January 30, 2008
It's been three days since I've returned from my vacation in Thailand. What took me so long to blog about this? Sadly, I lost the cell phone cable, which I used to transfer my picture files from my cell phone to my desktop. It is a hassle to be borrowing my girlfriend's cell phone cable to do the job instead. But well, I got the pictures, and honestly, there wasn't so much to marvel at over there.
If I could give a comment about my trip to Bangkok last week, it would be this: A mixture of enjoyment and pity. Thailand, in my opinion, is a poor country. It is no different from Vietnam, or any other third world country. The reason of it being labelled "developing nation" perhaps is just a simple euphemism. And when I was there, I had some second thought that perhaps, "third world" is really an extreme understatement. Call me a critic, and say that I was only exaggerating, but as if such things aren't enough to spoil my mood, the people there just freaks me out.
OverallI arrived at the airport last Friday and was greeted by young attractive ladies and some men looking for some tourists to be their passengers for the night. It is a "land of smiles" and that I agree - in the context of being guided safely to our hotel in a coach (phew) - for me and my family that is. I was too tired after the flight and all I thought was just to get to the hotel as soon as possible, of course, not forgetting supper before bed. I was told that the hotel we would be staying was called the "Twin Tower Hotel". I thought it must have been very impressive, but when I got there, I don't see two twin towers, but I saw a short several stories high piece of flat with some run down roads leading to the entrance. Then I suddenly remembered what the tour guide in the bus told us along the way... "It is a four star hotel". FOUR STAR??? Great... In Singapore, this standard is equivalent to a three star hotel... maybe just two.
The rooms were spacious, and so were the corridors, but there wasn't much to see anyway.. the hotel was pretty small in size compared to, for instance, Hyatt. But I'll not forget what greeted me at the hotel entrance. It was a giant Buddhist-like structure and of course, the pictures of the King and the Queen. Wow... I never had such privilege to be greeted by the pictures of Singapore's president and first-lady in a hotel unless I ended up being dragged into the police station. I was thinking, "Man, I just arrived from a democratic-disguised autocratic country to an outspoken autocratic-yet-not-so-autocratic country, and that the only difference is perhaps the prime minister cannot be found." But I like their smiles and I really wish Singaporeans do give that kind of smile, which looks genuine and friendly.
However, that kind of friendly treatment could only be received in the hotel, the zone of comfort. As we sail away from the shallows and into the deeper parts of Bangkok, things are more different. The streets are famous for their traffic jams, disorganised traffic movements, and confusing road signs which is all in Thai. The people on the streets were struggling everyday to make a living for themselves, and that include the taxi drivers, who cheated us twice by driving us all around to nowhere and pretending not to know English. How the fuck do you not know English and be a taxi driver in a nation's capital? Don't they know that tourists exist? Don't they realise that providing good impression and treatments to tourists is vital to their nation's economy?
Certainly, I don't think they have a single clue. Because the books they read are nothing but books talking about their monarchs and their royal lifestyles. There were no bookstores in shopping malls or on the streets (I've actually checked to see if there were any books to shop around for). Everywhere, I see pictures of the king as if he is some kind of a divine god. This makes me wonder if I've made a wrong trip to North Korea instead. I don't see my prime minister's photo everywhere unless it's election day, such that people would get to remember how the fuck he look like. Other than that, I don't think it is a good idea to let people marvel at how handsome a politician you are unless you are Hercules.
Besides, it was not as clean as Singapore, not as prosperous as Singapore, and the people are not as knowledgeable as we are (or as I am). But then again, it is a good shopping ground for most female shoppers (I've literally shopped and surveyed the entire mall) as there were more female stuffs than male stuffs. How encouraging this is! So girls, get your purse ready and shop there whenever you have the chance to be there. At the same time, perhaps some of you could marvel at the awesome beauty of some transvestites or she-males and get some improvements.. they're perhaps a great role model to follow. Most probably, they are the people who also brought the male population down (or even confused it) in Thailand, which explains why I returned home with nothing except a belt.
FoodFood was great! I mean, only for the room service, the hotel's nearby restaurants, and the grand restaurant which we dined in during the company dinner. Those were the times I ate to my fill. Another dish sold in shopping malls, such as the Mango Sticky Rice is very delicious. Anything other than these mentioned were the cream of the craps. It is obvious enough once you've taken an all-day tour around the markets and the bazaars. You will definitely see it for yourselves. If you are daring enough to eat those, I'd say you are one hell of a hero (and 'hero' has some hidden semantics yet to be deciphered).
The Good and Delicious
On the left, was my first meal in Bangkok, which was Kakuni Rice from a Japanese Restaurant beside my hotel. On the right, was the Lamb Chop I had for room service at night.The Bad and Dangerous
This is where sausages are sold in the market. At first I thought they were not cooked, but as I walked closer, they were cooked and left in the open for mosquitoes and flies to be fed... as well as humans who also have their fair share of consumption.The Ugly and Inedible
Okay, this is the worst of the worse. Fruits lying in the open attracting bacteria and human stomachs.OpinionsSometimes I really wonder if these people ever know what hygiene is like, or civilisation is like, or even education is like. It is true that they have the capability of adapting in such an environment while tourists shudder at the sight of such unhygienic ways of food preparation on the streets. Surely, such culture does not exist elsewhere except places like this. And the moment when I thought of religion, I was enlightened by a Nirvanish sensation of peeing, and I thought, "YES! This is it! Buddhism is part of the cause for such poverty because of its teachings and the people who merely follow such nihilistic and poverty-minded philosophy." Buddhism teaches people to be content with what they have, and if nothing is spoiled, it is best not to mend it. Again, religion hinders progress and all-round excellence. In America, I find bibles in every hotel room. But, in Thailand, I find the teaching of Buddha instead. What will I get if I'm in India? Gandhi? Shouldn't they just practice contraception by offering every room a set of condoms such that we do not have unnecessary births that add burdens to the society in future if ever these accidental newborns weren't educated and disciplined properly by their current parents? This is a huge problem.
Moreover, I felt disgusted and critical, and even more xenophobic when my family met taxi-drivers who took advantage of us by driving us all around town aimlessly, and pretending not to know English. From then on, I got a very bad impression of the Thais, the city, and the entire place of hell on earth. Bangkok has got to be the worst city I've been to in my entire life. If I were to store some dead corpses when the cemetery runs out of space, Thailand would be the right location to build a fortified morgue, not forgetting a little bit of air pollution here and there from third hand diesel-filled vehicles driven by uneducated comedians.
Just take a look at the life there and compare it with what we have got in Singapore, and you'll know how fortunate we are to have a money-worshipping government who can't stand disorganisation - The roads here are safer and more organised, the motorists were effectively taxed to organise the road into more organised traffic jams, the food here appears to be served beautifully only on pictures in organised foodcourts until you begin to see a tiny wet piece of tissue paper on newly washed utensils, and the only city that doesn't sleep is 7-eleven. How nice... For once, when I arrived in Singapore, I felt secured because if there's one thing I miss, it'll be the love of my girlfriend. I hated Thailand the way I consistently despise Singapore as well. But if I were to compare them both, I think the only similarity is that it is ruled by someone, and that the rest of the story? ...a full load of shit.
Critical? I don't think so. I'm pretty straightforward with what I've got to say. If there's nothing good about something, there is really nothing good about it.
On Sunday, I finally arrived at Terminal 3.
Home Sweet Home! At last!
