Behind the Noodle Curtain

Photo tour of Phra Khanong district in eastern Bangkok

Somehow a place strikes you in the right way and that's how I felt about Phra Khanong district in Bangkok. You could easily mistake it for any area of the  sprawling city, although a "district" or khet in the Thai language is pretty big piece of city. Until you explore the area on foot, you won't discover the differences.

Map of Khet Phra Khanong, Bangkok

I first was introduced to it by a friend who invited me out to see his place after describing how much he likes it. I loved his apartment building complex. It's older and has a leisurely seven or eight stories.  It has a bit of class, and to help it, it is set among trees and other greenery in a quiet spot between Rama 4 Road and Chalong Rat Expressway, southeast of one of the city's best known (and longest) arterials, Sukhumvit Road.  The several buildings seem just right for the spot, with several pools, many different stairways leading to several courtyards.  And you reach it by crossing a small bridge over a khlong (canal).

I'd been out his way several times and vowed to walk the district and so I did one steamy afternoon, all based on our plan to meet, eat and hit our favourite downtown watering hole that evening. So I started from Phra Khanong BTS Skytrain station -- a very key issue in deciding where to live in the city if you want fast, air-con transit into the main central district and its playgrounds.

But instead of heading directly to my friend's living area, toward the southeast, I walked backward, i.e., away and to the south, first down soi 44/1, then east to Rama 4. This is also a key arteiral, which leads to the  major business district of Silom. (In fact, as you head west along Rama 4 toward Silom, you pass the vast Khlong Toei market, Lumphini Park (Muay Thai boxing ring there), across the street from which is the Canadian Embassy in  Abdulrahim Building.)

Okay, enough words for now, on to the pictures:

Soi 44/1 entrance.

        

The soi curves toward my eventual direction and in the last picture, it heads  to Rama 4.

Rama 4 Road: left turn takes you to Sukhumvit, right toward -- eventually -- Silom business district.

       

Along Rama 4 toward Sukhumvit, is the elephant wall, warning tourists not to feed the elephants, which I wrote about here. The third picture shows a sign pointing to Ekkamai area, left, and On Nut area, right. And last, a wheel and tire specialist focusing on the tuner crowd.

     

Now I headed back to Sukhumvit to walk along the busy multi-lane road. As I did I got my bearings by looking up Phum Chit, first photo, to the Phra Khanong BTS and the other direction, down Phum Chit toward where my Danish friend lives. And  still does. You have to cross Rama 4 median to continue down Phum Chit. It's a bit hairy to say the least sometimes.  (Not entirely sure the narrow, tiny sub-soi in the first photo is also Phum Chit.) Picture four is of northside soi 71 joining  Sukhumvit.

 But first, let's explore Sukhumvit by walking farther eastward and then rejoin Phum Chit. Somehow!

First soi off Sukhumvit, east of Rama 4, where the motorcycle is going.

       

The street home of some poor soul on Sukhumvit, picture 2, was just around the corner from this lovely residence down a subsoi. The abandoned Renault has obviously been there on the next subsoi for a long time.

     

Picture 1 is just past the Renault. Farther on was kind of a deadend. So I doubled back and went round a few corners and, via dead reckoning, headed toward my friend's place. I took an unscheduled detour because I spotted some modern buildings and found myself in a retail area and almost back on Rama 4. Wrong move.

 

Aha, I knew I was back on track when I came across these soi dogs. This is back on Phum Chit, heading, once again, in the right direction. As long as these doggies don't mind . . .

 

Here we are, for sure back on Phum Chit and heading toward a real Thai neighbourhood. Great food in the area, nice people, plus the ever present 7-Eleven and bonus! Tesco Express.

   

 

Past all the shops and services of the Thai area and just across the bridge is my friend's oasis from mad Bangkok. In fact, there is my friend Jannik  waiting for my arrival. He's peering into the khlong and wondering what sort of fish the Thais are pulling up from the fetid waters. Hope I don't find out.

FYI Canadians: Air Canada slashes fares to Asia for short time

Couldn't believe it the other day when I got a web mail from Air Canada offering fares to HKG, Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo, among others, all for less than $400 one way. That's a tick either side of $1,000 Cdn return with all taxes and surcharges in. Best  fare I've seen. My previous best was $1,280 through to BKK using AC in May 2008.

