A WORLD OF EXTREMES

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September 4, 2010

A PAMPERED BEGINNING

The ride from the airport to the hotel was pretty much like many others we have experienced. They drive to close together and to fast, just like London, Mexico City, New York, Paris or Rome. The major difference was it was like driving in to London that happens to be in Mexico. Let me explain. In Thailand they drive on the left side of the road and their steering wheel is on the right side of the car, just like England. However, the scenery on the way to Bangkok is much the same as if you were driving into Mexico City. You notice the poverty, and the poverty is intense. Worse is the difference between those who have and those who don’t is readily apparent. I will discuss that further later on.

Checking In.

I began by saying I would not bore you with intense daily details, but the checking in process at the Lebua at State Tower, needs to be told. Mainly, because we have never experienced anything like it. Of course we have only one other 5 star hotel experience to compare to, but it was not like this. Yes, it was a 5 star hotel that we got for a 2 star price. One, because it is Bangkok and it is cheaper here and two, because we booked on Expedia.com (not paid to use their name) at the same time we booked our flight, thus getting more of a discount.

We were met by a bellman, not unlike any other hotel we have ever checked into. He took our bags and we did not see them again until we got to the room. The bellman escorted us to a seating area and told us to have a seat, asked if we would like something to drink. Then he moved us to a nice lounge are. To digress a bit, the water was $21, possibly the most expensive bottle water we have ever drunk. Lesson learned; do not drink water in the hotel lounge.

Within 3 minutes of being served our water, a nice young Thai woman came to our table with a brown folder. She opened the folder and began the check in process while we drank expensive water and ate nuts. No paperwork for us to fill out, we just sat; she asked questions, confirmed our room, took our passports and left for about 8 minutes. We enjoyed our water. When she came back she said she had two choices, a room on the 21st floor with a King bed or a room on the 51st floor, river view but only two queen beds (later learned, they were double beds, but whatever) for the same price. We took the 51st floor, better view. She left again, when she returned she did not hand as our key and point us to the elevator, she personally escorted us to our room and showed us how the TV worked, how the internet worked, what was complimentary, where breakfast was (oh yes breakfast was included, more on that later) and so on. When she left, we knew more about that hotel room than I do about how my DVD player works at home.

During the time we were being checked in, if our personal clerk was not with us, the bellman returned to inquire of our plans and how he could assist. We told him that later that day we were going to look for a tailor to have some clothes made (its Bangkok, if you don’t have custom clothes made here your missing out). He steered us away from the tailor in the hotel and to his friend.

Custom Made

Bangkok is famous for tailors and custom made clothing. You cannot walk down the street without someone approaching you with fabric selections and attempting to lure you into their shop. There are hundreds of tailors to choose from. So then how to you pick the right one. The guide books will list a few, notably Raja’s and other well known and respected tailors. Does this mean they are the best or that you should use them? Certainly not. The tailor we went to was recommended by the bellman at the hotel. Now certainly he is in someway connected to the shop and profits from our purchases, but the one thing we have learned is 😞(and this is my first big Thailand tip) do not take advice from anyone on the street, they simply flat out lie. The staff at your hotel is much more reliable, while they may profit from their recommendations, it is not in their best interest to mislead you as the “wily” strangers on the street will.

The tailor picked us up at our hotel and took us directly to the shop. Robin met us at the door offering beer, water or other beverages. He then quickly set to the business of selling, selling selling. Now, not being ones to be easily swayed we let Robin make what can only be described as his timeshare presentation before we started our questioning. We started off with the obvious, price, quality and timing. He answered all of our questions at all times still selling. Once the rules (and do get the rules before hand) were established the selections began. First, what did we want made? Then on to the selection of fabrics and styles, finally the measuring. I strongly recommend you have a clear idea of what you want before you arrive. I knew that I wanted one maybe two suits, a couple shirts and one or two casual linen slacks. Jerry wanted a suit, shirt and a styling guru style shirt. If you know what you want ahead of time, it is much easier to resist the constant up sell. They always have a special deal if you buy two slacks with your suit. But do you really need to spend the extra 2,000 bahts? Probably not.

I have not had clothes made for me since I was a child, when my biological mother (you don’t need to know) made me shirts (out of not stylish material), so we had no idea what to expect. Robin measured us everywhere, well almost everywhere. Of course it was all in Thai so we don’t have any idea what any of it meant.

After the measuring, we paid the deposit and arranged for our first fitting. They then transported us to where ever we wanted to go. The real test will of course be when we go back for the fitting on Monday.

I will give the name of the tailor after we get the final product. I don’t want to suggest you use someone that is not worth the price.

A GLIMPSE OF SLEAZE

When we were done at the tailors, Robin had a driver takes us to Nana Circle. Presumably we were going there to visit another tailor to get a price check. Robin guaranteed us he would beat any price on the same quality items substantially. We didn’t go to another tailor, even though the street we were now on Sukhumvit Rd had a tailor every other shop. We were happy with what we had chosen and the price we were given, why spend another 3 hours doing the timeshare presentation with a new tailor.

The real point of this section is my first impression of the sex industry in Thailand. It was here that we got our first introduction to Thailand’s famous sex trade. We were walking and shopping and looking for a place to have lunch. We found a group of street food vendors, more like street food mall. I need to explain there are three levels of street food. The most prevalent being those literally on the street with their woks, grills, or boiling pots of soup. The second would be what we in Portland know as street carts and finally, street food is also in small shops with tables. Our first dinning experience was at the last type of street food vendor. There was a large area of tables and about 7 different vendors along the back wall. We ordered are food by pointing at the pictures since it was all in Thai. Spicy Fish Cakes, noodles, spring rolls and curry all 420 bahts or $13. The food was good and the spice die not kill us, they clearly knew (how could you not, two white guys) we were tourists.

