ioana
in quest for genuine
My Profile
About Me
- Name: ioana
- Location: Bucharest, Romania
I experiment with myself and the world around me. I always seek for that small sparkle of what's real and authentic in things, people, nature...
Archive
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Episode 2: the good, the bad, and the pervert
Time: 16.47 bravo
Okay, so we’re in Bangkok, so we’ve seen the major tourist spots, so we’ve visited the temples and the shrines, so we’ve walked to crowded roads and the more remote ones…so….what’s left to do?
Why, explore the nightlife of course! After all, Bangkok is universally acknowledged as one of the best nightlife places in the world, not to mention that is the top sex-tourism hot spot ever! Okay, so we’ve set out to do so, three Romanian girls out in the Bangkok, to discover what hidden thrills the city has to offer.
Patpong is THE ONE place to go if you seek these kinds of the experiences. It’s the queen bee, the crown jewel, the red lights district of all the red lights districts! Our exploration started pretty quiet, with a short dive in the night bazaar. Nothing seemed to be oozing of go-go-bars, strip places of other stuff you would expect to see in the red lights, specially a famous one as Bangkok’s. After ransacking a few jewelry and clothes stalls in the bazaar we decided to have a cold beer before further exploring the place. We went down on one of the small side alleys where we saw a few terraces and lounges (really good looking ones, too). The only strange thing was that the street entrance had a barrier and you actually had to pass a police filter. But after realizing that they were only checking papers for the locals, and that a white skin pretty much guaranteed you a no fuss entrance we stepped right in!
The street was small and paved, with a lot of places to hang out on both sides, and completely packed with people! After a first round to check out the places we spotted the only free table at a very crowded and friendly terrace. Three waiters were luring us to take a seat and order a drink, so we decided to stop there. A waiter came to take our order: HE had his hair twice as long as mine, with plucked eyebrows, a green and blue make up and rouged lips! Ok, ok! We were expecting this (theoretically) but we reacted as children (practically)! Anyways, he was super friendly and girly, admired some of our jewelry and left to get our beers.
As the three of us were smiling at each other with a “did you see that” look, we had a sudden feeling that something was wrong. As we looked around it suddenly hit us: there were only men!!! All that crowd on the street was a pouring mass of men, laughing together, holding hands, kissing. We landed in the gay area and didn’t even notice!!!
Only 3 women around us: a European with friends, an African with her boyfriend, and an Asian with 2 friends. She was the closest to us, and after a short stare we realized she was actually a HE! So pretty and feminine that you would need to catch some very soft details to realize she was not originally a SHE. Actually the Thai katoeys (male-to-female transgenders) are famous for being extremely beautiful and feminine. What I really loved was the feeling that everybody is accepted as they are, no matter of their sex, preferences or practices. I’m sure if you dig a bit deeper not everything is so nice and smooth, but coming from an over homophobic culture like the Romanian one, this attitude was a real breath of fresh air!
Eager to explore more, we left our beers for an incursion in the straight area. Just as we entered one of the many side streets a guy approached me very agitated saying “Madam, madam, ping-pong show! Come see, madam, ping-pong show!”
In a very western candor I thought “Why on earth would somebody try to sell you a ping pong game HERE?” From my intrigued and somehow dismissive look the seller realized I didn’t know what he was talking about and quickly took out something that looked like a cheap menu, and told me “Ping-pong show madam, you don’t knooooooooow? There is this girl, she takes ping pong ball, puts inside and then pshhhhewwwwwwww! pops it out!!!”
One thing that was surely popping out: the eyes in my head! Whaaaaaaaaaat??? Did he just say what I think he did?!?!?! Very amused and excited of my shocked look the guy kept going on: “And then, we have the bottle opener! When girl comes with beer bottle, puts inside, and then pock! she takes the cap off!” He was gesticulating vividly, very illustrative in the signs and noises, as I was staring at him, not quite believing my eyes and ears! “But best, madam, best, is balloon shooter! Not one, but 4 girls come! Put darts inside and shoot balloons up in the ceiling! 10 in a row!” He kept pushing the menu into my eyes, and I noticed it was actually a show schedule, with a timing for each number. Afraid that he was going to explain all of the rest, I managed to ask “Why are you trying to sell me this? Can’t you see I’m a girl?”
“You want boys, madam???” Happy and thinking he finally managed to understand me, he quickly took out another cheap menu, waving in front of my eyes a collection of young Asian men with shaved and oiled chests! “Here madam, I recommend you this one, and you can also take this one, you can look at them together, you can touch, you can join them, as you like!”
