The Fuqua Times, our student newspaper, released an issue today with articles from a bunch of the people who are abroad. In addition to Thailand, there are students in Cape Town, South Africa, Chile, and number of other places. I wrote an article for the issue and I thought I'd repost it here. Not too much new for those who have been reading the site, but I thought it was a nice summary of how I would describe Bangkok without going into a ton of detail.
Bangkok: Hard on the Outside, Chewy on the
Inside
When I first arrived in Bangkok, I have to admit I was a bit
intimidated. The exterior is certainly rough. However, after a few days, I
learned that lurking just beneath that tough outer shell, was a welcoming, safe
and, most of all, friendly city.
I am living off a main drag called Sukhomvit, where the city
pulses night and day. Just walking down my street is an adventure. Vendors are
everywhere, selling everything from t-shirts to knives to $1 DVDs of movies
still in the theaters to all types of Thai food. Ahh, the food! The food is wonderful,
but it takes some Pepto and the realization that you’re “not in Kansas anymore” to get
comfortable with ordering it on the street. And as you order the food watch out,
because weaving in and out of the throngs of people are motorbikes, cars, an
occasional elephant, and more stray dogs than you can imagine. The smells
alternate from wonderful to disgusting and there are random puddles every so
often even though it hasn’t rained once since I’ve been here.
But the people are amazing. Always smiling and helpful, they
are genuine and exude a friendliness that is unmatched (at least in my travels).
The city is beautiful and eclectic, in a jumbled, busy, crazy kind of way. One
moment you are walking through a section of seedy hostess bars with sketchy men
older than your father cuddled up close to Thai beauties still working their
way through their teens. The next you are exploring the lavish Grand Palace,
the most decadent you have ever seen with a thousand colors sparkling in the
sun. In between lies everything else. As you walk the streets and see the wats
(i.e. temples) and skyscrapers rub against each other, you realize that Bangkok isn’t just a place
where the ancient and modern have met, they have completely smashed into one
another and the fascinating debris has been left for you to explore.
To be sure, you will curse the first time you are trapped in
traffic at a light that literally hasn’t changed for 5 minutes. And the bizarro
world that is a Thai club, where the women chase the men and the men can never
really be sure if they are really talking to a woman will throw you for a loop.
But at the end of the day, every turn brings a new sight, something you
probably have never seen before, and every time you leave your room you can
expect an adventure of some sort.
I couldn’t possibly fit all I have experienced and learned
into the 500 hundred words the powers that be (in this case, the editors of the
Fuqua Times) have allotted me. If the brief introduction above has left you
intrigued, I invite you to check out my web site (www.ihavewings.com) where I have been
chronicling my various adventures since I left the States in December. On it
you will find tales of tigers and elephants, bamboo rafts down the River Kwai,
bellies full of food and other food best left alone, all night parties on the
beaches of Ko Pha-Ngan under the full moon, buddhas and waterfalls, fire
throwers and crocodiles… and whatever else tomorrow brings.
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