Fireworks, Hot Dogs and Shark Attacks!

One of the hard things about living so far away is having to pick and choose the few precious aspects of home life I get to return for each year. It's impossible to go back for everything, with too many weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and other events competing for calendar space.

Christmas is the natural first choice for a visit to the USA, the one your family always expects you'll be back for. It's hard to explain to them that you've used up all your allotted vacation days gallivanting around Southeast Asia and by the time December's rolled around, you simply can't take any more days off work to come home! And it's also hard to explain that if you saved up your days for Christmas every year, you'd never get to visit for all the other times of the year that are just as dearly missed.

Yes, in addition to major holidays and events, there are so many beloved aspects of quotidian life that are equally priceless: a warm summer evening, winter storms watched through windows in a fire-lit family room, spring blossoms, autumn leaves. So I've gotten into a habit of rotating my visits, so that after a cycle of a few years, I manage to be home for different seasons to re-experience the things I miss most about American life.

This year, the time was ripe for a July visit to the great state of New Jersey. When I was booking my trip back to Hong Kong while home last Christmas, I had to decide when I would next be making my way stateside. (I always book a round trip ticket, the return leg being my next visit back.) Summertime in the tri-state area is something I truly love: the Jersey Shore, fresh produce, Independence Day celebrations, lightning bugs and the languid, leisurely tint that life takes on between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Hong Kong's "summer" can stretch for most of the year—and don't think I'm complaining about that! Still, there's something that feels particularly special about the season on the East Coast, due to how fleeting it is. And I love to come home for it.

Summer sunset in our backyard

My sister Danielle picked me up at Newark Airport late in the evening of June 30, and the next morning, the first thing we did was bolt down to Belmar to spend the day at her beach house. We walked along the waterfront, linked up with my cousin Michelle for a delicious lunch and then started the party, which lasted until the early hours of the morning!

Me and Danielle in Belmar

The next day I had to head back north to Old Bridge. Driving around running errands with my dad—oddly one of my favorite aspects of any trip home—I saw a sign posted about the centennial commemoration of the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916. Ever since I've been a little kid, I've been fascinated by the string of attacks that terrorized Beach Haven, Spring Lake and Matawan during that baking summer so long ago.

My hometown of Old Bridge borders Matawan, and our house even has a Matawan mailing address because it's actually closer to Matawan's downtown than that of Old Bridge. As a child, I spent a great deal of my free time there, and visits were always tinged with the stories of the shark attacks. One of my old favorite restaurants, the long-gone Poet's Inn on Route 79, was where I first learned about them. I remember going as a kid and reading the menu, where the cover page was the reproduced Matawan Journal from that day in 1916 detailing the vicious attacks on Lester Stillwell and Stanley Fisher. Although it was only happenstance that my visit happened to coincide with these centennial events, I feel very fortunate that the stars aligned and I got to be home for the anniversary.

By this point, my trip was already flying by, with Monday's Independence Day celebrations at my Aunt Paulette's house in Brooklyn happening before I knew it. The day was great, with a quintessential poolside barbecue spent with all my cousins, all culminating with the shooting off  of some fireworks on the street in front of the house.

Fourth of July Fun in Brooklyn !

My cousin Chris and his son Julian on Independence Day

Wednesday, Danii and I drove into Brooklyn again, this time to Coney Island to spend the day with my Aunt Marilyn, Uncle Bill and our cousin Jackson. We had the unhealthiest lunch imaginable at Nathan's (also celebrating its centennial this year) and rode the Cyclone and the Wonder Wheel, in addition to the obligatory Sideshow. Although Hong Kong has a few good hot dog spots, nothing beats Nathan's, and we threw in a load of French fries, fried clams and even frog's legs, all washed down with good old-fashioned lemonade. And the pitch perfect weather made the whole day even more memorable. 

A beautiful day on Coney Island's boardwalk

I only had one night in Manhattan this trip, riding the subway in from Coney on Wednesday afternoon. I met up with my friends Heidi, Jimmy and Kate, and we had a few drinks before going for an awesome Burmese dinner on the Upper West Side. Later, we unexpectedly bumped into my friend Courtney at one of the post-dinner watering holes we hit up, a pleasant surprise for sure!

