Since I last wrote, I have wrapped up my Asian travels and moved on to Europe. It is very different. In Asia, I'm rich. In Europe, I'm poor. From now on, all of my vacations are going to be in third world countries.
My first stop in Europe was Paris. Paris is indeed as grand and beautiful as all the hype suggests. It is, alas, ridiculously expensive. The weather was beautiful and warm for the first few days, but started to get chillier at the end.
Many of you know Jim. He happened to be in Paris at the same time, along with his friend Eli and our friend Earl from Columbus. Until we met in Paris, I had not seen Jim in well over a year. I also got to see Laurence, who lives in Paris. I met Laurence through Adam (whom many of you know) when they were dating. It had been years since I had seen Laurence, back when she lived in Barcelona.
After Paris, I moved on to Prague. Prague is another beautiful city, and it is much cheaper than Paris (although accomodation tends to be expensive.) In both Paris and Prague, you will find the streets lined with shop windows full of delicious pastries and sweets. I attribute it to Paris's love of fine things and Prague's love of fat. Either way, they're great. The difference is, in Prague, you can actually afford them.
The weather in Prague was a bit chilly, but somehow, I can't picture Prague being warm.
Friday, 9/12/03
Still in Bangkok. Tonight's excursions were decidedly more upscale than my previous forays into Bangkok night life. It started off with drinks at The Diplomat Bar next to the American embassy. The people I was having drinks with included an editor for a fashion magazine, a writer for a travel magazine, and a guy who developes advertisements. (For those in Bangkok, he put together some of the "sharing" ads for Orange.) We were also joined by a guy from the US who works in law enforcement for US customs. (For those in California, he was part of the team that nailed the silicon valley executive for having child pornography on his computer.)
After having our fill of lavish surroundings and overpriced drinks, we moved on to 89--the dance club for the money crowd. (The cover was US$20, but we got in free. It's amazing how many people I know who can get me into clubs for free.) The crowd had a lot of white people. A total poser bar. These people danced as badly as I do. I actually found myself laughing at the corniness of it. Thankfully, our visit there was mercifully brief.
From there, we moved to a more proliteriate bar in the Silom area (where I usually hang out.) Tapas was a small place, but pretty appealing. I was tired and left before closing.
Saturday, 9/23/03
Being my last weekend in town, I wanted to see people one last time. I met several people for drinks that night and some of us moved on for dancing. I started talking to Ray, whom I had not met before, and he told me about an after-hours place. We ended up going together to meet some of his friends. When the after hours place closed, we went to another after hours place until it closed. By this time, the sun was coming up, so we had breakfast and I went home to sleep.
Sunday, 9/14/03
All the previous night, I kept saying that I had had enough to drink--I didn't want to get sick. And all night, I ended uup with another drink in my hand in spite o my objections. So, not surprisingly, a couple of hours after going to bed, I was up with a hangover--my second one ever. I got a migraine and puked, and then felt much better as always happens when I get migraines.
Ray, the person who got me in that state, was required to bring me dinner since I was too sick to go out.
At one point, a friend called and opened the conversation with "Hi, cowboy." He had seen me the night before wearing someone's cowboy hat. (It was Thai sized and way too small.)
My last weekend in Bangkok and I spent a day of it sick in bed.
Monday, 9/15/03
Ray and I ended up hitting the clubs again, but not so hard. I stayed with water all night. When the place closed, Ray stopped to buy some fried grasshoppers from a street vendor. The cart also had roaches, grubs, and some things I couldn't even make out. He munched his grasshoppers as we rode across town in a taxi, and I probably would have tried one had we not been in a taxi--I was afraid of puking in the car. The crunching sounded good, and the spices on the insects had an appealing smell.
Tuesday, 9/16/03
This was my last full day in Bangkok. It was a very fitting end to my stay in that city. It was a day filled with happiness, unhappiness, scandal, shock, confusion, uncertainty, and frustration . I won't bore you with the details, but for all the turmoil, in the end, it felt like a good day.
