Arrived in kreung-tehp (the city Americans call Bangkok) at midnight. Met up with my roommates after a taxi ride that flagrantly ripped me off, costing me a total of about nine dollars. Have spent the day with five others who are here already and took a one-hour boat ride to the floating market, tried unsuccessfully to catch a catfish with my bare hands, said hello to a 40-meter Buddha, crammed 6 into a tuk-tuk (a sort of absurdly unsafe taxi that should hold two or three), ate some authentic and spicy food, got a traditional thai massage, am writing to you all now... for a total of less than $20. May go get another massage after dinner. I won't have internet access for two more weeks, as we will leave early tomorrow to start our orientation in the Northeast, and then in the slums of Khon Kaen.
Kreung-tehp is a crowded and dirty and crazy metropolis. My mother taught me to look both ways for traffic; one must multiply that by about seven to have a shot at crossing a street in Bangkok. Solicitations from vendors for all types of things and food and people are not hard to come by for a group of Americans. But to be honest, it is a charming place. People are hard-working and they offer large and penetrating smiles. Today is a holiday in meung-tai (Thailand), so spirit for the love of the great King is at a solstice. And there is never a dull moment. If the people don't catch you by surprise, the roaming dogs and cats might, or the motorcycles, the occasional oversized and obsessively ornate Buddhas, or the Microsoft sign or the plasma screen TV hanging behind the rice merchants playing ping-pong by the river.
It has really paid off to study some Thai this summer. Even if you can always find someone who speaks English, Thais are very warm to an American's efforst to learn their language.
I did manage to order a glass of ice last night, when I really thought I had ordered water. I have encountered a new style of toilets, employing not toilet paper but water. There will surely be more to come that will catch me by suprise, but I feel strangely comfortable and at home in a very new place!
My new friends are really great, and I'm looking forward to the coming weeks!
Sa-wut dee,
Darren
Kreung-tehp is a crowded and dirty and crazy metropolis. My mother taught me to look both ways for traffic; one must multiply that by about seven to have a shot at crossing a street in Bangkok. Solicitations from vendors for all types of things and food and people are not hard to come by for a group of Americans. But to be honest, it is a charming place. People are hard-working and they offer large and penetrating smiles. Today is a holiday in meung-tai (Thailand), so spirit for the love of the great King is at a solstice. And there is never a dull moment. If the people don't catch you by surprise, the roaming dogs and cats might, or the motorcycles, the occasional oversized and obsessively ornate Buddhas, or the Microsoft sign or the plasma screen TV hanging behind the rice merchants playing ping-pong by the river.
It has really paid off to study some Thai this summer. Even if you can always find someone who speaks English, Thais are very warm to an American's efforst to learn their language.
I did manage to order a glass of ice last night, when I really thought I had ordered water. I have encountered a new style of toilets, employing not toilet paper but water. There will surely be more to come that will catch me by suprise, but I feel strangely comfortable and at home in a very new place!
My new friends are really great, and I'm looking forward to the coming weeks!
Sa-wut dee,
Darren
posted by Darren Legge at 12:29 AM
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