Villanova '09 in Manhattan

On Thursday, I had a lovely al fresco lunch in SoHo with my French friend Ines, who left Hong Kong over a year ago and is loving life in the Big Apple. And she and my friend Edouard—whom I just missed since he had flown back to France for a few weeks two days before—recently got engaged and will be married in Bali next year! Needless to say, it was great to catch up with her and hear all about how Edouard popped the question!

Lunch with Ines at Aurora Soho

Of course, back in the Garden State, the rest of the week disappeared quickly. As a final cap-off to this trip, I took a trolley tour around Matawan on Saturday afternoon to commemorate the shark attacks, stopping at many sights in the town associated with the victims and heroes of that tragic day. It was a poignant and informative way to see this wonderful trip out. 

The trolley tour of the Matawan shark attack sites

People still leave toys on the grave of eleven year old victim Lester Stillwell.

Later that day, I drove into Brooklyn with my dad one final time to celebrate my aunt's birthday, and I took a car straight to JFK that night for the long flight back to Hong Kong. What a spectacular trip home! 

One Year With Fredric

As hard as this is to believe, I adopted Fredric one year ago this very day! That's right, it's been a full year since I brought the little mutt home to Happy Valley after first setting eyes upon him the day before at the Stanley SPCA. 

Flashback to our first encounter

He's grown so much—and destroyed so many of my possessions—in the twelve months that have since passed. But I wouldn't trade him for anything. And because I didn't have to be in the office until 1pm today, I took the opportunity to spend the morning with the "little" guy, who is now quite the big pooch.

One of Fredric's favorite places to play is the secluded, overgrown Race Course Fire Memorial hidden behind Hong Kong Stadium in the So Kon Po neighborhood of Causeway Bay. In all the times we've visited, I've only ever seen one other person there: a middle aged man lighting incense in memory of the victims.

It's a forgotten slice of Hong Kong history, but as dispiriting as I find it that more people don't know about the place, I also love having it as our secret spot, where Fredric and I can go chill out far from the madding crowd. 

As you can probably guess from the name, the monument commemorates the victims who perished when the grandstand at Happy Valley Racecourse was engulfed in flames during a tragic 1918 conflagration. It's designed in a fusion of both Asian and European influences, with terraced stone landings book-ended by gazebos, and a central memorial arch and altar embellished with traditional ceramic tiling and figurines. The whole enclosure is surrounded by hillsides jammed with bamboo, which often falls onto the upper terrace, providing Fredric with ample toys with which to amuse himself during our visits.

It was a perfect morning. I read the newspaper while he ran around exploring, and, as usual, we had the place all to ourselves. Cheers to making it a full year with me, Fredric, and here's to many happy returns of the day! 

The Unexpectedly Awesome Weekend

Friday evening after work, I made my way home slowly via tram—the traffic was horrible—with few plans and even fewer expectations for the impending weekend. I had two lame goals: to clean my bedroom and straighten out the rooftop. Both of these tasks are long overdue. And neither of them seemed to hold any promise for contributing to a particularly memorable weekend. 

So bent was I on accomplishing these tedious chores that I didn't even leave Happy Valley that night. I took Fredric to the dog park, stopped off for a few beers at the pooch-friendly Happy Alley, grabbed a bowl of ramen at a low-key Japanese restaurant around the corner and spent the rest of the evening watching old episodes of What's My Line. 

Awaking early on Saturday, I took Fredric out for his morning walk and quickly realized that it was shaping up to be a beautiful day. Yes, I could have returned home and gotten down and dirty with straightening up the flat. But I had a hunch the view from the Peak would be incredible, so instead, Fredric and I hopped in a cab and headed up. "You'll have the whole afternoon to clean," I convinced myself, "so you might as well take advantage of this glorious morning." 

