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From Bangkok, With Love : Bangkok Jam and Porn


I'VE just checked into the Baan Amphawa Resort and Spa in Maeklong, Thailand, and really, it's been a long day. All thanks to our really sweet but also over-ambitious tour guide who was very insistent on visiting 'just another beautiful place' before the next destination. With that, we've managed to squeeze in the Maeklong Market tour which includes watching the train pass through the market and visiting the community temple, Siam Cultural Park, a visit to another temple before shopping at the famous Amphawa floating market by the Maeklong River, dinner and a one-hour boat ride along a canal to see twinkling fire-flies. That was my day four of a six-day work tour to some tourist attractions in Thailand in an effort to promote the Northern neighbour after the November flood disaster.

The railway market is along the track
and it's amazing how the traders
very quickly make way
for the train which passes through

 them 8 times a day.
The train is passing through the market

The floating market by the Maeklong
 river where traders are on the river
and by the bank.
My room for a night at Amphawa
The first three (and very packed) days were spent in the Bangkok city centre where we put up at LIT Bangkok and travelled out to a couple of Northern provinces including Ayutthya that was badly hit by the flood. The water had receded of course but the paddy fields were still very much submerged and you could imagine the damage extend based on the water mark left on some of the buildings and signages. But it's refreshing to note that things are picking up fast and the people are moving on. We also experienced the legendary Bangkok traffic in full bladders. Almost four hours of traveling in a van to cover a distance of just over a 100km was insane. It's like all roads leading into the city had become stagnant with vehicles very much like the flood waters covering the rice fields. And in full bladders, it was one of the most torturous hours of my life.

A tuk tuk is stopping opposite a
giant reclining Buddha in
Ayutthaya
We also visited Madame Tussauds, Bangkok. Having been only to the one in London, I can't compare much but some figures were very much well done here in comparison. I thought Lady Diana and Mahatma Gandhi looked really good here. Kate Winslet and Elizabeth Taylor seemed so real it was spooky. I had an urge to touch and kiss Leonardo Dicaprio the moment I recognized him and I wish they had captured Johnny Depp and Beyonce better though. But I saw no signs of Marilyn Monroe in her famous white dress. And I was happy to finally meet Thai forensic expert Dr Pornthip Rojanasunan while it was strangely exciting to see a smiling Tun Dr Mahathir in that museum. 

My childhood sweetheart
Will Smith and I

Lady Diana

Dr Pornthip

By the way. Have you ever wondered what porn means in Thai considering half the population's name either starts or ends with a Porn. 
Well, it means blessing :) 





Comments

  1. Seems like you guys have been having a lot of fun in Bangkok, it's always been a place I've wanted to go to so I'm pretty jealous! Those waxworks are actually class as well, seem more realistic to me than the one in London.

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  2. Will Smith was an excellent choice of heartthrob. Do you remember him playing the wise-cracking boy in Made in America? It was the first time I heard the expression "wrestling with the bald-headed champ".

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  3. I'm exhausted just reading this. You sound very, very busy.
    Great blog post title!

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  4. Very interesting, Jaya. If you like, the next time I see Jada I'll tell her that Will wants a turn with you now and she should step aside so the two of you can live happily ever after. I will live happily ever after with Johnny Depp.

    Love,
    Lola

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  5. Blessing? well you learn something every day

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  6. Looks really crowded and humid there. Not sure I'd like it that much.

    Kind of reminds me of China.

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  7. Sounds like fun, and thanks for the definition of "Porn" in Thai :)

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  8. Wow, that's so cool that you get to do all that traveling (and take good pic!). I'm SO jealous that you got to stay in that room - it looks GORGEOUS.

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  9. Sounds fantastic...maybe one day I'll be able to see these places you write about.

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  10. Sounds like a really interesting trip.

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  11. matthew - when you have the chance and you're here in this part of the world, you should visit thailand. its amazing :)

    GB - oh i do :) he's still looking the same, only bulkier, and aging real well. oh yum.

    beth - thanks Beth. it was a busy trip and I'm exhausted !

    Lola - they are in an open marriage anyway :) not that i'm also in one...hehe.

    adam - blessing :)

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  12. DW - you'd be surprised. it's not humid although it looks like it is. its not the hot season now, so the temperature isn't high and the wind is cool. people here are really nice though :p

    terra - thats the first thing i asked the guide when i landed :p

    Gia - i thought about about something you wrote while i was in the flight for some reason ! you know about flying...lol.
    yes gorgeous room but dark wooden homes creep me out a little :p

    otter - its a very cheap and nice place to travel to :p

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  13. secret agent and natural one - thanks :) i did, although pretty exhausted right now.

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  14. Sounds like a great trip, never knew that about porn either.

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  15. I love that room. and the famous sleeping Buddha

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  16. Those traders are crazy! :D

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  17. Woll Smoth looks nice. lol

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  18. Wow! Looks like a great place to visit.

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  19. pat - porn is blessing, die is okay :)

    nursie - the sleeping buddha are was really cooling and nice.

    2 pesos - hehe ya. foreigners call it the Risky Market.

    interwebs - yikes :)

    copyboy - it is :)

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  20. I have a couple of friends whose definition of blessing is the same as the Thai's.

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  21. If porn means blessing, then what is the thai word for porn?

    Lady Diana looks really elegant here.

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  22. lol yea porn in the title is misleading following btw :)

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  23. Awesome trip, wish I was there.

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  24. Two things:

    1. Those people and their shops are way too close to the train tracks

    2. I really like the dark paneling in the room where you stayed

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  25. Very cool photography! Those pictures are amazing!

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  26. Hey Jaya, nice post.. I've been thinking of a Thailand trip but ws a lil wary of the same due to the news of the flood.. guess things seem fine now I suppose... think I mite hit Thai i March thn :)

    Wow, 'Porn' means blessing in thai...awesum :)

    Anyways, here’s wishing u n urs a fabulous n prosperous New Year in 2012..

    Happy New Year Jaya :)

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  27. wow, that's so neat to see a completely different side of the world. thanks for the great pics :)

    happy new year jaya!

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  28. more and more 'porn' to you ;) Happy new year! :)

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  29. Passei para conhecer o seu blog,
    beijos

    ReplyDelete
  30. The post title sounds like a sticky situation to be in.

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  31. I love the room you stayed in, it looks like something out of a mystery novel, as though something romantic and dangerous might happen. Maybe the shots of boats adds to that appeal. I'm glad porn means 'blessing' and not 'wrist ache'. The models of celebrites do look a bit distubring, it looks like Wil Smiths legs are a bit spread, is he hot or something? lol.

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    Replies
    1. actually, Jon, the room could get a little spooky when you're all alone. maybe its the dark look and the sounds of insects on the outside.
      hmm. on the other hand, it can be romantic and dangerous if i had Will Smith next to me on that bed ! hahaha.

      Delete
  32. In my part of the world porn also means blessing - at least for lonely men

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