11/28/13 - 12/02/13

Exotic, erotic and exciting; that is most peoples first thoughts of the city of Bangkok. Some people love it and some people downright hate it. Most every backpacker traveling through SE Asia comes here once, if not several times. It is almost like a rite of passage. It has got such a reputation as a backpackers mecca, that it is probably the first place that comes to mind, when any backpacker thinks of traveling SE Asia. And because of its location and how well connected it is, Bangkok is probably the central hub for most transportation in and around SE Asia, making it a "must" stop for anyone traveling in the region. It is also known for its debauchery, ladyboys and its craziness and I was heading straight into it.

The problem was, however, that a few days before I was planning on going to Bangkok, I started hearing stories about political demonstrations going on there. The demonstrations were peaceful and had to do with a recent bill that the Prime Minister had tried to pass. Back in 2006, there were several demonstrations and a military coup ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on corruption charges. He fled the country and has since lived in a self-imposed exile. However, the current Prime Minister happens to be his sister and many believe that he is still running things through her. The bill she recently tried to pass, would have allowed her brother to return to Thailand without having to face the corruption charges. The bill didn't pass, but it was enough for the people to see that something wasn't right.

I had heard about the demonstrations, but I also heard that they had been peaceful, so I figured it would be all right to still go to Bangkok. However, I was only there for a couple of days when violence erupted. There were a couple of deaths and things were starting to turn ugly. Fortunately, the demonstrations were only in isolated pockets around the city, so they were easy to avoid. The main demonstrations were around the government buildings, where the protesters were trying to occupy the buildings and shut down the government. As they were going on, I paid attention to the news and kept away from those certain areas of the city. The area where I was staying in, however, was quiet. Life was going on like normal and one would never have thought that possibly revolutionary protests were going on throughout the city.

Before the violence erupted, I did manage to see some of the sights of the city, such as the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew. They were both quite stunning with beautiful architecture and a stunning mural depicting the Ramakian, the Thai version of the Indian epic Ramayana. I visited several other temples in the city including dizzying Wat Arun, which has some of the steepest stairs I have ever climbed and Wat Pho, which has the largest reclining Buddha statue in Thailand. The statue is just massively huge! I have seen picture before, but they just do not really show just how big and impressive it actually is.

Another tourist area I visited was Khao San Road, which is the main backpacker enclave in the city. I did not stay there, as I opted for a quieter setting in the Sathorn area. However, I did decide to visit the area to see what the fuss was all about and honestly, I didn't really like it and I was glad that I didn't stay there. The area was filled with hawkers selling t-shirts, elephant pants and other touristy stuff, lots of cafe style bars and eateries, tattoo parlors, travel agencies and of course, lots and lots of young Westerners. The restaurants were brimming with Westerners swilling beer and eating burgers. I felt like I was at some kind of huge frat party! If you have ever seen "The Beach", there is the one scene where Leo comes back from his island paradise to get supplies and he monologues about the party scenes that he observes, and this is kind of how I felt while walking down Khao San Road. Now, if people want to come to Thailand, just to party and hang out with other Westerners, I have no problem with that, people can do what they want to do, but this was just too excessive for me.

I stayed in Bangkok for four days, and I actually kind of liked it. I met some really nice people at my hostel. The hostel owners, for example, were very nice and helpful. I, also, met an English guy, who for some reason had a French accent. When he walked in, I was honestly and a little shamefully, a little apprehensive about interacting with him. I try not judge people by their appearance, but sometimes, you really can't help yourself, it is almost subconscious. He was a little white guy with a huge backpack, with a few tattoos, lots of beads and bracelets and dreadlocks down to his waist. Based upon his appearance, I would have immediately judged him as a weed-smoking, nonconformist, and thus a judgemental hippie. However, I was dead wrong! He turned out to be one of the nicest guys I have ever met. Just goes to show, how you shouldn't judge people based on appearance. He was very friendly and forth-coming and his mentality about travel and social interactions were very inspiring. Basically, he believed that everyone you meet will be either a teacher or a student. Either you will teach them something or they will teach you something. It a very simple concept, but also powerful, because it not only gleans at how important teaching and learning is, but also how just important each individual interaction that one has on a daily basis is.

We chatted a bit and he told me about his travels through Africa and some of his adventures. He was a film producer and had made several small indie documentaries. He was planning on doing a documentary on his travels and had the idea of getting a few cameras and giving them to several travelers to document their trips and then putting together a documentary about long-term travel, not just from his point-of-view, but from many others, as well. I thought it was a great idea and I helped him figure out a few technicality with such a big project. I hope that someday he will be able to make his documentary.

By the time the violence erupted in Bangkok, I had already seen most of the main sites, so the last few days I found other things to do, to stay away from the protest. Piquing my scientific interest, I went to forensic science museum, which had everything from mummified bodies, to mutated babies in jars, to skulls with bullet wounds. It was interesting, if not a little grotesque. I also checked out a crocodile farm, which was substandard to say the least. And on my last day in Bangkok, I went to Siam Square, which is the upscale and trendy shopping area. Everything seemed relatively normal in this part of town. So while violence and protests were going on in different parts of the city, I did the only normal thing I could think of; I went to a movie.

I saw the Hunger Games 2. It was pretty good. However, before the movie, I made a bit of a faux pas. Twice a day, the Thai National Anthem is played in public places like the metro and bus stations, and when it plays, as a sign of respect, everyone stops and stands at attention. I observed this a couple of times, and of course, I respectfully stood at attention, as well. However, before every movie and other functions, the King's Song is played. One is also supposed to stand at attention for the King's Song. The Thai people revere their king, almost as a God. He is so highly respected, that his portrait can be seen everywhere and most Thais have portraits of him in their houses, as well. I knew about this, but before the movie started, I did not realize that the song was playing. I just happened to look back and see everyone else in the theatre standing, when it dawned on me what was going on. I stood up as quickly as I could for the last half of the song, but I am sure everyone noticed, so I felt a little stupid and ignorant.

Coming to Bangkok, I thought it might be a party only city, with lots of weird and eccentric things around every corner. However, one may notice that I didn't write much about partying, and that is because I didn't do much at all. I had several drinks in my hostel, but it was a mostly quiet visit. The protests might have have taken some of that legendary atmosphere out of the city, but I think I just wasn't really looking for any debauchery. It also shows that Bangkok is more than just a party city and that there are lots of other things to do there. I will be returning to Bangkok at some point, so thing might be different then, but that only makes the idea of returning that much more enticing.