Getting to Work (June 29, 2010)

My apartment is close enough to the office that I can walk. Or at least theoretically I can walk. Given the heat and the humidity, it may not always be a realistic option. But today I did.

First, I took the tuk-tuk (like a golf cart) from the apartment lobby to the corner of Soi 10 and Sukhumvit Road. It’s only about half a mile and in cool, dry weather would be a nice stroll, but…

Chumvit Park is at the corner. A nice bit of greenery in the city. Local Thais were out exercising before the heat of the day.

The Liberty Mutual Group office is about half a mile to the right on Sukhumvit Road. From the corner, I can either turn left and walk toward the Nana skytrain station, or turn right and walk toward the office.

Getting to the Nana station actually means walking away from the office, but it’s close and… since I only need to go one stop anyway (to the Asoke station), if I don’t get on at Nana, there’s no point in getting on at all.

Either way, I end up at the busy intersection with Soi Asoke. It’s possible to cross above ground but there is a lot of traffic and the lights are long.

Instead, there is an underpass that connects with the Citibank building across the street. That way, I’m also in the all-important air-conditioning. The underpass links to an underground shopping area – including a “True Coffee” shop – that eventually puts me on Soi 23, directly opposite the entrance to LMG Thailand.

On the street, there are lots of guys on motorcycles, waiting. If they are wearing an orange vest, that means they are “official taxi drivers.” You get on the back and they take you wherever. Much cheaper and faster than a standard taxi, but definitely not for the nervous.

Then, it’s a quick elevator ride to the 15th floor and then down the hall to my desk. Where I log on using a keyboard that looks like this –

June 27, 2010

It’s 4:00 AM in Bangkok and some serious thunderstorms are rolling through. Between the storms and the fact that my internal clock thinks it 5:00 PM, I’m wide awake. Guess the rainy season is starting early this year.

One thing I’ve noticed in just two days here – the sun sets early and very quickly. It’s up around 6:00 AM and is hot, hot, hot all day long. It’s full light until around 6:30 and then suddenly completely dark by 7:00. Not the long evenings that we typically have in Boston in the summer.

Went to the Chatachuk Market later this morning. It’s huge and sprawling, selling everything from Pommerian puppies to glass tiles for spa bathrooms to Thai pop CDs. It seems like a jumble at first but it’s actually organized by “subject matter” – housewares, pets, clothing, furniture, etc. For all that, I only bought three small wooden candle holders.

On the way back, I got off at the Siam Square SkyTrain stop. Oh my God – I have seen the promised land and it is the gourmet market hall in the Siam Paragon shopping mall. Fresh produce, prepared foods, aisles and aisles of every food stuff made by man. Lots of Thais doing their weekly shopping, but also lots of expats wandering the aisles in search of foods from home – in my case, peanut butter. Once again, my attempts to buy wine and beer were thwarted – turns out that you can only buy liquor from 11:00 – 2:00 PM and from 5:00 PM to midnight. Not sure why there is an afternoon hiatus, but I was there at 2:30 so no luck. I did manage, however, to find laundry detergent for the front-loading washer in my apartment. You can imagine the pantomime required to make clear that distinction.

Pictures from Chatachuk Market:

The SkyTrain at the Asoke Station

June 26, 2010

View from my living room. View from my bedroom.

Met Por in the lobby this morning. Her role is to provide an orientation to Bangkok in general and to the immediate neighborhood in particular. She is very friendly and speaks excellent English, but I think I flummoxed her by not needing the “standard orientation” – most of her clients are business men and women who will be here for several years and who are bringing their families with them. So, she helps them find houses with big yards and schools for the kids. None of which I need. She showed me how to buy and use a pass for the SkyTrain and how to get on the Metro. There are only two lines for each so it’s not hard to navigate. She also took me to two grocery stores – Villa Market in the Emporium and Tops, which is within walking distance. She also showed me how to get to the Liberty Mutual Group office, which is also within walking distance – if it weren’t so hot and humid that I wouldn’t arrive dripping with sweat. Most likely I will take the SkyTrain one stop and be there relatively dry.

She also showed me some neighborhood restaurants, including Cabbages and Condoms, which I had read about in a guidebook. It was started by a doctor who was concerned about sexual diseases in Bangkok, so he promotes the use of condoms. There is a “gift shop” attached to the restaurant where you can buy products, including clothes, made from condoms. Not attractive clothing, but you have to admire his commitment. May try the restaurant this evening for dinner.

