Getting to the Esponade mall involved my first Subway ride in Bangkok. I started down in Lumphini (Joe dropped me off here on his way to work) and made my way up to the Thia Cultural Center subway stop. Being my first subway ride, alone, I was a bit nervous but once I got my token and on the train it was no problem at all. The Thai people who work there are so nice and the subway is so clean, no reason to worry. I got off the train, went up to the street level and found my way to the Eponade Mall. Again, another huge 6 or 7 story mall busy with Thai people shopping and hanging out. The skate park is located on the ground floor inside a skate shop named NY/LA. It was a very nice skate shop, looked like a high end retail store. It had the usual brands, hoodies, shoes, shirts, skateboards, looked like Val Surf shop in LA with out the surf boards and ski equipment. You pay 90 baht ($3), get a wrist band and you can skate all day, I guess, I skated for an hour. The park is indoors of course, it has a small mini bowl that is sort of a kidney shape then there are various banks and ledges.
There were a couple of kids skating, not very busy at all, it was dead. It was the middle of the day and school is in session here in bangkok, so who knows. I was hoping to see some rippers but no one was there. I skated the 3 foot bowl mostly and then a little of the street stuff. There was a fun bank and a small quarter. The bowl has pretty mellow transitions with metal coping. Not sure what the surface was, I think some type of Masonite that was flaking off in places. There are portions of the bowl that are almost not skate-able because of holes in the surface. It was fun to roll around on for a bit but I can see how this place would get boring after a while. To be the only real skate park in Bangkok is surprising to me since there are 12 million people living in the city. I asked Joe about the funding and he says there is none. In my mind the only way to get things built would be to set up a non-profit organization and collect funding through donations. Skateparks are not really considered an investment for the private sector. I know kids want to skate in bangkok. I was stopped by a 7 year old Thai boy on the subway who asked where I was skating (he spoke good English), that he wanted a skateboard and that his favorite skater was Tony Hawk. Then I talked to his dad (also very good English) and he said he was going to buy the boy a skateboard next month. I told them about the skate park in the mall and they were very excited. but to be honest I have not seen anybody skate in bangkok yet. So many stair sets, hand rails and ledges in the city. I know they are here.
After I finished up walking around the Esponade mall I headed back out to the subway and headed down to Sikumvit. Sikumvit is probably the center of tourism for the city that is packed with hotels, bars and street markets. You get up to street level and the sidewalk is jammed with street vendors selling tshirts, watches, gold shirts, dvd's, and other various nick-naks. Then the other side of the sidewalk are restaurants, massage parlors, suit shops, silk shops, and more. And as you walk through the people on either side of you are asking you do you want to buy, do you want to eat, spend your money here. It is a bit over whelming to say the least. I dont even know how to describe it all, I guess look at the photos. Well, I ended up at a bar, had a beverage and then caught a taxi back to Joes. Before I hailed my taxi I stopped at a noodle stand and had brothy pork soup with noodles. I could have stayed out longer but my feet were killing me from walking, then the air is full of exhaust, you almost feel like you cannot breath sometimes when you get caught between street vendors and buildings. It was a fun day, I can see why Sukimvit is a tourist hot spot.
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