A ride to remember in Bangkok

The sun was high and hot. It was close to lunchtime. I didn't even have breakfast. Office folks gathering in small hut like restaurants to have their mid-day meal before rushing off to work to continue the day. I skipped breakfast today but had a large sweet iced Thai milk tea at a café across the famous Vhils Street Art mural along the walls of Royal Orchid Sheraton.

A pinch of hunger twinges my stomach but I ignore it. The thought of food swiftly replace by the sweltering heat. I was taking photographs of street arts along the Chao Phraya River and completely lost track of time.

I pulled out my mobile phone and promptly loaded Google maps. My next stop is Chinatown. Google says I have to walk for another 20 minutes to get there. There’s nowhere to hide from the afternoon sun. I was not prepared to walk that long, at least not under the careful gaze of the sun.

A candy-pink coloured mini bus sprinted passed by. The sign on the bus was all in Thai. This is not my first trip to Bangkok. Never once I took a public bus let alone one I didn’t know where it was heading. I did not even deliberate. I got on the next bus, a turquoise-sky-blue. I said, “Chinatown” repeatedly. The driver nodded suspiciously. I could not remember when was the last time I was inside a non-air-conditioned bus? This is going to be interesting. A ride to remember!

The inside of the bus was very basic and was fitted with six small ceiling fans twirling the air to make the trip more pleasant. I was just happy to be out of the sun. I walked to the end of the short bus and parked myself on the last corner left seat. The window was pulled all the down. All the windows were down.

A rather sweet looking Thai girl approached me, the ticket conductor. She was quite tall and had to slouch just a bit to get to me. I handed her 20 baht; she tore a ticket from her cylindrical ticket holder, silver and long. It also doubles as change holder. She handed me a bright orange ticket stub. Still all in Thai, I could only make out the 15 baht cost of the ticket. She smiled and walked away. Her friendly disposition was familiar yet indefinable. She reminded me of someone. But I could not make it out who?

The bus was half empty. Lots of seats available, most of my travel companion were locals. Every looked relieved to be on the bus rather than on the street, avoiding the mid-day sun. I was too, very much.

Across me, on the right, was a middle-aged woman sitting flapping her hand to cool her down. She must’ve have got on before me. An old small hand towel covered her neck. Her shopping bags sat on the floor next to her. Inside I can see few green leafy vegetables, some I could not recognise. Light green straight stalks of lemongrass peeked out. I thought of Tom Yum (a tangy spicy soup usually prepared with seafood). Maybe that’s what I should have for lunch when I get to Chinatown and a plate of freshly stir-fried Phad Thai (flat rice noodles cooked with a sweet tamarind paste, Thailand national dish). I wonder what she is going to cook later, something delicious for her family. If I stayed longer on the bus would she invite me over for dinner? I thought to myself and smiled.

The bus sprinted faster than before. I grabbed hold of the handrails, this time tightly to steady myself. The cool breeze fills the bus quickly. The wind caressed my face. Suddenly I feel refreshed like being splashed with cold water on the face early morning. I closed my eyes, moved my head slightly upwards to full appreciate the breeze.

The bus came to a complete halt. The driver turned around and shouted at my direction. Yaowarat, Yaowarat!! (Chinatown in Thai)

I got off the bus quickly while half-uttering “Khab Khun Krub” (thank you).

My short roller-coaster ride ended as quickly as it started. I was back on the road side. My turquoise-sky-blue bus burped dark billows of smoke and accelerated towards its next stop. I stood there looking at its direction without other thoughts. The bus disappeared from my sight. Suddenly, I felt the sun fiery again and small droplets of sweat started appearing on my face.