#Sip song bar bangkok zip

The last in a long line of Siamese capitals, Bangkok was established only 200 years ago. At the airport, I glimpse a saffron-robed monk bless the gleaming nose of a brand-new Thai Airways 767.Įven its history simmers. An idle salesgirl suddenly begins to massage my neck as she chats with her work mate, who fetches shoes in my size.

Thai temple dancers in glittering costume appear out of nowhere to perform at a tiny outdoor shrine wedged between the Japanese Sogo Department Store and a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet. Yet arriving in Bangkok-the “City of Angels” or Krung Thep in Thai (only foreigners call it Bangkok)-is to find it resembling another “City of Angels'-Los Angeles-during a climatic inversion half a world away.Īt first glance, it resembles a gray cocoon wrapped in a gray sky, but begin to explore the streets and the exotic Siamese charm that has enchanted travelers for centuries seems to define itself in front of your eyes. Squeezed between Myanmar (formerly Burma), Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia-Thailand is synonymous with exotic. Rattling along in a tuk-tuk means, in no uncertain terms, that I’m back in Bangkok. All the soot you can breathe is free.ĭraped around its lifelessly dangling rear-view mirror are dozens of religious amulets and a crucifix donated, no doubt, by some tuk-tuk fearing Christian who felt his prayers had been answered when he survived the trip through madcap Bangkok traffic.

#Sip song bar bangkok zip

It will zip you up Soi Sip Song or down Klong Toey, halfway across Bangkok for less than two dollars. I jump into the back seat of the “tuk-tuk.” Nicknamed for the sound of its smoke belching, two-stroke engine, the taxi is an indigenous Thai three-wheeled contraption that is part motorcycle, part pedicab. “One hundred baht.” “No way, 30 baht.” “Fifty baht, OK?” OK. In spite of the hardships of everyday life, better to keep things fun.

It’s in the big smile that flashes easily in the “never mind” philosophy. It’s one of the first things you notice about Thailand.