A Reflection On the City of Sin

At first glance, Bangkok seems to be a commingling of world renowned cities and fictional places. As best I can explain it, the recipe looks something like this:

Take a hearty scoop of bladerunner era LA; sprinkle in hints of Venice; fill it with the soul (or lack there of) of Vegas, the population of New York City, the tumultuous street life of Sin City, and the royal splendor of Versailles; add a duck breast; smother it in red curry and simmer indefinitely at 100 degrees.

To serve, garnish with sprinkles of wealth and add red pepper to taste.

Joseph Conrad* would probably tell me to leave it at that, but since I think there is little room in the literary world for vagueness, I will go a step further, and explain. Bangkok is like no place on earth; still though you can't help but be reminded of other places each time you turn a corner. Every alley, spackled with billboards hanging over unimaginable people traffic, is a window into Riddley Scott's Bladerunner vision. The assertive "working girls", and so called "Lady Boys" are all trying to make a buck the hard way, and you can't walk ten feet with out a sex show being solicited. It is enough to make Vegas feel prude. In the greater Bangkok area the population is just under 12 million... They were generally friendly, but if you cut through the surface, violent sub cultures captivate the people and bring Sin City to mind. Unlicensed Muay Thai matches, and Cock fights are daily/nightly events. Every weekend market, and city arena offers the daily opportunity to gamble on which rooster will be the first to collapse dead.
As a cultural leap form that fact, a Venitianesque canal system weaves under and around the city streets. And as for the royal splendor, well Bangkok was after all the capital of the Siamese empire. The royal palace still sparkles... (As do all my new watches!)

Propaganda is not subtle in Thailand. We went to go see "The Hurt Locker" to get out of the heat. Before the movie started, standing for the national anthem, and then watching the king's promotional video, I didn't need English sub-titles to get the message. The benevolence of the king was conveyed through a photo montage that made me feel deeply uneasy. As the video progresses, a Thai child in a large class room surrenders his mistrust and finally bows down to the king; praising him for preserving the glory of the nation. Subliminal propaganda is everywhere in Thailand, escaping pictures of the king is like running from your own shadow, but the video was much more direct than the 3 story high murals. It said "Look kids, if you want your parents to love you and your teachers to respect you, then you had better bow down to the king."

Propaganda followed us across the city to the national museum the next morning, air conditioning however, did not. The museum was close to 90, with 100% humidity, and the national museum doesn't even have a solid fan system. The heat not only shot my attention span, it actually made me fear for the integrity of the exhibits. Paintings and wood carvings sit in the open air and swell under the relentless heat. The Museum was impressive, and I was blown away by the intricacy of the ivory carvings, but i couldn't help but wonder how much better the museum experience would have been if protecting national heritage was a greater priority. I couldn't help but wonder "how much of that canvas was blank 10 years ago?"


*The Joseph Conrad reference was obscure so i apologize, but having heard that it was the inspiration for "Apacalypse Now", and thinking that it was well in line with our travel plans, I decided to read "Heart of Darkness". How this 90 something page book inspired one of the longest movies I have ever seen I have no idea. Conrad is so vague that it almost feels cryptic.