Bkk

June 24

I am writing this July 16th, so I'm sure it won't be as fresh as it would have been a few weeks ago... 

This was our last day on tour. At this point, I was very happy to say goodbye to Melissa, but I knew I would have a difficult time saying goodbye to everyone else. Especially the 5 others (Ed, Courtney, Robyn, Sarh and Cara) who went through the whole month with me. But, we still had a long day ahead and a few people were staying past the tour end date (Sarah, Cara, Kat, Laura). 

We got off the train today and it was a pretty early start, although not as early as it has been in the past. It was around 6:45am. We walked through the train station to get to the hotel and it was literally right near it and right near the metro which was really nice. We dropped our bags off in the lobby but our rooms weren't ready at that point. Matt took us back to the train station to get breakfast. 

The selection was pretty slim. We pretty much all decided to go with Dunkin' Donuts. I got a tiramisu donut and a strawberry tart. They were okay. Not the most nutritious breakfast...

A little before 8am, there were security guards lining up in the middle of the train station. And then, at 8am, everyone in the whole area stood up and music started playing. There was a large golden plated photograph of the King with flowers around it that was hung on the wall of the station. Everyone faced it and the music began and everyone sang. It's the Kings song I think. It's pretty crazy though. It's sort of like a flash mob thing if you don't know what is going on... Minus the dancing and people joining in at different times. Matt said that they do this everyday in public areas at both 8am and 6pm. I really wanted to film it but I never had a chance.

Matt got a call on his cell saying the rooms were ready, so we went back to the hotel to move all our bags upstairs. We had about 40 minutes and then we met downstairs and Matt walked us down to the ferry stop so we could catch a boat that would take us around the canals to see the floating villages.

The ferry stop was not really close by any means. The boat trip was okay. Definitely not my favorite thing. Getting in and out of the boat wasn't the easiest thing in the world either. The boat is really low compared to the dock. So it's a pretty large step down. Like, almost the size of me. Also, it was really noisy because of the motor they used. Annnd, the water splashed us a fair amount which normally wouldn't be a huge deal, but that water is disgusting. There was so much garbage in it and it was a weird murky color and bleh. I definitely don't want that in and or around my mouth. Ever. It was there though. So good! 

The villages were interesting to look at. They weren't really floating. They were mostly just on stilts and the back of their houses were on the canal. The composition of the houses was just kind of interesting. Picturesque. When there is a village, there has to be a market! A number of long boats came directly up to our boat. Their boats were filled with little trinkets they were trying to sell to us. None of us bought anything.

Along the river they have all these signs that say "FEED THE FISH" some even said "biggest fish on the Chao Praya river!" Unfortunately, it was 20 baht to feed the fish and we had boys in our boat. Ed and Robby both bought a loaf of bread. The fish are huge catfish. And they are gross. And like any other animal, they fight for food. Which really just meant we got splashed constantly. Also, all the fish flapping over each other is actually disgusting. Bleh!!!! Didn't enjoy that. 

When we got off the boat, everyone was so stoked and had loved it. I wasn't too thrilled with it. We ride boats enough that that experience wasn't new to me like it was to the British people. I was glad I did it because it was good to see, but the water grossed me out so much I would never do it again.

After the canals, we got time to go back to the hotel to shower. That was really nice since we hasn't been able to shower the previous evening because of the sleeper train. Plus, we could wash ourselves of the nasty water from the Chao Praya river.

