Tech Tuk Tuk

So earlier in the day I sold my Samsung Note.  Why?  Because there is a new one on the way and the price on this one will drop as soon as it is released, because the battery life was never what I wanted it to be, because it was sometimes just too big, because a new iphone is near too and that is interesting even if I know that Apple has slowly become that 1984 ad where it mocked its' future self, then plus I wanted a bigger tablet to read books on and to hook up a bluetooth keyboard to and do things like blog entries like this one completely mobile.  So for all those reasons I sold the Samsung Galaxy Note - but we will always have Paris together - those crisp beautiful 8 megapixel pictures of the Place de la Concorde, but it is all Galaxy Tab 7.7 at this point.  But this is the story of how I got my new Tab 7.7 and the mysteries of the Tuk Tuk.

It started with Singh or Digi Singh, as his email pseudonymed him and an ill advised late night trip to meet down in front of the Starbucks on Khao San Road.  He had already talked me down to an incredible bargain price on the device.  But out with the old and in with the new.  Anyway, he asked to meet at midnight, I agreed, selecting the place carefully.  I am suspicious, device hidden, no money on my person.  I mean this is everything you shouldn't do, midnight craigslist deal in Bangkok???  But the difference is the police station is next door and Khao San Road has its night face on.

Youngsters too young to drink in America have already bought their fake ID for back home, stashed them away to be claimed or not in the airport by TSA and are now on their third or fourth round.  You know, the last one you might remember clearly.  They are thinking something like, wow, wouldn't it be cool if there was something like this in America...  Then this big baldheaded Black guy comes along and blows even that memory and now all I remember is the sweat on his head.  Damn it is still so hot, oh my god... and so the night on Khao San goes.  But I am not on Khao San for that, or the inviting looks, or the questioning looks.  I have rushed past all that to catch up with Digi Singh and his sweaty baht notes, crumpled.  It's like I am selling the Note into some torrid uncouth digital slavery of some kind.  Nah, actually he came with his wife, who looked really nice, probably her I was emailing.  He was buying it for her, but I could tell from the look in his eyes he wanted it more for himself after seeing it.  I could see him weaving a story for her of why he needed it more, as I was explaining how to use it and what not to do and so on. More on that later...  So no funny business and our deal is done.  He and his wife are already there when I arrive with money in hand.

Next day we head out on tuk tuk.  Riding in a tuk tuk is an adventure in itself.  It begins before you get in.  Most of the drivers solicit your business, particularly when it is clear you have other business to attend to, elsewhere, where they can't go.  Then when you need one, they are nowhere to be found, not to mention that if they are they will try to extort every baht from you possible.  They will start out at some insane price, double what a cab would cost, and slowly bring it down.  I mean a dollar or so isn't a big deal, but there are principles.  Who wants to ride on the back of a hot hell trap for twice the amount you would pay to ride in a semi-normal airconditioned cab?  Then of course there is the expression of implicit 'knowing' etched into the face of some of the drivers, like they know some things I might not be ready to know. All that said, they are a cheap and easy, although, crazy, horrifying, fast way to travel.

I am on the way to Bangkok's Chinatown, Yaowarat, to shop for the tablet.  I will get on to describing Chinatown proper some other time.  It really deserves its' own post, just because, but that is for later.  We are interested in one particular part of Chinatown, the electronics market area.  There is about a two or three block area where there is nothing but buildings dedicated to cellular phones and communication technology.  There are rows and rows of stores selling cellphone parts and cellphone accessories and cellular phones and tablets.  So I figured I would make my way either there or this other mall a little further away called MBK to make a purchase.

A tuc tuc driver approaches me as I am walking to look for a cab.  Candice frowns.  "Tuc-tuk?"  He asks the question innocent enough, as I shrug to Candice I ask, "how much to Chinatown?"  He insists that we don't want to go to Chinatown, after I insist, he counters, nothing open in Chinatown.  I'm thinking, "What?"  Then, he asks why we want to go.  I tell him about the tablet I want to buy.  He slowly shakes his head, as if giving permission.  Then, "200 baht."  200 baht, I tell him is too much.  He asks how much I want to pay.  I tell him for that much I could get a cab there twice and then some.  Then he has an idea.  I see Candice shudder.  He tells us we go with him to two shops and then all we will have to pay him is 20 baht, maybe less.  I already know the deal and agree.

