A Modern Classic: Bangkok, Thailand

When we visited Bangkok ten years ago, we were in full-on tourist mode. We hustled hurriedly across the sprawling city in order to make the most of our two days there back in 2009. We explored the spectacular Grand Palace, received intense Thai massages from the renowned massage school at Wat Pho, climbed up the pyramid-like Wat Arun, and took a boat tour through the canals and floating markets. We even stayed on Khaosan Road, the backpacker ghetto that Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in the book/movie The Beach thoroughly excoriates. We would do none of that this go-around.

First of all, we had decided to cut our visit short, staying only two days, as the coronavirus was starting to spread from China; by the time we were in Bangkok in early February, there were already several dozen known cases in the country. We still felt safe and took protective precautions (especially on the crowded public transport that were still running), but we decided to avoid big crowds and get out of the potential hotspot quickly.

Second of all, this time around, we wanted to see a more authentic Bangkok, so we reached out to friends we know who have lived there. Tom, an oyster farmer from North Carolina who hosted us through Couchsurfing ten years ago in Chiang Mai and who subsequently lived in Bangkok for a few years, and Matt, a lawyer from Florida who spent a few months in the city last year on a work assignment, gave us great tips on which non-touristy neighborhoods to stay in and which off-the-beaten-path restaurants to eat at that weren’t hawking Pad Thai to visitors. With their help, we were armed and ready to dig down deep under the skin of Bangkok, and really get to feel what everyday life was like… Okay, so these guys aren’t Thai, so maybe it still wasn’t “the real Bangkok,” but our next two days would still be an authentic visit in some regard.

Viewing Bangkok from the perspective of a foreigner who lives and works there is still a worthwhile way to get to know one side of the city, as there are a lot of expats in Bangkok. As many as one million of the city’s ten million residents are expats, most from Asia, but also many from Europe and the U.S. It is, after all, one of the world’s great international cities. It is the center of Thai life, one of the main financial hubs of Southeast Asia, and is connected to cities across the globe for business, logistics, and tourism, making it one of the most visited cities in the world. Highrises, which are not concentrated in any central business district, stretch as far as the eye can see. (Size matters in Bangkok; it holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest place name, as the city’s full name is: Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit. Which means, “The City of Angels, the Great City, the Eternal Jewel City, the Impregnable City of God Indra, the Grand Capital of the World Endowed with Nine Precious Gems, the Happy City, Abounding in an Enormous Royal Palace that Resembles the Heavenly Abode where Reigns the Reincarnated God, a City Given by Indra and Built by Vishnukam”…First of Its Name, Breaker of Chains, and Mother of Dragons. The locals call it “Krungthep.”)

And Bangkok has fully embraced this globalization. Western chain establishments are everywhere (especially KFC, which is the chain restaurant we saw the most throughout Asia), just as much as Thai food is ubiquitous in the United States. If anything, the expat life reflects Bangkok’s wealth and modernization. Many times when we walk through a place, we are seeking out the past—this historic event happened here, look at that old temple there. But for the two days in Bangkok, we felt like we were looking toward the future.

After arriving on the overnight train from Surat Thani, we donned our masks and took the SkyTrain to the On Nut neighborhood where we would be staying. On Nut is one of the hot “new” neighborhoods in Bangkok. It’s about 45 minutes away from the center of the city (as much as the city has a center), but when the new metro line reached there in 2011, soaring above the traffic below, it suddenly wasn’t that far anymore. The changing identity of the neighborhood was palpable. Boba tea shops are popping up next to traditional food stalls, and an upscale mall sits down the street from some of the cheapest Thai massages in town. Sukhumvit, the main road through the neighborhood, is very lively and busy, but the rest of the neighborhood is a bit more suburban, at least for Bangkok, so it is popular with expats. This popularity has led to new expensive highrise developments popping up everywhere, ironically slowly erasing the neighborhoody feel that makes it desirable.

We stayed at an attractive boutique guesthouse just off of Sukhumvit, called Better Moon. Our cozy room had a brick accent wall, our bed was a mattress on top of wooden pallets, and amenities included a guitar and an old piano-turned-desk; needless to say, it was pretty hipster. The coffee shop below was similarly trendy, as it sold reusable steel straws and shampoo and laundry detergent in bulk. Thus, in addition to coming in with your own thermos to fill up with coffee, you can also bring your own shampoo dispenser to top up—all paid on the honor system, of course.

After settling in and walking around the neighborhood, trying to stay awake after our overnight train, we headed over to meet Tom for dinner, who happened to be back in Bangkok for six months. We dined at a vegan restaurant, inside a CrossFit gym. After scarfing down some huge burritos and fresh squeezed juice, we headed to a row of expat bars with outdoor seating, lit with Edison bulbs, where we drank Chang beers and caught up on the last decade, learning that Tom was training to become yoga-certified while he was back in the city. It was a great first day in San Francisco—err, we mean, Bangkok.

This isn’t to say that Bangkok completely sold its soul to the hipsters; it is still truly a Thai city. At the Ruam Sab Market, located in the Watthana neighborhood with its large cluster of office buildings, we watched young Thai professionals mingle around on their lunch break. We also spent a lot of time debating where to eat among the 200 stalls at the food court; if those professionals ate there for lunch every work day, they could go almost a full year without eating at the same place! We wish we had that amount of delicious, and cheap, concentrated dining options for our San Francisco work days! We ate a lunch of mini Japanese pancakes with flavored custard fillings such as Thai iced tea and black sesame, a noodle soup with char sui pork, and a boba tea, but lamented that we did not have the stomach space to try more.

