Bangkok

The Khao San Road, a 500 meters street in the heart of Bangkok that, for whatever reason, has been elected as the world's Backpacker Central Station. I arrived at Bangkok's international airport the 13th of May, 2004 at 2:00 am. Of course, as the Lonely Planet monger that I am, I headed straight away to this Kao San Road they'd recommend as a starting point for the Thailand do'ers.

I arrived there around 3:00 am, hungry as a wolf, smelly and tired after the 9 hours flight from Cairo, but also jet lagged to hell and back. There are fucktons of cheapy accommodations in the area, but most of them were full. After 30 minutes, I found a decently clean room in a soi (backstreet in Thai) just off Khao San, for 3 euros a night. No air/con, so I cranked up the fan to max position. Heat is something you immediately notice when you arrive to sub-tropical latitudes like a ferocious slap in the face as you step out the airport terminal. Actually, it's not as much the heat itself but the ridiculously high rates of humidity in the air, which makes you sweat 24/7. Just for the records, I will say that I lost 2 kg. within the first 3 days upon arrival due to the constant loss of body liquids. I have never drunk so much water in my life.

Anyway, so there it was, a whole new city to explore. The morning after I decided to do the typical touristic approach so I wandered around the surroundings, all the way down the Mae Nam Chao Phraya river, which servers Bangkok in 2 halves. Anyway, most of the important stuff rests on the east bank. As I was walking by myself, one guy walked up to me and asked me where do I come from. Funnily enough, he was from Puerto Rico and was on a short holidays in Thailand. We started talking in spanish and he recommended me to take the one-hour boat trip down the water channels. You see, some parts of Bangkok are reminiscent of Venetia, with kilometers of channels that are used (or used to) by locals to move around. Also, there is where the so called floating markets take place and where locals gather with their small rowing boats to buy, sell and trade stuff.

I went to the river side and hired a small boat for an hour. The captain kinda ripped me off, charging me what it seems to me now a very high price for Thai standards, but back then I was a recently arrived newbie sucker. Overpriced or not, I enjoyed very much the ride. It's so peaceful in those channels, just like time had stopped still, and small huts and temples line up by the river banks watching the rowers pass. Picture on the right.     In the afternoon, I did a little bit more of tourism and visited the Standing Buddha, a 25 or so meters statue of a golden Buddha. Also, I walked some more contemplating the graceful temples that can be found almost everywhere in the city, like mosques in Istanbul. Pictures bellow.

Here came the evening, and here I went for an early beer. It was then that the popularity of the Khao San Road fully struck me. Dozens of pubs, street food stalls, burnt CDs shops, backpacker clothes vendors, and a constant flowing of people, both Thai and farang (local word for westerner). But, overall, backpackers in their mid twenties summoned back to a teenager'ish state of mind, drinking (and consequently puking) in the streets, eating 20 cents hotdogs and engaging in casual sex with other farangs and -oftenly- with local prostitutes. Haha what a fun! Welcome to the so-nicknamed Sin City! This place feels like a circus of kids away from home, but it does have its charm. It's fun, at least for few days. At the end of the day, there's so much alcohol-driven hammering you can take! Picture of the Khao San Rd. at evening on the right. In the pub Gulliver's, as I was knocking back my first beer, I met an 31 y/o australian adonis surfer, cool looking dude called Chris. He turned out to be a great fellow, so we went out to the nearby Lava Club. There we met quite a number of people that would become my regular going-out gang for the following days: Edu from Ibiza (Spain), Adriano from France, Frank from Denmark, a Thai girl whose name I never got to know (everyone called her Butterfly, so I did too), and finally Pum and Eve from Thailand. I sure had a good time with those people during the following days, specially with Pum and Eve who took me out to restaurants, flea markets, cinema (we watched Troy), etc. Nice nice people indeed. It felt good to hang out again in the nightlife, as I hadn't done it at all during my travels in the Middle East.

