Bangkok
An abrupt introduction to the land of smiles.
Personally, I’m not keen on looking up too much about the places I’m traveling to beforehand, I prefer to explore them for myself and gather information along the way. Sometimes this is good, sometimes it’s bad; in my first visit to Thailand, it resulted in me unknowingly booking a hostel two streets away from one of the most infamous party streets in the world — Khaosan Road.
Trying to describe the scene only with words does not come close to giving an accurate description of the debauchery that occurs on that road. Nevertheless, I had no desire to drink or party, partly as a result of traveling in a not-so-spacious van for seven hours earlier that day. Instead, I walked around completely sober and observed the chaos unfold around me in awe. There was no time to take a picture, there was too much happening around me that needed to be seen.
Balloons allegedly filled with nitrous oxide were being sold left and right as partiers continuously ordered over-priced drinks and smoked their legal joints. In an attempt to satisfy the crazed appetites of the belligerent animals, food stalls selling scorpions, pad thai, kebabs, and a number of other delicious dishes lined the side of the street. They were accompanied by shops selling the same five pairs of thai elephant pants for the entire length of the street. Dozens of waiters and waitresses were standing in the middle of the chaos begging people to have a drink at their bar. Ping pong shows (don’t look that up) were being offered to me every 500 feet. Groups of ladyboys made comments at me, along with nearly every other tall, white male that passed by. Weed stores, tattoo shops, hotels, and obnoxiously loud clubs made up a majority of the more permanent businesses on the road. It was all set up to milk every last dollar out of each clueless drunks’ pockets that stumbled through.
I learned that a majority of the property on and around Khaosan is owned by a small number of families who received it as a gift from the royal family some years ago. Inevitably, this resulted in the formation of territorial ‘business empires’ who compete against each other to make as much money as possible by any means necessary. If you pay attention, you can watch scammers and pimps try and sell to completely unsuspecting drunkards all day and night. Tuk tuk drivers try to charge you five times what they would charge a fellow Thai. These things are just the tip of the iceberg though. If you wanna know more, you’ll have to visit yourself.
Thankfully, Bangkok is more than just Khaosan road, it has a number of districts that each have their own unique offerings. From the upper-class business and residential district of Sathon, to the bustling streets of Chinatown, there are a number of things to experience throughout this massive city.
After staying in several different districts of Bangkok and gaining a much clearer picture of the entirety of the city over the span of two weeks, with an unexpected trip back to Cambodia for a week wedged in between (long story, will save for another time), my friend Emily arrived and we headed off to explore the rest of Thailand.
To Be Continued…
Sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the Jared Emily Thailand post