Same Same but Different

It's all true, the stories you hear about Bangkok, the way they portray it in Hangover II, it all exists. Nothing that I will go into detail about but yes the lady boys, the ping pong shows, Khoasan Road, the strange bars, the night markets, the floating markets...the bad and the good all jumbled together. I don't even want to know what goes on behind the closed doors on some of these streets. Three days in Bangkok was just enough time for Moe and I to get a sense of the city. In fact, we got a sense of it right when we got off the bus. We had no idea where our hostel was located so we decided to catch a taxi there. Of course we knew that the possibility of getting ripped off was high if we did this, but considering we were both rookies of Bangkok, any help was worth it. We jumped in, he drove us around the block in a circle then took a quick right after passing the bus stop we just arrived to. Yup, just like we called it, our hostel was only down the street and around the corner...we got ripped off. Nothing we could do but laugh about it...besides, what's 100 Baht split between 2 people (roughly $1.55/per). Luckily, a friend of ours had recommended this place and reviews described it to have the best location (away from the madness) and the cleanest accommodation (highly important) in Bangkok. From my understanding, affordable, prime location and cleanliness are three things that are hard to come by in Bangkok. Hot and dirty during the day, hot and dirty during the night. Most of our time was spent on Khoasan Road...this small street is located in the center of Bangkok and is internationally known as the "backpackers ghetto." Everything that a backpacker needs is on this street. Accommodation, cheap food, Thai massages, souvenirs, pharmacies, bars, they make it so you feel like you never have to leave. Our place was about a 5 minute walk from here so naturally, we did like the masses did and explored this street on a daily basis.

For both Moe and I, Thailand was the last country before we headed into Europe. So we decided to take advantage of the cheap prices and stock up on souvenirs for ourselves and our family/friends. There is nothing more fun than trying to bargain with the merchants but for some reason...it always feels like you are the one that loses. It doesn't matter if you have been down the street once or a million times, you hear the same guys calling out to you..."special price for you my friend!"..."cheap, cheap!"..."custom suits for you my man!"..."dvds/cds!" The list goes on and on but the most famous Thai saying, the one printed on all the tank tops, SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT. If you see someone with that on their shirt, you know they've been to Thailand. You could easily make a book with all the sayings you hear.

A few dresses later, some cookware for the Mother, a tank for a friend, a couple bugs to snack on and the souvenir mission was done. Now to try and fit it all into my suitcase was another issue but I would make it work somehow. No matter what, I was done with Asia and ready for civilization! France was calling my name!