Soi 23

Even though I’ve been in Bangkok for three months now, I’m still struck periodically by how different things are here, even though on a certain level, many things are the same. Our office is in a high-rise building on a typical street in a business district, with cars and buses and taxis going by, and people going to and from work. And there is a subway stop about a block away and a train stop as well. So, on paper, it’s really not that different from working at Liberty Mutual in Boston’s Back Bay, right? But even these small things are different here and I think it’s those little things that add up and ultimately make living here seem so “exotic.”

For starters, crossing soi 23 – our side street – is always a bit of an adventure, as the cars and the motorcycle taxis whiz by. The side entrance to our building leads to a parking garage, and there is usually a policeman there directing traffic.

The fruit vendor is usually already set up in front of the 7-11, as are other vendors. That’s one thing that is certainly different here – the number of places to buy food (real, cooked-in-front-of-you food) on the streets.


There is a coffee stand outside the building and some mornings, when it’s already 80 degrees and humid, I’ll stop here and get an iced coffee on the way to work. I’m pretty sure the two women who work there know me by now, but I still order my “ga-fair dam yen, mai nam-tamg” each time. (It seems rude to just assume that they should understand “iced coffee, black, no sugar.”)


There is also a main entrance to our building, off of Sukhumvit Road. (And yes, there is an Italian restaurant in the lobby, called “Little Italy.”)

If you stand on the steps and turn around, looking back toward Sukhumvit, this is what you see. That big concrete structure is the track for the Skytrain, which runs along Sukhumvit in this part of town.

Immediately to the right of the entrance is an altar –a large and dramatic one. Throughout the day, people stop, pray, light joss sticks, and leave flowers.

Back in the lobby, there is a drugstore and a bank.

And just in case any visiting Americans are feeling a little homesick, there is a Subway in the lobby too. I haven’t tried it yet, but I have noticed that there are never any Thai people in there – except for the ones behind the counter.

So, it’s all “familiar” and “similar” but, at the same time, completely different.