Mo Chit and more

Sharat: Our time in Thailand was to be split between Bangkok and Kanchanburi before we headed out to Cambodia. During our long hours spent planning this trip we discovered that we could cross from Thailand to Cambodia by land. The most popular of these crossings is at Aranyaprathet (on the Thai side) - Poipet (on the Cambodian side). While researching I came across this post that talked about a new Thai-Cambodia bus service that connected Bangkok to Siem Reap. Our aim was to get the tickets before we left for Kanchanaburi, and all we knew (from a series of internet posts) was that such a ticket could be obtained at a place called Mo-Chit. Mo-Chit is the northern bus terminal of Bangkok city, from where buses leave for a vast array of destinations inside and outside Thailand. As I rambled my thoughts out loud to Akanksha, she being the more practical one, was planning on how we would actually get to Mo-Chit.

Akanksha: The most important agenda was to go to Mo Chit bus station to book our tickets from Bangkok to Siem Reap.We wanted to book in advance because we did not know what the demand for this bus would be; we did not want to take a chance and leave the booking until the end, and despite all our optimism we weren't actually sure this bus existed. This bus route had only started in March 2013; there were only few buses that traveled between the two countries. We took the Sukhumvit metro line to Mo Chit station. From the metro station’s second level, we saw Chatuchak Park. It was vast and we decided to explore it after we had our tickets.

Sharat: Our internet sources had told us that the Mo Chit metro station is some distance away from the Northern Bus Station at Mo Chit. What we did not realize was exactly how far away. As you get off the sky train you are met by scooter taxis who offer to take you everywhere for prices that are a bit steep. They offered to take us to the bus station for 60 Bahts ahead. We decided to move on and try our luck with a different mode of transportation.

Akanksha: We then decided how best to reach the Mo Chit Northern bus station, by taxi or a local bus. We took the latter option. It took us a while to find the counter which sold the tickets for the Bangkok-Poipet-Siem Reap bus, but we did.

Sharat: Although Bangkok is a tourist town, it can be a bit difficult if you do not know English while attempting to take the local bus or getting around at the bus station. Using hand gestures and making a fool of yourself doesn't really make what you are saying easier to understand, but it often generates enough laughs to have some kind soul take pity on you and find someone who speaks English. While buying the ticket to Siem-Reap, you need to have your passport with you. The man at the counter spoke little English, but he was nice enough to hand over the keyboard of his computer, across the counter so that we could type in our names and passport numbers. Paying up the 750 Baht each for the ticket we headed out feeling rather proud of our efforts at communication! We felt confident enough to take the bus back to the BTS station.

Akanksha: Even though Bangkok is a large metropolitan city, it has several large, green parks all around. We didn't even look for them, we just happened to find them everywhere. Getting off the bus at the BTS station we decided to go into the park we had seen from the train.

Sharat: Chatuchak Park is a nice experience, it is a huge peaceful place with a nice lake in the middle. We had originally planned to spend about half an hour there, but we ended up spending over two hours. Grabbing a quick lunch at the metro station, we decided that it was time to explore the new part of Bangkok. Since we were on the Sukhomvit line, we decided to go to and spend the afternoon exploring Sukhomivit.

At Chatuchak Park

Bridge at the park

Akanksha  Sukhumvit is divided into two sections, North Nana and South Nana. North Nana is culturally diverse, with a lot of Middle Eastern (halal) food available. Most of the store signs were in Arabic. The other side of the street, or South Nana, is a well-known red light district. We had lunch and then decided to head back towards our hotel. But before that, we thought we'd experience a traditional Thai massage. The massage is supposed to combine yoga-like positions with acupressure. It was nice because we had walked quite a bit already and the massage definitely eased the tightness in my legs.

Sharat: The best thing about visiting Nana is that you actually get every possible type of food. Burgers, pizzas, Indian, shawarmas, the whole lot. It was here that we first discovered the joys of The Pizza Company. Putting aside all attempts at cultural assimilation, we settled down to a hearty meal of Pizza and root beer. All through this trip would repeatedly find different branches of the Pizza company in the strangest of places across Thailand and Cambodia and I must (rather shamefacedly) admit that we thoroughly enjoyed the reprieve it offered us from the local cuisine we were so eager to taste!

Akanksha: We took the metro back to get back to our hotel. On our ride back home we passed by the Victory Monument, which was erected in June 1941 after the French-Thai war. In sharp contrast to the Democracy Monument, which has mostly Thai symbols and holds the 1932 Thai constitution at its center, the Victory Monument is completely western in design.

Sharat: The funny thing about the Bangkok metro is that none of the lines actually serve the historical part of the city. The closest we could get to our hotel was Taksin pier. We would then need to take a boat from here all the way to Tha-tien pier. We reached Taksin pier around sunset. No tourist must leave Bangkok without witnessing a sunset on the Chao-Phraya river. As we stood on the pier, we saw the posters for Asiatique.

Akanksha: Asiatique, is an up-scale market which has tons of activities for tourists and is a little town in itself. It is a place that is designed for tourists and is comprised of old warehouses that have been converted into shops and restaurants.

 At Asiatique The Riverfront

One of the many restaurants by the river

Outside a Japanese restaurant

Asiatique Sky (ferris wheel) in the background

Sharat: The old look of the place intrigued me, so when we got back to the hotel we looked it up on the internet. A sign on one of warehouses had said "East Asiatic Company". This really got me thinking. Every child who studies Indian history knows about the British East India Company. The Dutch however had their own East India Company, which in later years was called the East Asiatic Company. Although the company was mainly responsible for trade in the Dutch East Indies (today's Indonesia), they had a trading outpost and saw-mill concessions in Thailand. Asiatique is the restored version of these colonial saw-mills. I am not a big fan of turning historical sights into Disneyland, but if you asked the thousands of tourists that flock to Asiatique each night, I am sure they would disagree.