Author: Newley

So I got a haircut today — the first one in a while. Best trim I’ve ever received for the equivalent of $10 US (400 Baht). Multiple washings, massage, blow dry, consultation with hair style manuals, application of exotic hair gels, etc. If you’re ever in Bangkok, go to The Blue Wave in the bottom of the MBK Center. And tell ’em Newley sent you.

Side note: the young lady pictured here was actually not the one who cut my hair (she was merely an understudy, it appeared, and was blow drying my hair between two stages of cuttings). The one who got the honor of shaping my coiffure was a 30-something Thai man with dyed blonde hair; he moved around me with imperiousness and was not in a joking mood.

After he’d finished, I had to argue with him for a good five minutes in order to escape without getting the “white hairs” colored out of my mane. He kept saying “only 20 minutes, only 20 minutes — all hair color same same,” while I insisted, repeatedly, “no thank you, no thank you!”

I’m leaving on the night train this evening for Chiang Mai, in the northwest of Thailand. Never been up that way before, so I’m excited.

I’ll try to post from there, but can’t promise anything. I’ll likely be in Chiang Mai and surrounding areas for several days or week (though if I really like it, of course, I’ll stay longer).

In the meantime, check out a couple of Bangkok-related Gridskipper posts I’ve made this week — one’s about Saxophone Pub, and the other’s on the Chatuchak Weekend Market.

(And by the way, for those of you who’re into RSS, there’s now a feed available for all of my Gridskipper dispatches.)

A few observations after being in Bangkok for a week (my first lengthy return to the city since 2002):

1. Thai cowboys rule:

I spotted this dude at the Chatuchak Weekend Market yesterday (where, incidentally, there appears to be a thriving market for apparel from small, private universities who most people outside of the American southeast have never heard of; i.e. my alma mater).

2. Elephants are fun to feed:

This precocious pachyderm and his handler came up to the restaurant where I was eating. I paid 20 Baht (about US $.50) to feed him some fruit.

3. Siam Square, the neighborhood where I’m staying, is a satisfying mix of commercial and residential districts with a small tourist-related street (hotels, guest houses, restaurants) set off to the side. The place is buzzing with activity; here’s a shot I took from an elevated Sky Train platform one night:

4. On my previous Bangkok visits, I’d never been to Jim Thompson’s House; it’s well worth a peek. Though photography isn’t allowed inside, I snapped this pic outside the gates, along the banks of one of the city’s many khlongs (canals); for some reason I really like it:

5. The food. My God, where do I start? I haven’t taken many pics of the gustatory sensations I’ve been sampling simply because they seem too myriad to document. I’ve been eating most of my lunches and dinners at street-side food stalls, which are cheaper and tastier than the foreigner-oriented joints, and I can only say this: I am in culinary heaven.

The rest of my pics so far are in my newly-created Thailand photoset.