AmyHuang
Enjoying getting lost, and more flood update
I had promised a colleague a post card from Bangkok. Everyday, I wander through streets, alleys and lanes, market stall after market stall, mall after mall... I found pens, bags, shoes, laptop cases, Manchester United cookies, Hello Kitty tooth brushes and paper travel underwear.... I have not yet found any post cards for sale.
So, my next plan of attack was to search for a post office. Surely they would sell post cards in post offices.
A small picture of an envolope on the map took me to a massive hospital compound. Well, at least the sign says it was a hospital, however on appearance it seems to be a gathering of market stalls. Along the walls, around every spare corner was someone selling something, from jackfruits to evening dresses to sushi (made on site, in the 30 degree heat, it was food poisoning waiting to happen) to books and pencil cases. I walk into the building, looking for signs of a post office. on my left, day patients sit quietly in a dull looking waiting room, and on my right, rows of shops from magazine shops, 7-Eleven, a bank and a cosmetic store glowed brightly under their advertising banners; paramedics wheel patients around in their beds dodging walkers and stray dogs along the walking paths while a man sold lottery tickets to whoever would stop to buy them.
And I still couldn't find the post office. The search continues.
Giving up on the venture for the day, I met up with a friend and we headed over to the river pier. Although Bangkok is so far safe from flooding, the riverside is showing signs of rising water. The water level of the river is at ground level, with some splashing over onto the roads as the strong current flushes down from the lands. We took a ferry to Wat Arun and saw some of the low lying housing along the shores have flooded to people's knees. At the ferry drop off, we step off onto a plank about ankle deep in water before being able to escape to the hire grounds of the temple. Everywhere, sandbags are being soaked through, validating this morning's deadlines that one of the capitals line of flood defence was broken through last night and the flood waters will soon hit city centre as soon as tonight.
Near the entrance to the Wat a wet kitten grooms itself on the roof of a small shrine half under water. It looked at us with annoyed eyes, as if blaming us for brining in water to where it would otherwise curl up to sleep under the sun.
Still, people of Bangkok are not worried, they go on their daily lives as usual. The newspapers are criticising the government's efforts in saving the city from flooding while the country's farmlands are mostly under water. A woman from a nearby province was interviewed on the news, she said "the floods keep coming in and they are running out of food... but what can one do? We must keep trying to survive". The situation is becoming a handful for Thailand's female PM of three months and is likely to affect her chances of a second term if not handled carefully.
So, the search for post cards will continue later today. If I fail in my quest, she may just have to do with paper travel underwear as souvenirs instead.
So, my next plan of attack was to search for a post office. Surely they would sell post cards in post offices.
A small picture of an envolope on the map took me to a massive hospital compound. Well, at least the sign says it was a hospital, however on appearance it seems to be a gathering of market stalls. Along the walls, around every spare corner was someone selling something, from jackfruits to evening dresses to sushi (made on site, in the 30 degree heat, it was food poisoning waiting to happen) to books and pencil cases. I walk into the building, looking for signs of a post office. on my left, day patients sit quietly in a dull looking waiting room, and on my right, rows of shops from magazine shops, 7-Eleven, a bank and a cosmetic store glowed brightly under their advertising banners; paramedics wheel patients around in their beds dodging walkers and stray dogs along the walking paths while a man sold lottery tickets to whoever would stop to buy them.
And I still couldn't find the post office. The search continues.
Giving up on the venture for the day, I met up with a friend and we headed over to the river pier. Although Bangkok is so far safe from flooding, the riverside is showing signs of rising water. The water level of the river is at ground level, with some splashing over onto the roads as the strong current flushes down from the lands. We took a ferry to Wat Arun and saw some of the low lying housing along the shores have flooded to people's knees. At the ferry drop off, we step off onto a plank about ankle deep in water before being able to escape to the hire grounds of the temple. Everywhere, sandbags are being soaked through, validating this morning's deadlines that one of the capitals line of flood defence was broken through last night and the flood waters will soon hit city centre as soon as tonight.
Near the entrance to the Wat a wet kitten grooms itself on the roof of a small shrine half under water. It looked at us with annoyed eyes, as if blaming us for brining in water to where it would otherwise curl up to sleep under the sun.
Still, people of Bangkok are not worried, they go on their daily lives as usual. The newspapers are criticising the government's efforts in saving the city from flooding while the country's farmlands are mostly under water. A woman from a nearby province was interviewed on the news, she said "the floods keep coming in and they are running out of food... but what can one do? We must keep trying to survive". The situation is becoming a handful for Thailand's female PM of three months and is likely to affect her chances of a second term if not handled carefully.
So, the search for post cards will continue later today. If I fail in my quest, she may just have to do with paper travel underwear as souvenirs instead.
