Sunday, June 26, 2005
Thailand-The Beach-March 13, 2004
I have been waiting to write because I wanted something to say something else other than nasty things about Cairo. And now I have something to talk about. Namely, my recent trip to Thailand.
I met my friend Tara in Bangkok where we had two days to see the sights. Not enough time for sure, but we still managed to see some beautiful Buddhist temples, eat some incredible Thai food, shop and witness up close the sad sex industry that seems to work for and against the country.
As taxis are fast, clean, air-conditioned and metered (the complete opposite of Cairo cabs), getting around the city is quite easy. In addition to cabs, the above-ground Sky Train system is also clean, accessible and very modern. Each station is like a mini-mall with music stores, 7-11s (which are literally on every corner) and juice stands. Thailand has the most amazing juice drinks. You can get Thai tea (iced tea with condensed milk and orange), iced coffee and (the best) cold melon green tea with milk.
The shopping is pretty spectacular, or maybe it just felt that way coming from Cairo where you can’t get anything. Remember all those T-shirts you had as a kid in the 80s (soccer shirts, YMCA camp shirts, etc.) that you probably gave away to the Salvation Army? Well, they all ended up in Thailand’s flea markets where you can buy shirts that say “Camp Rocky Mount” with “Megan” on the back. Remember Vans and blue and red Dr. Marten’s, Izod’s, Panama Jack and Dickies? Yep, they all landed in Thailand at rock-bottom prices. The other specialty which I didn’t have time to take advantage of — but I recommend others do — is the country’s ubiquitous tailors. Apparently you can show a tailor your favorite Ann Taylor or Hugo Boss suit and they will duplicate it with material of your choice for around $25.
The infamous sex tourism industry in Bangkok is alive a kicking although the city seems to have cracked down on other forms of sin. For example, there’s a big anti-smoking campaign going on. There is no smoking allowed anywhere there is air-conditioning and showing smoking on TV is not allowed. They blur out cigarettes in movies (although you can see the smoke).
There are a number of streets that are basically brothel after brothel, or strip clubs and massage parlors. Here you will find Thai girls that all look no older than 20 with numbers tagged onto the little clothing they do wear. Apparently they don’t allow customers to point out the girls they want to hire. It’s more polite to use numbers. It was pretty sick. All the customers, to a man, are around 50 and very, very white. We even saw a couple of father and son teams visiting one club after another. Since tourism is the country’s No. 1 industry, it’s not exactly in the government’s best interest to do away with it. They do have some rules. For example, no one under 18 is allowed in the clubs. Also, the prostitutes are not allowed to solicit business outside the clubs. One unfortunate consequence of this rule is that young homeless girls (age 10 or so) appear to be making money by flirting with white men on the prowl outside the clubs and luring them into specific clubs. We watched one such 10-year-old (wearing an oversized Osama bin Laden T-shirt) punching the arms of an army-looking guy and then pulling him by the arm toward one club.
Another interesting observation we made in Bangkok was the inordinately high number of gay men. First of all, Thai men are super beautiful and quite feminine looking, so it is no surprise that many of them look excellent in drag. But in addition to the numerous Thai men in makeup, there were plenty of Western gay couples present. I imagine the country has acquired a reputation for being gay-friendly, so it gets a large number of gay tourists. (All of this could also be a consequence of my living in a country where homosexuality is illegal, so perhaps I am making more of it than was there.)
After taking a short flight out of Bangkok to the one of the world’s most famous island clusters, the real fun began. We stayed for next four days on the island of Ko Phi Phi Don. We got a beach bungalow (with hot water and a flushing toilet) for $30 a night. The next days were filled with extreme sun, hiking, massages by the beach, amazing snorkeling, boat rides, superb food, fire shows, drinks by candlelight, fruit shakes, and more shopping.
The pictures speak for themselves. We visited the beach where Leonardo diCaprio’s “The Beach” was filmed. It is as stunning as it looks in the movie. The clear water offers the best snorkeling I have ever experienced.
By far one of the best reasons for going to Thailand is the food. At the islands restaurants catch fish that day and display it so you can choose the freshest filets. The typical Thai way of preparing the fish is grilled with whole garlic cloves, tomatoes, potatoes and pineapple. You can get lobster, shrimp, crab, mussels, scallops and squid year-round.
And the myriad of Thai curries are too tasty for words. One of the basic ingredients in just about all Thai dishes is chili pepper which means the food is super spicy.
The people are quite lovely. They are much more laid back than the Japanese or Taiwanese, but still relatively conservative (besides the sex workers of course!). We never saw one Thai in shorts. We had dinner one night with two young men who are friends of Tara’s brother. These boys were so polite and gracious. They pulled out our chairs for us, paid for the dinner, held doors open, you name it.
We also met fellow travelers, many from Canada. We never met or saw any Americans, but tons of Europeans of course. We determined the best way to decipher whether someone was well traveled or not was to ask them if they thought Bangkok was dirty or clean. The Canadians thought Bangkok was dirty; the Europeans thought it was clean.
