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Published: April 1st 2007
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Bangkok
A small example of the traffic in Bangkok After spending two months more or less in the bushes of New Zealand, it was a bit of a culture shock arriving in Bangkok, to say the least. For the first few days I hated Bangkok (well i wouldnt say hate, just a little overwhelmed). It was like entering a different world from the serenity and beauty of NZ- and being thrown into a supremely overcrowded city, with the temperature in the 100,s plus humidity, and on top of that horrendous pollution. You can't take in a clean breathe of air- dirty water, trash and other nasty things all in the streets and sidewalks, and with every inhalation you can taste the smog and pollution in the air. Some of the Thai people wear doctor like masks over their mouth and noses in their attempt to block out the pollutants....could you imagine living in a place where you had to wear a mask because the air is that gross? (although the world is probably on it's way there)...but i just couldnt believe it...so it took me a few days to adjust and see some of the more positive sides to the city.
I stayed at a really nice guest
BUGS
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm house just a little out of the heart of the city which was a much needed refuge for me- met some cool people in the guest house and ended up staying a week in Bangkok to wait for one of my friends in the guest house to travel to cambodia with me.
The first night I went out in Bangkok, the crew from the guest house took me to more of a red light district area- bar hopping along an alley like street, with naked girls dancing on top of the bars- definelty put me off at first, but I began to have a little fun with the night. At one point there were two baby elephants being paraded through the alley, all chained up- the men who were leading them had fire pokers that they were jabbing into the elephants....having a few drinks in me I couldn't contain my disgust and I let the men hear it- although I'm sure i didn't change anything- they probably didn't even understand me- i felt a little better after speaking my mind about the abusive situation. We finally found a more normal bar and I made some friends with a group
of Thai girls who were eager to share their bag of bugs with me....so i digged in and enjoyed every crunch...tasted like crunchy BBQ chips- ha! So my first night was a whirlwind kind of experience- full on Bangkok thrown in my face whether i was ready for it or not.
With the heat and humidity really taking it out of me (I hate it!) and the overwhelmingness and dislike of the the congestion of the city and pollution, I spent the next few days just relaxing and recouperating at the guest house. Wanting to get out of Bangkok but also wanting to wait to have a travel partner to go to Camobodia with, so I stuck it out a full week in Bangkok, and ended up being happy I was there for the full week because I started to come around a little on my outlook of the city.
One day we went to a Thai boxing match, which was a cool experience. They pack everyone into this little arena, with some live drums and music playing for the boxers, and they go at it. Everyone in the arena was wearing long sleeve shirts and jeans, and
here I was wearing a skirt and tank top sweating my ass off....i got some sympathetic looks from some of the Thais and they gave me some room 😉
Went for a visit at the Grand Palace which was spectacular. The amount of detail and intricacy in the buildings and temples were amazing. A beautiful tribute to the Thai people...next we went to the reclining Buddha which I thought was just amazing- a gold plated (or colored) Buddha lying down that is probably about a basketball court length. The national religion being Buddhism, it's been really interesting and comforting in a way to see all of the Buddha imagery and devotion, with the namaste greeting being a standard hello- it's an aspect of the country I look forward to exploring more.
One of my last days in Bangkok I went with two friends for a Thai message....a 2 hour message for $10!!!!!!!!!!!! I was so phsyched. But it wasn't exactly what I had expected....no surprise finishes...but not the relaxing type message you'd think those delicate little Thai girls would give. First of all, they give you these doctor like scrubs to put on...and of course mine had a
really nasty oily stain right on the front of it.....ewwwwwww.....and then you go into these rooms, that look like hospital rooms, just plain white walls, with three beds on a platform. There is no nice music playing, only a t.v. blaring...so it was a little wierd at first. I asked the girl to go pretty deep telling her I like my messages hard- which was probably the worst mistake I could've made....beacuse man she got in there. It was an awesome message, but most of it was pretty painful (which i actually like- the feeling of having knots being worked out) and she kind of incorporated some stretching into it. When she would go in really deep on a spot and I would squirm a little she would make this little smile like, is this deep enough tough girl? the answer was yes....so 2 hours later i felt a little bruised but nice and loose- next message I get I'm definetly not asking for it hard....
The whole time I was in Bangkok I was blown away at how friendly all the Thai people were- a smile and a soy-d-ka ('hello' phonetically spelled) goes a long way with them,
and you can feel their warm hearts when they smile at you. Towards the end of the week I began to appreciate Bangkok more and was thankful I stayed there for a whole week, otherwise I may have left with more of a disdain for the city...it's still not a place that I would like to spend a length of time in. Not being a city person, I've begun to appreciate cities more within the last week. Cities are a place where the culture of a country is at its height. The concentration of people in one place really brings the place alive and you get a true sense of what the country is about. But with this said- I couldnt wait another day to get the hell out of Bangkok....
Other noteworthy things...I bought a cheap guitar, and am determined to learn to play- even though I've lugged it around for a week and haven't played it once yet....but i will!! and i've picked up some practice fire dancing ribbons and LOVE IT!!! i've picked up so many new moves within the last week....so get ready for a wild performance when i get home!!!
(I apologize if
this travel blog- and probably the next one I'm about to write- is a little jumbled or not articulated well- im having trouble finding my words right now...so you get what you get 😉
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Saïd
non-member comment
Hello there, I like the picture were you are wearing a Thai boxing short. Nice legs! No no it seems to me that you're having again some new expirience with the world. Enjoy your visit and see you soon. Big Kiss, Sahib, said XXX