We came, we saw, we paid

Stole it from the net

 After two days in what my friend Leah is now calling “The Sudan of Thailand” and a long weekend ahead it was time to get the hell out of there. Funds were running low so islands were out of the question, plus on holiday weekends the prices for island hostels double. I called Leah, who was in a similar position.

“Well, I have a pool, a sauna (not sure why you would need a sauna in Thailand), a TV, a kitchen and a big bed,” she said.

“I’m getting on a bus now.”

Leah lives in Chonburi, which is about an hour southeast of Bangkok. While it was lovely to be in a room that resembled civilization (I spent an hour in the shower) there really wasn’t much to do there so Leah, our friend Mia, and I packed our backpacks and headed to a cheap hostel in Bangkok.

Chao Phraya River (I know, my iPhone camera blows)

Thailand has a well-known fancy bar on the roof of a skyscraper so the ladies and I decided to try it out. When we called to ask the price of the cover charge we were told there is none, but there is a dress code.  

“Half heel or full heel. Skirt or dress, please,” said the lady on the phone. I’m not a fan of the heels but Leah and Mia really wanted to go so we went to Siam for some cheap shopping. My feet aren’t large by most standards but by Thai standards they might as well be Hobbit feet. Every shoe under 150 baht I picked out didn’t come in anything higher than an 8.  I finally crammed into a 40 (I think that’s a 9 ½) and paid the lady 175 baht.

And so I donned my first and last miniskirt I borrowed from Leah and we walked down the street to Sirocco Sky Bar. The drinks were way too expensive, even by Thai standards. 340 baht for a Heineken, which I wouldn't even pay in the states. But the view was incredible. You could see all of Bangkok and the surrounding provinces from atop the 64^th floor. Not as high most skyscrapers in America but one of the highest in Thailand. Like everything in Thailand, there is no logic to the construction of their skyline. It’s as though someone got in a plane and sprinkled little skyscrapers atop of streets and slums and market districts, as opposed to the concentrated areas of towers and skyscrapers we’re use to in the States. The Chao Phraya river winds it’s way through the entire city instead of flowing in one straight line. You can look to your right and see the river while then looking far to the left and seeing it again. There was some lightening in the distance to the North where massive flooding is taking place that was spectacular to see. 

I’ve been too in the throws of culture shock the past two weeks for it to sink in that I’m in another part of the world. But there among the quiet of the sky (if you ignore the bad jazz band playing Frank Sinatra) soaking up the view of my new city it does now feel like I’m living in another country.