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Bonus Shot: Is That All There Is?
02 Saturday Mar 2013
Posted Bangkok, Travel Photography
in≈ Comments Off on Bonus Shot: Is That All There Is?
02 Saturday Mar 2013
Posted Bangkok, Travel Photography
in≈ Comments Off on Bonus Shot: Is That All There Is?
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19 Wednesday Dec 2012
Posted It's A Gay World
in≈ Comments Off on Going First Class
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Yes, it is that kind of a day.
Several years ago I had the pleasure of attending a speech given by Steve Jobs at CES. I’m not sure that visionary and all the other highbrow adjectives that have been added to his name since he died are accurate. Above everything else he was a shrewd business man. And a dynamic speaker. He oozed charisma, he was captivating and you couldn’t help but get caught up in what he was saying. I guess I can’t really argue with the visionary accolade, there’s no doubt Jobs had visions. Most people would keep that little secret to themselves, Jobs shared his. Usually to a room filled with thousands of people.
His vision from that day that stuck with me was a future where every word on any web page would be a hypertext link, providing instant access to even more information, a non-stop trip down the rabbit’s hole. Steve gave great vision, but seldom stopped to consider how obdurate people can be and how protective they are once stuck in their ways. Today, Wikipedia comes close to his vision; words that they deem important and which there is a Wikipedia page for are links, little pop-up boxes prove it. Everyone else still relies on the hyperlink format of underlined blue text that has been in use since the birth of the ‘net. Well, at least he got the iPhone right.
I only mention this to explain, or provide an excuse for, today’s post. Following a trail of hypertext crumbs, I just found out about lutropublicaphobia. Which is a fear of public restrooms. Now you might think my original search had something to do with LMTU, which is understandable because I can’t think of anything that would instill a case of lutropublicaphobia in your heart quicker than walking into a public loo and finding LMTU on his knees waiting for his next meal. But that wasn’t it. Not being able to resist clicking where I really shouldn’t I also discovered the strange world of paruresis sufferers. Which is commonly referred to as a shy bladder and medically described as the inability to urinate in public settings. Yes, people are strange.
Studies show that roughly 7% of the population, or 21 million people suffer from paruresis. There is even a national support group, whose founder and president’s picture pops up when you Google paruresis. It’s nice to know that even though he is too shy to pee when someone else is around he’s not too shy to let the world known about his little problem. I’m not sure if those are the 15 seconds of fame that I’d want to claim, but I’m sure for him it is some sort of a catharsis. He certainly needs to be able to find relief somewhere.
What started me off on my voyage of discovery was an article about some of the more unusual public restrooms at the world’s airports. That reminded me of an article I read about people who have a phobia about using the restrooms on planes, which led me to Google to find out if that was a recognized phobia which it is not though lutropublicaphobia covers the basics if not the specific act. And that entire train of thought stemmed from the picture shown here of one of the public restrooms at Suvarnabhumi, which I’ve never seen. Not because I’m a fan of lutropublicaphobia or paruresis, but simply because out of all the time I’ve spent there I’ve never had to go. And now I feel bad for myself for having missed out. So next time I’m planning on being at Suvarnabhumi, I’ll drink lots of fluids before hand so I have an excuse to check out the facility’s facilities. I just hope I don’t stumble upon the one that the LMTU is set up in.
Thanks to Jobs and the iPhone, now everyone is armed with a camera 24/7. And I can’t but think about the poor sufferers of paruresis when someone whips out their camera for a photo op in the restroom they finally got up enough courage to try to use.
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11 Tuesday Dec 2012
Posted Travel Commentary
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A visit to Thailand, even just a holiday in Bangkok, can be completely different each and every time you go. Sometimes it’s the weather. Sometimes its the people you meet or the places within the city you visit. For me, some trips are heavily filled with business, others provide ample free time to play touri. Not hitting the bars, or hitting the bars nightly, can make one trip totally different from another, as can finding a guy to spend the entire holiday with or playing butterfly instead and sampling the many guys the city has to offer. But nothing has as much of an impact as does who you travel with.
I’ve made the trip by myself. And I’ve gone with a buddy, both gay and straight. I’ve visited Bangkok with a small group of friends, again both gay and straight as well as mixed, and once even made a pseudo group tour hitting the Kingdom with a gaggle of fifteen friends and acquaintances (all gay thanks the gods . . . if you consider lesbians to be gay too). Travelling by yourself or with a friend or group of friends makes the experience unique. That can be a good thing, or a bad thing. It all depends on who is in your wolf pack.