Next up... MATT'S WHIRLWIND TOUR OF BANGKOK! This was absolutely amazing!!! He took us on the metro which was easy to find since it was directly outside our hotel. (Hua Lamphong). To get into the station there is a security guard standing by a metal detector. You walk through the metal detector with all your stuff and obviously, the beeper goes off. So then you open your bag and they shine a light in it and wave you on. Then, you have to go up to a machine to buy your ticket. Like anywhere else. You just touch the station you want and it tells you how much to pay. You put your change or bills in (it wouldn't take new 20 bahts so you had to watch that) and then it spits out a black round plastic coin. You then wait what seems like forever, especially when there is a line of people behind you, for it to spit out your change. Then, you walk toward the entry things and hold your coin up to a pad that reads it and opens the little things to let you in. Then you just read the signs to figure out which way you want to go. Things are really well marked. At Hua Lamphong, you have to wait for the security guards to check the metro after people leave it before you can get on. The metro is super clean and its really nice actually. I don't know what New York is doing with their metro. They need to raise their standards a bit. 

Matt took us out to Si Lom for lunch. I guess it's a really posh area? There were a lot of tall buildings. Before we ate, he walked us down this street... I can't remember what it was called. I know I took a photo of the street name but its on my other SD card. Basically, it was a street that Matt told us to avoid at all costs at night. I guess not only is it really expensive, but its also shady. A lot of the famous Bangkok sex shows happen here as well. There was a huge sign that said SUPER PUSSY and then the Kings flag was right in front of it. I thought that was pretty funny. I'm not sure if they filmed the Hangover 2 on this street or on Khao San or both. I'll have to watch it again when I get home to see.

Matt scoped out a place for us to eat lunch. I had pretty painful menstrual cramps and eating a bunch of rice and noodles wasn't up my alley. There was something on the menu called parfait. So I ordered that thinking it would be like yogurt with fruit and granola. And then I got a plate of chips... Er, fries. The British people love that they have converted me and Robyn and Courtney over to saying chips and crisps instead of fries and chips. We aren't as fond about it.

Well, a parfait in Thailand is not what it is at home, that's for sure. It was 3 scoops of ice cream with banana and whipped cream and chocolate sauce and sprinkles. Lol... And I got French fries. Unfortunate decision. Aside from the fact that the parfait tasted amazing and everyone was jealous of it. I definitely represented America with that lunch though. Haha. I think it also made my stomach feel a bit better cramp wise. No idea why. Probably mental.

I can't remember the exact order of events, but I believe after this we followed Matt up a set of stairs and got to take the sky train. Where we took it to, I have no idea. But the sky train has the same system as the metro except there is no security guard with a metal detector and flashlight. Instead of giving you a black coin, you get a plastic paper that is credit card sized. Instead of putting it on the scanner to get through, you have to put it in a slot and it spits it back out at you. When you leave the sky train you put it in and it takes it forever (it's the same with the metro) so you don't get to keep a souvenir from the metro or sky train. 

Th sky train is also really nice. Very clean. And it's cool because you're above the city for the most part so you can see it all. In certain areas you're just going in between the sky scrapers but its still pretty cool.

When we got off the sky train, Matt put us on motorbikes. We didn't get helmets I don't think. But, it was a short trip and down a very not busy road. We were dropped off at the g adventures office. We were all pretty stoked. Matt told us it is not often groups get to visit here. On the gate outside, there was a g adventure logo and we all took our photo with it. I was short enough I could stand underneath it. Everyone thought that was pretty funny. Along the inside wall up to the house, there were all the g core values (create happiness and community, embrace the bizarre, we love changing people's lives, etc.). The g office was so nice. There was a tiny pool table in the first room with a bunch of cool furniture. Then they had some desks with computers for their work. There was a kitchen and a table to eat at. Out in the back there were rooms for the g CEOs to stay in if they need to. Apparently the house used to be owned by a family of 3 who then had a servants quarter in the back of the house. In the back there was also a ping pong table. We capitalized on that and spent some time playing around the world. I think Robby was the champion. Upstairs there was a wall that had the g logo on it and we took a group photo there. Supposedly that was passed around the g community. We all had one on our own cameras as well. 

