All Thai'd up

I arrived in Bangkok yesterday, tired and grubby from three flights and four airports and made my way towards my guesthouse and the shower. In a previous post I noted that my guesthouse was located "conveniently near Patpong" according to their website but I quickly learned that it was incorrect. The guesthouse isn't located conveniently near anything except the 7-11 which I've made much use of for water and cold coffee drinks and the like. While I was initially disappointed to learn that going anywhere would require a 10-minute walk, then a 20 minute ride on the "skytrain" and then a boat ride down the river, the upside is that the guesthouse is quiet and clean and in a safe neighborhood so it worked out okay.

Rather than dissolving into my bed as I was tempted to do, after dropping off my bags I ventured out to one of the more popular areas in Bangkok and wandered around. I have never in my life seen so much food sold out on the street or so many people enjoying it. You can't walk 5 paces anywhere in the city without a stand selling cut fruit in a bag or soup in a bag or soda in a bag or rice in a bag. The only things that do not come in bags come on sticks: fruit on a stick, sausage on a stick, meat on a stick, etc. It seems pretty efficient; people will walk around and grab a few bags and/or sticks of food and combine them in a bowl to eat at the fold-up chairs and tables that also crowd the sidewalks. According to all of my guidebooks, the food from the street stalls (with the possible exception of the fruit) is very safe to eat, but I haven't tried it yet because I'm not so sure about the utensils and dishes which all come from a grubby tub of water.

I found a spa that offered traditional Thai massage among other things and didn't look like the type of place that would cater to the Patpong crowd and indulged in a 2-hour massage. Thai massage isn't really anything like any massage I've had before. And I'd hesitate to call it a massage in the way that I would call an afternoon at Habitude a massage. I think a better word might be "tenderize". After changing into pajamas and being offered some fruity sort of iced tea, I laid down on a mat on the ground and my massage therapist (for lack of a better term) proceeded to apply her full body to mine in order to pummel, manipulate, crack and bend every muscle and joint in my body. I'm lying there in the cool room listening to nature-y music piped in and she's holding my foot straight out and kneading my thigh with her feet. And then cracking the joints in my toes one by one. And then balancing her knees on the backs of my legs while smooshing my back down towards the floor (at one point I thought my lungs had collapsed). And then in the coup de grace, pulling my entire body up to "rest" on her knees in a backwards bridge as I was suspended in the air.

I'm sure that traditional Thai massage has some wonderful health benefits, but I don't think that restoring tired muscles is one of them. I was actually quite relieved to pay my $12 and exit the spa.

Today I've been exploring the "old city" part of Bangkok - the Grand Palace, wats and the like - and getting acclimated. Whenever I go to different countries, it seems there are a few things I consistently look to see in order to get a feel for the place. For example, the types of animals that wander the streets, which Western chains are popular, what the bathrooms are like, and the flavors of potato chips they sell. Here I discovered that Lay's offers chips in salmon teriyaki or grilled lobster (with ridges).