The Advocate had an interview that I wanted to read the other day and while on-line I decided to click through a variety of articles to see what else interested me. Articles on travel always grab my attention and seeing one with the title “Going Solo”, I clicked in for a read.
I assumed being in the Advocate it would cover the joys of travelling by yourself. Instead it was a short article covering what the author thought to be the downside of solo travel and how to best negate those problems and concerns. The Advocate is all about gay rights, equality and empowerment for gays but still is cool with discriminating against single men. The author was concerned that the cons of travelling by yourself were too worrisome, and then went on to list the dangers of solo travel such as the cost of a double-occupancy hotel room being almost as much as single-occupancy (huh?) – which he suggested staying in a hostel as a remedy – problems with meeting people (his sage advice was to always carry a lighter with you even if you don’t smoke), and the horror of dining at a restaurant by yourself, which you can avoid by eating at street carts, sitting at a restaurant’s bar instead of asking for a table, or eating early or late to avoid being the sole sole diner in a room full of couples and groups. I was waiting for him to remind his readers that as solo travellers we are required to sit at the back of the bus.
More times than not I travel alone. I’m great company. At least for myself. Solo travel isn’t for everyone. There are a lot of people out there who just are not comfortable enough with themselves, and just as many who are not comfortable visiting a foreign land without the safety net of a companion. I enjoy travelling with friends, but nothing beats the freedom of being on your own. You can do what you want when you want. And can be just as happy doing nothing at all.
Travelling solo opens you to different experiences and I’ve always found strangers tend to reach out to you when you travel solo too. Maybe it’s pity that makes them make that effort; I don’t care. I’ve spent some wonderful times in the company of complete strangers who quickly became friends. And unlike when travelling with friends, if you decide you don’t really like the people you find yourself hanging out with, it’s always easy to ditch them.
That can be one of the biggest detriments to travelling with a friend, a lover, or a group. When things become unbearable, ditching your travel companion(s) is not considered good form. Even if not doing so means ruining your holiday. Knowing the people you travel with well, before the trip is a must. Discovering what it is like to live with them for weeks on end while in a foreign country is almost a surefire recipe for a disaster. On any trip there are things that go wrong, things that you didn’t expect that happen, and tons of little annoying things that crop up that can tax your patience. How you deal with those on your own is one thing, how you deal with them in a group dynamic is another. For some those little molehills quickly become mountains and the next thing you know you’re standing at the foot of Vesuvious. Those little problems often become one of the more memorable experiences of your trip. They can be memories that you laugh about later, or cringe at the row the whole thing became because of the reaction by someone you were travelling with. Solo travel avoids those type of conflagrations. But then for some, even travelling alone, means travelling in a dysfunctional wolf pack.
Not long ago I read what I still consider one the saddest statements about travel I’ve ever run across. I think the reason it bothered me as much as it did is because I usually expect more out of those of us who travel. We’re supposed to be the thrill-seekers. Or at least the enlightened ones. Some, evidently, are the exception to that rule:
“After so many trips to the Land of Smiles the awe and wonder about the place has dimmed, but only slightly. Most times I’ve found that it’s been my fellow visitors and the havoc they wreak in pursuit of their Ultimate Holidays that’s been to blame much more than any legitimate complaint about the country or people themselves. The further I get from the less savory areas, the more I enjoy my time there.”
Huh. I can’t imagine how anyone fortunate enough to fly off to an exotic locale, even when doing so – as for many of us – has become routine can allow that joy to be diminished to any degree by nothing more than the conduct of complete strangers. How completely screwed up do you have to be that the manner in which others – people you do not know and with whom you are not travelling – go about enjoying their holiday has such a negative effect on your own enjoyment? The only thing worse would be if that person was your travel companion and you had to listen to their whining for the entire trip. Travelling solo means not having to deal with other people’s baggage. Or dour dispositions.
I still consider travel to be about discovery. I’m intrigued by the places and people, their way of life, their customs, their oddities, and the differences between their world and mine. Angkor Wat was incredible, the conversation I had with the little urchin selling postcards more memorable. Bora Bora was stunningly beautiful, almost missing my plane ride home from strolling the beach collecting shells with an old British couple I’d met is the memory of that trip that first springs to mind. A visit to Taiwan is a blur thanks to downing far too many boiler makers with a group of straight Aussie guys I met at a bar. None of which would have happened had I been travelling with a companion or group of friends.