Across from the bustling lunch market is Bangkok’s Rutnin Eye Hospital, where we experienced another very expat experience in the form of medical tourism. Michael had been feeling irritation in his eyes, and simple over-the-counter eyedrops had not cured it. We wanted to make sure there was no infection or something stuck behind his eye, so we decided to check it out in Bangkok, which is known for exceptional medical care at exceptionally low prices. We were not disappointed. The Rutnin Eye Hospital facility was high-tech, modern, and pristine (with many signs already posted about additional handwashing and mask-wearing for COVID-19 protection). The process was streamlined and fast, efficiently taking Michael from check-in to intake, examination, and prescription counter in less than an hour. A team of three staff attended to us in the doctor’s office—the ophthalmologist herself, plus two assistants to take notes and move things along—and they were all professional and spoke perfect English. Most importantly, the prescribed treatment was immediately effective, and Michael’s irritation finally went away. The whole specialty hospital experience was another insightful view into the modern international hub that Bangkok has become. We only regret that we did not have more time to get our teeth cleaned there, too!

Taking a short break from modernity, we headed over to Bang Kheo Island, located just a quick boat ride across the Chao Phraya River, but seemingly a world away. As we biked into the interior of the island (which was thankfully flat, since the heat easily saps away energy), the Bangkok skyline gave way to palm groves and rice paddies. We made our way to the large Sri Nakhon Khuean Khan Park, with its lush mangroves, swamps, and ample birdwatching opportunities. On the way back to the dock, we biked along pleasant canals and rode through the quiet narrow lanes of the small local villages on the island—not a vegan restaurant to be found. Apparently, the Thai Queen herself had the island preserved so that Bangkok children could experience true nature and learn about the original ecosystem in the region.

And it was a good educational tool indeed. Because what Bangkok hides below its surface—under buildings and sidewalks and through storm drains—Bang Kheo reveals. Water is everywhere, gliding through canals, flooding rice paddies, and seeping up to the surface in its ample wetlands. The problem for Bangkok is that, unlike Bang Kheo, the wetlands that absorb water and the canals that act as drains have all been replaced by highrises and highways, leaving few outlets for water during Bangkok’s long, six-month rainy seasons (in fact, there used to be so many canals in Bangkok that it was called the “Venice of the East”). Compounding this is the fact that Bangkok, like New Orleans, is a delta city, built on marshland where the Chao Phraya River dumps into the Gulf of Thailand. This delta terrain is unstable, and with significant development on top of it, coupled with groundwater usage that leads to a decreasing water table below, Bangkok sinks an estimated one to two centimeters each year. As it sits only a few feet above sea level to begin with, the risks of both sea level rise and regular flooding are very high. The Thai government has actually been studying the possibility of moving the capital out of Bangkok and inland to higher ground! Such is the impact of global warming on the city.

This existential threat didn’t seem to bother those living in Thong Lor, though, one of the more upscale areas of town. Our night out there was a good example of what the city has to offer. First we went to Wattana Panich, an award-winning local joint known for its beef noodle soup. You know it’s good when the entrance is practically blocked by a big—and we mean big—vat of stewing meat. We scarfed down a bowl, and then headed over to theCOMMONS, a hipster food hall (as if you couldn’t tell from the name), for more dinner. The space is beautiful and well-designed, with terraced seating around a multistory courtyard, with both Thai and expats feasting on every type of cuisine you could think of. There was Korean fried chicken, Boston-style lobster rolls, mixed salads, sushi, a deli, and an American soul food stand, as well as a wine bar and a brewery with a menu featuring over twenty pages of international and Thai craft beers. (Actually, Thailand technically does not have local craft beer, since the government heavily protects the state beer industry, Chang and Singha, by prohibiting small-batch production. Thus, Thai craft beers are brewed just over the border in Cambodia so that they can be considered imports and are labeled as “Thai Style” beers.) We ordered a shrimp Caesar salad and a khao soy-pulled pork sandwich (brilliant fusion!), as well as an Oregon craft beer and a Belgian cider, which we had been craving after months of drinking the watered down state beers of Southeast Asian nations (but we still love you, Beer Lao!). We were very satisfied after our two dinner stops, full from both the food and the opportunity to experience the high end, international connections, as well as the local, authentic Thai establishments, all within the same neighborhood.

As we walked down the street to catch the metro back to On Nut on our last night, we had two more funny run-ins that only underscored the strong modern fusion that defines Bangkok today: 1) we ran into Tom again (this time totally unplanned!), unmistakable in his bright Appalachian State t-shirt, and we got to meet his wife, a Brazilian woman whom he had met in Thailand years ago when they were both working there; and 2) we came across a row of local street food stalls…stationed out in front of a Nobu restaurant. This is what makes Bangkok so great—it has embraced its role as a global city while still remaining connected to its roots. Let’s just hope it can stay afloat.

Karen & Michael

Bangkok, Thailand, February 3-4, 2020