Bangkok 2019
 

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© 2019 John Holstein
 
I spent about a week in Bangkok and was surprised at how much it had remained pretty much the same over the years. From Bangkok I got a train to Cambodia.
 
 
 
This street repairman strengthened the seams on my bag nicely.
 
 
 
This is the most elaborately festooned Bodhi tree I have seen. It's in the back lanes of Old Town.
 
 
 
 
 
Near the Bodhi tree.
 
 
 
 
A clean but soon-to-be very crowded and hot city bus.
 
 
 
 
 
There is very little street art in Bangkok, so I was surprised to come upon this one.
 
 
 
 
 
Gracious living in Old Town
 
 
 
 
Slow time in this neighborhood mini-market
 
 
 
 
 
These clusters of vendors are found throughout the Old Town back lane warrens.
 
 
 
 
 
One of many glorious Indian rain trees on the Chulalongkorn University campus
 
 
 
 
 
River City is a mall with luxury shops. For paupers like me, it's just a great place to cool off after walking the steaming streets of Old Town.
 
 
 
 
 
View from the River View Residences rooftop restaurant. It used to be the River View Guesthouse, where I stayed a few times for the great views of the river and the funky atmospherics of Old Town--and the very low price of very spartan rooms. The name change reflects a 25% higher price (high season, mid-December) and the rooms have been scaled up along with the price.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Chao Phraya is used for freight and people transportation and it's very crowded until evening, when the commuter ferries stop. Note how dangerously, thrillingly close those three ships on the left are to each other. The Han River in Seoul is just as wide, but is used for neither freight nor people; I have never heard a good explanation.
 
 
 
 
 
If you look at the size of the tables under the banyan trees you can get an idea of how huge the trees are.
 
 
 
 
 
This building was still being built in 1997 when Asia was hit with a destructive financial crisis. It is still incomplete. Note the clean white facing on the front of the ghost building.
 
 
 
 
 
Weekday late afternoon reading of the Diamond sutra at Wat Suthat.
 
 
 
 
 
Note the old packing twine that forms the wall of the dust pan.
 
 
 
 
 
I ate at this streetside restaurant in front of Hua Lamphong, Bangkok's main train station.
 
 
 
 
 
Hua Lamphong inside
 
 
 
 
 
Check out the blond visitor from the West, with her very young kids. Brings to mind the great movie The Impossible.
 
 
 
 
 
My seat on the funky early morning train to Cambodia.
 
 
 
 
 
Eeyoo, that window! She kept it closed most of the sweltering (for her) 5-hour ride to Cambodia.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
After a while I got my own window seat.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sepulchres in a Buddhist temple compound. I've never seen so many, not even at major temples in the city. They all appear to be generally the same age.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A beautiful village station half way to Cambodia. So clean and neat, it reminds me of stations in Japan. Next stop: Cambodia!
 
 
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