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Bangkok
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I arranged a boat and coach combination for my travels from Koh Phangan up to Bankok which I was told was to take from 12 noon, till 7 am next morning. Eleven hours on a coach, are you mad. Obviously. However, I did have the cunning plan to get some form of sleepers from a chemist. Well I had been told that you could get anything in Thailand. Yes you can, 4 valium, 100baht, from the dodgy chemist, thank you lord. After three hours of intense sunbathing on the boat from Koh Phangan, and then an hours wait for a minibus to take us to the coach, and then an hours wait while the coach was repaired, I slept like a log the whole way on the coach, was awoken on arrival in bangkok, felt great. Smashin.
I already knew that I was heading to Koasan Road, famous as the backpackers mecca of south east asia, and knew that there was plenty of packpackers type accomodation in the area, so jumped straight in to a taxi. I don't really remember getting to Koasan Road though so maybe I was still a bit fuggy with the tablets, but I know it was fairly early morning. From experience, I had decided that I never travel far by foot with all my bags again, so set about finding accomodation quickely, which was very easy, particularly when you are not that fussy. 140baht a night, in the first place I tried, sounded fine to me, so that was it, I could always move the next day if not okay. After a shower I headed straight for the Airline offices which was lucky, because I caught them just as they were shutting early for a bank holiday. I got my flights changed to a flight home in four days, no problem, and no cost. The next available flights were several days later, and I couldn't afford to stay that long, so was quite lucky with the timings. That allowed me to relax now after what was about four days since I started to try to get in touch.
The heat in the city was pretty intense, seriously hot and very humid all the time. But, I had my sunglasses, so decided to walk back to Koasan road. it had taken about 15 minutes or so in the taxi, so it could be walked in an hour or so, or so I thought. I had a rough idea of which direction I was going in, and I had a map. I loved just walking, and seeing what I could see. I did it everywhere I went, just went for three hour walks in directions I hadn't been before. Couldn't really do it in the Perentian Islands right enough. So I had one of my wanders and I think I got back to the digs about 6. I had walked through a modern looking city, past a sports stadium and into an area with a large dual carraige way with a magnificent looking temple at one end, and a large monument in the middle of a round about further down. After a look round the temple, and taking as few pictures, as always, I was stopped from walking any further along the path by a traffic policeman. Only at that point did I notice that all the cars in every direction were stopped, and, all the people were stopped. The King was about to pass by. Camera at the ready, I thought, that would be good to get a picture of the king on my first day here. This was a major road with the palace, I was to discover later on, about 1/2 mile away. Funny how I should end up there just as the king was coming by. I waited for five minutes bafore the cavalcade started to pass, and it took a good two or three minutes from begining to end. At least twenty bikes and twelve cars. I did get a picture of his car with blacked out windows, or was that a decoy, and he was really on one of the bikes. The truth is I can't be sure.
Anyway, when I get back to Koasan Road, having asked direction at least ten times, I didn't recognise it. Not at all. It was a quite street, with very few people about when I last saw it. Now there were people everywhere, there was no room to walk on the path, because there were stalls right along them, and it was like walking in a shopping centre on Christmas eve, on the road. It wasn't a pedestrianised street as such, but it may as well have been, cars had to creeep along if they wanted through. Koasan Road was like that from sixish every night, till the early hours. From, I think, early afternoon on, everyday, it slowly filled up with stalls for everything, from clothes and food, to dredlocks and fortune telling. There was music blasting out from stalls that would burn anything on to CD for you, there and then, and from bars, and just noise coming from the hustle bustle. I loved it, it was so cool, and walked up and down that street so many times, during my time there. I'll tell you, even by the end I was still having to really look to find my digs. I did often get to the opposite end of the steet without finding it, and have to turn round and try again.
The same stalls were not always in the same place, it seemed to change all the time, and always something you hadn't seen before. I remember sitting eating in my digs one evening, and for the first time a stall selling denim skirts had set up just outside. I was entertained by girls trying on skirts 10 yards away. It was funny watching them pulling one skirt over or under the other then taking one off. Well what was I going to do, change seat to look in the other direction. Sure. By eightish, each evening the promo girls started to come out, and the taxi drivers and tuk-tuk drivers started to hastle you everytime you went near them. "Where are you going?" they would ask. "I take you somewhere better", "you wanna see ping pong show". I usually just told them I'm going a walk, and I don't like table tennis anyway. The promo girls were actually bar girls obviously, for the bar half way down the street, which, from about ninish had girls dancing in the windows three floors up. I never noticed till later on in the night, the lady boys, which I have to say were totally convincing. I think it was two lady boys that stole my camera two days before I left. I think they picked my pocket when they were sitting down and talking to me. I did send them on there way, but didn't notice till later that my camera was away. So, no photos of Bangkok nor any since the last day of Koh Phangan. The last time I copied my pictures to disc.
The funny thing about Koasan Road is that it didn't really seem that seedy, there were lots of normal looking groups of young people and couples all just having a good time.
The stalls seemed to start clearing at about mid-night, but sometimes you would still have someone having there hair pleated till 3am. There was a stall that advertised that they could provide forms of false I.D. including qualifications, and driving licences. The police on some nights had a pretty heavy presence, and they obviusly didn't bother about that. It was quite funny to see two policemen sharing a moped. There was a stall I found in the next street that served coctails, and had a DJ on each night. The music was excellent, Indonesian trance I believe, so I visited it most nights at some point.
I did a bit of wandering round the city and did get to see the palace, which was spectacular, and along the river etc, but couldn't really afford to do a tour of the temples from the river. That was shame, but there was so much to see anyway. I did also meet a few interesting people including a Scadanavian guy who spent his life trying to help people in Thai jails. He had some stories of horrendous situations, like the guy still in jail after nine years, who had been unable to pay a 200baht fine for overstaying his visa by a day. I'd hate to be in jail there, so, for all I'd heard it was easy to get cannabis in Thailand, I never tried.
Anyway, I think I am about finished now. I've been home now a few weeks, and am trying to get back into life in the cold and damp. It's not too bad really, this is a good place to live, inspite of the weather. I had missed my home comforts, and my car. I think she missed me too.
I would like to thank everyone for tuning in, I hope you enjoyed it. I have to assume that most did, because I've had over 550 visitors to the site, and still tuning in, I can't be quite as boring as I thought. Your visits gave me the motivation to keep it going inspite of being so busy much of the time. I have enjoyed writing it, and am sure I will enjoy reading it over when I am too old to do anything else, and don't have the bladder control to leave the house. If you get the chance, or can make the chance, travel, I'll certainely do it again.
Graeme
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