When we were sitting there talking to the staff, Julie is the big boss, we were discussing our trip. They were talking about how some of us who had gone through the full month had really done 3 g trips. So then I told them how I was doing 7 consecutive trips and which ones. They asked me what my favorite g core value was and I couldn't think of any off the top of my head because it was so much pressure! I knew create was one so I said that. It's actually create happiness and community. He left the room and a bit later came back and gave me a g Tshirt! Everyone, especially Ed, was so jealous. We had all really wanted to buy a g Tshirt. The shirts are really cool. I took a photo with the shirt on and 2 thumbs up. That was also passed around the g community. 

Once we left, I was a little bummed I didn't say my favorite core value was "embrace the bizarre." Because this trip has definitely been out of my box. Comfort zone. Bizarre for sure. But the more I thought about it, the more I was happy with my choice of "create happiness and community" since that has been a large part of my trip as well. Possibly even bigger than the bizarre parts. I've met so many great people and made so many new friendships and we have formed our own little families. Also  weve had the chance to go out into the local communities and see what life is like and be around the locals. So really, that was the best choice in the end.

Ed told me I should wear my g shirt to the start date of my next tour and pretend I am a CEO. It's definitely funny but I didn't want to be an ass and have everyone hate me the first day. The only reason it would be funny was because they know me and knew I wasn't actually a leader. I gave them my best practice speech, a little yolo, something about how you'll probably get sick and you'll definitely wee on yourself at some point, all the basics. We had a good laugh.

After that, Matt took us to the residence of the third king of Thailand or something like that. How we got there, I don't remember. I think we just walked. I remember walking past a large intersection area that had a huge photo of the king and I think the queen as well. It was gold plated and there were many flowers around it as well. The cars were driving under it. It was so huge. It seems unnecessary but obviously it is a different culture and country and is extemely necessary. 

The third kings residence was pretty cool. Unfortunately we got there after it closed so we only got to walk around the outside of the buildings. We couldn't go inside them. It was still nice though. We took a group photo outside it. This entire time, Melissa wasn't there at all. She went off on her own and I didn't see her until I walked into the room that evening and she was asleep in the other bed. 

While we were at the third kings residence there were a bunch of people in red tshirts. Apparently, there are red and yellow shirts. They represent different political parties. It's been such a long time that I'm not sure I can remember exactly the correct details, but I think the red shirts looked out more for the community than the yellow shirts. And there was some complicated politics. Maybe I'll email Matt and ask him about it again. But there is a female in office right now and I think she is a red shirt and actually brought the red back on the map because before her brother was in office and he was a yellow shirt. She was really well liked by the people and even though she has never had any experience in politics she was voted into office. So that's interesting.

We then walked to see the democracy monument. Cool to see but nothing special. Although there was something being set up right on it. Possibly some type of protest? Matt said it was really strange to see the red shirts out and it doesn't happen too often so we were lucky.

He then walked us down to Khao San road and we had about an hour to shop or do whatever we wanted. I bought something I think Aimee will like. Or at least I hope she will but well see. It was the usual Khao San road experience. I say this because I think I described it from when we had been there a month earlier. Ping pong show acts being shoved in your face on a laminated piece of plastic with the famous pop sound accompanying it, lots of food stands, shopping stalls lined up and down the road, only breaking for restaurants. They even covered the other shops and you ha to go through the stalls (tents?) to access them. We ended up meeting up at Lucky Beer Bar and walking together to dinner which was the same restaurant we ate at the first night we had been in Bangkok. 

Except, we didn't really walk together... At this point Matt was already drunk so he just kept on going and wasn't looking back to make everyone was following. Saskia and I really wanted YOLO bracelets and we finally found a girl selling them. So we stopped and bought them. Robby, Zara, Kat, and Laura were with us. So then we looked up and the group was gone. We went through the place we saw them go (999west) and came out on the other side of the shopping tunnel and didn't see them still.  I thought I knew how to get to the restaurant so everyone followed me but then at one point it wasn't looking familiar anymore so I walked back. Its funny though because here i am known for being really good at navigating the cities and streets. LOL. At that point, we saw Ed. I had been so close to the restaurant! I only needed to make 1 turn right where I decided it didn't look familiar anymore. So close! 

