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Published: August 10th 2011
Amazing. That sums it up. No other word or words do it justice, this place is simply amazing. I've been here 4 days and haven't met an unfriendly person yet. A meal that would cost you 20 dollars at home costs you 5 dollars. A 15 minute cab ride costs 2 dollars. A one hour Thai massage - 10 dollars including tip (LEGIT massage, get your mind out of the gutter). All of those are true stories, I'm not exaggerating one bit. For a country where the average wage is about 12 dollars a day these are by far the happiest and most accommodating people I've ever encountered.
Now, don't get me wrong there are some downsides. The traffic is HORRENDOUS here so unless you take the transit or a moto taxi (the most insane form of transport I've ever seen in my life) you could sit, in rush hour, at one stop light for 45 minutes. It's extremely humid here so a 5 minute walk can turn your clothes into a wet mess. For a country that blurs out a person smoking a cigar on tv, and where prostitution is technically illegal, sex with children is available for purchase
just as easily as a bottle of water. Nothing in the world is perfect, but so far Thailand is as close as it gets.
So far the people have been the most fascinating part about this country and there are a few reasons for this. Thailand is officially called the Kingdom of Thailand and the current King has been the head of state since 1946. The King and anything bearing his image is absolutely revered to the point that if you drop a piece of Thai currency and step on it with your foot so it doesn't get away, you'll absolutely blow people's minds. Over 95% of the population is a practicing Buddhist, and because the Buddhist principles are all about peace and tranquility the Thai people by nature are very low key, friendly and extremely kind. The greeting here for good morning, good afternoon, or good evening is "Sawasdee Khrap", or if you're a woman you would say "Sawasdee Ka" and any Thai person that you meet will say this to you, every single time. This is accompanied by a slight bow, hands pressed together in a praying motion, and of course a smile. Every time. No matter
who it is from a waiter, to a security guard, to a taxi driver you will get this greeting and it's the most genuine thing I've ever experienced. It's not just an act or something put on for the tourists, they really mean it. When they call someone by name they would say Khun Derek, which is like saying Mr Derek not Mr. Gibson. Also most Thais go by their nickname not their actual name, which can be confusing to say the least. One of our co-workers goes by Khun Hai, but his actual name is something with 35 letters all tallied up and something we would have a hard time pronouncing. This gets very confusing because when I look at our work phone list it's all of their real names so somehow I'll just have to memorize everyone's nickname and associate it to their face.
The service here is amazing, particularly in hotels and restaurants. In our hotel, a buffet style breakfast is included so we see the same waiters and waitresses every morning. After you've been here a few days they get to know how you like your eggs and what type of hot drink you prefer,
so as soon as you walk in they start getting your stuff ready and by the time you've grabbed some bacon and some pastry they'll have your drink in front of you. When we go down to grab a taxi to work in the morning the bellhops greet us with a huge smile and a salute. I'm not sure why they salute because a guy did that to me at another hotel as I walked by, but I don't ask questions I just salute right back.
The food here is the other wonder of this country. I've never been to a country that has this high quality, variety of food for this price. Every single meal I've had here has been amazing, no joke, no exaggeration. Of course when you think of Thailand you think of Thai food but every area of the world is represented here, and represented to the fullest. If you travel to some countries you would never think of getting Italian food, or Lebanese food but here you can get all of that and you're guaranteed that it will be great. There are also numerous "street meat" stands and alley ways that have all sorts
of crazy concoctions at rock bottom prices. We had a fabulous three course Italian lunch the other day and I paid about 500 baht, which is about $15 and that's on the high end. Yesterday I bought lunch for a co-worker and I, and this is what we got - two bowls of Vietnamese pho, spring roll appetizers and two cokes - under 300 baht (approximately 30 baht to one Canadian dollar). You're kidding me right? That was at one of the street meat places but it was still a nice little restaurant, very clean and my stomach has survived - so far. Last night I went to a restaurant called The Nine that our boss loves and it serves mostly Thai and Western cuisine. By appearance this would be considered a 4 star type of place back home, nicer than a Cactus Club or Earls but not quite fine dining. The first thing that caught my eye - happy hour from 5-8, all cocktails two for one. If you know me you know that I like my fancy drinks so I ordered a Blue Hawaiian and a Whiskey Sour - 200 baht. For a main course I ordered fried
rice with crab meat - 180 baht. So for under 500 baht I got two drinks and a fabulous main, and of course impeccable service.
Getting around in Bangkok - an adventure to say the least. If you think you've seen rush hour traffic then you obviously haven't been here because it can be a nightmare, and I don't think I've seen the worst of it yet. The rush hour here is from about 8 to 10AM and from 5 until about 7 or 8 at night and sometimes, as I said before, you can sit at a light for at least 10 or 15 minutes, sometimes more. There are a variety of ways to get around, however, and by vehicle is probably the least desirable. There are the regular taxis which are quite cheap but not your best option, especially during rush hour. There are the tuk tuks which are kind of a taxi/motorcycle hybrid, and the tourists seem to like these. There are also the moto taxis which are basically a scooter on steroids and room for one passenger on the back. Rapid transit consists of the MRT (mass rapid transit) which is the underground subway or
the BTS which is their version of skytrain. This is your best bet if where you're going is close to the line because you just shoot either right over or right under all of the chaos on the road. If you want to risk your life every day the moto taxi is the other best option because they can just drive right in between all of the traffic but, unless you like riding on the back of a bike in Bangkok in rush hour traffic, with no helmet - no thanks. The rules of the road here are highly overrated, and the painted lines telling you what lane to drive in are merely a suggestion and you'll realize that very quickly. Cars either drive in the lane, or between them. Moto taxis will zip in and out of cars, drive between them at stop lights, and utilize the sidewalk to get where they need to be. Signalling - yeah right. The one great thing is the price, which can't be beat. Our 5 minute cab ride to the office in the morning costs less than $2. If you take the BTS for 10 or 15 minutes that MAY cost you
about 50 cents. We took the MRT from the airport into town yesterday and for the 30-40 minute trip it cost us less than $4 for two of us. The BTS can get VERY crowded, however, so unless you're ready to shove yourself on you'll be sitting on the platform all day. There are no shortage of options though so eventually you'll get where you need to go, one way or another.
Those are my initial observations and even with all of the downsides this is still an amazing country. I haven't experienced the nightlife yet but a bunch of us are going out tonight because tomorrow is a stat holiday here (Queen's birthday), so my next entry should be interesting to say the least. I hope this gives you a sense of what it's like here, so until next time - "Sawatdee khrap".
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Edwina
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Sawasdee Ka!
Fantastic job on your travel blog Khun Derek. I'm enjoying reading about this once in a lifetime experience! I'm also impressed you're eating "street meat" from the stands and alley ways. Have you tried any of their snack foods like deep fried bugs yet? :)