped our coffee and talked about the plan for the day we watched people go by. Bangkok is a city that is filled with interesting people to watch. What stands out right away is the older Caucasian men with younger Thai women. When I first came to Bangkok I had expected to see it now and then, but you see it everywhere here. Everywhere. Bangkok is a city where just about anything goes, and it goes cheaply. Enough said. Besides that kind of relationship there are a lot of foreigners walking the streets, too. I think it is rare to see Thai locals just walking around – at least in the neighborhood where we were staying.
During the morning we went around to a couple of shopping centers that we had visited previously. Because of all the ex-pats that live in this very international city, it is so easy to buy just about any foreign item I could want. In Japan the range in quite limited, but I wanted to stock up on some local Thai sauces, get some items that are simply unavailable in Japan.
Loaded down with groceries we stopped on the way back at Cabbages and Condoms – another restaurant that we had enjoyed last time. Our plan was to eat there for lunch and thereby miss the crowds that surely would be there for dinner on New Year’s Eve. We were the only customers, so we could enjoy a private lunch outside under the trees and next to the waterfall. As usual the food was great, and we left with a free placemat and three or four condoms as souvenirs. Thanks, guys!
After a short break in our hotel room to let the food settle we changed into our swimsuits and went to the roof to swim in the pool. The weather was perfect for swimming and the pool was all ours for the afternoon. Swimming in their pool was one of the highlights from last time – and I think we enjoyed it just as much this time. Especially thinking how freezing cold it was in Kobe right then.
After spending the afternoon swimming we went across the street to get a massage. Across the street from our hotel there are many, many places to get a massage. The most popular massage places have six or seven beautiful Thai girls sitting on seats outside. I guess you just walk up, choose your girl, and then go inside and negotiation what kind of massage you’d like. However, Kuniko and I went to a different kind of massage place that (at least on the surface) seemed more legitimate. In the lobby they had signs written in Japanese targeting women, so it seemed OK. We both ordered a “traditional Thai massage”, so we went upstairs to rooms separated by curtains, changed out of our clothes into some loose pajamas, and then a masseuse came into each of our areas and gave us a pretty serious massage for about an hour. They did a very good job, and really worked us over. Every now and then I could hear popping and cracking from Kuniko, followed by giggles, and then more pops. A lot of stress and tension inside of Kuniko, I guess.
After the massages (only $10!) we went back and got some more shopping done. I got a new protection cover for my iPhone – the staff at the shop put it on for me, and they are the only ones I have seen that can do it without any bubbles or dust underneath. For dinner we went to a Chinese/Thai fusion place that was a little touristy. The decor reminded me of the tourist restaurants in China, but the food was great. We had river lobster and glass noodles, cracked hard shell crab served in fried garlic and black pepper, and sour noodles with lime and shrimp. We made a complete mess with the crab, though. Not easy to eat.
On our way back to the hotel we walked through the red light district, which I learned this time around is called Soi Cowboy. There are tons of dance/strip clubs along the street, and it was packed with customers on New Years Eve. As we walked through one of the clubs had an entire pig on a pig being roasted, and everywhere you looked were middle aged (and older) white guys surrounded by laughing Thai girls. Adding to the bizarre scene was a homeless guy with only one leg crawling through the dirty street on his hand and leg, begging as he went. We had to step around him to continue walking through. I could only imagine what the entire scene was like from his perspective.
Back at our hotel we had drinks at the hotel bar while we waited for midnight. The bar was pretty dead compared to last time we were there, so we went upstairs to our room and waited there for midnight. There was a very big fireworks display as the midnight struck, and I think we were asleep about ten minutes later. Busy day…
