Bangkok Beautiful

Perched on the edge of the kerb, I hugged my knees to my chest as I stared out at the fat raindrops hitting the pavement. The smell of rain weighed heavily in the air, mixed in with wafts of heady steam coming from the pot of boiling noodle soup sold street-side. Before long a smiling young boy places my noodles in front of me, the perfect meal in the middle of one of Bangkok’s downpours. The little street stall has become a refuge, a place to escape the rains and to seek solace in the comfort of silky noodles and pillowy fishballs. The fluorescent lights become beacons guiding tired and stranded strangers to its safe harbours, the street hawker’s apron an emblem that welcomes and beckons. It is here that strangers meet, brought together by circumstance but often lingering amidst the pushcarts and portable gas stoves over saccharine sweet tea or searingly spicy papaya salad.

Whether it’s at a street stall in a suburban soi or in the pristine food courts complete with cashless payment, eating in Bangkok is about meeting people. It’s the coming together of different worlds and experiences, some strange others strangely familiar. A passing glance was all that was needed that meltingly hot day at Chatuchak market. She gestured to some stools before setting down a styrofoam bowl of smooth grass jelly tubes and crushed ice covered in a blanket of grainy brown sugar that instantly began to melt in the dizzy heat. The cool respite was priceless, so was the conversation we shared. The conviviality of these encounters is as heart-warming as it is fleeting, and every bit worthwhile. Bangkok captures as many hearts as it breaks; it’s the city that never sleeps, the city of angels. Which is why every time before the plane even touches down at Suvarnabhumi, I can feel the thrill of the capital, hear the sizzle of batter hitting hot oil, taste the salty-sweetness of phad thai, smell the sharp tang of lime juice and see the beauty that is the Thai people.