Away from the high-traffic eateries, away from the bustle and noise and shuffling herd, is this cafeteria that serves mainly the Thai airport workers -- and it's great stuff, at street-food prices! No directional signs lead to it. And few farang must ever venture down there. The menu boards are predominantly Thai, with tiny-type English translations. I dive head-first into an immense bowl of this wonderful Tom Yum soup, a mere 40 baht (just over a buck) and can hardly wait for the day I fly home, just so I can come back here again.
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Here's another savvy traveler tip: see all those smiling taxi drivers out there along the curb, the pirates who know every fare-maximizing scam to run on jet-lagged white goofuses? Smile back, say "mai ao khrap" (no, thanks) and head on down to the free shuttle that takes you to the nearby transit center, where you pay under a dollar to get wherever you're going just as quickly. And it takes me only three trips to Thailand to figure this out.
The quiet, new-agey place I always stay is good enough to let me occupy the room well before the official afternoon check-in time -- like maybe 9 a.m! -- and I instantly drop into a coma for most of the day.
Late afternoon I venture out for a walk around the neighborhood and soon am completely drenched by giggling children and adults alike. This week is the annual Songkran water festival, essentially a great big water fight during the hottest season of the year. In 95-degree heat, the soaking feels great. It is also welcome cover, because without the water festival I would still be just as dripping wet. Perspiration is my mutant superpower.My first authentic Bangkok street meal: a plate of what appears to be a chicken and pork stew over rice, all of which has been sitting on the busy sidewalk for hours in the tropical sun. And a cup of (presumably pre-boiled) ice water to wash it down. Hey, what could go wrong?
NEXT: Apartment hunting, and casing the school.
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