My Solo visit to the Klong Toei Market

First some background:

Klong Toei is one of the 50 districts in Bangkok.

It is home to a major port on the Chao Phraya River which is the largest river in Thailand. To compare, it would be like the Mississippi in the USA. The district has a MRT (Subway) station and a famous market. And of course a port on the Chao Phraya. Klong Toei is known for its poverty. It is also home to famous "Mercy Centre" which cares for orphans and those with AIDs. I have an "on-line" friend who is a cousin to it's founder Fr. Joe Maier. He is the "Father Theresa" of Bangkok (my term). I hope to visit Mercy Centre during this visit.

Here is a link: http://www.mercycentre.org/

I shouldn't have a problem to do so. My apartment is located at the boundary of Klong Toei and the Wattana District which is on the north side of Klong Toei.


The Klong Toei Market is known as a "Wet" because the pavement is wet - not just from water, but from everything that is being butchered for sale.

I walked to Asoke BTS station - which is located by our offices then took the MRT to Klong Toei station which was only 2 stops away. Total cost 8 THB or ($.23 cents).

The Subway in Bangkok (MRT) is exceptionally clean and on Saturday there were few people at all.

I walked only about 300 meters from the station before I reached the "food stalls" at the Klong Toei Market. Along the way I saw this Soi Dog (Street dog) enjoying the exceptionally cool weather. Normally if one saw a dog laying on the pavement in Bangkok in the sun, the dog would be sick. This one looked like he had been taken care of a little. Nice outfit

The food stalls at the Klong Toei Market are like any found on the streets in Bangkok. But the food may be fresher ?

Delicious food in mass quantities for all to see, purchase and enjoy.

Next to the food stations are the tables where customers can enjoy an outdoor meal right next to the kitchen. The Chef is always in view

And so is the dishwasher.

A walk across another Fly Over and I was in the Klong Toei "Wet" Market.

There are rows and rows of fresh vegetables.

And fruits.

Some of which are difficult to find in Kansas City, especially "Dragon Fruit" shown on the right. Looks fancy, but inside it is quite plain.

After taking the picture of the strawberries I turned and a vendor, older man, started yelling at me and giving me a look that could kill. Everyone close by stopped what they were doing - and there was silence. I didn't know what I did wrong. This was the first time I felt uncomfortable in Bangkok. Klong Toei is not a place where tourist visit - although I did see a few. Perhaps the man was angry I was taking pictures and not buying. I thought about taking his picture, but had a second thought I may not be able to post here for a long time. I understand now that the Klong Toei Market may not be the best place for a Westerner to visit without a Thai friend.

I made my way quickly to another street in the Market. Poultry, Meats and Fish !

How fresh can a chicken dinner be? Killed plucked and cooked right before your eyes. The cages you see behind the table are full of live chickens!

Or if you want, take it home killed, plucked and raw.

If Chicken is not your fare, how about fish, lots of it, all types; dead, alive and in between.

And if not Chicken or Fish, how about Meat? Of all kinds.
If this pic on the right were a painting, it would be called "Dangerous Girl with Cleaver"

The red umbrellas that extended over the meat stalls only added to the sensation of "raw".

And let me not forget to mention the traffic - yes traffic. In between small aisles, wet with blood and water, there were cars, motorcycles and would you believe very large trucks that passed by, causing one have to go into the stalls, sometimes even behind the counters just to get out of the way.

Amazing Thailand!

After walking to the end of one of the "fresh meat" aisles I turned the corner and found myself walking down another "Veggie" aisle. The negative experience I had was still in my mind. I was a bit nervous about being here. Then I saw this lady selling vegetables. She was dressed in the traditional "hat and scarf" I've see worn by so many vendors. I snapped a picture. I pulled my camera away from the shot and then saw a man in the next stall get the lady's attention. He said a few words and I thought I heard him say "Yim" (which means "smile" in Thai). I waited, and sure enough she did. I took a couple more pics then took a risk and said to her "Suay" (Beautiful) - she laughed and gave me this final pose.

This final experience helped balance the negative one I had earlier with the "grumpy old man". It tipped the scales in favor of the good times I've always enjoyed in Bangkok.

