


In a city as conspicuously fast-paced as Bangkok, with its roaring nightlife (not to mention traffic) and lightning trends, it is good to slow down sometimes. Especially when you are hungover – as we often were on this trip. Tucked away in pockets are places where the city still moves at a slower and gentler pace. I took my friend to the canals of Thonburi where once of my favourite little Bangkok hideaways is located, the Baan Silapin. This artists colony is housed in a breezy 200 year old teak mansion in an old riverside community along the Khlong Buang ( at the far end of Charansanitwong Soi 3 – I was surprised to find I still remembered the directions!)
Here you can feed flapping catfish from big bags of coloured popcorne or just sit and idle the time away with the placid statues at the waters edge, or in the upstairs ‘gallery’ with its eco-themed artworks, ancient gramophone and caged songbird tweeting in the breeze.
After that, we walked over a steeply humped motorcycle bridge, past lazing cats and mangy dogs, barbers cutting hair by the street and children dangling from banyan trees and dropping into the canal with shrieks of laughter, to the nearby temple . Its carpark was was hosting a market where women in sarongs and thanaka, Burmese herbal sunscreen paste, were selling cockroaches for snacks.

Another chill trip was across the river to Surasak and the Teochew graveyard, where dudes work out and old people warble karaoke amid the graves of an old Chinese cemetery, (also covered previously on the blog here). This odd little excursion is best combined with a drink at JAM!, this blog’s longtime friend and supporter. Its a funky little place for a laidback afternoon beer amid street art and retro toys. The laidback owner was telling me about a new tattoo parlour by the Silom Indian temple with an extensive collection of She-Ra and Thundercats memorabilia, and showing off his new dog. You could ask him for directions to the graveyard/park/karaoke area too.
A perfect quiet day in the busy city.
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