All in all, nine days were not enough. Next time I go I will attempt to add Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
I met my friend Tara in Bangkok where we had two days to see the sights. Not enough time for sure, but we still managed to see some beautiful Buddhist temples, eat some incredible Thai food, shop and witness up close the sad sex industry that seems to work for and against the country.
As taxis are fast, clean, air-conditioned and metered (the complete opposite of Cairo cabs), getting around the city is quite easy. In addition to cabs, the above-ground Sky Train system is also clean, accessible and very modern. Each station is like a mini-mall with music stores, 7-11s (which are literally on every corner) and juice stands. Thailand has the most amazing juice drinks. You can get Thai tea (iced tea with condensed milk and orange), iced coffee and (the best) cold melon green tea with milk.
The shopping is pretty spectacular, or maybe it just felt that way coming from Cairo where you can’t get anything. Remember all those T-shirts you had as a kid in the 80s (soccer shirts, YMCA camp shirts, etc.) that you probably gave away to the Salvation Army? Well, they all ended up in Thailand’s flea markets where you can buy shirts that say “Camp Rocky Mount” with “Megan” on the back. Remember Vans and blue and red Dr. Marten’s, Izod’s, Panama Jack and Dickies? Yep, they all landed in Thailand at rock-bottom prices. The other specialty which I didn’t have time to take advantage of — but I recommend others do — is the country’s ubiquitous tailors. Apparently you can show a tailor your favorite Ann Taylor or Hugo Boss suit and they will duplicate it with material of your choice for around $25.
The infamous sex tourism industry in Bangkok is alive a kicking although the city seems to have cracked down on other forms of sin. For example, there’s a big anti-smoking campaign going on. There is no smoking allowed anywhere there is air-conditioning and showing smoking on TV is not allowed. They blur out cigarettes in movies (although you can see the smoke).
There are a number of streets that are basically brothel after brothel, or strip clubs and massage parlors. Here you will find Thai girls that all look no older than 20 with numbers tagged onto the little clothing they do wear. Apparently they don’t allow customers to point out the girls they want to hire. It’s more polite to use numbers. It was pretty sick. All the customers, to a man, are around 50 and very, very white. We even saw a couple of father and son teams visiting one club after another. Since tourism is the country’s No. 1 industry, it’s not exactly in the government’s best interest to do away with it. They do have some rules. For example, no one under 18 is allowed in the clubs. Also, the prostitutes are not allowed to solicit business outside the clubs. One unfortunate consequence of this rule is that young homeless girls (age 10 or so) appear to be making money by flirting with white men on the prowl outside the clubs and luring them into specific clubs. We watched one such 10-year-old (wearing an oversized Osama bin Laden T-shirt) punching the arms of an army-looking guy and then pulling him by the arm toward one club.
Another interesting observation we made in Bangkok was the inordinately high number of gay men. First of all, Thai men are super beautiful and quite feminine looking, so it is no surprise that many of them look excellent in drag. But in addition to the numerous Thai men in makeup, there were plenty of Western gay couples present. I imagine the country has acquired a reputation for being gay-friendly, so it gets a large number of gay tourists. (All of this could also be a consequence of my living in a country where homosexuality is illegal, so perhaps I am making more of it than was there.)
After taking a short flight out of Bangkok to the one of the world’s most famous island clusters, the real fun began. We stayed for next four days on the island of Ko Phi Phi Don. We got a beach bungalow (with hot water and a flushing toilet) for $30 a night. The next days were filled with extreme sun, hiking, massages by the beach, amazing snorkeling, boat rides, superb food, fire shows, drinks by candlelight, fruit shakes, and more shopping.
The pictures speak for themselves. We visited the beach where Leonardo diCaprio’s “The Beach” was filmed. It is as stunning as it looks in the movie. The clear water offers the best snorkeling I have ever experienced.
By far one of the best reasons for going to Thailand is the food. At the islands restaurants catch fish that day and display it so you can choose the freshest filets. The typical Thai way of preparing the fish is grilled with whole garlic cloves, tomatoes, potatoes and pineapple. You can get lobster, shrimp, crab, mussels, scallops and squid year-round.
And the myriad of Thai curries are too tasty for words. One of the basic ingredients in just about all Thai dishes is chili pepper which means the food is super spicy.
The people are quite lovely. They are much more laid back than the Japanese or Taiwanese, but still relatively conservative (besides the sex workers of course!). We never saw one Thai in shorts. We had dinner one night with two young men who are friends of Tara’s brother. These boys were so polite and gracious. They pulled out our chairs for us, paid for the dinner, held doors open, you name it.
We also met fellow travelers, many from Canada. We never met or saw any Americans, but tons of Europeans of course. We determined the best way to decipher whether someone was well traveled or not was to ask them if they thought Bangkok was dirty or clean. The Canadians thought Bangkok was dirty; the Europeans thought it was clean.
All in all, nine days were not enough. Next time I go I will attempt to add Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
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