Bangkok by Night

I was trying to live off a budget of 100 baht a day ($3.30) for awhile because I want to make sure I have enough money to get a scuba certificate in April. It is feasible to get breakfast, lunch, a coffee, dinner, a beer and a snack all for 100 baht. But then I realized time was going on and I still didn't feel like I knew Bangkok very well, so I scratched that idea and started going out with some of the people in my class who are getting the teaching certificate as well.

There are 13 people in the class and it runs Mon- Fri 10am to 4pm- long days. It really is a diverse group of people ranging in age from 21 to 62 from all parts of the world. It is such a diverse group of people who all bring so many different qualities to the table. We are learning the basics of English and how to present them. Every week we have to give at least one presentation on a certain topic. My instructional speech was teaching the class the fundamentals of Salsa dancing...haha it went well. After sitting in class all day your ready to go out and explore.

We didn't have class last Thursday because it was a Buddhist holiday, so Pedro, Dan, his friend Collin, and myself went out for a night on the town. Pedro just moved here from Canada and Dan and his friend are both from England. We took a cab to the RCA district, it is the best known place in the city for the large nightclubs. This is the place where all the young rich Thais come to show off what they got! The clubs are a bit different here in Thailand, they do not just have a large bar area then a large dance floor, in fact they don't have much a dance floor at all. There are tables throughout the whole room and you just kind of stand at them and dance in one area.... not my style of a dance club but it sure was interesting to see. They kept playing American music but they were songs that were popular about 5 years ago.

That night we went to 3 other clubs in the RCA district. It is a strip of large clubs with fancy

outdoor seating and crazy lights all around, it reminded me of Vegas meets the Gas lamp district of San Diego. The drinks were expensive but still cheaper than the states, we started off with a bottle of vodka then switched to beer and at the last bar we ordered a bottle of whisky. Needless to say I felt great the next day. We left the RCA at around 2 in the morning and went to another club named "Spicy". I wasn't sure why but no matter where you are in Bangkok you could get a taxi for free to come to this club. When I walked in I knew why, it was a place where the working girls hounded faraangs. Not just working girls, you also had to look out for Thailand's deceivingly charming third gender, the Lady boys. This one Thai girl who was sitting close to me laughed and pointed out the Lady boys that were making out with men who thought they were really women. I got a kick out of that but then realized I can't trust anyone in this city. I had at least 5 people tell me that since I've been here- I mean just random people telling me this.

On Friday night everyone was going out from class again so I went too. This weekend they were holding elections so you can't buy or legally drink alcohol anywhere in the country. Can you imagine if they did this in the states? We found a bar that served us drinks so we all celebrated being halfway done with the course. We left that bar around 11 and Pedro, Dan, Colin, and I took a cab to Khoa San Road. For being a Friday night the street was not so packed because of the no drinking policy. We found a bar that would serve us but only in red sketchy cups and they told us if you see the cops throw your drink on the ground. We ended up at another club and ordered a bottle of whisky.... that night didn't end until after 4 am. Let's just say my 100 baht a day plan is done for.

Bangkok is a city that never sleeps. At any hour of the day there will be a traffic jam and loads of people walking around the streets. The nightlife is huge here.

I am getting really excited to see the rest of Thailand. I have been gone for almost a month now and feel like I've been in Bangkok forever. I am excited for the countryside and the hill tribe communities. I am also very excited to rent a motorcycle, you can rent them for $10 a day and it is a great way to see the country- I just don't dare drive in Bangkok- I've already seen someone on a bike get hit to the ground and accidents happen everyday. Even with saying that I still love taking motorcycle taxi's- I was scared out of my mind the first time but now I'm addicted.