Departure
Trip Start
Oct 11, 2002
1
20
Trip End
Nov 04, 2002
Bangkok,
Thailand
Sunday, November 3, 2002
The platform was virtually empty. I had just missed a train to Mo Chit. I waited for about 10 minutes and looked out over the city where there was a big hole in the ground being developed.
I got a seat on the train and it was only a few stops to Mo Chit where I got off and descended the stairs. I followed everyone else in the direction of the market. I had read that 20,000 people visit the market each weekend. I started wandering around the periphery and saw lots of stalls selling second hand clothing, lots of jeans and army gear. I walked up and down the aisles just looking at what was available. As I moved through the market it changed. Stalls sold different things, more upmarket stuff which was more like a shop than a stand. I bought a few things and then got sick of wandering around in the growing crowds. It was also getting more difficult to squeeze past people in the narrow aisles with my mounting number of shopping bags.
I made my way back towards the Sky Train station and at the bottom of the stairs leading to the station beggars sat, handkerchiefs spread in front of them. One man had a horribly twisted body, he could only lie on the hot pavement, his arms and legs deformed and twisted at the torso. A bottle of water stood about half a metre from him. He must have gotten very thirsty sitting in the hot sun and crowds. I felt guilty not throwing a few coins in his handkerchief. He could have used it far better than I. I almost went back down the stairs but didn't.
After getting off the monorail I looked in the Mah Boon Krong shopping centre where there were more stands and goods for sale. Back out in the heat I waited for a bus back to Banglamphu. My ticket cost 3.5 baht and I had to stand as the bus was full. We passed a huge stadium where the World Scout Jamboree was going to be held early in the next year, big banners and posters announced this upcoming event.
The conductress came to sell a ticket to an African guy standing next to me. He asked me how much the fare was and then if I had some spare change as he only had large notes. He pulled out a 500 baht note out as if to prove his point. Unconsciously I gave him 5B and said that the fare was 3.5B. After paying for his ticket he gave me the change and thanked me. He started talking to me and at first I answered his questions although I would have preferred to stand in peace and wait for my stop. When a spare seat became available he ushered me to it and stood next me. It turned out that he was studying in Thailand for a short while. The girl sitting beside me got off the bus and I had to move to the window. The guy from Niger then sat beside me and virtually leaned across me to make conversation. He asked me for my address in Australia (of course he had a relative in Sydney and one day when he visited he would like to look me up). I had given him the equivalent of 15 cents and he felt that this was a come on. He kept leaning across me and I was already looking intently out the window and pressed as closely as possible to the side of the bus. Eventually he got off and I breathed a sigh of relief and waited for my stop.
Back at the guesthouse I sat in the bar by myself. A movie was playing on the large screen on the other side of the bar and I watched a hot guy drinking and watching the film. The movie kept jumping and stopping in one spot. He tried to explain what was going on to the bartender and when he had the movie restarted it was from the start of the film. He tried to explain the fast forward concept but eventually gave up when the film continued to stop in exactly the same spot - I think he can just blame it on the pirated DVD.
I was half listening to three guys beside me. One of them left and another guy asked me where I was from. He misunderstood me thinking I'd said I was an Israeli. He asked me
When boarding was announced I was so glad and happy to get on the plane. I had an aisle seat and was sitting next to a Thai guy going to visit his sister who was studying in Melbourne. I helped him fill out his passenger card and wished him luck before getting off the plane.
My luggage came out a long time after other peoples and I commandeered a trolley to load up all my heavy things. I zipped through customs quite quickly and discovered that the elephants I thought were wooden were actually plastic!
I walked through the automatic doors and looked out at all the people and then heard my name being called. I looked up at Mum, Bec and Lisa and grinned. Mum hadn't recognised me at first in my red Thai pants, khaki singlet and two plaits.
I had hoped to be greeted by some sunny weather but before I left the airport I had to put my jumper on for the first time of my trip.
