On The Other Side In Bangkok 1

On The Other Side In Bangkok
I woke up early and opened the window to an unusually fresh May morning and felt like walking. My area isn't exactly the place for it though as, it's filled with drab, new to 10 year old apartment buildings in various states of neglect.
There is a footbridge across the highway and I thought about exploring the other side. As soon as got behind the front row of restaurants and 3-4 floor motels, I was back in old Bangkok. The city I remembered from 12 years ago. I came across a stinking canal lined with rickety 3 storey wooden houses packed tightly on the narrow bank. Waste water was draining on to the floors below from too short, white and blue plastic pipes extending over the canal. I looked down at the grey, stinky sludge and saw a turtle sunning itself on top of a pile of decaying plastic bags.
Across the small, concrete bridge there was a large Buddhist temple complex whose thousands of mirror tiles were richly sparkling in the early rays of the sun.
I walked down an alley beside some family homes past some lazy cats that eyed me suspiciously.
There were several breakfast sellers getting their twin, woven bamboo baskets ready to go. They were loading them with hard boiled eggs on sticks, boiled peanuts, sweet potatoes and corn cobs. There were twelve garishly painted plaster animals of the Chinese Zodiac by the side of the complex, fake plastic garlands hanging off them. The Tiger got most and the Snake got least.
The main temple was guarded by a large statue of a demon holding a sword and next to it a golden stupa was fronted by a bright blue faced human figure of Rama. Indian and Chinese myths, legends and religions blended together in a most eclectic manner here. Across the temple there were two shrines side by side, one for Quan Yin the Chinese Goddess of Mercy and the other for Ganesha the elephant headed God of Good Fortune both looking over at the dancing girls' pavilion. This open concrete structure had at least four dozen costumes in all colours hanging on a long cloths stand, lined up against the back wall. Mirrored dressers in front and an enormous burnt log covered with gold leafs occupied the centre with pair of portraits of two women who also had the golden treatment. I wondered what good deeds they've do to deserve such high honour. People pay for dancers to perform to Buddha as an offering.
I smelled roasting leaves, turned around and found an old lady preparing little bundles of banana leaf packages on a wheeled charcoal grill cart. I asked her for one to which she gave me the customary big smile and an out pour of Thai that I didn't understand. But money talks I thought reaching out my palm full of small change. It worked. I walked back towards the main road munching on sticky rice flavoured with coconut, dried fish and scented with lemon grass. It was so sweet Padma Lakshmi would have 'spit it out into her napkin'.