5 Things I Miss from Bangkok
Last week I had an unfortunate incident, my beloved iPhone is not functioning properly, I can’t make or receive a phone call (sending or receiving text message and using the rest of the application is not a problem). Before taking it to the Apple Store at IFC Mall I did a quick back up in my laptop, then off I go to the shop to get it fix. Cut the story short since the phone was purchased outside of China, it is not possible to exchange it here in Shanghai even-though it is still under warranty, yadda yadda yadda. Then my better half found a solution (as always) the phone is now in Hongkong for a week , being repaired.
But something struck me during the whole process, when I sync my photo album from the camera phone, I saw all the pictures that I took in Bangkok within less than a year period (we were residing there for 2 years), the first time ever since we left the city. It was only 4 months ago (exactly today!) we arrived in Shanghai but it felt much longer for no particular reason. I am sorting out the pictures just now and realized that I DO miss (besides all my dear friends of course) a lot of thing from our previous home.
Allright, since I have the blast from the past I am making a quick list in my head and I’m sharing it here, in priority order :
1. Panipa hair salon in Standard Chartered Bank building, Sathorn. I went there weekly to get my hair done, manicure, pedicure, facial, everything pampering. Little Miss got a special treatment too whenever she tag along. My hairstylist is Khun Dang, my pedicurist is Khun Da and my manicurist is Khun Yat. They are super lovely ladies, I miss them terribly. I haven’t found similar result here in Shanghai, it will take me a lot longer to do so I’m afraid, wish me luck. PS. below picture was taken by Khun Dang on my last pampering day at Panipa, we left Bangkok the next morning, I can’t believe I didn’t have picture with any of the ladies!
2. Driving. I miss my freedom, I would love to go everywhere I want anytime of the day without :
a. translating pinyin address to chinese character for the driver to go to
b. looking at map constantly
c. calling my husband secretary to translate some word to taxi driver when I think I’m lost (almost every time)
But there is no way I can drive by myself here in China, I will never do it, period. Below picture is me in our car driving after sending Little Miss to school.
3. The Temple, the Chedi, the Shrine. In Bangkok it felt like I am sort of living in Bali, everywhere I go I can see the offering, the incense sticks, the flowers, pretty similar like our tradition back home. It creates instant calming effect on me because I will bow my head and say a prayer whenever I pass by one. Picture below is The Chedi at Wat Phra Kaew taken from the Grand Palace ground, it was the evening of the King’s Birthday, I will never forget that photo walk, had some gorgeous shot of the celebration and also my first time releasing Yi Peng ( sky lantern ), will find the photos and blog about it separately
4. The Market, in particular Lalaisap day market in Sathorn. It opens only Monday to Friday between 10 to 2 pm, it is the best bazaar/daymarket in the city, apparently “Lalaisap” in Thai means “whatever money you bring, you will spend it” well it is difficult not to do so, you can find everything in such a good price that you kinda want to buy them all. You can get fashion items, food, fresh fruits, sweets, flowers, anything really. I took Little Miss there quite often too, she loves to get the dok mai (flower), a jasmine garland, that she put on her wrist just like in this picture below
5. The FOOD. Yes, Thai food is really awesome, I was very lucky to be there and able to enjoy it for 2 years. But talking about food made me miss Somtam+ our family hangout place, we went there almost 3 times a week that we became good friend with the owner, Roger (no picture of him either!). We order the same food every time we’re there, my mouth is now watering looking at this picture with all my favorite food on the table
I also LOVE mango sticky rice, the best dessert ever. When I found out our exact departure date to China drawing closer, I ate mango sticky rice daily. I know I’m gonna miss it when I leave Thailand (yup, would love to have a bite of it right now), here is the famous dessert picture
On the bright side, I read a quote the other day and it sums up my thoughts, it goes like this “Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived”. We had a fabulous time living in Thailand, it was a privilege to get to know the culture, meet the people, learn the language and making the best out of it. It is staying in our memory forever.
PPS. Speaking of the phone, my better half just walk in to the room to tell me that it is fixed and I will have it back in Shanghai by Saturday morning … wooo-to-the-hooo!
So you know how I feel about Indonesia where I lived quite happily for over 20 years. 4 years have passed, and I still miss even the traffic! It was a privilege and a blessing. And there is a little spot in my heart that hurts all the time because I miss it so.
One day I hope to meet you in Bali for a reunion, Inez. Somewhere in Jimbaran Bay, sending you lot’s of happy thoughts from here *big hug*
Wish you relocating to Stockholm mbok Geg, then you will get some of things that you miss from Bangkok 🙂 and we will see each other again as the good old days.