Thai delights

Mention Bangkok and you get a sly smile. Bangkok to many instantly evokes visions of Patpong with its sleazy bars and shows that would ma...

Mention Bangkok and you get a sly smile. Bangkok to many instantly evokes visions of Patpong with its sleazy bars and shows that would make the Larry Flynt-run Hustler seem like a kindergarten schoolbook. So, you can just imagine the looks I got when I set off to cover the Asian Games in the Thai capital. Wild nightlife, cheap bars, terrific condos and gorgeous beaches beckoned me; and the Thais made it look better with banners proclaiming 8220;Amazing Thailand8221; 8212; their tourism programme for 1998-99.

It was all amazing alright, and much more. And I am not talking about the experiences inevitably associated with the City of Angels: terrible traffic, notorious nightlife 8212; yet, it is advisable to play it safe! 8212; cheating cabbies and so on. The economic downturn, which has turned real estate developers into sandwich sellers, has also brought out the best in the famed Thai hospitality, for locals are willing to lay out any red carpet to welcome more visitors as tourism is the country8217;s biggest revenueearner.

In fact, till a friend from Hong Kong asked me to book a room for him in Delhi for a week, I had not quite been exposed to the mindboggling sums extracted by our hotels. Five-star rates were upwards of 200, with some touching as much as 400 a night; even the lower end started at a sizeable 120. I won8217;t bother to translate that into rupees at Rs 42 to a dollar, for that will only make me relive the pain I went through those few days as I frantically searched for suitable accommodation for my friend. Ultimately I got him a room in a club at about Rs 2,600 a night, that is, about 65. Compare this with the heaven that was Bangkok.

I was prepared for an inexpensive city 8212; primarily because of all the hype about the economic downturn et al 8212; but when a friend helped me get a condominium for a paltry 62, I had a niggling doubt that I was walking into a dicey deal. Yet, the idea was too tempting and I agreed.

On landing at Don Muang airport, where you can get a machine to shoot a passport sizephoto for you in the middle of the night for a visa-on-arrival, I was literally stunned to see a luxurious van waiting to take me the apartment. It was early morning, but I had been led to believe that Bangkok was prone to traffic jams even at 8 am. Highways and expressways were being constructed, but all reports in the lead-up to the Games said they wouldn8217;t be ready in time.

But surprise, surprise, most of the expressways were ready and functional. 8220;That8217;s only the first stage,8221; boasted the cabbie. When the second and third stages are over by the end of 2001, Bangkok will have tollways comparable to the best in Japanese and European cities.

The next surprise was the apartment itself. A huge living cum dining room, a bedroom with a big window, a spacious bathroom, a store and kitchen that had everything from microwave to toaster and refrigerator and cutlery; and TVs in both rooms. The apartment would compare favourably with any top class suite in most five-star hotels in India, but at one-fifth therate. In fact, local newspapers are full of 8220;terrific deals8221; for service apartments for daily, weekly or monthly rates.

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For most tourists, especially single males, the apartment is only the first step. In Bangkok, where they say the number of females far outnumber the males, escort companies can be found in every nook and corner. One phone call and you have all the rates on your fingertips. A lady escort, who stays with you for a whole month, could come for the equivalent as little as 1,000-1,200. Of course, the rates could go up to more than 3,000.

Little wonder then that almost all single foreign males I encountered in Thailand had an escort. 8220;Good and pleasant company at affordable rates,8221; was how one 50-year-old described time in the tropics.