Having "Me" Time

There are a few favorite spots of mine outside of Bangkok and the one I like most at the moment is a the little market at Nakorn Chaisi district which is in Nakorn Pathom province.  It's not that far out from Bangkok and is only roughly a half hour drive if you are coming from the Pinklao area.  I've been there several times already and most recently last week.  It offers a combination of good food, good ambiance and is overall a pleasant place to take a stroll. I like it because the wooden shop houses date back roughly a hundred years and bank the Nakorn Chaisi river which is so beautifully peaceful.  It's a small little area and its a lovely place to just take a short walk, buy a few good snacks and food to take home, and have your lunch.  You are not going to get lost here unless you decide to cross the main road or bridge and keep on going.    If you can stand the heat, you can even buy fish food and feed the fish along its banks...

In a city of roughly ten million people, there are people almost everywhere you go.   Crowds of people move here and there and the din of noises ring in your ears. Bangkok is a bustling urban city.  It's easy to just get lost in the crowd.  However, in Old Town Bangkok, time seems to stay a little more still.  If you want to escape to somewhere quiet (other than your own home) where you can spend a good couple hours, sipping tea and reading a good book,  I say go to the Bangkokian Museum Tea Salon . In my previous post, I wrote about the Bangkokian Museum which is housed in a 1930's house, but I have yet to tell you about the Tea Salon.  Now don't expect something fancy with air-conditioning and wi-fi and a range of snacks.  This tea salon simply occupies a corner of one of the wooden houses.  There are a couple of tables for you to sit and a few chairs.  What I do love about it though is that you c...

Sometimes you stumble upon unexpected things that really are very pleasant.  I guess this is what you call "Serendity."  It reminds me of the movie by that name... Anyways,  as it happens upon our "walk" around Old Town Bangkok, we passed by an unconspicuous house with a sign above saying "Bangkokian Museum."  We had never heard of this place and never intended to visit it, but since we were already passing by we thought, "why not?"  We weren't in a rush to go anywhere, so lets just explore it. And so we went in.  To our surprise, this house comprised of a fairly large compound comprising of three houses and a row of shop houses on the side.  Two of the houses and the row of shop houses had been turned into a museum by the owner (72years old) who is now residing in one of the houses.  It was like we went back in time.  The garden was green with an old wooden gate. The houses were built of wood and in a style that reflected...