5/13 - First Impressions
Well, it's 9am (on Friday the 13th!) and we have one complete day in the bag. We felt like we covered a lot of ground yesterday and learned a great deal. We are forming our first impressions of the people, the economics, the food, the government, and the situation involving tsunami recovery. But we are trying to refrain from making big generalizations about the culture. We need more experience and sleep.
We were happy to meet up with an American living in Thailand on the plane flight over here. Cliff, the phrases and ideas of what to expect have been very useful. We have already busted out some Thai on shop owners and tuk-tuk drivers. The response is very positive. Last night, we hung out and had dinner with Ansley, a new friend that we met at the airport. It was nice to be able to share thoughts with another traveler.
The weather is hot and muggy, with a general cloud cover and dim sunlight. The surprising thing is that the temp doesn't change much from day to night. It's never really too hot, just consistently sweaty.
We have a lot to learn about bartering (which you do for virtually everything). We'd love to say we are on the steep part of the learning curve, but when we bartered our way into a higher price for not only our next night's stay at the hotel but also for the night we already spent, we couldn't help but just laugh at ourselves. I guess in that sense, we haven't changed--we continue to joke around with each other even in the haze of pollution, jet-lag, and anxiety.
Based on the few Thai we have met and spoken with, (Mr. Pat, the hotel manager, Mr. T, our tuk-tuk driver, Chaiyong, the government paid temple volunteer and teacher, and Ram, the clothing salesman) we've found it hard to discern whether their friendliness is genuine or just a front to somehow get more from our pockets. We oscillate between feeling welcomed and feeling like prey.
The commerce here is incessant. It's tough to navigate the streets because vendors are set up one, after the other, after the other - with street vendors just 5 feet outside retail shops. Everyone wants to sell you something. And speaking of streets, what IS a street? Everything is a street here! We'll be walking along a 6ft wide "alley", with tables and food stands on either side, and here comes a 125cc motorbike (with two guys on it) picking their way towards us. Taxis somehow manage to navigate unbelievably tight quarters.
We are catching a flight to Krabi this evening. Once there, we'll look for lodging and figure out our plans for the next 24hrs - which should include our travel to Koh Phi Phi. We're really looking forward to getting to work on the island.
Khaosan Road at Night
We were happy to meet up with an American living in Thailand on the plane flight over here. Cliff, the phrases and ideas of what to expect have been very useful. We have already busted out some Thai on shop owners and tuk-tuk drivers. The response is very positive. Last night, we hung out and had dinner with Ansley, a new friend that we met at the airport. It was nice to be able to share thoughts with another traveler.
The weather is hot and muggy, with a general cloud cover and dim sunlight. The surprising thing is that the temp doesn't change much from day to night. It's never really too hot, just consistently sweaty.
We have a lot to learn about bartering (which you do for virtually everything). We'd love to say we are on the steep part of the learning curve, but when we bartered our way into a higher price for not only our next night's stay at the hotel but also for the night we already spent, we couldn't help but just laugh at ourselves. I guess in that sense, we haven't changed--we continue to joke around with each other even in the haze of pollution, jet-lag, and anxiety.
Based on the few Thai we have met and spoken with, (Mr. Pat, the hotel manager, Mr. T, our tuk-tuk driver, Chaiyong, the government paid temple volunteer and teacher, and Ram, the clothing salesman) we've found it hard to discern whether their friendliness is genuine or just a front to somehow get more from our pockets. We oscillate between feeling welcomed and feeling like prey.
The commerce here is incessant. It's tough to navigate the streets because vendors are set up one, after the other, after the other - with street vendors just 5 feet outside retail shops. Everyone wants to sell you something. And speaking of streets, what IS a street? Everything is a street here! We'll be walking along a 6ft wide "alley", with tables and food stands on either side, and here comes a 125cc motorbike (with two guys on it) picking their way towards us. Taxis somehow manage to navigate unbelievably tight quarters.
We are catching a flight to Krabi this evening. Once there, we'll look for lodging and figure out our plans for the next 24hrs - which should include our travel to Koh Phi Phi. We're really looking forward to getting to work on the island.
Khaosan Road at Night
posted by schartwig at 7:30 PM
2 Comments:
Sounds like you are having fun!!
M & D
"We oscillate between feeling welcomed and feeling like prey."
I couldn't have said it better. I wrestled with those feelings as well. You can't help but wonder if the friendly inquiry of, "Oh! Where are you from?" is so that they can decide if you're going to get sacked with "American Pricing".
Then there's the guilt of realizing that you're haggling over 50 cents to maybe a dollar with someone who makes about 4,000 baht a month. But still, does that give them the right to shake you by your ankles? It's probably as age old a quandary as the sex trade in those parts.
In the markets, offer half of what they do right off the bat and work your way 2-3 rounds from there. That pretty much does the trick.
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