Solo travel is comparable to the difference between striking out on your own and taking a group packaged tour. It’s not for everybody; some are willing to give up the experience for the comfort of being shepherded about. But for those willing to stand on their own, the rewards of solo travel can’t be beat. Solo travel is about pleasuring yourself. And that’s a good thing. Because even with travel, it really is all about me.
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03 Monday Dec 2012
Posted Chiang Mai, Travel Photography
inI’m not sure what bug got up my ass during one trip to Chiang Mai (and keep you comments to yourself you bastards!) but I just had to get a photo of one of the yellow songtaews around town. Okay, so that wasn’t all that difficult of a trick, and I ended up with several. But they aren’t as ubiquitous as the red version and are part of the area’s landscape. The added plus with this photo was the Air Asia ad – riding in a songtaew is not unlike flying with Air Asia, though you do usually have more room on a baht bus.
For the uninitiated, the red baht busses are for use in and around town and to the not-too-far regular touri haunts. The yellow busses ply the outskirts of Chiang Mai and go further afield to surrounding villages and areas. Of coursed this being Thailand you can still catch a yellow one for quick trips around town and negotiate with the driver of a red one to take you outside of town.
I can not remember ever seeing a monk on a yellow bus though. Mmmmmm, I gotta get back to Chiang Mai, I now have a new purpose in life!
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01 Thursday Nov 2012
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For touri, Bangkok’s Skytrain is a real boon. Cheap and convenient, it’s a great way to get around the city and a great way to avoid the city’s notorious traffic. Some stations seem to be geared toward the local population, there is little of interest to the average touri anywhere near the stop. Others favor touri, leading them directly to one of the city’s must-do destinations, often which involves shopping. None are as useful for touri who want to visit some of Bangkok’s top cultural sites as the Saphan Taksin station. Which by Thai logic must be why the government plans on closing it.
You’d have to wonder how even Thai logic would lead to closing the BTS station that connects to the Sathorn Pier and the riverboat service on the Chao Phraya. But there is a good reason. That line now extends over the river, but the station has only a single train track. As more and more people use the extension, which will stretch even further beyond the river in years to come, having to stop trains as others head through from the opposite direction just doesn’t make sense anymore. Why the builders didn’t consider this eventuality when they constructed Saphan Taksin doesn’t make much sense either.
That the station will be closed down at some point in the near future is a given. Whether it will be rebuilt at or near its present location, or whether the temporary work around they’ve devised will become permanent is yet to be seen. The current plan is to build a series of elevated moving sidewalks to take passengers from the pier to the Surasak station, the next BTS station on the Silom line. Considering it took an additional four years to add the Skytrain’s airport link after Suvarnabhumi became the city’s main airport, I’d guess there will be a long period of time between the date they close down Saphan Taksin and they open up the ‘walkalators’ to Surasak. So enjoy Saphan Taksin’s easy transfer to the boats while you can.
Most touri use Saphan Taksin to get to the riverboats. It is the less expensive option for getting to Wat Pho and the Grand Palace as well as the other top cultural sites along the river. Most guide books point this out. Few bother to explain how to get from the station to the pier, or how to avoid over-paying for your ride. Bewildered touri roaming the station is a common sight. So is seeing them stop at the official Tourist Information Center, at which they are told about the special Tourist Boat service and not about the regular express boats that cost as little as 14 baht. Those who make it past the center and find their way riverside again have ample opportunity for booking a ride on the Tourist Boat, with little signage available to explain the cheaper use of the express boats. But I’m sure that whatever they do about getting future visitors from Surasak to the pier they will insure a steady stream of sheep for the Tourist Boat operation.
If you are looking for directions for using the skytrain to take the express boats, there is a link below. This post isn’t about getting you away from Saphan Taksin, but rather what you can find there if you use it as a destination station. Few do, and that’s a shame. This area of town is called Bang Rak, and even the most generous of guide books suggests there is little of interest to tourists here. They’re wrong. There’s shopping galore, every type of food imaginable – some of the local favorite food places are located here to boot – one of the city’s more unusual wats, a tie-in with Hollywood, an elegant taste of Bangkok in its glory days, and an opportunity to do the street scene like a local instead of a visitor. Depending on how much you like to walk, you can easily spend an entire day here exploring; there’s lots to see and do in the immediate area. And since eating is always one of my favorite activities in Bangkok, let’s start there.
