Bangkok: First Impressions

I've been in Bangkok for about 5 days now and am starting to get used to it. I didn't really have any culture shock per se, things just bothered me. As everyone says, Bangkok is pretty damn polluted. It's not necessarily carbon pollution (in fact, most taxis and buses run on natural gas), it's particulate matter--there's tons of dust and other stuff in the air that's noticeable. Bangkok doesn't really have the best sidewalks and there's always construction so the amount of particles in the air is sizable.

And then there's the smells. Bangkok is filled with tons and tons and tons of smells--sweet smells, nasty smells, sewage smells, fried meat, seafood, and smells from things you don't think you should ever eat--they all smell. I guess that's one of Bangkok's "charms" because certainly no other city I've been to has this abundance of smells. Along with its numerous smells are Bangkok's incredible amounts of food--street food, restaurants, cafes--you certainly won't go hungry in this city. There's even Mexican food (I had it last night), Italian, Japanese, Korean, and a lot of Middle Eastern food. There's a large middle eastern community that resides in walking distance from my hotel, and it's not uncommon to see women in burqas.

Next there are the sexpats--gross, old (and often fat) white men who walk around with girlfriends who look like their daughters. I went into a go-go bar at about 6pm before the "action" starts, just to see what it was all about. Katie, the outgoing PiA fellow at my post, told me what I saw was "tepid" but a good introduction. Sexpats and their ladyfriends aren't everywhere--they're certainly avoidable in some respect--but let's just say that the hotel I'm currently staying is nearby sexpat central. Enough on this subject. There are also Bangkok's famous ladyboys. I've seen a few; I had one as a waiter. Nothing really to say about them, whatever makes them comfortable.

Lastly, it's become clear to me that I'm not from Thailand--I'm a farang. I'm also an amazon lady here, so I get some stares. Because I'm white, people assume that I have money, lots of it, and they're ready to ask for it (at least I'm not a man, then they'd treat me like a sex tourist and want to sell me sex or "pussy"). Hopefully when I start learning Thai, I'll be able to not seem so Western and get taken advantage of (though I must admit, I put up a pretty good fight). What breaks my heart are the beggars near my hotel, who are either women with small children, or men with mutilated feet, hands, or without eyes. It's so hard to walk past them without feeling guilty.

I must admit that I wanted to cry and go home my first day (and maybe a little on my second). A lot of things, especially the language barrier, tested my patience to the max. However, I'm getting more settled (though I still don't have a home; I'm apartment hunting right now which is absolutely miserable) and the city is starting to grow on me. I've met some really nice people and think I will be just fine (fingers crossed). I start work on Tuesday so that should be good too.

Stay tuned for more soon, hopefully I'll have a new home!