RestlessNatives.net NativeGuide to
THAILAND
BANGKOK :: Phi Phi Islands :: Phuket
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Thailand Page 1: Bangkok & Koh Samui
Deb traveled to Thailand in June of 1990, December 1991/January 1992, May 1993 and August 1995.
Bangkok
Like a lot of people, I am both excited and disgusted by Bangkok. For as long as I can remember before traveling to Thailand for the first time, I had this notion that it was positively the most exotic place on earth. Part of it came from pictures of elephants and beaded costumes in issues of National Geographic. Part of it was the catchy song "One Night in Bangkok", which seemed to evoke all the danger, sexiness and excitement that Bangkok has to offer. Part of it came from watching the Miss Universe pageant as a child, when a Thai-American girl who I thought was the most beautiful woman in the world won the pageant. In any case, in June of 1990, having spent six months traveling around China, and knowing I was heading for another two months of traveling around a newly liberated Eastern Europe, I decided that a couple of weeks on the beach was in order, and what better place to go than the most exotic place on earth? I booked a flight to Thailand.
Upon arrival, I was dumped unceremoniously in backpacker central, Khao San Road. I stayed at a little place called the Green House, on the street behind Khao San Road, where I stayed every time I came to Bangkok after that, until ownership changed hands one too many times and I opted for a place directly on Khao San Road.
My first glimpses of Bangkok fulfilled all of my innocent notions of the exotic -- the streets were full of traffic with funny looking vehicles like tuk-tuks, canals (though not as many as there used to be, apparently!) criss-crossed the city, palm trees were everywhere and travelers from all over the globe - who had been more places than I could imagine - came to sample sin and sun in equal doses.
As a 21 year old caught up in the excitement of this busy traveler's center, I did not notice the more unpleasant side of things, all of which became more clear the next seven times I passed through Bangkok - older men, often Vietnam veterans, who had clearly not been free of a drug-induced high for years; prostitutes (young ones); sex shows; drugs; diseases (I once read a study that estimated that 75% of Bangkok's sex industry workers were HIV positive).
This odd dichotomy between beautiful and seedy, innocent and not, good and bad pervades Bangkok. A friend of mine once had a chat with a woman who starred in a live sex show with her husband. The woman explained matter-of-factly that when it was just her and her husband, the husband would not use a condom, but if any other women were involved - such as when she was menstruating - he would use a condom. I still find it mind-bogglingly sad that a person might ever be reduced by economic circumstances to such a profession, and once at such a point, to develop - of necessity, I suppose - such a tough attitude. And yet it is hard not to be in awe of this woman and her ability to survive.
Another such curious contrast has stuck in my head for several years. An American girl dressed in flowing pants and a tank top that revealed her perfect abs and pierced belly, long dyed black hair with various braids scattered through it, and a pierced nose emerging from her pretty face came into the cafe on the arm of a completely frightening looking Thai man, who wore tight black jeans and had stringy long black hair. I remember thinking, "This girl is insane and is going to end up dead in some dark alley in Bangkok". Then the two approached a table full of even less savory looking Thais, mostly men. He of the tight black jeans and stringy hair, with stars in his eyes, introduced the girl to his friends, who clearly had already been regaled with countless tales of her. One of the unsavory looking fellows stood up, took his cigarette out of his mouth, grasped her hand warmly and said "Welcome to our country. My home (he pounded his chest with his fist) is your home".
To be sure, the vast majority of travelers are just like me - just passing through and looking for nothing more exciting than a cheap room - and one of the more interesting sides of Bangkok is that if you are not interested in its demons, they are not particularly interested in you. Once a person has visited the tourist attractions in Bangkok (and there are many that don't involve sex or drugs), most travelers spend their days waiting for their next visa or plane, train or bus out of town by sharing a beer and a travel tale or two with fellow travelers. (These days, many battle hardened backpackers lament the advent of the VCR, as now it is possible to do nothing but sit in a cafe, watch movies and never say a word to one's fellow traveler.)
Because Thailand is such a central travel location, it is not uncommon to run into people you have met in other places. Once, I was sitting in a cafe munching tropical fruit and writing postcards, when I looked up and noticed a good friend of mine from the U.S. sitting two tables away. I had left him happily at his job in D.C., and although I'd known he would be in Asia -- he was planning to pass through Singapore once I got settled - we weren't expecting to run into each other in a cafe in Bangkok. And on that same trip, I saw a guy at a bus stop on the road from Bangkok to Surat Thani that I was certain I'd seen before. It turned out that three years before, we had taken the same bus to - where else - Surat Thani.
By far the best tourist attraction in Bangkok is the Grand Palace. George always makes fun of my birdlike attraction to shiny and sparkly things, and the Grand Palace is undoubtedly one of the sparkliest places I have ever seen, with bits of colored glass, gold foil and gems embedded in the walls. The stunning giant, colorful figures of mythical creatures complete the fairy-like atmosphere. There are lots of other things to see in and around Bangkok - a trip up the river to Ayuttuya, the former capital, a trip to see the Bridge over the River Kwai, a crocodile farm, numerous temples (I believe you can still get a massage at Wat Po from the Buddhist monks) - but the Grand Palace is the only attraction I have made a point of seeing every time I am in Bangkok. But dress properly - make sure you wear long pants/skirt and a shirt that covers your shoulders, or they won't let you in, no matter how far you've come to see it.
