I had a lot of apprehension going to Bangkok. For Christy and I, it wasn't just a trip for pleasure. There were personal reasons for us going there. The kids didn't go with us. Instead, they stayed back in Taiwan with their grandma. Under normal circumstances, the grandma would not want to be left with two kids to watch by herself. But these were not really normal circumstances.
We spent four nights in Bangkok, and I insisted that Christy and I travel as lightly as possible. Just one suitcase or backpack each, so we could always keep an eye on our belongings. Perhaps I had just seen too many movies, but the idea of someone sticking drugs into our suitcase was never far from my mind. If I ever were to leave my backpack unattended in the hotel room, or with the bellboy, I would always check it again when I came back. Ok, call me paranoid, but I've learned a little about Thailand prisons (more on that later), and it's somewhere I don't want to go.
For the most part, though, everything went pretty smoothly. Bangkok is a crazy, crowded, dirty, sleazy city. You can get pretty much anything you want for a very low price. I almost bought a Rolex watch for about US $30, but decided against it. Yeah, obviously it was a fake, although it looked quite real. I'm not a Rolex kind of person anyway. I'm quite content with my $80 Seiko Solar watch (although I did buy a $3 pair of Birkenstock sandals, probably also fake.)
We juggled most of our time between sightseeing and personal business (again, more on that story later.) We saw the famous "Reclining Buddha" (Wat Pho), the Grand Palace, and numerous temples along the Chao Phraya river. As Thailand is famous for its massage parlors, we had three different types of massages while we were there: the foot massage, the full body oil massage, and the traditional Thai massage (I recommend the first two.)
Our hotel was located in what is probably one of the most crowded streets in Bagkok, "Surawong." It was right across the street from the "Patpong Night Market", which Christy and I quickly dubbed the "Ping Pong Night Market." Every time we walked out of our hotel, numerous people would walk up to us and say "Ping Pong show?" I already knew what the Ping Pong show was, but Christy didn't. I think she felt I would be disappointed if we didn't see the famous Ping Pong show, so we saved it for our last night there.
A guy who seemed a bit mentally ill informed us that we could see the "Ping Pong Show" for 100 Baht a piece (a hundred baht is about US $3). His little flyer said "No Cover Charge", so we figured we check it out. We walked upstairs into a bar with loud music and naked girls dancing on a stage. The girls however, were hideous, which explained why the place was empty. There was only one other couple in the entire bar. We stayed for less than ten minutes, then decided to leave. Before we left, though, the waitress gives us a bill for 2,600 Baht. Christy and I naturally flipped out. As this was our last night, we didn't even have that much money left. I proceeded to give the waitress 200 Baht and then headed for the door. At this point, a bunch of burly Thai guys locked the door and blocked our exit, demanding that we pay for the show because we "looked."
"No fucking way." I told these dudes "The guy told us 200 Baht, and that was all. I'll tell the police."
These Thai dudes didn't seem to care about my warning. I'm sure the police are all in on the scam anyway. Then Christy started shouting at them as well. She got them to renegotiate their price, and we ended up paying them 420 Baht instead of 200. I guess we were lucky, as I would later find out that most of these places are owned by the Thai mafia.
So, for the most part it was a fairly nice trip, but for a place known for its "happy endings", our ending in Bangkok wasn't all that happy.
Ken, good to hear that you and your family had a memorable vacation.
ReplyDeletePing Pong Shows:
I suppose, many first-time tourists go to these ping pong shows unknowingly that these shows are actually denounced by human right organizations.
In Thailand, shows generally take place in a strip club, as you mentioned you were visiting. Tourists are brought in by employees working the streets asking passersby if they want to see a show and frequently having pictures of the show in a booklet. This was also the case with you.
Once in, rather than a cover charge, the drinks are 3-4 times the usual amount and purchase is required. It has also been reported that there may be an arbitrary "exit fee" if not enough was spent.
This is in line with the tactics of the usual ping pong show, where customers are borderline coerced for "tips" at least once every minute.
That is why, only another couple was present, as many old-timer tourists know, it's a rip-off.
Women employed in ping pong shows arrive at 6pm and leave at daybreak. They stamp a time card and are penalized 5 Thai Baht (US $0.14) for every minute they are late. Each month, they receive two nights of vacation and, if they don't miss any additional nights, they will earn only 6000 Thai Baht (US $181).
Women and girls who perform in the ping pong shows have, in some cases, been seriously and irreparably injured. (Source: Wikipedia).
We went recently to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and my wife and I decided to have a full body massage at a massage parlor there. Here in the Philippines, it's also easy to get a 1 hour massage for as little as $6 from masseuses full-clothed and religious.
In Ho Chi Minh, wow, what a difference it was. Short-skirted young ladies sitting on top of you while your are laying down face-down. Surprise, as every masseuses there are expected to do extra service, which we (I) did not ask her to do.
It was an unforgetable massage, with hot stones, unlike any other here in the Philippines. They were actually excellent in doing the massage, but what they are after is a big tip from their customer from their extra sensual treatment, of course.
Ralph
Then again, it is always possible to experience the rich culture and history without being a sex-starved American horndog. Thailand has food up the ass, rock hard temples and a vibrant energy you just want to grab and stroke all day. It is unjust to reduce an entire nation to vulgar intent.
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