Night-life....

Before we left England we swore that when we got to Bangkok that our recent lethargic attitude to going out and socialising would change. It was very easy to blame a lack of money or the immense cost of an English ‘night-out’ as the reason we rarely went anywhere. I think in 15 months we went out in Manchester about 3 times and in London about 5 times. I think to be honest we’ve just fallen into that 2 sided trap where we have gotten used to enjoying nights in on the sofa watching movies and being free from having to make unduly taxing conversation, and we’ve also given ourselves long enough of a break off alcohol to feel our bodies recover. Why is it that hangovers seem worse the closer I get to 30...? Surely I’m not getting too old..? It’s not long since I was back in Roatan, partying like there was no tomorrow. So what happened in a year and a half to make me change from having to convince myself it’s a good idea to stay in as opposed to now where I have to force myself to go out? Well...I’ve come to the conclusion that I never really used to feel my hangover that badly before because I never really felt that good in the first place. When you drink nearly every night (god bless Sundowners), you’re pretty much permanently hung-over anyway. It seems that now, not only are we going from sober to drunk far quicker than ever, but that the force of the hangover is far greater regardless on the substantially smaller amount of alcohol consumed.
It’s probably this reason that has meant that we have managed very few proper nights out. Even fewer when you take out those nights out that actually ended up being more shopping than drinking. The problem is now we can’t really use the excuse that we can’t afford the taxi home, or the drinks out for that matter, or that there isn’t anywhere near us worth going to. However, we now have a new excuse... having faced 36 bouncing 6 year olds whilst suffering from a hangover once or twice before, I have learnt that teaching and drinking are just not compatible.

A few weeks ago we had our first visitor and had grand plans of going out to loads of places and showing her all sites of Bangkok. It doesn’t matter what kind of a budget you’re on here, there really is something for everyone. You can do it cheaply, either by going to small local Thai hangouts and paying the equivalent of 70 pence for a large bottle of Chang or Singha, or you can go to Khoa San road and hang out with every other foreigner on a budget; eat a square meal and drink yourself silly for less than a fiver. While there are the very cheap options for a night out, it is also possible to go out and burn money really quickly. There are a wide selection of bars for the wealthier locals, expats and more discerning tourist. A few of these places have decided to charge you more simply for the privilege of pushing you closer up to the smog line in the sky. For the price of 320 baht a cocktail (about 5 quid; quite cheap for London but very extravagant here), you can stand on the roof of one of the taller buildings in Bangkok and in very fine surroundings survey the city below you. The experience although somewhat extravagant for a regular night out, is nice to take people who are visiting. The view (once you get used to standing on the edge of nothingness and manage to open your eyes) is pretty unforgettable. Now we have another thing to add to list of ‘must do’ nights out in Bangkok, aside from the ping pong and Katoey shows that is.

The photos are from our night out with Kate at the Sky bar, 64 floors up.

Disasters waiting to happen

There’s always something new and unusual to see when you visit or live in a country that you’ve not grown up in and for westerners visiting Asian countries this is particularly true. Then again no doubt Asian people visiting western countries would find many of our day-to-day activities a little odd.
Back home when we get on public transport, it is the norm for people to offer their seats to old people or pregnant women (well everywhere outside of London anyway). In Thailand it is the norm for adults, old, pregnant or otherwise, to give their seat up for a child. Here it is children that are given the greatest respect (perhaps that’s why they are such brats half the time). If they don’t get given the seat on the bus or sky-train, then it is expected that they will sit on somebody’s lap. You frequently see children and bags farmed out onto complete stranger’s laps. I think that people back home would have a slight trust issue with this.

Perhaps one of things that stands out most here is the different ideas on safety and regulations. Having lived in a selection of places I’ve learnt that everywhere has its own idea of what is or isn’t ok. And, apart from the obvious ‘diving with student’ regulations I’ve never been a great stickler for rules. Living in Bangkok however and you’re constantly faced with things that either at best make you do a double take, at worst make you cringe and turn away for fear of witnessing disaster. Whether it’s 3 adults and 3 kids on a motorbike with no helmets on while travelling at speed in four lanes of traffic, or simply a guy on a moped with a Vicks nasal stick up each nostril (evidently this unique brand of air-conditioning isn’t that dangerous – until he falls off and it becomes a unique type of brain surgery), there’s always a reason to be looking out the window of your taxi.

The other day Nick and I were having breakfast on the back balcony and looking at the guys working on the new building across the way. They have been building some new apartments and are now painting the outside. This is a job that seemed to fall to one person who, as you can see from the picture, was in a rather precarious position. Every time he moved the whole structure (which wasn’t that stable to begin with) wobbled violently. The scariest thing however, was the fact that for him to go up or down a rung he had to span a distance greater than his actual height, while dealing with the wobble and the unsecured bucket of paint.

It seems that even where children are involved, even the precious little Faberge eggs that we have in our care at school, that there can be an insane disregard for danger. Very near our office, all the old school buildings have been knocked down to make way for a new larger structure. If you are to look through the door of my old classroom you will see three walls and a vast gaping hole where the opposite wall once was. Half of the structure has been knocked down and there are minimal if any supports to secure what’s remaining; stuff is constantly falling. The worst part about this is that children have been playing outside the classrooms and the doors have remained unlocked. It took one of the other English teachers to point out the potential danger in this before they actually thought about securing the area. It is a real miracle that there aren’t accidents happening all around us.