Bangkok and the Khao San Road

“The only downer is everyone’s got the same idea, we all travel thousands of miles just to watch TV and check into somewhere with all the comforts of home. And you you’ve got to ask yourself, what’s the point.” (Alex Garland, The Beach)
That’s the Khao San Road. We got into Bangkok early morning after an over night flight from Johannesburg. Bit spaced out from lack of sleep and jetlag. Between Jo’burg and Bangkok, someone stole my leatherman multitool thing and my new beard trimmer my Mum gave me for Christmas. I’m walking about looking like teenwolf at the moment.

Bangkok is busy, hot and humid. It’s overwhelming. Too much to take in - the smells from the road side food stalls, the noise from the traffic, the colours of the silks and fake designer gear on show. I like it here, sitting on the kerbside having our 15 baht noodles for dinner, drinking a White Russian at the roadside Volks bar (a converted VW camper that is driven up at night and turns into an impromptu cocktail bar). Everything moves at a hundred miles an hour, everything and everyone feeding off everything else. The dude on the street takes you to the boat trip guy, he gets his cut. The boat trip guy takes you to the women with the little boat selling beers on the river, he gets his cut, she gets the custom. Its costs you to get off the boat. It’s a chaotic place that seems to function well, everyone doing their bit to get their cut. Like business at home no? Everyone does everyone favours, at the right price of course.

Everything is dirt cheap, but the problem is that you buy lots of every thing. DVDs, Diesel jeans, Ralph Lauren shirts, Stussy t-shirts, Rolex watches, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Celtic, Man United shirts, you can buy it all.