Bangkok

After living in Kavadarci for two years, Bangkok was quite the culture shock. With a population of 8.1 million, Bangkok is a little over three times as big as the entire country of Macedonia. There were just people everywhere, Thais and tourists alike.

The first morning, I was feeling the effects of jet lag. I was up at 7 am and another traveler suggested I go visit the nearby park. As I exited the hostel, I was greeted by a plethora of street food vendors with many varieties of food. This was at 7 am. In Kavadarci, there's definitely not any traffic on the street that early. I think I hear the gjeverik (a bagel like concoction sold on the streets) man start making his rounds around 9-10 am. It was a bit surprising to see that many people bustling about so early in the morning. People had places to go and things to do, which is much different than the "ima vreme" (there is time) mentality of Macedonia. I chose to grab a fried egg and some rice and sat down in the park. At 7 am, there were joggers, bike riders, and people practicing tai chi all around the park. I really was in a bit of a shock of how many people were out doing things that early in the morning, I think it's more of a byproduct of living in Macedonia for so long.

The first day, I decided to see all the tourist sites and ruins. The Grand Palace is truly breathtaking. There's really nothing like that in the Balkans, I think the closest thing would have to be in Prague or in Greece. But the intracate artwork done and the use of colors is something to be seen. It was also interesting to see people praying to Buddha. They light incense or candles, bow three times, and then place them in a holder to burn. This is very reminiscent of Macedonian Orthodox, where they light candles, cross their hearts three times, then place the candles in holders for saints to burn. I also visited Wat Po and Wat Arun that day and I realized I have just replaced monastaries with temples and monks with priests. Why do places of religion attract so many tourists?

One of the best travel experiences to date was to go see a muay thai fight. I figured I was in Thailand and wanted to see a fight. In the arena, there are three levels of seats: ringside, 2nd class, and then 3rd class. All the Thais sit in the 2nd and 3rd class, which is like general admission, and gamble on the fighters. Also, there are two different prices for each level, one for Thais and one for foreigners. No, I didn't get ripped off, this is just how the system works. I had planned on getting 2nd class tickets just to experience a muay thai fight around Thai people. Also, I had a mental image from the media that this would be kind of gory and very violent. I was not that ready to sit ringside to see all the gore and violence that close. However, as I approched the ticket counter a lady, who was working for the arena, tried to sell me on a ringside ticket. I think I haggled her for a while because I was pretty adamant about sitting in 2nd class. She even brought me into the arena to see the ringside seats. I finally asked her why she was pushing this ringside ticket so much. Apparently, the ticket sellers like herself only get a commission on the ringside tickets. Somehow, I convinced her I only had brought 1600 baht, which was only 100 more than a 2nd class ticket, and she sold me ringside anyway.

As soon as I walked in, I think I realized that the ringside was worth it. It was just worth not having the hassle and being able to pull out my camera whenever I felt like it. I think I would have felt a bit awkward standing with so many Thai people. Plus, I got some very cool shots sitting so close. The big night at the Lumphini Boxing Stadium is Tuesdays. They schedule 8-10 fights which are usually 5 rounds at 3 minutes each. I got to see the Featherweight muay thai champion of Thailand crowned that night. Anyway, since I had never been to a fight this was quite an experience for me. One of the best parts of the fight is what the fighters do before the fight. The fighters come in one at a time, with robes, a head band-type thing, and flowers draped around their necks. They then proceed to do this elaborate "dance" which is a giving of thanks to the gods of boxing for the fight. It's really quite a cool sight. The fighting itself was something I did not really expect. During the fight, there is Thai music being played live. There is a drum an instrument that sounds like it would charm a snake. Apparently, this is to help the fighters keep in rhythm. During the first two rounds or so, when they are sizing each other up, the right leg bounces up and down. I imagine this is to either attack or prepare to defend, but either way it was also in rhythm. It seemed to me like the first two rounds are part of an elaborate dance. After those two rounds, the fighters connect with more blows. I think one of the best things about it was the excitement of it all. In each fighter's corner, there is an area where his posse stands. I imagine these are trainers and family members as I saw several children in there as well. I was sitting in the blue corner, so whenever the fighter in blue would connect on a hit, the posse would all yell and scream. It was very intense. Coupled with that, are the Thais that are betting on either fighter yelling whenever a blow is being landed. It is quite an intense experience but it was one of my most memorable ones as well. Overall I think I spent 2000 baht (roughtly 57 USD) for the ticket and beer, which is quite expensive in Thai standards. However, the experience as a whole was definitely worth it. I would suggest that anyone that visits Thailand at least see on muay thai fight even if it's not really your "thing."

