No matter how long the actual flight, it always seems to take me most of the day to get from one country to another. I left my Hong Kong hotel at 9.30 this morning and by the time I had unpacked in Bangkok it was 5.00pm – and the flight was less than 2 1/2 hours. So, no time for exploring today, only stocking up on nibbles etc at the 7 Eleven across the street. On the way there and back I saw Patpong stallholders getting ready for the eagerly anticipated evening rush in the market.
Each stall is erected and product displayed around this time 365 days a year and then, some 8 hours later, all unsold product is packed up and the stall dismantled until the same time tomorrow.
Close by the market there are, of course, food stalls frequented by both locals and some tourists.
The aromas wafting up from such places are seriously mouthwatering making a delightful change from the smell of the ever present carbon monoxide fumes!
The Thais must be on a health kick because I have never seen fruit stalls here before. The range of fruits on offer was impressive and I will definitely be stopping by this place tomorrow for some of my 5 a day.
Meanwhile, it was reassuring to see Tuk Tuks still plying their trade
although their numbers are diminishing year by year as the drivers either die off (!) or advance to become 4 wheeled taxi drivers.
The workers prefer a more conventional method of getting home after their hard day’s labour.
I read recently that Bangkok is the most visited tourist city in Asia which set me thinking about tourism in general. We all know how economically important this industry is, especially to emerging nations but is it always a long term benefit? Is there not a danger that to encourage ever greater visitor numbers, the very things that made the city or country so attractive in the first place are destroyed? Is it really so important to build increasing numbers of Novotels, Holiday Inns, Sheratons or Shangrilas which look and are exactly the same all over the world? Is it so essential to replace quirky little small shops and restaurants wth globally branded restaurant chains often located in vast shopping malls? How do you balance the need to maintain the essential characteristics of a place which made it so attractive in the first place with the requirement of so many tourists who really do like the comfort of a Renaissance Hotel or even a Burger King?! Answers on a postcard, please.
Last night I was charged more than £6 for a pint of Carlsberg. I know the exchange rate is currently against me but that’s outrageous. I must be able to find something cheaper here, surely?
Phileas
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