Eggs Benedict and a Bloody Mary at the Peak Lookout convinced me I made the right decision. We had the restaurant's outdoor terrace all to ourselves, and then off we embarked on the circular walk around Harlech and Lugard Roads, which I've written before may be my absolute favorite thing about Hong Kong.

As expected, the views were peerless and in spite of the fact that I come up here regularly, I still spent a great deal of time just staring out over the city taking in the spectacular panorama. Midway through the circular walk, I felt my Blackberry buzzing in my pocket. My friend James had stumbled upon a sign promoting a free beer festival in Repulse Bay later that afternoon. He, his wife Katie and their friend Andrea decided to attend. Was I interested in tagging along? Of course, when faced between cleaning my apartment and drinking free beer, I always make the same decision. 

The beer festival actually started at 4pm, so we had some time to kill on the beach beforehand. But, in spite of a zero percent chance of rain according to Andrea's iPhone, ominous skies in the general direction of Ocean Park seemed headed our way. And as a tri-lingual announcement—first in Cantonese, then in Mandarin and, finally, in English—played over the loudspeakers, people began migrating indoors as a massive wind swept across the beach. Followed by heavy rain. 

We took shelter in the Pulse, stopping in the supermarket for beer and ice cream. And before long, the festivities began. It turned out, it wasn't so much a beer festival as a beer pong tournament. 

We had to pair off, register and choose team names. Andrea and I—the Liberty Belles, thanks to our mutual Philadelphian roots—didn't do so well. And I learned that I'm a far cry from my glory days at 'Nova. However, Katie and James—Typhoon Pong, owing to the unexpected torrential downpour that relocated the tournament from the waterfront patio to the interior of the mall—came in third place, garnering themselves a spot on the official podium of victory! 

By the tournament's close, the good weather had returned. So after Katie and James collected their prize, we relocated to the sandy beach and plopped down as the sun set, just chatting on for quite a long while. 

When I got home, I went to sleep fully expecting to proceed with the cleaning in the morning. Saturday had been forecast to be sunny and bright all day, while Sunday—the meteorologists warned—would be dark, thundery and stormy. So when I awoke to more beautiful skies, I was faced with another dilemma... You can probably guess what happened.

My friend Pierre recently moved to Hong Kong and is just starting to discover all the gems and charms of this incredible place. Early Sunday morning, he told me he felt "like escaping the city for an hour or two," if I had any suggestions.

"Well, we can spend the morning on the islands," I reasoned to myself, "and I'll still have the whole afternoon to clean." So I proposed sailing to either Cheung Chau or Peng Chau. 

In the end, we decided to do both. First we headed off to Peng Chau, arguably the most unloved of Hong Kong's major outlying islands. With the good weather in mind, I remembered an al fresco French café, Les Copains D'abord, misplaced in the small town's main square. It seemed like a perfect day for charcuterie and cheese washed down with a bottle of white. Then we could take the inter-island ferry to Cheung Chau for a fresh seafood feast. And from there, we could take the boat straight back to Central. 

When we disembarked at Peng Chau's pier, we discovered that Les Copains D'abord was, unfortunately, shuttered. But as we approached to read a sign posted on the door, a friendly Frenchman in a yellow t-shirt road up on his bicycle. "This is my bar. It's closed for a few months because of problems with the landlord. But let me show you around." 

His name was Bertrand and he took us all over Peng Chau's tiny web of streets, pointing out the historic temples, old wells, a former leather factory, an abandoned cinema and notable homes. He then took us to a small café and ordered three Tsing Taos. "After my place, this is the best spot on the island," he told us. With views of a local temple, the sea and the rolling hills, it was an idyllic venue for lingering. And we split another bottle after we had finished those first three.

There's little to see or do on Peng Chau, but as Bertrand pointed out to us, "that's why we love it here." It's possibly the most authentic of Hong Kong's easily accessible islands, with little of the encroachment of tourism or modernity found elsewhere. While hoards of visitors and expats all flock to Lamma, Cheung Chau or Lantau, pint-sized Peng Chau is left to cater mostly to the locals who call it home. 

