Bangkok: Teak Mansion, Siam Square and Lumphini Park

I worked until around noon today and then headed out into the city.  One thing I don't like about Bangkok is that it is not really a walking-friendly city.  There are big multi-lane roads and you often need to take a web of elevated skywalks to cross them.  Things that look like an easy walk on the map are not really that easy once you get there and realize you need to walk up and over.  And the tourist maps have the main roads marked but omit many of the alleys and smaller roads which seem to contain the most interesting things.

And the train system is not that great either.  There is a subway and a skyway and there are interchanges but you have to exit one before you can enter the other.  And the trains don't go to the main tourist attractions in Dusit and the Old City.  So, cabs are the way to go.  Cabs are relatively cheap compared to NYC - a half hour ride costs no more than $3.00, but it is not my preferred method of travel.

Anyway, I took a cab from the hotel to Vimanmek, "the world's largest golden teakwood mansion." (That's the English copy on the ticket).  It is a former palace.  Very beautiful and carefully maintained.  I didn't realize that I couldn't wear shorts on the grounds, so I had to buy a sarong.  There were many men and women walking around in sarongs.  On the grounds of the mansion, I also caught the Royal Elephant Museum.

To make up for last night's blow out I had a 20 baht (less than $1) lunch from a stall - chicken fried rice and it was very tasty.  After that, I cabbed it to Siam Square.  I went there in search of some art galleries - it appeared from my guide book that I'd find some there.  Not much luck, but I did bump into the Bangkok Art and Culture Center which had an exhibit of German comics and a wonderful exhibit of prints and drawings.  Then I walked around the Siam Square shopping stalls.  Across the street from a fancy mall with familiar chains, there is cluster of clothing stores mixed in with food and coffee shops.  It has a very young vibe, with clothing stores named things like "Post-Nerd" and "Minimal by Ab-Normal."

From there, I was determined to walk back to the hotel and cut through Lumphini Park.  I managed to make it work.  It was a hot walk past many of the embassies, including the U.S. embassy.  Once I reached the park, the walk was serene and shaded by the trees.  There was a jogging path around a lake with paddle boats.  Reminded me a bit of central park - an oasis in the middle of the city.

I passed a nail parlor in a small side street behind my hotel and stopped in there (I still had on the polish from my cousin's wedding about 2 and 1/2 weeks ago).  There, a (trans) woman carefully gave me a manicure in an excruciatingly slow manner.  It was a nice job but took over a full hour.  U.S. pop songs were on the radio and, at one point, Hotel California came on and it took her nearly the entire song to trim the cuticles on just my ring finger.  But I am cleaned up.