One Night in Bangkok Makes a Hard Man Humble

Saturday 11 October
Bangkok

So we went to Chatuchat Market to see what all the fuss was about. It's huge and easy to get lost in. We had been told that it was divided into different sections, with parts devoted to various products but we found pretty much the same types of stalls repeated over and over, with the odd unique place tucked in between.

James needed to buy a large bag to bring everything back in (the news suits are pretty large) so we hunted down one of those. I've found that I'm better at bartering than I used to be - after all, you can always ask for a lower price - they can always say no. The only thng that's forcing you to stop is when you agree. It's a fun challenge.

We go on to buy some of the traditional Red Bull t-shirts and then I snap up a couple of Loungecore CDs in homage to the music that's been following us. After that we bid adieu to the good DOctor as he takes his taxi back to the airport. I go off and pick up my suit. It's quite tight, but looks the part.

After that I go to watch some kickboxing. It's fairly violent, though only as bad as any other type of combat sport as far as I can tell. One guy was knocked out but walked from the ring so he was OK I guess. There's also a whole load of traditional ceremony that goes on before each bout, praying to various entities including the corners of the ring, and ritualised movements that go with it.

After that I meet up with Pete and Catherine in a nearby food hall and have a bit to eat, before heading out for the night. The first stop is Patpong where all the titty-bars are. As well as the bars the streets are full of market stalls. I noticed some good fake Ed Hardy t-shirts which at GBP 10 are about a tenth of the price back home. Hawkers kept approaching me trying to get me into the girly bars, while others just held out cards saying "DVD sex" which seemed strange - who would want to have intercourse with a media format?

After walking around there for a bit I decided to head out clubbing, to the Bed Supperclub, which seems to be the coolest "joint" in town right now, not least as it combines all the best parts of a restaurant, a nightclub and a bedroom in one large space-pod like building. The crowd was about 50-50 Asian to Western, possibly slightly more Westerners, and remarkably there didn't seem to be any hookers. To start off with I wasn't feeling that into it, but a couple of drinks later I started chatting to people and working my way on to the dancefloor. As Pete had predicted, a crowd of Thai girls crowded round this single Westerner. One thing led to another, and everyone had an enjoyable night.