Sukhumvit - Freshman Orientation

It's now about 10am on Tuesday. Beth left for work at 7. As I sit inside "True Cafe", I sip on an iced green milk tea with a bowl of fruit and yogurt. There's free wi-fi, and my laptop has about 3 1/2 hours of battery left. I suspect I'll spend a few hours a week like this.

Beth and I live off of a main city artery called Sukhumvit Rd:

We drive on the left here, sometimes *on* the roads

Since the 1970s, this particular street has emerged as a haven for tourists and expats, both Western (mostly UK, Aus, NZ, and US) and non-Western (mostly Japanese). Still, I see no more than about 1/6 non-Thai folks when I walk around. So, non-Asians aren't exactly all over the place, but we're a very familiar sight and do not draw attention. That is a very nice aspect of Bangkok. People in general here are pleasant when you engage them, comfortable in their own skin, have no big urge to engage you, but might if you seem approachable.

Off the main arteries are side streets (still subtantial) called "sois". We live on “Sukhumvit Soi 24”. If you want some context, go to Google maps, and just look at the city of Bangkok, Thailand. After seeing what a maze it is, enter "Sukhumvit soi 24 Bangkok". You are now zoomed in to our immediate neighborhood, on the SE side of the city center. The gray rectangle contains many buildings, including Asa Garden, where we live. 

It also houses The Emporium:

This is a large, upscale indoor mall for folks with money who crave shopping. Still, it’s mostly Thais who are in there. It also has a really great food court where you can get about a million kinds of dishes, actually cooked fresh in front of you, for about half what you'd spend in the US.

Another important place for me is the Phrom Phong BTS SkyTrain station:

It’s a 6 minute walk from home, and it takes one to many, many places in the city. The SkyTrain is great; it’s totally modern, cheap, fast, and crowded on weekends and rush hour. It stays cheap because a zillion people use it every single day. They've been expanding the routes and it’s still growing. Just like the rest of Bangkok, Thailand, and SE Asia in general.

Thailand has been booming in USA 1950s style for the last fifteen years, and (if the gov't can demonstrate a handle on flooding in the next few years,) I see no sign of slowing. There's a big push to raise the minimum wage, Myanmar next door is starting to open up, and with almost no unemployment, there's a general feel of vibrancy, including among the regular folk that live meagerly.

But I digress. On Friday, Beth 'walked me' to Sukhumvit. Just walking down our soi to get there is a major adjustment in itself. Well, ok, every single activity here except maybe breathing is an adjustment right now. The sidewalks are about 18" wide, many of them have broken tiles, there are frequent curb dips and steps, the steps are steeper than I'm used to, there are frequent driveways for cars and scooters, pedestrians have no right-of-way, and that doesn't include the occasional scooter approaching you from behind (yes, on the sidewalk). I paint an unpleasant picture of walking here, but it's pretty accurate.

For a more pleasant walking experience, we went to Benjasiri Park, a very lovely place indeed:

A big "sister cities" project currently under construction in the Park

King Rama IX, head of state since 1946, loved by the Thais

Big stage show soon?

These are everywhere - can anyone identify?

 

Lots of places to explore, sit, jog, stop and smell the flowers, feed the turtles, and see the occasional park police smile at you. A nod and a smile are common greetings among strangers, regardless of any real or perceived (is there a difference?) social hierarchy.

We walked along Sukhumvit for quite a while. With the non-stop shops, bustling street and foot traffic, and the Skytrain above you, it somewhat resembles 86th street in Brooklyn (minus the honking, surprising enough). Much of the buiding and street signage is bilingual around Sukhumvit, but that changes big-time when you leave the area.