A Rustic Thailand

Cable TV is supposed to bring the world to your living room without having to step out and spend expensive dollars to see the world. This purpose was achieved when I watched The Lonely Planet on Thailand but what cable TV couldn’t give me was the experience of being in Thailand itself. The air was humid with a laidback and rustic traditional lifestyle which is so different from Malaysia. People were still travelling around in “tuk-tuk” which is a different version of the trishaw and instead of a bicycle, it is motorcycle attached to a cart, which is used to move cart passengers around.

Culture and Lifestyle

The whole city is an oxymoron of cultures and lifestyle. The contrast is slightly unnerving to my pampered senses. Suddenly, I felt ashamed of my “taken for granted” lifestyle which I complained every now and then. People were so poor that little girls as young as my youngest sister were trying to sell themselves to white foreigners to earn that little bit of cash. Competition was so tough among the girls that prices to “buy” one of these girls became very low. Even pregnant women were trying to make a sale. I had to walk past these women who operate at roadside bars every night and it saddens me to see that tourists are actually encouraging this flesh trade. The bars are perpetually flocked with tourists. A very pathetic sight as tourists from developed country is using money for cheap thrills with these destitute women. The older ones show signs of weariness from engaging in this trade on long term basis while the younger ones have to grit their mouths and endure the weird and sadist requests from these tourists. This is only a close-up view of the culture.

In the background, high-rise buildings such as the biggest mall in South East Asia and posh buildings cater for the rich and elite. The malls have brands that even Singapore malls do not carry. One of the malls actually has retailers selling Ferraris, BMWs, Lamborghinis and Porsche. In this mall, people were dressed to the nines and carrying expensive bags while the people on the streets are still very much rooted in tradition and fashion is a luxury that cannot be afforded by the street people.

It was weird to see “tuk-tuks” amidst Toyota Vios and expensive Mercs. The road system is so undeveloped that traffic jams is a world-understood situation in Bangkok. Trying to negotiate the traffic is virtually impossible. To move that few meters take hours, people resorted to walking to save time. Pavements are cracked, tiles missing from the pavement, uneven pavements – these are just part of life in Bangkok.

Despite the prevalence of the poverty, people were comfortable with their lifestyle. The level of complacency amidst the community surprises me. Malls could display their wares without fears of petty thefts. Petty theft crimes is not a societal problem as compared to Malaysia. What makes the people behave this way? Malaysia has better educated people and higher income society yet the crime rate is higher. Theft is usually a crime of destitution yet Thais hold more pride and dignity than resorting to this.

Food

Local fare dots the street as women try to sell their produce to passer-bys. Fried insects, duck mee, beef noodles and pok-pok salad are commonly seen. I had wanted to try some of these foods but the hygiene level killed my appetite. Food sellers used bare hands to handle food and I doubt they clean their hands each time they handle something apart from food. Squatting by the roadside, putting the bare hands into baskets to pull out a handful of mee and washing the used bowls in basins of used water don’t appeal to my normally hygienic self. My stomach churned at the sight of the clogged drains by these vendors. I ended up not trying any street food.

Shopping

Having visited almost every mall in Bangkok, I could safely agree that shopping for variety in high-brands is a must for elites. I loved the white, clean and spacious design of the malls – conducive to my already ‘finely-tuned’ shopping instincts. However, I was not in Bangkok to shop for high-end brands, I was there for the al-cheapo produce. Having battled sweaty people on the streets and balancing on the uneven pavements, I finally had my chance to visit MBK and Patpong for these al-cheopo stuff. Sadly, the regular influx of tourists has already acclimatised the locals to the bargaining skills of these tourists. Thus, inflated prices make shopping a bit pricy. Much bargaining to bring down the price does not justify the effort taken purchase the item. Moroever, due to the limited time frame to shop, I couldn’t shop much.

Thailand, I will be back but for the cultural aspect. Looks like shopping for me will be in countries such as the Americas, Europe, Australia and not this cultural-rich country.