Koh Samui
I confess I haven't done a lot of traveling around Thailand, and I'm not sure now that I even want to, as the stories I hear of trekking up around Chiang Mai sound decidedly unpleasant and commercial. Every time I've gone to Thailand, I've unwittingly ended up at the same place, Koh Samui. A real backpacker will tell you that Samui is the pits, it's no longer cool, everyone has been there - after all, there is *gasp* an AIRSTRIP there now. The truth is, if you're looking for a good beach, good food, good service, cheap rooms, breathtaking sunsets and sunrises over turquoise waters, a pleasant jog through a coconut plantation and overall a relaxing few days, there's not really much reason to look beyond Koh Samui.
That's not to say that Koh Samui is free of the vices that plague Thailand and can make it an uncomfortable place to travel for the less adventurous of us backpackers. One of the most disappointing moments on that first trip to Thailand was discovering that the very beautiful and friendly waitresses at my set of bungalows on Koh Samui were, in fact, prostitutes. I overheard a European traveler setting up a tryst with one of the women, although I was somewhat relieved when, after he had wandered off, she turned to her friend and was clearly making a great deal of fun of the guy in Thai.
I spent eight or nine days on Koh Samui on that first trip - I probably should have traveled around a bit, but it was impossible to tear myself away from the incredible beauty of the sun rising over the turquoise waters every morning, the fantastic coconut shakes, the runs along deserted paths amidst coconut palms. To top it off, I spent all of about US$40 during that eight or nine days - you can imagine the sticker shock when I went straight to London from Bangkok!
The one bad thing about the whole country during the summer time are the bugs. I've done a decent amount of traveling around Southeast Asia now, and I know that bugs are a big part of life there. But you could make a horror movie out of Thailand in June. The bees are so large you can hear them coming for about two minutes before they finally come into view, and I was convinced there must be a little bee control tower somewhere to direct them all. The cockroaches are something else indeed, and the mosquitos - well, if there's any mosquito that could give you a disease, it would be these. Bring Raid, and bring a lot of it. There are also GIANT frogs.
The most amusing thing that happened during my stays on Koh Samui involved a family of cats that adopted me. The bungalows were built on stilts with a floor and an A-shaped roof which left an opening in between the floor and the edge of the roof. One night, I was lying in the dark under the mosquito net and stretched my feet out, only to discover that I was not alone on the bed. Mindful of the above-mentioned insect problem, I dove out from under the mosquito net, flicked the light switch on, dove back under the mosquito net, then took a look at my bedmate. "It's a cat!" I exclaimed -- an adorable one at that, lying calmly on the edge of the mosquito net and wondering what the heck all the fuss was about. I reached out and patted her on the head, glad of the company despite the potential for diseases. I dove back out, switched off the light, dove back in, and went to sleep with a happy purr in my ear.
The next night, I felt the now familiar thump as something jumped up on my bed. Eager to see my cat, I dove out, flicked the switch, dove back in, and...."it's a different cat!" This time it was a big tomcat, calmly grooming himself. He would have nothing to do with a petting, and completely ignored me. Still, once again, I was happy of the company. I dove out, flicked the switch off, dove back in, and went to sleep.
The next night I awoke to a funny slurping kind of noise. I couldn't fathom what that might be - so I dove out, flicked the switch, dove back in...."It's that cat and....a KITTEN!!" There was the cat from the first night, this time with a three or four week old kitten having a bit of a midnight snack. I had seen some of the workers "playing" with a kitten earlier, tossing it up and catching it much like one would a baby, only the kitten didn't seem to enjoy it as much. There were also a couple of large dogs who could have easily made a meal out of it. In the following days, the mother cat would not permit the kitten to leave my bungalow. Every time the kitten would start to walk down the steps, the mother cat would hiss at it until it retreated to the porch. Every time I went to bed, the mother cat would carry the kitten up onto the bed and not only deposit it there but inside the mosquito net, where the poor thing huddled as far away from me as it could get. One day, as I lounged on the porch, I decided to try to pick up the kitten -- which proceeded to utter the most pathetic mewling you can imagine, which in turn brought the mother cat running. Upon seeing that it was just me carrying the kitten, the mother cat stopped running, sauntered up to the porch and proceeded to settle down for a serious nap. As odd as it seems, it was great fun being adopted by these cats -- I can't imagine how they figured out I was more of a cat lover than their owners, but I'm glad they found me!
The next couple of times I stayed on Koh Samui I stayed at a different set of bungalows -- this time with dogs. It was quite funny to see one as a lap-sitting puppy in 1992, then a year later, all grown up into a large retriever-sized dog, but still - unfortunately - fond of sitting in people's laps.
On my next to last stop in Bangkok, in August of 1995 while I waited for my Vietnam visa, I met an Australian who spoke Burmese, Khmer, Thai and a couple other southeast Asian languages. He was hanging out waiting for permission to view some scrolls at some library or museum or other, and as we talked about our travels, he asked me how much longer I was going to do the Khao San Road thing, now that I was a lawyer and presumably able to afford better. I remember laughing, because I had just been thinking the same thing myself. Only five years had passed since I had first laid eyes on Bangkok, and although there are still patches I find exotic and beautiful, the tired old drug addicts were more noticeable, the fact that Khao San Road is one giant fire trap preyed on my mind every night, and the smells were a little more powerful than I remember them being. I had to pass back through on my way home from Vietnam, but I was pretty sure that my eighth trip to Khao San Road would be the last.
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