Caution the ladyboy and lady of the street

Before I get to Bangkok, let me just tell you about this woman I sat next to on the plane from LA to Tokyo. she was very dumb. This was her first trip on a plane, which is ok, I'm not judging that at all. I am judging this. I opened the window to the pacific and she said, "is that the ocean?". Seriously? Seriously, woman? She also didnt know what family name and given name meant. She also asked me if home address meant home address or mailing address. I was getting pretty fed up with her questions and did my best to force myself to sleep.

I got into Bangkok at around midnight. I walked outside to the taxi stand. There is a woman sitting there who you tell where you wanna go. She then writes it in thai for the driver. This apparently is not very helpful because I had to struggle with the driver for several minutes about where we were going and then finally conceded to a place that he knew, even though it was a few blocks from where i wanted to be. All good though. We got to Khao san rd which is where most of the backpackers stay. My first thought was that it reminded me of an asian bourban street, except that as i walked down the street with my backpack, I was asked every 3 steps if I needed a taxi. I got to the end of the street and was pretty disoriented. the map i had wasnt very useful because I could not locate myself on it.

There was a guy selling t-shirts on the corner and I asked him how to get to Lamphu guesthouse (reccomended by lonely planet) he didnt know where it was but pointed out one right behind me. At this point I just wanted to put this bag so I would stop attracting so much attention. I went inside, a guy showed me to my room and i put my bag down. It was at this point that the tshirt salesman ran up and drew me a diagram of how to get to where i wanted to go (he had asked around I suppose). what a nice guy. I decided to just stay there though, just felt like being in a bed (24 hours of sitting in a damn plane seat is murder).

I took a much needed crap but there was no toilet paper. This was a situation I knew may happen but did not prepare for. I needed a shower anyway. The shower head conveniently located just next to the toilet. It looked complicated but I managed to get it working. The water was ice cold. afterwards i noticed a machine for hot water (coin operated). I retreated to my room. A notice on the door "Caution the ladyboy and lady of the street". I slept fitfully if it all.

I got up early this morning very hungry. I walked outside and wandered down the street. I bought fried pork over rice from a street vendor for 30 baht (approx. 80 cents). It was awesome, tasty, spicy, exactly what I needed. I walked around the area, now feeling semi confident I know where I am and where I can find a better (and cheaper) place to stay. It only took about 20 minutes before I was approached by a ladyboy. She asked me if i was going to hotel. I said no. She followed me for a bit but I have long legs and can walk fast, even when eating fried pork with a plastic spoon.