Running in the Urban Jungle

The way I see it you can say, "Wow, it only took you three posts to blog about running in Thailand!" or you can say, "I can't believe it took you three posts to blog about running in Thailand!"  Perspective matters, folks.  Regardless of how you choose to interpret it, I'm blogging about running in Thailand.

One of the only things that made me leery of coming to Thailand was the fact that Bangkok and its surrounding environs are decidedly urban, and over the last several years I have found solace and peace to my soul by getting out into the woods for trail runs, sometimes for hours at a time (and sometimes for long races, see here and here).  In a technical sense, I was concerned that the attention to footwork, the proprioception (yes, proprioception is a word, I didn't make it up), and foot/ankle motility required for navigating trails would suffer from running almost exclusively on sidewalks and roads.

In that sense, I was worrying needlessly.  Courtesy of the poor condition of many of Bangkok's sidewalks--yeah, I know that my previous post said many of the sidewalks have improved, but the more I've explored running away from the main tourist areas the more I realize that's in specific zones--I feel like I'm doing just as much footwork to avoid uneven pavers, tree roots, the occasional fecal matter, curbs, and myriad other obstacles as any technical trail run in Virginia.  By the way, I find it interesting that in trail running (and mountain biking), a trail described as "technical" is one that has tricky footing because of the natural obstacles placed there, not anything man-made.

I've come to accept that Bangkok's paved surfaces are not as forgiving to my joints as the dirt on my beloved trails.  And I've basically given up on elevation gain while in Bangkok.  This city is F-L-A-T.  The only place to get any vert in is what are called "flyover bridges" (สะพานลอย) and I stink at running up and down those.

For those who know me well and have had the misfortune of seeing me after a run, I can tell you that I sweat just as much here as I do in Virginia.  Oh, who am I kidding?  I sweat significantly MORE.  At some point I hope to acclimate at least a little, but thanks to a very informative podcast, I have low expectations.  Until the rainy season starts in a few weeks and the temperatures drop a bit, I'll just have to settle for the regular 2-3 kilos of sweat loss with every excursion.

Also similar to running in the woods is the need to watch out for hanging and dangling obstacles.  Just like being on a trail run there are plenty tree branches to dodge.  Then there's the dangling wires.  I can't tell which ones might be fiber optic and which might be electric, and because this is Thailand, I'm concerned some of them might be live.  So I avoid them and so far, so good.

The last, but certainly not least, similarity between running in the woods and running in Bangkok is the need to correct the distance my Garmin Fenix (shameless plug there) shows I covered.  The many, many tall buildings here in downtown Bangkok interfere with the GPS signal accuracy, just like the hills and trees do when I'm in the woods and mountains.  Is that a First World type of complaint or what?

All comparisons and complaints aside, I'm just gonna keep on running.

Same-Same But Different

The other day a co-worker asked me how Thailand has changed from the last time I was here.  Since it's been about five years, yah, I have a few observations.  Yes, I know I've used that as a blog post title before, but this time it's...different.  Mali wrote most of that post in 2009, so it's totally different. 

That's not fog...

Same-same: it's still hot, still humid.  It's only slight hyperbole to say I haven't stopped sweating since I got here. 

Different: the pollution seems to have gotten worse.  It's pretty bad during this time of year because there isn't much rain, but my perception of it might be that I'm staying on the upper half of a high-rise building which makes it a bit easier to see the gunk in the air. 

Same-same: Bangkok's streets are still quite congested; people who've been here through the pandemic have told me that traffic has increased noticeably in the past couple of months.  I'm glad that at this point I'm within walking distance of the office and don't have to drive.  My time will come, however, once we're all here and living back in Nonthaburi. 

There are six campaign posters in this photo.

Different: there seem to be more cars, more motorcycles, bigger motorcycles, and a lot of those cars and motorcycles seem to be going a lot faster down the side streets. 

Same-same: navigating the sidewalks can still be an adventure.  Motorcycles still use the sidewalks when the traffic gets bad, and there's always the lovely sensation of stepping on a loose paving stone and having water slosh up on your legs and feet. 

Different: there does seem to be a genuine effort to improve the condition of some of the sidewalks, particularly in areas with a lot of foot traffic.  What's definitely not helping right now are all the campaign signs that appeared this week for the Bangkok gubernatorial election next month.

Same-same: movies are still fun to go to.  Since high school when I worked at a movie theater I have had  a serious soft spot for movies, and since I don't have much else to do on Saturdays, I've been to the movies every weekend so far.  That looks to continue because it's the start of big movie season.  And I do love the caramel popcorn and giant soda while I sit in my assigned seat.

Different: movie ticket and concession prices have increased since we lived here last.  Okay, that shouldn't be a surprise because it's been a decade, but I really shouldn't complain, they're both still cheaper than in the US.

I see this dude all over Bangkok.

Same-same: street food is still cheap and delicious.  There's a fried-chicken and som tam vendor right in front of my building every night and it's amazing.  If my doctor is asking, I only indulge in that delicious fried chicken once a week.  Sometimes twice. 

Different: there has been a proliferation of fast-food franchises and a veritable explosion of Japanese restaurants.  Two places in particular that weren't here even five years ago are Taco Bell and Carl's Jr. (although I've heard the latter is a victim of the pandemic and is going to be closing down).  It seems like you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a McDonald's in downtown Bangkok, and I know of at least three BonChon Chicken locations.  In addition to McDonald's selling fried chicken, Burger King now has fried chicken, including Korean-style, on their menu.

There's plenty more that has changed, and of course my immediate circumstances make the current experience much different than when we lived here before.  Ask me again in about six months after we're settled in Nichada and I'm sure I'll have even more observations about what's changed.

Don't Call It a Comeback...Unless You Really Want To

It's hard to believe I haven't posted here since December 2018.  Okay, in some ways it's hard to believe, but in other ways it's not hard at all to believe.  I started this blog way back in 2009 as an easy way to inform family and friends about our life as we moved to Thailand for a two-year assignment at the Embassy.  It seemed easy because Thailand was such a foreign--some might say alien--experience that the blog almost seemed to write itself.  Once we finished our assignment and got back to Virginia, life seemed to become a little more mundane and the posts slowly tapered off.

Notice I said life seemed to become a little more mundane.  That's probably just because we settled in and got comfortable.  Life was still crazy and there's always interesting stuff happening, but I think I just got complacent and lazy.  We got a new dog (I should probably write a post or two about Daisy, and I still miss Goose), I spent a year away from the family on an assignment in Pakistan (lived to tell that tale; not very exciting, to be honest), graduated two more kids from high school, and to the surprise of absolutely nobody, I ran.  A lot.  Including a couple more ultras.  Because I'm nuts.

So why am I once again writing in my blog after a three-year absence?  Well, my wife and children strongly encouraged me to do it because I am back in the Land of Smiles and will be here for some time.  To be precise, I'm in Bangkok for three months, I will return to the States to help Mali pack up the house, and we will return a month later with our two youngest for a three-year assignment.

 With that in mind, let the insanity--and the perspiration*--commence!

*Note to self: don't wear blue dress shirts to church until you get acclimated to the heat and humidity.  I haven't stopped sweating since I got here 10 days ago and I walked into church looking like I just hit a water buffalo.