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Tuesday, August 24, 2010

last train out of bangkok


2 nites in bangkok is one too many.
time to head north.
transportation options in bangkok are plentiful .
(and potentially expensive if you’re not careful)
my favorite, by far, was via ‘tuk tuk’.
those little motorized colorful golf cart looking things.
view from the tuk tuk backseat.
‘hectic’:

tuk tuk

I had 4 or 5 hours to kill before the train left.
so, I strolled over to the ‘jim thompson house’ museum.
jim was an american architect and CIA agent turned businessman,
who settled in bangkok after world war II.
nicknamed the ‘legendary american of thailand’,
his home was a center of social life,
and now serves as a museum,
after jim disappeared in the malaysian jungle. 
it was an oasis amidst the hustle and bustle of the city;
a lovely spot to pass some time.
  
koi pond

…and perhaps have an afternoon treat.
coconut ice cream in a freshly opened coconut shell with mango. 
and… a cup of tea.
swooooooon.

coconut mango ice cream and tea

the gardens around the museum are lush and well manicured:

jim thompson house walk

there are 6 interconnected buildings that make up jim’s house:

jim thompson house

all built entirely of teak! 
gorgeous.
no photos were allowed inside of the house. 
oops.  I accidentally took one:
  
teak house bangkok
 
finally, it was time to head back to the train station.
more tuk tuk’ing.
I totally want one of these.
although, im fairly certain it would NEVER pass a US emissions test.
  
tuk tuk ride

at the train station, I sat in a café with a couple of hours left before departure.
this may just be where my green tea latte addiction began.
not sure what they put in this thing,
but I was a jittery mess just minutes after the first sip:
 
green tea latte

at long last.
time to head to chiang mai. 
only a 12 hour train ride, no biggie.
  
train to chiang mai 2

good thing I have my own ‘room’ for sleeping:
  
sleeper train bangkok

1 comment:

  1. Ah, you brought me back such fond memories of Thailand... Bangkok (where I agree one night is enough) and Jim Thompson's house where I was lost for hours (such gorgeous architecture, garden and silks!)

    Perhaps instead of a velib I can drive around Paris in a tuk tuk... (imagine?)

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