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OK, so I was there a bit longer than that...but it didn't stop the song from running through my head, since many of my formative years were in the 1980's.
I've driven in Baghdad. You couldn't pay me enough to navigate the mean streets of Bangkok. Granted, in Baghdad, we were able to "persuade" other motorists to kindly yield for us.....[cue innocuous whistling....]. I found this photo online, as I didn't take any from a van's eye view myself, but is a pretty good representation of the traffic on every street we went down, while transiting between various point.
The countryside was much nicer, combing an odd sense of modernity and neo-medievalism. I'm not a huge fan of Thai food, but here had the opportunity to eat authentically, and had some really good [and spicy] dishes. Also had some I'd rather forget.
And reminiscent of Nazi Germany only in regards to decor, this guy looks at you from everywhere you find yourself.
Well, he is the king after all. Funny that you should mention the Nazis: the Thais, if one spends a brief amount of time doing the research, weren't all that uncomfortable with the Japanese, shall we say.
ReplyDeleteI spent a few months in Thailand in the mid-70s, a hazy memory. I remember the food was good, at least during the brief while that I passed through Bangkok. I do remember that there was a ton of people crammed into the city, & I was glad to see it in my rear-view mirror.
I spent time in Pattaya Beach when the US Navy Warship I was station on did a port call there. Great people, lovely scenic beaches. I had to make two separate trips via "jeepneys" into Bankok to retrieve our ships US mail at our Embassy and the ride through the countryside was splendid (we drank beer the whole trip there and back) and once in Bankok it was a totally different World altogether no unlike New York City but filled with Asians.
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