Bangin'

Hey! It's been one month and six days: cold turkey. Damn, I'm good. I'm officially off the fence on the smoking, no-wait, just a couple of cigs socially, um-how about a drag when I have a drink in my hand... routine. I am now a non-smoker. Tick that off the list.

Bangkok is great for a lot of things. I've only been here one day and a night and already I've spent way too much money. Can't be helped.

Medical, dental, and eye check-ups are all cheap, safe and convenient here. I just got my teeth checked for $20.  Teeth whitening costs ~$200 at the international dental clinic. I'm wondering if I should do it -- I usually don't like to have anything artificial done to my body, but it seems like a good deal. 

Got some new shorts. My cargo shorts finally gave out in Laos – it was already frayed and hole-y but I finally had to give it up when three holes simultaneously appeared on the rear one day. Got some shoes, some shirts – it's like I've re-discovered proper clothing after months of mending my own ripped pants and re-wearing the same shirts three or four times...

Bangkok is a huge city – but not very pleasant on the eyes. The SkyTrain tears an ugly gash through the city center, propped up by ungainly concrete arches.  In the current monsoon season, the sidewalks are inadequate, traffic stinks, and the air bad.  No notable skyline, but blocks of plain office buildings and tenement housing dot the landscape.  It has that SE Asian seedy feel.

But then I guess I'm a New York snob.  I've never noticed it before, but I like the lack of land in Manhattan now.  It forces the streets to be smaller – more neighborly. Yeah, one-way streets are a pain, but for pedestrians, they're a godsend. In New York, you can cross Italian, Puerto Rican, Chinese, Japanese, and homosexual neighborhoods in just thirty minutes!

Here, the streets are wide, but unlike Hanoi or Singapore, not too many trees line them.

The good thing about Bangkok are the malls. The Siam Square area is awesome. Once you step inside, it's like a different world. I'm still awe-struck at the level of design and thought that went into the details. For instance, I ate a a food court (yeah I know, I'm raving about a food court) yesterday, but just the display, process, service and ambiance would blow anything New York has out of the water.  The tables and chairs would belong in a swank lounge... and all of it for less than $3.

I walked like Rip Van Winkle through the malls -- huge glass and steel structures -- my mouth hung open at names like Tom Pink and Hermes. God help me.

I went to see Superman Returns at the IMAX yesterday, too. The seats are assigned (woa, they're plush velvet and not Coke-stained!), and the floors are immaculate.  I got 3-D glasses, so this was my first experience watching a 3-D movie on such a big screen – way way out cool.  The funny thing is, before the movie started, there was some lush music (orchestral mind you), and I was caught unawares when everyone around me suddenly stood up, because it was a cue for a moment of silence/respect for the king. Seriously, listening to that music, my chest welled up and I too believed that the king was magnanimous and that all Thai of different creeds and colors loved him.

Yeah, the king. He's like a god here. His face is plastered on half the billboards, on most private homes, and on a ridiculous number of street signs.  Not to mention all the T-shirts, mugs, banners and other paraphernalia.  I haven't heard anyone talk about him, but I don't know if that's because everyone assumes he's awesome, or if it's some hidden taboo.  He seems like an all right guy too me, by his picture -- seems like my dad, an old guy with over-sized glasses.  I do find it cool that on the Thai baht, there's a engraving of him handling a camera. [Update: It's going to be the 60th anniversary of his coronation soon, hence all the hoopla]

Had dim sum in Chinatown today. What if all the Chinese people in the world go on strike? Would the world stop? I mean, there are Chinatowns in practically every city that I've been too. It's like the movie War of the World and all the aliens have planted their machines underneath the earth... all these Chinese people are living all over the globe, and if they're like my friend K-dawg, they sure have a lot of national pride. Sure, there are a lot of intelligent Chinese bankers and lawyers and engineers and so on, but I'm worried about all the low-skilled workers – the deliverymen and launders and bodega owners – what would happen if they went on strike?

I know if New York people would freak out -- I mean, how can we eat? All the cheap delivery places would stop working -- think of that horror. Actually, I take that back. If all the Chinese people in New York went on strike but left behind their Latino kitchen staff, I think we can still eat.

ooh... *high five* on being a non-smoker! brilliant. (clamor, clamor) proud of you.

Posted by: jojo | August 01, 2006 at 02:44 PM

Chinese people rock.

Posted by: Sharon | August 01, 2006 at 06:03 PM

yay! smoking is bad. did you know half of all cancers are preventable?

chinese people are ok.

Posted by: kyle | August 01, 2006 at 10:37 PM

Yeah, i don't want my lungs to be black – plus I like the outdoors way to much. Chinese people are cool (I'm not talking bout ABCs) but Chinese people in China cause they don't give a flip about nothing except common sense.

ABCs are ok.

Posted by: j.fisher | August 02, 2006 at 03:02 AM