Directly below the station is a conglomeration of street food carts, though during peak dining hours the area takes on more of an open-air restaurant look. If you want to try some real Thai food, the stuff the locals actually eat on a daily basis, this is a great place to do so. In fact, the entire area is a haven for food cart aficionados. If you head up Charoen Krung Road (that’d be taking a left when you leave the station) just past the Robinson department store there is a small soi filled with even more street-side dining options with even a greater selection than offered at the foot of the station. And late at night directly across the street several vendors set up shop offering what at best I’d call soup. I’ve never wanted to know exactly what all the goodies floating in the broth are, sometimes ignorance can be a blessing, but it’s a gourmet delight for a mere 15 baht that’ll have you wanting to wait nightly for a late dinner.
For the less adventurous, every American fast food joint known to man is available at the Robinson department store complex. There’s also a Tops market in the basement with a small food court, and a newer food court on the top floor too. However, if you are going skyward for food and drinks, the real experience is heading down the block to the Lebua State Tower’s rooftop Sky Bar at the Dome.
Even before Hangover II filmed some of their key scenes at the Sky Bar, it was one of the top touri destinations for enjoying the sunset. Perched on the 63rd floor, the Sky Bar is one of the world’s highest open air bars offering one of the city’s best panoramic views. There is a dress code, and you’ll pay dearly for the experience, but its well worth the view. Just don’t make the mistake of eating at the adjoining Sirocco restaurant. It also is pricey, and the chef seems to think the view makes up for the lack of taste in what is offered on the menu. Besides, you are in one of the historical areas of the city – you should be filling your belly with some of the food that made Bangkok famous.
And one of the more famous shops is Boonsap Thai Desserts, located on the corner of Charoen Krung and Si Wiang Roads. A neighborhood fixture since WWII, Boonsap is now run by the 3rd generation of the original owner’s family, and is one of the best places in the city for mango sticky rice. If you can ignore all the other goodies on the menu. And if you didn’t already pig out at the fried banana stall across the street. It too is considered the #1 choice for it’s specialty and is easy to spot by the long line of people waiting patiently for their turn to be served (and hoping they don’t run out before getting to the front of the line.)
Prachak Pet Yang is another legendary Bang Rak eatery famous for its roast duck, though I enjoy it more as a dim sum restaurant. But don’t worry if you hit the wrong Chinese restaurant (there are several in the immediate area) they are all equally as good. Or skip the confusion and try the menu at the mouth-watering Volcanic Fried Mussel and Oyster just across the street from Robinson – it too is a favorite that locals from all over town flock to.
And you haven’t even made it to Silom Road yet. But with that full of a tummy, it’s time to take a break so step back into the days of opulent travel and check out the venerable Mandarin Oriental Hotel. For 130 years the Oriental has been the most luxurious hotel in Bangkok and still routinely makes the list of top hotels in the world. The hotel’s riverside pool area is a great place to kick back, have a drink, live like the rich, and plan on where you’ll eat next. Or better yet, treat yourself and check in for a night or two. You’ll set a new standard for what you think hotel service should be, and a new standard for where you should lay your head at night – at prices that are dirt cheap compared to the same level of hotel in other parts of the world.
Not that you have to cough up the big bucks to stay in Bang Rak. Lebua too is luxurious living, but you can get a room there for just a bit over $100 a night. Same with the equally opulent Shangri-La. And for under $100 I consider the Centre Point Silom one of the city’s best hotel deals. The Elegance Suites, a smaller hotel two short blocks off of Charoen Krung isn’t a bad choice either, and will have a far less detrimental affect to your pocketbook. You really can’t beat the neighborhood for location – it’s convenient for getting around town thanks to both the Saphan Taksin BTS station and Sathorn Pier. And you’ll get a much nicer room at a better price than staying in Patpong, which is a 25 baht BTS ride or 80 Baht taxi ride away.
Shopping-wise Bang Rak is for bling. Just to the far side of Robinson – a shopping destination of its own – small gem and jewelry shops start popping up. Many are owned and operated by Afghani merchants, so you better be good at bartering if you want to land a great deal. You will find trinket-level jewelry for both men and women as well as gems fit for a queen, with a few decent jade shops thrown in all between the BTS station and Silom Road. Further along and closer to the Oriental the area’s silver shops start up.