Eating at the restaurant we started at the first night was a really good way to end the trip. Matt gave a beautiful speech about how great we were and how much he would miss us. Ed gave a speech. I gave a toast. It was a good last dinner. I had pad Thai and it was so tasty. 

7 of us really wanted to see a ping pong show. We felt like it was necessary to experience since its something Bangkok is known for and it would be a shame to go home and say you hadn't attended a ping pong show. However, going to any old ping pong show can be very dangerous. It's a way to get tourists drunk and get them to pay a bunch of money. They rack your bill up and if you don't pay for it they beat you up when you leave. But, luckily, Matt knew this guy who owned a more tame and safe ping pong show club. He was the same man who owned this little restaurant we ate at. After dinner, we got tuk tuks to take us to this club. The tuk tuk drivers also worked under this guy who owns the restaurant, which is actually a bar (and one of the top 5 bars in the world according to one magazine). 

Ed, Sarah, Cara, and I got into one tuk tuk and Kat, Bart, and Saskia got into another tuk tuk. The 3 of them shared the seat and I sat on the ground of the tuk tuk. It wasn't comfortable. And we sat like that for probably 20 minutes. Not fun haha. The tuk tuk pulled into a dark alleyway and it was super shady! At that point I was so happy to be able to stand up and get out of the tuk tuk... Until I saw where we were. Then I was like uhhh is this correct? It was a bit freaky. Then they motioned at us to walk through this door. On the other side there was a man collecting tickets (we had gotten them from the other guy). 

When we got in we got a free drink ticket. We paid 600 baht to see the show ($20). Matt told us to just go in and sit down and that we could just watch it through once. Apparently, the show is about an hour or hour and a half long and it just repeats all night long from 8pm-1am. So you go in and just watch it through from when you arrive. So if you get there at act 5 then you watch through to act 5 again. 

WARNING: IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO READ ABOUT THINGS COMING OUT OF OR GOING INTO GIRLS HOO HAS YOU SHOULD PROBABLY SCROLL DOWN TO WHERE I PUT MORE CAPS SAYING YOU CAN NOW READ AGAIN!

It was interesting to say the least. When we first got there we walked in to the act where the girl was blowing out birthday candles with her hoo ha. There were many more after this ha. There were acts where the girls pulled different colored long ribbons out of themselves and basically did ribbon dances with them around the poles. There was also an act where a girl pulled razor blades on a string from inside her and after she took each blade and sliced a piece of paper to show how sharp they actually were. There was one where the girl shot ping pong balls into a bucket. And one with a balloon I think. Also one where 2 girls had sex on the stage... In front of everyone.. And another one where she changed water to coke. I don't even remember all of them but yea. It was crazy.

Speaking of poles, so there was a small square stage in the middle and there were 4 poles (but not as tall as they are in the US) on each corner of the stage. They don't climb the poles either like they do at home. They pretty much just use them to dance around and for the ribbon dancing acts or the more complicated... Sex acts. And by that, I mean sex. We literally watched a man and a woman have sex on the stage. It was actually really strange at first but then they contort themselves into such crazy positions that you sort of forget you're watching people have sex and become more amazed and less uncomfortable. There were a point where the girl was in a handstand and then the guy was in a handstand with her and then he like twisted all the way around. But not twisted like spun 360 degrees. It was crazy. It wasn't a fast spin. It was very controlled. And he never once came out of her. I mean, if you're having problems in the bedroom and running out of ideas, go to Bangkok and watch a ping pong show cause that shit was crazy.

Although impressive, it was really sad to watch their demeanor. I feel like in American porn or strip clubs the girls usually seem happy to be there, or at least they put on a smile and act like they are. The girls here did not seem happy. They didn't really smile or make sexy faces or anything. They looked more bored than anything else. You could see them looking to see who was out there watching them. I'm not sure if they have a choice about working here or if they are forced into it.

