Defeat, an Introduction

Ahh, the paradox of travelling vs. vacationing.

What is it that defines your trip as travelling and not as a holiday?

Is it the level of effort and exhaustion involved? The difference in the concept of affordability?
As the guiltiest life insurance salesman ever, my company constantly coaxed me with the mantra-
Affordability is merely the perception of priority.

When traveling, it would be stupid to completely ignore tourist attractions because they're attractions for a reason. But not to be ignored are the things the locals buy and do and enjoy. Right? However, these things are often more expensive for a foreigner. Just because.
The most painful part of travelling- the part that kills me, though I get over it within several hours or days- is spending money on crap I just don't want to spend money on! Things I would never spend money on back home- bottled water, use of a toilet (oh man, the toilets), laundry, a local phonecall...
So my favorite favorite thing to do is try and beat their system. Try and circumvent (all AD fans are to read that as cir-sum-vrent) their crafty tactics to make me pay more because I am a foreigner and I have no idea what I'm doing. So when leaving a hotel, I take the leftover toilet-paper with me in my bag so I don't have to pay for toilet paper at public restrooms (for reals- they charge), I take the shampoo packets, I drink myself silly on water at the restaurants and food stalls that offer it for free and if you're not watching, you better believe I'll fill up my water bottle. I will even wash my underwear in the sink with the hotel barsoap and basically take a shower in my t-shirt and pants.

So I knew travelling from Nameless Hotel A outside of the airport area into downtown Bangkok to Hotel B was going to be a huge hassle. That's why you don't do it the night you get in. I knew I could get a taxi or some sort of shuttle for ten to fifteen dollars but that's just not how I roll.
So I get my maps and I suspiciously ask the front desk for assistance and tell them- cheap cheap cheap- tight budget. They directed me to a bus shuttle two blocks away that would get me to the big bus station for 10 baht (conversion reminder 1USD=30.89 baht). I was set for my two block stroll when the hotel taxi driver accosted me with an offer.

I said, "how much?"

He says, "no problem?"

I say, "free? no charge?"

He says, "no problem, I take you."

So I say, "Free? No charge?"

He nods.

I say, "Free? No charge? Free no charge? I already have ride only ten baht. You take me free no charge?"

And then we repeated this exchange at least three times.

I shared the cab with a British girl who hadn't been able to get back home due to the ash cloud. She confessed that she probably could have but found it a perfectly adequate excuse to stay in Thailand longer.

We were at the bus station in five minutes. Helping pull my luggage out of the trunk, the driver holds out his hand and says "Ok, sixty baht."

I felt that feeling in my stomach start to rise. The defeat. (I had had a taste of it when getting dropped off at the cafe with the farang prices.) But then my temper flared. Not so much that I couldn't smile when saying "You said free no charge." I pointed at him with ever so slight accusation while keeping the smile on my face. Saving face is extremely important in Thai culture, in that is considered very shameful to get visibly upset. I had this running through my mind, smile strapped on and everything.

He says, "it's tip for me."

"You say 'free no charge'. I already have ride- only ten baht. I give you ten baht." Except all I've got is a twenty. I know it's ridiculous to hand him a twenty and ask for a ten back. But as he pocketed my twenty, I felt the defeat rise again and I said, "no, I give you only ten."

He didn't have change and handed it back to me with a big smile.
I knew it was absurd to be haggling over less than a dollar. But it was the principle, my friends. It was the principle.

I was able to hail a bus for 32 baht to bring me to the BTS (sky train). Confidence pulsing through my blood, I climb three flights of stairs with my suitcase and backpack, sweat dripping down my back. I buy my fare for 25 baht. My wings are made of triumph and I am soaring. This fare includes one free transfer to a train that will get me within two blocks of my hotel. I am on fire. I will arrive at my air conditioned hotel within the hour for 57 baht- $1.84. I radiate victory.
I hold my head high on the BTS -partly to be closer to the air conditioning- as hipster Thai kids and French travelers get on and off. I exit the train and carry my luggage down three flights of stairs. But it's the wrong terminal. Ok, no problem, I say. So back up the three flights where halfway up the second flight a tiny tiny Indian man with a neck brace offers me help. I gasp with horror at his suggestion but it's already in his hands. I bound up the stairs after him- but your brace!- I catch the next train, I'm off at the next stop, down three flights... and ... defeat. The station was shut down due to riot activity that occurred the night before. My shoulders sink.

In the end, I had to hail a metered taxi for 100 baht.
I had worked so hard. I had come so close to my goal. I had done everything right.

As I checked into my insanely ridiculous luxury hotel (well, for me), I did the math and realized my 25 km, three hour hectic Bangkok journey had cost me less than the cappuccino I had complained about at JFK Starbucks not 48 hours earlier. Then I got over myself.


A view of BOTH lobbies at "Bangkok Loft Inn"- a hotel with the amenities of people on holiday within the budget of a traveller