Bangkok

I remember when I was younger kids used to play that idiotic joke where they would ask you what the capital of Thailand was, and unless you were savvy or had heard the joke before, the result was always Bangkok! to the tune of some O'Doyle-like clown putting his knee into your groin. The height of hilarity, really. For the longest time I wasn't even convinced that the capital of Thailand, which I could have located on a map only after some difficulty (my South East Asia geography was always dominated by Vietnam as I am sure were many children of baby boomers), could actually coincide with such a dumb and relatively cruel joke. True enough though the Thais seemed to have such a capital. As I grew older Bangkok took on a much different quality in my imagination. One dominated by things like sex-tourism*, modern slavery, gateway to paradise, a place who's seedy underbelly was actually on display.

By the time I left university Bangkok, and indeed Thailand were, in my mind, the tourist destinations of SE Asia. You could hear people talk about their graduation gift of round the world tickets etc. replete with a lengthy hold-over in Thailand. When I arrived in Korea, talk such as this intensified. Flights there are cheap. So much to do. The food is amazing. At this point I was of two minds; 1. I have to see it to believe it 2. it probably fuels my worst nightmare about what tourism is therefore I will also want to escape it as soon as possible.

Well, I'm here. I think that perhaps my vision was colored too much by certain cultural references that are fiction. It can be tough to seperate the two. Bangkok is a fascinating place though. Perhaps I am seeing a slightly different persepctive because I am not staying on Th Khao San. If I were there perhaps I would hate my fellow man more (though I doubt that would be the case) and see a very different picture of Bangkok and a very different introduction of Thailand in general. In any event I am staying in Bangrak in the south part of the city with my friend Aeoy, who has been an amazing host.

I will take the rest of this entry to merely run down the things I have found so far. More intellectual musings can remain for another day. The food is great. Having a Thai friend who knows the city really well helps. I have been to a number of places I just never would have found without her help. Every meal I have had has been great. If you want descriptions I am sure I could not do it justice. American Thai food is a decent rendition of a very small percentage of Thai food. The flavors are on the whole light, quite spicy and suprisingly refreshing. Most food doesn't reinvigorate me so that is a pleasant surprise. The city itself is cool. Sprawling, seething, charged full of energy. It certainly doesn't sleep much. With the advent of a rapid transit system# it is sure to get even better and definitely more travel friendly for those of us beholden to public transport (read: those who still don't have their licenses). The sites are quite nice too. The river is beautiful at night and taking a river taxi is a great way to see the city. The Wats are all über ornate, saffron colored monks are a nice photo piece, the malls are nuts, the new city art gallery was quite nice (Guggenheim-esque). Basically good times are had. I have plenty more to say, but I think I will leave as is for now. Gotta pack up before we head to Nong Khai and then to Laos.


*more on this in a future entry
#I want to write a coffee table book on metros/subways/whatever you call them