Thailand is fast becoming one of the most visited capitals in Asia, mainly because of the proliferation of cheap flights and it's location at the entrance to the well trodden south east Asia 'hippy' route. It was our first destination after leaving England, and certainly I had quite high expectations of arriving to white sands, clear waters and an experience not to be missed. Most of these misconceptions came from reading The Beach the previous summer, but even though Bangkok is mentioned in the book I didn't expect the traffic, noise or smell! One of the most noticeable things about Bangkok is the intense humidity. We arrived at the end of the wet season which is no doubt the reason, although during the dry season it's a drier heat. As for many travellers the Koh San road was our first stop as it's crammed full of cheap hotels, Internet cafe's and cheap stalls selling all manner of merchandise. After booking into a hotel just off the Koh San road we spent the afternoon finding our bearings and perusing the local shops. Fake branded clothing was everywhere, as was pirate music tapes and CDs, even fake ID's. Koh San road is essentially one big tourist trap - advertising banners proliferate above head height all down the road, pirate movies show in many of the bars (with pool tables) all day long and everyone speaks a bit of English. The motorised three wheeled taxis, tuk-tuk's, drive up and down the road, their drivers requiring just a seconds eye contact to pull over and ask, sometimes quite persistently, where you wish to go. Most of them seem to spend the remainder of their days sitting around in their vehicles chatting or sleeping. As a way of earning extra revenue many tuk-tuk drivers will stop enroute at a tailors, receiving commission on anything you buy. In fact it seemed like half the population were in league with at least one tailoring shop, including a 'journalist' who stopped to talk to us and the shopping centre head of security! After a day or two of rest and relaxation we visited the Grand Palace, the top tourist attraction in Bangkok. Sarah was glad to notice that our arrival coincided with the Italian navy, roughly fifty uniformed sailors walking around the grounds at the same time as us. Many of the structures are quite magnificent and ornate, certainly very different to anything I'd seen before. Like St Paul's in London the palace is still a place of worship for the Thai people and inside the Temple of the Emerald Buddha prayers continued as normal despite the constant stream of visitors at the back of the room. Another popular tourist attraction is the Snake Farm near Lumphini Park. At the Snake Farm there is a chance to learn about treating snake bites plus a live show with many different snakes including a King Cobra, Vipers, Kraits, and a docile Burmese Python which can be handled quite safely. Well worth the small asking fee. Appealing to a significantly different crowd, the Patpong district is nevertheless a frequented part of town. Long known for its sex shows the area is centered on two streets, Patpong 1 and 2, along which are lined all manner of peep shows, pubs, live sex shows, and a market selling the ubiquitous designer clothing etc. The whole scene is very tawdry and entirely unerotic, it amazed me that these places made enough money to stay in business. Thai Boxing (Muay Thai) is a popular sport around much of the world, and unsurprisingly very popular here. There are two main stadiums which hold contests most nights of the week, the one we attended being in Ratchanaburi about fifteen minutes walk from Koh San road. A typical evening consists of around ten fights, the first of which was juniors the night we attended. The stadium was pretty basic and consisted of large concrete steps to sit on, while each tier of seating was separated with metal fencing. Before the fight begins there is a burst of distinctive Thai music and the fighters perform a ritualistic dance to bring them good luck - they also wear a good luck band on their arms. The actual fighting is pretty brutal but good to watch, but almost more amusing is the audience. Betting is a large part of the experience, with people taking sides after the first round and cheering their respective fighter whenever he gets a hit. The guys taking the bets have sign language to speed up the process - the result reminded me of the stockmarket floor with a boxing ring in the middle.
