Swadeeka'

The Thai's love to greet any person they meet. The way they do it is....Swadeeka.....and it is extremely linguistic. Thailand is a place which has so much in similarity in tradition to Sri Lanka. A buddhist majority, warm n friendly people, frolic lovin tourists, endless beaches, excellent climatic conditions and coconut based products in their staple diet. However, what gets most of the tourists there undoubtedly, is the bustling sex trade. I mean, no offence, i was offered an opportunity every other minute by either the tuk-tuk guy, the taxi driver, the door man or even ppl i meet on the road and request for help. However, this is only in areas where there is a high number of Farangs (foreigners). Bangkok is a great place to shop, exclusively for women as large malls such as MBK, Robinson; night markets such as patpong, leama and markets such as pratunam in which the women have 70% of products. However, its a paradise for men who love shoes. Damn...i was so fascinated that i ended up getting 4 more.

The beaches in Thailand range from crowded to untampered. The best till date being Koh Samui and the dirtiest being Pattaya the names keep going. The majority tend to go to Pattaya being just 2 hrs travel from Bangkok and the next preferred being Phuket which is 6 hrs from Bangkok. I apparently was in Pattaya and explored the beaches, nighlife and the nasty bargain merchants. They could sell shit at the price of gold if you do fall for it. The catch is that they have part naked beauties at the job. If you are drunk...then you are in for it.

Shopping. Some places respect you if you do or dont buy stuff. some may whack you if you bargain and dont buy. The last will kill you if you dont. So you better choose the right place for the right type of purchasing. We apparently got most of our stuff from Bangkok's Pratunam market where most deals were closed at 40-60% lower then the opening price. If you wanna practice to bargain...this is the place to be. For example, cufflings priced at Bhat590 was closed at 195. which had a 66% discount? Unbelievable?....go and check it out for yourself....maybe youll make it 75%....!

The temples of Thailand. If you ever go there...you should visit the temple within the Grand Palace that holds the jade buddha within. The lord buddha is a 'must see' like our Dhaladha Maligawa. you should be there to feel it.

Thailand is the worlds largest producer of rubies and saphires. This is another similarity with Sri Lanka, although we mine the lighter shades of these semi precious stones. Would you believe that every taxi driver and tour guide is requested to take all their tourists to the Gem merchants approved by the Govt to facilitate a purchase? I dont recall even one person doin that in sri Lanka unless it is requested......!

Coming to the sex trade. Man...this is one country that just practices budhism to its simplest form. Sex is so liberal that sex crimes seem to be so low in comparison to other countries that bar them. However the negativity is that STD is at an all time high. Contrarily, the Thai reports do say that they have countered this ....to what extent???? .....i really dont know. Whatever said ........For those who long to get laid......this is one country that offers it in a silver platter......!!!!

Go-Go Bars, night shows, strip clubs, and the list just goes on. to add further, homosexuality is at its peak. I would clearly call it the Gay's paradise as i could hardly make out the difference between a female and a shemale. Credit goes to the Thai specialist surgeons. ......ah now i remember...i just wanted to visit one of the local hospitals to check on the surgeons......hehe.

The trip was a 4 day tour of relief. No work just a vacation to Thailand with a few friends going shopping, club hopping and relaxing by the beach checking out Thailand. However, there was one thing that me and my close friend Sada regret........we did not taste snake in Bangkok and crocodile in Pattaya. Maybe we shall do it another time.....if the Thai Bhat stops going strong against the US Dollar.......hehe

Till then
Lagao......(Thai for good bye)
K!