Disappearing on Khao San Road

January 18, 2014

The Place to Disappear, as author Susan Orlean described Khao San Road, was our next destination. Her description of Khao San was more sinister sounding than a street name that literally translated to "milled rice." With Orlean's words in mind, we had to find out whether we would fade away by visiting the most famous backpacker ghetto in the world.

As we departed from our Chao Pharava Express river cruise, we followed some Japanese tourists that were also looking for Khao San Road. Perhaps tired of the frenzied life in Tokyo, they too had come to Khao San to fade away. After a short two block walk, we found ourselves on Soi Rambuttri (a soi in Thai is a side-street branching off a major street), a small street close to Khao San Road. 

Rambuttri was full of shops and street vendors hawking everything from super cheap North Face backpacks (which at $10 a piece were probably knock-offs) to Big Lebowski t-shirts (the Dude was Thai right?). Becky immediately began perusing the sunglasses for sale.

A new pair of sunglasses will surely allow her to "disappear" by making her unrecognizable.

Backpackers can be spotted by their obligatory dread locks and happy themed guesthouses

Are these were tourists who "disappeared" by becoming stone statues?

In addition to the cafes that lined the soi, Rambuttri had the required ice cream and coconut juice vendors. All through our travels in Indochina, coconut juice was sold by the tree load. The vendor would cut the top off a fresh coconut and insert a straw. Apparently, after consuming the juice, one was required to scrape the coconut mush out and eat that too. Not feeling brave enough to try the coconut yet, I stuck with a bowl of coconut flavored ice cream from one of the street vendors.

The Professor on Gilligan's Island could make a cool radio out of that coconut

More former tourists who "disappeared"

The ubiquitous tuk tuks

Because our bodies were still adjusting to a time-zone that was 13 hours ahead of Wisconsin, we stopped at a cafe on Soi Rambuttri for lattes.

Desperately attempting to connect to wifi after going a record two hours without checking Facebook

After our caffeine break, we stopped at the 7-Eleven at the end of Soi Rambuttri to buy some water. We still hadn't seen any evidence of people disappearing, but did spot a frightening solider laying in wait inside a shop across the street.

Perhaps he had something to do with people disappearing?

After walking another block we reached the legendary Khao San Road and saw something more alarming than the solider lying in wait - Ronald McDonald greeting customers with a wai. 

People in Thailand rarely shake hands. Instead they place their hands together in a prayer-like gesture known as the wai. The degree of respect shown while greeting is dependent upon how high the hands are held; the higher they are held, the more respect shown.

With his hands held higher than Becky's, Ronald obviously is giving her undue respect

Expecting to disappear at any moment, we were accosted by touts selling street food, cheap tailored suits, and massages. Khao San was also humming with the sounds of wooden frogs made by hill tribe women dressed in traditional garb.

Corn on the cob from a street vendor - or as Thai people call it, maize

Massages in Bangkok? Who knew!

Are the hills really alive with the sounds of frogs?

No backpacker ghetto is authentic without a Tom Yum Kung soup kitchen next to a 7-Eleven 

Ambling further down Khao San, we decided we could disappear by changing out identities. Such a plan was unlikely unless we could find a place that would sell us a new driver's license and maybe a diploma or two. Perhaps we could also obtain a press card and disappear as boring old Becky and Jason and take on new identities world famous foreign correspondents. But where could we find all that?

There has to be a place that sells fake ids, diplomas, and press cards around here somewhere.

Frustrated that we couldn't find any evidence of people disappearing, we did what every good American does when faced with adversity - find some food to eat.  We had heard so much about the street food on Khao San that we stopped at the nearest food cart and pointed to what appeared to be some smallish french fries. After Becky took a bite, we looked closer at the cart and discovered that those were no french fries.

This food rocks me like a hurricane

Thai French Fries in the middle?

Becky after her first bite of a meal worm

Meal worms, scorpions, giant cock roaches, beetles - now those food items really did make us want to disappear! We took one last look around at the various stores and agencies selling items such as travelling-tickets, visas, guidebooks, luggage storage, and phone and laundry services and realized that Khao San was the perfect launching spot to go anywhere in Asia. And that is what Susan Orlean meant when she said Khao San was the place to disappear.

Because we had heard that the sun sets quickly in the tropics, we began our three mile trek back to our hotel as we approached evening. A few blocks from Khao San, we came across Democracy Monument, commemorating a June 1932 military coup d'etat that led to Thailand's first democratic constitution.

Apparently, the construction of the monument in 1939 was not popular among the locals as hundreds of trees providing shade from the tropical sun were cut down. Residents and shopkeepers were also evicted from their homes and businesses in order to build the monument. What a wonderful testament to Democracy, eh?

Stalinist looking monument that symbolizes democracy

We wandered up Ratchadamnoen Avenue, a historic road inspired by that avenue of all avenues, the Champs-Elysees in Paris, and encountered our first occupied Bangkok Shutdown site. Ratchadamnoen Avenue was barricaded with sandbags at a major intersection involving several streets and canals.The avenue was also lined with tents and a large stage for speakers and musicians. However, when we arrived, not much was happening - there were a few folks listening to a speaker on the stage.

Sandbags ready to stop a flood of police

We were a little spooked to approach because the day before 1 person was killed and 30 wounded by a grenade attack at another protest site in Bangkok. We scurried through the protest site as we needed to cross it in order to head back in the direction of our hotel. Although all was calm the evening we walked through, a month later, four people were killed when the police tried to clear the site of protesters. On our way back, we continued to see things you would never see in the west.

Children's car seats are optional when driving in Southeast Asia

This rapping Buddha would give Tupac a run for the money

We began to flag, becoming overcome by jet lag and hunger. We had a quick dinner a few blocks from our hotel at a hole in the wall cafe whose food was prepared on a sidewalk grill.

Becky disguises herself as a local by using chopsticks

As night fell on the City of Angels, we contemplated all the interesting things we had seen and experienced during our first full day in Southeast Asia. Though we probably saw nothing stranger than the pink eggs that were lying outside various establishments that night. Known as Century Eggs or Horse Urine Eggs, these eggs have been preserved for several weeks in order to turn the insides black and gelatinous. Horse Urine Eggs - who wouldn't work up a zesty appetite with a name like that?

As John Cougar Mellencamp sang - "Little Pink Eggs, for You and Me."

Reaching our hotel, Becky's pedometer told us we had walked 20 miles in the day. We disappeared into bed, exhausted.

Next up, shopping and political protests - a great combination.