Bangkok Central

So.
We don’t claim to be genuine ‘backpackers’. We bum it out to a certain extent, or plan to; we look to stay in the cheapest of places (but also with a private bathroom); we outline budgets and do our utmost to stick to them (but are easily lured by frequent beers).
And oh, we don’t use actual backpacks or rucksacks.
Still, for most people going to Bangkok (and those not on weekend shopping trips), its well-nigh inevitable that you will see (and stay) somewhere near, or on, the famed Khao San Road.

We’d made a tentative reservation (i.e. no money paid), at a place on this strip itself. At the airport we realised that, in all my spreadsheet-supported preparation, I’d not brought along the address of the darned place! Slightly thrown off by that- and by an inexplicable fever that crept up on D- we asked for the taxi to take us to the street, moderately certain we would somehow locate the place.

9pm.
Dropped off at the edge of Khao San Road and realising that cars are not allowed on it, D’s idea of a strap-on-strolley was already vindicated. Slight uncertainty lingered and D’s watery smile defied her fever. We stepped into the crowd- for that’s what it was- and found that virtually unnoticed, our travels had already begun.
Soon, though, both confusion and exhaustion were pushed into the background. Almost immediately, we spotted- inevitably, it seemed- a fruit vendor. 10 Baht pineapple and watermelon made their way to our stomachs, in a trice doing justice to all the fruit-gushing we’d heard and read.
Now we could look around at Khao San Road.

This is no South East Asian capital, yet it is. It feels as if the street has one foot steeped in local flavours, stretching to put the other into international familiarity. One arises from obvious indigenous entrepreneurship, the other from the countless visitors that foster it. If ever there was backpacker central, this is it.

Here is yet another bootleg music shop providing a soundtrack for the scene, blocked only slightly by the food cart selling pad thai veg, pad thai egg, pad thai chicken. There stand heavily made-up Thai girls distributing fliers in the barest of leopard skin dresses, right next to the really wizened old man doing, apparently, nothing. That tiny bored looking table can get you driving licences, certificates, press cards and student IDs. Clothes stalls selling whacky t-shirts are lit by the bright neon signs above them, inviting you to find your home away from home, to get your laundry done for cheap or buy a VIP bus ticket to pretty much anywhere. Watch your bags, watch your out of place suitcase-strapped-on-a-trolley; you just missed another pair of sandal-shod feet. Dreadlocks and buzz cuts, blondes, brunettes, red heads and shiny pates. Bodies brush past, impervious to the rank weirdness of the surroundings, from days spent in them. Other trundle along like us, trying to take in what is, obviously, way too much to take in.

Tilt your head up and see dark windows of Inns and Guesthouses that rise silently above the shops; their (inevitably?) dank and dull rooms must be anything but silent. And there- we’ve found it almost before we even started to look. A boring beige building bang in the middle of this buzzing, blaring, colourful madhouse- our destination.

Um, not any more it isn’t.
We were already walking about, searching for the place we were to stay at, why not keep looking after we’d found it? For, interesting as the place may be, surely there was little sleep to be had here. We moved ahead, off-centre of backpacker central. Just past the tourist police station and 20 feet of surprising nothingness, we stepped onto Soi Rambuttri armed with the trusty stamp of traveller/tourist- our Lonely Planet guide. Here we would find, amongst many things, a bed.

13 days

There is not much that’s tougher than trying to start a short scribble on a 13 day trip that you have just completed. Especially if you’re trying to fit it into a little capsule, painful as it may be to attempt a summary. But it’s what must serve as the appetizer.
Which reminds me, it might not be amiss to start by saying that the food in Thailand, true to reputation, was almost uniformly scrumptious. Its what holidays/trips can centre themselves around, so good meals to look forward serve as a cornerstone to good travels. In between bites of divine pineapple and tangy mango, happily familiar street noodles, curries in green , red and yellow, rice, Chang beer and merciless but rewarding chilly were glimpses into a Thailand that could be hectic, but only despite itself- more often, it was laid back to the extent of being nonchalant.

Wats (temples) that were oases of calm and peace whether we sought them or they called out to us. Bright orange robes, and the monks draped in them, lending charm to the most dull of city colours. Smiles that condemned rat races but rarely defied them. Characters adorning days- and nights- with their warmth, wit, cheer or even plain inexplicability. Stunning beauty that could not be escaped, that gathered us in its gentle folds and drowned us with fascinating nothingness; much the same way apparent nothings sent out vibes that crept up almost unnoticed till we were loathe for them to leave.

We found new experiences and sought out, most gladly, to relive old ones in new contexts. Cheap beer, mostly cheap food, cheap stuff to buy- all so cheap, ironically, that we went way over-budget! The only thing that wasn’t cheap was the experience- we’re still reeling from it, and I mean that in the best way possible.
Here’s to Thailand.

Chok Dee!

Thailand Travel Resources

~ ALL THINGS THAILAND ~

I dived into Thailand Planning fully expecting truckloads of information on it. I wasn't disappointed. Apparently it is the most heavy thread on Thorn Tree, and thats a great place for information. I am constantly amazed, baffled and wishful after seeing how so many people have the time, inclination and sheer joy to write so much stuff there for, seemingly, just the heck of it. Outstanding stuff.
But this is not a post, its a bucket for resources if one is travelling to Thailand ( as I hope to do so more than once). So here goes.

TRANSPORT stuff
About the (new) Bangkok Airport- Suvarnabhumi. And this thread on it.

Train travel- the Thai Railways own site. Basic, not completely clear, but reliable for time tables at teh very least. Apparently you can try to book via email with them, though I haven't yet. Have a go at: passenger-ser[at]railway[dot]co[dot]th.
Also this site- more lucid.

On budget airlines- updated news, as well links to the lot of them.

GENERAL
The excellent swimmers at Travelfish- a great value site. Has tons of information, written crisply and casually. Nice interactive weather thingy, pleasant maps, decent features, and helpful comments section under the write-up for each place to stay- its great to read stuff from regular people who have stayed at a place. Explore it well, there's lot of stuff there easy to miss out. Register and get access to their free pdf guides. Constantly updated (one of the best things about them- on the fly updates)

Tales of Asia- by Tezza, seen muchly on Thorntree.

Into Asia- havent checked it out too much yet, but seems to have well presented info.

Thailand Travel Guide- cluttered, but lots of stuff.

TAT- the official site of Tourism Authority of Thailand

Sawadee- calling themselves the leading thai tourism portal. Go figure.

Chanchao's Thai Menu. A pretty good pdf document that talks about Thai food and goes on to not only give you the Thai words for food items, but also what they will look like on a menu (ie-in thai script)- go beyond fried rice is the idea, I think.

WEATHER
Weather by the Thai chaps themselves.
and this is daily weather updated by the Met dept.

FORUMS
Thorn Tree, of course. Also Travelfish's smaller community (but so also easier to navigate)