WELCOME TO OLD SCHOOL BANGKOK
As we stepped out of our room at the Baan Chantra, heading out for an exploratory evening walk around the neighborhood, we stopped into the cozy little patio area and caught a wiff of magic. The magic of journeying, being in a totally foreign place far, far-away from our daily routine and reality! Looking out at the rooftops we sang out, “Baan Chantra!” This was the first place we booked to set our Thailand Adventure into motion. We fell in love with the name of the place. It became our mantra for the trip. Baan Chantra to us, was like Bon Voyage! Or, Inshallah (God willing)! Charmed to meet you! Or even Cheers! Just saying Baan Chantra with gusto, would make us smile and crack up with joy and excitement for our very first big travel adventure together.
NO SHOES IN THE HOUSE
Down at the bottom of the steep, dark teak wood stairs of this lovely old, traditional-style home, turned B&B, we put on our sneakers. Shoes, and the feet and general, are the dirtiest part of the body, since they walk the filthy streets all day. So shoes stay out of the sacred space of the home, living quarters, and temples. Take note, you will be taking your shoes off often while visiting hotels and temples.
Baan Chantra! Out on the street, it was a warm and dusky evening. We certainly were no longer in rainy Oakland. Here we were, finally. In Bangkok! Standing on Samsen Road, Soi 6 – totally at the opposite end of the world in a completely opposite time zone. Travelling to Awaken… to….what, exactly?
Earlier, after waking up from a short disco nap, at around 5pm, while Wendy took a shower, I spotted a young monk leaving the 7-11, across the street from our hotel. My eyes followed him go down the alley to the right. I wanted to know where he went, and this becomes the mission for our evening stroll. I imagined discovering some cool, old monastery, off the beaten path…
STREET FOOD
But, before we could even cross the street to the alley, a bustling slew of food carts, that were not there earlier, lined the street to either side of us. Mmmm! Amazing smells, sights, sounds. People cooking and eating, all around us! Total eye candy. Heck candy for all senses! Sensory overload! It was like walking into a big, street-kitchen potluck! Immediately in front us, practically at the front door of our B&B, a steaming pile of succulent pork meat stared us in the face. It was kinda pornographic and tempting…but, we were on a quest to follow a monk’s path and find the neighborhood Buddhist temple. Yep, that’s how we roll.
ALLEYWAYS
Finally, after dodging food carts, scooters and buses, we made it across the street! And, sure enough, within just yards of entering the alley we fell upon the monastery where the monk shopping at 7-11 had likely disappeared into. Protected and surrounded by a high wall, there was no access. All of the signage was in Thai so I’m not sure of the name. From what we could see from above the wall, it was well-worn and colorful building. Nothing fancy, but very cool. Plus, it had led us to this very sweet little alley (soi in Thai,) offering us a scene and slice of local life, that seems from another time, long, long ago.
Mostly the elder folks seem to be hanging out in front of their homes, cooking at a food cart or a portable grill. Alley cats sit near the plastic tables hoping for scraps. In front of every residence, we notice little miniature houses, set up as altars, bearing gifts and adorned with flowers and figurines. These spirit houses or “sanphraphum” in Thai are shrines offering shelter for the spirits “phii” or celestial beings.
School children giggle, play, and make their way home. A refreshing energy of innocence, simplicity and safety permeates this urban little neighborhood. Families of 3 to 4 ride down the alley on scooters, smiling and laughing together. Some young men gather around to talk and smoke. Across the way, a girl does some laundry. Signs point the way to some inexpensive hostels tucked within this old-world charm. This part of Bangkok is known as Banglamphu— the city’s historical district. We chose to stay over here because it is within walking distance to Grand Palace, which is an obvious must-see! It is also close to the super touristy, Khao San Road, popular with young backpackers and party people.
Click/swipe through the sideshow below, to stroll along and check out the soi scene with us.
DANCING AT THE RIVER
By sunset, the meandering alleyway emptied us onto a pretty little bridge crossing the Banglamphu Klong – klong is canal in Thai. At the end of the bridge we find ourselves in an urban park known as Santichaiprakarn. The park, is protected by a white fort (Phra Sumen Fort), with cannons pointing at us through little slits in the wall. And then wow, we see the awesome Chao Phraya River, beckoning us….dark and wide, and choppy! As we make an ecstatic beeline jog towards the river and the iconic Rama VIII Bridge, we stumble into a retro aerobics-styled dance meetup, being led by a very energetic, sweaty, fun and femmy instructor wearing a headset and screaming out the moves. Most notably, “and, six o’clock!” The dancers seemed to be predominantly Thai locals of all ages, but mostly women over 40. Near the edges, we spotted some young Caucasian backpackers who seemed to be having a blast, trying to follow along. I jumped in behind a Thai woman who seemed to have the routine down. I was a total klutz, but it didn’t matter – I was having fun!! I laughed at myself trying to get with the six o’ clock groove!
DINNER TIME
After the dance session, we were ready for some dinner. Having spotted some cute little restaurants on the other side of the street, we made our way over to the crosswalk. Ha! LOL. We quickly discovered that crossing the street in Thailand is no easy feat. There is nonstop traffic that stops for nothing, not even a zebra crossing. You have to just jump into the street and go for it. It literally requires a leap faith! Screaming Baan Chantra, helps! Better still, make and hold eye contact with the closest driver while making the universal stop sign with your hand.
Each of the homey restaurants looked and smelled good. We ended up in Noparrat Cuisine and Gallery, a well-lit place packed with only Thai families. We figured that was a good sign. Obviously not accustomed to tourists, everyone in the restaurant turned around and locked eyes with us. It happened super fast, but we were assessed as ok. We sat at the one open table near the window. It was also the only table with clear-plastic ghost chairs, versus wood. Our seating gave us the perfect view of the Rococo inspired mural memorializing the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The much-loved king died on October 13, 2016. He is memorialized in Buddhist temples, homes and businesses throughout Thailand.
We split a large Singha beer. I ordered the Pad Thai, but with a twist – encased in an omlette/egg wrap. Wendy ordered the Chicken Green Curry with noodles. Overall it was a pretty good experience. Good food and ambience at a reasonable price of about $15.
With full bellies, we dreamily strolled back home along the river, looking forward to finally sleeping after 24-hours of being in transit.
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