If you're headed to Bangkok, Air Asia and Thai fly from HKG and the timings between airlines is perfect. AA is $178 Cdn return and Thai, of course, is twice that at $390. Still, for THAI, that's a deal. Both fares all charges included.

Must book by July 15 (but don't be surprised at further discounts down the road) and pay immediately. I used Toureast, which I've used for a few years now, and they cut the fare even more.

Cathay Pacific, my preferred airline, is matching some of this AC discounting but CP didn't have a flight near the dates I wanted to go, which is mid-December. I'd already booked with CP (didn't have to pay till October, unlike AC) for under $2,100. I've now cancelled that and saved about $1,000, which is just under 30,000 baht. That, as you know, goes a long way in Thailand. Woohoo!

Motorcycle adventures in Asia through words and stunning photos

I'm a motorcyclist of dubious skill. My particular love is for dual-sport bikes. They're the hybrids of asphalt and dirt. While I do love riding, I know my limitations in terms of the loose stuff and challenging roads or lack of same. So I let others do the really adventurous stuff and read about it here at home in air-con comfort and on a more stable platform such as a five-wheeled office chair.

The best resource for such entertainments is Adventure Rider, advrider.com, a global forum focusing on for dual-sport riders. A subforum called Ride Reports, and pics, pics, pics contains just about the most entertaining reading you can imagine if you like exotic lands and people and food. There are some truly awesome reports by truly awesome  riders (some might say nutters) willing to attempt anything. The reports are complimented by much stunning photography, and I say this in the best professional sense. Wow.

There are many riders with a taste for Southeast Asia, some living there and some passing through on two wheels. I will list and link here some of the best reports on riding in Southeast Asia and nearby Asian routes. Warning, especially to those in Thailand with slow download speeds, the reports are loaded with high quality images and that may take some time to DL.

Another thing to keep in mind is that these stories do not dwell on motorcycling. They almost entirely focus on the people, places and things found along the way.

Here's an absolute must report, well written with panache, self-deprecation,  gut-busting humour and  complete lack of confidence in the halfway-round-the-world scheme.  Currently, there's a lovable English maniac riding from Australia to home on a 110 cc Honda named Dot. He is tracing a route through Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and beyond. Video Treat: The author, Nathan the Postman, takes you  on an axle-level video tour of Bangkok on Dot, his red Honda (scroll down to the video post).

Thailand and a little adventure: Newbie heads for Europe but chooses  Thailand instead and shoots gorgeous photos in Bangkok, Chumphon and Chiang Mai. (Heavy image load!)

Tour of Thailand on GS1200: A gigantic tour from Hat Yai, to Nong Khai, Mae Hong Son and back south. Phew.

Batang Kali Malaysia: off-roading in Malaysia

Easter Mekong Delta Tour, Vietnam. First timer rides 125 cc Chinese bike and provides some very personal potraits of people and places in southern Vietnam.

 KTM 950+Cambodia+flats=trouble...... : BeemerBoy from Chiang Mai tries to ride his KTM to Phnom Penh but flat tires and oil leaks decide otherwise.

Vietnam (Hanoi to Mai Chau): Area populated by White Tai tribe

Riding in Laos, or Why is there dirt all over me? : BeemerBoy from Chiang Mai again

Newbies from Indonesia: A 2000 km tour from Jakarta to Yogyakarta and return

North from Singapore: Malyasia and Thailand seen through gorgeous shots of scenery, buildings, food and people.

The Streets of Vietnam: Mobile Vietnamese up close and personal.

The Amazing Ujung Genteng (Indonesia): A gathering place for surfers and wind surfers becasue of teh fab beaches.

OK, that's enough. This will keep you reading all summer. One more thing: I cheated a little bit here and decided not to link to the other Asian reports because it would be just too much to cover all in one post. So part 2 will include the fantastic ride reports of those travelling through Tibet, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, China, eastern Soviet Asia and others. Enjoy . . .

Hong Kong vs. Toronto airports: Hard places to love

Empty expanse of the second-floor food court at the East Hall end of Hong Kong International Airport at about 2245. I was able to scrounge a beer, Asahi draft, from the only Chinese food stall open after 2100. 