Primarily wholesale outfits, most will sell to touri too and while you won’t get quite as good of a deal as you would buying silver in Khaosan, the work you’ll find along Charoen Krung is usually of a higher quality. Down the soi leading to the Oriental you’ll find lots of little shops hoping to cash in on the touri trade from the hotel and offering more traditional souvenir type merchandise at grossly over inflated prices.
For night market aficionados, at dusk the Bang Rak market starts up. Located down the small soi adjacent to Robinson this is a smaller night market geared more toward locals, partially outdoors and partial inside what looks to be an old parking garage. You won’t find fake Rolexes, or much in the way of traditional souvenirs here, but there are great deals on clothes – upstart designers have stalls at the market, some truly Thai decor items, and a handful of tattoo artists – who are interesting to watch at work even if you don’t plan on picking up some ink yourself. And in case you haven’t eaten enough yet, there’s a food court buried away in the back too.
Bang Rak is also home to Bangkok’s newest touri-centric shopping extravaganza, Asiatique. It too is primarily a night market, though more upscale. It is supposed to be the replacement for Suan Lum with many of the vendors who once sold there now holding court at Asiatique. It too is located on Charoen Krung Road, but to the right of the BTS station. Almost at Rama III, it’s a bit of a walk though, so you are better off catching the free shuttle boat at Saphan Taksin.
And while I’m on alternate forms of transpo, the soi running along the BTS station is also home to Silom’s only fleet of red songthaew, a transpo option more familiar in Chiang Mai. If there’s more than three of you and you know where you’re going, this can be a good way to get there. But be ready to barter over the price.
Time for some culture? There is a small Chinese temple just outside of the BTS station worth a few minutes of your time, more because it is there than because of what it is. Of far more interest is Wat Yannawa, within an easy walk if you head right at Charoen Krung Road. Originally built during the Ayutthaya period, it is now known as the Boat Wat because it’s wiharn is built in the shape of a Chinese junk.
If on the other hand you’ve seen enough wats already, you could change religions and check out the Haroon Mosque, located to the far side of the Oriental Hotel and just behind the Royal Custom House. The small mosque, one of the busiest in the city, is known for its intricately carved Arabic script panels. Or you can stick to what might be more familiar and check out the Assumption Cathedral, a French built old Catholic church. It’s soaring interior and stained glass windows provide a nice counterpoint to the local wats as well as a historical reference to Christianity in the Kingdom since it was originally built in the early 1800s.
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31 Wednesday Oct 2012
Posted Thailand Travel Tips and Tales, Tips
inTags
Thailand is a fairly permissive country, not a lot of rules, not a lot of being told what you can and can not do. It helps that the locals have the perfect attitude toward governmental decrees, none have anything to do with the way they live their lives so they just ignore them. Hopping into this taxi as a first-time visitor you’d think otherwise. That’s a pretty long list of ‘no-nos’ plastered to the window. More experienced travellers, however, know the decal is nothing more than an attempt at decoration. And if there really was a prohibition against any of these things, a few baht passed over the front seat would take care of the matter anyway.
The no durian decal I get, but have to wonder how many western touri would be stumped by that graphic. The one prohibiting dogs is instantly recognizable to all, though you’ll never see a dog that looks like that in Bangkok. The driver is probably armed, so so much for that one, and there’s a good chance he’s drunk too so there’s another one off the list. The copulating couple confuses me a bit. At first glance I’d guess you are not allowed to have sex in the taxi, but then this being Thailand that doesn’t make a lot of sense – the driver will be more than happy to help get you laid, and if he is young and cute enough will probably do the job himself.. The stick figures both look to be male, so maybe it’s a prohibition against gay sex, or since the top looks a bit bulkier, maybe it’s telling you that you can’t do your bar boy in the cab. The first one, stuck in a place of honor, I’m not sure about. No bullshit? No dead buffaloes? No passengers born under the sign of Taurus? I doubt the driver knows either.
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30 Tuesday Oct 2012
Posted Thailand Travel Tips and Tales, Tips
inWhen I was a wee one, my bike and I were inseparable. Getting your own bicycle and learning to ride it wasn’t just a rite of passage but an entry to a whole new world. Parents were more trusting of their communities in those days, and with two wheeled transportation my little world expanded greatly. My friends and I would hook up in the morning and then take off to parts unknown for the day, often ending up lost, hours away from our old stomping grounds. Thanks to having a bike, life was an adventure.
