Back in Bangkok

My last couple days in South East Asia were spent in Bangkok around Khao San Road. The time was mostly uneventful and was haunted by some bad news from home.

The bus from Siem Reap to the border crossing town of Poi Pet left at 8am. The road from Siem Reap is notorious among travelers as the worst road in SE Asia. From my experience to call it a road is being too generous. It's more like a two lane dirt track with enormous pot holes chewed into it from rain and truck tires.

It was about a five hour drive where all the normal bus activities were impossible. I couldn't read my book because the bus bounced around too much to hold the page still; I couldn't listen to my CD player because it kept skipping; it was nearly impossible to sleep, although I did my best. All I could do was bounce. Bounce. Two times... bounce bounce.

Crossing back into Thailand was easy and uninteresting. It was just a lot of fellow travelers from about two or three others buses trying to cross at the same time, so things moved very slow.

After crossing the border, everyone had to wait because the buses got changed into something a little more luxurious. Waiting outside a small sandwich shop it started to rain very heavily and I started talking to a fellow American named Gaylan from Austin, Texas.

Gaylan lived in Bangkok for a semester during his university years. After graduating he moved to China for eight months, and now he's preparing to go to South Africa with the American Peace Corps to help with the AIDS crisis. Pretty interesting young guy.

We both got on the same bus and discussed the Peace Corps, books, and a few places around Bangkok as we cruised down the tarmac relishing the comfort for the last four hours of the drive.

The bus dropped us off on Khao San Road about 10pm. Gaylan went to stay with some local friends of his, so I walked back down the Bangkok circus to find a hotel.


Bar in the middle of Khao San Road

It wasn't as interesting seeing Bangkok again after traveling for two months. Maybe my skin was thicker the second time around, maybe my hair and goatee were too long and wooly, or maybe I'd learned not to look anyone in the eye. For whatever reason, nobody approached me as I walked down the street to the Marco Polo Hostel, the first place I stayed when I arrived in SE Asia.

Anyway, I got cleaned up, went out on the road for a quick bite to eat, and then tried to go to a nightclub for some fun. As soon as I walked in the door and heard the loud music and saw everyone dancing, I pulled a U-turn and walked right back to guest house. Just too tired to handle all that.

The next morning I got a sudden rude awakening when I checked my email for the first time in a few days. My brother sent me an email to inform me that my Uncle Ned (the man who taught me how to play poker, drive a car, shoot a BB gun, and ride a motorcycle) had undergone an emergency operation to remove a plum sized tumor from his brain.

The operation was successful, but doctors found another tumor that is inoperable.

I think I wondered around Khao San Road in the rain for the next few hours completely dazed and confused. Hoping and praying it was just a bad dream because there was nothing I could physically about the situation.

Eventually, I wondered into a restaurant for lunch. As I was eating a bland vegetable sandwich on stale bread, a Scotsman sat down next to me and started a conversation. I asked him if he knew of any cinemas in the area because I wanted to get out of the rain and needed some kind of easy escape.

He was also interested in the movie idea and suggested we catch a cab to Siam Square, an area with two super sized shopping malls. There were two theaters and we picked the EGV.

It was the poshest movie theater I've ever been in. Ned would've loved it. The tickets cost 500 baht ( about $10), which by Thai standards is very expensive, but it was totally worth it.

It was like walking into the Ritz Carlton. The small lobby was covered in huge black and white portraits of famous elite movie stars, and we were immediately greeted by an usher wearing a tuxedo. He sat us down in red leather chairs and brought a complimentary drink from a fully stocked bar.

After finishing our drinks, the usher informed us the theater was now open, and he escorted us to our seats, two fully adjustable lazy-boys with pillows, blankets, and even a pair of white socks.


EGV Cinema

We kicked back, put our popcorn and cokes on the table next to us, and got settled in for the movie. Just as I was at my most comfortable and the movie (The Village) was about to start, the Thai National Anthem was played and I had to stand up and watch a short propaganda preview about the Thai King. Very strange.

The movie finished and we caught a cab back to Khao San Road for a bite to eat. The Scotsman, whose name I never got, eventually walked back to his hotel, so I continued on to a nightclub by myself.

In the nightclub I bumped into an Israeli guy named Omar I'd met in Siem Reap. He was one of the happiest guys I've ever met.

I followed Omar to another pub where we could play free pool and met a few of his friends from Australia and three crazy Germans. As we were waiting for our turn on the table, the pub closed down and kicked us out.

Omar had made good friends with the DJ of the pub, so we all got invited back to the DJ's flat for a late night party.

In the flat there was a full drum kit, two percussion sets, a few tambourines, and a turntable.

Everyone began beating on the drums as one of the Germans with a skint head began DJing some techno music he'd made and railing on me about George Bush.

Eventually the party died down and we all caught cabs back to Khao San Road for some sleep.

The next day I had a lot of time to kill before going to the airport, so I walked around shopping for last minute gifts, t-shirts, a few pirated PS2 games, and got a one hour massage. A nice way to end a long travel before getting on a plane and heading back to Japan.

Heiwa here I come. Peace Town beckons.