We spent the entire day at the Chatuchak weekend market. 15,000 stalls, 200,000 people, no air con. It was insane. There were times I thought I’d suffocate. There were times I wanted to strangle everyone in the crowd. There were times I wished I was back in Laos. But the prices on clothes were really cheap in comparison to home (the prices for souvenirs were the most expensive I’d seen in Asia, but still way cheaper than home). I got a bunch of tops and dresses, Dave got plenty of shirts and a pair of shorts, and a bunch if gifts and souvenirs. Sadly, the items I didn’t buy in Cambodia (Buddha head and bronze elephant shaped box) and was hoping to find cheaper in Thailand were nowhere to be found. Lesson learned too late: when you find something you love, buy it. Better to find out later that you over paid it by a couple of bucks than to not find it at all. Oh well.
We only planned to spend the morning at the market. It was 5pm when we left. What an experience!
After a stop at MBK to buy a new bag for all our loot, and another at our hotel to drop everything off, we attempted to make reservations at three different restaurants. No luck. Annoyed, we took the sky train to a district and hoped to find a good restaurant that could accommodate us. Dave brought us to a Lonely Planet recommended spot that served a good, albeit oversized, meal.
Next, we returned to Pat Pong for attempt number two at catching a ping pong show. After our previous experience it was hard to trust any of the men that tried to pull us into their club. We joined ourselves to a family from Texas (the mom was drunk off her ass) who had a Thai guide with them. When we told him the story of the pervious attempt, he made sure to grill the guy who was trying to get us into his club. The guy gave his word that the price was 300b and included one drink. Since there were many of us, we were confident about “Super Pussy” and trusted that they wouldn’t screw us. We were right. No hidden costs. No surprises. The place was legit. Well, as legit as these types of places can get.
With our Singha beer in hand and a prime spot in front of the stage, the show began.
Warning, the following description is graphic and not intended for children or my parents. Read at your own peril and don’t judge us for going to this show. It’s one of those Bangkok must-sees.
First, a lady pulled about 5 feet of strung together bells out of her hoo-ha. Next, a woman blew out candles on a birthday cake out of hers. Then, a woman opened bottles of soda (without a bottle opener), splashing a few unsuspecting audience members. Another woman pulled meters of fluorescent ribbon out of her nether region. Next, a woman shot blow darts out of hers, with surprising aim, and popped a bunch of balloons over 10 feet away. She then smoked two cigarettes (not with her mouth). Another woman pulled a bunch of strung together razor blades from her lady-parts and proceeded to cut a piece of paper to prove they were all sharp. Another woman asked a guy in the audience to write his name on a piece of paper, she then wrote “welcome to Thailand Shawn, 2009″ with a marker but no hands—her penmanship was impeccable. Another used chopsticks to pick up plastic rings off the stage. And finally, a woman shot ping-pong balls out to an audience member armed with a paddle.
There is nothing sexy about this type of show: none of these women were attractive, most had clear signs of previous pregnancies, and one was at least 50 years old (I guess experience counts for something, she was the one who did most of the really impressive stunts). All begged/harassed the audience for tips after each stunt—especially of any audience member who participated in the act (paddle, name, etc.). But it is a part of Bangkok “me love you long time” culture and an experience I didn’t want to miss.
When the staff started harassing us to buy another drink, we left the bar and went back to the hotel.
Continue: SEA Honeymoon Day 29 – Koh Lanta and our honeymoon nest