Like I said, I spent the next few days exploring Bangkok sights in the day time, and its bars in the night time. The most remarkable tourist sight in town in the Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace. The Wat Phra Kaew is ground for a number of temples gathering about green gardens. The temples themselves are of the typical oriental sort, with bright colors and extremely ornate facades. Indeed, it's a pleasant walk and well worth taking your time for everything to sink in. Inside one of the temples, the Emerald Buddha can be found. The Emerald Buddha receives such name due to intense glowing green tones. In fact, it's made of Jade if I recall correctly. Pictures of Wat Phra Kaew different temples bellow.

Right next to the religious complex is the Grand Palace, the former royal residence and now serving as hosting for ceremonial occasions. It's a beautiful large palace, again richly decorated with similar motives and surrounded by well-groomed gardens. These oriental people sure have a special touch when it comes to building and gardening. Pictures on the right and bellow.

Also, I visited the nearby Wat Pho and its gigantic 46m long reclining Buddha. It's seriously large and golden as it gets. Of course, it's not made of solid gold, but it does have a gold leaf finishing over the plaster body. So large in fact that I could not fit the whole body within one shot. Pictures on the right and bellow .

I also went one evening to Bangkok's China Town. I have been in two cities's China Town districts, and it's always been amusing: the local markets, the narrow backstreets, the unpronounceable dishes, etc. By the way, please mind what you order at real chinese restaurants (not what we've got back in Europe), or you might have a nasty surprise. I naively ordered for a wi-wa-wo soup (can't remember the name, so I made it up). Well, it seemed to me that the soup's main ingredient must have been dynamite, as my tongue virtually jumped out my month and ran off down the street after taking the first spoonful. Dangerously spicy would be a mild way to put it!. Picture of China Town lightening up the neons at sunset on the right.

Southern islands and beaches On the 20th of May I traveled down to the island of Kho Pha Ngan, in the Gulf of Thailand, 14 hours south of Bangkok by bus + ferry. Kho Pha Ngan could easily be labeled as a sea-side extension of Khao San Rd. Why? Because it's basically the same thing over but on a different location. It comes with the full package: tons of western backpackers, bars, fried chicken street stalls, and cheap bungalow accommodation resorts. The island is barely 10 or 15 km wide, and has got a number of different beaches, but most of the "action" happens in the south-east cone: the Hat Rin beach. Here, at about midnight, night crawlers and bar-usuals pop out like mushrooms after the rain. So I did too, of course.

