Post from Tim:
The night-bus dropped us off at 6 a.m. in a magnificently seedy place - on the backpacker slum of Kao San Road. At that early hour, the ratio of people drinking coffee and people drinking beer was dead even.
The area came alive later that night, as hundreds of people walked the pulsating streets or drank in outdoor bars. We found English language bookstores, Internet cafes, cheap guesthouses, money changers, noodle stands, knock-off clothes shops, massage parlors, and bargain travel agencies under the gaudy signs that hovered above the road. Our conversation competed with the pounding music of street-side speakers, tuk-tuks, horns, and barking dogs. We didn't find any Thai culture, but rather a weird mix of youthful-meets-budget-meets-European backpacker-meets-out for a good time-meets-holiday culture.
It is an interesting place to people watch. We sat in an outdoor pub with our new Kiwi friend Penny, drank a couple of beers, and played "Guess Where They are From." The rules are simple: pick a random pedestrian and guess where they are from and how long they have been away. It isn't hard. If you inventory their body piercings, tattoos, baseball hat, haircut, clothes, backpack size, overall cleanliness, and body language, it comes naturally.
If I stayed on Kao San Road for a week, I'd be guessing correctly every time.
The area came alive later that night, as hundreds of people walked the pulsating streets or drank in outdoor bars. We found English language bookstores, Internet cafes, cheap guesthouses, money changers, noodle stands, knock-off clothes shops, massage parlors, and bargain travel agencies under the gaudy signs that hovered above the road. Our conversation competed with the pounding music of street-side speakers, tuk-tuks, horns, and barking dogs. We didn't find any Thai culture, but rather a weird mix of youthful-meets-budget-meets-European backpacker-meets-out for a good time-meets-holiday culture.
It is an interesting place to people watch. We sat in an outdoor pub with our new Kiwi friend Penny, drank a couple of beers, and played "Guess Where They are From." The rules are simple: pick a random pedestrian and guess where they are from and how long they have been away. It isn't hard. If you inventory their body piercings, tattoos, baseball hat, haircut, clothes, backpack size, overall cleanliness, and body language, it comes naturally.
If I stayed on Kao San Road for a week, I'd be guessing correctly every time.
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