January 31, 2019
We have a situation!! Alert! This is not at all a test or practice run! We seriously are next to a building that is on fire.
Sirens interrupted my worrying on this morning. We'd just eaten free breakfast in the hostel and now we were in our rooms plotting on the day. Kiana and Olivia were in their room (they made it back from the market last night, I found out) and I was texting them trying to get a feel for what they wanted to do with the hours ahead. It was our last full day in Thailand- root of my worry.
But then the sirens! Sirens are normal all over the world, so they got the cold shoulder from me at first. But then it was just too loud and consistent. Too many new sirens were coming into the mixture. The melody became dramatic, so I had to get outta bed. As I looked over our room's balcony, I almost realized the severity of the situation.
The entire street below us was jammed with emergency response vehicles. People were hustling around frantically. Firemen were suiting up on the street. A crowd of civilians were bunched up on one side of the road facing our side of the road. I followed their gazes but could not see what they were looking at! Some of them had their hands over their mouths. Other people were still walking up and down the street, weaving in and out of the firetrucks. Brooke and I watched for at least 30 minutes from our balcony. The men were putting on their oxygen tanks and masks, but I couldn't see or smell any smoke! I honestly couldn't tell what the problem was, maybe it was a precautionary response? Like something bad COULD be about to happen so we're gonna suit up now? Anyway, our whole side street was now lined with inflated fire hose. Other people were hanging off of their buildings looking for the point of interest.
Eventually we sat back in bed. Olivia hadn't texted me back in a while, so I went out to knock on her door, but she and Kiana met me in the hallway exclaiming that we needed to go on the roof NOW!
Brooke and I trot up the stairs and emerge onto the roof of our hostel. We are smacked in the faces with a thick cloud of smoke. Orienting towards the commotion, WE SAW THE FIRE!!
I'd estimate that there were about three buildings between us and the blaze. It's hard to explain how the buildings were organized, so here's a picture.
See, this is the top of our building, there's Brooke peeking over. Catty-cornered behind our building was the fire. I think from the street you had to creep through a small alleyway to get to the structure that was burning. The buildings were densely packed, you see.
Anyways, the photo doesn't show the flames. You could barely see them, only the tops at particular times because they were contained by the roof of the building they inhabited. The men were running and yelling and trading shifts. We saw several streams of water fluttering about. They'd be working for a couple hours. We stuck around to watch the progress and eventually deemed it alright to leave the hostel. When we returned later, I saw that a nearby restaurant had brought stacks of to-go boxes of food to all of the worn out firemen. Loved that.
When we left we were headed hella far away to an art house that Olivia and Kiana found online. It was supposed to have a puppet show today. We took an air conditioned taxi. It was along one of the khlongs (canals)! We hopped out and began following the signs to the Artist's House. The wooden bridges and pathways along the route were so picturesque. We made it and were so thrilled by how cute it was! They had all sorts of original local art pieces, stickers, buttons, tapestries. We all got a couple of souvenirs here. Unfortunately the puppet show was cancelled for the day... BECAUSE OF POLLUTION.
That's right folks. Pollution. The pollution in Bangkok is a constant threat, but schools were actually shut down for these two days that we were in the city. We knew it was supposed to be bad, Chandler had warned us. We'd grabbed free smog masks from our hostel before we'd left. We just aren't used to puppet shows being cancelled due to smog. So, this was disappointing. But not too much so! We instead walked around and ate at the little open air restaurant by the water. This was delightful. Brooke ran over to buy some fish food puffs. These colorful little puffs were first thought to be human corn puffs... We lost our marbles when we learned they were actually for the fishies. No wonder they sell them in 10-15 gallon trash bags! We bought a small bag though. And actually, when we'd finished that bag, a Thai man and his momma who were sitting behind us gave us another bag! We had fun with the fish. Did I show ya'll those fish??? Here:
She's actually from our first visit to the Khlongs, but I don't have a photo from us feeding on this day. That's what the fish look like. How ridiculous. Look at that! They are ravenous. Obviously feeding the fish is hilarious. We had a great time with this.
