In Bangkok Thailand, passing through on my way to Nepal. I could've passed right on through with maybe only a night but I decided to see what little I haven't seen. Maybe hook up with some people I know. Arrived in the afternoon, went to a nearby park for something to do, to get me out of the hotel. Here’s the deal. I am not a good tourist. I am not that interested in sights. I don't really want to research the best places to eat, stay or see. I really want to just experience a place. I prefer to finagle meeting people who live in a place. That doesn't usually work out given my personality. So, I then go see the sights as a reason to move about. After a number of trips here, I finally decided I wanted to see the river. I bought one of those tourist tickets, for 120Baht, about $4, which I think may have been a complete waste of money. I think I could've just paid 13Baht per ride on the local boat. I only got on and off a couple of times. Plus, after my initial trip, I never saw another tourist boat again. However, the tourist boat gave me a nice brochure and gave me an introduction to the river. I think if I were to do it again, I still might pay the extra money because I like the unlimited rides but this time I would sit by the tour announcer and ask a bunch of questions.
I am surprisingly tired here in Bangkok. It's not really the heat since I just came from Hanoi, but it could be that all that motorbike riding has made me soft. Regardless, as I was moving from one subway system to another, I found I was a little tired. So I stopped one of the many malls for an iced coffee. I forgot to use the toilet before I left so by the time I reached the boat, I already had to pee. My plan was to ride the boat to the end and hop my way back down. I don't think this was a good plan since I now believe the tourist boat hops up but makes a beeline back. So after just a few stops, I hopped off spontaneously. It was a great area, tons of street food which I followed aimlessly. I thought there was a temple at this stop. As the food stalls gave way, I saw a sign for museum. I do enjoy a small museum, and so I followed the signs also believing that this was the barge museum the older couple I followed off the boat were seeking. I followed the signs in to a humongous hospital complex: Building after building of hospital, clinics, and nursing homes including hospital staff in white uniforms and nurses with the old fashioned hat, like my Barbie had when I was a kid. I thought I would be passing through and on my way to the barge museum, but alas the signs lead me elsewhere, to a medical museum. This little museum, the Siriraj Medical Museum, tucked away down a side street of this medical area, on the second floor of what I assume was a school, made the Mutter Museum in Philedelphia look like a children's museum. There were real mummified bodies, and image after image of mutilated bodies. I was starting to feel queasy, but perhaps that was due to the pervasive industrial glue smell. Small but certainly worth the visit.
After leaving, I wandered back to score some street food. I eat completely willy nilly without concern for intestinal infestations. Hanoi makes Bangkok look clean. I ate some sort of vegetable fried thing and some not delicious melon after heading back to the pier to continue my journey. You know outside of the US and parts of Europe, there is no regard for public safety. On every corner, there is a lawsuit waiting to happen, except they are unheard of. The pier area was attached to the market area by a few planks due to recent flooding. As I sat and dined on my treats in plastic baggies eaten with a skewer, a presumably Thai man came shaking onto the planks, walking with a cane, one leg in a bandage, one hand palsied. He didn't look sturdy, perhaps just released from the hospital. He had a name tag around his neck. He may even be mentally disabled also. To my relief, a well dressed Asian touristy fellow came to his aid. He had a difficult time getting him across the planks and just onto the pier, the man collapsed in perhaps some sort of fit. Difficult to watch. At this point, the crowd for the boat was quite large. The nice man along with boat staff managed to get him to a bench. He cried, and people gave him money. The nice man seemed to be gesturing back from where he came. Was he offering to take him back to the hospital or a taxi ride home? When the non−tourist boat came, I got on to be away from that heart wrenching scene.
I had no destination in mind but thought I would just ride till the end of the line. The day was lightly rainy, and a bit cool on the boat, says the person having spent summer in SE Asia. So, I rode and rode, enjoying the scenery, wondering who lived on the river and why. At the end of the line, Nonthaburi, I got off in masse. They seemed to be setting up for a night market. I walked by this huge building and wondered what was this fabulous building. Walked through the street looking at the many many things to buy. Bangkok is really a shopper's paradise. Then circled back and headed toward the boat. Who do you think I saw ambling along that road? The crying disabled man. He was limping with a cane but certainly looked merry as he practically skipped down the road. I guess they are everywhere. Certainly in Chicago and New York, the reason I hold firmly to my cash.
Back at the pier, I saw a sign for a museum. So off I scampered, it was a tiny little thing in that huge building I was admiring earlier. A museum about Nonthaburi, mostly about the pottery. It was small but very well done including a diorama with miniature digital men loading up a boat.
What a wonderful unplanned day. I guess had I gone with an agenda these tiny museums would've been a letdown but with no expectations at all, these were all such happy surprises.