Siam I Am (3/18/2009)

At 3:30 a.m., I caught the elevator from the fifteenth floor of my hotel - one of Bangkok's chicest, mind you - to begin the long trip home. There, dressed in a collared shirt and tweed blazer, was a middle-aged Russian man negotiating pricing terms with a twentysomething Thai woman. A friend had once told me that, in Bangkok, "everything is for sale, even your dignity." Judging from this - and the stream of young ladies strolling out as we gathered in the lobby - dignity futures must be recession proof.

Bangkok, though, is far more glory than cheap, colored lights. With due heed to its larger, richer, cleaner neighbors, it is the indisputable hub of Southeast Asia, a city whose anything-goes mentality and openness make it a scrumptious treat for all who venture through it. Singapore should be seen, Saigon witnessed. Bangkok should be lived.

You, though, will never live Bangkok as we did. The last stop on our three-country tour (three-country tour), we were slated to visit several firms to get a sense of the Thai economy, contrast it with technically communist Vietnam and technically democratic Singapore. Our first host, the Boonrawd Brewery (producers of Singha Beer, Thailand's best-selling lager), cast Ceasar's proverbial die, welcomed us with more bells and whistles, chutes and ladders, pomp and circumstance than when the Pope visited Washington (I know. I was there.) For two days, we were visiting royalty, a state visit from the Duchy of Durham. A double-decker bus. Motorcycles that stopped traffic. A banner larger than the championship ones which hang in Cameron. A party boat. An executive reception. The Singha ladies (all the Singha ladies). A staff photographer who snapped 1,007 pictures. A brewery tour. Puppet shows. Karaoke. Sightseeing vans. And a farewell dinner that sent us - some without sleep - directly onto our flight home.

Bangkok is Southeast Asia's liveliest city, one where you can do anything (yes, anything) anytime of day or night. Tour the Grand Palace in the pulsating heat, be Yul Brynner. Stand in awe of the Reclining Buddha, half a football field of deity. Relax with a Thai
Massage, and contour yourself like Cirque du Soleil. Sip Singha Beer. Take the Sky Train and give up your seat to a monk. Float down the river and gawk at the abutting temples; watch the fish who spawn nearby, realizing that it's uncool to kill things near Buddhist temples (go natural selection!). While away your evening at a Thai kickboxing match or the night markets.

"Night markets" sounds sleazy, but it's not, I promise. A word on that, though: it's difficult to view Bangkok's red light districts, two of which were blocks from our hotel, without the typical Western prejudices. Interestingly, the industry was born of American hormones: GIs used Bangkok as an R&R post during the Vietnam war. Add that to the different sexual mores (no Christianity to tell you it's evil, no Freud to whisper Oedipus in your ear), and you have 18 year-olds thinking they're about to die in a culture where sex is more open and less repressed. Score another for the great moral enforcer, but don't lie, you would have too. Thirty years on, it's still disturbing to stroll three blocks from your hotel and notice women who look 20 (but ...) wearing numbers, a walking lineup for Johns. Many come to support their families in provinces, others, more tragically, are trafficked in from overseas. Though what happens when the neon is off ... I don't want to think about.

Bangkok, though, is more lively and fascinating than its one-off seedy areas. The vivacity of its streets, the grandeur of the Buddhist temples, the brilliant sun, the spicy Thai food, and the hospitality of the people (particularly a gracious brewery) work in near perfect rhythm. Add to that our trip's near perfect conflux of time, place, circumstance, and - most importantly - people, and Bangkok has reached my hard-to-crack travel pantheon. My companions here were such a quintessential part, and to return without them would be bittersweet.

Keep Paris. We'll always have Bangkok.