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Bangkok Bonanza

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Bangkok, Thailand
13° 45' N 100° 31' E
Mar 13, 2006 11:02
Distance 693km

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Bangkok Bonanza

Text written in: English

After touring around the middle of Thailand, Marcela and i returned to the capitol to meet up with Fatty again and engage in some craziness for a few days. bangkok has been described by many, ok, well just by some, scratch that, by me and fatty to be a place where Westerners come to endulge their fantasies. that includes blowing lots of money on suits and random crap to fill their closets, seeing bloody fights for low low prices, getting massages, and sometimes hiring of an escort or prostitute. we witnessed all of these things, but not because we were extravagent tourists, just because you can find all of the above things on a 10 minute walk around the city.

we got back and met up with David at his parents trendy and upscale hotel called the Reflections Room. this was well above our backpackers budget but davids parents generously offered to let us stay there, free of charge, providing we supply the entertainment. but they were currently in Cambodia on a day trip and wouldnt be back until the next afternoon so we were free to use the rooms and explore the city. first priority: food of course. in bangkok there are thousands of street vendors selling various food items ranging from all kinds of fruit to dried squid jerkey. and in between are more typical dishes like noodles and rice with fish/chicken/pork/beef. we elected to get some noodle soup and of course it was delicious. after that it was time to go get fitted for some suits. david had found this shop that will custom make you two suits of good quality for 270 american. so we went down there to get measured and pick our fabrics. they had plenty to choose from and after a short while, i had laid out two full suits for the making. they would be finished in a few days.

we had to hurry back to the hotel because we had to get ready for our evening at the fights. we had read about a serious boxing art form called Mui Thai where the boxers wear gloves, shorts, and nothing else. they can use their feet, knees, and shins to inflict damage and if a fighter lands a solid leg kick to the head, the other is out for the count. we got another quick bite and a few beers in us before we boarded a train and got lost looking for the fights. we eventually found the area and were immediately husstled by a lady trying to help us buy our tickets. as seasoned travelers, we knew to avoid this trick and go directly to the ticket office. when we got there, we found two sets of ticket windows: one for the locals, one for the foreigners. the prices were drastically different and it became clear only now that if we had purchased with the lady, she could have gotten us better seats for the same price as the bleacher seats. either way, it turned out to not be a big deal because the arena was small and every seat was a good one. we found that our tickets got us into the third tier and then you could sit anywhere you wanted. we found a spot with a clear view and discovered that we had arrived just before midway through the nights fights. all around us were thai men shouting as the fight progessed and between each round, an older man, the bookie, would shout out odds that changed between rounds, and take bets for the result of the fight. we made friends with an english speaking thai man who was sitting against the chicken wire fence in the tier in front of us and he helped us to gather some more information about the sport. every time a solid punch or kick was landed, the crowd erupted with shouts of "DEE! DEE!" and of course there was the universal "OOOHHHH!" whenever there was a close shot or a cheap one. as the only three white people in the stands, we were gathering a lot of attention from the other spectators. and especially david and marcela because they were getting very enthusiastic with the cheering and shouting. david chose to use some good ole american cheers like "YEAH! KICK HIS ASS! RIGHT IN THE FACE!" etc. these phrases either confused or entertained our onlookers because they couldnt take their eyes away. While David was throwing out abrasive language, marcela was more intent on seeing some real damage. she went into the night looking for blood and broken bones but unfortunately was only treated to one TKO and one knee to the face. The TKO came in a the second fight david had bet on. the bookie at first enticed him by offering im a 500 Baht note (about 12.50) and when drunk david reached for it, he would yank it away and laugh. he did the trick a second time and drunk david fell for it again. so with this gesture of friendship, david felt ok to start betting with the bookie but didnt want to risk too much so he started with only 100 baht. i think the bookie gave david the better fighter so as to set the lure and sure enough, david won 100 baht. the next fight, david bet double or nothing and looked to be well on his way to a second win. but in the final round (5 of 5), the bookies man landed a solid swinging kick to david's guy's face and that was all she wrote. it was literally a night to day transition. one second, he was upright in fighting stance, the next, lying motionless on the mat. the victorious boxer started doing cartwheels as they carried the loser out on a stretcher. after david broke even for the night with the bookie, he thought he was finished betting. we watched the next match which was a sparring contest between two boxers that wore no gloves and werent by a referee. all three of us thought this was odd because of the danger involved with each of those two missing. and these fighters were not holding back. hard hits were exchanged and each seemed to be respecting the other by knocking fists and waiting for the other to reach his feet, but in the end, it was a quick leap with knee extended that ended the match when the protruding limb connected with jaw and the recipient crumbled to the floor. we watched only one more fight that night and david and i decided to bet 100 baht before the match simply on color of shorts. i got lucky with my pick because while the fight lasted all 5 rounds, by the end, the odds were 30 to 1 in favor of my boy.

