Arrived in Bangkok shortly before mid-day—the train arrived late, so the trip lasted almost twenty-two hours. I was feeling just a little tired, after my second all-night trip in three days. Khrung Theep is the Thai name for Bangkok and means something like City of Angels.

Exchange rate: 1 Euro = 46 Baht

Venice of the East

Views of Bangkok from the train—slums, like the favelas in Rio, but leading down to the river and the canals. Bangkok was once called the Venice of Asia, on account of the canals (called klongs), which were the main methods of transportation until the advent of that bane of Bangkok, the internal combustion engine. Many of them have since been filled for road construction or otherwise put out of operation. The water looked like used motor oil, but this didn't seem to bother the people who lived on them. They were using the canals for bathing, clothes washing, dish washing, drinking, and swimming. And of course, as a place to empty the toilets. In some of the more rickety shacks, no toilet, just a hole in the floor over the canal waters.

There is no map of the canals in existence. An American writer wrote that when a Bangkok citizen contacted the government with a view to obtaining a map, he was told there was none available because it was a military secret!

A Bad Air Day

Bangkok is said to have the worst traffic in Asia (or maybe the world!) There is no subway. Buses, taxis and tuk-tuks, along with water taxis, provide the transit. The water taxis have limited routes, being obviously constricted to canals and rivers. I'm glad I don't have a very good sense of smell—according to those who have, the city does exude a bit of a pong, faintly masked by the diesel fumes. But hey, it's their city, and they have to live in it—we're only passing through!

There is a new sky train, which I'll have to try out later on on this trip.

Banglamphu

Took a "meter taxi" from outside the station to the National Gallery, which I reckoned would be close enough to Banglamphu/Khaosan Road backpacker district for me to stroll around and try to find a hotel. I didn't see anything on the meter, but I assumed that that was because in the bright sunshine the light was dim. I already knew that the minimum fare was 35 Baht. The driver took me through an alley-way of backpacker hotels and stopped at the end of one of them. I asked him the price, and he said 150 Baht. I said "what about the meter?" pointing to the meter on the dashboard. "No, no meter in this taxi," replied the driver imperturbably. I was told you always have to bargain in Bangkok—here was my first practical lesson.
"I'll give you 120", I said. The driver remained silent for half a minute. "OK", was all he said. I knew then that I should have started lower.

I walked into the first place I saw, which turned out to be the Sawasdee Smile Inn. This is located between the river and Khaosan Road, at the quiet end of the alley, and has a comfortable open restaurant in front, all-day TV, a security box for your valuables. A single with air-con, shared bathroom, was 300 Baht. The room was very basic, not even a coat-hanger, and looked a little scruffy, but I thought, hey, what do you expect for 7 Euros? I was just happy to have found a place to lay my head...

Seeing the locals here was a bit of a culture shock—tatooed males and females wearing weird jewellery and dress, hair dyed in an endless variety of colours, all jabbering away in a language I couldn't understand—and that was just the backpackers! Local culture consists of endless Western cafes playing movies and loud music, guesthouses of every shape and form, hippy clothes sellers, hawkers selling everything from massages to banana pancakes. To keep the natives (ie, the backpackers) happy, all the services are lined up here, from cheap guest houses, restaurants, travel agents, phone services, pharmacies clinics, and used books, clothes and travel goods.

The little street (I think soi would be the more appropriate term) runs along the side of a monastery. In the early morning orange-robed monks walk barefoot through the neighbourhood San Road to collect their rice. It is a Buddhist tradition in Thailand that monks collect their only meal of the day from the faithful who stand ready with rice on the streets. Believe it or not, it took me three days to register this monastery's existence, what with all the other distractions around here!. For instance, when you leave the alley complex (which is in its own way a little oasis, so I can see why lots of folks like to stay there and ignore the dirty great city outside), you have to start fending off taxi and tuk-tuk sellers and anybody else who thinks you're an easy mark, avoiding the traffic and the many dogs as you walk along the road (there's no room on the footpath with all the hawkers' stall), holding your breath as a fume-belching bus or tuk-tuk goes by, and your nose as you walk over an open sewer. It's not the environment to appreciate the finer points of the neighbourhood!

I was warned to beware of scams, one of the latest being the jewelry scams. Touts sell gem-stones at exorbitant prices, promising that the stones can be sold off at a profit in other countries (I was caught out on this one myself a long time ago in Iran). But then you can get some great bargains. The Thai government supposedly has a special police force just to deal with tourist rip-offs, and licenses reputable jewelry shops.

I was wondering about the number of Israelis in the hotel (had I stumbled into a Jewish hotel?).There are lots of Israelis in Thailand, as they aren't permitted to enter Malaysia or Singapore, or any other Muslim country.

Facts about Thailand

Population: 61,797,751

After enjoying the world's highest growth rate from 1985 to 1995 - averaging almost 9% annually - increased speculative pressure on Thailand's currency in 1997 led to a crisis that uncovered financial sector weaknesses and forced the government to float the baht. Long pegged at 25 to the dollar, the baht reached its lowest point of 56 to the dollar in January 1998. The country is still recovering from these problems.