Went back to Tops this afternoon to make a start at buying groceries. A good variety of foodstuffs, but it’s interesting to see the things that are expensive – like wine – versus those that are cheap, like Coke Zero. According to Por, Thais don’t drink a lot of Coke – or any types of sodas, for that matter. She said that many Thais believe that drinking soda will make them fat – which is an interesting view, given how very skinny many of the Thais are. I also bought some Tim Tams – chocolate biscuits that I remember fondly from living in Australia many years ago. It’s been a very long time since I’ve had them.

And my luggage finally arrived! At around 7:00 this evening. It was supposed to arrive around 5:30 but was delayed by Bangkok’s famous traffic jams. But it’s all here – a little wrinkled, but here. Guess I’ll have to figure out how to use the small, European-style washer/dryer all-in-one unit in my apartment. Looks like a dish washer and can probably handle three socks at a time but it’s worth a try.

Tomorrow I hope to take the SkyTrain to the Chatachuk Market – the biggest outdoor market in Bangkok. My plan is to buy some housewares to dress up this apartment without spending a great deal of money.

(Not sure how this whole blog thing works. Just added some photos that I took with my Blackberry. Not the best camera, but it's a start. But I thought the photos would show up here at the end of my text, not at the start. Live and learn.)

June 25, 2010

Arrived in Bangkok today on British Airways flight 009 from London at 3:45 pm. Unfortunately, my luggage did not make the connection in London, so I spent some time in the airport filing the necessary forms and getting compensation. BA gave me, and two other fellows whose luggage had also not made the flight, 100 pounds each – which translated into about 4500 Thai baht.

Then, found the driver who was waiting to take me to CentrePoint on Soi 10, Sukhumvit – a “serviced” apartment which will be my new home for the next several months.

First impressions of Bangkok on the way in from the airport –
--I’d forgotten that they drive on the left. That will take some getting used to.
--The air is much cleaner and clearer than I reminded. It was sunny and hot, but the view was clear.
-- Traffic from the airport moved smoothly and quickly, until we got off the main highway and onto the surface roads. Then, it ground to a halt. But it was Friday afternoon at rush hour, so not a surprise.

First impressions of CentrePoint –
-- The apartment is a good size, though the living space is smallish. There is a kitchen, a dining area, and a living room all in one. The bedroom is separate and a good size, and the bathroom is large and has both a tub and a separate shower.
-- Very clean and efficient, but corporate and sterile. Will need to buy some small items to make the place more personal.

Walked up soi 10 (my street) to Sukhumvit – the main drag – to buy some clothes. Traffic was very heavy. Crossed the street via the Asoke SkyTrain stop and had a great view of a full moon coming up and the head lights and red lights from all the cars down below. Too bad my camera was in my lost luggage.

Interesting thing about how Bangkok is laid out. There are main drags (in my area it’s Sukhumvit) and then little streets/lanes - called sois - coming off in either direction. The even-numbered sois are on one side of the main drag and the odd-numbered ones are on the other. But, the even and odd numbers do not line up. So, soi 10 is in fact opposite soi 15.

The nearest department store is called Robinson’s. There seemed to be more employees than customers. I needed to buy several things – socks, shorts, etc. – and each item seemed to be in a different department, serviced by different employees who each took great pains to assist me and to put aside my every intended purchase. This all made sense when it came time to check out. At the cashier, each employee showed up with his or her “service card,” which the cashier used to beam in their bar code for each item. Not sure if they work on commission or if they receive some sort of credit. But thanks to BA, I was able to buy socks, underwear, a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, and a polo shirt and still had enough money for some toiletries and dinner.

That’s one thing that will be easy to find here – food. The street vendors are everywhere and it all looks very tempting. I’d read that street food in Bangkok is very good and very cheap. I will, of course, have to try it, get sick, and get over it so I can enjoy the many options. But for tonight, I just went to the restaurant in CentrePoint and had a tasty dish of sea bass in hot basil sauce. No liquor on the menu (will have to buy some and keep it in the apartment) but they did have a good drink of crushed strawberries, pineapple, and watermelon.

I am meeting Por (not sure if that is a man or a woman) in the lobby at 10:00 AM. Which could be a problem, since it is now 3:30 AM and I am wide awake. No wonder – that is 4:30 PM in Boston.

All in all, not a bad first day. Now I just need my luggage to show up tomorrow.

Doug in Boston

Hi, I’m Doug. I’m currently in Boston but will soon be jetting away to Bangkok. Visit my blog and follow my adventures in Thailand. They’ll be filled with thoughts about training, dealing with the heat in long sleeve shirts, and perhaps even trying Pad Thai even though I hate all things dairy.