Songkran

Today, we joined the crowd in celebrating Songkran, a festival marking the Thai New Year. Traditionally, young and old take time out to rinse and wash Buddha’s statue, often by pouring water over his head. Water was also poured on the hands of elders in a similar ritual. This ritual symbolises purification and the washing away of one's sins and bad luck for the year ahead.

However, these days, the festival is better known for the water dowsing frenzy that takes place nationwide. In Bangkok, one of the largest Songkran events is a street party that shuts down Si Lom Road in the city’s nightlife district. Over four days, tens of thousands of partygoers transform a kilometre of roadway into a nonstop water fight.

Garry and I joined the thronging masses on Sunday for an insanely fun afternoon. Like everyone, we arrived dressed in our swimmers with pump action water guns at the ready. We then joined the crowd as it slowly circled, first down one side of the boulevard, then back up the other.

Along the way we were doused by vendors tossing buckets of icy water, water jets spraying from sound stages and fellow revealers wielding every water gun arsenal imaginable. The spectacle was unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed. It was as much fun as Sydney Mardi Gras, but with water cannons and water pistols galore.

Highlights included a soundstage with a giant astronaut blasting revealers at random, a troupe of absailing astronauts firing water guns into the crowd and spontaneous water frenzies where everyone simultaneously blasted their guns into the air. Along the route vendors offered refills; 5 baht for a small gun, or 20 baht for a giant blaster. If you arrived without a gun, no worries, there were plenty on sale.

It took us 90 minutes to complete our first circuit. We kicked off a second run but gave up after half an hour as the crowd stalled. Everyone around us decided the only thing to do was empty their arsenal on each other. The novelty of endless full frontal water blasts ran thin after a while.

Dripping from head to toe, Garry and I decided to call time out. We caught the metro and headed to the Maha Songkran World Water Festival at Sanam Luang Park. We arrived in time to catch the festival’s evening parade filled with giant floats, colourful dancers, marching bands and dance party trucks. 

We then wandered the street food stalls sampling all manner of cuisine from different parts of Thailand, while watching Thai kickboxing displays. As darkness fell, a massive sound stage came to life with a DJ pumping out thumping beats.

Once again, the water guns came out, water jets shot out from the stage, and the crowd went wild, blasting each other and firing into the air whenever rows of giant flames rose from the stage. The Songkran festival was undoubtedly a day to remember. The blisters on my feet from walking in wet shoes all day were totally worth it.

Market Day

We’ve just spent the day with I’m International, Artiwood’s largest supplier in Thailand. Our gracious hosts kept us busy with meetings, a factory tour and a few unexpected side trips. The factory is located about two hours west of Bangkok, so our day started early with a hotel pick-up shortly after 6:30am.

Before we got down to business, our hosts took us on a brief sightseeing excursion. By chance, two of Bangkok’s most famous markets, the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market and the Maeklong Railway Market, are located near their factory. Sadly, the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market proved little more than a kitsch tourist venture. However, the railway market proved more authentic despite the selfie-stick-wielding masses (and ‘yes’ the train really does glide past inches from your nose).

The Damnoen Saduak Floating Market sits along the Damnoen Saduak Canal. This 32km arrow-straight waterway was built by order of King Rama IV in 1866-1868 and connects the Mae Klong and Tha Chin Rivers. At the time, roads were few and far between; instead, canals surrounded Bangkok were the main transportation network. 

Along the Damnoen Saduak Canal, local villages have dug more than 200 ancillary canals, many of which host floating markets. Like any market, they acted as a daily gathering place for local traders touting fresh produce, clothing and homeware. However, you access each market stall by water rather than land.

We arrived at the floating market shortly after 8:30am, well before all the minivan tours arrived. As a result, we saw fewer tourists and more locals going about their day. Our hosts hired a traditional flat bottomed longboat, propelled by a friendly man with a short paddle to take us around the market.

We spent an hour gliding silently along canals, watching traders set up shop and catching glimpses of daily life. These days, the stalls are built on concrete platforms that line both sides of the canal. Although every so often, a gap would open, revealing the stallholders’ wooden homes on stilts in the background.

Every morning stall owners pull up a corrugated iron shutter, that doubles as a shade awning, to reveal their tiered displays. We quickly learned that a boat hook suddenly appears if you express an interest in their wares. Then, before you know it, your boat is pulled dockside for a closer look

During our boat ride we stopped at a local coconut sugar distillery to watch two men converting sap of coconut flower buds into a thick crystalline toffee. Apparently coconut sugar is a common sweeter in these parts. We watched them boiling off extracted sap and whisking the resulting toffee-like concentrate with an implement the size of an oar.

The tourist hordes began pulling up as our boat tour finished. This allowed us to capture a few iconic images of the boat-filled waterways from land, without the aquatic jousting that typically accompanies your boat ride. As you can see above, the Damnoen Saduak Canal is an impressive sight, stretching towards the horizon in both directions.

The Maeklong Railway Market was unforgettable. Garry and I were stunned to discover that the market is situated along a track leading into the local railway station. A train arrives and departs the station three times daily. Shortly after leaving the station it traverses a passageway between buildings. The Railway Market is crammed into this narrow gap.

