Tuk-Tuk's, Q-Bar, and a little bit of culture shock

This week was an interesting one. On Tuesday I was sent home right after arriving at work because of protests in the area. The scene got really bad with one person dying and 400 being injured. I worked from home on Wednesday as well and was sent home early on Friday.

On the weekend I decided to do a little exploring and went to a bar highly recommended in my Lonely Planet Guide book, Q-Bar. To get there I took a Tuk-Tuk which is an experience in its own right.

Tuk-Tuk’s are fun to ride. Essentially they are a powerful golf cart but far less glamorous to ride. They all emit a lot of exhaust but if your on one you don’t really notice it, just a nice breeze as you zip down the busy roads, that is to say until you’re at a red light and stopped behind another tuk tuk. Then you might wish you were in a taxi.

Once I arrived at Q-Bar I found that I was too early to get a sense of what the crowd was like so I shortly left and went to a 7-11 (which are in surprising abundance here) and bought a few energy drinks to keep me awake. While I sat on the street corner and drank my red bulls (Thailand is after all the birth place of such drinks) I saw right in front of me a food stall specializing in fried bugs. These weren’t the small kinds either that you could swallow whole. No, these were grasshoppers the size of small mice. I will have to try them someday but that night I wasn’t really feeling it. I must say though that I finally felt a slight tinge of culture shock.

After regaining my energy I went back to Q-Bar but it was still empty. I had arrived far too early. The hostess at the door said I should go and check out a bar which was across the street on the top floor of a hotel. Having nothing else to do and with a keen sense of adventure (and some new found energy) I went to the bar called Nest. It was a very nice place, nice décor etc. but a little pricey compared to local bars. As I lounged on an industrial sized hammock I was able to find some peace and tranquility in an otherwise frenzied environment that is Bangkok. Eventually after about an hour I ventured back to Q-Bar in hopes that things had picked up a little. And they did. To my dismay however it was fully of tourists with not a single Thai in sight. All in all I stayed there for just a quick drink and headed home.

The night time taxi rides are more expensive than the day time ones as none of them actually use their meters. Rides can cost more than three times what the same ride would run you during the day time, assuming you don’t feel like bartering with them which is a practice I have always hated and therefore, never been really good at. Not sure which came first.

The ride back from Q-bar was interesting. Reminded me of driving under the Gardner in Toronto although in Bangkok it is a train above your head and either side of you is fully developed with major shopping malls and mega-plex’s.

This week look’s a lot better, so far as actually being able to work at the office, and the weekend, I’m sure, will also prove to be another adventure somewhere in this big city I’m slowly calling home.