2002-03-23 - 6:47 p.m.
Hello from Bangkok, where it is hot and humid but we are having an evening rain shower. I am in an internet cafe where the rate is about a dollar an hour. Sitting next to me is a couple making reservations to fly to Malta. Hey, why not? The family who owns this place is sitting behind me at a table, enjoying a full sit-down dinner. It is dinnertime, after all.
After successfully meeting up with Lela last night (a great relief to both of us) and spending the night near the airport, we took a hair-raising cab ride into the center of the city. We got dropped off on Khao San road, a kind of backpackers mecca for young hippies from around the world. Languages overheard today: French, German, Japanese, Hebrew, and many accents of English. We dropped off our stuff at a hostel/hotel type place which Lela had scouted out the night before, and set out for the day.
Our first order of business was eating, and the food here is incredible. Street vendors will custom prepare Pad Thai and serve it up with a side of veggie spring rolls for 25 bhat -- less than 60 cents. Skewers of fresh cut mangos, melons, and pinapples are piled high on carts along with coconuts with a crack in the top and a straw sticking out. We walked through a market this afternoon which was lined with food vendors stirring open pots of curries and grilling chicken legs. One woman was frying miniature eggs about the size of a quarter.
Our major sight-seeing event of the day was our trip to the Grand Palace. We walked through a park where we watched the preparations for a kite festival and a few minutes later fell victim to our first scam. It all happend so fast. First we were walking through a hoard of pigeons. Then a woman was smiling at us as we tried to dodge their little pecking beaks. Then she and about a half dozen other women and children came up to us giving us little baggies of popcorn to feed the birds. We tried to refuse, but they were shoving the bags at us, saying "Good luck for you!" At that point I knew we were about to be scammed. After we scattered the popcorn, they of course demanded we pay for it, thus netting about 3 dollars from their theatrics and our naivete.
Once inside the palace walls we were thankfully safe from people hassling us for tours, souveniers, or to take a ride in a three-wheeled tuk-tuk. The palace is spectacular, and after I get back to Japan I'll post pictures.
Tomorrow we are treating ourselves to an all-day air-conditioned boat tour of the canals and ruins run by a glitzy hotel. After a day of being hassled and consulting the guidebook every five seconds, not to mention walking around in the 90-degree heat, it'll be a relief, even if it means we are surrounded by rich American tourists.
More next week... from the beach.
