I always loved the episodes of Sex and the City where Carrie fell in love with her city. They were always so perfect, even at times, in their imperfection. I have never felt that kind of love for a city, I mean I have felt nostalgic and warm in London at Christmas, I have felt hip and blond in LA, I have felt edgy and interesting at a book reading in San Francisco, but I have never truly loved a city…until today. Today I loved Bangkok. I loved it not because it was perfect, but because today it was perfect for me. I think, like Carrie, to find that love you have to be on your own, have to be open to loving something because you aren’t surrounded by kids, husbands or friends. With no distractions, I spent a day with Bangkok.
It started with a taxi ride to Samitivej Hospital (doesn’t sound good so far I know). I had to get a root canal and I was scared. But the taxi driver took to the back way (is there any other way in Bangkok??). We went down a street selling only photos of the Royal Family, another that only sold monk paraphanelia: orange robes flapped out the doorways and alms bowls gleamed from inside.
At the hospital my dentist spoke perfect English and went through what would happen and why I didn’t need to be as scared as I was. An hour later it was done (except for that appointment in March where they do more drilling, but no need to dwell on that!).
My excema has come back so I stopped at the skin clinic where I didn’t have an appointment, I was seen within 30 minutes and another doctor with flawless English told me to take Vitamin B, use a new ointment she had and reduce my stress (I promised I would do two of the three).
Back on the Bangkok streets I took a taxi to downtown. I love the taxis in Bangkok, with the AC blasting it’s a cool cocoon trundling through ridiculously bad traffic. With kids and husbands this traffic is painful, but today it was a moving performance, each block we stopped was a new scene in motion with me as the audience.
I was dropped at MBK where I took escalators to the 4th floor and the Big Cut Salon and Spa. No fancy music here or smells of frangipani, but once the cucumber is on your eyes and the masks are being put on and taken off the dingy walls feel a million miles away.
A facial and eyebrow wax later I headed to the food court on the 5th floor. There I tried the new concept restaurant by Oishi. A take on Benihana you sit at a bar as they cook the food in front of you. Perfect for a party of one on a date with the world. My steak was perfect and I had in-meal entertainment as others came and their lunch too was prepared in front of us.
After lunch it was back to the salon for a haircut and color and now to the best surprise of the day. At each hair cutting station, a computer with games, movies and, wait for it, internet! I gleefully wrote Brandon that I was getting my personal to do’s and my work to do’s done at the same time. He didn’t appreciate the perfection of that moment for me.
Hair back to blond and me up to date on email I headed to the new Bangkok Art and Culture Center, across the street from MBK and Siam Square. I loved the cool of the building, the hippness of it all, but still with a sense of Thai history. Nothing Bangkok does seems to loose its roots. Because it was never colonized I feel that Bangkok has always been allowed to be itself and though it has changed and developed it never lost the traditions and weight of it’s past. Even in a brand new museum with a modern design you feel the presence of the Royal Family and the history of Thailand in its very foundation.
After the gallery I headed to Siam Paragon to look for some books for JWOC, unfortunately they didn’t have them, but I browsed the aisles flipping through history, art and guidebooks. I was interrupted in the middle of my browsing by thousands of screaming fans out the window. It turned out that Oiki? Or Odidi, or some Thai celebrity was making an appearance that day in the Square and the teeny boppers had turned out in force. O-whatever didn’t look as impressed as I think most men would be to see thousands of Thai schoolgirls screaming their names, his cool factor was off the chart…ripped jeans, a shirt off one shoulder and spiky hair. There was a moment of nostalgia…whatever did happen to New Kids On the Block?!? And where is my old school uniform?
My movie started at 730pm and I was surrounded by Thais on dates and just out for the night with friends. Boys and girls packed in to see Confessions of a Shopaholic. In Thailand, before any movie, a tribute to the king is played and everyone stands. I always get chocked up over this reverence to the King. It must be nice to believe in and love something this strongly. While their political views do differ, love for the king does not and this solidarity is inspiring.
While the movie was probably worth the $3 I spent to go, it was worth even more than that to listen to the Thai’s enjoying it. It was fun to listen and see what got the laughs…goofy dancing was a big hit!
I took the skytrain home, still packed even at 1030 at night, and then walked towards my apartment, despite the late hour people sat at small tables enjoying a before-bed snack of noodle soup, papaya salad and meat on a stick. I ordered some Pad Thai and ate it quietly on a plastic stool letting the honking and yelling roll over me.
I may not be Carrie Bradshaw, I may have traded stilettos for flip flops, but this was my city and I was in love, I walked the rest of the way home, letting the heavy air of Bangkok, full of noise and heat and history, kiss me goodnight.