Bertrand had to catch the boat to Central later, but before he left, he deposited us at a delicious Thai restaurant where we had fried rice, yellow curry, pork neck and—you guessed it—some more Tsing Tao. 

And during lunch, my new friend Jennifer called. She just moved to Hong Kong for a four month externship at the Hong Kong Jockey Club. A student at the Culinary Institute of America, she's working in the clubhouse restaurant in Sha Tin this summer, but she lives in Happy Valley a few buildings away from me on Blue Pool Road.

I told her we'd be heading over to Cheung Chau shortly if she wanted to meet up. And while Pierre and I waited for the inter-island ferry's departure, we hiked to the beach and explored more of the intriguing little island. Fredric loved playing in the sand and making as many friends as possible, of both the four-legged and two-legged varieties. 

When we were just about to get on the ferry to our next stop, the rain started. By the time we got off the boat in Cheung Chau, it was all over. Perfect timing indeed. We linked up with Jennifer, strolled the waterfront praya past all the seafood restaurants, snaked through the quiet alleys towards the beach, and made our way back to the harbor for dinner. In the end, we caught a 9:30 ferry back to Central, and Jennifer and I walked all the way back to Happy Valley. 

It's Monday now, and as I probably should have predicted given my track record, my room is still in disarray and the roof a mess. But, oh, what an unexpectedly awesome weekend! 

Birthdays, Bars and Bike Rides—Bangkok Style

The second half of my Bangkok adventure was just as much fun as the first.

Monday turned out to be my colleague Lily's birthday, which was duly celebrated with a pizza lunch in the office, and some post work libations. Our first drink was at one of the coolest bars in town, House on Sathorn, just across the street from the office. Ensconced within an immaculately restored nineteenth century mansion that later housed the Russian embassy, House on Sathorn now sits on the grounds of the W Bangkok Hotel. The imposing structure gives way to warm, hushed interiors. Post-work Singhas in this dreamy venue would surely become a mainstay of office life if I were ever based full time out of our Bangkok office! 

With the team at House on Sathorn

After a few more pints in another nearby bar called M Pub, I bolted off to Khaosan Road for an extra special reunion with my friend Nikki. When I was a kid, I went to an amazing summer camp in Princeton called Albemarle. After I was too old to attend as a camper, I returned as a staff member, spending two years as a "zombie" (the kitchen staff, who wake up uber-early to set up for breakfast, hence the nickname) and another year as a counselor. My three summers as a camper and three further ones on staff at Albemarle have long lingered in my memory as some of my best memories. 

So when I saw on Facebook that Nikki, one of my former campers, was in Thailand, I shot her a message. It turned out she was in Bangkok for one night, and one night only, and so we hatched a plan to meet up for drinks at a cool bar called Madame Musur, just off Khaosan Road. 

What a great time we had, sipping cold beers, singing old camp songs and reminiscing about all the good old days! We brought up practically every name we could remember from those summers. And of course, there was plenty of post-camp life to catch up on, including what brought each of us from the great state of New Jersey to the magical land of Southeast Asia. 

It turned into a pretty late night, but it was so great to catch up with Nikki that it was totally worth it!

Tuesday was another fun night out with some office colleagues, including Ellie who was celebrating her birthday just one day after Lily! We started with burgers and Manhattans at a whisky and cigar joint cleverly called Whisgars. And then we migrated across the street to the uber-cool subterranean Maggie Choo's, where cheongsam-donning girls in matching black wigs sit upon swings and perch on ledges above the bar all while a jazz band performs in the dimly lit speakeasy displaying concrete busts of Queen Victoria and old paintings of schooners. 

As the group dwindled, ultimately leaving only my colleague Pauline, birthday girl Ellie and myself, we headed to Park Society, the rooftop bar of the Sofitel So, within walking distance of my hotel. A Clover Club complete with the dreamy view made for a perfect nightcap over the twinkling metropolis.

