Familiarization

After settling in to my room (aka hitting the minibar), I toured the neighborhood a bit. People stare at me. On the corner, hardly out of my hotel, a man tried to offer me help. While Thailand is also known to be the city of smiles and friendly people, I'm more than willing to ask for help as I need it. New York is full of tourists and you have to assist people with directions and the like a fair amount. But they typically have maps in hand or you've seen them make the block once already. Here I think I may be seen an as easy target. No, thank you with the traditional hands in prayer formation at your chest greeting seems to get the message across and with respect.

I walked down to the river and along the boardwalk. There is a huge fortress near my hotel and a funky bridge as well, great natural landmarks for getting your bearings. Also in the neighborhood is backpacker central, Khao San Road, where you can find all sorts of wares at a bargain, including accomodation. Sure, I'm traveling with a backpack. But I'm not so sure I'm a backpacker. Hmm. Let's look into this one.

Gondolas with motors scoot along the river as do the commuter boats, like Venice's vapporetti. I have heard that the river is the fastest way to travel, avoiding most of Bangkok's traffic. Along with the subway and SkyTrain, you can manage to elude cars altogether with a bit of planning.

The air quality isn't the greatest either. Not that I've noticed it so much, but half the people driving motorcycles wear masks as does anyone in construction. The climate is a lot like the equatorial cities in South America. And there are tons of scooters, also like S.A. I have almost been taken out by a few motos and tuktuks, too, however; here you drive on the left side of the road and your driver is in the front right seat. The stickshift is in your left hand. Look before you leap indeed.