I met a lot of people today to say goodbye. Between dinner and clubbing, there was a thunderstorm. This was the loudest thunder storm I had seen on this trip. It seemed like a fitting ending to my stay in Bangkok. The symbolism was unmistakable. It was tumultous, really cool, dramatic, and a bit frightening. I stood out on the balcony to watch the storm. Lightning flashed constantly, but most of it was hidden from view by the buildings. The thunder was loud. It felt good.
Wednesday, 9/17/03
Before heading to the airport, I ate at a street stall in the alley right outside of the hotel. It was great. Probably one of the best meals I've had in Bangkok.
I was heading to Paris via Hong Kong. I couldn't see much of Hong Kong when we flew in, but the silouette of the mountain before the glow of the city and the lights of an invisible street snaking up a hillside like a suspended lightening bolt were nonetheless very pleasing.
After a brief stop in the Hong Kong airport, I got on another plane to Paris, slept a little bit, and landed in Paris.
I was on the plane leaving Asia at midnight. Like Cinderalla after the ball, I was transformed. I went from being the rich American visiting Asia to being the poor backpacker slob traveling around Europe. I went from living like a king for next to nothing to living like a pauper while spending a fortune. At least the plane didn't turn into a pumpkin. If anyone finds a glass hiking boot in Bangkok, it's mine.
Thursday, 9/18/03
I landed in Paris in the morning and spent most of the day trying to find a place to sleep. I had not made reservations because I wasn't sure my flight date wouldn't change and I knew I could always stay at a hostel on the outskirts of town as a last resort.
I also got my metro pass, a SIM card for my phone, and a Paris guidebook.
I met Jim and Earl at their hotel just as Earl was getting a cab to head to the airport. A few minutes later and I would have missed him. I ate lunch with Jim and we got caught up on what's been happening in the past year.
I found a hotel by going to the Paris tourism department. The only place available was only available for one night, which meant going through the whole ordeal again tomorrow. I had intended to go out tonight, but after getting to my room, I immediately fell asleep.
Friday, 9/19/03
I went searching for a hostel bed, and after many failures (including one incredible place that is in an old mansion) I found one with vacancies.
I did my lodging swap and met Jim and Eli at their hotel lobby. We chatted and Jim and I went to lunch. Afterwards, Jim, Eli, and I went to the Princess Diana memorial (which Eli just had to see), Montmarte, Moulan Rouge, and then just walking around aimlessly. We ended up walking down a street with the most hilariously ridiculous hookers.
By the end I was tired and went back to my hostel. I had just lay down for a nap when my dorm mate Ricardo (from the Phillipines, living in LA) came in. We introduced ourselves, he invited me to dinner and we walked to Bastille for Chinese food. By the time we got back, I did not have time for a nap before meeting Jim and Eli to go out. I showered and left.
Jim, Eli, and I hit several bars. I was not terribly impressed. The dance bar was particularly disappointing. When we walked in, they were line dancing. 'Nuff said.
I got tired quickly and left just before 2am. I walked home, which took about 20-25 minutes.
Saturday, 9/20/03
It was a leisurely day--I walked over by Jim's hotel and bought a sandwich for lunch. I went over to Notre Dame because my hostel-mate said there was a good bookstore there. I bought the Lonely Planet guide to Prague. After walking a bit, I went back to the hostel.
While sitting at the tables outside the hostel typing my journals, a guy started talking to me, asking a few questions about the hostel. He saw my Sun T-shirt and asked if I worked for Sun. I said yes, he asked where, and I said Menlo Park, California. He was blown away by this--he lived 2 blocks from me. I told him I no longer had a place, and he told me that he rents rooms in his 3 bedroom house, and he has one available. I took his info in case I need it.
Laurence and I met (the first time since Barcelona, several years ago) and walked around chatting. Jim called and we decided to go to his place and go to a cafe. After drinks in the cafe, we walked to dinner. I suggested fondue, so we went and to a place near the Pantheon (a big mausoleum) and had cheese fondue. We walked a bit aftewards and parted ways. Jim flies home tomorrow.
Laurence invited me to stay at her place when I come back. It is far out, near Versaille. I may do that when I get back from Prague.
