Random Thought: 31

Hi,

So, I love Bangkok. I really expected to arrive and just freak out and hole up in my room, like I did in India. But, nothing could have been farther from the truth. This city is so easy to travel in, and there are SO many tourists (like, SO many. I cannot emphasize how many there are enough, so I will just say SO many one more time), it’s ridic. Plus, gay thais are EVERYWHEEEERREEEEE. This includes transgenders. There are all these boys in their skinny jeans and faux hawks, and sculpted eyebrows, saying things that I’m sure translate to ‘Miss Thang’ and ‘Honey please!’, etc. So yeah, this place is like…a world away from Chennai. Yet, also a world away from Chicago. The world is so crazy.

On a really great, this is yet another level of development I’m very glad to witness. Like, this trip wasn’t supposed to be a vacation (though, it is really). It was/is supposed to be a learning experience. So, I travelled from Eastern Europe to India and now to Southeast Asia to witness different levels of development and experience different cultures, which you don’t get if you just go to London, though I would LOVE to spend a few months in London.

But yeah, upon arrival in Chennai, I realized exactly what I had signed up for. It was just CRAZY and COMPLETELY DIFFERENT IN EVERY WAY from the US. And even though people kept telling me that Bangkok was cosmopolitan and easy and convenient, I didn’t really believe them. Lol I mean I did, because my friends aren’t liars, but I was constantly just like ‘yeah…I bet I show up and have a fuckin heart attack.’ But I didn’t because they were right and this city is often times JUST like Chicago with more Asians. It really reminds me of Athens, in that it’s gritty and has attitude, but it’s very cosmopolitan. There are cafes and tons of (clean) restaurants and ridiculously overpriced western stores everywhere (Prada, Gucci, Armani, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, etc). Also like Chicago, there are Starbucks on EVERY corner, it seems. Like, there’s one down the street from my hotel, then another across the street from that. Why do they do that?! I’ll never get that.

Chennai had these things too, but you had to look hard to find them. I think that in cities like Mumbai or Delhi, it’s probably a different story, but in Chennai, I often did not feel like I was in an ‘urban’ area. I often felt like I was in the middle of NOWHERE. Because to me, ‘urban’ means skyscrapers and expensive stores I’m not going to go into, etc etc. So, it’s definitely a good thing that I’ve discovered a different sense of the word ‘urban.’ And since, like 5 million people or something live in Chennai, it totally qualifies as urban.

And yeah, I’ve heard from a lot of people that Bangkok is dirty and gross and whatever, but honestly, I’ve only seen one shop that was pretty demure...and I remember a neighborhood in Paris that was waaay more intense and gross than that area in Bangkok. And I’m even apparently staying in an area that’s kind of jank….but you wouldn’t notice it just walking down the street during the day. It feels like Athens or somewhere Mediterranean like Barcelona or something. I mean, I haven’t been here that long, but so far, Amsterdam seems way more nasty. OH! And did I tell you that in Frankfurt, I stayed in the Red Light District?? Because I did. It was also just really funny and not weird at all.

I guess to me, it’s like, sure there are tons of feckin weirdos in this city, but there are a TON of weirdos in Iowa City too. And as long as I don’t put myself in any situation where that would be a big deal, I should be fine, and there’s no reason to describe this city as anything but AWESOME and EXCITING.

In other news, I did some sightseeing today. I went to a Penis Shrine. Like, when women want to have babies, they come to this shrine and give it some kind of Penis shaped object. It was covered in homemade penises. Then I went to a couple of museum/palace/garden/etc complexes. All was very nice. My tour guide was soooooo adorable. She got done with the tour and was like ‘Thank you very much for visiting the museum. I wish you a pleasant stay in Bangkok. I apologize for mistake because this is my first day.’

We all gave her a round of applause. So adorable.

OH! Remember how I said the people of India were soooooo nice and I went on and on? It’s nothing compared to Thailand. A tuk-tuk driver for a hotel I’m not even staying at gave me a free ride today b/c it was raining. When you order a pop, they pour it into the glass for you and everytime they see that your glass is somewhat empty, they come over and pour more of your pop into the glass. It really is ‘the Land of smiles.’

Ok that’s the end.
- Joshers