Taya Starling

With the surprise arrival of the SkinnyFatKid in Thailand and his lack of experience here in my other Motherland, you know I couldn’t resist the opportunity to play tourist and take him to some of my favorite spots in the city.  His arrival lined up perfectly with the 3rd annual 10,000 monk procession in the heart of Bangkok’s shopping district. We woke up before the sun to shuffle our way into town to get a good angle of the auspicious event.

This is the third year the massive alms- giving ceremony has taken place to help aid the monks, soldiers, policemen, & victims of natural disasters in Thailand’s troubled southern provinces.  So on September 8th, monks from 323 temples gathered in front of Central World to collect alms for those in need as well as offer an opportunity for the people of Bangkok to make merit by giving alms to 10,000 monks.

People of all ages, shapes, sizes, and economic status gathered at 5am to find a place before the ceremony officially began at 5:30am. After prayer and meditation, the monks began filing through the pathways lined with merit makers (in white) who filled their alms bowls with everything from food and dried goods to toiletries and medicine.

 Monks of all ages, shapes, & sizes attended as well to help collect for those who couldn’t be here themselves.

Ratchadamri Road which is usually a busy gridlock of cars, buses, and pedestrians early in the morning was impressively organized and mapped out, even though I didn’t see a single sign explaining where to go or what to do. Even more impressive however, were the thousands of people who showed up in an orderly manner at the crack of dawn to express their Buddhist faith and do good for those in need.

If you ask me if I’m proud to be Thai, I think you already know the answer.

Although getting up at 4:30am was less than ideal, I can’t imagine a better spent morning. And bonus? We were done just in time to head over to Up & Above at the Okura Hotel for some breakfast with a view (:

 Couldn’t resist their Eggs Benedict, the only thing we were patient enough to photograph before devouring the rest.

 After breakfast I had to take the SkinnyFatKid to another favorite spot in town- Chatuchak Market, also known as JJ Market (for its alternative spelling, Jatujak) which is only open on weekends and sells EVERYTHING you can possibly think of. And I mean e v e r y t h i n g: clothing, vintage stuff, furniture, plants, food, pets, toys, home decor, fresh food, vintage clothing, accessories, AND the food there is amazing. Since we were still pretty full from breakfast, we grabbed a little Thai Ice Tea for our market stroll.

This is my favorite Thai Tea vendor at JJ Market (: Not only is the tea yummy but I love the colorful outfits and the insane way he spins around as he pours the freshly made tea.