Finally. I’ve acquired wireless (although the provider doesn’t know it) and have some time to write.
Bangkok was crazy. The hostel was great, and the people were nice, but I guess any city with a lot of tourists in South East Asia suffers from the trying-to-sell-shit-to-everyone syndrome. At least they’re nice about it in Bangkok. They smile, even though they might not take no for an answer.
Bangkok is big, dirty, modern, ancient, friendly, and spectacular. It also appears to be home half of all worldwide tourists at any one time. Traffic is more chaotic than anywhere else I’ve been so far. Giving way is at best a nice thought, and at worst a deadly reliance – particularly for the millions of motorbikes.
A French guy, and English guy, and myself met over a few beers and decided to investigate the area. Close to the once infamous and now somewhat gentrified Patpong district, we braved the crowds of tourists and the crowded street markets, and the only thing that told us we were in the red light district was the number of guys offering us cheap girls. No, thanks. Cheap girls are the last kind of girl I want. I even went so far as to invent a girlfriend – it’s amazing how a “no, no… my girlfriend” and a finer running across the throat shuts them up.
The following day we managed to navigate our way to a canal boat pier using the Sky Train, and enjoyed a uniquely Bangkok experience. Disembarking, a very friendly Thai guy who wasn’t trying to sell us anything at all (yeah, right) asked if we needed directions. Sure. We knew what was happening – he would draw on a map, say some stuff, call over a tuk-tuk driver, "negotiate" a price, and ask for nothing in return. Sure enough, we soon found ourselves on a thirty baht for four hour type deal. It’s really not that bad. We went to some temples, and also went to a tailor (no pressure to buy anything, just look at stuff) and a gem shop (again no pressure to buy, just look at overpriced pieces of glass and aluminium masquerading as gemstones and silver) and the idiotic white guys buying stuff.
Eventually we ended up at a temple near the royal palace. The tuk-tuk driver said he’d wait "over there" for an hour for us. Sure. See you then. As soon as we entered the grounds of the temple, we knew somethin was up. There was security everywhere, Thai people hanging out waiting for something, and lots of people in uniform. We wandered around, and eventually the two others left (they couldn’t find the tuk tuk driver) but I decided to hang around to see what was going on. Not five minutes after the other guys had left, the nearby roads were closed and a marching band and a bunch of parading soldiers showed up. Intriged (and stuck – I wasn’t allowed ot, and there were no taxi’s around on the closed roads anyway), I hung around and eventually, after a brief rain shower, a prince and princess appeared. The did their thing in the temple, and left – shortly before the rain started again.
Two hours later, the rain stopped and myself and all the other Thai guys emerged from shelter. The tuk-tuk driver had disappeared. The scammer… became the scammed.
The following day we split up. I was heading to Chiang Mai, a large northern city. It’s nice. It’s a huge change from Bangkok. It’s relaxed and clean and pleasant in the old city, there was no rain, and it was slightly cooler. The place I stayed in was a bit average. Nice rooms, good food – but despite being full of people, not very social. I ended up doing an ATV tour by myself (which was actually pretty cool, just the guide and I) and we rode through forest and jungle and mountains to villages, lookouts, and waterfalls. It was nice.
After a few days in Chiang Mai I’d had enough, and left for a place called Pai. It’s part of the old hippie trail. Tehran, Kabul, Goa, Pai. It’s still a bit of a hippie hangout. It’s a small town, tucked away four hours in to the mountains from Chiang Mai along what would have to be one of the greatest driving roads I’ve ever seen. If you can deal with the occasional bumps, slow traffic, and livestock… it’s 120km of spectacular scenery with switch backs, sharp corners, long straights, and few interruptions. It’s not much fun being stuck in a (nice) minivan, though.
There’s a lot of stuff to do in Pai. It’s possible to rent a bike or motorbike, to trek, raft, cook, drink, eat, visit temples, and do any number of other hippie activities. I rented a bike but immediately was monsooned upon, so my bike rental adventure was short lived. I got a nice view at the end of the ride but discovered I’d left my camera battery in the charger. Whoops.
Being a slightly alternative town, there’s a big focus on healthy living. Most restaurants are so called organic, and there’s more fruit juice and shake shops than in all of Australia. There’s Italian food, Indian, French, Thai, Chinese, Burmese, bugers, street stalls, restaurants, bakeries, markets, and loads of bars with live music. There’s hippie clothing shops, tour offices, normal clothing shops, big hotels, small riverside bungalows, and the usual guest houses. It’s full of Thai people, white guys, Japanese, old, young, short term and long term. A lot of people seem to have been here forever. It’s a nice place, and very laid back. With better transportation I think I’d spend a little longer here, but after seeing the number of people bandaged and in splits, I decided against renting a motorbike.
I did, however, decide to undertake a two day white water rafting journey to Mae Song Hon. I leave tomorrow morning, and arrive on Tuesday in the afternoon. From there I’ll fly to Chiang Mai, and then from Chiang Mai to some island down south. On the 12th I fly from Koh Samui (not where I’m staying) to Bangkok, and from Bangkok to Singapore.
After Singapore, I’ll spend a few weeks in Laos before heading back home early. I should be home before Christmas and in time for my cousin’s wedding. I’ll baasically be home a month earlier than expected, but that’s fine by me.
I’ve got a lot more written about Bangkok and Chiang Mai, and I’m thinking of making them in to dedicated articles rather than journal entries.
I have a ton of photographs, but can’t upload them with this slow and intermittent Internet connection. You’ll get them when I get to Chiang Mai again.
See you then!
