We are all that we have met.

Sawadee Kah! First of all, for those of you worldly folks keeping up with the news, you must know about the protesting that was going on in Bangkok; “Bloodshed and riots,” “One killed, dozens injured,” “Thailand State of Emergency.” In all reality though, my peers (Thai and foreign) and I haven’t experienced anything as far-fetched as the media portrays since I’ve been here. Bangkok was world-awarded as the best place to visit in 2008 and I still believe it. I guess everyone wants a story to tell whether it’s authentic or inflated and mine is that I love BKK.

Although it’s already been three weeks into my Thailand escapade, this is my first post, so bare with me as there are a million and one details I can’t really include. I’m attending a private and well-known university called Rangsit University (International College) in the Pathumthani Province, one of 76 in Thailand. Throughout the city, there are golden shrines of the king and miniature but ornate models of Buddhist temples decorating even the bleakest of streets. I’ve heard numerous people say “Thai people love their King. They would die for him.” Photos of the King and Queen grace the carts of street vendors, the malls, and vehicle dashboards. It makes a bit of sense since His Majesty King Pumiphon Adunyadet (aka Rama IX) is now the longest reigning monarch in the world. I also wonder if there’s some sort of connection between that ever-increasing devotion and Thailand’s lack of historical colonialism…fortunate lack thereof, in my opinion.

Two weeks ago, a group of us decided to venture off into central Bangkok for a night of debauchery, or at least worthwhile exploration and then a night of good music and dance. We walked around the Grand Palace and Wat Pho (with the Reclining Buddha) for the majority of the day. It was spectacular and if it was sunnier that day, I truly believe I’d be blind by now with all the sunlight reflecting off all that gold left and right. Every inch of the architecture was highly crafted and so rich in color and detail. The Reclining Buddha was even larger than any photo could capture; it was breathtaking. Apparently, people all over Thailand, or at least Bangkok, get trained in massage therapy at Wat Pho. We thought it appropriate and necessary to get one. It was my first Thai massage and after the forced bending, flexing, pressurizing and cracking, I walked out feeling surprisingly relaxed and refreshed. A separate night in Bangkok, we planned to go to a club called 808 despite our cab driver insisting we go to “Club Hollywood” and watch a “Ping Pong” show (which foreigners are known to love, unfortunately. More on that later). we realized that we didn’t want to pay USD$16 cover charge in Thailand and decided to go to a different club. We crammed 5 of us in a 3-person Tuk Tuk to travel 20 minutes in the pouring rain to another dance club called Route 66. It was an adventure to say the least! Despite the fact that we showed up to the club looking and probably smelling like wet dogs, it was well worth it.

We visited Pataya Beach the next weekend, and I’m not going to lie, it is known for sex tourism, meaning lots of old creepy men and young Thai girls with short skirts or none at all. We stayed at a quieter beach more south called Jomtien and we spared ourselves the horny men and their Thai companions. We walked passed an old, white man holding a young Thai boy’s hand and that’s when it really hit me…it all made me nauseous. With Thailand’s reputation in sex tourism, I wonder what the government is doing about it and how prostitutes and foreign men looking for sex are perceived by locals. We were talking about how it could be a “win-win” for both the man and the woman; he gets sex, and she gets money (the term “gold-digger” was thrown around) and the slim faith of being taken away on a farang (foreigner) rendezvous. I really think it’s more than that though, I mean, who would want to sleep with 20 different, desperate men to still find herself bending over a pool table displaying the world her panties or lack thereof? Someone was reading the obituary section of the Pataya newspaper and there were three: all old, lonely, foreign men, discovered weeks or months after their deaths of “natural causes.” It’s hard not to imagine perhaps a heart attack due to body strain…

If you pay attention, you can find them anywhere; they have abnormally large feet and hands for a woman typically, they’re usually dressed either boyishly or a bit too promiscuously, some of them wear lip liner (dead give-away), and the Thai people have categorized them as a third gender, “lady boys.” I’m incredibly curious about this newfound group of mine. I don’t know if they’re automatically homosexual or how they are accepted here in society, I hope to find out a little bit about it.

So this post is an account of my experiences in Bangkok the first 10 days. The next 3.5 months will be a constant investigation to learn and adapt to a simple yet magnificent Thai lifestyle, which I’ll continue to blog (I do it all for the fans:)!

C