Bangkok, not really my cup of scald!

My mind has been blown - i'm just throwing that out there as an opening to this post! Anyone I have ever met that has set foot in Bangkok, has always offered the same few words of advice-

"Be prepared for the culture shock"

If i've said the word 'overwhelming' once this week, i've said it 100 times. It is hard to put into words, just how overwhelming the city of Bangkok really is. The number of people, the volume of traffic, the aroma of food, the heat, the noise and the general hustle & bustle of a thriving city, all contribute to the energetic vibe of this metropolis.

Riding along the ancient streets on a Tuk Tuk is a great way to get around. If you can get over the bumpy ride, it is really pleasant driving along, as the breeze really cools you down. The driver was probably bringing us around the World for sport, trying to boost his earnings, but it meant we could take in a lot more than we could on foot. Street after street of dilapidated buildings. We turned a corner then, and the influence of the West was really present. Something didn't seem right, when I saw hundreds of ancient looking, galvanized warehouses, and smack bang in the middle, sits a DHL facility, similar to one you'd see at home. It looked odd, and very out of place.

For me, part of this trip was about getting lost and just going with the situations I found myself in. Walking around some obscure part of Bangkok on Thursday, I stumbled upon a really random little festival. There was stalls left, right and centre, selling everything from whole fish, cooked on skewers to flip flops and other clothes. The funny thing is, that this festival was taking place on the grounds of a Buddhist Temple. Having done a course on Buddhism, my impression was that Buddhists embraced themselves and their spirituality, in the hope of one day, finding enlightenment. This festival, from my perspective, seemed to be the complete opposite of that. This was definitely a capitalist venture from where I was observing, and the Buddhist monks appeared to be the ring leaders. Again, bizarre!!

Speaking of capitalism, John Perkins, best selling author of 'Confessions of an Economic Hitman', explains it as, doing whatever it takes to make money, regardless of the expense to the natural World. He went one step further, to say that many true capitalists would be happy to make money at any expense to other people. My experience of Thailand thus far, would indicate that it is a highly capitalist country, and that John Perkin's description of true capitalists is bang on the money, no pun intended!

I guess it is a matter of opinion, but I would consider myself an open-minded individual. Judging people is not my thing. However, my heart has broken a couple of times here, as I watch Western men, in their droves, exploiting innocent children/teenagers that haven't had a chance to live their own lives yet. It is not right and I find it very difficult to a) bite my tongue when I see vulnerable people being taken advantage of and b) not be judgmental.

There is something very sinister about a society that sits idly by and lets this happen, all in the name of capitalism. My stomach is actually turning as I type this. Is the money, that these Western men spend in the tourism industry, really worth it? Do the local authorities place that much value on these guys money, that they are willing to exploit their very own people? It boggles my mind and I think it is a sad indictment of humanity. For the record, that is not a politically motivated statement; i'm just writing from the heart!

That's it from me, from Bangkok; next stop Chiang Mai :-)