Pad Thai on the street, skinned chickens piled high, riverboat mass transit, three dollar massages, a 7-11 every 100 meters and funny lights. Thailand gave me plenty of reasons to smile.
I left Beijing last Saturday. A direct flight on Thai Airways took me to Bangkok. I know it’s cliché, but never in my wildest imagination did I ever think I would be in Thailand the week before finals (in Syracuse). Last year I was studying up, my mind thousands of miles from Southeast Asia.
First off, the flight was great. People weren’t lying when they told me Thai Airways was one of the best. Real porcelain plates with a decent steak (and free wine) in economy class was a nice surprise. After the four and a half hour plane ride I skipped the baggage claim, toting only my backpack, and headed to the bus area in Bangkok‘s Suvarnabhumi airport. Koh San Road was my destination. I refused an offer from a random guy proposing a way to get there and headed to the bus counter. I bought a one way ticket on the airport shuttle into town.
The highway was big, developed. Much more so than any I’ve seen in China. Sitting in the back of the bus I looked out the window as we followed a light rail line from the airport into the city under construction. I soon realized the one-way road I thought we were on wasn’t. We were just driving on the left side. That would be fun when I rented a motorbike, I thought to myself as the buildings grew larger as we neared Bangkok.
The bus weaved around the city for a bit before coming to a stop at the edge of Koh San Road. Koh San Road (sometimes Khoa or Ko, depends on who you ask) is the Mecca for backpackers in Asia if not the world. I stepped out of the bus to see the street crawling with people. I had in mind where I wanted to stay and spotted a sign pointing down a narrow alley. I ducked into the alley following the sign to the New Joe Guesthouse. About 75 meters down the alley after passing small shops, restaurants and a massage place (one I would visit three times in the next two days) I found the New Joe. I inspected a room on the fourth floor then booked it for 350 baht a night. That’s about 11 dollars.
The room was as basic as you can get. Two twin beds (that was all they had left) covered in two sheets each. One to sleep on, one to sleep under. Between the two was a small nightstand. I tossed by backpack against it and stepped outside onto a small balcony. What a view. From my fourth floor balcony I could see a run down shack of a building and a tree with big, oily leaves and a thick trunk. Below was a light blue roof made of that hard, ribbed plastic stuff. Back inside the room, the water worked, some fresh toilet paper was on the edge of the sink, the bathroom was small and dirty. No hot water. Rooms with that luxury were more expensive. The room’s floor was linoleum tile that looked like it had never been cleaned, save for the occasional sweep if it looked dirty to the cleaning ladies. I was exhausted after only three hours of sleep the night before and laid down in my clothes for a quick nap.
After an hour I woke up and headed out. I had the book, The Beach, in my mind since I planned my trip to Thailand and now its story was more than vivid in my mind. Adjacent to the reception desk where I checked in earlier was a travel agent surrounded by a desk full of brochures and advertisements to tour this, boat trip that, scuba this, snorkel that. Out the door and down a step I found myself below that blue roof I could see from my room’s balcony. The restaurant was here.
Back on the narrow ally I followed it until I could make a right turn towards Koh San Road proper. Although I walked it many times in the next two days, the road is only a blur to me. It wasn’t anything new to me. I’d seen similar enough streets in Beijing. What made Koh San different was the amount of white people. I heard mostly English but dabbled in the crowd were hints of German, French, Italian, and even some eastern European languages I couldn’t identify. Even the Thai shop keepers spoke English – the world’s language.
That’s perhaps one of the biggest differences between Thailand and China. (One in a long list.) Everyone speaks some English. Even the old people. It’s the youngest who don’t and that’s because they haven’t learned it yet. I guess that’s because Thailand is so much more developed and open to the west than China. You’d be hard pressed to find someone on the streets of Beijing who can talk about the weather in English.
T-shirts galore, pirated CDs with anything on them, hats, luggage, food, hair extensions, books, pants, fake sunglasses, fake IDs, fake Ralf Lauren, fake almost anything. But not fake people. They were real alright and tried their best to get every last dime (baht) outa you.
I guess cars are technically allowed on Koh San, but it’s not worth it to attempt the drive. Too many people. Motorbikes (mopeds) can easily weave though the masses, though and I had to watch out to prevent being clipped.
In the next few days I’ll continue narration of my week in The Land of Smiles. Stay tuned for photos of Wats (temples) and the island I went to.
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