Mom is in town to visit! To give her the full Asia whirlwind, we picked out a few weekend trips. Our first trip was to Bangkok. Let’s take a look at the highlights. Well.. first let’s say hi to Mom.
Number of previous trips to Asia: 0
Last international flight: Israel, year 2000
(I’m being mean and saying “flight” to exclude international cruises)
Previous chopstick experience: Last attempt unsuccessful…many years ago
Speaks Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian, Cantonese, or Mandrin: No
Willing to try the congealed pork blood soup first: No (she said only because it’s not kosher… Right.)
Trip success forecast: Even though the metrics are not in her favor… I still have a good feeling about this one. As she wanted to be a war correspondent in Vietnam, she’s got a sense of adventure that has been waiting a long time. Only one way to find out!
So… Bangkok…
What was great:
The food: I’d say it’s the Italy of the east. You can eat at nearly any resturant and you won’t have a bad meal there. All of the produce is incredibly fresh and delicous. We really enjoyed the mango, papya, passion fruit, and dragon fruit. The thai tea was far better that I’ve had in the states and the curries… Not to mention our drinks, appetizer, and meals together usually came to less than 7 dollars. Oh man. Did I gain a pound or two from it? Probably… I’ll have to shave it off before getting into my bridesmaids dress in 2 weeks (still worth it).
The workmanship: The level of intricacy on the scales they were presented was a complete jaw dropper. Words and pictures cannot do the layout and scale justice… But just for a little peek… here is some footage of the palace.
First of all I thought it was cool that everything was SO bright and shiny. Remember that’s just a sliver of it. Those aren’t photoshopped pictures you are looking at. Check out the level of detail…
Thai Massage, anyone? The streets are lined with places to get any kind of massage you can think of (oh yes… any kind). You can get an hour foot massage for less than 10 bucks, or a shoulder, neck, head for about the same. This did not get old.
The culture/ city vibe. I could feel a lot of of similar roots to Phnom Penh in Cambodia… Tuk-tuks and motorbikes fill the road, similar architecture, the way you can feel a bit of the European flare… Just not as strong as Phnom Penh. It is a lot cleaner, more put together, and with a lot more entertainment than Phnom Penh as well.
So many markets, crafts, goods.. Etc. More places to get these than you have seen anywhere in the Western world. It’s Asia… That’s what they do here. It’s exciting depending on how many places you have been already here.
The not so great:
Freaking hot and humid. It’s hot almost all year here… so it is hard to avoid. Just be ready to be continually drenched, prepared (with water, sunglasses, and sunblock), and find things indoors you are interested in seeing.
Escaping the tourist route. It was hard not to feel clumped with tourists at every place we went and had some trouble getting off the beaten path. We went on a couple tours which we thought might be a bit unusual and they turned out to be pretty mainstream. We had a few experiences where we were stuck in a place for an hour and all there was to do was shop at their market. The worst is the taxis try to drop you off at their buddy’s market and tell you that you have to buy something ridiculously overpriced and fake. Luckily we didn’t fall for that trap.
Somewhere in the middle…
Exotic. Erotic. Let’s be honest. Thai women are generally amongst the hottest in the world. They have big eyes, beautiful complexions, thick hair, high cheekbones, petite figures, and age beautifully (if they seem to age at all). Between this, Thailand’s feminine culture (example: the hot pink cabs), being a cheap place to visit, and it’s loose laws, it is not a suprising hotbed (pun intended) for sex tourism.
Say whaaa? As you may have heard- Bangkok is the home of sex everything. While I didn’t quite get the nerve to take my mother to a ping pong show for mother’s day (google that one. NSFW. Also, many people who run the shows also run child prostition and sex slave rings – so not quite where I want to put my money), there is a wide range of things to see in Bangkok.
As I mentioned previously, Thailand has a highly femine culture. This leaves many more men identifying themselves as gay or transgendered compared to most places in the world (around 10 to 20%). Also, as one of the cheapest tourist havens in the world, it is quite popular for all kinds of plastic surgery. Combine all of these factors together and you get the… Ladyboy capital of the world!
Looks like a woman, dresses like one, beautiful like one… Then you hear her talk. Definitely a man’s voice. Ladyboys are very accepted in Thai culture. You will see them in movies, fashion, everyday life. It’s not uncommon to mistake them as complete women and you can hear some of the local men talk about how they check for ladyboy giveaways before they approach the woman (adams apple, wrist size, arm curvature, waistline etc)… Sometimes you just can’t tell!
Overall reccommend? Amazing food, sights, and entertainment… All so cheap! I think so!! Hopefully you can squeeze the trip in one of the short cool times of the year.
How did mom do?
Lucky for my mom, no chopsticks here (except for the Asian tourists). As Thailand was ruled by the Brits and French for many years, they kept the forks and knives along with driving on the left side of the road. All the walking, heat… Everything? She did great!
See more photos at:
Design is my First Language 