Oh my God! Oh my GOD!!! Is this true? Have I reached that point? Do I look like I need to pay for it now??? A loud sound of laughter from Dodo and Oltea, who were laughing their hearts out from 5 meters in front, brought me back to earth! It’s ok! Just another usual evening in Patpong :)
Okay, so we’re in Bangkok, so we’ve seen the major tourist spots, so we’ve visited the temples and the shrines, so we’ve walked to crowded roads and the more remote ones…so….what’s left to do?
Why, explore the nightlife of course! After all, Bangkok is universally acknowledged as one of the best nightlife places in the world, not to mention that is the top sex-tourism hot spot ever! Okay, so we’ve set out to do so, three Romanian girls out in the Bangkok, to discover what hidden thrills the city has to offer.
Patpong is THE ONE place to go if you seek these kinds of the experiences. It’s the queen bee, the crown jewel, the red lights district of all the red lights districts! Our exploration started pretty quiet, with a short dive in the night bazaar. Nothing seemed to be oozing of go-go-bars, strip places of other stuff you would expect to see in the red lights, specially a famous one as Bangkok’s. After ransacking a few jewelry and clothes stalls in the bazaar we decided to have a cold beer before further exploring the place. We went down on one of the small side alleys where we saw a few terraces and lounges (really good looking ones, too). The only strange thing was that the street entrance had a barrier and you actually had to pass a police filter. But after realizing that they were only checking papers for the locals, and that a white skin pretty much guaranteed you a no fuss entrance we stepped right in!
The street was small and paved, with a lot of places to hang out on both sides, and completely packed with people! After a first round to check out the places we spotted the only free table at a very crowded and friendly terrace. Three waiters were luring us to take a seat and order a drink, so we decided to stop there. A waiter came to take our order: HE had his hair twice as long as mine, with plucked eyebrows, a green and blue make up and rouged lips! Ok, ok! We were expecting this (theoretically) but we reacted as children (practically)! Anyways, he was super friendly and girly, admired some of our jewelry and left to get our beers.
As the three of us were smiling at each other with a “did you see that” look, we had a sudden feeling that something was wrong. As we looked around it suddenly hit us: there were only men!!! All that crowd on the street was a pouring mass of men, laughing together, holding hands, kissing. We landed in the gay area and didn’t even notice!!!
Only 3 women around us: a European with friends, an African with her boyfriend, and an Asian with 2 friends. She was the closest to us, and after a short stare we realized she was actually a HE! So pretty and feminine that you would need to catch some very soft details to realize she was not originally a SHE. Actually the Thai katoeys (male-to-female transgenders) are famous for being extremely beautiful and feminine. What I really loved was the feeling that everybody is accepted as they are, no matter of their sex, preferences or practices. I’m sure if you dig a bit deeper not everything is so nice and smooth, but coming from an over homophobic culture like the Romanian one, this attitude was a real breath of fresh air!
Eager to explore more, we left our beers for an incursion in the straight area. Just as we entered one of the many side streets a guy approached me very agitated saying “Madam, madam, ping-pong show! Come see, madam, ping-pong show!”
In a very western candor I thought “Why on earth would somebody try to sell you a ping pong game HERE?” From my intrigued and somehow dismissive look the seller realized I didn’t know what he was talking about and quickly took out something that looked like a cheap menu, and told me “Ping-pong show madam, you don’t knooooooooow? There is this girl, she takes ping pong ball, puts inside and then pshhhhewwwwwwww! pops it out!!!”
One thing that was surely popping out: the eyes in my head! Whaaaaaaaaaat??? Did he just say what I think he did?!?!?! Very amused and excited of my shocked look the guy kept going on: “And then, we have the bottle opener! When girl comes with beer bottle, puts inside, and then pock! she takes the cap off!” He was gesticulating vividly, very illustrative in the signs and noises, as I was staring at him, not quite believing my eyes and ears! “But best, madam, best, is balloon shooter! Not one, but 4 girls come! Put darts inside and shoot balloons up in the ceiling! 10 in a row!” He kept pushing the menu into my eyes, and I noticed it was actually a show schedule, with a timing for each number. Afraid that he was going to explain all of the rest, I managed to ask “Why are you trying to sell me this? Can’t you see I’m a girl?”
“You want boys, madam???” Happy and thinking he finally managed to understand me, he quickly took out another cheap menu, waving in front of my eyes a collection of young Asian men with shaved and oiled chests! “Here madam, I recommend you this one, and you can also take this one, you can look at them together, you can touch, you can join them, as you like!”
