Saturday, June 25, 2005
bangkok 2005.
Bangkok was a riot. The shopping, eating, late night drinking and suppers seemed endless, but it ended all too soon. =( I believe all of us would have given an arm and leg to spend a couple more days in that wonderful city, but alas, we had run out of both money and stamina! haha.
Chaktuchak: The mecca of shopping. We spent an entire day navigating around the humongous market, but covered not more than one third of it! I think all of us spent the most money here, but respect is owed to Peipei who spent more than 6000 Baht! Kudos girl, you seemed to have something to buy at every shop! By the end of that day I was tired (and high on fatigue), broke (3000 baht!) and dehydrated (I drank water the whole day and didn't pee at all!!), but very very happy with my purchases.
Swanlum, Central Chitlom and Siam square: Painted my fingers and toes with pretty colours all for 450 baht! Bought more tops and skirts and shorts!
Patpong: We went there just for a look see, but ended up at a bar/club which had girls gyrating and parading on a semi-circular podium. The girls all had number tags which facilitated their identification when patrons wanted them at their tables. It was a total meat show with the girls clad only in a skimpy white bikini, and since it was after all Bangkok, there were the girl-girls, and the boy-girls. There was this girl dressed in a white bikini with ruffles who was
drop dead gorgeous. Peipei and I were drooling over her the entire night! I swear, if this weren't Patpong, I would never have questioned her gender. But a friend heard her speak and it turns out that she is of the latter category! Apart from being shocked, I conceded that if I ever lost a man to her, it would be without regrets. haha, yes, she is
that hot.
At the end of the day, however, the whole experience at Patpong made me wonder what made those women stoop to working at a nightclub. I think it is not something that fortunate people like me, living in places with abundant material comforts, will ever understand. I went to see a tiger show as well, and it was fascinatingly disgusting. The emptiness in the eyes of the women performing was sobering cuz to us it is but a night, a show, an experience. But to them it is their life. I cannot imagine that kind of humiliation, both mental and physical, being inflicted on me night after night, endlessly. Honestly, I would rather die. But these women have found the courage to carry on living. These experiences have made me treasure the world I live in, where hunger is never involuntary, money is not a problem and all my needs (both emotional and material) are taken care of.
This trip to bangkok was filled with laughter, friendship, shopping and loads of fun. But beneath the elation was an undercurrent of sadness, pain and tears. Cliched as it may seem, I believe that things are never what they seem.
insatiable at 1:26 AM
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