Curiosity Fills the Air on a Return to Thailand

A cooling breeze swept the terrace of Bangkok’s Oriental Hotel that sundown, and lamps along the river began to glow. Tugboats slipped past, pulling long barges of rice. A sleek motor launch cut across the water, ferrying tourists to the nightly culture-and-folk-art show in a pavilion opposite the hotel.

This show--with its traditional masked dances and ceremonies--had been recommended to me by two taxi drivers, a clerk at the splendid Thai Silk Co. on Suriwong Road, and a butler at the Dusit Thani hotel.

The Thais are a kind and curious people, but their candor may bring comments and questions that some travelers find unusual.

“What are you doing tonight?” the floor butler had asked, as he brought afternoon tea and a snack of sticky rice and mango.

“I’m going to meet a friend at the Oriental,” I replied, only slightly surprised by the query.

“Good idea,” he said, and suggested the cultural performance.

In the elevator on the way to the lobby, a man said with a smile: “Is this your first visit to Thailand?”

“No, but it’s been a long time.”

“Are you traveling alone?” he asked, shifting his little girl to another arm as the door opened. I shook my head as we parted.

“The Thais don’t mean to be nosy,” explained Danny McCafferty, a hotel man who has lived in Bangkok for years. “But their questions can seem a little personal to residents of the Western world.

“I remember a maiden lady who came to the concierge desk in a huff to report that a floor butler had asked, ‘Are you married?’ I assured her that such questions are not meant to be impolite. It’s just friendly curiosity.”

After bargaining--rather masterfully, I thought--for a Bangkok taxi one muggy evening, I settled into the back seat. “You have made a good bargain,” the driver said with a sigh, starting the car. “But that’s OK. I don’t have air conditioning.”

He handed me a palm-frond fan. My mouth was still open as he flipped on the air conditioning and smiled at his little joke.

“Where are you from?” he asked as we wound through dark streets. “Where are you going tomorrow?”

When I told him the name of a nearby market village, he said: “That’s my hometown. I’ll take you there.”

I explained that I had already made arrangements. “How much you pay? I take you for less.”

The rules of bargaining in Bangkok are true for much of Southeast Asia: Offer half of what is asked and then negotiate.

If you are not happy, walk away. You’ll have multiple opportunities to buy most merchandise. Because of brand-name knockoffs, prices can lack logic. Haphazardly made beaded elephants may cost as much as a shiny Rolex watch that is pulled from beneath a street-market table. The going rate for Rolexes, when I was there, was $9 to $13.

“They are illegal to take back,” an American teacher told me. “But it’s tempting, and they are guaranteed to keep running until after your plane takes off.”

It had been several years since my last trip to Bangkok. While the gilded Buddhist temples (there are 400 in Bangkok) remain as impressive as ever, other changes are obvious: Burger Kings, automated teller machines, glitzy movie houses showing the latest Hollywood hits, and Diet Cokes everywhere. Motorcycles have multiplied. Air pollution is a shame.

One of the great escapes in Bangkok is the quiet, air-conditioned Thai Silk Co., founded by the late American adventurer Jim Thompson. A two-block walk from the Dusit Thani at the corner of Lumpini Park, it is instantly recognizable: The white building, with its upturned red tile roof, looks like a traditional Thai house.

It is the best-organized store I have ever seen. Lustrous silk evening bags, bolts of cloth, men’s ties, picture frames, hand-painted pillow cases, shirts, jackets and dozens of other dazzling items are arranged by style, and in a bold rainbow of colors. Prices are discreetly posted on clear plastic shelves. There is no bargaining.

All purchases are paid for at a single checkout counter near the door. One clerk adds up totals, another accepts your check, cash or traveler’s check--any kind. A third person bags your goods in handsome paper envelopes and slips in extra wrapping paper and stickers, knowing some purchases may be gifts.

“Would you like your change in dollars?” the girl asked.

Since my departure was the next day, I appreciated her question. In fact, I found all the questions charming--once I caught on to the game.