I thought it was actually going to be way worse than it actually was. I am not by any means saying it was okay or that i enjoyed it. it actually made me feel a bit sick. but, Matt had prepared us for a lot worse. I really had no interest in staying to watch the show again, but I was really wondering if the same girl always had sex at the end of the show with the man or if it changed. We didn't stay to find out though even though I really wanted to know. 

Kat was mortified by it. Ed said kat was constantly saying oh my god. No one else really thought it was amazing. Cara and Sarah felt really sick. I don't know how Ed and Bart felt about it. I don't think even if they liked it that they would have said they did. It was an experience to say the least.

When in Bangkok...

YOU CAN CONTINUE READING FROM HERE NOW! 

After the ping pong show, we went to meet Matt and the rest of the group on Khao San road again at the Lucky Beer bar. Robby, Zara, Laura, Courtney, Robyn and I all shared a beer tower. Then we called it a night, said goodbye to Matt and everyone who was leaving in the early morning, and headed back to the hotel. 

It was really sad saying goodbye to people. This group has been such an amazing group of people and we were all good friends. I cried when I said bye to Matt. It's always nerve wracking to me when I realize that I am on my own and having my CEO who was always looking out for me leave me is always a little scary.

Luckily, I have a few more days where people will still be around so I won't have to conquer Bangkok on my own for a few more days still...

On the way back, Bart was really angry no one wanted to go out. Him and Saskia were going to go but most people were heading back and they didn't really want to be alone with drunk Matt because he gets a little creepy sometimes. Bart was really angry though because he wanted to party with everyone on our last evening together. It was hard to do this though since a lot of people had to get up early. Ed had an early morning flight and had to leave the hotel at 5am. Kat and I had to be at Flight of the Gibbons so we needed to get up around 7am. So, none of us wanted to do any of that on a hangover. 

When I got back to the room, Melissa was already asleep, which I was expecting to be the case because she was suppose to share a cab with Ed to the airport in the morning. I was kinda pissed off when I got back though because the room had garbage all over it. Empty water bottles, wrappers from food, it's like the girl doesn't know how to use a garbage can. She still wasn't putting her toilet paper in the bin. Then, I went to go to bed and her dirty towel was sprawled all over my bed! So annoyed. I was so happy she was leaving in 4 hours. 

Well, at 5:10am, there was a knock on the door and I was confused. I wasn't sure if it was a knock or what was going on. But it kept happening so I got up and opened the door. Ed was standing there wondering if Melissa was still in the room. I told him she wasn't here and his jaw just dropped. He couldn't believe it. He actually came in the room to make sure I was telling the truth. Melissa had left for the airport without Ed. Since Ed was planning on splitting a cab, he didn't have enough money. He awkwardly asked for 100 baht and I couldn't not give it to him (and really it's only $3) so I got some for him. I gave him a hug and he left. I was so angry at Melissa already and then she just flat out was rude as hell as left without Ed. I wasnt necessarily angry i gave ed money but i was mad i had to do it because she was blatantly rude toward other people again. I messaged her on Facebook and was actually really nice but told her that she kinda screwed Ed over by leaving without him. I even wished her safe travels and told her good luck on her move to London and to have fun with her travels around Europe. I wasn't really expecting a response back but she did answer and it was rude. She just messaged back that she couldn't wait forever and that it would have benefited her to share a cab as well. Then she said they hadn't agreed on a time. This really made me angry because they had and she had talked about sharing a cab with him for the past 3 days AND Ed came upstairs looking for her an she didn't even try to find him before she left. But I just left it. She has actually defriended me on Facebook now and removed herself from our indochina Facebook group. Which really is fine with me because she really is one of the rudest people I have ever met. Good riddance, Melissa!