CHERALOT + BANGKOK = LOVE (PART 1)

Song of the Day : Timbaland feat. Nelly Furtado "Give It To Me"

Last Friday we hopped on a 2 hour bus ride North to the one and only BANGKOK! As we were approaching the bus terminal I started to feel nerveous as we were advised of the many scam artists we may encounter and of the fugliness the city has to offer. Reena was telling me that our guide book said that Bangkok is not the most beautiful city in the world. As I looked out the window I said out loud "Damn straight this city is ugly!". I forgot we were not alone on the bus and I got a few nasty stares from Thai people who understand English! I kept thinking about all the trouble I encountered when I was in Shanghai because I can be easily swayed and easily scammed. So I kept trying to practice my bad ass look so no one would mess with me.

We got off the bus and as usual we were surrounded by Thai men trying to get us in their cab. I had my game face on so they backed off as I gave them the hand. We asked a few cabbies what their going rate was and they all gave the same "fixed" price. So we hopped into a cab and asked him to take us to Siam Square. He told us that the cab fare was 150 Baht and as soon as we pulled away from the bus station the price suddenly went up to 200 Baht. So Reena and I started to argue with the guy...ok fine it was more Reena arguing with the cabbie that he had quoted us 150 Baht and we will not pay more because that is all we have. Had we had our backpacks with us, we would have hopped out as traffice was INSANE! But, our bags were in his trunk so we couldn't leave the cab. We finally agreed on 160 Baht as the cab driver knew we were lying about only having a 150 Baht because Reena was flashing her bills. We drove through the old part of the city and I was scared looking at the old, decrepit, mouldy looking buildings. I was afraid of what our hotel would be like. I never thought I was a diva. I always thought that I can handle ghetto-ness ever since I lived out of a car for a month with 2 of my friends when we drove across Canada. I never thought anything can be worse than eating macaroni and cheese straight from a can that was purchased in a small South Dakota store in the middle of nowhere, knowing that the can must have been sitting on that shelf for years! It only hit me when we were up near Burma in that ghetto hotel, crying and screaming "I don't care how much it costs, I want an upgrade!", that I am a diva.

So we finally got to Siam Square which is in the modern, richer part of Bangkok City and I just fell to my knees. I felt like this is where I belong. I felt like I was at home. Reena and I looked at eachother and we just felt like screaming with joy! We were so exited. It was nice to finally see "normal" couples , to finally see a variety of people not just nasty UFOs, to see children and teens in their school uniforms, to not feel like I am surrounded by poverty or to feel like crying everytime I step out onto the streets. It made me realize that ALL of Thailand is not on the fritz. That there is hope for the future.

After a few wrong turns, we finally found a strip of hotels and guesthouses that was filled with many backpackers. We got a few odd stares from people thinking, what are these NorthernThai girls doing backpacking in Bangkok? We went up and down the strip and the hotels were quite frightening and nasty. We finally settled at the RENO HOTEL which is the most expensive hotel on the strip. It was a whopping $26 dollars per night. It was pricy but the other places were scary and this hotel was newly renovated and ultra sleek and modern! We got up to our rooms and were trying to figure out what to do. It was 3pm and getting a little bit late to do anything big. So even though the guide book said China Town is something we should hit last, as it is BIG and overwhelming we decided to tap it! We thought, why not go BIG like we did by chosing to go to Pattaya (the BIGGEST city in Thailand for the sex trade!). We decided to be adventurous and hit the city bus. The fare was only about $0.20! The bus became our instant best friend!