After this cute little time we went back towards the hostel on accident. A little miscommunication, but whatevs. We went to the Chinese market again. Explored nice and easy. I bought four tubs of Tiger Balm. These tubs are bought for $9.99 at Whole Foods in the States. Here, I bought tubs for $1.79, $3.07, and $2.40. I felt like hot shit about this. I also bought a fanny pack to wear around my shoulder like all of the cool Thai people. This pack broke 4 days after returning to the US. Thankfully, my Dad lives next to a kind grandmother who can sew. She fixed it up for me. Thank you Ms. Betty!!
The day before when I was pouting I decided to screw my plans for Muy Thai. Walking in the market revitalized this plan. Yes! Let's go!
Olivia didn't wanna see people getting smacked in the head for fun, so she and Kiana stayed in and ate pizza.
I purchased the tickets online, grabbed my GoPro, and flagged down a tuk tuk. He took us to Rajadamnern Stadium; the first Muy Thai stadium built in Thailand. I knew to go with 2nd class tickets. We got in, followed the "Foreigner" signs, and found a good spot on the concrete bleachers. It had already started, so the atmosphere was bumpin'! I found the beer/popcorn stand and bought two of each. Time to watch some Muy Thai!
I'd never been to any type of fighting arena before, so it was all new. The blue and red ring was lit up with stadium lights, the crowd was electrified, and the fighters were itty bitty baby cuties! Ok, they were probably 15 or 16. They get older as the night goes on.
Now, the fight is only one portion of the entertainment. The fight starts with each combatant DANCING. The wai kru ran muay is a ritualistic dance that each Thai fighter participates in a the beginning of a fight. It's a way of paying homage to their teachers and family. In my own humble opinion, this is a highlight. Brooke and I began picking who we wanted to win based on whose dance we liked the most.
Then the fight. Music is being played throughout. It's a kin of beautiful and monotonous tune. I think you should Google it. It was so enchanting! The boys would often fight to the beat! We really enjoyed the music... And only later, when we were forced by the swelling crowd to scoot a few feet higher in the bleachers, did we realize that the music was being played LIVE by a BAND. Oh I was swept off my feet by this!
Ok, so the fight was just how you think. They were just hammering on each other. Brooke and I both love seeing hardworking and consenting human males duke it out. I think it's good for them. There was some blood too.
The last element of this experience was the gambling. THE GAMBLING WAS WILD! And it was also the reason we were ushered by signs to be seated with the foreigners. Eighty percent of the attendees were in the stadium to gamble on the matches. This involved so much, I don't know if I'm going to set the scene well enough here, but I'll try.
Let's estimate 400 men (and a small handful of women) on their feet waving their hands in the air in some sort of sign language-like motions. The receivers of these signs were completely unknown by us. We had no idea what was going on. There were so many different ideas you could express about the match in these hand signals. Hand on your head, various numbers of fingers up, hand shakes in different directions. Ever watch the coach give signs on the side of a football match? It was like this. Plus yelling and making unified sound effects for each fighter's knee strikes. Everything was up in arms. Everyone was making a hoot! It was invigorating! At the end of the match money would flow between everyone. And when the next match started, it would all build up and start again. And get this- Not a single Thai man had a beer in his hand.
We left the match before the end so we could get a head start out of that traffic headache.
Now we were hungry... And I knew just the late night spot to head to. Burger King! I'd heard they had a green veggie burger. The closest BK was on Khao San Road. Tuk tuk please!
Now, Khao San road is the Bourbon Street of Bangkok. AKA Hell. But Brooke and I had a wonderful stroll after our veggie burgers. We kinda felt untouchable.
We headed back to the hostel after this. Watching Thai TV was next on the list. And look! Replay coverage from the Muy Thai stadium! Also, a long news broadcast covering the smog. Obviously I couldn't understand anything, but I got that there were several recent world meetings in the country aimed at discovering solutions to the problem. Also a review of the effectiveness of different kinds of face masks. The tone of the broadcast was alarming... They've got a serious problem, but they aren't the only ones. The pollution crisis in Bangkok will stay with me. Experiencing something like that will change they way you think about things. Will we all be in masks one day? When we first got off the train in Bangkok I was wondering if the overcast meant it would rain soon. When I realized it, I couldn't believe what I was looking at was smog. This photo kind of shows what I was looking at. This is the entrance to Chinatown's Old Market.
