Greetings from Bangkok!

Yes, the indian saga is finally at an end....for now. I have flown out of the rubbish of calcutta and into the comparative luxury of Bangkok. It's quite wierd to think that people who fly direct from europe to Bangkok having never visited asia think that it's crazy, dirty, smelly etc etc, but having come from india it feels like it could be Singapore! It's so clean! and the streets have BINS on them! BINS! Can you believe it?! So I no longer have to throw my rubbish onto the largest pile of rotten garbage I can see!

Having said that, in Calcutta I encountered a whole new system of refuse disposal: In most of India, people just throw their rubbish on the floor, and then other people, seeing a pile developing, follow suit, until there is a veritable mountain of rubbish, which rots and festers and is eaten by cows and cockroaches. Then the rubbish just sits there until god decides to remove it personally, which he rarely does in my experience.

In calcutta however, it is a different story. During the day, everyone throws their rubbish onto the floor just about anywhere, and over the day it piles up, creating "trash drifts" against walls and gutters, and then towards the end of the day it starts to putrify in the heat and smell bad, and then, at about 5am, the magic happens!! Trucks arrive and men jump off and begin shovelling the layer of trash off the road and onto trucks!! Then the trucks drive away and dispose of the rubbish in a special place called "Somebody elses problem"! It's amazing! The amount of trash involved is mind boggling. I rekon about 20 metres of street fills one truck!

Anyway, so now I'm in Thailand. One of first experiences so far has been to be treated with rude indifference by salespeople!! Amazing! I was stood outside a shop looking at the hammocks as i thought i might buy one for the beach. Then the old woman from inside came out and started rearranging the hammocks I had just moved. I thought she was going to offer to show me one, but instead she gave me a withering look that said "How dare you disturb my display!". I said "are these not for sale?" pointing at the hammocks, and she waved me away with a scowl! Some people just dont want my money! It's amazing! In india, they may be pushy, but damn they know their customer service. The old woman was Thai-Chinese, and I have to say it reminded me of Singapore... :o

Anyway, for those that dont know, Khao sarn Road is the Bangkok equivalent of Thamel in Khatmandu. Just loads of tourists and loads of touristy shops and pubs etc etc. It sucks. I have to leave asap! Will decide soon....

seey'all.
posted by Billy at 11:56 AM