The first place we head to is a tailor.  I am kind of geeked to be going to one, because I have avoided them for a while.  The tailors on Khao San road all have a bad name, because their quality is said to be poor.  I don't know if it is true but it stands to reason, so I have been avoiding them, even though they are friendly and really try to connect with me, in particular.  I think that is just the Nepalese mafia doing there thing, but they seem to be nice, but I don't need a cheap cheap suit.  I need a nicely tailor made inexpensive suit, after the weather changes from being so damn hot.  So our driver takes us to a tailor, away from our normal touts.

So we walk into the tailor shop.  The deal is, if the tuk tuk drives a customer to these places, he gets free gas, they give him a gas card or something.  Most of the time they waylay people, but they have all asked me for permission and given a free or next to free ride if I agreed.  If I have nothing else to do I will, but so far I have been to a couple of tour companies, a couple of tailors and a jeweler.  I found out, if you ask the driver, he will take you to the type of shop you want to go to, if he knows one that he can get a gas card for driving you to.  I mean, I haven't bought anything at one, but I started talking to the tailor at this shop trying to build a relationship.  I figured at some point I might buy a suit and maybe I could try a shirt out and see if he could make a quality shirt.

However he got angry when I told him I wanted a business card so I could think about it and maybe visit again.  I wasn't expecting that, I mean to me, you have to build a relationship with a tailor.  That is kind of a close bond.  The Nepalese mafia was happy to give me a card and are friendly to boot.  But no, this tailor, he just wanted to measure me, take a deposit and like that be done.  So we left as he was pouting.  The tuk tuk driver saw some of this and asked as we got back in, "are you okay?"  I felt debased.

We next head to a travel agent.  A young woman is selling us a trip to the south of Thailand.  Apparently there is this island that has a full moon party going on this weekend.  Whatever goes on there at this party requires a full day recuperation added to your itinerary.  Her manager and her just know that is the trip that we need... we decline.  They assure us we have to go because there is a full moon this weekend, and not another one for a whole month.  "I am like, really? How could you predict that?"  I try to let her down gently because I mean, I would have thought about some trip, but not that one and then the other trip was vastly overpriced.  But I did find out there is a monastery where buddhist monks care for tigers.  I thought that was the coolest thing.  Maybe in the future we will go there.  I assume the tigers are not a threat or they are distanced from unsuspecting meat, I mean tourists.  I will have to research that one a bit.  As for the moonlight party, that will have to wait about 13 or so odd years, I will be 53, Jacob, my youngest will be 18...

So we are back in the tuk tuk racing through traffic, cutting off cars, other tuk tuks, motorcycles, pedestrians.  I think, maybe I should carry something to give the confused cut off pedestrians we pass by, you know, on future tuk tuk trips, flowers, donuts, fruit.  We arrive, the driver stops about two blocks from our destination and motions the direction that we want to go toward to hit Charoen Krung, one of the main roads in Chinatown.  I hand him 20 baht, or 66 cent, for an adventurous ride of about 3 miles.

Chinatown at dusk

Candice comments about walking the last few blocks and I point her attention to the traffic that surrounds us.  It is never a good idea to sit ten minutes in traffic for a two minute walk.  She agrees and we walk down the way to cellular heaven, or something more like a cellular flea market.  Time is running out, at 5 PM the cellular merchants start closing up and the restaurants and street food come out.  We aren't there for that today though, but as a side note they sell barbecue shrimp that it is inexpensive and delicious, at least that is what they say.

We are here looking for a tablet though and there is so much to see.  There is a motorcycle driving on the sidewalk towards us as we try to cross the street.  We move to avoid him.  We cross and are here.  There are no name, generic tablets directly in front of the building we are approaching that cost about a hundred bucks, but I want something with a name attached, a Samsung or Acer or Sony.  We go more towards the back of the first building, there are smiley faced antenna plugs and colorful cases and giggling school girls and neon colors all around.  They giggle or look at the tall Americans confused as we move past.  We pass by ipad screens sold as replacements and other parts labeled and stretched out.  We go upstairs and there is more of the same for four flights.  After that I figure we should try another building.  Smiling schoolgirls giggling, more neon, more cloned tablets, still not what I want.  Then we find it... and she wont budge on the price.

MBK Center and deals galore...

I finally agree on the price, but she only has it in white.  NO DEAL.  As we walk back towards Khao San Road, towards Dinso Road, where we actually live, Candice gives me a hard stare that indicates we will be taking a cab home.  She is cool though, and we make plans to head to MBK the next day, where we will continue our hunt for the tablet deal of the century.













So long for now...

     

Kids at MBK