I still can remember my inaugural ride. My parents, being of a practical nature, wouldn’t buy us bikes until we knew how to ride one. My first experience was on a cousin’s bike. To my great shame my cousin was a girl, so I learned to ride on a girl’s bike. While the debate over nurture versus nature continues, I’d like to put forth that there is a distinct possibility that being forced to learn to ride a bike on one built for a girl is possibly the real reason I turned out gay. I’d also like to put forth the idea that girls’ bikes really should be the design for boys’ bikes. That missing bar, should one slip off the seat in a forward direction, would be much more gentle on the male anatomy than the version built for boys is.
It was a big bike too. Adult size. It had blocks attached to the pedals so smaller legs could reach them. Mine barely did. My dad gave me instructions, carefully lifted me onto the seat, and then gave the bike a good push with total disregard for my safety as though I was sitting on a swing instead of a vehicle with a mind of its own. As with learning how to use any contraption that moves you along quicker than a walking pace, how to stop was lesson #1. I’ve never been good at exercising patience, and when you are learning to ride a bike, or snow ski, practicing stopping first – in my opinion – is a huge waste of time. So off I sailed down the street, over the lawns and through the flower beds of a few dozen neighbors, scared shitless and having the time of my young life until a small copse of trees at the end of our street brought my first bike ride to its conclusion. It was an exhilarating experience, I fell in love with riding bikes, and eventually learned how to stop without running into something.
Just for the record, dozens of years later it was also a small copse of trees that brought my first attempt at snow skiing to its conclusion too. I got more proficient at both over time.
By junior high school my bike had grown to a 10-speed and had turned from an instrument of discovery to one of transportation. The high school I would be attending was just down the street, and since riding a bike was now a necessity instead of a joy I started hanging with the high school kids since inevitably someone would have access to a car. And much like how my bike as a child offered me a glimpse into a previously unknown world, riding in a car without parental units around also expanded my horizons. And got me laid at a fairly early age. Bicycles are not conducive to having sex. Mine got stored in the garage where it probably still sits today.
Years later on a holiday to Bora Bora I finally hopped on a bike again. The island is small enough that you can circumnavigate it by bike, and since the hotel supplied them for free it sounded like a great way of seeing the sites. And it was. I’d forgotten how much fun it was to zip along under you own power with the wind whistling in your ears. The next morning I could barely walk. My crotch felt like I’d spent the previous day slipping off the bike and hitting that damn bar that still shouldn’t be mounted on bikes meant for men. Still not a big fan of learning how to stop before I learn how to go, I had matured enough to learn when you should just stop. I haven’t been on a bike since.
But I do like to take pictures of them. Especially older bikes that look like those from the days of my youth. The photos accompanying this post are from trips I made to Penang (at least the ones not featuring male flesh). In Georgetown Bicycles are ubiquitous. And they all look like designs from fifty years ago, which fits that World Heritage City to a tee. You don’t see bikes of any age in Bangkok much. Which, considering the local driving skills, fits that city too. But that doesn’t stop the local powers that be from a bit of wishful thinking.
To help ease traffic congestion, fifty stations holding some three hundred bicycles have just been set up around town with the first 10 minutes of riding free. The price for longer rides is minute, but might as well be priced in the thousands of baht because no one will survive riding a bicycle in Bangkok’s traffic for more than 10 minutes. Though I’m sure touri will try. I can’t see many locals falling for this trick, but unwary visitors will undoubtedly think a free bicycle ride sounds like a great way to see the city’s sights. It will be interesting to see what becomes the leading object responsible for bringing touri bike rides to their unexpected and probably bloody conclusion. My money is on tuk tuks.
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10 Wednesday Oct 2012
For me, a large part of the allure of international travel is the ability to experience things that are exotic and foreign. The attraction is that which is different from what I’m used to, and then discovering the similarities of people regardless of how different they initially seem. The familiar and comfortable are not what I travel for, my eyes don’t light up at the sight of golden arches, my heart is not warmed by the babble of voices I understand. I travel to a foreign land to experience someone else’s world, not a mini-version of my own, even as more difficult as that becomes for an American these days. Sometimes that means opening yourself to someone else’s attempt at bringing their home with them to a foreign land. I have to admit Thailand, as exotic as it still is, is also familiar to me by now. As easy as it is to fall back on the tried and trued when visiting these days, I push myself to seek places and experiences that still remain strange and different to me. I pursue the unfamiliar and unexpected. Sometimes that can mean nothing more than taking a different tack in an area that you know well.
