Sawasdee-krup from Bangkok!
16 September
Whew, ok, so let me catch my breath before I begin what will undoubtedly be several long entries about my trip to Thailand. Maybe you want to go grab a snack or hit the bathroom? You're going to be here a while....
The excitement of this trip hit me as soon as I stepped foot in Sydney Airport's international terminal yesterday. Waiting for my flight to board, I sat at the gate thinking I can hardly imagine a place more exciting and filled with more potential than an international terminal at a major airport. People from all over world coming and going... rushing to get home or to work, to visit family 10,000 miles away, or start an exotic vacation in the other hemisphere. There was an undeniable energy and curiosity about the crowd in the airport and, as I thought about not only my next two weeks but all of the travels I have to look forward to, I couldn't stop smiling.
Relative to my flight from New York, the trip across Australia's Northern Territory and into Asia was quick. The flight attendants were dressed in purple gowns and sashes, bowed to many of the passengers as we boarded, and (this was probably my favorite part) probably did not stop feeding me from the time we took off to when we landed. Fearing what the food on a Thai airline might taste like, I made the mistake of ordering kosher meals. I don't know about the other food, but it couldn't have been worse than what I ate and I made a mental note to cancel them before I fly out of here. I wondered if much of the flight attendants' dress and behavior was simply a performance designed to make Thais feel at home or give foreigners a more authentic experience. I've been thinking about that as I explore this section of Bangkok and I'm still not sure.
I've been in Bangkok less than 24 hours and I've already noticed striking similarities and differences to a few other cities I've been in. Thailand itself seems like a country that can't make up its mind about which year or which part of the world it wishes to associate itself with. The first thing I watched on my flight up here was an E! True Hollywood Story on Angelina Jolie. That was followed by the Da Vinci code in both English and Thai and then several specials on Thai culture and history. I've seen monks collecting change on the street in front of malls that could rival any I've been to in New Jersey. Wearing Calvin Klein jeans and holding cups of Starbucks coffee, Thais buy curried chicken and fried noodles from any one of the numerous vendors on the crowded city streets. There's an obvious contrast between older styles of Thai dress and those who choose to follow Western styles. I read in one of my travel guides that public displays of affection are becoming less taboo but social bonds are proudly displayed for everyone to see. This means that women in close, platonic relationships are probably likelier to hold hands with one another than a married couple might be.
Bangkok is very cheap, very hot, and very dirty. I enjoyed my own small pizza pie and a soda for lunch for about $3 US. Almost anything you could want (and I do mean anything) is available for purchase right outside your hotel door and cheaper than you can imagine. I'm going to have to work on my bargaining skills if I want to ride a tuk-tuk (the Thai equivalent of a taxi, it looks like a motorized cart) or not get ripped off buying souvenirs. Most large cafes, malls, and hotels are air-conditioned (I'm sitting inside a quite comfortable book store right now... and yes there's a Starbucks) although I have a feeling that won't be the case after I leave Bangkok tomorrow. The city feels more densely populated than New York but that could very well be because I'm a foreigner here. I feel like a target for vendors but it hasn't been a huge problem. It's easy to get good deals on things in Thailand and a few dollars go a very long way.
There also seems to be a sizable wealth gap in Thailand. Streets are packed with expensive cars weaving through traffic with tuk-tuks, songthaews (small busses), and people riding mopeds and bicycles. Poverty makes people do sad and unusual things. If you're ever in Thailand, be careful when using public transport! Drivers have agreements with local businesses so if you don't watch out, you might ask to be taken to your hotel and find yourself at a clothing store or a massage parlor, instead. There are few, if any, stoplights on the roads and I've had to be extremely careful crossing streets. Instead of crosswalks at intersections though, there are platforms above the traffic that people use to get across.
Most of the English speakers I've encountered are Australian although I'm sure there are Americans around here somewhere. Most Thais speak broken English it sounds like they learned from watching too many of our movies. I was fortunate enough earlier today to run into an Australian couple in an electronics market I met at Sydney airport before I left. I might be thousands of miles from home but it still feels like a small world to me...
I think I'm going to head back to the hotel and grab a nap before I have to meet my group for the first time in a couple of hours. I'm nervous about meeting the people I'm going to spend the next two weeks trekking across Thailand with but I know everything's going to be great. The American in me misses hearing English already anyway.
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