Planes, Trains and Tuk Tuks

A fifteen hour flight, followed by a two hour layover, followed by a two hour flight sounds like a miserable experience. Actually, it wasn't so bad. Night flying is the way to go. I took off from SFO at 12:10 AM on Tuesday November 8th. Between sleeping, some pretty good food and a few movies, time went quickly.

I arrived in Bangkok feeling rested and excited. Once I made it through customs etc. I took a cab to a hostel I prearranged. (I got ripped off, on the cab that is, but I'll tell more about that later. I expect this to be a consistent theme.)

Big John's Bar, Restaurant and Guest House is fairly non-descript (hence the lack of photos.) It's popular with Aussie backpackers and located on the Eastern end of the city in a happening part of town. I paid 550 baht (about $13) per night for a tiny single person room with a/c and a shared bath. The place was clean, the food was good and the staff was friendly. They had TVs in the restaurant and played American sports. I caught a little NBA but was disappointed when they said they couldn't get the IU-Indianapolis game (I'll just assume the issue was that it was a preseason game and not a regular one.)

I spent the first couple of days walking all over the city. By day 3, something caught up with me. I'm not sure if it was the water, food, heat stroke, jet lag or if I was just plain tired, but I spent the whole day in bed. For the following days, I had no energy and little appetite.

Bangkok is an overwhelming place, but it has a lot going for it. They have a cheap and efficient subway/elevated train system. The temples, palace and national museum are tremendous. They have some of the poshest shopping malls you'll ever visit. However, the poverty, congestion and pollution are incredible. People actually wear masks when they ride motor bikes or walk through busy intersections. Add that to the OPPRESSIVE heat and Bangkok wears you out fast. I know my blood has thinned since living in San Francisco, but the heat and humidity really dominate your existence here. The Thais have acclamated. In fact, most of them don't look they sweat. However, as I exchanged exhausted and sympathetic looks with other white folks, it was obvious all new people struggle (and this is the "cool season"!!!)

The food is truly incredible. There are a million restaurants (I actually ate Italian and it was quite good.) Of course, you have all of the standard American chains, but they also have a few surprising ones. Sizzler is everywhere. So is Swensen's ice cream. Coffee is really popular, in spite of the fact that Bangkok is like one giant sauna.

The street food is where it's at though. Among the pictures here is my first real Pad Thai. I found it wondering through a ghetto off a main drag in Central Bangkok. I had to keep pointing at the chilis and repeating "Thai Spicy!!! Thai Spicy!!!" You rarely know what you're eating. It's hard to get any more specific than "fish" or "chicken."

Most tourists fear street food. I haven't had a problem with it. In fact, after seeing several old restaurants in action, I think having a food stand that moves is probably the most sanitary way of cooking. There are no hard-to-reach corners in a rolling kitchen. At the end of the day, take the food out and spray it down. I saw this over and over and never witnessed a dirty food cart.

I'm pleased to report that the food here is not better than the Thai food at the best Thai restaurants in San Francisco. In fact, since our ingredients are so much better (meat isn't tough etc.) the Thai food might be better in the US, at least to a Western palatte. The difference is the feel and authenticity. There are dishes you can't get in the US and the preparations here aren't adapted to Western tastes. They dumb-down the food for foreigners ("Thai-Spicy!!! Thai Spicy!!!") but you can still get the idea.

Let's talk scams, shall we? On day 2 in Bangkok I braved the heat to visit the palace and surrounding temples. I decided to walk most of the way (quite a hike) to see the sights.

After finishing lunch, I was walking down the street and was innocently engaged by a friendly Indonesian walking beside me. We had a brief and polite conversation and he gave me directions to the palace. As he was "showing me the way" we took a quick detour into his friend's suit store. The Indonesian fellow told his friend to give me the best deal possible, bid farewell and went on his way.

I politely sat and talked to the tailor as I wasn't sure of the best way to get out of the situation. He had some fantastic fabrics and would make custom suits for $125 each. I'm talking wool, cashmere, linen, all tailored, 3 fittings. If I actually wore suits, this would be great. I chatted with him for 10 minutes and excused myself.

I hopped a cab from the tailor's and headed to the palace. Again, I was innocently approached by a Thai fellow who had an official looking badge. He asked me how much I'd paid for my cab ride and was visibly upset that I was overcharged (I was overcharged on the ride from the airport too. The nice thing about getting ripped off in Bangkok is that it costs you a dollar or two.)

The Thai fellow told me the place was packed and I should come back. I paid 100 baht (about $2.50) to get to the palace. He then pointed to a tuk-tuk (part motorcycle and part low-ceiling golf cart, see photo) and told me the driver would take me to two other temples and get me back in time to see the palace for 20 baht (50 cents.) That sounded fine with me, so I hopped in.

He drove me to see the largest Buddha in Thailand. Definitely a cool thing to check out. What followed was an hour and a half of my driver taking me to tailors, jewelers and other retail shops to try to get me to buy things. The driver was a very polite kid who made it clear that taking me to these places was how he made money and if I would just go in for 5 minutes, it would really help him.

When you visit a place like Thailand, you are constantly reminded of how (comparatively) wealthy you are. People are very nice on the surface, but everything is intended to get you to spend. As I mentioned above, getting ripped of here is not so expensive, but it becomes tiresome when you constantly feel like a target because of your skin color.

I was so exasperated after this experience, I took off and came back to the temple a couple days later. I'm glad I did. The palace and adjoining temples are stunning. When you go to Washington D.C., London or Madrid, you get a sense of power and authority. In Thailand, you get a sense of beauty and spirituality. The art and architecture are fantastic and you get a feeling of serenity rather than awe.


After another day of wandering and relaxation, I was ready to get out of Bangkok. I had booked my travel by train to Chiang Mai through the government sanctioned travel agency (TAT.) I left at 8 pm from Hua Lamphong station in Central Bangkok. The ride is 15 hours, so I had my first experience on a sleeper train. Not great, but cheap ($20) and reasonably comfortable. I sat across from a guy from L.A., so we passed the time talking about life in California and trying to quell his fears of all things foreign.

When I arrived in Chiang Mai, I found the breath of fresh air I was looking for. More on that later...