So we were on the bus and we did not know where to get off. We were thinking we should stay on the bus until the city starts to look like China Town. Our book said it takes 1 hour, but the tourist lady told us it takes 25 minutes. So we weren't sure who to believe. So we asked this lady who looked like an Asian Martha Stewart type. She told us to get off at the next stop. We were advised not to trust 98% of the Thai people. I keep thinking that it is totally untrue. How can that many people be so dishonest? It's funny because I keep thinking that, despite getting constantly screwed....like we did from Martha Stewart! So we get off the bus and the place we got off looked soooooo sketchy. The buildings were so runned down and all the windows had wooden shutters that were closed. It looked like an old dirty south western style area. We did not see any women at all (clean or dirty) on the streets or men who wore clean clothing. We were afraid as we walked up and down the streets trying to figure out where to go. We got stared down by a lot of men who were trying to figure out who we are and what we were doing there. We did not want to look lost or want them to know we are not Thai. So it was really hard to communicate with eachother which direction to walk to and we did not want to take our maps out of our bags. We got a little bit frustrated because it seemed like we weren't going anywhere and the sun was starting to set real fast. We ended up arguing about directions and by then it was obvious we were lost so we decided to FCUK it and just whip out the maps. As Reena looked at the map I got a little camera crazed and started to take pictures of the scary alleys and old buildings. We saw the tiniest cat walking and meowing on the street. It was so sad because the cat was no bigger than the palm of my hand and it was walking crooked and one of his or her eye was beat up. It sounded like the cat was in a lot of pain, and I wanted to pick it up but I was scared the cat my freak out and scratch my eye out or something and I may end up with some cat infections. Reena said we should keep walking and it was hard to walk away from the cat but I did. I turned around a few times to see how the cat was doing. A huge dog approached the cat and I couldn't look anymore because I think the dog ate the cat because I could no longer hear the cat meowing.

We decided to just walk down one road and walk until we eventually hit a normal street with people of both genders. We started to see groups of police and soldiers with guns. So we started to feel safe knowing there were cops and soldiers everywhere, but then I thought this could be a bad thing because cops and soldiers are corrupt here, so you never know what they could do to us. We decided it was best to just stay mute and walk. At one point a cop started yelling at us and blocked us off from walking any further. We didn't understand a word he said so we got into our DUMB TOURIST act and he kept telling us to get on the next street. So we were thinking maybe there is some sort of hostage situation or something. We noticed a few locals standing at the corner trying to watch so we stood beside them but that cop kept telling us to leave. Reena kept insisting on staying at the corner and so I started to tell yell at her to leave because I didn't want trouble with the cop. I said when the cop walks off we can run to the corner to see what's up. So we walked away and started to hide in between the vans, trucks and SUVs and whip out our map to see where we are. I saw what looked like a big temple or palace so I started to freak out thinking maybe we are at the King's palace. Unfortunately, the cop was such a KJ(kill joy) and brought along a soldier and they both told us to leave. As we walked to the adjacent street we saw a few locals running to the street where we got kicked out. I told Reena we should try to walk a little bit further and then go back to the same street where we were kicked out of but stand at a different corner. I felt like something big was happening, that perhaps the king or queen were going to be passing by. So we got to another corner where there were about 30 people lined up waving the Thai flag and wearing the YELLOW POLOS (The shirt that many Thai people wear on a daily basis showing they support his Majesty the King). So we decided to stand by the road along with the crowd. A lot of people were looking at us in a disgusted way. I guess because we were the only Thai looking people not wearing yellow or carrying the flag. A soldier then came up to me and said something about my bag. I slowly opened my bag for him in fear he may take my video camera away and he stepped back and spoke more Thai. It looked like he was afraid there may have been a bomb in my bag. I was scared the soldiers across the street were going to open fire on us. Then a lady beside us, said we had to take our bags off our shoulder and hold it in front of us with both hands. I thought, how the hell am I going to whip out my camera?! A man across the street had his camera ready for snapping but a soldier told him to put it away. We stood there for about 20 minutes not knowing what was going on or what will happen. Then 2 cops on motorcycles drove by and flashed their lights, then 3 cop cars (all brand spanking new silver Mercedez Benz) drove by followed by cream colored limo like Cadillacs. The 3rd Cadillac limo approached and all the people put their hands together like they were praying and bowed their heads as the limo passed. We followed suit and I saw Her Majesty the Queen inside the limo. She waved at the crowd as she passed. I was so exited! We were so close to her! It was an amazing experience. I figured she was going to the temple to pray because the King and his sister are both in the hospital. They've been ill for quite sometime now. It's kind of eerie to be in a country where the people are so into the King. They wear the majesty polos all the time and his picture is EVERYWHERE! I wonder if they really do love the his Majesty the King?