Bangkok: Kevin Bacon and the Red Shirts
If what I said about airports rings true for the appearance of a city, the public transportation should be another firm indicator of how well off a city is. Bangkok has a wonderful intercity subway, dirt cheap, and very usable. Nobody loves driving in a city. I learned that living in New York. The less you use a car in the city, the better.
Underwater World is your basic Asian Sea World. Would I go there under any other circumstances? Probably not, but that’s not what you go there for as a parent. I love to watch Axl’s eyes light up when he sees something out of the ordinary. The problem is (and I have a photo to prove it) his first encounter is with an Underwater World mascot, a stingray, and this freaks him out. That dude in the costume has other problems, I bet. Luckily for him, the air conditioner works just fine down there. It better be for 500 bhats a ticket.
Later it’s more trains, more pushing through streets. Have I ever talked about a city’s assets? How about people? They are so friendly everywhere it’s scary. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have a toddler and a baby in tow. That will get you to the front of a line in a hurry.
Over lunch I pore over the papers. The red shirts are marching. Key roads have been blocked, the government warns of going out. “Stay Home, Bangkok!” cries the newspaper. It seems the newfound wealth in this city has come at a price. The red shirts are protesting the elite rule in Bangkok, claiming too many people -most notably themselves - are being left out. I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if this were so. That said, the government better be careful. These same red shirts (supporters of an ousted dictator, no less) shut down the airport last year, so that’s a good reason to open the dialogue right away.
Liebi points at another table during breakfast the next morning and giggles. There’s Kevin Bacon, sitting all by himself. No way am I going to bug the man. Let him eat. It’s never dawned on me to start a chat with a celebrity, and I’ve seen quite a few. Let them be people. Let him cut loose.
Later it’s on to the carnival. Here it doesn’t matter that this is in Bangkok. We could have been at any carnival around the world. The highlight here is taking your kids there for the first time. I personally never take any rides. They make me sick to my stomach, but there’s evidence that suggests my boys won’t share that distaste for dizzying rides that could make you lose the snacks you just consumed. Here their eyes light up, even the seven month old baby. You can tell the little shrimp badly wants to get in on the action.
Axl does a few rides and bounces on a trampoline. The last ride is on the Ferris wheel, and I immediately start snapping away at the Bangkok skyline with my camera. The baby thoroughly enjoys the ride and laughs with his cute smile.
We eventually return here after Malaysia, so I get to catch the famous Night Market, where we down a few pitchers of beer while the boys chill and watch the singers on the stage. The Night Market is mainly comprised of shops, but the dining area (for what? 2,000 people) fits into a square in front of a large music stage, where the local talent belts out their songs. There is so much food to choose from it’s embarrassing. I eventually go for a kebab with hummus. I have already had the Thai food, so let’s pork away.
Meanwhile, Axl’s communication skills continue to flourish, which can be good and bad. It is nice to know that you understand what your son wants. What is not so cool is that most sentences will be orders, his ultimate goal of world domination still firmly entrenched. This is clearly a boy who knows what he wants and is not too shy to voice that. People in Asia of course eat from his hand, which plays exactly into it. He will use that little hand of his to make people do things for him, in no uncertain terms.
The final image I have of Bangkok is our return to the airport. With the redshirts still a threat, there are now groups of policemen at checks around the airport. We run into one such stop and see about a dozen uniformed police, all masked and ready to take the car apart, if need be. They took one look in the window, see Axl glaring back at them, and all wave and cheer at our taxi as they let it pass.
I wish I could have been in Thailand more often. I never got the opportunity to see the beaches of Thailand, of which there are some we can only see on postcards. That’s what happens when you have a family. It will take some convincing to the kids to go on trips, no matter how simple they appear. Bangkok is a wonderful place, you get a lot of bang for your buck and enjoy the atmosphere without losing your shirt (right, Singapore?). Add the extremely kind people to the mix and the traveler will win. Every time.
Underwater World is your basic Asian Sea World. Would I go there under any other circumstances? Probably not, but that’s not what you go there for as a parent. I love to watch Axl’s eyes light up when he sees something out of the ordinary. The problem is (and I have a photo to prove it) his first encounter is with an Underwater World mascot, a stingray, and this freaks him out. That dude in the costume has other problems, I bet. Luckily for him, the air conditioner works just fine down there. It better be for 500 bhats a ticket.
Later it’s more trains, more pushing through streets. Have I ever talked about a city’s assets? How about people? They are so friendly everywhere it’s scary. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have a toddler and a baby in tow. That will get you to the front of a line in a hurry.
Over lunch I pore over the papers. The red shirts are marching. Key roads have been blocked, the government warns of going out. “Stay Home, Bangkok!” cries the newspaper. It seems the newfound wealth in this city has come at a price. The red shirts are protesting the elite rule in Bangkok, claiming too many people -most notably themselves - are being left out. I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if this were so. That said, the government better be careful. These same red shirts (supporters of an ousted dictator, no less) shut down the airport last year, so that’s a good reason to open the dialogue right away.
Liebi points at another table during breakfast the next morning and giggles. There’s Kevin Bacon, sitting all by himself. No way am I going to bug the man. Let him eat. It’s never dawned on me to start a chat with a celebrity, and I’ve seen quite a few. Let them be people. Let him cut loose.
Later it’s on to the carnival. Here it doesn’t matter that this is in Bangkok. We could have been at any carnival around the world. The highlight here is taking your kids there for the first time. I personally never take any rides. They make me sick to my stomach, but there’s evidence that suggests my boys won’t share that distaste for dizzying rides that could make you lose the snacks you just consumed. Here their eyes light up, even the seven month old baby. You can tell the little shrimp badly wants to get in on the action.
Axl does a few rides and bounces on a trampoline. The last ride is on the Ferris wheel, and I immediately start snapping away at the Bangkok skyline with my camera. The baby thoroughly enjoys the ride and laughs with his cute smile.
We eventually return here after Malaysia, so I get to catch the famous Night Market, where we down a few pitchers of beer while the boys chill and watch the singers on the stage. The Night Market is mainly comprised of shops, but the dining area (for what? 2,000 people) fits into a square in front of a large music stage, where the local talent belts out their songs. There is so much food to choose from it’s embarrassing. I eventually go for a kebab with hummus. I have already had the Thai food, so let’s pork away.
Meanwhile, Axl’s communication skills continue to flourish, which can be good and bad. It is nice to know that you understand what your son wants. What is not so cool is that most sentences will be orders, his ultimate goal of world domination still firmly entrenched. This is clearly a boy who knows what he wants and is not too shy to voice that. People in Asia of course eat from his hand, which plays exactly into it. He will use that little hand of his to make people do things for him, in no uncertain terms.
The final image I have of Bangkok is our return to the airport. With the redshirts still a threat, there are now groups of policemen at checks around the airport. We run into one such stop and see about a dozen uniformed police, all masked and ready to take the car apart, if need be. They took one look in the window, see Axl glaring back at them, and all wave and cheer at our taxi as they let it pass.
I wish I could have been in Thailand more often. I never got the opportunity to see the beaches of Thailand, of which there are some we can only see on postcards. That’s what happens when you have a family. It will take some convincing to the kids to go on trips, no matter how simple they appear. Bangkok is a wonderful place, you get a lot of bang for your buck and enjoy the atmosphere without losing your shirt (right, Singapore?). Add the extremely kind people to the mix and the traveler will win. Every time.
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