7 days to go...

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Its exactly 7 days till I board my flight...
One week to go and the world is on the brink of collapse:
''Hundreds of Billions of pounds''
"Global meltdown"
"Historic times"
"Society on the brink of collapse"

Apparently, the year 2008 will go down in history as the year western capitalism came off the rails, so what a great time for me to escape to peaceful cultures abroad? Somewhere to unwind, relax and absorb ancient cultures? Not for me!

"Brink of anarchy" (bangkok post)
'Bloodbath' (BBC)
"Calm returns to Bangkok after bloody rioting" (CNN)

oh dear.
I've had adventures but I don't court danger, especially risks that i don't properly understand. The Thai uprising is particularly confusing - the democratically elected leader is being attacked by the 'Democratic' party who want to replace him with unelected leaders... go figure, but they reckon vote rigging and nepotism disrupts the current system.
Reading the reports on travelblog, i've been hearing the situation on the ground, as it happens and i'm happy that the riots are only in a small area and that life of the city goes on. Thank you bloggers!

I've always found that the case - 10 years ago, my guidebook said Cancun was awful, dangerous and to move on as soon as possible. I spent a week downtown and loved every minute of it, as a gringo strolling the streets with the rancheros and hawkers, eating street tacos and fresh ice cream and chatting to musicians, sharing tequilla on the street. I wasn't in the Zona Hotela which is full of American holiday makers on spring break though, but pretty much everywhere around the world is full of people just trying to get on with their lives, having some fun and trying to feed their kids.

From Mumbai to New York and the squats of Berlin to Belize's ghettos, life goes on.

So, I'm looking forward to Bangkok in its full, passionate stride. Its a crazy city, sometimes dangerous, dirty and tiring but one with normal people living there, having fun and just getting on with their lives.

I can't think of a better place for a Crashpacker to witness the 'End of the World'!

next up - More Adventures of a Crashpacker, Near death in the Out Back of Bulgaria!

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