"A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world."

I arrived safely in Bangkok and made it Grant's apartment with no difficulty. After some catching up, we went out for drinks at the Happy Beer Garden, a great tourist bar. It's a pretty typical looking Thai bar--bright lights, loud music, cheap drinks, a great open-air table area, and European tourists all over the place. The Happy Beer Garden is managed by their friend (and now my friend) Bee, one of the most fun, outgoing people I've met in awhile. You can clearly tell that she loves her job. The best part of all is that we get all kinds of free stuff. My first night, she brought us all kinds of food (roasted nuts, fresh fruit, and some other things that I could not quite identify). Last night, I bought 3 beers, and she ended up returning later with Thai Saki to drink with us. I really enjoy hanging out there because there seems to be no risk of getting taken advantage of or hustled, which is always a danger here.

The apartment (and the Happy Beer Garden) are both within walking distance of Patpong. For those of you who have been to Patpong, it really needs no explanation. If you have heard some of my stories from Semester at Sea, you might recognize the name. Suffice it to say that Patpong is a touristy bar district of the red light persuasion. There are a great number of "normal" bars there, so we had a good time. But it's hard to go more than a few minutes without having a "lady-boy" approach with come-ons. It's about the most ridiculous scene that I can imagine. As soon as we sat down at the bar, the reality of the whole situation started to sink it. I suddenly realized that my trip truly had begun, and that I would not be returning home for quite sometime. It was an exciting realization. As I said in my first post, there is something that I love so much about being surrounded by foreign people in completely alien settings. One can say a lot of negative things about Patpong (certainly I would), but it is definitely an alien setting. It has a crazy attitude about it. It feels as though anything goes--because most things apparently do. Needless to say, it's easy to get into trouble there, so I kept my guard up throughout. I cannot say the same for many of the travelers in that district.

That's one interesting thing about Bangkok. Because there are so many tourists here, certain neighborhoods cater directly to them. Some, like Patpong, are based solely around disreputable businesses. Others, like Khao San, are based more around bar culture (though it has it's share of illicit practices also). Obviously, these places are blast to visit. There are cheap drinks and absurd things to experience. However, it's definitely a shame that so many people never really leave those areas. The first time I was in Bangkok, we tried to go off and do interesting cultural things. Furtheremore, we did all the touristy things like visit the Grand Palace and do river cruises, etc etc. This trip, I will do that again. It's nice that Grant's apartment is in "real" Thailand. It's a business district of sorts. It's not as exciting as places like Patpong of Khao San, but it definitely feels a bit more authentic. The truth about Bangkok is that it's just a huge city like any other--skyscrapers and El trains. It has a whole lot of cool things that you can't find anwhere else, but, in some completely backward way, it's nice to live down the street from a Pizza Hut and near chic shopping areas. I am as critical as anyone of the homogenization of culture across the globe. Regardless of my opinion, though, that's the reality of the 21st century, cyber-connected, globalized world. So, in a certain sense, it's nice to get that "authentic" Thai experience, as mundane and generic as they might seem compared to the faux-authenticities of tourist districts.

In truth, though, I'm not even close to being above tourists districts. We went to Khao San last night, and I had Semester at Sea flashbacks at every turn. Khao San is an unbelievable place, and I cannot even think of words to explain it. If you haven't ever seen pictures (or seen the movie The Beach), you should look it up. It's a really crazy place with hostels and street vendors and knock-off clothing and bars and ex-pats. Every night ushers in another crazy party with crowds of tourists who come and go constantly. So, when I rant about homogenaity and tourist traps, take it with several grains of salt. I love frequenting those places as much as the next guy.

Last night, before we went to Happy Beer Garden and (later) Khao San, Grant's friend Ging invited us four to a dinner boat on the river. It was a beautiful scene. We got to meet all of Ging's friends, and they all came out with us later. The boat was beautiful, and the food was extremely inexpensive and delicious. Here's the boat, as seen from our long table of about 13 people:



In addition to Ging and her Thai friends, we met Trisha and Allan, an older couple (probably in their 60s or 70s) from England. They have been to Bangkok 13 times, and they are about the most adventuresome older couple I've ever met. When it came time to go to the Happy Beer Garden, they came along, too. Not only did they keep up with the drinking habits of a group of 22-year olds, they were interesting and friendly the whole night through. As I've said in the past, one of my favorite aspects as a traveler is meeting other foreign travelers and having great conversations with them. I had another such connection with this random Finnish guy last night at the bar. There's a certain camaraderie among travelers. I will probably never see that guy again, and I doubt that I'll run into Trisha and Allan ever again, but it was a fun night while it lasted. And that's really all it's expected to be. It's a pretty cool scene, though: 4 Americans, 1 Finnish guy, 2 elderly English people, and around 8 Thais, all brought together by no other reason than to have a good time and meet other interesting people. I didn't get any photos of them, but here is one of we four with three of their better Thai friends:



At the Happy Beer Garden. Back (left to right): Mike, me, and Grant. Front (left to right): Josh, Ging (the woman who took us to the boat dinner), Bee (the manager of Happy Beer Garden), and Pi Mai (a good friend of Ging's)

Perhaps the most fun person I have met so far is Leanna, Ging's adorable 3-year-old daughter. We met at the boat dinner, and she has personality like I have never seen on a young kid like that. All 4 of us Americans could not stop talking to her and playing with her. She really is hilarious. When we all went to the bars, Ging surprised us all by bringing Leanna along with us, where she proceeded to stay out until around 1 o'clock (which is aparently relatively common here). What's more, she enjoys drinking beer. Don't call child services--she wan't drinking a lot, and she wasn't drunk. BUT, she loves making toasts and clicking glasses when Americans yell "Cheers!" Honestly, it was one of the most adorable things I have ever seen in my entire life. Needless to say, I needed a photo:

Me and Leanna toasting. She's sitting on the lap of one of Ging's good friends, whose name I did not catch.

I had a blast hanging out with her and everyone else. There are plenty more cute pictures of her on my camera.

Well, that's about all for now. We're having a lazy day because Grant has some schoolwork to do. I'm not sure when the next update will come, but just know that I'm having a great time and am keeping safe. By the way, if you happen to look up Patpong, rest assured that none of us partook in the shadier facets of that district. Probably best for everyone involved. I miss you all, and I look forward to hearing from you.

"Be well, do good work, and keep in touch."

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