After a leisurely breakfast, wee set out on the Skytrain for Chatuchak Market - which some locals refer to as "JJ". This is because the Thais pronounce the "ch" somewhat like a "j", i.e. "Jat-0o-jak". This is the big one; and I mean really big: about 35 acres and thousands and thousands of stalls.
You have never seen so many alleys ("sois") of stuff you didn't know you needed. Sure, Thai souvenirs were present in abundance: silk scarves, silk pillows, wood carvings, costume jewelry. There were plenty of t-shirts will all kinds of interesting-to-bizzare-to-tasteless things on them. And there were some nice furniture items, many made from teak. Need a statue of Buddha or a dragon? Check. Interested in an "imitation" watch (sounds so much nicer than "counterfeit" doesn't it? Plenty to choose from. How about something more obscure -- say miniature finely detailed food items for that doll house? Gotcha covered.And not a price tag in sight. (Raye was in her element.)
But there were plenty of signs, many of which warned you about pickpockets. A few let you know which "area" of the market you were in. And mercifully, there are actually maps to let you know where to find things.Fortunately, we didn't have to worry too much about finding our way around as we had a local guide, someone I've known about since 1974 but had never met.
Prof. Ilkkya Kauranen was an AFS foreign exchange student from Finland that my sister became friends with during her senior year of high school. They've kept in touch over the ensuing decades and Kay knew Ilkka, his wife Ritva, and son Kai were living in Bangkok. Ilkka is a Visiting Professor of Management at the Asian Institute of Technology. We them at the Skytrain stop, had lunch together and spent most of the afternoon wandering around (only a fraction of) the market. They were wonderful company and it was great to finally meet Ilkka after hearing so much about him from Kay.
After we returned from Chatuchak (using the Bangkok subway), we decided we all needed to experience those two famous Thai cultural activites: Thai massage and Thai traditional dancing. Fortunately, a nearby place called Silom village offered both plus a nice restaurant for dinner. And as an extra "experience bonus" we opted to all pile into a "tuk-tuk", one of the 3-wheeled scooters that serve as low-end taxis (and amusement park thrill ride).Did I mention that the fare in a tuk-tuk is a negotiated item? Of course the driver started with the "white face" fare of 100 baht ($2.85). That is, until Raye pulled out her Chatuchak-honed bargaining skills.
We got there for the local Thai rate of 40 baht ($1.14). And quickly, too.And she did it again when it was time to go back to the hotel. Something like "If I paid 40 baht to get here, what makes you think I going to pay you any more to go back?". And she always smiles so nicely when she does it, too.
On our last day, we decided to take a river taxi to Wat Arun, the temple of dawn. The river taxis are a great way to go: cheap, scenic, and quick. We climbed up to the highest level we were allowed to go, up some incredibly steep stairs. The view was spectacular as the Grand Palace that we visited on the first day was just across the river. One the way back to the hotel, we stopped at one of the piers to look around one of the local areas. The girls enjoyed a local "pop-sicle" which is just frozen Pepsi on a stick for 2 baht each.The traffic to the airport was light and we arrived in plenty of time to have a leisurely check in at the Suvarnabhumi Airport before our short flight back to Singapore. A great family adventure!
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