I could hardly believe it, but Thursday was my final day working out of the office. We all headed out as a team for farewell drinks after the five o'clock whistle, first at a new bar called Bunker and then back to M Pub for some cold pints and live music. 

Friday was a public holiday, and so I was a tourist again, and would remain one for the remainder of my trip. With my work days behind me, my accommodation also ran out. The company didn't mind paying for my return flight on Sunday, as long as I was able to sort my own hotel for the last two nights. I left it to the last minute, and in the end, I just wound up booking two extra nights in the Urbana, although I did have to switch rooms because my own was not available. The new one would be ready after 2pm, but I had to check out of my first room before noon. And with such a short time left in Bangkok, there were places to go and things to do, so I left my bags in the lobby and headed out!  

I took the river ferry up towards Khaosan Road and booked a bike tour for the following morning. Back in 2012, when I spent my Easter vacation in Thailand with Ally and Courtney, we did a nighttime cycle around Bangkok through Grasshopper Adventures that remains one of my favorite memories of the trip. And since Grasshopper also offers a morning tour of the city, it seemed like a no brainer to sign up for it! 

Then I hopped the bus to Dusit Park, where I planned to visit Vimanmek Palace, the last bona fide tourist attraction on my nearly-complete Bangkok to do list. The world's largest teak mansion, Vimanmek was once inhabited by King Rama V, though only for around five years. An English speaking guide took me on a private tour of the stunning home. What made it so compellingly intriguing for me was the personal side of the Thai monarchy on display. While many royal residences are decorated with oil paintings and silver statuary, Vimanmek was filled with family photographs and gifts from friends.  

In addition to the stunning park, a few other museums are also located on the grounds, so I checked out one detailing the history of Thai fabrics and another concerning royal white elephants before heading back home, with a stop for pad Thai before another boat journey to Sathorn pier. 

I wanted to be fresh as a daisy for my bike tour the next morning, so I decided to have a quiet night. (Because it was a Buddhist holiday, there was also a county-wide ban on alcohol for twenty-four hours, making it easy for me to lay low.) I wandered up Convent Road to Patpong, which hides an authentic French bistro in the midst of the debauchery of one of Bangkok's best known raunchy nightlife districts. In candlelit Le Bouchon, I feasted upon fois gras ravioli and an off-the-charts poached pear with ice cream. (Mercifully, they were still allowed to drizzle the ravioli in port and poach the pear in red wine despite the daylong prohibition.) 

Grasshopper Adventures certainly did the right thing by putting the word adventures in their name. If you are up for a leisurely cycle along quiet paths, their tours are not for you. But if you're up for a wild ride through the heart and soul of Bangkok, look them up next time you're in town! 

Many of the paths we rode along were scarcely wide enough for a single file line of cyclists. A few inches in the wrong direction, and you'd either be up against someone's wall or in a foetid canal. But what a way to see the city. We stopped for tasty Thai snacks under a bridge, explored a neighborhood temple and even rode a ferry with our bikes.

As our group wound its way back towards the Grasshopper Adventures headquarters at the tour's conclusion, I spied a structure in the distance that was undeniably the Giant Swing, a tourist attraction I'd read about but never seen. So after a root beer and wipe down in the air conditioned waiting room, I said goodbye to the group and headed over. 

Back in the day, a certain festival involved Brahmans swinging in arc formations in an attempt to grab bags of coins. The ceremony was cancelled in the mid-1930s due to fatal accidents, and the structure deteriorated over the ensuing decades. Alas, all that remains these days are the swing's massive pillars, themselves replacements of the originals, which had decayed beyond repair.

However, the temple adjacent to the swing, Wat Suthat, is most impressive indeed, with large wooden doors (said to be carved by King Rama II) and a stunningly painted interior. My Frommer's guide boasts that none other than Somerset Maugham declared its roof line to be the most beautiful of all Bangkok's temples. Who am I to disagree?

I had some tasty tom yum near the river before another ferry took me back to Sathorn. And I popped back up for one last stop in the office to collect my ties, suit jacket and laptop before heading home. After all the biking and wandering in midday Bangkok heat, one last swim in the Urbana's pool was certainly in order upon my return. 

