WANDERLUST RECESSION: Sukamvit

(the canal subway)

Safety in Asia does not include car seats for children. It does not include posted signs that read "keep your arms and head inside the moving vehicle". It is a place where red lights and stop sings are optional (especialy for motorbikes). Safety in Asia does not include news stories such as "raw and exposed street meat; what this meat--sitting in the roasting streets of Bangkok for hours before you eat it--could mean for YOUR health." Most of all safety in Asia is near non existant. And it's great!

As we stroll the streets, and peer into cars, we enjoy seeing a mother without her seatbelt, freely and openly feeding her newborn baby as her driver speeds down the freeway. Or, my personal favorite, a family of four (infant, parent, infant, parent) squeezed onto one motorbike. Sorry people--evidentlly you don't need a Hummer to shuffle your kids to soccer practice.

All of this freedom. Makes me smile. It's not only the freedom that makes me smile, it's not that these people are so "free", it's that they are not emotional about a hypothetical possibility. Upon seeing the mother and infant in the car I recalled the Britney Spears "controversy" that made CNN, Fox, & every major new station in the US. This was a huge story, and people were up in arms. Claiming she was an unfit mother. I wonder what the news channels would say about Asia.

Today we took the river subway. Which takes every emotional US news story and wraps it into one great boat ride! For those that have been to Bangkok, this is not the Chao Phraya--this is on one of the smaller canals (which is why I call it a subway).

The river subway is a long wooden boat with benches running down the middle. When it pulls up to the dock it does not stop--not for the handicap, not for your grandmother--you're either on or you're not. Once you're on, the boat goes speeding down a narrow canal (think Amsterdam, if you've been there). Ticket sellers walk on the very edges of the boat only hanging onto a rope that runs parallel above. But the bridges the boats go under are barely enough for the boats to fit, so the ticket collectors have to duck every time the boat cruises under a tunnel, or they'd be taken out. The canal has two way boat traffic, and they go roaring past one another creating Atlantic Ocean type wakes within the contained canal. Of course, only one boat can fit under a bridge at a time. So the boat headed west must give way to the boat headed east. Ocassionally the western boat will come to an abrupt hault, sending you, your belongings, your infant, and grandmother, flying forward. But I know you're wondering--Maggie, don't the passengers wear life preservers?--No, they don't. The motor in the center of the boat is exposed, and very loud. And the only thing between you and the splashing polluted river water is a thin blue tarp that you hold into place. And when you get off, be prepaired. Otherwise you'll end up in the drink, and compaired to the Charles River in te 80s the Charels was and is drinking water.

Sam and I love the river subway. Safety is the last thing these people are concerned with.

(Illegal drug sales on Sukumvit Rd) anybody need any? Post this photo this Thai lady yelled at me--I told her I didn't get the shot.

Today... Sam got ftted for a fancy suit. Per my nagging he went to the gay tailor (I told him he was the best dressed person we saw... The decision should be obvious). We learned a lot tailor shopping today, and it was really fun. Bangkok has 2 classes--really rich and poor. The rich are so rich they only wear Louis Vuitton and Hermes and the poor wear the plastic and synthetic knock-offs. This also means there are 2 types of suits. Real, tailor made, with Italian wool and suits that ate not really tailor made--the measure you, but what they really do is take a polyester Macy's suit and alter it. You can. Tell which is which based on the price.

(Christmas decor, and music!, at Emporium)

After the fitting we walked around Sukumvit Rd. This is where all of the fancy high rises are, and the expensive mall "Emporium" is. We started to get tired so we went to a resturant, Kuppa. Sam's architect friends would have appreciated this place (I didn't take a pic on my phone of the exterior, but will this week). Very cool spot--very "upscale". It's a local Thai Mobb hot spot... But we didn't see any. After shoving our faces, we wanted to take a cab but needed to walk off the chocolate cake and ice cream--we walke back to the river subway, but missed the last one. Forced into an ACed cab... We made it bak to the hotel by 8:30.