Well it’s my last day in Thailand, and I am still unwed!
After a long lie in, I decided to do something completely out of character.
Yes, I went for a walk. Well the first part wasn’t a walk as I caught a River Boat down to some place called Fang Twat or at least that’s what it sounded like on the terminal tannoy.
It took me four hours to walk back! Admittedly it wasn’t solid walking because I kept making detours and going in places I shouldn’t.
Still, no one threw me out of anywhere but I reckon it came close a couple of times. I went in a Bhuddist Temple, a Catholic Church and a shanty town. I skipped the Mosque that was nearby. I did this on the basis that there may well be some dozy bastard sitting in there with a waistcoat of Semtex. I feel safer with Bhudda ‘cos his lot are all pacifists. And the monks look cool in their orange robes. I think I want an orange robe, but I don’t want to shave my bonce to get one. Mind you, I’d probably look silly walking in Deal High Street – perhaps.
The places I went were all fantastic to see. Especially the shanty town. I had seen it from the river boat as we passed. It is built on the river front. Prime location if in London or another European city. What I didn’t realise was it went back about four hundred yards. There were long, narrow alleys each about ten feet wide. These extended from the river frontage down to the next main road running parallel with the river, as I say about four hundred yards back. Bearing in mind that the front on the river was about a quarter of a mile long, there must be thousands living in the hovels as that’s what they were. Each alley had a door every twelve or fifteen feet, on both sides. These were the front doors, in fact the only doors. Some of the doors were open, letting me see that each room was about fifteen feet deep, backing on to the next room of the neighbouring alley. They were built of anything and everything. Rubbish was strewn all along the alleys along with piles of all sorts of salvaged crap. Bearing in mind that the whole living area for the families in these places was about fifteen feet square it was no wonder that everything had spilled outside. It looked as though most of the cooking and washing was done in the alleys. I even saw pots and pans too old for cooking with but, with judicious use of some duct tape to patch the holes! could be used to store foods!
I deliberately walked down a couple of rows from the street to the river front before I had to turn and retrace my steps. No one stopped me. I got some strange looks indeed, but no one stopped me or made a fuss. The Thais, in general I’ve found, seem a very placid and quite cheerful race. They need to be to live in places like the shanty town.
Chinatown wasn’t much better in places. But it was certainly bigger. I wandered around there for quite a while.
And everywhere in Bangkok there is cooking. The stalls , carts, shops, open fronts to houses are all cooking as you pass. And it’s all for sale. The smells are unbelievable, as is the rubbish strewn everywhere.
On the doorstep of McDonalds there were even vendors set up to sell their wares. Not in the street in front but actually on the doorstep! I bet McD’s had tried to move them off ! no chance!!
I am sitting writing this at BKK, (international jet set speak for Bangkok airport) at one in the morning and I have to board the plane now.
I’ve had a great time here in Thailand, and I will try to come back to some topics as I recall them over the next few weeks. If for no other reason than to practise the writing. But I will also try and get my thoughts straight over travelling in general, when it takes you to see such extremes of how some people choose to live because they can. and how some have to live. The difference is alarming.
No wonder there are young Thai brides trailing after old bastards like me!
goodbye Bangkok, goodbye Thailand. And thank you