For my last night, Kim and Punch were taking me out in Thong Lor for a crazy Saturday night on the town, Bangkok-style. We had an amazing dinner at a place called Soul Food Mahanakorn, before bar hopping all over the trendy district. At one spot, the Iron Fairies, a sultry jazz singer, Tere', who turned out to be from Philadelphia, serenaded us barflies with classic numbers and indulged my request for The Way You Look Tonight. Although bars close early in Bangkok, it was still a night to remember, for sure.  

You'd think a 2pm flight would still give you a nice chunk of the day to enjoy before heading to the airport. But between packing, checking out and allowing for uncertain traffic conditions, all I had time for was an ice coffee and some local street food before heading off, but hopefully many future trips to our Bangkok office are in the cards for me! 

Back in Bangkok

I'm lounging on the bed in my hotel room in Bangkok right now, peering down upon the non-stop traffic flowing along Sathorn Road, twenty-seven floors below me. I've been here just shy of a week, and I'm only midway through the fortnight I plan to spend in the Big Mango.

Ever since I started working for my firm—in August of 2014—I've been pushing my boss to send me to our Thailand office. Unfortunately, there wasn't ever really a bona fide business purpose to justify such a trip. But last October, I switched roles and began working very closely with a team based here.

Almost immediately, I was in near-constant phone and e-mail communication with a group of people I'd never met. And so each time my boss came to Hong Kong, I'd beg, "Dan, is there any chance I can make the trip over to Bangkok? I really think it would be great to meet everybody down there." He'd usually retort with some vague promises of a future visit, but a couple of weeks ago, he called me to say it would finally happen. 

I arrived last Monday evening, late at night. After clearing customs, I hopped a cab straight to the Urbana Sathorn Hotel, just about a ten minutes' walk down Sathorn Road from the office.  

Anyway, the first week at work was great. Getting to know the team on a personal level has been so much fun, and they've all been so kind to me, taking me for lunch, buying me Thai ice teas in the morning and even presenting me with a sweet smelling bouquet of jasmine flowers for my desk. Of course, there have even been a few nights on the town, too. And I look forward to more to come!

Out with the team!

But as fun as the week was, I was extremely excited for my free weekend! In spite of a solid night out on Friday, I was still up at the crack of dawn on Saturday, excited to have a full day to explore at my leisure. 

I've been to Bangkok a couple of times, and I've checked most of the major "tourist attractions" off of my list. Of course, I'll always be up for a return visit to the Grand Palace or the National Museum. But leading up to this trip, I made a list of places I wanted to hit up that I've not been able to include on previous itineraries. 

After breakfast at the hotel and a pit stop in the office to Google directions to my desired destinations, I made my way to the Thai Red Cross to visit the Snake Farm. Despite its rustic name, the farm is actually a research center in the middle of the city. If you go during the week, you can even observe an actual venom extraction. Alas, my only significant free time is on weekends, so I'll have to save that demonstration for a future vacation. However, even on the weekends, there is a daily snake handling show.

The Thai Red Cross

To both the delight and trepidation of the gathered crowd, unflinching snake wranglers presented a bevvy of poisonous cobras, kraits and vipers, in addition to less toxic pythons and tree snakes. There was bi-lingual commentary in the form of a funny, young Thai man who—in between corny jokes—informed us of the various eating habits and characteristics of the serpents.

Twin cobras

As a nice finish, the team brought out a massive but 'docile' Burmese python, with whom we were allowed to pose for photographs.

The "docile" Burmese python

The BTS (Bangkok's sky train, as most visitors refer to it) was my mode of transport to the second attraction of the day, Jim Thompson's House, one of Bangkok's most popular tourist spots. It's actually a place I've wanted to see in the past, so it's a bit perplexing how it took until now for me to finally visit. 

