Bangkok bids me hello

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So I am already pretty far behind in this blogging thingie, but i wanted to get my first impressions of Bangkok down while they are still fresh. I still have to account for KL Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Langkawi. Though Maybe I'll give it a miss...

In any case. Bangkok. Wow. This is an insane place. I didn't take any pictures, so I'll have to give you mental images.

On the bus: Crammed to the max of whittie back-packers all in various stages of cleanliness and disorder. My favorite image from the ride:

Two girls on a scooter crossing a five lane road with loads of oncoming traffic. Her strategy: One lane at a time. Block a car, move. Block a car, move. The closest thing I can think to explain it would be for a car to cut perpendicular to a big free way (i.e. I-80), one lane at a time. None of the stopped cars seeming to care. What makes it even cooler is that the driver was talking on a cell phone the whole time.

I get off the bus, and am immediately blasted with tourist mania. I am staying in the traditional backpacker area of Bangkok, so there are loads of people catering to us. Immediately, warm faces were asking me where I was from. Every one wants to know if it snows there.

The single image that I have seared into my brain is a wall of posters asking for information about Tsunami victums. Each poster has a photo, a description of where they were from, what they were wearing, and any noticable markings (tatoos, etc). There are tons and tons of these posters. Occasionally you'll see an update. So and so was confirmed dead on 1/25. So and so was confirmed alive on 1/10. I can't really describe in words the feelings that I had looking at this. It is clear that the descriptions were written by distraught family members. One guy typically wears "tan trousers", and "short sleeve shirts". How do you describe in a concise way something that might aid in finding a loved one? All of the posters are centered around a big clear box of plastic that is full of money. In the internet cafe, a poster quitely asks westerners to give blood. All of this in the middle of this bustling tourist area. Life has definitely moved on, but the impacts of the tsunami are evident.

My hotel is a bit strange. The desk had a sign that says "full", yet a couple told me to try anyway. It turns out that they have loads of rooms. Odd that they would keep a sign up. So I am on the 5th floor, which is great considering my chronic-overpacker mentality towards packing my backpack...

I noticed two odd things about my hotel (after I had already paid to check in) is that Thai people aren't allowed to stay there. To prevent prostitutes, maybe? Seems kind of odd. Also, apparently Israelis are not welcome. I don't get that at all. In any case, I think I'll switch to a new place tomorrow - I am getting wierd vibes from these guys.

I also just had an amazing "tut-tut" experience. A tut-tut is basically an enlarged go-cart with a bench for carrying tourists around. A driver offered me a "free" trip to a couple of tourist places. It was "free" because the driver would get a coupon from the tourist office that would give him a free tank of gas. First off, what an experience! This guy is all about whizzing our ride in between traffic, into oncoming traffic, and around impossibly tight turns. It was quite a rush (though at one point when we were playing chicken with a large on coming truck, I didn't think I was going to make it to relate the story...). He even offered to let me drive, but I politely declined.

1. They drive on the wrong side of the road.

2. Though I am battle hardened by driving the mean, lean streets of Boston and San Francisco, I am not ready to drive here. You know that age-old addage - 90%!o(MISSING)f the drivers in the states think that they are "well above average" drivers. Sorry folks, you can't all be above average. The definition of the word average sort of gets in the way... And I have NO delusions of even being CLOSE to average here...

So anyway, my "free" ride actually turns into a "shopping" spree in which I am forced to go into several establishments that my driver buddy has kick-back arrangements with.

I went to:
Two High-end tailors who would sell me shirts, suits, and more.

A "government-sanctioned" travel agency who seemed convinced that I needed to plan out every minute of my stay in Thailand, right NOW.

Once I caught on to what Jom (my friendly driver) was doing, I actually had fun with it. I didn't really have anywhere in specific that I needed to be, and he got a free tank of gas every time we stopped. I started telling him that I wanted half of the gas that he got. He also got disappointed every time I came out of the store empty-handed. Apparently he got 2 tanks of gas if I bought something. He tried in broken english to convince me that I should in fact, buy a suit. Once he realized that I didn't want travel services, a new suit, or some vague service from a girl that he knew, he relented and took me back.

I don't want to make this sound like I had a negative experience on this trip. Quite the contrary actually. The Thai people are legendary for their friendliness. I saw ample evidence of this on our little trip. Even Jom himself was all smiles and laughs.

I guess that's about it for this entry. Sorry it was so long.

Oh by the way. Thai food is SOOOOO good here. And cheap. I have already eaten like a hundred times (and I've only been here for 4 hours)

Pad Thai (from a street vendor) - $0.50
Beer - $1
Plate of Basil-Chili Chicken (from a tourist-trap joint) - $2

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