Redshirts, Vibrators, and Scrotums - But No Ping Pong Shows

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First stop, Bangkok. My flight arrived on time about 8pm, so I decided to take the new airport train into the city. Half an hour later I was at the end of the line, where I took a taxi to Soi Rambuttri which is a backpacker area next to Khao San Rd. Total trip took less than an hour all for $4. If I took a taxi from the airport I assume it would have taken about the same time and would have cost 5 times as much. Soi Rambuttri is quite relaxed but with all the pluses of being a popular backpacker area, with the usual 7-Eleven, street food, restaurant, bookshop, etc, only about 20 metres from my hotel.

First day I took a couple of trips on the very convenient Chao Phraya river ferries. I wanted to go to the MBK shopping centre to buy a couple of things. My plan was to get off at the nearest ferry dock and walk the rest of the way,but a tuk tuk driver convinced me that he would take me for about 65 cents. Sounded too good to be true. I had just been reading in the guide book about very cheap tuk tuk fares where they take you to retail outlets before you get to your destination. So knowingly but with plenty of time to kill I accepted. The plan was that he would take me to a gem factory – retail outlet so that he would get a petrol voucher. So for 15 minutes I was escorted around this factory-store, pretending that I may be interested in buying one of the thousands of rings, pearls, necklaces on display. Once out, I was at the MBK store a few minutes later with both myself and tuk tuk driver quite happy.

I decided to take the bus back to Khao San Rd. Our journey was cut short by a demonstration of thousands of Redshirts. I ended up walking within the crowd for about 30 minutes taking photos and soaking up the atmosphere. It surprised me that it was very peaceful. It was almost like being at a fete with street food, red t-shirts, red flags and other items for sale. There was also a large, relaxed group of police sitting under a canopy eating an early dinner and chatting. The amazing thing was that it was only about 100 metres from Khao San Rd. I was glad that I was staying down the other end of the street just in case any trouble occurred.

Next day I got up early and headed to the Grand Palace. I was quite impressed with the colour and decorations of many of the buildings and temples. The only downside was the amount of tourists.

I then crossed the river by ferry and went to the Forensic Museum at Siriraj hospital. I had been looking forward to visiting this museum since reading a blog about it. It was quite morbid with plenty of real body parts on display. They actually had a couple of decaying bodies of murderers in glass cabinets with their victims blood stained clothing on display as well. One of the more interesting items was a vibrator on display in the murder weapons cabinet. There were many exhibits of deformities and diseases, which I found very educational. But my favourite was a display of a poor guy that suffered from elephantitus of the scrotum. They have it in a cabinet and it is about the size of a small car tyre. There was also a photo of the guy sitting down with it hanging down to the ground. I really enjoyed the 45 minutes I spent in the museum, and for $1.40 money well spent.

That night i caught up with my German friend Annik, who was off to Myanmar the next day.

The following night I went to Patpong with the idea of seeing one of the ping pong shows on offer. A must see in Bangkok, where women shoot ping pong balls, and do all sorts of things with their private parts. I arrived about 7.30pm and was surprised how few tourists there were. A couple of touts tried to lead me into these shows but I thought it would be better and safer with a larger audience for atmosphere. Because of the lack of tourists, I just went to one of the bars for a couple of hours and played pool with the girls and a couple of guys from Japan. Next day I had to leave early, so I decided to call it an early night and go back to the hotel. I guess I will have to see a show next time in Bangkok.

Next stop – Cha-am

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