There are a number of front beach bars, and people sit on the sand drinking Singha (Thai brand of beer, quite good by the way) and watching the fire-juggling performed by locals. What those guys do with a couple of flaming sticks could buy them a job at the Russian International Circus, dancing about the flames at the music's beat. Spectacular! Here I casually met a few other travelers: two canadian girls whose name I can't remember; Roxy, a british scuba-diving instructor who'd been traveling around the world for a long time working on and off to fund her trips; a 39 y/o Thai woman who, after being abandoned by her husband with a small baby, started working as a barmaid in Kho Pah Ngan. She had more party in her veins at 39 than I used to at 20! And also a swedish girl called Therese with whom I dined sword fish and had a few beers afterwards. All in all, Kho Pah Ngan is a nice spot for what it offers: backpackers, beaches and beer. That's all it's got, but it's got it right! Picture of a fire-juggler on the right.     If you ever do go there, I recommend you to forget for a day about the beach'n'bar business and actually wake up early in the morning, rent an off-road motorbike and set off to ride around the island, exploring your way through. It was great, and it sort of felt like an adventure in itself, if that's possible at all in Disneyfied Kho Pah Ngan. It will reward you with picturesque scenes. Pictures of the rainforest in the interior of the island on the right and bellow.
After few days there, my liver wisely advised me to take the ferry over to Kho Pha Ngan's twin island, the arch famous Kho Samui. Kho Samui used to be the Goa of Thailand during the 70's. You know, the in place to be before it got massified beyond recognition. Old farts from the long-gone hippy trail era brag around the Kho Samui bars between beer and beer about how paradisiacal and unspoilt the island used to be 30 years back, and how lucky they are for having been there and then. And truth to be told, I do believe them. My Lonely Planet guide describes Kho Samui as "a beautiful woman who wears too much make-up", and that's quite an accurate, alas benevolent, description. I must say I didn't enjoy Kho Samui much. As I arrived to its main beach, Cheweng, I stared in disbelieve at the boulevards hosting Benetton and Lacoste stores, the McDonnalds driveways and the hordes of british hooligans singing soccer songs, making the baby Jesus weep in the process. Nop, I was not gonna have any of that, so I halted a serviced taxi (basically an off-road Toyota upon which passengers hop for a ride) and got transferred to the neighboring beach of Hat Lamai. Well, things didn't get any better. Sure it's more quiet and less commercialized, but it still didn't cut it for me. As I had a shower at the bungalow and headed down to the beach for a late night beer, I got promptly swarmed by bar-girls (professionals) seeking "interacting activity". After many no, thanks and without having had the chance to order my beer, I walked down to the next bar over to try there. Well, same thing all over. Finally, after 30 minutes trying to have a quiet beer, I eventually gave up and headed back to the bungalow Seriously, I know I must look like a pointy-ass here as you're reading this, but I couldn't stomach the rampant sex-tourism industry in Thailand, specially at the southern beaches and central Bangkok. Wherever you look, you see a fat english/german dude in his late 40s, even 50s, in sky-blue T-shirt, with alcohol-blurred red eyes walking down the street by the hand with a hot, teenager'ish Thai bar-girl. A girl, a boy, or a lady-body (trans'ed or semi trans'ed). In thailand, you pick your poison and you hastily have it served with fries and a Pepsi. Most of the bar-girls come from the north of the country, where poverty and unemployment is the daily bread and butter. I don't blame them at all, as they just try to earn a living by whatever meanings they get, and sex is an easy 1000 baht (20 euros) per night. It's just that the whole thing doesn't look pretty. I am not talking morals here, I don't give two shits whether those men are married and with children telling their wives they're going on a short business trip, or whether those women sell their body for money. I'm not losing my shit for any of that, but like I say the constant sight every 100 meters of a beautiful, gracious young girl talking to a foul-smelling-breath bald bastard in a bar just so she can send her parents some money each month is sickening. And it happens abso-fucking-lutely everywhere you look. Woah! I feel much better now that I let go the only rant I got about Thailand. Ok now Hector, let's move on.   So, I didn't like Kho Samui. Big deal, there are many beautiful areas in southern Thailand... Phuket, here I come! On the bus to Phuket I met Brile, a 30-something sybarite frenchman. He had left mother France two years back and had never looked back. He runs a small diving and sailing shop in Kho Samui, where he's re-located. Cool guy this Brile is. Basically, his argument was as follows: if I can work less hours a day to buy an equal relative purchasing capacity in Thailand as in Paris, surrounded by tropical beaches, hot babes and interesting events... what the fuck should I come back home for??? And you know what? he is damn right, for Christ's sake. Spot right on. Anyway, Phuket has a resemblance to Kho Samui, but it's rather catered towards package tourists rather than independent ones like myself. Still, being now the low-season due to the monsoons, I got a fairly good room dirt cheap in Patong beach (Phuket's main beach). What does Phuket look like? same ole: lot's of euro rednecks, bars, bar-girls, lady-boys, shop-till-you-drop feeling and beautiful beaches. Like I said, it's overly commercialized, but the sunsets over Kata beach cannot be beaten. What? you don't believe uncle Hector? Have a look bellow! I know man, I know, I felt the same when I first saw it, it blew my mind away. So there I was one evening, taking some more sunset pictures (I have over 200 pictures, all of them as beautiful as the ones above), when I saw these guys running a sky-diving business at Patong beach. You know, they hook a parachute on you, they attach it to a speedboat, the boat speeds off, and you are lifted 50 meters in the air over the ocean. They were charging 20 euros for a ride, but I managed to bargain the price down to 14. They must be making a hell of money, 'cuz peeps were flying left and right. The guys were telling me that they had done over 30 flights that day. 30 x 20 euros in one day is HUGE money for Thai standards. Good for them. Anyway, so as soon as I saw the first fellow shooting the hell up towards the sun setting horizon, I knew I had to follow suit, so I put myself next in queue.
I cannot tell you how stunning the panoramic view of the sunset over the Andaman Sea was, soaring the skies at high speed while watching the natural show. Unfortunately, as we were skydiving back shorewards to land down, the wind took a sudden swift, emptying out my parachute within a heartbeat. I consequently dropped down like a rock into the ocean from at least 15 meters of height. It didn't hurt, having landed in deep enough water, but I had my digital camera in my pocket. Crying out a loud Fuck from the tip on my lungs, I reached down to my pocket, pulled out the camera and swam back to the beach holding the camera over the water level, bracing my way up with the other arm. I still cannot believe the camera remained sealed up and no salty water leaked through, which would have been disastrous. Ufff, what a relief! One of the guys there shot a picture of me as I was taking off towards the sunset. You see that fellow flying in the picture on the right? Guess who!
From Phuket, I went on a one day trip to the National Park of Phang-Nga, right north of Phuket. The park is sort of a vast swamp, with water canals inter-lacing each other spider web-alike. So the few of us taking the tour rented a tail boat, which is like a long nosed motor canoe, and we sailed into the heart of the place. In the Jordan chapter I crowned the Wadi Rum Desert as the most beautiful place I have seen in my life. Well, the Phang-Nga National Park is a serious second positioner. As usual, I will try to attempt (and as usual miserably fail) to describe it out despite my filthy english. Picture yourself on a small boat cruising slowly along calm waters. Now, picture enormous limestone rocks (up to a 100 meters high) emerging all around you like skyscrapers towering over the swamp. The boat quietly negotiates its way around these limestone pillars, as the passengers regard the surrounding view in astonishment. The mountains themselves are covered with blooming vegetation all the way from the water level up top. I will let you now judge by yourself the pictures of the second most beautiful place I have seen during my travels.

