Cleaning out the blog files and I ran across this draft from 2009 that I don't think I ever posted. Delete it or put it out there....and the winner is_______!
We are celebrating our 8th year of living in China and have been back to Thailand many times since this was originally wrote. I still look on this trip as the beginnings of my love of South Asia. Catherine and I are still doing random, truly aimless travels though my husband and I are now avid scuba divers and we spend more time in the ocean than the cities surrounding them.
I have just returned from a short getaway to the magically country of Thailand. August is my birth month and to celebrate my 41st my beloved gave me the gift of a long weekend in Bangkok, he is so good to me.
My travel partner was Catherine which many of you know from my previous adventures. We flew out of Shanghai on a late evening flight arriving in Bangkok around 1am. I highly recommend these late night flights as they are less crowded making customs and crowding much less challenging. Plus the city lights are so pretty and shiny.
My first impression of Thailand was somewhat muted thanks to my flying regiment of a couple of Xanax. (I am not a comfortable flyer.) This fuzzy perception was a bonus since the taxi drivers seem to be in a hurry to get from A to B. China is so congested that traffic rarely gets over 45KMH, whereas the Bangkok drivers seem to think 110 KMH is a nice cruising speed. Yes, it is one of my control issues and I was a bit unsettled. Surviving the ride we arrived at our accommodations. The Sheraton Royal Orchid which sits along the Chao Phraya River. (Very nice and cannot wait to stay there again.)
Chao Phraya is the main water way that weaves through central Bangkok; it is also the best way we found to transverse the city. Many of the Wats (Temples) and markets are just blocks
from a ferry/water taxi docks and rides were cheap, average 18 baht (0.50 USD). Taxis are very clean and very well air conditioned, however, the traffic in inner Bangkok is far too congested if you want to save time use alternative transportation, if you want to cool off at the end of your day back to the hotel and don’t mind being stuck in traffic – GO FOR IT! Bangkok also has a great sky rail system and subway line. We didn’t use the subway but the skyway was fabulous and easy to manage, 120 baht ($3.40) will get you a day pass, single rides can run between 20 to 60 baht, also the maps that are provided at the skyway terminals are wonderful and free.
Catherine (Aussie) has lived in Asia for many years and has been to Bangkok many several times, she was gracious enough to humor me on revisiting some of the sights she had previously seen and played tour guide. Our first day was however, dedicated to the new.
Catherine had been told of a shrine was dedicated to the Goddess Chao Mae TipTum. In Thai the word taptim means pomegranate which evokes fertility. The shrine as built by Nai Lert for the Goddess who lived in the ficus tree. These shrines/spirit houses are all over Bangkok and southern Asia. Typically they
are smaller in structure that people leave offerings to such as food, drink and flowers. TipTum’s spirit house has taken on the offerings of fertility, phallus symbols, thousands of them. Small penis, big penis, wood penis, plastic penis, six foot tall penis it is a veritable forest of penises. What I found most macabre aspect about this penis shrine is that it is located in the back corner of the parking area of a 5 Star hotel. I know that there is several visitors, all the offerings stand testament to the fact but we literally strolled through the staff areas of this resort to gain access to the shrine. I did read that the hotels would remove the shrine as it has to be somewhat embarrassing to a family friendly resort to have this sexually graphic shrine but the bad mojo that would be created by removing would be astronomical. I am willing to bet that the shrine is not a feature on their travel guides.
It seems that anywhere you walk in Bangkok there is a shopping opportunity. As Catherine and I strolled around the area (honestly, we were a little lost) we passed numerous street vendors selling the odds and ends that us tourist seem to be enamored with several of the vendors were deaf and I put the good karma out there and bought a trinket or two. We finally spotted the sign directing us to the restaurant hidden amongst a million
other signs of various sizes and colors. How anyone finds anything here is just mind boggling, at least the signs are in English and Thai unlike the Chinese only signs here in Nanjing. Also the English was in direct relation to the purpose of the store. In China, Happy Shoes is actually a frame shop. Go figure.
Cabbages and Condoms, our chosen restaurant, was developed as a promotion/fund raiser for the PDA, The Population and Community Development Association. The PDA was est
ablished in 1974 as a nongovernmental agency that promotes Family Planning at a grass roots level. Thailand and Cambodia are known for their sex trade industry. Thailand first AIDS case was reported in 1984, there are now over one million AIDS cases in Thailand at its current rate it is predicted that by soon one in every three deaths will be AIDS related. Cabbages and Condoms as a result to the AIDS crisis, money received by patrons goes to promote AIDS awareness and protection. The food was
wonderful and the cause even better. Instead of the after dinner mints each patron receives a condom and as you exit the building there is a bin with condoms for your taking. There is the obligatory gift shop filled with small items for the tourist (yes, I bought the T-shirt) and also local arts and crafts are on display to include several mannequins and flower arrangements done out of, you guessed it condoms. If you ever get to Bangkok, pay it forward.
Pool time, yes, that is right. All this fun is wore me out and it is time to hang out at the pool. I will explain about the heat later. Catherine and I made a point of returning to the hotel each afternoon to cool off at the pool. Nothing is better than afternoon cocktails pool side, followed by clothes change and to the Tower Lounge for snacks and more cocktails. Catherine is in the hotel business and this makes traveling with her somewhat of a challenge. You see, y
ou get treated like beyond VIP, it is something short of being a princess. The staff is more attentive and you get these great perks like free snacks and drinks every evening. I have been very spoiled by Catherine and I appreiciate everything that she does but I will never want to stay at a “regular hotel” again.
To finish out our first day in Bangkok and to keep on the Penis Day Theme, we decided that a trip to the PatPong. PatPong is the red light district of Bangkok. In the 1960’s this area was established by the US GI’s that were on leave from Vietnam. Today it is as they say in Thailand “Same Same”. The beer is still there as are the girls but with the modern twist of the tourist market and this is now the “gay district”. Thailand recently been crowned the
number one location for plastic surgery on the cheap, this includes transsexual surgery. The number of men that are now women is amazing and what is scary is that they look beautiful, like Angeline Jolie looks butch compared to these women/men/women. PatPong still has its sexual deviant element that makes Bourbon Street in New Orleans look like amateur hour. There is a woman and a ping pong ball and my only comment is WTF! No, I did not go there in fact I thought I would have to poke my eyes out after the street promoter tried to invite us in but really WTF. I am not a women’s libber - I don’t do the activist thing, I try to be the supportive - keep my karma or mojo, whatever you want to label it as, on a positive side of the scales. PatPong made me feel dirty, violated and enraged.
My suggestion to anyone that reads this blog – DO NOT go to PatPong. The market is significantly over priced and the side business is disheartening. During the time I was in PatPong I was listening to my inner voice saying this is so wrong, now that I have had time to reflect I am aware that the “se
x trade market” exists due to supply and demand. Most of the establishments are Thai Mafia connected so the girls are not being taken care of and are but a small step away from slavery. What I am going to take from my experience is the awareness that even in today’s big old modern world, there are still pockets of humanity that need saving, I am not a warrior or a liberator but I am a voice and when people ask me about Thailand I will clearly state that PATPONG is to be avoided, shunned, not supported. Remove the demand and the providers will follow.
More to come….Day Two…
