Me and my camera in someone else’s home town, my SE Asia trip, my Bangkoknites
Soi Cowboy is a street in Bangkok dedicated to strip clubs and caters for the demands of the Falang (foreigner) sex industry which attracts every conceivable male cliche you can imagine. It is however a visually stunning street, chock full of neon. Thailand & Bangkok especially has a reputation for this kind of thing but it really represents a microscopic fraction of what this culture and city are about. The real Bangkok has a great vibe – the tourist Bangkok is somewhat of a sad depressing place.
We went through the Ko San Road one day which was made famous by the novel/film The Beach. Despite the fact that its best days are well and truly behind it (and have been for many many years) travellers still congregate there in droves. The fact that it is literally the worst street in the city doesn’t seem to deter them. You come half way across the globe to travel & experience other societies in action then you head straight for a place where there are no locals except for the ones trying to rip you off, you are surrounded by people just like you and no-one is even close to getting an authentic experience..but still they come here…makes no sense.
It actually feels like these places were created purely to lure tourists and keep them away from the rest of the city so they don’t ruin it. That at least makes sense. The fact that it actually works is somewhat baffling.