Hello, again.
Last time I wrote, I was in Singapore. On Friday, I left Singapore and flew to Bangkok--the anti-Singapore. In transit to Bangkok, I had stopped in Auckland, New Zealand for a 4 hour layover. I used the opportunity to make some phone calls, since it is dirt cheap to call from New Zealand to the US.
Once I settled into the hotel in Bangkok, I took a walk around the block--no easy feat. The sidewalks were basically one long shop because of all of the stalls lining them.
I met my friend Siam (yes, that's really his name) for dinner. This was the first time we had actually met in person. After dinner, we walked around one of the central night spots in Bangkok along Silam road. We walked around a bit (even through the alleyway notorious for its strip joints) and settled in one of the outdoor bar areas for a couple of drinks.
On Saturday, Siam--a Bangkok native--gave me the tour. We took a boat down the river, got soaked and painted with mud in the Thai New Year festivities, visited a few Buddist temples, and then took a canal bus back towards the hotel.
The river boat system in Bangkok is very interesting. It works just like a bus system--you hop on wherever there is a stop, pay your fare, and hop off at your destination. A little guy with a whistle uses a code to tell the driver to stop, pull closer, take off, etc. The road traffic in Bangkok is insane, and the river traffic is not far behind. I've never seen a ferry boat make a U-turn so fast that it went sideways.
Because it was a holiday Saturday (the whole weekend and the next two days were off for celebration of the Thai New Year) the canal bus did not have full service. As such, instead of the regular boat, we road in a long-tail boat, which was really cool. These boats are about 4 feet wide and about 20-25 feet long. The "long tail" is the propellor drive shaft that extends from the back of the boat. On one end of this shaft, and on the other end is the engine (which is not attached to the body of the boat itself.) This motor is the size of a small car engine. As you might imagine, a boat that sleek with an engine that big really moves (and makes a lot of noise.) The canal was filthy, and the buildings along side looked like they were held together with prayers, but it was a fun ride.
After dinner, we went back to the clubby part of town where we were the night before and got drenched some more by the New Years celebrants. (Of course, we were throwing gallons of water ourselves.) Everyone was dancing in the alleyway, so we joined in for a while. Then we met one of Siam's friends at the karaoke bar in the alley. I sang my first karaoke song--and it was awful. The song selection was about 15 years old and there was nothing I could sing. I ended up singing "Mrs. Robinson" and "A Whole New World"--that's how bad the selection was. Since I was in danger of turning into a popsicle due to the combination of air conditioning and wet clothes, we went back to dance in the alley. Sadly, everything closes at 2:00 in Bangkok just like everywhere else.
I had wrapped all of my valuables in plastic before going out, but my PDA got wet anyway and refused to work for a day.
All in all, a really fun day. Bangkok is probably my favorite place on this trip so far.
On Sunday, I headed to Bombay (Mumbai), India. Naturally, I was the last person to get through immigration. Satyajit (a friend in the Bay Area) had his dad pick me up at the airport and go with me to my hotel. I thought the traffic in Bangkok was bad, the traffic in Mumbai is just mahem. We had a nice chat on the way, and I was very pleased with the hotel. For less than a Motel 6 on the interstate in the US, I get a huge room with a balcony that looks out onto the harbor, a block from a big shopping district and the main ferry terminal.
On Monday, I got my first taste of India, walking around the area near the hotel. I expected to be accosted by touts, shopkeepers, and beggars at every step, but that didn't happen--only a few people came up to me and most of them just required a "no" to get rid of them.
I ended up wandering into the Coloba street market. The ox carts were blocked because of the people dancing and playing drums in the street. (Some festival--some official's birthday I think.)
Later in the evening, I met my friend Nilesh and we went over to his friend's place near Chowpatty beach. This friend, Nikhil, is an up and coming artist, quite popular in London, and getting a lot of acclaim (and money) in recent years.
Today I've just been hanging around with various friends and driving around Mumbai.
Five countries in five days. Not too shabby. :)
Later,
Sid
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