A Show With Everything But Yul Brynner

Bangkok has been nothing like I had imagined. I envisioned seeing the sights, the temples, eat some pad thai, and relax. I have done none of those things. In fact, probably the one thing that Bangkok is known for (besides a ping pong show)- the Reclining Buddha - I haven't even seen. You would think this would constitute a travel failure, but you'd be wrong. Bangkok has been unexpectedly wonderful thanks to a handful of great people.

It didn't start that way, though. In fact, I was openly considering jumping ship early and moving onto Cambodia. As I alluded to in an earlier post, I had my first dicey CS experience. I'll take the blame for it, though. I hastily decided on requesting a decorated CSer to be my host, ignoring the warning signs. It's really too much to explain on here, so if you like I'll give you the low down when I get back. Basically my host left for the weekend once I got there and left me sharing her apartment with a sketchy character. I opted to leave. Another guy who was sort of in the same predicament I was in- Eric from San Fran- struck out together and found a nice guest house in which to stay. This is where my story takes a turn for the better.

Long story short, I have ended up meeting (via CS) a truly wonderful group of Thais. They are so wonderful, in fact, that I've become a flip-flopper and I'm now staying an extra day in Bangkok just so I have another night with them. These are the types of people I want to meet. One of the girls actually works at the US Embassy so we had a chance to talk a little State Department (for those of you who don't know, I interned with the State Department in 2006 in DC). Turns out both our life-long goals are to obtain Diplomatic passports.

So what HAVE I actually done in Bangkok? Well, I went and saw The Dark Night, which is the new Batman movie. Some of you might be reminded of how 3 years ago I gave up an opportunity to see Pompeii to stay in Rome and watch Star Wars. You'll be happy to know I haven't changed. After the movie last night, we (a group of about 8) went to karaoke. This isn't the karaoke of the states, mind you. This is Asian karaoke. Same singing principles still apply, but instead of in front of an entire bar audience, you're stuffed in a posh little room with your friends. Food and drink are served. It was truly a great evening. If you've ever wanted to see me singing karaoke to a Thai pop song, I have video.

Today was the most interesting, though. A group of 4 of us went to a Muay Thai boxing match. This was truly a cultural experience. Of the approximately 1,000 people in the Cracker Jack box of a gym, I would estimate only about 25 foreigners. The first bout was between two 14 year old boys. Blue trunks won by TKO. While the match progresses, the crowd gets more collectively involved (read: more bets are placed) and by the 5th round its darn near pandemonium. I had a nice Aussie fellow beside me who does a bit of Muay Thai himself and he explained a lot about what was going on. He told me that these guys, who will fight approximately 200 bouts in their career, are taken from rural villages and groomed to fight to make money for their families. It's the only income some families have. Then, once the fighters retire, the outfit will pay for their educations. Seems like a fairly good deal to me but I'm sure some will disagree. The fighters seemed to be in good spirits and enjoying themselves, though, as they smiled before, during and after the matches. I came thisclose to putting down some Thai baht on a fight, but couldn't bring myself to trust a toothless fellow with my 100 baht bill. Plus I couldn't really say for sure that I knew what I was doing. I struggle with placing bets at Keeneland and they speak English.

So with the aforementioned extra day I've decided to spend in Thailand, I'm going to see the sights tomorrow. I'll take all the obligatory photos so I can finish the Bangkok chapter of my trip. It has been a stop that has been unexpectedly wonderful.