Our arrival at Jim Thompson's house couldn't help but dispel such thoughts however as it's a breath-takingly tranquil haven in the heart of a manic, polluted and chaotic city. A little bit of background first - Jim Thompson was in the US Army during WWII who visited Thailand as part of his tour of duty. While in Bangkok he spotted some woven silk at a market and found that it was the work from one of the last places in Thailand that still wove silk by hand. He was so delighted by it that he single handedly worked to promote the material across the world and when the fashion houses of London, Milan, Paris, New York etc started to snap it up, Thompson had saved an artisan craft that had been close to disappearing for ever.
In 1959 Thompson bought himself some land by one of Bangkok's khlongs (canals) and moved six traditional wooden Thai houses to site, combining them into one large home which he soon packed with antiques, traditional local art and beautiful object d'art. Less than 10 years later Thompson himself mysteriously vanished while walking in Malaysia and was never seen again. Conspiracy theories abound - did business rivals, communist spies or the CIA bump him off? Or maybe a man-eating tiger took him out? Who knows?
What we do know is that he left behind him a stunning example of traditional Thai building with a Western twist. Made from teak, the main living rooms are on the first floor where the large doors and windows open up wide to let through the cooling breeze. The sitting room is open all along one side with low cushioned seats to sprawl out on while sipping iced tea. Every room is full of the most beautiful paintings, statues and Thai oddities including a mouse house, built to race painted mice for casual gamblers, and chamber pots for little girls and boys shaped like frogs or sleighs. Thompson added his own touches by breaking the space up into individual rooms whereas Thai families would have had the house as one large open space. But he also turned the house inside out - putting the exterior walls inside to expose the large supporting beams as decorative features and turning carved window edges around so they could be admired from inside.
The house is exquisite and made more beautiful by the small tropical garden surrounding it - a little maze of pathways where you stumble across a stone pool filled with fish and turtles or a large flower urn where a single carp floats around on his own. For me, this visit was a real highlight of Bangkok - a chance to escape the noise and dirt and pretend you lived in a long lost world of cocktails and chaise longue, naps on day beds and dressing for dinner. Sigh.
I think our next destination would have been a shock to the senses wherever you came from, but after the peacefulness of JT's house it was a bit mind-blowing. It was Bangkok's weekend market at Chatuchak - a melting pot of a million stalls selling everything from knickers to knick-knackers, fish to deep fat fryers. Once you've ventured into the narrow alleyways it's impossible not to get turned around and lose all sense of direction or structure. Apparently there is some coherent scheme to the whole thing - clothes here, household items there - but it's certainly impossible for any newcomer to fathom. I was keen to find the antiques and handicrafts section but we'd landed in the pets zone and found it almost impossible to escape. From huge bags filled with water and pet fish, to cages containing kittens, puppies, hamsters, chipmunks and hedgehogs, all life really was here. The Ginger Broad found it all a bit distressing, which is understandable as it's so far from anything that would be allowed in the UK, but at least these animals were being sold as pets and not for the dinner table. And we fortunately never stumbled upon one of the illegal cockfights that often take place.
But we did stumble gamely on through the alleyways, even though we were both in danger of being struck down with 'Chatuchak rage' - the foul mood brought on by too long in the sweaty, sauna like market maze without sufficient food or drink. We eventually caved in and found an air conditioned cafe for sustenance before heading back to our hotel.
For Saturday evening meant the start of our group tour proper and the chance to meet the rest of our party and our tour guide. There was much confusion in the hotel lobby as about 3 different Intrepid tours were starting from the same point at the same time. It was like speed dating for tourists as we moved among the various holiday makers introducing ourselves and asking 'Indochina Loop?'. We'd eventually gathered our group of 10 - 7 women travelling on their own, one married couple and a Chilean gentleman. Everyone seems very nice and friendly - let's just hope that lasts for 4 weeks. A duration that may test even the best fellow traveller bon homie.
Sunday was our only guided day in Bangkok and it started with something that I had been dreading since we arrived. The Ginger Broad and I had taken a stroll by Bangkok's main river, Mae Nam Chao Phraya, earlier in the week and I had been surprised by how choppy a river could be and how small the boats on it were. Most of you will know that as a non-swimmer I am, quite frankly, terrified of small boats (Cardiff Park lake anyone?) and it was only the fact that a tour of Bangkok's canals by long tailed boat was included that I even considered it for half a second. The tour started from a point further up river that was much calmer so I was fooled into thinking it would all be just as calm. And for much of the time it was. Our little long tail canoe boat, with an engine the size of a small jet plane's sped through the canals, with ease and very few bumps. We past the canal side shacks and houses that were home to many Bangkok residents, all now being put behind low walls to protect them from the floods that had struck the city in ????. Also resident were some huge monitor lizards, basking on porches and walls.
The end of the tour crossed the main river again and it was like hitting the open sea. Our little boat bounced all over the place and I spent a few minutes with my eyes closed and my life jacket carefully clutched about my person. We made it safely to dock of course but my little legs were never happier to hit solid ground.
And my little legs certainly seemed very little at our next stop, Wat Pho. This Wat, or temple, has several credits to its name, including the oldest and largest wat in Bangkok and the largest reclining Buddha in Thailand. This golden buddha is so large that there's no way to photograph it in one go - at 46m long and 15m high it's too big for my lens at least. And it's spectacular and beautiful and rather charming. Apparently this reclining pose is the one buddha struck shortly before dying and achieving Nirvana so he wears a blissfully contented smile. I don't think I have even the remotest chance of reaching nirvana but I gave throwing coins into the 180 wishing bowls a go. One coin and one wish for every bowl. Perhaps this week will bring that elusive lottery win?
There was just time for one last Bangkok massage before saying goodbye to the city. As my flip flops had left me with a delightful blood blister I thought a foot massage might not be a good idea so opted for a neck and head one instead. The following half an hour was one of the most excruciating of my life as I was pummelled mercilessly and my bones cracked under the onslaught. I didn't know it was physically possible to bend completely in half.
So it's time to leave Bangkok. A riot of colour and noise. An assault on all the senses with pockets of quiet Buddhist tranquility. It's been a blast but I'm ready for something a little more chilled. After a night on a sleeper train ...
Photos below: flower garland at Jim Thompson's house; fishes at Chatuchak market; the reclining Buddha at Wat Phra Kaew.
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