Shanewilson's travel blogs:
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Bangkok: An Assault on the Senses
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It's wintere here in Bangkok so the weather has been kind - a lot more kinder than that of the heat wave of Perth! Glad I'm not there - I detest Perth's summers. The temps have been in the 20s but the humidity fairly high. A lot more comfortable than when I was here in April, 2006!
Bangkok is an assault on the senses. The noise is deafening, the throngs of people irritating (they seem to aim for you when walking - strange), the road jams in the afternoon the worst I've seen, the food absolutely delicious and every corner fascinating. The roads are littered with food stores serving a concoction of interesting yet cheap foods, beggers crawling along the dirty paths with limbs missing, mothers begging with their babies on the side of the roads and lots of cheap items for sale - DVDs, clothing, sex DVDs, bracelets, jewelery etc. I'm glad to be leaving after a week... I'm expecting Phnom Penh to be a lot quieter. Bangkok is a shopper's paradise - like Malaysia and Vietnam, come with an empty suitcase if you want to stock up your wardrobe.
I managed to get in touch with Game through trawling through my hotmail addresses... he rang me on Monday night at 10.30pm asking me to come out but I was desperate for a proper night's sleep. We ended up meeting at Lumpini Market at 10pm on Tuesday... fantastic to meet up with who was one of the 10 most influential people on my trip RTW in 2006. He hasn't changed much except to quadruple the size of his shop (15000 baht rental per month)... he is now catering to the hotel market and is earning well into the millions of baht (1,000,000 baht = approx $AUD45,000). His success has been so huge that he recently paid for his father's $AUD15000 (Baht 300,000) operation. This is considerable given that the basic wage is around 75baht per hour ($3) here. He has a partner from New Zealand but is not happy - would like to separate... he would like to travel to New Zealand but is too much of a workaholic to allow for a holiday. Game's shop is exquisite... visit at DG1032/1033 (street 2) if here in Bangkok and let him know that I referred you... you will get a good price. The Thais seem to be obsessed with their image, weight and personal hygiene. Game stops eating if he hits 65kg (last time he weighed himself he was 64kg)...
I spent the night with Game and his mates on Tuesday at one of his favourite local clubs in the Sukomvit (soi 22) area. We shared a $50 bottle of whisky. One of his mates is a police officer... he was keen to share his loaded gun with me as he got drunker and drunker. Game has recently moved from the Boss Mansion in Ekamai to Sukomvit Soi 22 so he can be closer to his work. The Thais work so much that I have spent very little time with him.
I've also met up with Bird who works at the Telephone Bar. He works from 6 to 2am all nights except Wednesday so it is very difficult to socialise with the locals here. I still love them though.
If coming to Bangkok and you wish to see the Grand Temple, wear long pants. I got turned away because I was wearing shorts. No worries though because I've seen it before. I spent most of one day on the C. River. A wonderful way to see Bangkok and highly recommended... cost is 120 baht for a one day pass. I've done very little else except visit Siam Shopping Square and MBK (a huge shopping complex), lay around the pool, sleep, eat and party in Patpong. The locals and tourists I've met have been extraordinary, including one former Guinean football olympian who competed at the Sydney 2000 Olympics... It is very, very easy to meet people here and you never need to be lonely if you hit the nightlife. A wonderful nightlife... probably the best in Asia. I have thoroughly enjoyed eating the Thai food... very simple dishes but tasty. Last night I had a concoction of chicken (cut thinly), mushroom, red capsicum, chili, onion, zuchini, lemon grass and spices all stir fried and served with steamed rice.
I fly to Phnom Penh tomorrow with Air Asia at 15:10. A great time to sleep in and check out at 12. I'm really looking forward to returning to Cambodia, but hoping that it will be relaxing. From what I remember, Cambodia is very slow. Looking forward to it. I fly with Air Asia so a bit nervous about that.
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