"The sun dies until it's reborn,
There's no road that ain't a hard road to travel on..."
-Sam Roberts
It's always a happy occassion to arrive in Bangkok. This time moreso given that I did have to contend with the taxi drivers and the traffic. Bangkok now has SkyTrain to the airport! For an introductory price of $0.50 I got all the way into town in reliable, airconditioned goodness.
Of course Bankok has changed. Of course it's still the same. The same stench of sewage (but seemingly little more pungent), the same filth, the same chockablock mayhem that makes it both desperate and hopeful. It never ceases to surprise. Fewer particulate spewing tuktuks. I saw joggers on Sukhumvit Road. Joggers! That's like taking your liver medications with a shot a Jack Daniels...
I must make mention of my latest find, thanks to Ben Johnson. Health Land Massage. It makes the other places vying for attention look like brothels. Well, to be fair, some of them are brothels, but still, Health Land is an oasis of serene aesthetics and genuine concern for health care! Much appreciated after the flights.
Then off to Koh Samet, a lovly little spot of island a few hours from Bangkok. It still has the same crap road (possibly the worst I have seen in all my travels; as a testament to this I witnessed a moto accident withing 24 hours of arriving. No casualties, and the two helmetless, Thai guys seemed only slightly shaken by the spill. Nontheless, I re-vowed never to drive a moto in Thailand!). The island's accommodation is getting more upscale, but is still simple huts arranged around a beachside restaurant.
Beach life in Thailand, while womderful, can sometimes be accompanied by a number of unwanted guests: sand flies, mosquitoes, all night music from the disco down the way, drunken partiers. But Koh Samet had none of these this time! The stay was perfectly serene and restful. After 3 days I made my way back to Bangkok and finagled my way into a photograhy exhibition in the city's newest party district: Thong Lor (where, Wallpaper* Magazine writes, young Thais flock to spend their trust funds!). The show was decent, and the food/wine offerings were... very European. A great crowd of expats mixed with locals. Naturally, I met a guy who is from England, lives in Bangkok now, but used to live in Vancouver!
Beach life in Thailand, while womderful, can sometimes be accompanied by a number of unwanted guests: sand flies, mosquitoes, all night music from the disco down the way, drunken partiers. But Koh Samet had none of these this time! The stay was perfectly serene and restful. After 3 days I made my way back to Bangkok and finagled my way into a photograhy exhibition in the city's newest party district: Thong Lor (where, Wallpaper* Magazine writes, young Thais flock to spend their trust funds!). The show was decent, and the food/wine offerings were... very European. A great crowd of expats mixed with locals. Naturally, I met a guy who is from England, lives in Bangkok now, but used to live in Vancouver!
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