Pahurat and Yaowarat, Bangkok Thailand. Prepare to get lost because you will

One of the many temples speckled throughout Yaowarat

Part of our justification for taking this trip to Thailand was to buy fabrics for the Queens business back home.  After much research, the best spot to buy seemed to be Pahurat (little India) and a side trip to little China (Yaowarat) to make for a lovely day.  One word of advice if you have an agenda and/or a place you need to find in Yaowarat.  Prepare to get very lost and very frustrated.  If you don't, prepare to be amazed!

The enthralling maze which are Yaowarat and Phahurat.

A couple of things that one should know about me before I continue.  The first is that I am quite the navigator, and have a great sense of direction.   I am also somewhat anal when it comes to travelling on limited time and immerse myself in information and planning and dreaming to take advantage of every second.  The last thing is that I can walk. Archimedes was quoted as saying "Give me a lever long enough and a place to stand on and I can move the world."  You can quote me as. "  Give me a pair of sandals and a good reason and I can walk to China."

The prince is also quite the walker, and at times I felt like he did better than me.  The princess had the luxury of being wheeled around in a stroller.  She was quite the trooper, and never once complained abut the long hours, or the heat, or the crowds or anything.  She amazed and shocked me.  The Queen on the other hand did have a little trouble keeping up. The crowds and the heat which was stifling and not having the right shoes didn't help either.  Don't get me wrong in an aerobic slug-fest she can run circles around me hands down.  But when it comes to walking, I am a tough act to follow.

So here we were the 4 of us and an agenda, fabric shopping in Phahurat and temple watching along the way.  I had my maps visualized, and my tablet loaded with maps and sites to serve as backup.  Thought maybe half a day tops, and then off to eat

and freshening up.  Even decided to walk from the hotel to the starting point, and extra 2 kilometers to boot.

Word to the wise.  If you haven't been to Yaowarat before and think you can navigate off the beaten track, forget about it.  Couldn't even find the starting point.  We were absolutely lost.  My north turned out to be west and with no landmarks we were doomed. What should have been a 20 minute walk to our first goal turned into a 5 hour forced march through alleys and streets, and over bridges.  Once you are lost, stopping and whipping out your Tablet to view maps in the middle of busy thorough fares is a lost cause.  Especially for a too proud male who thinks that somehow by not looking at a map as everyone who walks by stares at you  is somehow fitting in.  The worst part was that with a set agenda in my head, and places I needed to show, what could have been a casual stroll turned into a forced march.

This was a very stressful day and a test for what was to come.  The queen was totally exhausted and absolutely frustrated and peeved with my tour guide abilities.  I was upset because I felt that all the pressure was on me and was only doing it for them anyway.  I hadn't seen any of the things I had wanted to show, and wasn't able to locate Pahurat, Little India, to boot!  Being the thick headed walker that I was, I was not willing to stop or throw in the towel either, so we walked and walked and then walked some more.  Yes we did stop at some street food stalls for a late lunch, but I didn't even enjoy that since I was hoping to get some of that amazing Chinese and Indian street food that the area was famous for. Finally realizing how lost we were, we took a taxi back to Yaowarat, and the place we actually started from  and 20 minutes later I located the beginning of little India and its textile shops.  It was now close to getting dark.  Obviously by this time the Queen was thoroughly pissed off and could care less about shopping and just wanted to get home.  So after some convincing she half ass shopped a little, but the day was basically ruined with our two objectives, sightseeing and shopping being over shadowed by the pressure and fatigue.

But it didn't have to be this way, as it wasn't a scenery issue but an attitude one.  If you make this journey to Phahurat and Yaowarat prepare to get lost, and revel in it.  Because once you do you will be amazed by the eye candy this place has to offer.  It turned out to be our favorite place in Bangkok and the best place to eat as well.  It took a second trip to appreciate it in all its splendor, and become a little better orientated.  By our third journey here we were experts and felt bad we didnt have more time to get lost again.

As day turns to night the neon signs begin to light up, and street vendors begin to set up shop on the streets offering  plethora of food, especially seafood based Chinese dishes.

Trying to see which way to go and not seem too obvious.  

One of the many little alley ways to explore and get lost in.

By following one of these walkways you are taken to new and sometimes awkward places.  Many times these paths will send you through someones kitchen or living room set up on the street, before returning you to a wider pathway.

Once 5 pm rolls around the side streets that are day markets close almost instantaneously giving you an eerie feeling and a real need to get out to a major thoroughfare and back to civilization.