Monthly Archives: January 2011

Salesman Sees Red on Trip to Khao San Road

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The Bionic Salesman
A Journey around Thailand

The Redshirts came out in force on Sunday. I noticed it first at Ratchathewi, where every third vehicle was a wriggling octopus of scarlet revellers from all the generations.

Children, parents, grandparents all crammed into pick-up trucks so full that their legs dangled off the back. Grannies held up their flags as they stood against the truck cabins. Children sat bewildered or played with their toys. Cars were just as full, with Redshirts sitting in the opened boots, with their legs dangling.

I was on my way to Khao San Road, and it was immediately obvious that shouldn’t take a taxi. I walked the full distance from Ratchathewi to Khao San Road, with the traffic beside moving in stops and starts, so that every few minutes I would hear the same blast of music and the same cheers catching me up from behind. Continue reading →

Siam’s Squawking Man from Xi’an

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Xi'an Man in Siam

Xi'an Man in Siam

The Bionic Salesman
A Journey around Thailand

“Two cliches make us laugh but a hundred cliches moves us because we sense dimly that the cliches are talking among themselves, celebrating a reunion.” Umberto Eco

It must be homesickness that makes me use this quote again. Readers of my other attempts at blogging will recognise it.

You need to remember that I live in China, where they have no fear of cliches, embrace them, cherish them, even.

This is nowhere truer than with the conversations you have with people you’ve just met. These conversations are like reading from a script. The pattern never varies but people never tire of it. It is at once both cliched and profoundly comforting. In China, you’ll never be lost for words. Continue reading →

Trail of Two Bangkoks

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The Bionic Salesman
A Journey around Thailand

Ah, Thailand at last – land of beauty, smiles, elegant beaches and unfathomable ways. I’ve been here a few days now and I already feel I know something of the country’s fine traditions. I know, for example, that at four thirty every Friday, the people of Bangkok like to get in their cars and park them in the streets with the engines running. I’ve already learned not to go anywhere on Friday afternoons.

Bangkok

I’ve taken a liking to the little streets of boutiques and restaurants in Siam Square (see pix). This is the city’s good side – indigenous, young, vibrant and creative. I walked there for ages. Bought some crispy pork and an Itchy (or is it Scratchy?) T-shirt. Couldn’t resist a smirk when I got to “Miss Puke’s” massage parlour. Continue reading →

Bionic Salesman Bounces Through Customs

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Waboba Thailand Road TripThe Bionic Salesman
A Journey around Thailand

My journey begins with the discovery that the Bangkok Bounce website has been blocked in China. I can’t imagine what could be so subversive about a website about bouncy balls. Ah, but maybe they think Bangkok Bounce sounds like something else altogether. Shame on you, censors. This is a family site.

I am traveling with the largest wheelie suitcase I could find. Considerably overweight, and containing a mass of medical equipment, a toothbrush, two pairs of underwear and one T-shirt, it is as stubborn and immovable as a bloated sheep. Apart from a computer, a camera and three Waboba balls, that is all I have with me. There’s no space for clothes. I am like a snake sloughing off its skin. Continue reading →