Sawadee

Bangkok, 14th – 17th February 2008.

Flight 6am. Check in 4am. How much would the cab fare cost? A bomb. So i decided to bunk at the airport. Well i didn’t really sleep. Had supper at Burger King and made myself comfy at Starbucks. John Mayer and hot choco at 2am, what a lovely combo!

4am finally came, and 2 hours later i was on my way to Bangkok, Thailand. Images of temples, weird food and ladyboys started to invade my innocent mind. But all that was interrupted by a bloke who proposed to his partner on board Tiger Airways. “On freaking Tiger Airways?!”, i thought to myself. Things were starting to look good.

It was just another day at the Suvarnabhumi Airport. Met a bunch of con-artist while I was making my way to the ‘official’ taxi stand. “Taxi for you mister, 400 baht! Is cheep.”, said the man who claimed to work for the government. I politely declined his offer and moved on. Another guy tried to peddle his warez and offered 900 baht. I laughed at him and did that twirling finger around the ear move. If you think the taxi scene in Singapore is bad, think again.
Finally i saw it. A line of cabbies, waiting patiently for a customer. I was amazed. The good things i’ve read and heard of Bangkok is finally seeping in. These boys are the good ones. I clasp my hands and greeted the friendly cabby with a Sawadee Kap. What was the damage? 250Baht. How’s that compared to the Artists Formerly Known as Con.

The hotel where we stayed was somewhat in a ghetto neighbourhood but it was all good. I get to see the sights and the everyday life of an average Thai Joe. For $USD 30 a night, i think it’s pretty ok.

From my observation, Bangkok Thais love their Toyotas. Almost all of the cabs were Toyota Corolla. Everyone was driving a Toyota. Even Orlando Bloom is endorsing their new Toyota Corolla Altis! Moving around Bangkok was quite easy. There’s the train. Or you could walk. And then you walk some more. And more walking. All that for great shopping deals. So many malls, so little time! And the temples. So many temples, so little time!

We made our way to Wat Pho, the famous reclining buddha. It was stunning. I felt calm and at peace. I don’t know why. The soundtrack of Karate Kid was playing in my mind. Don’t ask why. Part of the reclining buddha was undergoing some restoration and it was hard core. The restoration work was done delicately by hand. I kid you not.

I am ashamed to say that we didn’t have any local thai food. We had Indian, Japanese..but no Thai food at all! Shock and horror! That was rectified by having Tom Yum Goong at the airport. It was not a good move. I was perspiring, gasping for air as i saw my life flashing right before my eyes

As i say goodbye to Bangkok, i reminisced the good times we had. The friendly Thais. The bargaining battles. Getting lost…and the ladyboys. I leave you with a rather jerky 3 minutes video clip, and you’ve been warned.

This is Mr. Malique signing off, eat your veggies and Sawadee!

Bangkok 2008 from Mr Malique on Vimeo.

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