A rare nice Saturday when there are no threatening dark clouds on the horizon. Ever since fellow members put in requests for pics of Bangkok (preferably with orchids) I’ve been kind of on the look out for some Kodak moments featuring orchids in bloom… The thing is: -1) this is a working class/student neighborhood so there are no orchids enthusiast (except for yours truly) ready to show his/her collection. I’m talking about a stand-alone terrarium house (there is one for vandas a couple of miles away up the main road); -2) in Thailand, dens are normally considered inconsequential, they are produced to end up as cut flowers or are grown in public space, tacked on tree trunks or gilding shrines etc so nobody thinks of them of much value.But I did find one place facing the canal that makes typical use of dens: a nice row in clay pots hanging at the front.
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Notice the surrounding flora: on the left is the papaya tree, on the right the mango - in between are bushes of all sort of garden-varieties plantation. A local friend helped me with the thai signage: the white sign is the name of the house,” Thiem Thiep House, Guesthouse for Males”; the orange sign is the rating: 4-star 6 years running given by the Ram University (one of two universities in the area) Commission Board (for cleanliness I guess.)
More pics of Soi no 29 (or Pier Alley because this one leads to the pier):
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One is the seller on foot pulling a cart full of pillows , futons and other bedding materials. Look up to the left side for more signage: 1) right underneath the ATM sign is the sign of another apartment house “Sukkothai, Guesthouse for Females”. The other signs both in green, the one in front says “Drugs (medicine)” the one in the back says “Sell Drugs” both mean pharmacies.
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Coming up from behind the pillowman is a nurseries on wheels (with loudspeakers blaring its wares) Half of Thai domestic economy runs on the back of these ubiquitous pickups. The one in the pic carries a whole garden of house plants on its bed; piled on top of the driver cab is the pottery and garden supplies section for all your growing needs. They usually carry a couple of dens (but not this one.)
Last but not least one more pic of the busboats in action.
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One interesting item regarding boat rides: affiched on each pier is a fare chart written in both Thai and English to let you know exactly how much to pay for your distance. On the boat, due to the prevalent jam-packed situation and the constant deafening engine noise, the best way to pay is to hand your money to the controller and then quickly stick out just how many fingers so he/she knows how much change to give back to you.
Here’s a riddle for you: if you stick out just your thumb, that means 16 bt, but if you stick out both thumb and forefinger that means 12. At the beginning as I was only guessing I always gave the wrong number, but those days are gone. Early this summer the fare (not raised but) dropped by one baht (1 usd = 35 bt) across the board so that put me in a lurch momentarily but I recovered my footing (in every sense of the word) in no time.
Hope these pics bring you a different perspective to wherever climes you find yourself in. Have fun!
Here's a riddle for ya
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