Contrasts

I had two days left in Bangkok to pack in as much as possible. I started by picking up my processed Chinese visa and then spent about an hour finding my way to the Thailand Cultural Centre, which was about a 15 minute walk from the embassy. Once there I took in a mixed bag of an exhibition on Thai people, culture and history. I found it interesting, that they didn't make mention of the fact, that Thailand is the biggest exporter of rice in the world, certainly something I would advertise. I followed this up with a subway trip to one of the major shopping streets in the hope of finding a cheap second-hand guide to Nepal and more importantly lunch. Instead I was tackled by three girls advertising a new hotel in the area and was dragged off to said establishment for a sales talk. I got the hell out of there as quickly as possible, but did end up with a voucher for a complimentary week-long stay in of the chain's outlets, which are located around the world. Handy. It just so happened, that I was now in the vicinity of a red light disctrict, so as one does, I stopped in for lunch. As to be expected the area was fairly quiet during the day.
Next I jumped on a local bus on the way to an alternative art gallery, found inside an alternative shopping mall, described in the Lonely Planet as being too alternative for the suburb in which it is located. Excitedly I entered a Starbucks in the small unsuspecting building (apart from the big statue of a techno Mickey Mouse out front) and enjoyed a superb cup of coffee to the tunes of Thai Sinatra covers, in quiet anticipation of the, no doubt, excellent alternative stores and art I was about to discover. As it turned out, the stores and art gallery were so alternative in fact, that they couldn't stay in business. The Starbucks was the only thing still going in the otherwise empty mall. No further comment.
To make up for the lack of alternative art I pushed onward to an alternative cinema, where I watched "Persepolis" an excellent animated drama about the life of an Iranian girl, growing up during the country's revolution in the 1970s. This was a moment of multiculturalism at its best: a German Australian, drinking Coke, an American beverage, watching a French production about Iran in a cinema in the capital of Thailand.
I thought I would fittingly move on from this thought-provoking and moving film to another thought-provoking and moving show, namely Muay Thai Boxing. Hop on the back of another motorbike, over to the nearest subway station and along to one of the two main stadiums in Thailand for three hours of head kicking, gut punching action, keenly observed by yours truly from a ringside seat. If you've seen "Ong Bak" you have some idea of what goes on in the ring of a Thai boxing venue. Men/boys, in some cases seemingly as young as 14, dance around in traditional dress for several minutes before pummeling each other every which way for five rounds of three minutes each. I tried to get some good shots, but it's all pretty fast and furious.
After checking out a night market nearby I finished the evening by walking through another of the red light districts, this one in full swing of operation. In a completely unrelated episode, dozens of Thai ladies, some of questionable beauty and sexuality, tried to entice me into their bedrooms, conveniently situated nearby, in order to get to know me. Ah yes, I've still got it!

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