Jim Thompson was an American who came to Thailand during the Second World War. Enamored with Bangkok and fascinated by traditional Thai culture, he moved here permanently afterwards, with an ambition to revive Thailand's silk traditions. When costume designer Irene Sharaff used his fabrics for The King and I, he shot to international fame, and he purchased land near a klong (a Thai canal) to display his treasures.

Jim Thompson's House

His "house" is actually a collection of old teak structures from elsewhere in Thailand, which he purchased and had reassembled in an idyllic garden setting. He added some Western touches, like chandeliers, Italian marble flooring and indoor toilets, but he also adhered to time-honored Thai customs, like raising the houses on stilts to safeguard from flooding during the rainy season and tiling the rooftops with traditional stones. 

Jim Thompson slept here...

Thompson mysteriously disappeared on Easter Sunday in 1967, while on vacation in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia. But his efforts to restore the Thai silk industry to international importance were successful, and his house stands as a testament to his legacy.

Thompson's garden

Funnily enough, the next stop of the day was also a museum consisting of reconstructed teak homes reassembled in a garden: the Suan Pakkad Palace Museum. In fact, as I started along down the road away from one destination to the next, a Thai lady asked me where I was headed. When I told her, she practically rolled her eyes and said, "Why? It's the same thing as the Jim Thompson House!"

I'm glad I wasn't dissuaded by her lack of enthusiasm, because the Suan Pakkad Palace Museum is a gem of a place, and I feel very fortunate to have seen it. While both the snake farm and the Jim Thompson House were popular attractions teeming with other visitors, Suan Pakkad was mostly deserted during my visit.

Suan Pakkad Palace Museum

My friend Angele's brother Elie just moved to Bangkok a couple of weeks ago for a six month internship. I'd met him when he came to visit her in Hong Kong, and when she put us in touch via Facebook, we exchanged contact information. Earlier that day, I'd sent him a WhatsApp to tell him my itinerary. But I was still shocked when I heard someone call out my name in the hushed upper floors of one of the teak mansions of Suan Pakkad!

The Lacquer Pavilion

It was fun to catch up with him, and after we left the museum, we stopped for a Singha at a little roadside cafe in the shadow of the BTS line. Another friend had earlier suggested I check out a cool little rooftop bar near Victory Monument, and when Elie and I realized we were only two stops away, we headed there.

The name of the place is Sky Train Jazz Bar, and although it's only on the fifth floor (and in a walk-up building, to boot), it's an amazing little spot where I hope to return for many repeat visits. We indulged in perhaps a few too many ice cold Singhas while the sun set and those BTS trains just kept whizzing past!

Sky Train Jazz Bar

Down below afterwards, Elie and I made some Thai friends while we feasted on roadside curry in what appeared to be a happening nightspot. The buzzing Saturday night atmosphere was palpable, as hundreds of mostly local twenty-somethings all gathered with one another for street food and chit chat. 

New friends...

Afterwards, I hopped on the BTS home, took a shower and... promptly fell asleep! I had intended on getting dressed and heading back out, but it just wasn't in the cards. Maybe I'm getting old. But it was an amazing, exhausting day, so I think a good night's rest was well deserved. 

Owing to the early night, I arose even earlier this morning than I did yesterday! And so it was no problem whatsoever to be seated at the quaint Christ Church, just across the street from Urbana, in time for 7:30am mass. 

Back at the hotel, I had breakfast before heading out for more adventures. While Google had proved invaluable yesterday, and their directions worked out perfectly, the sights I selected for today—Siriraj Hospital's Medical Museum and the National Museum of Royal Barges—were not as easy. Apparently, a local bus was my best shot at getting to the general vicinity without multiple switches, but the names of all the streets were only listed on Google in Thai, and so I could only get a general idea of where I was going. 

Outside the Urbana, bus 149 approached, and I held up my hand to flag it down. It slowed a bit and the doors opened, so I grabbed the handrail and pulled myself aboard. I wasn't even fully up the steps before the bus was back on the highway again! 

