12.17.02 - 12:03 am

tonight, as my father slept, i backpacked up, grabbed my camera and hit the road on foot. i walked for an hour away from my hotel, covering roughly 2 or 3 miles.

one part of thai my father really enjoys. the bars. the nightclubs. the sex shops and social gatherings. all of this is a thick veil of decption pulled over the eyes of the typical american tourist.

bangkok is a place void of any sort of wealth, sanitation or hope. every block or so the air would thicken with sulfur, and i would pass over an open sewer system in between the buildings. the water stagnant, slicked over with a oily sheen, and inevitably filled with human waste, garbage and decaying dog. the streets are littered with paper, straws, bottles, glass, dogs, cockroaches, people, wheeled carts, dishes, rice, stains and telephone booths. one in four were in use. people like to communicate here.

exaust from decades of traffic coats the walls, signs and the people. it thickens the air with the smell of diesel smoke.

i saw a dog get hit by a car, whine uncontrollably, pick its self off the road and run down the sidewalk, knocking chairs and signs over. people froze and looked, peeking heads from behind doors, all staring helplessly.

this is the bangkok you dont see in travel guides or tourist pamphlets. this is the bangkok the sex shops, the bars and the dance clubs pretend doesnt exist.

im having fun. but wait till tomorrow.