The reverse thrust engaged on the large twin as I touched down in Bangkok almost a month ago. Massive thunderstorms flashed in all directions and the aircraft kicked up a storm of water on the flooded runway that made it hard to see outside the tiny windows. It was time for a break and my friends were waiting there for me. I felt tired after my nightshift and I couldn’t sleep during the flight but I knew things were going to get sporty, having some drinks, dinner and plunging head first into the dark underbelly of dirty old Bangkok.
I awoke the next day, walked outside onto the balcony of the rooftop pool, ordered a cold beer and stared out over the city. It was everything I had imagined and I was excited to see more of it, explore with my friends and making memories. Eventually we made our way down to the coastal city of Pattaya, one of the party capitals of Thailand. It was busy, chaotic, debaucherous and at times just plain overwhelming. My friends have been going to Thailand for years so I stole the quiet moments for “touristy” things by myself and then joined them later on for drinks and more festivities. I was astonished by the sheer number of places to eat and bars to visit. Live music of various quality everywhere and the ever present street food scene where some of them outright kicked dust into the faces of the more established restaurants. All that at a fraction of the price. Being from Africa I am no stranger to exotic food and challenging local delicacies and I also know my way around handling daily water challenges in a place where drinking tap water is I’ll advised, so I was lucky not to fall victim to the notorious “Bangkok Belly”.
Your travel companions largely dictate the direction and experiences during a visit and I was blessed with friends who let me do my own thing, suggesting tourist orientated excursions and even accompanying me on some. They allowed me the freedom to explore and never judged me when I couldn’t keep up with the party scene. I met great local musicians, laughed and joked with witty bartenders and went on a solo island trip where I had delicious seafood on the beach. I went for early morning walks and said hello to the folks who were cleaning up the carnage of the night before. Early mornings are my favourite. Soft, fiery skies, quiet streets, fresh coffee.
What have I learnt ? Thailand is a place of contradictions. It is a chaotic fusion of modern and ancient, religion and hedonism, wealth and poverty. It will embrace you with sincerity or it will swallow you whole and spit you out. It can be the most affordable holiday of your life or it could ruin your budget for months to come. As with any place, it’s also what you make of it. Respect is reciprocated, people are helpful, courteous and kind. I appreciated the way everyone treated my belongings and tended to my requests. Many are also extremely poor, desperate and forced into unthinkable, inescapable situations. It reminded me how fortunate I am in so many ways. It made me appreciate South Africa and the continent of my birth. It showed me the dangers that excessive tourism hold for the places we call paradise.
On my last morning I was stuck in a taxi crawling down a congested highway exit below an overpass. Lining this road were hundreds of shacks made from salvaged building materials, rotting wood and rusty corrugated tin sheets. Not much different from the informal settlements back home. Extreme poverty, people with tired faces and skinny, stray dogs scavenging for food in the muddy walkways. The taxi eased forward and through a crack in a makeshift bamboo wall she rolled into focus.
She was standing in the doorway of a rundown shack, long black hair and flawless features. She resembled a graceful statue, completely out of place in this hellish environment. She seemed unfazed as the chaos of the city was raging around her. Like a perfect flower, defiantly pushing through the dirty cracks in the sidewalk, reminding me that real, effortless beauty still exists. We started moving again and she slipped from view forever. The scene remains burnt into my mind. I hope to write about it someday.
JB
