The Shock of Bangkok

Arriving in Bangkok at 6am, Benami and I were in awe from the moment we stepped out of the airport and took a cab into the city until we went to sleep that night. We were out of the 3rd world country that is India, and the skyscrapers, shopping malls, proper roads and highways, and 7/11s were familiar and comforting to be around. My first meal in Thailand was a Whopper at Burger King, the first time I had eaten beef since I left Israel in April. I know some people may hate on fast food, but I was in heaven.

We spent our first day being mallrats, starting in the MBK mall, which has everything you could possibly need, at prices you can't afford to pass up. Every floor of the mall is divided based on what they sell. 1 floor for clothes, 1 for bags, 1 for souvenirs, etc. And every shop, side-by-side, is selling the same items as their neighboring shops. The entire 4th floor is packed with hundred of small vendors, back-to-back, all selling the same exact stuff, item-for-item. Ipods & cellphones (and their knockoff counterparts), and all kinds of other electronic gizmos and gadgets. And with the combination of wear and tear on the clothes I had, and the undisclosed weight I had lost in India, I needed to buy some new threads (counterfeit Diesel jeans anybody?). The Siam mall, while physically located just across the street, is miles away from the MBK. It is the swankiest mall I've ever been to, with every designer store and gourmet restaurant you could think of, all at prices roughly around my 4-month India budget. Needless to say, I didn't buy much there.

In the evening, we went out on the infamous Khao San Road. The closest place I could compare it to would be Bourbon St. in New Orleans. Bar after bar with tables and chairs spilling out onto the sidewalks, beer tents, countless food vendors and stores, and hundreds of people walking up and down the street. I was back in my element, after 4 months in India where I could probably count on my fingers and toes how many beers I drank during that entire period. But Bangkok was just a taste, and I grew excited for what was to come on the islands.

Our last day in Bangkok, we took a tour that began in the floating market (interesting, but they essentially sell the same crap you see everywhere in Thailand), then visited the River Kwai bridge (historically interesting, visually unappealing), and finishing at the Tiger Temple where we got to pet half-sleeping tigers who are cared after by monks, for a nominal fee. The next morning we flew to Koh Samui, and from there took a ferry to Koh Phangan.