Hong Kong International Airport is almost a pleasure to use, Toronto far from it. HKG is well laid out, spacious, airy, with good views and good services. I usually fly Cathay Pacific, which has its base in HK. But, this time, the return  connections to Toronto from Hong Kong "depart" at 0230 in the morning. It's the last bloody flight out of HKG.

In fact, the flight never leaves until after 3. It happened to me and a friend two weeks before. The airline skeds the flight at 0230. Then the captain comes on the speaker to say because of airport operations restrictions in Toronto -- can't land before 0545 local time -- it has to delay the flight at least 30 minutes. So we sit.

Wellll, duhhhh!!! This is like a surprise? Cathay has only been flying into Toronto for years. Why not simply sked the flight at 3 a.m.? It's my feeling that 0300 or 0315 doesn't look good, doesn't have good optics, so to speak. (It doesn't!) But neither does an 0230 flight time. I don't understand this scheduling. I'll bet that flight never leaves before 0300.

Leading up to the flight time was a five hour layover. Now HK Airport is pretty good place to lay over. But if you arrive after 2100, most of the shops are closing, even the coffee shops. One food stall and the Starbucks remain open till 0200. I was going to buy a carton of cigs but all duty free's were closed. I know. I walked from the bottom of the airport ( it's shaped like a martini glass) to the top (I did have lots of time!).

I should say though that Cathay is a very fine airline, providing many thoughtful services, including vital arrival  information on the seat LCD screen, such as gate arrival number, nearest Transfer Point to your next flight. Flight staff tell you quite a bit of info over the PA before arrival and generally keep you uptodate. Every time. Air Canada provides none of this.

I should note though that cabin staff were not up to their usual standard of helpful, friendly service. they were OK, but I imagine they were not too happy about going to work at 2 in the morning. I wouldn't be.

OK, rant No. 1 finished. Rant No. 2: Which brings me back to Canada and Pearson International Airport in Toronto.

In Hong Kong, and many airports around the world, even the dumpiest, provide FREE wi-fi connections over the entire airport. Luggage carts are free of charge. Pearson does neither of these. Although you have to drop a coin into the cart release setup at Pearson, you can get some of the money back. At Pearson, you get nickle and dimed to death. And if you want your money back, you have to deliver the cart back to the outdoor racks. Very convenient, especially in winter.

You know what is the worst part of an Asia flying trip? It's arriving at Pearson. On this last arrival on April 13, after getting off the plane, we walked and walked and walked and walked along narrow corridors, seemingly remote stairways, up, then down, then turned some corners. It felt like we had covered the entire  service corridor system. 

Then it's into the fire. I've passed through a lot of airports in Asia since 2004. I have yet to be asked one single question at customs arrival. Not one. No exaggeration. At Pearson, I cringe before facing the immigration interrogation. I rarely bring anything home, customs wise. I don't have anything to hide. Ever. But you are always made to feel like you are a suspect until released from immigration jail and into the public halls. The questions can be quite intense. I've overheard quite a few in adjoining queues. Trick qestions are thrown in, such as info from  your passport pages and visa stamps. At Asian airports, they look at your passport, visa and at your face, then hand it back, all without a word.

This time around I thought the Canadian customs and immigration staff were quite helpful and friendly. So, who knows. Maybe things are changing.

The luggage took easily 45 minutes to arrive at the carousels. No announcements about any delays or signboard messages. At one point the carousel stopped working. No announcements. Then it finally got going again. There were no baggage handlers around or anyone you could ask.

Welcome back.

Some images from small-town Buriram, Thailand

This post is way out of sequence from actual events, and so I apologize.

I visited Buriram Feb. 28 to March 3. It's east of the big city of Korat (short for Nakhon Ratchasima), gateway to Isaan or northeastern Thailand. Afterward, I carried on to Surin, revisiting because I had such a peaceful, relaxing time there. Neither provincial capitals has many remarkable sites to see, but their respective provinces are rich in features, such as Khmer temples, basketry and silk villages, and various beautiful national parks with waterfalls. And the Cambodian border is within an hour or less of the towns. They are popular destinations for ex-pats doing visa runs into Cambodia. The less said about visa runs the better.