While we were enjoying our lunch and observing the crowd, I noticed 2 things, first our server was not what she appeared to be. She was in fact a lady boy (we call them drag queens). In Thailand, homosexuality and drag are not looked down on, in fact I read on the trip here that over 80%!o(MISSING)f all men in Thailand have sex with other men, then go on to get married as that is just what is done. Lady boy’s on the other hand live there entire life as woman. They just don’t dress up to go to a bar; they spend every day in drag. Some have breast implants, some do not. But they work and live as who they are, and no one gives it a second thought.

The second thing I notice was there were a large number of old, fat balding white men, with young, very young Thai women. At first, being somewhat naïve at times, I didn’t get it, then suddenly it dawned on me when I saw one such unlikely couple walk out of a bar. These men had bought these women for the day, night or week. Now, not being one to be a prude or overly judgmental about sex, prostitution, etc. I mean, I have always held the belief we should legalize prostitution as they do in Nevada, and tax it. The schools would be better for it. Enough of the soap box. Normally, I would not have given such a sight a second thought, but this somehow made my stomach turn. Was it the huge age difference? Was it because the young woman, actually girl, did not look well and was not happy in her work? Was it because the man, not only being unattractive and old, but treated the girl like property? He didn’t care that she was unhappy, that she was tired, and clearly not feeling up to the task ahead of her. All of this just made me sick to my stomach.

In the space of 2 hours we had gone from the excess of wealth to the reality of life for many in Bangkok. It was an unsettling feeling.

END OF OUR FIRST DAY

After lunch and purging my mind of the above picture (but not the experience) we headed back to the hotel. Not wanting to sit in traffic for hours or pay the price of a taxi, we opted for the Sky Train. This is one of the four mass transportation options in Thailand, none of which are operated by the same organization. The Sky Train as the name implies is an elevated system, much like the L in Chicago. It is very inexpensive about $1 for most trips. It is also clearly built not just for the Thai’s but for tourists as everything is in Thai script and English. (Through our travels we have come to learn that English is the universal travel language, lucky for us one language Americans). The Sky Train was not only a cheap way to get back to our hotel, but to our surprise it was both clean and air conditioned. There are three lines to the System, one which goes to the airport, the other two to various sections of the city. After one transfer to the Silom line we were back to the hotel in less than 10 minutes. By taxi or tuk tuk, the same trip would have taken about 45 minutes. Traffic is hell here.

Normally, on our trips we have a time in the day we refer to as wine-thirty. That part of the afternoon, tired from our travels that we find a café, have some wine and determine where we will have dinner that night. In Bangkok we have pool-thirty. Wine is expensive and rare here and a dip in the pool at the end of a humid humid day is really what is called for. So when we got back to the hotel to the pool we went. For the most part we had this huge pool to ourselves.

One thing I have not yet described is the national greeting in Thailand. Everywhere you go people greet you with sawatdee (hello) and the Wai (hands together and a bow). You are expected to return this greeting. On the streets we did our best to honor the tradition, but it was somewhat difficult when you are trying to figure out where you are and avoid the aggressive tuk tuk drivers. At the hotel we sawatdee’d and wai’d every five seconds. You are exhausted by the time you get from your room to the pool.

Our first night ended with dinner at Ta-ling Pling. A Thai restaurant about 900 meters (I know it is metric, but that is all I have to go with here) from our hotel, an easy walk. Dinner was very good. We started with the Ta-ling Pling appetizers, which was some type of leaf that you then filled with a chicken, nuts and brown sugar mixture. The rest of the food was very good, but I forgot my note pad this night so I did not right down the rest of our meal. I do know that it was very good and I would recommend it. It is located just off Silom Road. When you’re walking towards Patpong, you will pass the Hindu Temple (you cannot miss this, the incense and chanting overtakes you) then turn right. You will see the sign on the right hand side. The cost, without alcohol was less than 1400 bahts. We had 5 different items. I could give you the address, but addresses don’t really mean much unless you can read Thai and know the streets. It is much easier to find places by landmarks.

On our way to and from Ta-ling Pling, we again experienced a bit of the sex industry. From the moment we walked out of our luxurious 5 star hotel we are bombarded with tuk tuk drivers wanting to take us to our destination for 30 bahts, when it is a 5 minute walk. If that is of no interest to us, they all seem to know a prostitute and have pictures to entice us to purchase our happiness for the night. If they only know how much they were barking up the wrong tree. After you make it by the tuk tuk drivers, you will next be engaged (if you’re a man) by the not so legitimate massage workers. Now, there is a massage spa every other building on Silom and throughout the city, but they have signs with their prices and are not on the street saying “mister mister, you want nice massage”. The answer is always no. Yes I want a massage, a traditional Thai massage or an hour of foot reflexology, but I will pass on the happy ending thank you.

So, our first day being over at 10 pm, we crash in our room. The beds are heaven, Jerry is ripping them up trying to find the tags so he can buy a mattress just like it.

After 25 hours of travel and a full day in Bangkok, we pass out easily. Tomorrow will bring many more adventures.

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Comments

[Shari]

Great Voice
Chris- This entry was awesome! I could hear you speaking the words to me because your writing voice is so strong. Maybe you were the one who was supposed to publish the great American novel... Thanks for sharing this trip. It's probably nearly as good as being there (except I won't get any custom made clothes out of the deal!) Have fun! Your Little Sis