Arcane Candy

Monday, July 27, 2015
Bangkok, Thailand

Yummy mango and sticky rice on Thanon Silom in Bangkok, Thailand.

After relaxing and researching Sumatra all afternoon, I wanted to go on a walk, but couldn’t decide where. When I boarded the river boat heading south, I thought I’d disembark either at the stop for Chinatown to go eat some street food, or Saphan Taksin to catch the SkyTrain over to Silom, which is a nice avenue to walk down and find a place to eat. During the cruise, the cool breeze felt refreshing, and all of the high rise buildings, temples and tourist boats lit up like neon Christmas trees were quite a sight to see. I also spied a few of those deluxe dinner cruise boats all decked out with chefs presiding over formal settings complete with white tablecloths and wine glasses, packed with scores of tourists stuffing their well-to-do faces.

A gigantic animated billboard on Thanon Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra in Bangkok, Thailand.

Mark Rothko was here. Unintentional minimalism on Thanon Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra in Bangkok, Thailand.

Since I was on the wrong side of the boat, I never did see the stop for Chinatown, so Saphan Taksin, it was. As soon as I exited the SkyTrain platform at Chong Nonsi, I was surprised by a gigantic electronic animated billboard that was the size of an enormous building. A few times per minute, it flashed up information on some random major city of the world, including the time, temperature, currency exchange rate, etc. Turning right on Thanon Silom, I proceeded east past a bunch of hotels, restaurants, bars, massage parlors, food stalls, night markets, etc. I randomly stopped at Subway for a six-inch veggie sandwich, which, unlike its American counterpart, includes a veggie patty.

A man hauls a tall, skinny cart full of masks down Thanon Rambuttri in Bangkok, Thailand.

Glass noodles, shitake mushrooms and vegetables at May Kaidee’s in Banglamphu, Bangkok, Thailand.

While the sub was busy getting all churned up in my stomach, a food cart selling mango and sticky rice caught my eye. I opted for the small 60 baht serving, which proved to be a delicious desert. It’s fun eating fresh snacks on the street–especially when there are some steps to sit on. When I climbed back up on the nearest SkyTrain platform, I noticed a bus number 15 cruise by down below. I was bummed, because I could have jumped on it and gone straight back to Banglamphu, where my room is. Instead, I hauled ass over to Siam on the next SkyTrain, and sure enough, a few minutes later down on the street, a bus number 15 pulled up–the same one, I presume. I was just stoked I didn’t have to wait an hour for another one, which has happened before more than once! So, if you ever suffer from cabin fever in Banglamphu and want to go on a walk, take the riverboat from Phra Arthit to Sathorn / Saphan Taksin, the SkyTrain from Spahan Taksin to Chong Nonsi, walk east on Silom to Sala Daeng, take the Skytrain from Sala Daeng to Siam, followed by the bus 15 back home. It’s a cheap, scenic and fun loop around the city.

Words and photos ©2015 Arcane Candy.

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