Why Buriram? I touched on this before, but I will review briefly. The province is very poor. Families try to scrape out a living on rice farms and other agriculture. Between harvests, family members, especially the women head to the cities and often end up working in small shops, mall boutiques, mobile phone shops, hotels, bars and restaurants. You will recognize them from their relatively darker skin. They also feature largely in the hostess and go-go bars. They are quite beautiful and it was interesting to see where they come from.

Some images of Buriram:

I arrived by train, my preferred transportation. Buses are faster but I prefer the train routes, which take you through more scenic countryside and the passenger cars are more comfortable and roomier. And the train takes you right to the main street of towns, usually.

This clock tower greets the visitor at the roundabout outside the train station, it being up the street to the right of the clock tower.

Thani Road is a main east-west  street. On it are several western restaurants, the entertainment complex (night life area) and at the other end is my hotel. One frustration was the lack of public transportation to get around at night. It seems there were no motorcycle taxis, tuk-tuks or sahmlors operating at night; the local ex-pats complain, too. So everyone rides a motorcycle, scooter or drives a car.

Here's the Bamboo, my favourite meal place in Buriram. Good food, good selection. I frequently sat under that Canadian flag! Run by Englishman David, who also runs a good hotel in the west end off town. See image below.

The Siam Orchid Hotel is in a very nice, quiet setting, which is surprising considerring the four or five karaoke places on the adjoining street. Rooms start at 500 baht ($15 Cdn).

Motorcycles (250 bt a day) and bicycles are available for rental. That blue number, second from left and below, was given to me free to ride around. Probably because I frequently went to the hotel owner's resto. A very nice man is David though and his Thai wife, who spoke very good English, was a great host.

 

The bicycle was too small for me and the tires desperately needed air but I'll be darned if I could find an air supply in town. probably on some little soi somewhere. The owner said their repair man was not around.

      

Above is Wat Klang, Buriram.

In my last hours of a four-day stay, I came across a lovely set off ponds and lakes in the middle of town but didn't have my camera. The sun was going down and I had to head out the next morning so never got a chance to photograph the town's nicest features.

Another feature of Isaan is that it's one of the hottest regions of Thailand. Everyday the sun bore down and temperatures hovered beween 37 and 40. It's also a dry part off Thailand and farmers only get one rice crop in per season. Others do at least two.l

Motorcycle tour of northern Laos coming up

Coming up in about a dozen days is our motorcycle tour of northern Laos. There will be about five or six of us, all Bangkok residents, except our leader, who lives in the States. We will rent bikes in Vientiane, which seems to be a burgeoning source of motorcycles for touring.

Our route will  run from Vientiane to Vang Vien, Phonosavan, Chom Thong and Luang Prabang. Then it's back through Vang Vien to Vientiane. As far as I'm concerned, any route is a good route, as long as I can get onto a real bike.

I've spent some time on the prevalent small bikes, Honda and Yamaha 125's. They're not much fun and the bikes you can rent are hardly maintained very well. Also, traffic in Thailand is, uh, bloody dangerous. The Canadian embassy  told me back in the fall how at least two Canadians had died in motorcycle accidents in the first eight months of 2008.

Some ex-pats here in Surin are dyed in the wool riders, but all of them have had to lay down their bikes after "idiotic" moves by local drivers. One very experienced rider -- living in Thailand for 10 years --  was in hospital for 11 days.

So, in the interests of maintaining function of all my limbs, I've limited my exposure to traffic incidents by renting scooters only sparingly. And not in Bangkok at all. Some ex-pats in the provinces stick to four wheels and metal cocoons.

But Laos is a different story. Traffic is very light because private auto and bike ownership is very low. Even in Vientiane, there is little traffic.

Some images from Bangkok to Buriram train

I'd planned to go to Buriram from Bangkok on another Isaan exploratory tour so I went out to the main Bangkok train station to buy the ticket early and check out the platform and other services. (359 baht or $12 Cdn on way.)

Hua Lamphong station is at the western end of the MRT subway. It's an old style station with 12 platforms, high arcing interior, with roomy waiting area. The platforms are partially sheltered from the boiling sun and monsoon rains. Lots of room outdoors for taxis, tuk-tuks and an entrance to the MRT right there.

