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Yankee, Go Home!
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Now… give me all your money
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The best in tourist pricing
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Just for the Americans
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There really isn’t any other place I’ve been that’s like Khao San road in
Bangkok. Filled with backpackers from end to end, the whole street is
designed to cater to every need of your average traveler, with a good dose
of overcharging and package touring just under the surface for those who
are not too travel-smart.
My first introduction to the street came bright one morning after I
flew in from Hong Kong. Being one of the
handful of Westerners in a city of six million Chinese, I was not at all
used to the massive numbers of foreigners that literally over-run this
street during the day.
Like arriving in Amsterdam, the best, and the worst of traveling was
instantly apparent. A guy was bent over a grate, relieving himself of
breakfast after a long night of drinking, while four girls with too-new
backpacks tried to figure out which door led to a second-floor hostel.
Across the street, a vendor was chopping up pineapple for a thirsty
couple, and a waitress was opening a beer for a sexy girl giving me the
eye from a sidewalk cafe.
Not one to miss an opportunity, I walked right past her, heading for
the guesthouse a group climbing into an airport bus just left. Space is
tight in high season, and finding a decent place on Khao San requires a
bit of persistence and luck. I found a place quickly that day, but then
there have been other times I’ve spent an hour fighting for an overpriced
dump just to escape the heat and sweat of the street.
I could have used one of the ‘travel agents’ on Khao San, but
they don’t qualify as worthy in my book. Charging 100 bhat ($2.50) per day
for any reservation you make (rather than getting commission from the
hotel), and 2-4 bhat per minute (1 bhat is the price elsewhere in Bangkok)
for Internet, I view them all as con artists more than travel agents.
The best scam I see played is the telephone call cost. Not allowing
dial-direct (local call to AT&T which bills the international section
to my credit card), charging 40 bhat ($1) for collect calls, and up to 100
bhat a minute for normal international calls, they make blood-sucking
mosquitoes seem like friends. Ooo, and get this. If you wanna fax, which costs them the same as a phone call, they charge 150 bhat, instead of the 50 bhat average, even though the phone company treats (and bills) the calls the same. I especially enjoy the ‘No Free Calls’ sign hanging in one agent’s window. Fuckers! (sorry emotion gets the best of me sometimes).
Another, more insidious scam, involves the bus services they offer to
points in Thailand. First, the state buses in Thailand are cheaper and
better than any tourist-filled bus I’ve ever seen here. Running every half
or full hour to anywhere in Thailand, I’ve never had to wait more than 45
minutes for departure when I’ve randomly shown up at a state bus station,
and at $5-10 the buses are usually one third the price quoted on Khao San.
Then there are the bus ‘services’ to Cambodia. They don’t
tell you that the 500 bhat you pay on this street only gets you a mini bus
to the border and then the back of a pickup for the road
to Siem Reap. I paid less for a state bus and a front seat, which was
still ass busting hard. Those sad fools riding in the back spent their
first days in Siem Reap learning how to walk again.
Finally, after waves of English, who can’t travel far without demanding
their bland, flavorless food, the restaurants on Khao San no longer serve
Thai food, no matter what the menu says. I’ve resorted to ducking down
back alleys to find real fired rice where the shrimp
are served with their heads and the rice has spice.
All in all, I’m for changing the name of this street, from Khao San to
Con San road. It sure would be more appropriate and I can’t wait to leave
for the beach again. |
