Bangkok.. is perhaps not for me.. I think I have been spoilt by the nice countryside with nice people, so much so that I'd almost forgotten that in the big city, there are are not so nice people... But that's ok i guess. For every jerk/pervert/asshole/#^%*& i meet i have met 10 nice people so, overall, Thailand is a great country to travel in. And of course everyone thinks I'm thai. I think even the singaporeans at chatukchak thought so. Only 1 person thought otherwise and she said hi to me in Japanese but stopped to talk when she realised i wasn't =) And the funny thing is, they think I'm thai thai, as opposed to thai chinese.
The problem with looking like a local is that people are less likely to stop and help you. So when i need help, like when the bus into BKK droped me at some obsure bus stop outside town, I tried to ask around to no availd, but found that just sitting there looking blur and with a map in your hand will eventually produce, in a very short time, an english speaking local who will help you and talk to you =))
The market.. I spent my first hour there just wandering aimlessly, feeling overwhelmed. And I saw so many things i wanted to get but thought: 'later', but half the time I won't be able to find the store again. And i spent the better part of an hour trying to re-find the stall with the chocolate donuts. Yes. JL, they were delicious indeed. No wonder the woman asked: "just one?" when i first bought it. Wish i bought 5 sticks instead of one now...
In the end i didn't buy much. There's too much to want and nothing i need. Though i had to exercise considerable self-restraint to stop myself from buying the slippers and t-shirts. Almost everything is actually available in s'pore, just more expensive. And my attempts at bargaining are really pathetic, not to mention half-hearted... So. No more market for me. Maybe khaosan on the last night...
Yesterday night i went to see the muay thai matches at Lumpini Stadium. Forgot to ask JL whihc are the seats to avoid. Took a guess, was sort of right. I was not in the thick of bookie/gambling action. At least not at first. But i was near enough that by the middle of the night they were all around me. Shouting, spitting, guesturing, exchanging large sums of money, standing, digging their toes into my butt.... A bit scary since i was probably the only lone female in the whole place, local or foreign. And the walk back to my guesthouse is rather dark. I have never appreciated security guards so much before this, and i am ever so grateful that a few buildings on the way hire them. 7-11s are great too. So many of them here. I just kept telling myself: just make it to the next 7-11... The foreigners staying around here are few, and most of them seem to be old and/or fat men. I don't know if it's the relative proximity to Patpong or the few gay bars/saunas around here. It's quieter than khaosan but i think i will move to backpacker's ghetto tomorrow. This place is a little too quiet and run down for my comfort...
Too tired to write more. Shall just write when i get back in another few days or tell you guys about the experiences I've had. Will have to write about the creepy old thai guy who tried to pick me up at the park... grr...
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