I prefer the train because you can walk around, go to the toilet easily and even have a smoke between cars or in the toilets. Depending on the train model, the seats are adequate, air-con frosty and overhead storage quite large for big cases or backpacks.

Big intercity VIP buses are faster than trains, but I take comfort over speed, although some VIP buses have fewer seats and allow quite a bit of room.

      

       

I'm on my fourth train trip now, all in Isaan. The route takes you up onto the Korat plateau, after leaving Bangkok about an hour before. It's kind of weird threading your way through barely cleared hill brush. You look ahead and see the winding track, which is a narrow 1 metre wide. The cars barely clear the bushes and grasses.

You occasionally see rough home stilt shacks, farm yards and buildings that have seen better years, or even centuries. Gravel roads snake across the track from time to time; there's even a little asphalt here and there.

Gradually, the land flattens out and villages and towns come by more often, until you reach the big city of Korat, about three and a half hours out. Then come a string of big towns and cities, such as Buriram, Surin, Sisaket and the largish city of Ubon Ratchathani at the end of the eastward line.

This time to Buriram, we were not served lunch. Must have got on wrong one, although I thought it was the same train 71 I took before, but inbound.

[Sorry for the poor images but they were mostly taken through the train window. Having a smoke on the perch between cars was perilous enough so taking pix was not an option.]

A few tidbits from shuffling around Bangkok

Just tidying up my mental shelf and found a few stray thoughts here:

There are three Isaan-Lao restaurants in my area of Bangkok, Khlongtoei district and I have yet to go two of them, including the one I should have gone to long ago, Vientiane Kitchen. It features very good food, according to friends who have been there. It's a bit pricy -- plates are in 100 baht range and beers about the same. Every night there's an Isaan/Lao band, with its infectious music featuring drums and strings, and dancers, beautiful as always in their colourful gold and red long skirts and pretty sashes and head-dresses, set against golden brown skin. I've been to Thai-Isaan kitchen (Krua Romai) for the cheap, good food, and cheap beer, set in a garden-like eating area. 30 to 50 baht for various plates, plus some of the famous hotter than hot Isaan salads, such as Som Tam.

------------

I still haven't been to many of the typical tourist sights of Bangkok, found in all the guide books. I'm just not a tourist, I guess. I've seen dozens of temples (city of Chiang Mai has a golden temple on every block; or go to Sukhotai or Ayudhya), buddhas, Thai traditonal costumes, silk clothing and souvenirs, tuk-tuks till I'm tuckered out, taken khlong taxis and river boats, on and on.

------------

I've found at least two good places for hamburgers. I had missed those delightful treats. Yes, McDonald's outlets are everywhere, but I can't eat their products unless I'm hammered and it's 3 a.m. and my judgement is, well, overcast. Bourbon Street restaurant on Washington Square, off soi 22, so far is the best. They grind rib steak for hamburger, the owner tells me. And believe it or not, the Burger King in Emporium on the fifth floor. A bit pricy at 149 baht but worth it. Other BKs are probably equally decent. A third one I've only experienced once. The Nana burger, at 80 baht, was pretty good one night when a friend and I ended up at the  go-go bar district off soi 4, Suk, after hours of liquid refreshment. We'd just bought a couple of bottles of San Miguel Light, strolled out onto soi 4 and watched the action from the Nana Hotel parking lot. The girls there welcomed us as one, us joking how we were looking for customers. Thai girls are like that. So we saw the Nana burger cart sign and weakened. Our hangout, the Londoner, has pretty flavourless burgers for an outrageous 380 baht.

------------

I'm always amused by the construction projects with safety signs attached to the entrance that announce that slippers are banned. You will see why it's important when you look at other projects where they are not banned. Construction workers, whether at big or small projects, such as repairing sewer pipes, digging trenches, climbing utility poles, operating heavy equipment, sawing stone or painting the sides of buildings, will not wear safety shoes.

You will see men and women wearing those little beach thongs, climbing over re-bar or gravel or strewn lumber or walking at perilous heights on bamboo scaffolding.  I wish I were kidding. I doubt they can afford the safety shoes  since they earn a pittance, of around 175 to 200 baht a day. I can only assume that big foreign companies supply safety shoes.

