I think most of what I described in my last email is characteristic of the area I am staying in, Banglamphu which houses the backpacker hub Khao San Rd.
It seems wherever there are groups of foreigners (Khao San Rd, temples, sight-seeing attractions) there are Thais trying to get your cash for more than their goods and services are worth. I got suckered in the park the other day. I was walking through and a Thai lady came and stuffed some bird seed into my hand. I thought what a nice lady asking me to help her feed the birds. I dished out the seed and then she asked me for money. I should have know. She wanted several hundred baht ($10) and wouldn’t take the small change I offered her. I had to do a runner.
But this isn’t the case everywhere. If you take the red pill and venture outside the matrix of the dodgy tuk-tuk drivers and other generally scammy Thais picking the carcasses of foreigners there is a different Bangkok. There are department stores the same as ones at home. There are canal taxis (really cool, I read Bangkok was once the venice of the east) that take you places real fast (no traffic on the river). There are people on the public bus that are friendly and help you out. In fact I met a lovely Thai couple on the bus (I was wary at first, you do have to be discerning). They invited me back to their home for a meal, it was a small home with one room that was a bedroom, living and dining room in one. The only other rooms were the toilet/bathroom and a small storage area. We went sight seeing together. We went up Baiyoke II the 2nd tallest hotel in the world, it was a stunning view of Bangkok, at least the part that you could see that wasn’t covered in smog. I really recommend it if you go to Bangkok.
Today we went to the movies and before the movie everyone rises to pay tribute to the king. You are treated to a slide show of his majesty and his anthem in dolby stereo surround sound. I did end up paying for the sightseeing but I was OK with that (the tower is like $6 and movies $6 still cheaper than home).
Other attractions I have seen are the temple Wat Po with a huge huge lying buddha (I suppose it is actually a place of worship, not an attraction, but they seem to want tourists to visit), that was impressive. The Grand Palace I didn’t really find interesting, just lots of old stuff and architecture (I’m showing my ignorance here of old stuff and architecture) and expensive for what you get (still cheap tho-$10). The big river (as opposed to the canal which is also good) taxi is definately worth a trip. Chatuchak weekend market was the biggest market i have seen – it was OK.
As for the night life, there’s this cool bar called the love sick bar. The theme is broken heartedness. You can buy a beer and when you’ve finished you can throw the bottle onto a wall that has a projected picture of your choosing. I threw my bottle at David Beckham only because he happened to be on at the time. There is also a crying room with tissues and a semi-sound proof shouting room with words like “Bastard”, “I don’t want you”, “You’re suck” on the walls.
The shopping is great! I have never been a shopper, more a hoarder and a gambler 
But things are cheap here. I bought a pair of the “Thai National Olympic Team Offical Jogging Shoes” for $45. Label t-shirts for $7-8. Wallet for $5. A warez CD full of Microsoft books for $5 (that was in the IT plaza-Pantip Plaza). I got a haircut to for $2.50! A lot of the stuff you see are copies, very authentic looking copies mind you. The most surprising thing for sale was this guy with face masks. He had the usual halloween masks as well as a Osama bin laden mask! If you are so inclined you can also sell things to various street vendors, they have signs saying “We buy everything” but in reality they only want books (especially Lonely Planet guide books, they are a hot commodity), shoes, cellphones, wallets etc. Getting a good price is not about shopping around as in the Western world type way, but about knowing the fair market price (which you can get from window shopping around) and being able to bargain to get that price. When you first get here you are vunerable I think, you don’t know the fair price. I paid more than I could have buying a shirt in Khao San Rd (which seems to have the biggest price differentals), but it was still damn cheap! At least now I have an idea of some prices, can express my dissatisfaction at a high price (say the Thai word for expensive and put on a sour face but not yet always get a fair price!
You can really spoil yourself with food and drink here. the street vendors are the cheapest, although there are stories of nasty bowel reprecussions, fingers-crossed because i have been eating there all the time! you can get nice as mixed fruit shakes for 15baht (75c), and omelette and rice for 10baht (50c) and that could be lunch! a breakfast of 2 toast, ham, bacon, scrambled eggs and coffee (i have iced coffee thats yum) is 50baht ($2.50) a big slice of pineapple or watermelon or other fruit is 10baht (50c). I’ve had lots of that. hmm.. maybe i’ll end up coming back with a bigger belly than last time i left new zealand!
as for accomodation, all i can say is you get what you pay for, and I’m not paying very much! for 150baht($47.50)/baht i am getting a double room with a shared toilet/bathroom water. the bed is hard and the water cold. the bathroom is pretty grotty, it has a hole in the sink its not a popular place, i’ve only seen a few other foreigners, most probably don’t like the grottiness and i don’t blame them. i have wanted to move but stayed in the one place (called sunshine house) because I have a bit of a rapport with the owners, and the net cafe/restaurant next store – I help them when the internet isn’t working! Transportation here is really diverse. I have travelled by train, taxi, bus, boat, motorcycle, tuk-tuk and ute! Its quite a interesting system. There are large roads that run a fair distance. These roads have numbered Soi’s or smaller roads off them, eg: Soi 39. Off this first Soi can be many other little Soi’s. So an address might look like 159/5 Thonglor, Soi 10 on Soi 55 off Sukhumvit Rd. You can generally catch some sort of public transport to the start of the first Soi. There will be a group of motorbikes and coverted utes at the start of this first Soi which can take you to your final destination. I first discovered all this when trying to get to the Laos Embassy, what a mission that was!
After about a week I decided Bangkok was getting too carcengic for my liking and the touts (people who bug you for their goods and services) too annoying so I have been planning to move on. I have finally got my Uncle Sams together and plan to go to Cambodia tomorrow, it takes about 12hrs from Bangkok to Siem Reap (next to the famous Ankor Wat temples). I have been reading all about the border crossing at http://talesofasia.com/Cambodia/Overland/reportsSR.htm It seems that I may be able to escape the Bangkok fumes but not the touts! They are supposed to be terrible at the border.
Well I have rambled enough, tell me how you are, even if its really boring. Attached are some badly scanned photos. Dinner with the Thai couple I met and up the top of the tall hotel.
Take care!
