Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia never to have been occupied by a foreign power. As a result, Bangkok has served as its capital without interruption since 1767, when King Taksin established Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (literally, “City of Angels”) on the banks of the Chao Phraya river following the capture of the Ayutthaya Kingdom by the Burmese.
In spite of its longstanding political sovereignty, contemporary Thailand’s economic growth is inextricably linked with its rapid integration with the rest of the world, in particular that of its capital. Oddly, Bangkok residents of all walks of life seem largely unaffected by the increasingly conspicuous contradictions between tradition and modernity, poverty and wealth and competing Western and Eastern influences — even when they present themselves in their daily lives.
The Golden Age
The Bangkok SkyTrain rises above a centuries-old Buddha image.
Relics of Bangkok’s Golden Age, a period of cultural and economic flourishing and prosperity, are strewn all over the city– to the point where it’s almost impossible to miss them. During my first visit to Bangkok in February 2010, I came upon several of them during an impromptu stroll through the residential neighborhood south of the city’s infamous Khao San Road district, where I was staying at the time.
The aptly-named Giant Swing quite literally stopped me in my tracks as I headed eastward on an unassuming soi dominated mostly by shops selling ornamental Buddha images to Thais and tourists who can afford to ship them to their home countries. The sun began to set as I made my way further south, casting 7-11 stores and McDonald’s restaurants in the shadows of the towering Golden Mount, a man-made fortress that dates back to the Ayutthaya period.
Share tuk-tuks carrying dozens of people travel along the same roads at Jaguars in Bangkok.
Amid it all, working class locals carry on with their daily business unaffected by the incredible structures that surround them — and apparently apathetic to the dramatic contrast that exists between the former glory of the area they now call home and their own modest existences.
Nowhere in Bangkok is this dichotomy more evident than in Rattankosin, an island situated on the east bank of Chao Phraya that corresponds approximately to the location of the original capital. From out on the river, ancient constructions like the Grand Palace and Wat Arun temple present a riverfront has remained largely unchanged for the better part of three centuries — except for the skyscrapers rising up in the distance, which are among the tallest in Asia.
Rags to Righteous
One street of the Chao Phraya and historical Rattanakosin, a decidedly 21st century chaos dominates the city.
When I stopped in Bangkok en route from Laos to Malaysia in August 2010, I began spending time with a young Thai man named. As is often the case when I visit a foreign city, we quickly became more than friends.
One morning following a particularly long night I woke up in his swanky apartment, a three-story townhome located just a short walk from the bustling Silom shopping and entertainment district. We began our day with a relaxing stroll through Lumphini Park, the city’s answer to Central Park, a massive greenspace filled with lotus ponds, ancient clock towers, komodo dragons — and, oddly enough, an increasing number of wind turbines.
Many portions of Lumphini Park conceal the massive city that surrounds it on all sides.
After ducking into a strangely-placed alleyway for a sumptuous breakfast of congee, a traditional rice porridge popular not only in Thailand but throughout Asia, I assumed I would be taking a cab back to my guest house. Not so. It turns out the Toyota Corolla parked in front of my lover’s place was his — and he insisted I allow him to chauffeur me.
To make matters more confusing, his life story doesn’t paint the picture of someone particularly wealthy. The son of Chinese immigrants from rural northern Thailand who currently works as an assistant at an international law firm and teaches cooking classes on the side, his crib, ride and many of his accoutrements contradict his biography.
Appearances and Assumptions
I made my third — and, thus far, last — visit to the Thai capital in conjunction with my participation in the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s
Robert Schrader is a travel writer and photographer who’s been roaming the world independently since 2005, writing for publications such as “CNNGo” and “Shanghaiist” along the way. His blog, Leave Your Daily Hell, provides a mix of travel advice, destination guides and personal essays covering the more esoteric aspects of life as a traveler.