The main attraction inside the Phang-Nga National Park is the James Bond Island, re-named so after the Roger Moore and Christopher Lee starring 007's "The Man with the Golden Gun" was shot here. I am sure you've probably seen the following scenes before, as they are portrayed in many tourism pamphlet. Please have a close look to the picture bellow-right and note the size of the limestone rock by comparing it with the boat right next to it.

Also, we stopped to have lunch at a fishermen floating town right in the middle of the swamp. It was built upon floating platforms, and it was terrifically charming, surrounded by water and these erecting mountains. Surprisingly, the inhabitants didn't have purified drinking water but they did have electricity (and thus TVs and DvDs and stuff haha!).

After few days in Phuket, I took the speedboat to the world class island of Kho Phi Phi, which is 35 km off Phuket coastline. Actually, there're two islands here: Kho Phi Phi Don, the main island where the resorts and restaurants are, and Kho Phi Phi Leh, the National Park where Leo DiCaprio's The Beach's paradisiacal lagoon was shot. Indeed, there is an inner lagoon there, but at this time of the year (monsoons session and its rough tide), the large ferry cannot safely squeeze through the narrow canyon into the inner lagoon, so I could not go there myself. Shame, as I have heard it's a real beauty. The picture on the right is Kho Phi Phi Leh, with its inner lagoon hiding behind the outer rocky walls.
Kho Phi Phi Don is just as beautiful. No wonder it's become a very popular honeymoon destination. The beaches are the prettiest in all Thailand. Perfect place to lay back and relax for few days, sun tanning and sipping watermelon shakes. There are lots of wealthy peeps who've chosen Kho Phi Phi as their hideout spot and they arrive from all over on their speed boats for some stunning snorkeling and diving action. Coral reefs are rich and colorful here. Not as good as in the Red Sea, but kick ass either way. And the beaches man... postcardesque! Pictures of Kho Phi Phi Don bellow.

And back to Bangkok

Well, after those days traveling around the southern islands, I moved back to Bangkok as I had couple of things left on the to-do list. Mainly, I wanted to buy a laptop at Pantip Plaza, a mall-alike complex in the center of the city exclusively dedicated to computers. I bought a kick ass laptop and for a decent price since I get the VAT reimbursed as a tourist. It's an Acer 8004, specifications as follows: Dothan processor, ATI 9700 128mb, 1 Gb RAM, 80 Gb HD, DVD writer, Bluetooth and Wifi, etc. Basically, the market's latest. I bought it so I could update my travel diary more conveniently via this web site, and specially because I have been deeply studding stock trading lately and I needed a laptop for further technical analysis support. One thing that struck me is how exposedly software pirates commercialize their burnt CDs in here. They run open-to-public shops at Pantip Plaza, paying the rent like any other rightful business. You can get absolutely any software, game or DVD for as little as 2 to 3 euros per copy. I don't understand why the police doesn't go there and bust those guys up. Not that I am complaining about getting up-to-date software for dirt cheap. Anyway, they say that 90% of the software circulating in South East Asia is piracy-bound. For computer freaks such as myself, Pantip Plaza is Disneyland.