We leave tomorrow. *cries*
Sirens interrupted my worrying on this morning. We'd just eaten free breakfast in the hostel and now we were in our rooms plotting on the day. Kiana and Olivia were in their room (they made it back from the market last night, I found out) and I was texting them trying to get a feel for what they wanted to do with the hours ahead. It was our last full day in Thailand- root of my worry.
But then the sirens! Sirens are normal all over the world, so they got the cold shoulder from me at first. But then it was just too loud and consistent. Too many new sirens were coming into the mixture. The melody became dramatic, so I had to get outta bed. As I looked over our room's balcony, I almost realized the severity of the situation.
The entire street below us was jammed with emergency response vehicles. People were hustling around frantically. Firemen were suiting up on the street. A crowd of civilians were bunched up on one side of the road facing our side of the road. I followed their gazes but could not see what they were looking at! Some of them had their hands over their mouths. Other people were still walking up and down the street, weaving in and out of the firetrucks. Brooke and I watched for at least 30 minutes from our balcony. The men were putting on their oxygen tanks and masks, but I couldn't see or smell any smoke! I honestly couldn't tell what the problem was, maybe it was a precautionary response? Like something bad COULD be about to happen so we're gonna suit up now? Anyway, our whole side street was now lined with inflated fire hose. Other people were hanging off of their buildings looking for the point of interest.
Eventually we sat back in bed. Olivia hadn't texted me back in a while, so I went out to knock on her door, but she and Kiana met me in the hallway exclaiming that we needed to go on the roof NOW!
Brooke and I trot up the stairs and emerge onto the roof of our hostel. We are smacked in the faces with a thick cloud of smoke. Orienting towards the commotion, WE SAW THE FIRE!!
I'd estimate that there were about three buildings between us and the blaze. It's hard to explain how the buildings were organized, so here's a picture.
Anyways, the photo doesn't show the flames. You could barely see them, only the tops at particular times because they were contained by the roof of the building they inhabited. The men were running and yelling and trading shifts. We saw several streams of water fluttering about. They'd be working for a couple hours. We stuck around to watch the progress and eventually deemed it alright to leave the hostel. When we returned later, I saw that a nearby restaurant had brought stacks of to-go boxes of food to all of the worn out firemen. Loved that.
When we left we were headed hella far away to an art house that Olivia and Kiana found online. It was supposed to have a puppet show today. We took an air conditioned taxi. It was along one of the khlongs (canals)! We hopped out and began following the signs to the Artist's House. The wooden bridges and pathways along the route were so picturesque. We made it and were so thrilled by how cute it was! They had all sorts of original local art pieces, stickers, buttons, tapestries. We all got a couple of souvenirs here. Unfortunately the puppet show was cancelled for the day... BECAUSE OF POLLUTION.
That's right folks. Pollution. The pollution in Bangkok is a constant threat, but schools were actually shut down for these two days that we were in the city. We knew it was supposed to be bad, Chandler had warned us. We'd grabbed free smog masks from our hostel before we'd left. We just aren't used to puppet shows being cancelled due to smog. So, this was disappointing. But not too much so! We instead walked around and ate at the little open air restaurant by the water. This was delightful. Brooke ran over to buy some fish food puffs. These colorful little puffs were first thought to be human corn puffs... We lost our marbles when we learned they were actually for the fishies. No wonder they sell them in 10-15 gallon trash bags! We bought a small bag though. And actually, when we'd finished that bag, a Thai man and his momma who were sitting behind us gave us another bag! We had fun with the fish. Did I show ya'll those fish??? Here:
After this cute little time we went back towards the hostel on accident. A little miscommunication, but whatevs. We went to the Chinese market again. Explored nice and easy. I bought four tubs of Tiger Balm. These tubs are bought for $9.99 at Whole Foods in the States. Here, I bought tubs for $1.79, $3.07, and $2.40. I felt like hot shit about this. I also bought a fanny pack to wear around my shoulder like all of the cool Thai people. This pack broke 4 days after returning to the US. Thankfully, my Dad lives next to a kind grandmother who can sew. She fixed it up for me. Thank you Ms. Betty!!
