Boom-boom, ping pong show, lots of ladies for you, cheap-cheap, ruthless cabbies yelling and chasing after you, and a nauseating smell comparable to nothing else, are all things I recommend you experience on your first night in Thailand.
After a rather painful, non drug induced 15 hour flight, inflicting overwhelming jet lag, the last thing you would want to do is cruise the busy market street known as Khao sahn road, however I believe this is the only way to truly prepare yourself for the possible nightmare that is Bangkok, at least in the eyes of the virgin traveler.
On Khao sahn road and its surrounding sister and brother streets you can expect to find the kindest faces to the dirtiest riff raff, swarming you instantly as you wander around checking out street side markets, filled with interesting goods and stinky chicken. The majority of these people are Tuk Tuk drivers, which are like a 3 wheel motorcycles, large enough to carry 3 Americans and or 27 Thai in the back, and the others are annoying cabbies which ask you the same thing each and every time you pass them……..ping pong show, cheap cheap ladies and sometimes they do actually offer you a ride for a fair price. This is extremely overwhelming considering there is nothing of the sorts to be found in Canada or anywhere else I have been….so basically just Canada. To complement and actually complete the first nights experience is the sickening smell. Around each street corner is a different, but equally disgusting scent that lingers up, down, and all around you at all times. This unknown aroma is impossible to get away from and your only options are is to be too drunk to smell it or accept it and gag a little every so often, and then try not to puke.
So to cap it off, as unenjoyable as this first time experience was for me, I would still highly recommend it to be your first one upon arrival in Thailand, and seriously I doubt you really have a choice in the matter anyway. It did really allow me to wake up and appreciate the many things I take for granted in my glorious life, and also prepared me for the journey up ahead, which right now I am like 6 days ahead of in my writing this post so I can honestly say it actually did so take my advice.
So as they say from where I am from……Do the Khao sahn but don’t get screwed on the Khao sahn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