-----------

One day recently a friend and I ventured out to a motorcycle accessories shop at Huay Kwang MRT stop, on Ratchadaphisek (part of a great ring road around Bangkok). Whoa, it was pricy. Name helmets by Shoei and Arai ran $800 to well over a $1,000 Cdn. I thought Canada was too expensive. The Arai  XD, which is well over $500 back home was close to $900. Now, it's a small market in Thailand, and only ones who could afford such a pricy but necessary piece of equipment, would be the farangs (foreigners) and a very few rich Thais. Armoured jackets at the very low end of quality ran into the low teens, over $400. My friend was looking to outfit himself and we decided on a decent 60% off HJC half-helmet, a half-price cheapish mesh jacket with armour and discounted gloves. We came to about 15,000 baht or over $500.  

-----------

While at out at Huay Kwang and with time on our hands, we decided to go to a nearby dim sum Chinese restaurant. In a word, terrible! When we finished, we rated it 5.5 out of 10. An hour later, it was 3.5.

-----------

We left the resto and headed to the MRT when I spotted a map of the intersection area, something that's at every MRT subway station outside. Huay Kwang market! Let's go! Well, we were knocked out at how huge and cheap it was. Must have been 20 blocks of vendors. And loved the  fact this is a very Thai neighbourhood. No tourists, unlike the well trodden paths of Sukhumvit Rd. I will go out there again soon to take pictures and report. Didn't have camera with me at the time.

Thai life and other challenges get in way of China plans

I was supposed to go to Taiwan and China in November. Well, that hasn't happened. And I'm beginning to wonder whether it will happen at all.

The Bangkok airport seizure didn't help matters. That was the period I was hoping to use to travel.

I also had to wait till the end of that month for some fresh infusion of funds, after spending a few thousand baht more per month on an apartment closer to downtown and the Skytrain, having to hand over a 30,000 baht/$1,000 Cdn in security deposits (owners in the country require two months' security)  and spend more than planned to get my apartment set up.

The seizure came and went and it became early December, the high season and higher airfares and hotel rates. Maybe I was also feeling too comfortable in Bangkok and vicinity. It's way too easy to stay here and enjoy all its life and services.

A friend teaching in Taipei is now moving to south of Shanghai next month, so that gets me closer to my China goal. But, I want to spend more time in northeastern Thailand where I felt I could really relax and enjoy the real Thailand. So I'll leave after the language course and spend about a month there, touring the villages and cities farther east. And I hope to get into Cambodia.

A big motorcycle tour of Laos starts in mid-March and lasts 7-10 days. Then there's a trip to Chiang Mai and area. Well, April will pretty much have started and my return to Canada comes mid-month.

Guess I'll just have to move here permanently.

Can't have enough espresso shops in Surin, Thailand

Here are some images from my trip to Surin, Thailand.

Brian from Vancouver area owns and runs this coffee shop in Surin, Thailand with his Thai partner. It's right across the street from the newish Majestic Hotel, Surin's most expensive (rooms start at 900 baht or about $30 Cdn, and the bus station. I later discovered two more coffee shops, making that at least five in Surin.

 

My wi-fi connection! Farang Connection restaurant, moto and car rental place, served very good food from a broad menu, including Indian curies. it's on the weird street described below, the FC being on the wide part of the street.

 

Preparing a certain kind of meat dish means leaving it sit out in the sun for hours (willl check dish name later). This is at the bus terminal road entrance for all the lovely smoke-belching intercity buses.

 

My train for Bangkok arrives in Surin station from Ubon Ratchatani, about 500 km farther east. It's once-a-day first-class express train. Cost $359 baht or $12 Cdn to BKK.

 

The train, outside and in, has probably seen better days, as has the track into Bangkok. It's about 6.5   hour trip. Air-con, of course, with fans in the ceiling supplementing the cooling if it's really hot, as in March and April.

A Danish guy kept going out for a smoke on the platform between the cars during the ride, as I discovered. So, many times we stood out on the perilous edge and enjoyed the warm wind and night scenery. Rail staff didn't seem to care.