Sunday, 9/21/03
My only goal for the day was to arrange my trip to Prague.
After a long, scenic search for an internet shop, I found one and used it for a couple of hours. the keyboards had a different layout, which was frustrating.
I wasted a bunch of time looking at discount airfares, but in the end decided on the bus. Unfortunately, the bus for the next day was full.
I wandered around by the Louvre and back to the Marais, then went home and typed up my journals.
Monday, 9/22/03
I spent most of my day on the net trying to plan my Prague trip. Lodging on such short notice was tricky, so I decided to handle it when I got to Prague.
Since my metro pass had expired, I walked everywhere. It was very nice. Paris is wonderful to walk through. Running errands just gives a direction for where to walk. I walked to the bus ticket office and bought my ticket to Prague.
Tuesday, 9/23/03
After checking out of the hostel, I decided to walk south today. I went through Parc de Bercy, which is very large and very nice.
I got tied up in highways and industrial land, but eventually made my way to Bois de Vincennes. This park is not as nice. And I was getting weak with hunger. I did not go all the way to the Chateau de Vincennes because I was too tired and not in the mood. I headed back and found a crepe stand. I had a delicious (although a little too salty) ham and gruyere crepe. This made me feel much better. My somewhat low spirits disipated and I was basking in the charm of Paris--even though it had started to drizzle now, and it was quite chilly.
Eventually, I headed to the bus station, checked in, and got on my bus to Prague. It left at 6pm.
Wednesday, 9/24/03
I actually managed to sleep on the bus, though not well. Crossing into Germany, the border guard didn't like my passport (with its frayed edge and opening around the picture) and took it along with 3 others for further scrutiny. In the end, all was well.
We arrived in Prague around 9am. I checked my luggage at the bus station and started my room search. Things were looking bad. After hours of searching, none of the affordable places had single rooms, and even most of the hostel dorms were full. I happened to pass Extoll Inn--one of the Hostelling International places. The web had said it was booked, but I decided to try anyway. I'm glad I did. I got a great room to myself with a bathroom shared with one other room. The room is immaculate and the cost is less than a dorm bed in the center of town--450 czk (~US$15) with my HI discount. Excellent! OK, so I spent almost my whole day looking for a place. It is in a working class neighborhood about 10 minutes from the metro.
After a nap and a much needed shower, I headed downtown for dinner.
Central Prague at night is wonderful. It feels like walking through a Dickens or Dostoyevski novel. (Fortunately, not a Kafka novel. Kafka is one of Pragues favorite sons.) I ate and used the net. Food is fairly cheap here. I had a big pizza and OJ for about $4. I had eaten a bunch of cookies and pastries earlier. I basically bought them to get change for the metro.
Thursday, 9/25/03
After breakfast, I took the metro to the town center and did a walk recommended in Lonely Planet. It took me through old town square, across the Charles bridge, with all of its statues (and tourists), over to a great, hilly, wooded park around a monestary. This park was very serene and had a great view of the city. Then I walked to Prague castle. I walked around the grounds and through the church, but did not bother with the stuff that required a ticket or guide.
I walked back to old town square, stoppping for lunch on the way.
In the morning, I had decided that it would be foolish of me to not visit more of Europe while I have the time. I feel a pull to go home, but think I should make the most of my time here. Looks like I'm delaying my return yet again--probably for two weeks.
I walked around a bit and saw some great night scenes, including the castle from across the river. I had dinner at a restuarant where the service pissed me off.
Friday, 9/26/03
Today was for errands. I went to the open air market near my hotel for some toiletries. The market is not as chaotic as the ones in Asia. It did have that classic Eastern Europe feel, though.
By the way, Prague is thoroughly modern. The city looks like it belongs to a different century, but it has all the conveniences of the 21st.
I dropped off my laundry, bought a guidebook for my further travels, did some travel planning on the net, and crashed at home. I feel like I should go out, but just don't want to.
I intend to leave Prague on Sunday. I'm planning on spending 3 days in each of the cities I go to from now on, and wind up in Paris for my flight home.
'Til next time.
Sid
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