Sometimes Bangkok Sounds Like This

Sometimes Bangkok sounds like this.

 

Beauty is something appreciated in contrast. When I first stepped off the plane the pollution was oppressive. Compounded with humidity it feels like you're inside a giant bell jar filled with aerosolized gelatin. But, like walking into a friends house with too many cats and too few windows, soon enough you become one with it. 

It was in sound that I first felt the beauty here. I love the language: tonal phrases that carry a joyful quality in almost every application. The city soundscape is alive with the madness of millions sharing an environment, but individually people are fairly quiet and there's a shocking lack of honking horns in the streets. Riding on the back of Grab bikes is a Mad Max-like experience. The drivers work in volume so the whole ride is as fast as the machine will go threading every tiny traffic needle possible. The drivers are artists, and the whole industry is propped up on the cheaply available methamphetamine supply. 

The smaller guys seem to take pride in hauling my fat butt around; like a marksman shooting with a blindfold, pros sometimes need new challenges. I can't imagine why Nascar hasn't tapped into the talent here. But, then I don't actually know any thing about Nascar. Bangkok is massive, it just goes on forever. Every ride feels like a tour of six different cities mashed together. You pass a half a million vehicles in 15 mins and I can count on one hand how many times I heard a horn. The noises of the city are nearly infinite, but distinguishable. Maybe it's being surrounded by a language I understand 6 words of, but I often find myself stopping just to listen and finding unlimited curiosity.

Something I can only convey in words here is the role of incense. All cities smell, there are plumbing issues and sewer gas smells, the ungodly garbage of the capital pipeline, exhaust, etc. But honestly Bangkok is clearly working on it. It's my kind of clean... it's clean without being weird about it, like Japan. It's fine. That's how I'd describe the cleanliness. It's fine. And I rather like it as a cultural value. Same goes for hygiene, it's fine. A grab driver makes <$5/hr on a good night competing in the four-stroke cage-match of traffic, I don't begrudge a dude going light on the deodorant. And again, there's lots of emerging electric vehicles and everything is four stroke, so clearly someone passed legislation at some point and it's clear Thailand is considerate of the future. The bad smells you'd expect of any city are not that big a deal here... and gently floating over top it all, is incense. There are small shrines at every big building, market, and even some small private residences. Each day, multiple times a day, fist-fulls of incense are burned in thanks and offering at each shrine. The grab drivers are particularly fond of it, I'm sure they do more praying than the average resident. Yes, mom I bought a helmet... like immediately. 

The shrines are beautiful, but I've read it's not acceptable to photograph them, so I'm not. 

That... and the smell of food. Gently fried cinnamon, clove and curry leaves, distinctive fish, peppers, citrus, brine and vinegar. Street food markets look like cooperatives. Dozens of stalls operating with their own internal economies. There are propane suppliers, specialized cart and fry hood cleaning services, packaging retailers and generally a print shop for menus and signage. No one is hassling you. It's my absolute favorite fucking thing about Thailand so far.... no one is trying to sell you shit you don't want. They will happily show you their goods and make a sale, but no one is hunting you for the sport of your tourist dollars... you're just not that special and I love it. This morning I had cabbage spring rolls soaked in peanut soy sauce with crunchy noodles on top, a multi-meat pho with bean sprouts and greens, and some little doughnut balls for around $100bhat or $3. The pho made my head spin. I usually watch to see what the local middle class lines up for, snap a pic of someone who buys something I like and then ask for "what this person had, please". System hasn't failed me yet. 

I can't put the smells through the computer, so pictures will have to do. It would be hard to miss the beauty there. Onward.