The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Tuesday, February 19, 2013
It was Izzy’s turn for a mommy/daughter date – alone!

Paying less than $25 for a mini, pedi, hour-long foot massage and happy pink polished toes for her AND I was the highlight of my day.

Getting there was not….

Navigating this crazy, chaotic city life is going to make me batty!

I read this warning for “Travelers with Disabilities” in a travel guide regarding Bangkok.  I think a string of five little ducklings behind me and pushing a baby in an umbrella stroller qualifies me as a “traveler with disabilities“.

“Thailand presents one large, ongoing obstacle corse for the mobility impaired.  With its high curbs, uneven footpaths and nonstop traffic.  Bangkok can be particularly difficult.  Many streets must be crossed via pedestrian bridges flanked with steep stairways, while busses and boats dont stop long enough even for the fully abled.  Rarely are there any ramps or other access points for wheelchairs.“

Couldnt have said it better myself…

The anxiety of a free-fall ride at a carnival pales in comparison to the stress of walking our street with the kids.  Literally, there are motorcycles jumping up on the curb and brushing past our string of little ones.
Crazy traffic on one side.
Construction walls on the other (we were nearly missed by bricks showering down beside us from a high rise under construction yesterday…thank you Jesus!!….terrifying!)
Sidewalks are ridden with massive cracks and potholes and tend to end abruptly, forcing you to cross (through traffic) to the other side of the street to find a margin to walk in.
Our BTS (metro train) doesnt have an escalator, so we are carrying Gigi (like the diva she is) in her stroller up 2 flights of stairs (who needs a gym?).

Izzy holds my hand tight as we teeter on the edge of the curb and wait for a break in cars to make a “run for it” to the other side.  She wrinkles her freckled nose and says for the hundredth time today “I dont really like that smell mommy, do you?”

Aah, that smell…… “street food”…..

Dozens of peddlers and vendors line the corners of major intersections.  
A man rides a bike down our street with a mobile “omelet skillet”.  
Watery rice in broth is served at all hours of the day.  
Thai’s stop and pay .75c a meal for spicy veggie mixtures.  
And that smell….that smell that Izzy has developed such an aversion to is probably the meat.  If you look closely, you can see 10lb. bags of meat that sit out in the boiling sun all day. 
On the side of the road.  
No coolers.  
No ice. 
Just raw meat that is thrown on skewers and made into kebabs. 
The local ex-pats tell me its safe and that they havent gotten sick off of it.  
Im not feeling that brave yet.

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