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I have a friend who has a mixed ethnicity of Thai and Laotian. At the beginning of the year, he mentioned that he was going to Thailand in November (2002) to see his dying grandfather. We briefly talked about it and since I was planning a trip to Vietnam some time that year, I decided to make a side trip and accompany him to Thailand. The same year, I moved to Calgary but before I left, we made a pact to step foot on Thai soil together.

Some time in July, I received an email from him. He explained that he had to make an urgent trip because his grandfather was in a critical condition and that he was leaving in 2 weeks. His email also mentioned the word "sorry" a billion times and my reply to him consisted of, "Beep beep beep beep beep, you will be sorry after I'm done with you, you beep beep beep beep!" After I received his email, I decided to take Thailand off my itinerary but still had plans to go to Vietnam.

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August came around and I had to make a one-day trip back to Winnipeg (City where that ditching bastard lives). I stayed over at his house. He refreshed his memory by giddily telling me all his Thai tales. The story that intrigued me most was of a coffee shop girl. Phot, the bastard, stayed in Thailand for 3 weeks and for the duration of that time, he would patronize a coffee shop in a high-rise shopping centre almost every morning. On his last day in Thailand, one of the servers approached him and said that she had noticed him sitting by himself every morning. She, according to him, spoke immaculate English and she, according to him again, was the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes on. As he left, he tipped her 1000 baht. That's one thousand baht! At the time, it was equivalent to $40 and probably 1/2 of her monthly salary. A coffee girl!!! That didn't even serve him!!! He did get a hug, though. A forty dollar hug. You do the math.

The more he spoke of this girl, the more I wanted to see her for myself. A month after I got back to Calgary, I went to purchase my ticket. I thought about it long and hard and decided to brave Thailand, even if I were to be by my lonesome. However, I will not deny that my curiosity for this coffee girl played a major role in my decision to see the Land of Smiles.

Anticipation and apprehension got the better of me as I boarded my plane at six in the morning on November 13, 2002. I received one hour of sleep the night prior and the only thing that drove me forward was adrenaline. That was how the beginning of a 96-day trip through Asia started.

To be continued....

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Part II - The Arrival

Bangkok, known to the Thais as Krung Thep meaning City of Angels, is a bustling city built with modern infrastructure in mind. Home to unofficially 11 million citizens, Bangkok is a booming, entrepreneurial city striving for world recognition that is beyond their naughty and infamous nightlife. Don Muang Airport was, by far, the easiest airport for me to get through. I swear the customs officer looked at my passport for two seconds, stamped it, didn't even look at me, and admitted me into the country. My luggage did not go through any sort of scanner and I walked around like I owned the place. In other words, my type of airport service!

I arrived in Bangkok knowing literally nothing. It was two in the morning and I did not have a hotel, I did not have any contacts and I definitely did not know what was in store for me. All I knew was Khao San Road - backpacker's district. I felt it was time for me to brave the city so I headed for the immediate exit. Since it was winter in Canada, I had a thick sweater on with a moderately thick windbreaker on top. The main doors swung open and as I stepped out of Don Muang, I felt myself getting hit by a wall of humidity. The air was so thick and humid it almost pushed me back. I silently cried out in pain.

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Tossing the pain aside, I hailed a taxi and said, "Khao San". The 30-kilometer ride set me back almost 700b ($25), however, money was not an issue for me at the moment for my worries were set on finding a place to sleep for the night. The city was dead, which shocked me because I've read that Bangkok is a night city; one that never sleeps. We approached Khao San and that was when everything sprung to life.

It was three now and people were everywhere. I exited the cab and grabbed my trusty backpack. I thanked the driver and started to strut down Khao San Road. Everything was overwhelming. The shops and restaurants were packed together like sardines in a can. The streets were nearing filthy and the lights and signs were downright incomprehensible. This was actually my first trip alone anywhere and I was beginning to worry because of my shy and timorous character.

My general rule of thumb: "If you don't want to trouble yourself by looking, let someone do the looking for you!"

With this rule in mind, I approached two Caucasian guys just finishing a late-night snack. I donned my most convincing, strayed guise and asked them if they knew of a decent, clean place I could spend a night.

"Well, now," one of them said in a heavy American accent, "what do we have here?"

To be continued...

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Part III - Khao San

"Where are you from, friend," questioned one of the curious Americans.

"I'm Canadian," I responded.

"Well, this place here [restaurant] is also a hotel so maybe you could ask them for a room."

"I'll do that!"

I thanked them and started walking towards the back of the restaurant and as I glanced about, I immediately knew this was not my idea of a luxury hotel. It was at that time that I felt a tap on my shoulder. I quickly turned around and looked into the eye of an African-American looking fellow. "Do you remember me," he asked almost as if he was pleading.

I scrutinized him. "Sorry, but I don't recall." I tried to put a name to his face but then thought, "How can I possibly know anyone from a city I just arrived in???"

"I was on your flight," he said in aid to my obviously baffled look.

"Oh," I said at a loss for words. The poor guy - he seemed more lost than me. I, then, left him as Unknownsu's law of traveling suddenly came to my mind: "When harm looks upon you, a barbaric battle of selfishness ensues and the victor is one who thinks only of oneself."

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I returned to the two Americans with a disappointed look on my face, hoping they will introduce something more suitable to my tastes. "Nope, not my cup of tea," was all I said.

"Well, we're staying in a hotel just off Khao San so if you want, you can try there. We'll walk with you."

That was exactly what I wanted to hear. So we headed back onto Khao San and while we walked to their hotel, we made small talk. We exchanged information on residency, travel itinerary, and names. One of them went by the name, Bob. The one thing that shocked me though was he told me he wanted to pretend to be Canadian for the duration of his trip so he asked me what it was like in Canada. He didn't seem like he was joking so I gave him a brief description of Calgary. To this day, I'm still not sure whether he really did pretend to be Canadian or if his intent was genuine.

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We walked through the backpacker's district and arrived at their hotel. It qualified. It was nearing four in the morning now and people were still walking about - some waking up, and some still taking advantage of the endless night. Bob asked if I was tired. Although my body screamed, "Hell yeah," my mind retorted, "Nah, I'm Superman." He invited me to a beer just outside our hotel and I readily agreed. As soon as I checked into my room, I bounced back out and met Bob at an outdoor stall and ordered two large bottles of Singha Gold.

I sat there, feeling a bit light-headed, absorbing the environment in the warm gentle breeze. For a second, the world appeared to have slowed down as my eyes began to water up. After all that happened, it finally dawned on me - I was in Thailand.

To be continued...