The day before when I was pouting I decided to screw my plans for Muy Thai. Walking in the market revitalized this plan. Yes! Let's go!
Olivia didn't wanna see people getting smacked in the head for fun, so she and Kiana stayed in and ate pizza.
I purchased the tickets online, grabbed my GoPro, and flagged down a tuk tuk. He took us to Rajadamnern Stadium; the first Muy Thai stadium built in Thailand. I knew to go with 2nd class tickets. We got in, followed the "Foreigner" signs, and found a good spot on the concrete bleachers. It had already started, so the atmosphere was bumpin'! I found the beer/popcorn stand and bought two of each. Time to watch some Muy Thai!
I'd never been to any type of fighting arena before, so it was all new. The blue and red ring was lit up with stadium lights, the crowd was electrified, and the fighters were itty bitty baby cuties! Ok, they were probably 15 or 16. They get older as the night goes on.
Now, the fight is only one portion of the entertainment. The fight starts with each combatant DANCING. The wai kru ran muay is a ritualistic dance that each Thai fighter participates in a the beginning of a fight. It's a way of paying homage to their teachers and family. In my own humble opinion, this is a highlight. Brooke and I began picking who we wanted to win based on whose dance we liked the most.
Then the fight. Music is being played throughout. It's a kin of beautiful and monotonous tune. I think you should Google it. It was so enchanting! The boys would often fight to the beat! We really enjoyed the music... And only later, when we were forced by the swelling crowd to scoot a few feet higher in the bleachers, did we realize that the music was being played LIVE by a BAND. Oh I was swept off my feet by this!
Ok, so the fight was just how you think. They were just hammering on each other. Brooke and I both love seeing hardworking and consenting human males duke it out. I think it's good for them. There was some blood too.
The last element of this experience was the gambling. THE GAMBLING WAS WILD! And it was also the reason we were ushered by signs to be seated with the foreigners. Eighty percent of the attendees were in the stadium to gamble on the matches. This involved so much, I don't know if I'm going to set the scene well enough here, but I'll try.
Let's estimate 400 men (and a small handful of women) on their feet waving their hands in the air in some sort of sign language-like motions. The receivers of these signs were completely unknown by us. We had no idea what was going on. There were so many different ideas you could express about the match in these hand signals. Hand on your head, various numbers of fingers up, hand shakes in different directions. Ever watch the coach give signs on the side of a football match? It was like this. Plus yelling and making unified sound effects for each fighter's knee strikes. Everything was up in arms. Everyone was making a hoot! It was invigorating! At the end of the match money would flow between everyone. And when the next match started, it would all build up and start again. And get this- Not a single Thai man had a beer in his hand.
We left the match before the end so we could get a head start out of that traffic headache.
Now we were hungry... And I knew just the late night spot to head to. Burger King! I'd heard they had a green veggie burger. The closest BK was on Khao San Road. Tuk tuk please!
Now, Khao San road is the Bourbon Street of Bangkok. AKA Hell. But Brooke and I had a wonderful stroll after our veggie burgers. We kinda felt untouchable.
We headed back to the hostel after this. Watching Thai TV was next on the list. And look! Replay coverage from the Muy Thai stadium! Also, a long news broadcast covering the smog. Obviously I couldn't understand anything, but I got that there were several recent world meetings in the country aimed at discovering solutions to the problem. Also a review of the effectiveness of different kinds of face masks. The tone of the broadcast was alarming... They've got a serious problem, but they aren't the only ones. The pollution crisis in Bangkok will stay with me. Experiencing something like that will change they way you think about things. Will we all be in masks one day? When we first got off the train in Bangkok I was wondering if the overcast meant it would rain soon. When I realized it, I couldn't believe what I was looking at was smog. This photo kind of shows what I was looking at. This is the entrance to Chinatown's Old Market.
It hurt our throats.
Sounds exciting. The pollution problem sounds horrible and scary. What in The World is the cause and how can the solve it quickly
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