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Other side of midnight
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As night the falls, all roads lead to Pat-Pong in Bangkok, where you get everything from fake brands to herbal medicines
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SHOPPING SCENE Fake Guccis and Pradas vie for space with Chinese herbal medicines and Thai artefacts
The night comes down obliterating Bangkok. The endless stream of cars that choke all the signals patiently move in line. There are infinite miles of flyovers but with 400 new vehicles on the roads each month, people have learnt to silently endure the suffering. No one jumps a signal or cuts a lane. They have practised the act of perennial patience. As a tourist, after surviving a stimulating day of bargain shopping and an equal number of hours in the cosy comfort of your vehicle, your hotel and you are just a few minutes and a thousand cars away from each other — in another town — you will be ready to call it a day. But this is Bangkok. So in a few moments, after a shower, change, you are ready, and this time you are clever enough to take a tuk-tuk (a Thai version of our cycle rickshaw). It is redundant to give him directions because as night falls in Bangkok, all roads lead to Pat-Pong.
At first sight, Pat-Pong looks like any other night market, with its flashy white lights and temporary shelters. The fake Guccis and Pradas vie for space with Chinese herbal medicines and Thai artefacts. Brisk bargaining goes on as the rates are punched into a calculator and a clever tourist begins by offering 50 per cent of the rate. But the true action is in the by-lanes. In Thailand, the flesh trade has been legalised and go-go bars, sleaze shows with flashing neon signs line the streets. Behind those dark curtains, a different world exists where everything is free and permissible. But it was quite amazing to see a skimpily clad bar girl pray fervently in front of an altar placed at the entrance before she assumed the role as a go-go dancer. Music blares from each of these joints and as you walk past, it is almost a cacophony of mixed sounds. December and January being the peak tourist season, planeloads of Europeans come on a holiday here and you almost feel you are strolling in the sidewalks of Paris rather than in the Thai heartland.
Suddenly you realise that it is past midnight but the crowd seems to be swelling by the hour. The touts are busier, the bars fuller and the shopkeepers are getting less patient as bargaining reaches a feverish crescendo. You walk around observing the sights, smells and sounds of the place until your legs give way and it is perfectly safe to take a tuk tuk or a cab back to the hotel at any hour.
A few days later, we had to take an early morning flight back to India and were driving to the airport at 4.00 a.m. We had to pass through Pat Pong. Believe me the lights were just dimming out, the cleaners were busy removing garbage and the shopkeepers were downing their shutters. Pat Pong was preparing for slumber until the next night dawned upon it.
LAKSHMI RAVICHANDER
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