Thailand is both behind me and ahead of me now. I'm gone, but my airline ticket takes me back there whenever I decide to go (soon? who's in?).
Bangkok was spectacular. The tacky, touristy Khoa San Road is the epicenter of traveler life on earth...though it was far from the reality of Bangkok, it replenishes supplies for next to nothing and hooks you up with those who want nothing more than to have a few beers and tell stories about the road. Deeper and truer, were some bars that I went to with locals who worked in the KSR, in particular a karaoke bar that stopped dead when I, a farang, walked in (in true 80s movie fashion). We ate a ton of AMAZING food (nothing I had anywhere was anything but great, but this place ruled in tasty ways), drank an obscene amount of whisky and heard some seriously off-key singing, all for under 300baht total (in US terms, about $2.50 each for the 3 of us). The red light district of Patpong was impressive. I caught one of the legendary shows and found myself enthralled, though far less aroused than you might imagine. It's definitely something to see at least once. South and east of Bangkok was Koh Samet; a beautiful island with bamboo huts, white sand, unreal seafood and the warmest, clearest water on earth. The four days spent lounging around the beach were four of the most idylic and relaxing days of my life. Wow.
I'm about 48 hours into Melbourne and have seen little that doesn't come from a keg, though I've had some fun. Night one involved an Irish barmaid who insisted that she could drink me under the table. Things didn't end up too pretty for either of us. Last night, I hooked up with sixtyfootqueenie and illbillzillbub, had a few beers and got to know a couple of very cool people. I'll be around for a little while and can't imagine a better way to start the visit off than by meeting the right kind of folk.
I think I like it here...it's a cool little city. Now what...?
Bangkok was spectacular. The tacky, touristy Khoa San Road is the epicenter of traveler life on earth...though it was far from the reality of Bangkok, it replenishes supplies for next to nothing and hooks you up with those who want nothing more than to have a few beers and tell stories about the road. Deeper and truer, were some bars that I went to with locals who worked in the KSR, in particular a karaoke bar that stopped dead when I, a farang, walked in (in true 80s movie fashion). We ate a ton of AMAZING food (nothing I had anywhere was anything but great, but this place ruled in tasty ways), drank an obscene amount of whisky and heard some seriously off-key singing, all for under 300baht total (in US terms, about $2.50 each for the 3 of us). The red light district of Patpong was impressive. I caught one of the legendary shows and found myself enthralled, though far less aroused than you might imagine. It's definitely something to see at least once. South and east of Bangkok was Koh Samet; a beautiful island with bamboo huts, white sand, unreal seafood and the warmest, clearest water on earth. The four days spent lounging around the beach were four of the most idylic and relaxing days of my life. Wow.
I'm about 48 hours into Melbourne and have seen little that doesn't come from a keg, though I've had some fun. Night one involved an Irish barmaid who insisted that she could drink me under the table. Things didn't end up too pretty for either of us. Last night, I hooked up with sixtyfootqueenie and illbillzillbub, had a few beers and got to know a couple of very cool people. I'll be around for a little while and can't imagine a better way to start the visit off than by meeting the right kind of folk.
I think I like it here...it's a cool little city. Now what...?
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[Edited on Jun 21, 2004 8:34PM]