The Big Stink

I said all my goodbyes on Koh Phangan, had a last lunch on the beach and then hopped a ferry for the mainland. After four hours at sea and nine on a bus I arrived in Bangkok at 4:00 this morning. The streets in my neighbourhood were pretty quiet at that time, but I couldn’t believe the number of bars still open catering to the last drunken backpackers being hit on by Thai hookers. There was garbage in the streets and it smelled like India (meaning urine). Welcome back to Bangkok. With every visit I am becoming more and more disenchanted by this place. If it wasn’t such a great hub for the rest of Asia I don’t think I’d ever be tempted to come back. The only good thing about it is the prevalence of used bookstores which are popping up like weeds on the streets in my neighbourhood. I think books will ultimately lead to my financial downfall – I don’t know how many I went through on Koh Phangan where there wasn’t much else in the way of entertainment. I try to put blinders on when walking around Khaosan Road, but I can resist just about everything for sale here except the books. And if there’s a Booker or Giller prize winner in the stack, I snap it up with barely a glace at the back cover; at least I know that the writing will be decent. With a suitcase-load of books back in my room, I am typing this fresh from a lost battle against a Booker nominee, which virtually assaulted me from a wire rack by the side of the road. I guess there are worse addictions.

Fortunately, it’s a bit cooler here than it was on the island, and we even had a short thunderstorm this afternoon. I ran a few errands today, but mostly I’m just waiting to leave. I’ll catch my flight to Phnom Penh tomorrow afternoon. I’ll write again from Cambodia.