Khao San Road

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Good evening blogger officianados from the state of emergency. Actuallly it is a fairly tranquil state so far with no apparent change in the rhetoric and the stalemate.The advance polls were all most completely disrupted in Bangkok but across the country they seem to have proceeded as scheduled. The demonstrators are still camped out at strategic intersections but Bangkok is definately not shut down!

I have decided that I am done with temples and have turned my sights and walking shoes in the direction of other worldly pleasures like shopping and drinking! Well that is somewhat of an exaggeration, but I did decide to visit a very unique Bangkok locale and not a temple or palace in sight.

Khao San Road is a neon lit united nations in the middle of the city. A unique melting pot of hippies and backpackers, organized tour groups, global nomads and everyone looking at you, looking at them, looking at everyone else. A mix of travellers just about to dip their toes in the sea of south east asian travel rubbing shoulders with the seasoned and unwashed veterans returning from the killing fields of Cambodia or the newly opened world of Myanmar. Every country has sent their citizens and everyone mixes in a wonderful exchange of travel stories, warnings, recommendations and opinion. Restaurants, bars, tattoo parlours, massage parlours, souvenir shops, tailor shops. A sreet scene like no other and unfolding in front of dozens of sidewalk cafes and bars so plenty of front row seats.

I had stumbled across Khao San road the other day on my walk about to the golden mount but was too hit and tired to stick around but made a mental note to return. My return was yesterday afternoon and I took the ferry to the Grand Palace Pier and walked from there. Once again crossing the Royal Field and then dodging the very heavy traffic before turning onto Khao San. The streets Round it were filled with silver shops, windows piled high with silver jewellery of every description and I am sure quality. I looked at a few things but no purchases today. Wandering up and down the street, I met an Indian fortune teller, from the ancient city of Varanesse who told me someone missed me and for 30 dollars he would tell me who and also throw in my mothers name as proof positive he was no charlatan. I thought 30 dollars american was high, I know who is missing me and already know my mother's name, so it did not seem like a good investment!

I passed a McDonald's with Ronald McDonald standing in front, hands pressed together in the typical Thai greeting. A cultural assimilation for sure but I am not sure in which direction.

It being a hot day rehydration was uppermost in my mind so I found a little bar with seats facing the street and settled in with a cold Singha beer.The street was never as crowded as it would get at night but there was a constant parade of characters, backpackers waiting bervousky across the street for a bus to the airport, looking at their watches and I am sure wondering if they had made a horrible mistake when out of nowhere a guy arrives on a scooter and behind him a van, backpacks loaded and gone, no sign they were ever there. I watched that play out a few times, the scooter guy seemingly running a business with no building.

As the day flowed along I chatted with some German guys just returning from Cambodia and Lao. They had been moved by the killing fields and the atrocities carried out there. They acknowledged their own dark past but still could not believe such insanity could exist.

At one point a woman came by selling cooked scorpions! I had eaten my lunch but was enthusiastically exhorting a young Italian guy to give em a try and damn if he didn't. By his account it was not a particularly pleasant or unpleasant experience.

As the shadows were growing all of a sudden the clothing vendor beside the bar started to pull all their stock, racks and all of the street was in obvious panic. This after they had just recently set them all up. It was not clear what was happening as in about 5 minutes they put it all back, but when I did leave the bar and was walking down the street I understood. I was at a small shop negotiating a price on something when there was a yell from up the road and immediately all the shops were scrambling to pull in their wares, cover their displays and try to appear to be closed. The shop keeper I was talking to said it was the police and they were after money! Sure enough a vehicle was coming up the road with lights flashing, two uniformed guys got out at different shops, seizing goods, taking pictures and clearly harrassing the shop keepers. Not sure whether Monday is a no market day or what, but as soon as the vehicle passed everything came out and life was back to normal!!

Fascinating!

Well that was my afternoon, another day of fun in the sun. Bye for now from BKK.

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