Movin’ On Up Like George And Weezy

We may never know whether or not fish will fry in the kitchen or if the beans would burn on the grill here, but we have definitely moved into a Dee-luxe Apartment In The Sky. Writing from a living room with 30 foot glass windows overlooking Lumpini Park and the Bangkok skyline, I would say we've we've come a long way since Emily stayed in the hostels of Khao San Road or my days at the only slightly better Vietnam-era Hotel Atlanta tucked into a no-longer existent alley off of Siam Square, where one could get a decent room for 300 Baht ($6.80 at that time, $10 today). Now, we share a soi (an alley-way/sidestreet which make up the neighborhoods of any Thai city) with the St. Regis and have Italian restaurant downstairs. 

Up here in our two-story penthouse on the 24th floor, we contend with the problems of figuring out which remote activates which of the automated window shades, how many air conditioners we want on and which switch or knob can turn off the gigantic chandelier. The kids argue over whether the heated Japanese toilet seat is a good or a bad thing. We have to remember to change from the downstairs wifi router to the upstairs one and vice versa to ensure our most optimized Internet experience. And when the downstairs hot water heater wasn't working, they building engineer came right over at 9pm.

While you might think we spent the day or at least the afternoon – or at least the evening enjoying our new digs, moving in down the hall from Helen and Tom Willis was the least of our very long and full first day. As is typical to a first day in Thailand, no one slept very late – by 6:30 everyone was up and by 6:45 we had our negative COVID test results and we were free from hotel quarantine. We decided to celebrate with the buffet breakfast at the hotel restaurant which featured a fantastic blend of western, Chinese and Thai foods and a slough of questions from Sennen.

Given that we had an appointment to check-in to our Airbnb penthouse at noon, we couldn't start the day with a major attraction like the Grand Palace or Wat Pho as Emily would have liked. So we decided to simply walk out the hotel doors and explore the area. We headed toward Siam Square the retail center of Bangkok and arguably the world. With some of the most luxurious malls containing everything from high-end brands to luxury supermarkets to first class movie theaters to sea aquariums, to DESSERT FOOD COURTS, it's easy to find something interesting to experience. Since the malls don't open before 10 am, we spent some time visiting a local, almost hidden Wat (Buddhist temple) and then taking a two-stop ride on the Sky Train, just for the experience of it. 

We quickly discovered that our children's (and particularly Ailyn's) stamina was not at its peak yet. Ailyn regularly wanted to stop walking and rest. We realized after our exploration of Siam Square and the incredible Siam Paragon mall – complete with a stop for top-level Thai iced tea – that the afternoon would need to be on the easy-side. Despite best intentions, we failed to provide.

Instead, after checking out of our hotel, taking a mini-van taxi to our Dee-Luxe Apartment In The Sky and getting a tour of the new digs, we decided to go somewhere local for lunch and then perhaps either to a temple or a longtail boat ride on the Chao Phraya and its khlongs (canals). Emily thought that going to an outdoor market outside the nearby CentralWorld mall would be a fun and interesting way to do lunch. Only, it turned out to take a lot more walking that expected to arrive at a market that didn't start until 3pm. As a tired Ailyn's face turned to defeat and frustration, we decided to go inside CentralWorld and eat at the very nice food court where we could choose from a giant selection of Thai specialities. Bailey's day of many firsts went from pad mee noodles at breakfast to Thai iced tea in the late morning to tofu pad Thai, som tam, and coconut sticky rice with fresh mango for lunch while her cousins happily prattled on about each food, what they liked about it, and even what they're made from (such as Ailyn's comments on how many chilis are safe in som tam and Sennen's thoughts on the ideal amount of tamarind sauce in pad Thai). 

After lunch, we realized that going home meant the kids would likely fall asleep too early. We needed to keep going – but nothing too strenuous. So, we opted for a longtail boat ride – easy, passive, cool, refreshing. At least it was for four of us. Ailyn on the other hand, decided she didn't feel safe in the boat – especially if it swayed or felt too choppy. Despite assurances that it was safe, my holding her the entire time and reminders that she had done the very same boat ride twice before in her life, Ailyn was viscerally afraid and cried. 

"I would rather show my privates than do this!" she yelled in exasperation.

However, once we turned off the main river and into the calmer and more interesting khlongs, Ailyn was able to relax and enjoy more. At one point there was a pink house on one side of the khlong and a purple on on the other. This auspicious sign began to turn the tide for Ailyn, which was only reinforced by the giant sitting Buddha at the temple just beyond the houses. Not far past there, our longtail driver pulled us over to the side where a woman came up and offered us stale bread for 10 Baht. Confused at first, we want along with it and discovered the bread was to break into pieces and throw into the water in order to draw up the giant Plat Duk – that Thai catfish – to the surface. Once this began, everyone enthusiastically tore up bread and created a fish storm in the waters. Sennen was the recipient of an overzealous catfish's splashes and got sprayed in the face twice from which he buckled over in laughter. Ailyn proudly claimed to be hit in the eyes twice. From there, its was literally and figuratively smooth sailing as the kids and Bailey contemplated life in the khlongs and what it must be like to live in some of those rickety homes on stilts – and what it means.

As we were passing the incredibly beautiful and luxurious IconSiam Mall along the river, close to ending our boat ride, Ailyn said to me, "Sennen doesn't appreciate who I really am." He had laughed when seeing her fear and trepidation and she thought he was making fun of her. I explained that Sennen isn't as empathetic as she is and that he may not have so easily related to what she was going through. Sennen then chimed in and said that he wasn't making fun of her but found it funny that the two of them had such different reactions to what was going on. When the longtail boat went fast, Sennen was thrilled while Ailyn was scared. All the things he was enjoying were problematic to her. Ailyn seemed able to accept his intention but wanted nothing more than to go back to our apartment.

Realizing that Ailyn had asked for the check, we decided to get her home directly. Because there's a Skytrain station literally at the end of our soi, we took the Skytrain back. Emily got off with Sennen and Ailyn at our stop while Bailey and I went two more stops to a mall to go grocery shopping (most supermarkets are inside of malls). Bailey got her first Thai grocery experience at Tops Supermarket in the aging Malbukrong Center followed afterward by a trip to the upstairs for court to gather take away including pad-see-ew, khao man gai krop, kaho pad gai and khao pad kang kiew waan kung for dinner at home. Best of all, while waiting in the checkout line, we saw a candy called Poo Poo – jelly filled bonbons that look like….poop. Of course I had to get that for the kids who found the whole idea far more hysterical than they found the product good. It turns out that in any package poo poo still tastes like shit.

Overall, it was an incredibly full first full day. With all the moving domiciles and walking and exploring the city – outside and in malls – the kids were worn out. Bailey may have been saturated. And the day was well used – even if it was a little less than Emily might have liked and a little more than the kids were ready for. But what does it matter? We have another week here in Bangkok and no schedule we need to keep. Even from our giant glass windows, there is much of Bangkok to be seen and understood.