Thursday, December 16, 2010
Bangkok. Woke around 3:30 AM local time, couldn't sleep. Got out of bed around 5:00 AM. Applied Deet to the new pants. Prepared some outgoing email messages offline on the iPhone. Breakfast buffet in the hotel. I wanted to shop in department stores today but they didn't open until 10 so I had a few hours to kill. Hotel De Moc offers a free bicycle rental but when I asked if it was a good idea to ride a bike around Dusit Zoo and the neighboring park I was told it was too far and that there was too much traffic. I was more worried about a traffic accident than the distance, and I decided against the bike and took a taxi instead. I asked the front desk to ask the driver to drop me at the northeast corner of Ratchawithi Road and Sawankhalok Road but after they discussed this I was told it would be better for me to be dropped by the King Rama V statue. Off we went. At the statue I got out and found the statue and saw the Vimanvrek Mansion from a distance. I walked over to the park area I had found on my map but soon learned that it was walled and protected by a moat and armed security. Narrow sidewalks bordered by lots of street traffic made it the opposite of the quiet, pleasant experience I was seeking, so I found an available taxi and took it to Siam, arriving about 9, one hour before shops opened. When they opened I ate pineapple fried rice and drank iced lemongrass tea from the food court. Shopped, bought nothing. It was interesting to see clothing styles I don't normally see, but prices were not much different from department store prices in San Francisco, and I still had lots of trouble finding clothes in my size. I found G2000 and was excited because I had heard about it before (I think from Travis) as being a place where I might find clothes that fit me, but it was disappointing in both sizes and styles. There were modest sales in most stores (such as 20% off) but not many people shopping despite the Christmas season. I shopped at Siam Paragon, Siam Center, and MBK. At MBK I stopped for a meal at a restaurant with an all-you-can-eat rice noodles bar with various sauces and toppings for about 2 USD. The iced lemon tea here has a taste that is different than what Americans call iced tea. Not bad, just unusual and definitely not what an American would expect. Taxi back to the hotel. Shower. Checked in with G-Wan, did my fittings, he made adjustments. We agreed to meet for dinner after I asked him about nearby restaurants. Nap. G-Wan took me to a small restaurant a few minutes' walk away. He didn't eat much. We ordered steamed lemon prawns and steamed rice, mixed vegetables. Afterwards he gave me a tour of his nearby sewing factory and picked up some orders. There were perhaps several dozen people, about a third of them still working and 10 and 11 PM. Each person was an expert at one very specific task such as sleeves, buttonholing and buttons, designing and patterning, and so forth. After some convincing, I accompanied G-Wan on a short scooter ride to another nearby factory site where he picked up an additional order. Returned to the first site then back to the hotel. He dropped off his orders at the office. I went to bed.