When I first discovered Bangkok I stayed along Sukhumvit. And I still head over that way often today. From around Soi 3 into the upper 20s, Sukhumvit offers a multitude of entertainment opportunities. Of course when you mention Sukhumvit and entertainment, most frequent visitors immediately think of the Nana Entertainment Plaza. At least the straight ones do. And that in turn means the Nana BTS Station, where as a single, slightly older man your fellow train passengers will always assume you have cheap sex on the mind. That’s because most touri who call the Nana Station home base do.
The area around Nana has changed over the years, and not necessarily for the better. It was always home to Bangkok’s naughty boys on the prowl, but Soi Cowboy has quickly surpassed the Nana Plaza as the sex touri destination of choice, and the newer, brighter, slightly upscale bars all headed to that end of Sukhumvit leaving the tired, run-down, and less salubrious establishments to lend an air of depravity to Nana, the seediness that makes it such a draw to cheap sex touri. So I guess as much as the area has changed, its main purpose has remained the same.
Cheap straight gogo bars may not be much of a draw for gay touri (though the largest collection of ladyboy bars can be found at Nana too). Nor perhaps would a culture whose religion condemns homosexuality. But it is this latter group who congregate near the Nana BTS station that recommends a visit and that sets up the visual juxtaposition of naughty boys and the visibly devout. Often called Little Arabia – even though the majority of visitors in this areas are from the Gulf States – it may not be your idea of SE Asia, but if you’ve spent much time in Bangkok it is a great neighborhood for seeking out something a little different, an experience that may not be Thai, but that will provide a glimpse into a world you may be unfamiliar with.
In the days before the Sky Train added another level of congestion to Bangkok’s world famous traffic, strolling along Sukhumvit’s sidewalks in the Nana neighborhood was always a chore thanks to gaggles of rude German touri blocking the way while one of their party tried to bargain for some cheap souvenir at one of the market stalls that already thinned the walkway to a single lane. Progress today is just as slow, but the fat German hordes have been replaced by fat middle-eastern women dressed in large swaths of black cotton. Burkas are a common sight from Soi 3 to Soi 11 these days, and while that native garb is supposed to help Allah-fearing Muslim men from the dictates of their hormones, I suspect the true purpose is to keep grossly obese bodies out of sight. It’s a mode of dress I think Americans should consider adopting. Why 300 lb. women think skin tight clothing is the way to go is beyond me. But I digress . . .
Little Arabia has been a fixture in Bangkok for decades. Originally, the neighborhood filled with businesses sporting signs in arabic script was hidden off the main road between Sukhumvit’s Soi 3 and Soi 5. It’s been slowly spreading out from the backstreets to encompass a large part of Soi 3 and more and more of Sukhumvit. Visitors from the middle east, most dressed in their native garb, make up the largest contingent of touri sauntering along Sukhumvit these days. But turn down the small soi that wraps around from Sukhumvit to Soi 3 and you’ll think you just stepped into Arabia; with the mingling aromas of exotic spices, grilling kebabs, and spits of roasting chicken and lamb permeating the night’s air, it’s easy to forget you are in Bangkok. The food alone is worth visiting Little Arabia.
Shiny silver railings separate 24-hour restaurants from the street, shawarma vendors clutter the sidewalk, and apple-scented hookah smoke fills the air. You’ll find Arabian, Egyptian, African, Iranian, Lebanese, and vegetarian restaurants offering authentic food and reasonable prices. Most restaurants here don’t serve alcohol; this is the spot Muslim visitors to the Big Mango come to for halal food, as well as a taste of home. Al-Iraqi serves a unique blend of Iranian and Iraqi dishes, MehMaan offers a menu of Indian, Pakistani, and Arabic food served under a giant picture of Yasser Arafat, and at Petra you’ll find some of the city’s best and most freshly baked naan bread. And Nefertiti offers an encyclopedia-sized menu of Egyptian food; though its other speciality is the true draw here.