One thing that I think is very interesting about Bangkok is the shrines that are placed throughout the city. These shrines are placed by hotels, shopping centers, and other commercial buildings, but they put these really religious icons right next to them. This picture is of the Erwan shrine. There was live Thai music and dancers performing for the shrine as well. I think the picture just embodies the uniqueness of Thailand. Among all these skyscrapers and Skytrain lines, there is this religious icon.

My hostel was on Silom road, which is a business district by day and a night market by night. There are hundreds of vendors selling everything from shirts, toys, and music. A street over was Patpong, the red-light district. So among all these stands, are people trying to lure people with "Sex DVDs" which is really going to a "massage" parlor, sex show or a ping-pong show. I enjoyed listening to each one of them try and sell me on their product so I tried to talk to them. One man had a particularly good pitch, and I decided to go with him. I figured I wanted to see how this worked and what was going to happen. I was just going to his "bar" to have a beer, in my mind, and see how this whole process worked. I walked into the bar, and about 20 girls lined up in front of me. Each one wore a number. I tried to tell the bar owner that I just came in for a beer, but he told me that I was alone and it was more fun to have someone with me. I kept insisting that I just drink my beer alone, but at that point the owner of the bar proceeded to get angry. I felt bad choosing a girl out of all of them, it just said that you're prettier than the rest or whatnot. Anyway, I chose a girl and she sat down. She ordered a drink, which I had to pay for, and tried to sell me on her. After a while, I felt kind of bad for her. I decided to purchase her time, but to just talk with her and have her show me around. We walked the red-light district and talked for a while and I found out how this whole operation works. The girl gets a flat rate of 800 baht (22.95 USD) for her "services" and the bar gets 500 baht (14.34 USD). The person that brings in the customer gets anything over this. So I only paid 1500 baht, so this guy only got 200 baht. Some people come in and pay 5000 baht, but even so the girl still gets the flat rate of 800 baht. In that case, the guy that brought him in gets 3700 baht. I asked her why she did this work, and she said that the average Thai person makes around 5000 baht per month. She pulls in an average of 3 customers per day, so in two days she makes what an average Thai person makes a month. Also, she did not attend university and just finished high school. To top this all off, she was 22 and had a 4 year old son and was divorced. Crazy. I assume that she either enjoyed talking to me, or she felt bad that she didn't perform her services on me so she invited me to hang out with her and her friends after they were done. She bought this crazy crab salad, the crab was alive, the street food vendor killed it, tore it apart, mixed it with some vegetables and served it raw, and she also bought beer. I offered to pay for at least part of it, which at that point she responded "No, I'll slap you." I hung out with her and her friends until 6 am, and it was really quite fun.

My last night in Bangkok was quite memorable as well. I had met these two guys at the hostel who were both from LA. They had been in Bangkok for quite some time now, I think it was around 2 months or so. We all went out, and after a while we decided to go to a place that they had been to called Sky Club. This place is pretty off the radar and is targeted towards Thai people. I was a little unsure what this place was, but I went along for the ride. Sky Club is like a coyote bar or a "social" club. You pay for a girl to sit and hang out with you, and that's it. As I've read online, you have to be "very, very lucky" to get a phone number from the girl. If it progresses into anything, it will, but the girl is paid to just hang out with you and drink your alcohol. This place was also a whiskey bar, serving mainly Johnny Walker Black... what a dream. That first JW Black after two years was such a treat, little did I know how much I would consume of it. We went in and were met by another row of girls. I decided I wanted to just relax for a bit and see if I felt like choosing a girl. As time passed, I decided to choose a girl. I chose a girl named Fi. As we sat down, I realized she knew very little English. The girl of the other guy I was with knew English fairly well, and asked me if I wanted to choose again. I was curious to see how this would turn out with Fi and a bit guilty if I "returned" her, so I decided to stick it out. After a few awkward exchanges, she busted out a drinking game with dice that she made up. And there was the key, alcohol. After that game was over, she knew the "guessing fists" Chinese game, and we played that. Incidentally, I learned 0,5,10,15,20 in Thai. This makes me think that if you need to know one drinking game in Asia, that's the one. Fi and I were actually having a lot of fun. Throughout the night, we played pool and danced. She was pretty impressed with my dancing "skills" as I imagine a lot of Thai men don't dance very well. I actually think that she liked me, perhaps it was the alcohol as well, but I am pretty sure that she did. I was surprised on how we could communicate with such a language barrier, but as I have learned from the Peace Corps, body language is great along with alcohol too. Anyway, at the end of the night she actually asked me for my phone number. Alas, I was heading to KL the next day and had no phone, but she actually asked for my number. That was probably the most memorable night in Bangkok. I am contemplating returning to Bangkok for just a few more nights after KL and Singapore before I head north. I guess the beauty of my whole trip is that I have no plan, if I want to stay in Bangkok for a month I can. But for now, I feel like I should be seeing other places as well. Off to KL...