While the holidays are always a great time to gather on the East Coast, they did not provide me with the rest I was seeking. It was like surfing in Zambales all over again. Every wave of gift giving or family dinners seemed to hit me in the face, after which I'd try to catch my breathe before the next wave came in, but all the while it was an incredibly fun time.
As the New Year got into motion, I got the gears turning again, and purchased a ticket to San Francisco, and from there a roundtrip ticket to Bangkok. Back to Asia.
Landing in San Francisco, I finalized preparations for my trip. This time I'd be going alone, much to my excitement and dismay. Trying to ignore the downsides of solo travel, lonliness, boredom, basic fears for one's physical safety, I seemed to be repeatedly reminded of the coming challenge. Looking down at my coffee in the Mission in a state of introspection, I was smacked in the face.
Unable to escape the inevitablity of solitude, I spent the weekend in the bay area with friends, catching up and getting advice for Asia.
A few days later, after a series of confusing days and nights in the air, and a brief transfer in South Korea, I emerged from a taxi onto the sleazy latenight ongoings of Khao San Road in Bangkok.
Khao San serves as the tourist depot, packed with hotels, bars, and danceclubs. Although, unlike anywhere in the Philippines, this area has been completely dominated by Westerners. I talked to two German girls, looking to get drunk. A broseph from Boston asked if I had any Valium, and was curious if I had made it to the Phish concert in NYC for New Years. I fought off sleep and these conversations, and after a bit of searching, found the piss-covered alley that led to my hostel. Perfect, so happy to be here.
Getting into my room, I sent a quick email home to confirm that I was indeed alive, and then collapsed, dead weight.
Confused and jet-lagged, I woke up abruptly 3 hours later. Today would be one day in Bangkok, I thought, climbing out of bed way too soon. By recommendation I made my way down to the end of Khao San to Ethos Restaurant where the house cat lay deep in slumber by the front stoop.
Wandering further, I found myself staring at used books in a booksore. Revolutionary Road stared back at me. I thought back to the summer I read the novel and worked on the film in Darien, CT. Never been so far from home and so close to the Western world.
In fact my entire experience in Bangkok was packed with tourists. There were the usual camera toting fanny-packers, and the harem-pants/tattooed/linen-shirted/dreadlocked back-packers. I guess with my camera and my backpack I was somewhere in the middle, but I found myself getting irritated by either group. I guess I was feeling a bit conflicted. Already feeling the pangs of lonliness, I wanted company, but every conversation I overheard from a western group sounded like cheese-knowledge of the self-help variety or a bad college party. "I feel your peacefulness, and I respect your harmonious state, you've been so righteous since I met you in Pokhara". Or the inverse, "Bro, let's find some Thai chicks..."
Escaping the neighborhood, a man showed me a map, had a tuk-tuk driver pull over, and for 30Baht ($1) I was off an a tour of the temples of Bangkok. "Not bad", I ignorantly thought, heading out into the mayhem of Bangkok traffic.
Having not done any research on the city, the prices or the places, I was at the mercy of my Thai tourguide. This is him.
Next thing I knew he was bringing me to back-alley tailors, who tried to sell me hand made suits for "best" deals. Refusing the offers, I grew irritated knowing he was getting kickbacks on every place he brought me. Scummy. He brought me to a few temples, and I started talking to local temple overseers.
I asked about the recent flooding in the city, and listened to tales of tribulations. Feeling like I was connected with these folks, empathasizing, I asked advice for getting tickets to my intended destination of Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. After a few recommendations, and reading the same in my tour guide, I asked to go to the TAT (Thai Association of Tourism I think?) but we ended up at iTAT ('i' for illegal I guess). This of course was entirely intentional on his part, and unbeknownst to me. In fact, believing that I was getting and especially good deal as everyone commented that a 20% discount was being given due to the flood. In fact, when all was said and done, I had paid around 3-4 times what the tickets were actually worth. I had been taken for the proverbial "ride" in a tuk-tuk.
Realizing my mistakes afterwards, I resented the experience, but reminded myself that it was educational. Even in Thailand where things are cheap, education is quite expensive.
Here are shots from the Grand Palace and Wat Pho.
After a second night sleeping through the sleeze on Khao San Road, I got an early start on my journey North.
Here's my favorite image from the Grand Palace...Buddha is watching...ALWAYS!
Or maybe this one. This man said his traditional prayers, bowing his head to the ground repeatedly, then got up and snapped a series of photos on his iPad 2.
2 comments:
My kitty friend is still there! That same cat sat on my lap while I wrote in my own travel blog three years ago.
Awww, sweetie, things will get better. You are getting an education, as you said, and it doesn't come cheap. But you're learning. Easy does it, my darling.
Thanks for posting. Relax and take it slowwwww, there is no rush, the good parts are bound to emerge from the din. Patient as a tortoise yet sly as a fox. Forge on and be you.
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