For about 300 metres stalls line the passageway shaded by retractable awnings overhead. Visitors make their way through the market by literally walking along the railway line. Garry and I walked the market’s full length, watching the locals go about their business. Unlike the floating market, souvenirs were few and far between. Instead we saw all manner of fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and household goods for sale.

The, at the appointed time, we joined hundreds of others to witness the stalls lifting their awnings as the train glided through the market and into the station. We literally stood inches from the side of the train as its carriages rattled past; an unbelievable experience.

The rest of our day was spent in meetings discussing quality control, safety compliance and product development, followed by a comprehensive factory tour. It’s magic walking among stacks of timber in a warehouse at one end of the complex, and then witnessing finished products undergoing inspection at the other.

Our long day finished with dinner in Bangkok with our host and their family. They’re preparing to launch a new pet toy range. I wonder if we’ve found our next big thing for Artiwood?

Getting high in Bangkok

Garry and I have arrived safely in Bangkok. We're here for the week on business. Our flight from Sydney took almost nine hours. It’s currently operated by Finnair using Airbus A330s under contract for Qantas. This is the first time we've flown Finnair. Its business class seating is a little different. It uses “sky couchs” rather than reclining seats.

We're staying at the Banyan Tree hotel in central Bangkok. The hotel's claim to fame is a stunning rooftop restaurant and accompanying cocktail bar.  Both venues are located 61 floors above the city's bustling streets and offer an uninterrupted view of the surrounding area. It’s also walking distance to the Si Lom Road central shopping district.

Garry and I naturally decided to give both rooftop venues a go. Last night, we toasted our arrival with cocktails at Moon Bar. We were lucky enough to secure a corner table looking across the city towards the Chao Phraya River, and witnessed a stunning sunset.

This evening we dined at Vertigo, located at the opposite end of the roof. Once again, the gods smiled upon us and we were given a corner table with an uninterrupted view. The meal was superb and the view of Bangkok at night was truly Instagram-worthy.

Wild about Sydney

We’ve just spent a night at the Zoo with my brother Matt and sister-in-law Shelley. Surprisingly, for us jaded Sydney-siders, the sleepover was an unexpected delight. I’ve lived in Sydney for more than 35 years. As a result, there aren’t many tourist outings we haven’t tried.

Last November, Garry and I attended a Christmas Party in the N’Galawa Terrace, an event space at Taronga Zoo offering stunning harbour views. We learned that the complex includes an upmarket boutique hotel called The Wilderness Retreat and an acclaimed restaurant.

Guests attending the event were offered a 30 percent discount for a mid-week stay. On a whim, I decided to book a package for us and our kiwi guests. I’m so glad I did. Our package included a room with harbour views, meals at Me Gal restaurant (with the same stunning view), private guided tours of several Australian animal enclosures and two days of unlimited Zoo access.

We kicked off our two-day extravaganza with a superb lunch at the Boatshed on Balmoral Beach. It’s been more than 25 years since I last visited Balmoral for a business lunch at the much-acclaimed Bathers Pavilion. Lunch this time around wasn’t as lavish but was equally memorable. We secured an outdoor table looking directly out over the local marina dock. 

Before lunch, we made the most of the sunshine by walking the beachside promenade. Our stroll included Rocky Point Island, a small outcrop accessible via an old turn-of-the-last-century arched bridge. It’s easy to forget how blessed we are with so many Instagram-worthy beauty spots in Sydney.

It was then on to the Retreat. The reception and central lounge at check-in caught us all by surprise. This communal space offers floor-to-ceiling views across Sydney Harbour while enjoying a leisurely cocktail or two. We then joined a private tour of an Australian wildlife sanctuary that wraps around the complex, before venturing into the Zoo proper to see the koalas and other native animals doing their thing.

 

We finish the day with champagne and nibbles in the treetop suite that Garry and I booked, followed by dinner at Me Gal. As sunset approached, one of the hotel staff invited us to the top-floor event space for uninterrupted views of the harbour aglow in the crimson light. It was truly magnificent, as was the view of the city lights we enjoyed over dinner. 

The following morning, we rose early for a private tour of the Australian native bird aviary and nearby marsupial enclosures. Highlights included my first sighting of a Regent Honeyeater bird, rock wallabies bounding across the aviary’s rock face and a kangaroo joey suckling on its mother. The bird sighting was special in part because Garry’s parents have lived on a street called Regent Honeyeater Grove for the last five years.

We then enjoyed breakfast at Me Gal, which offered another stunning view of Sydney Harbour by day. The remainder of our time was spent exploring Taronga Zoo before venturing back across the harbour mid-afternoon. Matt and Shelley were also lucky enough to pull back their curtains that morning and be greeted by a koala quietly contemplating them in a tree outside.

Honestly, the zoo excursion exceeded all expectations. The views were iconic, and the atmosphere at The Retreat was relaxing to say the least. By the time we arrived home, it felt like we’d had a week away. Who knew such a memorable outing existed right on our doorstep?