I found a seat and forked over the nine baht fare to the ticket lady, whom I asked if the bus was headed towards Siriraj Hospital. A perplexed stare informed me that she didn't understand where I wanted to go. "It's all right. I'll figure it out," I told her. Sathorn Road seems constantly gridlocked during the week, but the bus hit very little traffic as we made our way through Bangkok. 

Bus 149

Unsure of where to alight, I kept my eyes pealed, and eventually spotted a sign that said, "Siriraj Hospital" with an arrow indicating the proper direction. At the next stop I hopped out, and duly found the massive complex. The museum itself was more elusive, but a little wandering among the vast grounds and I stumbled upon it. 

I say "it" but "them" would be more accurate, because Siriraj Hospital actually houses a whopping six museums! A ticket for three hundred baht gains you entrance to the lot of them. 

On the grounds of Siriraj Hospital

The first museum is a history of the sight itself, which is housed in an old train station. It's a good mixture of the story of the hospital and how it came to be, in addition to the development of Western medicine in Thailand. 

The museum is housed in an old train station.

But the cooler exhibits were those ensconced in the Forensic Science and Anatomical Museums, where displays of deformed medical specimens and skeletons are preserved, including skulls of car accident victims, mummified corpses of murderers who had been sentenced to death, and many conjoined sets of twins. 

The exhibits are a little macabre.

After I was sure I'd seen every possible bit of the museums, I tried to figure out how to get to my next destination to see the National Museum of the Royal Barges. This is where the government houses and displays the teak boats used in formal river processions, and it's located just across a short canal from the hospital. At the water's edge, I could literally see the barges from where I stood, but there was no ferry to take me across! 

I had to settle for a pedestrian crossing via a bridge, which was a little annoying. But once I was inspecting the intricately carved and painted boats, it didn't seem to bother me any more. 

Intricate detail on one of the royal barges

Like Jim Thompson's House, this museum has been on my radar for a long while, so I'm glad I was at long last able to admire these unique royal vessels. The figureheads were immense and colorful, while the long, slender bodies of the boats were carved and painted with fanciful mythological figures and eye-catching geometric designs. 

Impressive figurehead

After leaving the museum, I took a wander along the klongs and down small alleyways, eventually emerging on a major road lined with food stalls. I was desperate for a Pad Thai, but I inspected each stall and none seemed to offer the dish that, in my memory, had been available pretty much everywhere. Exasperated, I came to the final one, and asked the owner, "Do you have Pad Thai?"

"No," he informed me with an uptick in his inflection, "but what we have is much better."

Defeated and starving (though not yet quite convinced) I said, "Sure. I'll try it." I needn't have doubted him. The noodles and chicken in a delicious sauce was pure perfection, and I enjoyed chatting with the friendly owner who clearly took pride in his food as he watched me down it with relish.

Amazing street food

At this point, I'd checked the day's two items off of my Bangkok to-do list, and I was content to head straight home the same way I'd come, perhaps rewarding myself with a nice swim in the Urbana's pool. Back towards the hospital I went, as I retraced my steps searching for the bus stop to whisk me home. I found it easily enough, but something convinced me to keep walking, and on the next corner, I saw a sign indicating that a ferry pier was nearby. 

"A ferry?" I thought to myself. "Let me investigate if there's a way home via the water." 

To my utter delight, when I got to the pier, I discovered there was actually a boat to a place called "Sathorn." I asked the ticket lady if that meant that the boat went to Sathorn Road, and she said, "Yes. Sathorn. Fourteen baht." 

View from the pier

So in addition to successfully visiting both of the sights I planned to see today, I got a bonus sunset ride down the Chao Praya, past the Grand Palace, Wat Arun and all the other beautiful sights along Bangkok's signature river. 

Chao Praya sunset

Sathorn Pier, it turns out, is just a little bit further down the road than our office building. Walking along the road in my suit and shirt during the week is far from enjoyable, but in shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops, it was a lovely little jaunt. And before long, I was back at the Urbana, finally ready for that dip in the pool. 

Twilight dip at Urbana

Bring on week number two, Bangkok! And keep your eyes on this space for more of my adventures in the Land of Smiles!