Welcome to our Neighborhood
Alor Setar, Malaysia, September 2013
Very few times in the period of our lives that we have spent traveling in two wheels have I enjoyed so much a neighborhood like the one we lived for a total or 20 days in Bangkok. The house was three stories high and was previously owned by a Chinese Family living in Bangkok. You could tell by all the different stickers with Chinese characters that adorned the walls as well as the memorabilia figurines of Taoist priests and vinyl Chinese cartoon characters left behind from the house moving. Our room was the one at the top. We could see the whole street from our balcony. Rented by our friend Brian and his friend Koy, they housed us in comfort with a 24 hrs Wifi and even A.C on the main living room, what more can you ask of life!
The View from our Home
A normal day began by making a small walk to the main street 10 minutes from our home. There we would choose from the infinite, at least perceptually, selection of wonderful Thai street food on the market. My favorite was the roasted chicken, that we would devour together with a papaya salad, rice, different sauces and, if we were hungry enough, a dish of Kah Pao or fried spring rolls. The local people already knew us. The nice little old rice lady always gave us a little more food than we had asked for. She liked us. If it was not the chicken, then it was the curry soups or the brownies on the bakery just in front of it. Whether it was Thai, Chinese or Vietnamese food, it was always good at a convenient location at the best value for our money.
The Food
The Strongest Man of the Hood
After filling up our bellies we would just hang out in the house or take a walk to one of the most surreal places that my eyes have ever seen just a block from our house.
Jogging in the Cemetery
This place was like no other, it featured a complete gym with weights and everything, two large courts for sepaktakraw , another two for basketball, a jogging path, a children´s playground and a couple of karaoke bars. The funny part was that aside for a recreational center in the middle of the crowded Bangkok it was also a cemetery . So yes, I jogged and sang Let it Be from The Beatles in the middle of crypts, and it was fun. I really hope their souls know I never meant to disrespect. This surreal green lung/sport center/karaoke place for the Thai people is known by the name as Tie Chew.
Let It Be
This neighborhood is special. It is not only very well situated in the middle of the city, far away from the costly finance center or the boring shopping mall life, but it is surrounded by temples from different religions. One day Brian guided us to the three different places of cult surrounding his house. We went inside the Mosque, a Buddhist temple and the Hinduist temple. Only five minutes from the Buddhist temple there was a church. Who said anything about people from different religions not being able to live together in peace? This neighborhood seemed peaceful and safe to me at all times.
The Chinese Temple
Having the opportunity to live here for a while made me realize how lucky Brian was, he had found a neighborhood where people lived happy and were able to transmit that happiness into their own hood. A big lesson to learn from this, no matter where we live the beauty will be made by the people who live in it, not by the structures that build it. More than a neighborhood it felt like a community to me. I hope I can still come back home to Bangkok someday in the future.
