Bangkok arrived like a bit of a supernova in my case! After about 16 hours traveling, with a stopover in Dubai I was a little exhausted.
Hit by the cloying blast of heat that is Bangkok's 30 degree C evening in the cool season I grabbed a neon pink taxi to my friend Richard's place in the funky neighbourhood of Sukomhvit where I am staying for the week.
The rooftop pool at Richard's apartment which I made good use of
I will get a picture of one of the taxi's before I leave - pinks, orange, yellow - its public transport on acid! Even the driver of my motorbike taxi was wearing a bright pink jacket. They will zip in and out of traffic and scare the bejesus out of you - but dammit they will look snazzy while doing so!
Anyway - so Rich (a colleague living here) dragged me off to a party with a bunch of foreign correspondents thrown by the local BBC guy. It was an absolute blast. I was quite intrigued when they whipped out some fireworks, setting awesome lanterns adrift into the night sky. One caught in a tree which we were all scared would catch alight - but luckily this is humid Bangkok so it sputtered out after a few minutes.
I, being the brightspark I am, politely whispered to a nearby person "Is this common in Thailand, having fireworks at a soiree" and was promptly informed that it was in fact Guy Fawkes day! *blush*
Luckily for me I had jet lag as an excuse for forgetting the date. And everyone was duly impressed that we were among the last to leave at 330am.
Needless to say sightseeing was a little slow in kicking off as I only woke up at 1330pm the next day! So took it slowly, had the requisite argument with taxi drivers refusing to put on their meters and wanting to make "two stops" (at shops from whom they earn commission). These guys couldn't be bothered and just let me get out. In Morocco they would eventually give in, happy just to have business. This is how I got annoyed and ended up on the bright pink motorbike for a heart-stopping ride (although very effective in the traffic-clogged city)to go and wander around Wat Pho temple - a 16th century marvel and the country's biggest temple.
Scenes from Wat Pho
This is the famous massive reclining Buddha at the temple.
After this I took a tuk-tuk (three-wheeled, noisy, but fun) to the river which runs through Bangkok where I jumped on the ferry for a cheap tour of the Mae Nam Chao Phraya - River of Kings. It is a reminder that many Thai's are river people, with the looming buildings of the city and ancient temples dotted along the riverbanks an interesting contrast. There are tourist boats around but a 20 Baht (five Rand) ferry was good enough for me. You see the same stuff pier to pier anyhow!
Scenes from the River of Kings
I don't usually frequent shopping malls as a pleasure activity but needed to get a spare key cut so headed to the massive Siam Centre on the Skytrain which flies you over sections of the city. It seems young Thai's -- very funky, fashionable and tech-savvy with their stylish outfits and cellphones glued to their ears -- spend most of their time in the ubiquitous Mall. Yes they do sound like most teenagers but I was intrigued by the Asian mall-rat culture too. I was also blown away by the stores, every brand you can imagine, more than we have in South Africa to be certain! I also came across this:
No self-respecting woman could resist that! So I gave in and bought a pair of shoes!! I had to get out before I spent my small budget and would be forced to eat plain rice noodles for the next six weeks.
I love the energy in the city, it is a lot bigger and more developed than I had imagined. I got the chance to get a beautiful night view of the city from the swish Long Table restaurant, a dark cool interior with shiny floors and a stunning pool at the bar.
One Night in Bangkok: A Play with four acts
So this was the group who met for dinner, a friend of Richard's and some of his work colleagues. This is the part before things started getting out of hand!
Views of the city from Long Table
Delicious cocktails, thai food and at some point tequila, and some-one mentioned the words Ping Pong shows - referring to some of the acts to be found in Bangkok's notorious redlight district. I was of course very keen to go check it out (It is popular among tourists, or dodgy perverts masquerading as tourists). I should say first that sex tourism is mostly quite sad, with huge fat/old/white westerners accompanied by young girls (or boys) easily spotted. It is open, it is accepted and it is everywhere. Someone was telling me that the child sex trade is not clothed in secrecy like one would expect in most countries.
Anyway, we had to see what all the fuss was about so off we went! Everywhere you walk pamphlets are being shoved in your face offering the variety of things women have accomplished with their vajayjays... shooting ping pongs, smoking, shooting darts (we heard a rumour that someone had once come across a bird flying from some ladies nether regions but a rumour it remains for now)
A line up of rather unattractive women at Super Pussy provided the entertainment we had expected, the drinks cost a fortune and we were swamped by women offering a whole raft of other services. It was definitely something you have to experience, but I don't think I will be going back anytime soon.
Fran and Dan post ping-pong - shellshocked??
Our Haunt 
Me, my wonderful host Richard and Ping-pong compadre Daniel
Hereafter we headed to a gay bar around the corner, which also turned out to be a kareoke bar... of course this excited me quite a bit at this point in the evening, and out came my inner rock star!!
The impassioned Thai singers were also quite entertaining!
Jonno and I - the duet
It was epic - from this there was a final bit involving late night swimming and getting to bed around 6am! Welcome to Bangkok Fran!
And of course the best way to cure a hell of a hangover.... (tip.... it is hot here, mixing drinks and not drinking water = dehydration and the worst headache ever)
......... Street Food!!
Ouch!!!
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