All in all I am glad I went to Klong Toei Market. It has been on my 'places to visit' for sometime. If I feel the need to visit again, I'll invite one of my Thai friends to join me.

Along my walk to the office

My apartment is located just a 10 minute walk from my office. 10 minutes once you can get past the major intersection. The post date for this is the 16, but actually I took the pics on Saturday when it was not so crowded.

My apartment is on Soi (small street) 24. This street intersects with Sukhumvit Road (pronounced: Sook hum vit) which is the main road in Bangkok. At the intersection of every Soi there is the ubiquitous "Motorcycle Taxi Stand" and food vendors.

These are pictures of what is called Sukhumvit 24

<---- Looking West
Looking East---->

Also at the intersection, I have an entrance to the BTS (Bangkok Transit System) - the Sky Train. There is also a Subway system (MRT) and buses. I don't bother taking the Sky train since my office is at the next stop going west. But I do have to climb the stairs to cross over the busy street. There are many of these 'Walkovers" as they are called. Most walkovers have a long stairway divided into 2 or 3 sections. This one has 15+16+16 steps. Doesn't seem like much but if I'm carrying my computer or groceries, it can be a pain.

This day I decided not to cross the street so I could get a better shot at the landmarks I pass each day. The one on the left is a park. This little piece of "green space" adds a lot of "coolness" to the area when the weather is hot.

And there is the Farang (Foreigner) grocery store - Villa Market.

This is where I buy most of my groceries and laundry supplies. It caters to Westerners. Prices are higher than at Thai stores, but it is on my way to work. Another store is located at the Emporium which is just across the street from my apartment. I've not been there but will go and compare prices. Beats having to walk up and down a "Fly Over" for a loaf of bread.







And finally, here is the main entrance to my office building.








BTW: I trust my readers know they can click the pictures for a full screen view.

I've been conducting training classes.....

No pictures in this post. Just an update to say I've accomplished 2 of the 3 days of classes that I came here to give. Everyone seemed to enjoy. More info, along with pics (perhaps) over the weekend.

My Apartment

Main Living Area

The first picture on the left is taken coming into the apartment. It is the main living area. A nice flat-panel TV with DVD player and stereo can be seen in the far corner. The item on the wall above the TV is one of the AC Units - more about those later.

The second picture is taken from the far corner looking

back towards the entrance.

The apartment has separate for dining which for me is just another staging area for when I come home and unload my laptop bag and other items from the office. Notice the AC Unit on the wall.

Most of my time is spent here, at the desk (Office) which is in the main living area.

Bedroom

Next is the bedroom. It comes with a nice king size bed with an incredibly comfortable mattress. Notice the AC Unit on the wall.

The Bedroom also has decent TV.

Another special quality of the bedroom is that is has the ONLY VIEW possible.

It is behind curtans which are behind the TV I can see another house and part of the Emporium shopping center (tall building)

Kitchen

The kitchen takes some getting used to.

It is equipped with most items I use, but no such thing as "non-stick pans". The rice cooker I purchased is seen on the left.

The most difficult part of the kitchen to me is the single sink and not having a garbage disposal. I'm learning to eat everything possible from veggies I prepare.

A novel piece of the kitchen is the Ice Machine. Its manual but fun. It is divided into two parts as shown in this picture. The top part (white plastic) are the two small ice-cube-trays. They have handles. When the ice is frozen, one simply turns the handle and the ice-cubes pop down into the small tray (clear plastic). My fridge has food, but with all the fresh foods available in Bangkok, I have no use for the freezer except to make ice.

Bathroom

The bathroom is nice. And I especially like the shower

The most intimidating item in this apartment is the combo
Washer-Dryer. I've never seen such a thing.

How can you dry clothes in the same unit that you just washed them? Doesn't that take extra time to dry the wash-water out of the unit? I'll find out.

AC Units

And now for the AC Units. There are two in the main living area and one of the bedroom. Each has its own "remote control" which are mounted at eye level on the wall near each unit. I took one down and laid it on the dining room table for this picture. Climate control in three locations, all for a 55 sq meter apartment. And you don't' want to forget where you placed the remote. You could die of heat exhaustion or freeze to death before you found it.

Amazing Thailand.