Bangkla: Floating Market, Boat Ride, and Childhood in Bangkla

I read an article once about Frank Lucas, notorious gangster and the central character of the movie American Gangster. The article told about the elderly Lucas. Though it had been years since he had been the kingpin of the New York drug cartel those around him still treated him like an organized crime boss. Men wiling to do whatever he asked surrounded him, he demanded their respect with his very presence. Saturday I met the closest thing to Bangkla’s Frank Lucas

Though he has never sold drugs or been in a gunfight, Agan Neetat, a former schoolteacher in Bangkla, has the respect of many people, and is treated as if he had the last name Corleone, or Saprano. He is an old family friend who is close friends with both my grandfather and my mother. Today we are Agan Neetat’s special guests. He picks us up at our apartment. John Mark and I squeeze into the backseat of a small pick-up and Granddaddy sits in the front seat. While he normally has a drive, today he has taken the driving responsibilities upon himself. The happy older man speaks excellent English and it is a pleasure to speak with. On his face is a permanent smile and he has an exciting personality to match. His main concern is our happiness and he asks us often if we are we are enjoying our time. Our first stop is to the Bangkla floating market. We are told the market is famous and that on holidays people travel from Bangkok to Bangkla to visit it. When we arrive there is a special parking space reserved for us and men in matching Hawaiin style shirts, who work for Agan Weechai, attend to us. As we enter the floating market a Sony Cybershot appears in Agan Neetat’s hand and we spend some time taking pictures at the market entrance. After our photo shoot we pass merchants and many different food vendors and walk directly to a boat on the edge of the floating market.

I climb aboard the small boat unsure of the vessel that is only 2 feet wide. After everyone is seated we pose for a few more pictures and begin our trip touring the Sawai River. There are many wonderful things to take pictures of and Agan Neetat is sure to point out every good photo opportunity. Our tour circles a very large island in the middle of the river. After thirty minutes we stop at a small floating barge to rest and to purchase a snack at a small market. And by small I mean…there are four vendors. We snap a few more pictures and return to the boat to go back to the floating market. As we pass the Victory Statue to Taksin the Great I zoom my camera in to take a picture, when I turn the grip on my lens to zoom out I hear a grinding sound and my lens sticks. I gently manipulate it back into it’s original position, focus on a distant house, and attempt to zoom in. With only having magnified my image half what it is suppose to the lens sticks again. After a significant amount of time attempting to discover what is wrong with my camera, frustrated, I give up and conclude that it is broken. The camera itself still works, and I can use the zoom on the lens if I gently extend it by hand. Seeing my frustration Agan Neetat tells me he is sorry, but I quickly let him know that even though I am frustrated with the camera I am still enjoying the time I am spending with him.

We return to the market and are served a delicious lunch at a table that has been reserved for us (no one else has reserved tables). After eating lunch we climb back into the pickup truck and drive to see former homes of the Willis family. The missionary homes, still owned by the IMB, are, mostly, inhabited by people associated with the hospital. We are granted permission to enter inside the fence to take pictures and are even invited in the first house where my mother and her family lived in Bangkla. I photograph the house inside and out before we move to the yard of the house next door. When my mother’s family returned from the states on their first furlough (state side assignment), they moved into the second house, which has now been painted blue. I try to visualize the stories I have been told about my mother’s childhood and find myself wishing she were with me.

Our final stop before returning to the apartment is to the Agan Neetat’s house. We quickly visit the school, which is directly next door to his house, and then have the opportunity to meet his daughter, Aed. Aed is a childhood friend of my mother’s and I make sure to ask her if she will pose for a picture with me. My grandfather is invited inside to see Agan Neetat’s wife, who is very ill, and John Mark and I spend time exploring the wonderful garden that has been cultivated in the front of the house. After a few moments to two old friends emerge from the house and we return to the apartment. We say goodbye to Agan Neetat, thank him for the wonderful time, and make plans to spend more time together before we return to the states. The morning is frustrating, but incredibly fun, spending time with a vibrant family friend and his daughter, and being able to see where my mother grew up.

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