The One That Got Away

#227: Bangkok Bag

I was in Bangkok in 2003 for a week-long meeting. The meetings would start at 9am and end at around 6pm. Then the REAL day would start. Our first night (which was in Pat Pong) was a visual assault of sorts. I'm not talking about the pole-dancing ladies inside bars giving "come-hither" looks to people walking on the streets. I'm talking about the rows upon rows of stalls that sell sarongs, shoes, souvenirs, bags... Everything. Everything that you can haggle for, you can find there. I was thrilled yet surprisingly restrained. A colorful hat, a bag I kind of liked but could've done without, and pair of drawstring pants were all I got. Pretty okay but no eureka moment yet.

The second night, our hosts took us to a posh mall. My shop-itchy hands took a bit of rest as I knew there was no bargain waiting for me there. We were led out soon after so that we could be shuttled off to our welcome dinner at Shangri-La Bangkok. It was then that I caught a glimpse of this beautiful black purse on a stall just outside the mall. We were running on a very tight schedule but it called to me and I just had to check it out. The first price they quoted was reasonable. I could haggle more but didn't really need to or want to. I could've gotten it there and then. But someone said that there were more stalls, more days for us to go around. I could find a better bag. And so I gave it one last look and reluctantly let it go. As they said, I could find a better bag.

3 nights after, I had several shopping bags of several pairs of shoes, a couple of purses and lots of trinkets from many different markets and malls. We went to Lumpini, Maboongkrong, Chatuchak...but I never saw a bag like it again. I flew back to the Philippines the following day and for a couple of weeks scoured the malls for something like it or maybe something better. But nothing grabbed me. Nothing was like the bag I left in Bangkok.

That was 4 years ago. I've bought at least 4 or 5 black purses since. None of them ever matched the bag that got away.