Ok, big breath... I feel like there's so much to write, but no time to write it. Why be sitting in an internet cafe in Ko Sumui while I could be sitting on the beach?? Actually, weather's not so great today anyway...
So my take on Bangkok... the city was intense, really intense, I need a vacation from Bangkok. You do not stop for a minute, not for a second. Nothing like New York. (Granted, we were trying to fit a lot into just a few short days.) The city is huge, to go anywhere takes about an hour even if it's just in your neighborhood. Traffic is at a 24/7 standstill. The Skytrain and subway only take you so far, the skytrain goes to one point down river, then you have to take a boat upstream, and the whole transportation process becomes a production. Taking a taxi becomes stressful and you find yourself arguing with the driver about where you want to go - he wants to take you to his friends restaurant, or his friends shop, but you just really want to go to the Grand Palace - not hungry, don't want to shop. The meter taxis hate to put the meter on and often refuse leaving you on the side of the street or willing to pony up the 400 baht. Many times they take you somewhere and tell you your destination is just around that corner, you trust them - they know the city better than you, obviously - you pay, and then you learn your destination is really no where near your present location. Shit, duped again! The tuk tuk drivers like to do the same thing, but charge more for the agrivation; they can because every tourist wants the experience of driving in a a tiny thai truck - what can only be described as a wheelbarrow with a lawnmower engine, on steroids. It's a good time actually, despite the cloud of pollution. And finally, you find yourself constantly bargaining, negotiating, arguging over 100 baht - about $3, that you're spilting between four. Wtf? You become incredibly cheap, when you expect it to be. But then it becomes about the principle, right? These people are hustling and cheating, and we don't want to be those stupid tourists who get duped all the time.
Last night we only let it happen once. We put our foot down when one cab driver told us we had to walk up the mountain to get to our destination, that the road was closed, she still wanted $200 baht though... a car drove past, right up the mountain. Uh uh sorry, road's open, let's go. You have to be firm, even rude at times. But then you're like, damn, it's 50 cents... and you look around and see the poverty, and just say fuck it.
Anyway, we arrived in Ko Sumui last night around 6pm, 12 hours after we left our hotel in Bangkok - a trip we expected to take 4 hours at the most took 12. Duh. Nightlife was disappointing, where is everyone?? Off season, next week people here. Also, weather sucks, perfect weather on western side. The boat tour operators are even discouraging their own tours - typhoon last week, water's rough, can't swim in it. I think we might take off early. We have a friend in Phuket, go there maybe.
I want to love it here but I don't yet.
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3 comments:
It's hard for Americans to accept the fact that the world wasn't created to be our playground. We got the bucks or the bahts and everyone else needs to try and get 'em from us. Dawgs eat dawgs. Trust no one, nothing, except your own instincts. And as long as nobody's hurting you physically, they're giving you the gift of experience. You'll come home a very different person than the one who left. Well, at least your mind will be expanded and your eyes will be peeled wider. Don't let the bastards get you down and revel in the ugly glory of humanity, and in what Henry James called "the sad elegance of ruin."
Spread peace, find joy under rocks.
Come home safe to those who love and miss you. Reporting live from the high desert, your loving father.
Your dad is the man.
Live it up, Jess. Keep up the blogging, you're a great writer and I read each post and picture you experiencing these incredible places.
Merry Xmas from Miami :-)
err... Hanukkah, haha :-D
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