A Fresh Perspective

I finally broke down. After loosing the ability to sit down without the high probability of falling asleep, I booked a guesthouse and got a good nights sleep. I woke up to a a bright sunny morning and a cold shower. After filling my belly with warm leechee and rice starch slop, I took to the walking street of Khao San. Khao San is described in multiple guide books as the paradise for backpackers and this is the perfect description. 5 dollar rooms, 17 cent meals, lots of English speaking tourists, many shops and a colorful smattering of 24 bars. The latter tends to attract to "European Frat Boy" group but even alpha-male, gym rat, booze hounds are a little more interesting table side in Bangkok.

There is a suit shop occupying every other store front. This makes battering extremely easy. The technique I perfected is just tell them the store next door gave offered lower prices for more. The will fall over themselves to reduce to the cost and through in 10 free ties. As it as been almost an hour since I have eaten anything. I must eat. My body has gotten used to constantly consuming new and exciting foods. I wouldn't want to disappoint.

Seamless Sleeplessness

I have officially entered hour 32 without sustained sleep. The pulse of Bangkok flows energetically through the city and is not hindered by my personal lack of sleep. Immediately after logging from last blog, I stepped out into the humid dawn morning. Moments latter I found myself huddled around a overturned cardboard box with three young-ouns slinging domino's at 20 Baht a game. With "Domino" being the only word that we had in our common vocabulary, the three children excitedly yelled "Domino, Domino" as they through the tiles at a dizzying pace. After 4 games a 80 lost Baht, I collected my bruised ego and let the youngest of the lot buy my consolatory bag of sweetened rice mush. The demon vendor handed me the thin sandwich bag filled with the molten hot lava drink and said "You Drink! Drink!" I would assume the taste could be equated to sweetened liquid oatmeal but I could only taste the comforting familiar flavor of the peeled burnt tissue from the roof of my mouth. Though presumable tasty, this will probably rank as the worst food product consumed on this trip.

Dazed from the sever flesh wound, I found myself wandering the main strip of Central Bangkok watching street cart after street cart chopping vegetables and making a rainbow of curries that dilated my pupils as glimpsed into the base of each wok. Feeling the early morning was too calm, I challenged an old lady to a scallion cutting contest. If there is one thing I took away from the CIA, it was speed and precision a Julianne of scallion. This woman had know idea what was in store for her. Three knifes were strapped to the side of the cart with worn handles waving proud in the air. I reach forward grabbing my obvious weapon of choice...Asian Cleaver. This was a good as over. We both prepped our large pile scallions and drew a crowd of 4 other street food prep cooks. I was feeling confident. Nothing could stop me.

Sitting on the stairs in front of "Victory Statue" felt slightly ironic. The sun peaked cheerily over the buildings, clearly taunting shameful defeats. At this point, I did what anyone would do in my circumstance. I bought a bag of fried dough balls, perched myself against a bootleg CD booth and rocked out to the Juno Soundtrack. Apparently, I picked the right booth on the right street, for only fifteen minutes passed before my solo toe tapping became a group of English speaking Thai High School students. Thai lesson began promptly and I received an F+ after only 5 minutes. I continued to slaughter the language as the sun rose over the building bring the 95 degree weather with it. The children disappeared for school, the Juno Soundtrack played through and my time to move on became clear.

Chatuchak is Bangkok in the purest form. Over 5000 stalls and take up 35 acres. This weekend-only market is a maze of semi-circle grid shops with only three entrance/exits that allow access to the 300,000 visitors that come each day. Also called Talaat Jatujak or JJ by the locals. This wonderland of Thai Culture resides on the northeastern edge of Bangkok. The air train arrived at 7:55 am and I set off toward the vast market below. I walked through the gates ready to be impressed and I see a empty line of locked storefronts with bright colored graffiti run as far as the eye can see. I wander through to see only an occasional storefront ajar with smiling face peering out from behind a cup of Thai version Cafe con Leche. After a quick loop through a park adjacent to JJ's, I returned back to the market. In only a half-hour, the market began to wake. Woks began to warm, pathways were swept and the market began to wake. This is a paradise for; clothes shoppers, pet shoppers, foodies, fish lovers, plant lovers, Buddhists, tourists and locals alike. For 3 hours, I zig through stores and zagged through food stands. The smells changed every two steps, the temperature change from room to room and sounds flowed throughout halls, twisting together at frequent intersections to create new sounds all over again. It was extensive, exacting and communal. Every section of shops was divided by food vendors with authentic specialties. It was hard to go more than a block without a mouthwatering Thai treat filling the void. Alas, when relative humidity broke 100% without raining, it was time to stay off the feet and seek cool liquids. Let the suit shopping begin!

Let the Games Begin

Note to Readers: Everything that will be written in this blog will be some facsimile of the truth. Extravagant embellishment should not just be tollerated, they should be expected. It is the only requirement of Vagabond Thailand posts. Please leave comments and check back regularly

After 25 hours of travel, I made it to Bangkok. Torrential downpours and a techno worthy lighting were the prominent reasons for the four-foot-beyond-the-car visibility. Somehow, I was able to trick the cute American girl sitting next to me on the Tokyo-Bangkok flight that I was worth her while. The young Cape-Codian twirled her hair and told me how she made her way to the fortunate position as my seat-side companion. She was on her way to meet her sister, a US Embassy worker. I could already see myself being appointed ambassador to Thailand if I played my cards right. I had no time to lose. I told the Captain to step to it and get the plane in Bangkok, PRONTO! Touching down a half-an-hour I flipped the Captain a wink and a nod and wander my way into the Land of the Thai. Stepping through immigration, I greeted the sister and round two of Miramant charm began. After a 20 minute car ride into the Bangkok center, she was offering me information, a place to stay and her new born baby. I took the information with a smile and decided to take to the streets. She offered far to much structure to entice this soloist on a his walkabout.

I stepped out of the hidden, posh apartment complex into the whorl wind of Bangkok. I was famished. It was mid-night but I minimal reference of time and even smaller intention to sleep any time soon. So I did what any thorough breed AHH-MER-IT-CAN should do; I found a McDonald's. Okay, this was sadly the first Thai establishment I visited but anyone searching for a clean bathroom in a third world country relies on Micky D's.

After one meal, I was re-educated in the meaning of Thai Food. The al-dente noodles exploded with flavor as I tasted the delicate balance of prawns, pork and eggs. Flavors where hidden deep within each bite. These were hard to pinpoint as they were masked by a completely virgin olfactory sensation. In most environments, this phenomenal dish would standout against almost all distractions. But Bangkok, of course, is not just any environment. My surprisingly comfortable chair tucked comfortably under the glass table. The glass table leaned unsteadily against the raised patio railing. The simple bronze railing was lucky. It was important. It was valued. This one inch railing established a boundary. On one side I sat, sipping a Bizza Coconut Soda and slurping tender noodles; on the other was Bangkok's second largest Red-Light-District at 1 am on a Friday night.

Bangkok is about to rise from unrest. 5 am is rolling around after my first sleepless night in Thailand. I feel obligated to support the local Economy and invest in some cheap suits and stolen cameras. I am off to track down coffee, pastries and the adventure of the day to come.