One of the most startling experiences a tourist in Bangkok can have is turning the corner and coming face to face with a young elephant. However, while the elephants are generally brought from upcountry as a money-making gimmick, Bangkok has its own rather startling native wildlife. The canals and lakes of the capital are home to water monitors, two-meter long cousins of the infamous Komodo dragon. Bangkok was once an aquatic city where all life was along rivers and canals, and these long-time residents have simply refused to relocate as the roads and skyscrapers have moved in. It’s common to see the overgrown lizards basking on the grass in Lumphini Park, or paddling through the scummy water of a canal. This one, however, was encountered unexpectedly on a sidewalk along a busy road in Central Bangkok- it flicked its purple tongue, then disappeared into a crack in the pavement.
How to get out of a tight parking spot? This guy has to push the cars around his Mercedes Benz to back out of a parking spot at Chatuchak Market in Bangkok.
When a new house or building is built in Thailand, special ‘spirit houses’ are built to accommodate the spirits that have been displaced from the land by the construction. As a general rule, the spirit houses should match the grandeur of the house that is built: a simple country home can have a simple wooden house, a grand hotel should have an elaborate shrine. And sleek, modern sky-rises should of course have sleek, modern spirit houses, like this one that was photographed on Wireless Road, in Bangkok.
Thai media (much like the Western media) is full of advertisements showing that women will be much happier if only they were more beautiful. With fuller hair and whiter skin, they can get that great job, or marry the perfect man. This advertisement is posted in Silom, a very modern, wealthy neighborhood in Bangkok. It’s hard to determine what cosmetic procedure this woman is having, but it certainly hasn’t seemed to make her happier yet.
For a Thai snack on the go, nothing beats meat-on-a-stick. This vendor at Bangkok’s Chatuchak Weekend Market sells a variety of such portable treats. But choose carefully- while satays may have a deliciously smoky flavor, these fish-balls have all the flavor of an old goldfish bowl. Continue reading →
Though they may resemble tiny tacos filled with sour cream and shredded cheese, these are actually a Thai dessert called khanom buang. The shell is a crispy pancake, made of rice flour. It’s filled with a creamy marshmallow-like coconut creme, and topped with salty egg yokes.
In America, white-bread is treated as a grain, and used for making ‘wholesome’ sandwiches for children’s lunches. In Thailand, white-bread is treated as a dessert, like in the above ‘ice cream sandwich’- coconut and chocolate ice cream served in a hot dog bun. Given the low nutritional value of white-bread, the Thai approach is actually rather more accurate.
Most people connect Thai markets with strange produce or Buddhist artifacts, but you can actually find nearly anything for sale on the streets of Bangkok. For example, this vendor at Sanam Luang specialized in used toys – perfect for reconnecting with that Strawberry Shortcake doll you lost years ago.
Dogs seem to come in two distinct varieties in Bangkok: the tiny wind-up toys that Hi-So women carry in their purses, and the large bloated hounds that sleep on the street, blocking pedestrian paths. Continue reading →
The area of Patpong in Bangkok is known for both its bustling knock-offs market and for its seedy bars that cater to foreign men. Somehow, the sight of these mannequin legs thrusting out of oversized sacks captures both aspects.