While no longer the only place in Little Arabia to offer shisha smoking, it was one of the first and proudly displays the pipes out front where they can’t be missed. With plenty of outdoor seating and an amusement park-like ambiance brightly lit with a kaleidoscope of colors reflecting off its stainless steel walls Nefertiti is your best place to try a hookah on for size. Make it clear you are a novice and the strange dark men in caps hidden behind dense mushroom clouds of thick white smoke filling the tables near you will quickly take you under wing. A word of warning though: even of you are a smoker, you’ll be surprised at how much of the rich apple flavored smoke fills your lungs, and while it isn’t quite the high you’d get if the pipe was loaded with hashish, you will quickly get a nice buzz going. Which might just be enough to convince you to expand your horizons further and step up from the hookah to a hooker.
Little Arabia is anchored by the infamous Grace Hotel, now a favored spot for middle eastern visitors for their stay while in Bangkok. A mere 500 feet from Nana Plaza, it also draws sex touri from the west, though not quite up to the pull of the even seedier Nana Hotel. The lobby late at night is a perfect microcosm of the surrounding neighborhood, filled with women in burkas, men in flowing white robes, working local girls, and elderly Caucasian punters escorting their girlfriend of the hour back to their cheap hotel room having just visited one of Bangkok’s most sleazy red-light areas, Nana Plaza.
A visit to one of Nana Plaza’s neon-lit girly gogo bars could be a real eye opener for you, even if you aren’t interested in the same merchandise that draws the straight clientele. If nothing else it serves as a great comparison to the Soi Twilight bars you’re more familiar with. If that idea is a bit beyond the pale for you, try one of the five ladyboy venues at Nana. Obsession, Temptation, Casanova, Cascade, and Carnival offer some of the city’s most gorgeous ladies who aren’t and even if you’re not interested in taking one of them home, you’ll find any one of the bars a fun place to spend an evening. The girls do tend to have attitude, after all each is a true diva, but they are less aggressive than those you’ll find working the streets just outside Nana.
Not that Nana BTS only offers experiences that might take you outside of your comfort zone mind you. It is also a popular stop for gay touri looking for a massage with happy ending. The closest is Hero on Soi 11, one of Bangkok’s best gay massage shops. Soi 11 is also home to the Banana Club. Both are within walking distance of Nana Station if you don’t mind the hike, or grab a thankfully quick motocy taxi at the foot of the soi; you’ll arrive fresh, if not too relaxed, and won’t have to worry about finding the location. Uniman massage, formerly B&N, is between sois 10 and 12 inside the Sukhumvit Plaza, and the Guy Spa is on Soi 19. There are several other massage places along Sukhumvit too, including Albury Men’s Club on soi 26, but they are more easily reached from the Asoke or Phrom Phong station.
While sex is the main draw for many visitors, Nana station also lures those with a different addiction: shopping. Nightly the stretch of Sukhumvit from Soi 3 to Soi 19 is home to one of the city’s more popular night markets. Catering to the touri crowd, the merchandise along Sukhumvit is a bit more varied than you’ll find at Patpong’s night market, and priced at about half of what you’d pay there. Knock-off and pirated goods abound, but there are also cheap T-shirts, Thai handcrafts, and electronic gadgets that’ll bring out the kid in you. And if you’ve shopped ‘til you dropped, Sukhumvit is home to Bangkok’s fleet of mobile bars, converted vans turned into neon-lit backbars that set up along the boulevard’s sidewalks where you can kick back and have a few rounds without ever having to step off the street.
Daytime the scene is less frenetic and the shopping opportunities less available, but if you are looking for a reputable place to buy jewelry, The Jewelry Mart on the corner of Soi 11 is a good choice. The stones sold there are all real and are of better quality; the deal you get will all depend on your bartering skills.
Nana BTS Station is a wonderful stop offering several conflicting worlds to enjoy. It’s also a good station to call home. There are dozens of hotels within a three minute walk of the station, some so close you can check out hot guys riding the trains as they zip past your hotel window. Every price range is represented, from the 4 star Landmark to the funky rooms above Narry’s Tailor where for $25 a night you can share your room with piles of laundry waiting to be washed.
The small but hip Grand Inn on Soi 3 puts you right in the middle of the action for $35 a night, while over on Soi 11 the Swiss Park’s spacious marbled floored executive rooms run only $60, including an extensive buffet breakfast. Extend your boundaries to within a hotel provided free tuk tuk ride from the station and your choice of places to stay becomes limitless. This is one of the best areas in town to grab a decent room at a decent price, and while not in the middle of Patpong it is only 25 baht and 8 minutes away by train. You’ll get a lot more hotel for a lot less baht by staying around the Nana station, and easy access to the Skytrain to boot.
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