More on Bangkok...worth reading...

This is a better breakdown of what Bangkok was like...written in Mark's perspective...I read it and thought it would paint a picture...

As I walked off the plane and into the terminal I stopped flat footed staring at the high glass ceilings, then quickly looked to my left and right recognizing where I was standing, just 2 months ago I was watching New Zealand news and in that exact location a sea of about 8000 demonstrators took over the airport as a demonstration accusing the Thai government of corruption and grenade attacks elsewhere in the city deepened the sense of lawlessness. A quick deep breath, I continued moving towards the exit of the airport and almost immediately a sense of Culture Shock set in as I struggled to find someone that understood my American English pronunciation of sukhumvit road and my accommodation SUK 11. Eventually I booked a bus and for the one hour ride into Bangkok my face was glued to the window in awe. The poverty ridden suburbs were like nothing I have seen in person before. Huts the size of a bedroom were built from sheet metal and Pepsi banner rooftops were holding back the rain. As the bus made its way closer to bangkok I could begin to make out the resemblance of a city, taller buildings, shopping malls, but still a significant amount of poverty.

My first step off the bus and into the city was a bit alarming. The outside air was a smell resembling the inside of a portable toilet at a university football tailgate. Many times I witnessed people urinating into the streets and throwing their trash directly into sewage drains. At one point I walked up a set of stairs that led me to the SkyTrain (similar to the EL in Chicago), I barely ducked under the electrical lines that passed across my face and then stopped to look at the abandoned building within view. The outside walls had been knocked down and the building gutted. All that was left were the graffitied inside walls and hanging electrical lines and the fenced off property was littered with debris and looked as if people were dumping their bags of garbage over the fence to avoid their pickup charges. I looked closer at the ground floor and was shocked to see a child in a lawn chair sweating and exhausted watching his younger friend/brother take over his job of sifting through the rubbish in search of something that might be of value. Again I took a deep breath and continued up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs was a lady in her early thirties holding her recently newborn child in her hands. Their cloths were tattered and torn, and a few steps later I came across her two other children hugging the pavement trying to stay cool with a cup asking for change. Its tough enough when you see a mid aged person asking for coins and food, but when a child is put in the picture it really is distrurbing. I know poverty levels in Thailand are not as high as many other areas but to be their and witness what I saw is something that I can not fully describe without placing you in my shoes.

phhhewww, with that all being said Bangkok truly is in a world of its own. Motorcycles and mopeds dominate the roadways, stray dogs and cats run the sidewalks and vendors line the curbs selling anything from pirated DVD's, fake gucci handbags, and their sisters. Taxis are common to see but the cheapest mode of transportation are called Tuk Tuk's. Their similar in size to a Golf Cart, but their is one wheel in the front and two in the back. No doors or seatbelts just a hand rail for the two passengers to grip. Swerving in and out of traffic and at times driving down the opposite side of the road into on-coming traffic (its okay no road laws), the Tuk Tuk drivers are insane and at one point I was taking my last tour of the city cruising at about 35 mph in the left lane and the driver jerks quickly to our right to avoid the elephant. ''Are you kidding me, are you kidding me'' I shouted ''An elephant down the middle of the street in the city'', at that point I realized it was time to take an actual Taxi CAR.

At night Bangkok comes alive, or something like that! Females are begging tourists to come into their 'massage parlors', ping pong shows are packed with tourists (not explaining that one) and lady boys crowd the streets. The 'Lady Boy' is a surgical phenomenon that dates back in history as easy way for men to avoid the war, and to this day has picked up as a significant way for Thais to make a good living. As one male Taxi Cab driver told me ''Yes, my best friend is now a Lady Boy, I am okay with it, he makes great money''...hard for me to understand, but I guess it goes to show what some people will do to make a living in an area far below the poverty line. Bangkok is in a world of its own, which is why ONLY IN BANGKOK is a coined phrase.

Few Fun Facts:

#1 fact of all time: Lay's Top 3 Potato Chip flavors in Thailand: Seaweed, Hot Spicy Squid, and Garlic Soft Shell Crab...no joke

*Bahts- Thailand currency, 1USD = 35BAHT, my own beachside bungalow was 350 BAHT about 10 USD, very cheap country to travel. Baht, Baht, Baht...what a great word!

*Went to a Maui Thai fight, puts boxing to shame, go to one if you can!

* According to the Thai calender it is year 2552, if you need any more information about the future let me know!