after the fight we rallied to go out in what was described as the backpackers district. i later heard it described by a taxi driver as hippie central. we found it overcrowded and unfun. it was kinda like vegas because everyone was on the streets and there were lots of bright lights and drunk people but it didnt have the glamour and spontaneity of that desert oasis. we hopped around from bar to bar and didnt enjoy any of them that much. i think we were home by 1 am.

The next day we woke up with plans to go to one of the largest marketplaces in the world. we took an elevated train (all of the trains both subs and els are very nice and clean here) to the end of the track and as we were pulling into the 50 ft tall station, we could see the literally thousands of stalls packed tightly into an expansive lot. we disembarked from the train, spotted an ice cream vendor from which we felt compelled to purchase ice cream (chocolate chip (the flat slice kind, not the little duckies)) and then found our way into the madness. this market is good for what ails you. if youre looking for trinkets, plants, food, animals, furniture, clothing, shoes, antiques, art, services, etc, they have it. the place is divided up into sections resembling categories but mostly, its a shitshow. the best part about the place is that everything is availible for bargain. 350 Baht came down to 250, one shirt for 200 became 5 for 750. we basically walked around for 4 hours and maybe covered 30% of the market. we came out of there with a variety of souveniers but spent at max $40. david bought a samurai sword.

we finished sometime in the late afternoon and tuk a tuk tuk back to davids parents hotel where we waited for his parents to arrive back from cambodia. when they showed up, we chatted for a while and then got ready for dinner. dinner was an adventure after we were recommended a place in the area but the taxi driver we found had no idea where it was. despite the address being written in Thai, he decided not to admit he had no clue and instead drive us around town for half an hour and then asked directions from a friend before we all started asking him, some of us yelling, for him to take us back to the hotel. when we got back, we discovered that we could have walked, so we did. it took 10 minutes. but dinner was great. after dinner, we met up with the NorCal boys and a friend they brought and basically made it a relaxing evening in the hotel. we caught up a bit, exchanged travel horror stories, and got some advice for our upcoming adventures. night ended around 1230. we are lame.

the next morning, davids parents left for Japan and we had our last full day in Bangkok. david had seen and done everything he had wanted to do but marcela and i wanted to see some traditional buddhist temples. we took an adventure of a taxi ride over to the area and explored the compounds for a few hours before being hassled by a tuk tuk driver who tried to take us home via a relative friendly route. but by this point in the trip, ive become adept at avoiding most traps and simply laugh when presented with a rediculous offer such as this one. we found a friendly taxi driver and he gave us a little local politics lesson on the way back to our hotel.

that night we met up with the NorCal boys again for dinner at a restaurant called Cabbages and Condoms. there is a story behind this name. the owner, also the Thai Senator that these two NorCal boys will be working for, was Thailands first and strongest advocate for the use of condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS and other STDs. this started a long time ago, the condom advocacy, not the restaurant. anyway, with every meal, instead of a mint, you get a condom at the end making it a clever little ploy. the food was decent but overpriced but since this was their bosses restaurant and it was something to talk about, we ate there. afterwards we tried to make something of a sunday night but since it was a sunday night, we found little to do. however we did see an elephant being paraded through a touristy street whose owners were seeking rides. took pictures but no rides. at the end of the night, we said goodbye to the fellas and wished them luck at their incredibly hard english teaching job at the 5-star resort.

the next morning we went to check on our suits which were nearly finished but still had to be shipped back to the states. we were in the area of a megamall called MBK so we decided to pop in for a look. its a bohemouth of a mall spanning 7 stories and over 1000 shops. unlike most malls i was accustomed to, instead of stores, they had kiosks set up along every wall. in some areas it was just a large room with kiosks evenly spaced to allow for pathways. again, it was broken down by section to make it easier on the shopper but the prices were not as easily negotiated so we did not buy as many things.

overall i liked Bangkok. there was plenty to do, plenty to see, and plenty to buy. the people were mostly friendly, helpful, polite, and not too aggressive. and everyone, regardless of whether or not you bought from them or used their service, met you with a smile.