Bangkok

My thought processes have effectively shut down during the past five days in Bangkok as the hustle and bustle of the city, combined with the heat, humidity and pollution (I think I have the black lung), have affected me somewhat.

Please pay no attention to that preceding statement. I’m just making lame excuses for not updating.

So it looks like the job I had lined up here has fallen through - my prospective employer was looking for somebody in the software development field and I was expecting something more in the systems end of things. It’s no big deal because I have plenty of savings to tide me over for the next few months (I still can’t get over how cheap things are here) and moreover, this gives me some extra time to travel. There are also volunteer opportunities that I may explore some time down the road.

Much like Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok is a great place to hang out, that is, on condition that you enjoy shopping. A lot. The main stretch on Sukhumvit Road, from what I gather, is the playground of the rich, harbouring upscale malls like The Emporium and Paragon. These places really don’t hold much interest for me because I don’t really care much for Prada handbags, Gucci (whatever they make), Rolex watches (the legit ones) or Ferraris. The air conditioning, however, is glorious and watching the spending habits of the filthy rich intrigues me so.

Photos:

“Sawatdee Khrap”:

I imagine them using broken bottles to cut people’s hair here:

mmm. Lobster chips:

Chatuchak weekend market. Quite possibly the biggest outdoor market in the world.

A ride in a tuk tuk:


My initial worry about traveling in Thailand is the language barrier. English isn’t as widely spoken as Malaysia and the Thai script makes it much more difficult place to navigate (though most signs in Bangkok use Roman characters as well). I figure I should be fine so long as I stick along the main backpacker circuit. I’ll find out how manageable things are when I get to Kanchanaburi tomorrow.

Updates to come when and where possible.