Back in February, I finally got to help lead my neighborhood walk!
Neighborhood walks are a special program with the National Museum Volunteers in which members of the program are split into small groups and assigned a neighborhood to research and present as a walking tour to the rest of the neighborhood walks program! My team had been working really hard on our walking tour for many weeks, and it was finally time to make our presentation and to lead our group.
As planned, we began at the Holy Rosary Church, also known as "Wat Kalawar". A caretaker took us around the church, and pointed out the incredible stained glass and artistic features of the beautiful old building. Wat Kalawar is one of the oldest Catholic churches in Bangkok. It was founded in 1769 by a Catholic priest who had fled the destruction of Ayutthaya. At the same time, Santa Cruz Church was founded by Portuguese priests who had also fled the ancient capital and had settled across the river in Thonburi. As such, both churches claim to be the oldest standing church in Thailand.
My group and I are really proud of how our walking tour went! We are really happy that our fellow NMV members seemed to enjoy our walking tour!
As planned, we showed our museum friends around the church, the Marine Department, the original headquarters of the Siam Commercial Bank (the latter two were my responsibility to introduce)! We also took them to several Chinese shrines in Bangkok's oldest neighborhoods.
It was shortly after Chinese New Year, so the old neighborhood of Talad Noi was still decorated. This area was originally settled by Portuguese and French expats who had fled Ayutthaya, as well as the old Chinese mercantile families who had established their small family communities along the banks of the Chao Phraya River.
The walk went off without a hitch, and I'm so proud of the results of our hard work! When my friends or family visit me in Bangkok, I'm going to be really excited to lead them on the itinerary I helped to develop!
That weekend, exhausted and happy after our successful walk, I needed a break! My wife and I decided to take a short "staycation" in my neighborhood! We booked a night at a hotel along the river, and enjoyed a day exploring Talad Noi.
We first came to the "Toast Lady", a local street vendor who is famous throughout Thailand for her amazing Thai toast!
The next morning, I really wanted to visit the small Chinese shrine just outside of the hotel.
Like the one we had had at the Centara Hotel, the afternoon tea set came with scones, cakes, and other snacks to enjoy with our pot of fresh, hot, Jasmine tea.
Of course, we had to try it!
Pinky and I ordered a few pieces of toast, and the Toast Lady grilled them on her cart over a brazier of hot coals. Then, she prepared them in the old Thai streetfood style! One piece was drizzled with a neon green pandan custard, and the other was topped with a spread of Thai chili paste. Aroi!!!
Our further explorations took us to a shop selling chicken curry pies! These pies have been sold here for decades, and the shop is apparently a favorite haunt for Thai celebrities (if the photos lining the walls are anything to go by!).
As it happened, it turned out to be Bangkok Design Week, a semi-annual celebration of art, artistry, and post-modern expression. Most of it is almost too funky and modern for me, but I still really enjoyed it! My wife and I like Thai modern art, and the weirder, the better - if only purely for the sake of fun and interest.
That evening, Pinky and I visited River City, a community and lifestyle mall dedicated to art! They were playing host to several of the Bangkok Design Week teams. One of the most significate was "Manao" (Mango), a very famous Thai cartoon of a cute girl who shows up on LINE stickers, clothing, and more.
That evening, we relaxed at the River View Residence, a famous old hotel overlooking the river. We had a beer and watched the bright orange sun sink below the horizon.
It was a beautiful evening, and it was wonderful to take some time to relax after a busy day.
It hadn't ended up being a part of my walking tour, but it was a fascinating and historic site in the neighborhood.
Presently, Pinky and I found ourselves craving a coffee. It was still early in the morning, but we set off wandering through Talad Noi to find a cafe. It was a cool, drizzly morning, and even though we were on the hunt for a cafe, we did enjoy getting a bit lost in the fascination old neighborhood,
Eventually, the rain got a bit too heavy to enjoy, and we ducked into the Photohostel and Photocafe, a combined hipster cafe/hostel established by a German photojournalist expat. The cafe rents medium and large-format cameras and film, and the owner has scheduled a number of photo walks and photography tours throughout Bangkok! There are also some small photography galleries to be found within the Photohostel!
As we waited for the rain to slack, we decided to share an afternoon tea set!
After spending so many weeks exploring this neighborhood with my museum group, I was really happy to finally take some time to rest and relax in this amazing area of Bangkok.
Even though it was a staycation, it was nice to take a day off. It's been a super busy time lately, and I really appreciate any chance to take some time off to explore with my wife... even if it is just a local getaway.
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