Oh my God! Oh my GOD!!! Is this true? Have I reached that point? Do I look like I need to pay for it now??? A loud sound of laughter from Dodo and Oltea, who were laughing their hearts out from 5 meters in front, brought me back to earth! It’s ok! Just another usual evening in Patpong :)
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Episode 1: The City of Angels
Time: 13.35 zulu, July 26.
With a slow movement after our 12 hours flight we finally step outside the door of Suvarnabhumi Airport and take a first breath of thick moist air! Ahhhh, the smell of Asia, with its hundred aromas altogether! It’s incredibly humid, but quite chilled compared to those 40 something degrees we left in Bucharest.
Bangkok’s Thai name is Krung Thep, which translates as the City of Angels, and it’s one of the strangest blends of tradition, culture, history, modernism, and habits. We stayed on Khao San Road, a backpacker’s heaven with cheap hotels and great eating/drinking places. It’s quite a funky place, with a crazy looking crowd made mostly from European young tourists. Braided hair, tattoos and ethnic clothes make up the “uniform”, which is usually accessorized with a hippie look and very laid back attitude.
Our plan was to visit some of the top touristic spots, the “must-does”, but also to take the time and explore the day to day life of the people, from its most traditional aspects (like the floating villages) to its poshest hints (like visiting the top malls and skyscrapers).
The Grand Palace, hosting the former royal residence and several temples with exquisite details and intricate carvings. If Bangkok is the city of angels, then surely the grand palace is the Garden of Eden! For my westerner eyes it was a surreal display of green exotic gardens, majestic marble buildings, statues of fictional creatures and gold polish everywhere!
The Grand Palace, side view
Holding hands with a Kinaree, a mythical half woman half bird creature
Between the Yaksha Demons
The palace complex also hosts the holiest Buddhist temple in Thailand, Wat Phra Kaew, home of the Emerald Buddha statue. This is legendary statue believed to have been made 2.000 years ago in India, as which has been lost and found again throughout history. It’s actually made of jade not emerald, but it is covered with gold garments that the King himself replaces in every season.
A giant guardian (Dhosa Kiridhorn, half elephant, half demon)
Sitting by the temple
Wat Pho, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha was our next stop. Buddhism itself is a non-theistic religion, meaning that it does not worship a supreme creator, and Buddha is not the equivalent of the Christian God, but one who has become enlightened and has experienced Nirvana. However we saw that common people worship Buddha in what looked like a very “God like way” to us. The temples, the statues, the rituals, the pouring masses of believers looking for a blessing, a touch that brings good luck, are all completely different in appearance yet very similar in essence with what we see at home. Some things are of unseen and unusual grandeur, like the 46m long and 15m high statue of Buddha. Let me repeat: 46m high and 15m tall!!! That is HUGE, and to add up to that, the statue is all gold plated and incrusted with nacre.
The 3 girls at the temple
The giant Reclining Buddha Statue
Wat Arun means the Temple of Dawn, but oddly enough its best viewing is at sunset. I loved this place because it lacks the grandiose aspects of all the other monuments we’ve seen, it’s smaller, almost intimate. A monastery surrounds the temple, with actual monks living there, giving the whole place a serene flair. I played some time with the winds bells in the monastery garden, releasing crystal vibrations in the cloudy sunset. Steep stairs climb up to 60m high in the central tower (called Phra Prang) and reveal an astonishing view over the city and Chao Phraya River. Everything around is carved in stone with Chinese porcelain encrusted in delicate details, like fine piece of jewelry.
The temple viewed from the boat crossing the river
Wat Arun from the topThe Damnoen Floating market is one of the usual “must-sees” in Bangkok, and off course we wanted to explore the famous sights! To my own disappointment I found the experience quite disturbing! The scenery was vibrant and full of lush green, trees, and water. But the life was harsh, cruel and full of sorrow. You know how sometimes over visited places become somehow void of their own authenticity and reality. Like the flowing mass of tourists would wash away anything real and genuine, and leave behind a trail of empty places and money-hungry locals! Maybe it happened because we went on a weekend, maybe that was the reality, but it felt like the only reason that market was there was to get some money from the cash-cow tourists. Seeing the old ladies rowing the long heavy tourist boats made me shrivel with indignation. I tried picturing my own grandmother being forces to do so…it served as a good reminder that there are many places and ways one can help…
The boats filled with delicious fruits, vegetables and food
Old lady rowing
The canals
Episode 2 is soon to come!