She’s Asia-ed out
Another day in Bangkok. It was a busy day full of errands. Got up early and had my coffee and read the Bangkok Post at my usual coffee spot. Then I got my hair trimmed at the salon for a mere $2.50. Next I tried to book an overnight trip for tomorrow to Kachanaburi, but the one travel agent wasn?t open yet and the other one wanted 200 Baht more so I held off on that one. I decided instead to start pricing airfares to Nepal which is probably where I?ll go when I get back from Australia in September. I also reserved a seat for a flight to New Zealand in November so I’ve got a seat if I want it. Since I bought no advance tickets for this trip besides the one way to Bangkok, I’ve gotta shop along the way. And I wanted to get something for New Zealand soon because the high season is November/December/January and the flights can easily be full for weeks.
After that I did the internet thing for awhile, working on the site and going through the Burma pics. Then I went back to the travel agent to book the trip for tomorrow, had some lunch, sold back a book at the bookstore, and got a taxi to MBK, one of the main shopping malls in Bangkok.
It was there that I started my wild goose chase to get just 6 photos printed from my digital camera. I promised to try to send photos to some of the people I met in Myanmar, so I was trying to get the prints made today. Easier said than done.
One of the things that I absolutely hate the most about Asia is this – when you ask someone a question and they don?t know the answer, they never say ‘I don’t know.’ To save face, they lie. It is the most annoying thing when you are trying to get information or ask directions. I can’t tell you how many times I have wanted to scream ‘JUST TELL ME THE TRUTH!’ (Is this a sign that I really do need a break from Asia, yes, I think so.)
I really started with good intentions. I went through MBK, the most crowded mall in Asia, fought through the mobs to the 3rd floor, got to the photo shop, and asked them to do the prints.
‘Oh, we don’t do prints from disk.’
What do you mean? You can download from a camera, why not print?
‘Sorry, no have machine.’
Ok, well where can I get them printed?
‘Siam Centre.’
Siam Centre?
‘Yes.’
Are you SURE?
‘Yes.’
You’re ABSOLUTELY sure that I can get them printed at Siam Centre?
‘Yes.’
Fine. I fight my way out of the mall, through the crowds, traffic, and pollution, across the four-lane Sukhumvit, into Siam Centre, search for the photo shop in their joke of a directory, finally find it, go up to the 4th floor to the photo shop and ask can you print from CD?
‘No.’
What???
‘No.’
Are you sure?
‘Yes.’
They told me at MBK to come here.
‘No have. Maybe World Trade Center.’
Ahhhh! Such is the story of my life in Asia. I try to be patient, I try to speak slowly and ask over and over to make sure I’m understood, but still this shit happens to me every time. And I know you’re probably thinking, bitch stop your whining, you’re getting to see the world for Christ’s sakes, and I know you’re right, in the grand scheme of things these incidents do not matter but what I want you to understand is that it’s not a package tour I’m living where people do everything for me and everything goes smoothly. Every single little errand or thing I have to do requires so much effort that it can take an entire day to get one simple thing done, or longer, as in the case of these photos, because at the end if today I STILL have not been able to get them printed. After Siam Centre, I walked 15 minutes to the World Trade Center (when all I really wanted to do was walk back to MBK and tell them to STOP sending people to Siam Centre you morons!) and finally I found the photo shop at WTC. They said they could do it in 30 minutes. Splendid! Actually, I said ‘very good’ because Thais would not understand a word like splendid. So I wandered around the mall for a bit and 30 minutes later I went to pick up my prints. But we all already know they weren’t there. I don’t even know why actually, but it was something about the numbers not matching the photos which is fair enough but then the woman kept saying ‘another store’ ‘come back one hour.’ And I was like, huh? How can the photos be done in one hour if the numbers don’t match and what are you on about another store?? It just becomes exhausting. And I find it so ironic because all of the people here want to look like us and dress like us and they all hang out at McDonalds and Starbucks because that’s what WE do, and yet they are still so pathetically Asian. It’s so convenient how people suddenly lose their ability to speak English when you’ve caught them overcharging you. Or when they don’t feel like helping you, which is what happened at the WTC today. That’s when I feel homesick, because people can’t pull that shit on me at home and they wouldn’t do it anyway. Yes, I’d still rather be arguing with Asians than working in an office in corporate America but I definitely need a break!!!
Kachanaburi trip
Shalva and Jen
Shalva and Jen on the Kachanaburi trip
Add comment July 30th, 2002