I visited Bangkok, Thailand, in August and September of 2000. It is always a challenge to experience new cultures, what with language, currency and food differences.  Thailand, unlike most Asian countries, welcomes American citizens with open arms.  The national language is Thai but English is spoken in most tourist areas.  The currency is the Thai Baht and was exchanged at a rate of 44B to the U.S. dollar.

Thailand, meaning "Free Land", is a wonderfully diverse country.  It has never in its history been ruled by a foreign country.  Formerly known as Siam, it is a nation that has linked itself to the information superhighway and yet prides itself on its traditions and religious beliefs.

I attempted to maintain a low pocketbook theme to this vacation.  And it is easy to do so in Thailand.  I stayed in an area that is popular with students and young travelers called Banglampu (there are many ways to spell the names of regions when translated from Asian tongue to Anglo).  Khaosan Road is a robust street in the heart of Banglampu that has many inexpensive restaurants (Thai, Indian, Israeli, Italian and Japanese), jewelry and leather stores, internet cafés, bars and legitimate massage businesses.

Khaosan Road has a bustling eatery and street vendor life that starts at 8:00 a.m. and continues well past 2:00 a.m.  Diners up and down the street lure passersby in by displaying a current list of current movies that will be showing on their big screen TVs.  While still in initial release in the States, I was able to watch Gladiator, Inside John Malkovich and other movies.  Purchases can be made of artifacts from all over Asia and Australia.  There are displays of jewelry, leather goods and "bootleg" CDs, CD-ROMs and game cartridges.

Additionally, Thailand is famous for its practitioners of Thai Massage.  This legitimate technique is used at a number of massage shops up and down Khaosan Road.  Thai massage is a combination of deep muscle massage, stretching and chiropractic maneuvering that will take the knots out of your system after a day of traveling.  For about $20, I received a one hour Thai massage, a one hour oil massage and a half hour foot massage (reflexology). 

Khaosan Road, Banglampu at night

Wat Phra Kaew from the Chao Phraya

Wat Arun

The main religion of Thailand is Buddhism.  Most eating establishments and many stores have a mini shrine setup on their premises.  Disbursed among all of the buildings, new and old, are temples, called Wats.  The wats are used as temples, shrines and training facilities.

Bangkok's main river is the Chao Phraya.  Located along the river are a number of very popular Wats.  Wat Phra Kaew is the home of the Emerald Buddha and adjoins the Grand Palace, the home of the King and Queen of Thailand.  Wat Pho, Bangkok's oldest and largest temple is located nearby and is home to the gigantic gold plated Reclining Buddha (151' long by 49' high) and is the first center of public education.  Across the river is Wat Arun, the "Temple of the Dawn".

Wat Pho is an interesting tourist attraction.  Entry is free but a donation is appreciated.  Guides are available for a negotiable fee.  Ensure before accepting the offer of a guide that he or she is able to speak your language.  My guide, Charlie, escorted me throughout the wat, pointing out all the interesting and historical features.  There are many statues of Buddha throughout the wat.  There are also four monolithic towers that were built by each of the first four Ramas or Kings, the most famous of which would be Rama IV - the King from "The King and I" and "Anna and the King", etc.  He decreed that no more towers would be built for Ramas at Wat Pho.

Floating tourist party area on
the River Kwai

Long tailed boat

The infamous Bridge Over the River Kwai

Long tailed boat ride up the River Kwai

Waterfall in picnic area

Your correspondent on the elephant trek

Fellow traveler with her elephant handler

Another side trip was a weekend at the seaside resort town of Pattaya.  SCUBA, fishing, partying and a more risqué night life are all available in this town in the Chon Buri province.

Traveling on the poor man's pocket book, I opted to take an air conditioned bus from Bangkok to Pattaya.  Fare for this trip was about $10 US.  The metered taxi ride (in an enclosed car with a/c) from Khaosan Road to the bus station was $15. A tuktuk taxi ride would have been less expensive, but due to the nonexistent emissions control laws in Thailand, breathing can be difficult at very smoky intersections.

My hotel room overlooking the beach ran about $12 for the night.  Again, air conditioning is a luxury that is provided in most economy units.

Bangkok's bus station

Beach umbrellas setup on the
beach at Pattaya

One-way highway along the beach. (Note the
Burger King, McDonald's, KFC and Benihana
restaurants in the shopping mall.)

500 to 1,000 cc motorcycles are
available for daily rental at many
locations in Pattaya.

A Thai McDonald's

Menu board at a Thai McDonald's

Snack food display at bus station.
(Note the "Lays" potato chips)

Even though I wanted to immerse myself in the culture, traditions and cuisine of Thailand, I occasionally yearned for American junk food.  In the major cities and tourist towns, you will find represented such U.S. companies as:  Burger King, McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut, Swenson's Ice Cream and 7-Eleven.

The items on the menu may be a little different than expected.  The "secret sauce" on a Pizza Hut pizza was 1000 Island Dressing.  And McDonald's' main attraction was not the Big Mac.  It was their fried chicken.  I personally preferred the Samurai Pork Burger.

Drinking water in restaurants is served from bottles. Six packs of bottled water can be purchased from local convenience stores.  The 7-Eleven seemed just like home.

Snack food and sundry items were usually labeled in both English and Thai.  The Thai translations for the names of products from Colgate Toothpaste to Pepsi and Coke were printed on containers in the same style and color that we would be familiar.

Pharmacy kiosks are manned by clerks and not trained pharmacists.  I was able to pick up generic medications by pointing to items on shelves and identifying ingredients (Sudafed was identified by the pseudo ephedrine on the label).  Some knowledge of your requirements is important.

All in all, I had a great time in Thailand.  The people are friendly and more than willing to communicate with foreigners.  Travel is affordable.  Sightseeing and entertainment abound.  If I were to return, I would make a side trip to the seaside town of Phuket, noted for its incredible SCUBA diving adventures.

Note to the interested traveler:  Great deals are available for travel to Asia.  The best one that I have found is Cathay Pacific's All Asia Pass.  In 2000, a 30 day pass to many of the cities that are served by Cathay Pacific was available for $999.  That included round trip airfare from the U.S. West Coast to Hong Kong and then 30 days worth of travel to Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, China, the Philippines, Bali, Kuala Lumpur and more using Hong Kong as your hub.  All you pay extra is the individual departure taxes.  For 2001/2002, Cathay Pacific is offering the same pass but is reducing the stay to 21 days.  More details are available on their website:  http://www.cathay-usa.com/offers/aap20012002.asp .  Booking this pass is not all that simple though.  It does require a travel agent.  For more information of the Cathay Pacific All Asia Pass 2001/2002, feel free to contact me at: Tony@SuperiorTravel.Com .

Copyright 2001 Tony Vaca