Thailand - The Place for Shopping

So here it is Tuesday night and I owe you all a blog post. I have been busy since Saturday which was my last post, remember, Buddhas on the Move. . . well on Sunday I decided to be brave. Karl had to work so I decided to put my trust in God that He would protect me, and I went out into the streets of Bangkok all alone. One of the locals at work told me about an outdoor market called JJ Market that happens on the weekends so I decided I would go check it out. I went to breakfast here at the Dusit Thani and around 10:30, maps in hand I headed out for the sky train to take me to the end of its rail, the last stop on the Siam Line called Mo Chit.

For 40 Baht (1.20 cents US) I hopped on the train at Silom and began my trek to Mo Chit. I had to get off the train in Siam and change trains to get there, which I did with the assistance of the security guard. Good thing he spoke a little bit of English.

I went through stops with the names of Ratchathewi, Phaya Thai, Sanam Pao, Saphan Khwai to name a few.

The entire ride took about 25 minutes and when I got to my destination it was at a beautiful park called Chatuchak Park in Bangkok.

As I approached I saw the standard street markets but then I entered a lot which was filled with locals selling all kinds of wares. The place was wall to wall sales people selling everything from prepared food to fresh local fruits to drinks. There was clothing of any type at all, shoes, pants, shirts, underwear, swimwear, shorts, sarongs, any type of clothing you could think of. Some made by hand, some brand name knock-offs. I saw many local artists with paintings and sculptures, pottery, kitchen ware and furniture. There were local people there playing music, piano, banjo and some native instruments. It was awesome to see so many talented people able to display and sell their goods to anyone interested in purchasing them. I posted pictures here, enjoy them.

When I first arrived there weren't a lot of people but as the morning progressed, the entire place was wall to wall with visitors from all over the world. I spent about 3 hours there an finally decided I had enough of the crowds and found my way back to the train.

I realized it was around 2:30 and since church didn't start until 6:30 I decided to head back toward my hotel and walk around the streets there in the daytime and go to my favorite place to eat, Fuji Sushi Bar. I hopped back on the train, switched lines without any assistance this time and made it back safely. For lunch I had a cucumber Maki roll and some Katsu chicken with rice and two 7 Ups as all of the drinks here are tiny, like the people, LOL!!

After lunch I decided to find the Bangkok Christian Guest House where service was going to be held and found myself meandering around the streets a bit as I was feeling a little more confident walking in Gods grace, with my headphones on, singing my favorite worship music.

Lo and behold I ended up in the Phat Phong area which is well known for its sex trade. Wouldn't you know the first person that sees me offers me "ladies". I tell him no thank you and keep walking. About 20 feet later, another one offers me "ladies" and if I don't want them then how about "boys", "NO THANKS", "then how about DVD?" "NO THANKS" and I briskly walked back to the comfort of my hotel about 150 feet away. Mind you this was in the light of day around 3:30 or so. I can only imagine what happens there at night.

After that I called Karl and we attended a nice service offered by the International Church of Bangkok led by a pastor from South Carolina who has been serving in Bangkok for about 3 years now with his wife and kids. About 30 people attended this new service being offered. The standard services are held at the church at 10:00 in the morning. They had just started this new service time and are trying to determine if there is a need for it. We got to witness a baptism of a local lady so that was cool seeing how God is working here in Thailand, a predominantly Buddhist country. From there it was back to the hotel for some reading and off to bed.

Speaking of bed, its 11:51 PM and I must retire now. I should have another post tomorrow with lots of pictures of the river boat cruise my client took me on so watch for that.

Til we meet again. . .