The most significant event that occurred this second time in Bangkok, other than buying the laptop and meeting again with my good friend Pum for a night out clubbing, was getting to meet Paola and Pilar, two girls in their early/mid 30's traveling around Thailand and other South East Asian countries for a couple of months. Paola is from Chile and Pilar is spanish but has lived in Chile during the last 20 years or so. Anyway, let me tell you about those two: they are the sort of people always ready for a good time, always cheerful and easy going. Man we became good pals. They were a bit confused to the whole Thailand thing having arrived barely few days before, so I guided them around a bit. I met them in the ferry down the river. I was going to The Oriental Hotel, reportedly being the best hotel in the world, so I wanted to check it out and have a coffee like the elite tourist I am. They merrily joined me along and off we went into the Hotel lobby. I must say I was a bit embarrassed, you know, wearing a T-shirt and a lousy fisherman trousers. But man those two nutters couldn't care less. They stormed right in like they if were the queens of Saba haha! We had a great coffee and tea biscuits at The Oriental's back terrace facing the river and watching the boats pass by for the not-too-shabby price of 4 euros per coffee... I guess Juan Valdez must have harvested those coffee grains himself or something, Geez!
Then we grabbed Bangkok's SkyTrain, an elevated fast train that links together the central and business districts of Bangkok in an attempt to alleviate the horrendously thick traffic Bangkokians suffer from (busiest traffic jams I have ever seen in any other city in the world). We were shocked at how many skyscrapers could be spotted in the city's skyline. Bangkok is definitelynot what one'd call a pretty city. It just ain't. Too much traffic, too much concrete, too much disorganization and too much pollution. The fact is that Bangkok, just like many other Asian capitals, has experienced an atrociously fast economic development during the last few decades and therefore the city has overgrown without planification nor style, trying to catch up with the up-trending economic boom's demands. But one thing I can assure you: this city has a strong pulse beating within its veins. You can feel the dynamism as you walk down the street and see its inhabitants going about their usual businesses. There's activity pouring off every single pore of Bangkok, businesses and shopping malls springing up in frenzy, while nightlife, restaurants and tourisim is at an all-time high. So, to wrap it up: not very neat but certainly alive!   In the afternoon, we went to a Thai massage house and took a 30 mins massage. Painful stuff, alas relaxing. More painful than relaxing though. Couple of cocktails in the evening rounded up a pleasant day with my newly met friends. The day after they were going down south to Kho Pah Ngan for the infamous Full Moon Party. The Full Moon Party is a massive rave party on Hat Rin beach (and I mean on the beach) that, with the years, has gained on popularity and now a days attracts thousands of individuals every month from all over the country for the night when the moon is at its fullest, thus the name. Needless to say I was going to the party too, but my own bus was departuring two days later, so we arranged a meeting for the night of the 3rd of June (the full moon day) at Hat Rin beach to go to the party together Picture of Paola and Pilar on the right, laughing their asses off just as usual.

And back to Kho Pah Ngan!
So I took the 14 hours bus from Bangkok to Kho Pah Ngan once again to attend the to Full Moon Party. I do acknowledge that traveling across half the country just to go to a party is kinda too much, but I wanted to check out by myself what 99% of the backpackers at Khao San Road were talking about. You know, something like "been there, done that, got the T-shirt, thank you!" sort of thing. This time, knowing that every single accommodation at Hat Rin beach would be booked or terribly overpriced for the occasion, I headed right away to the north of the island, where I found an extraordinarily clean and spacious bungalow for a fair price. At midnight I headed to Hat Rin to meet Paola and Pili, and after some difficulties spotting them out in the crowd (like I said they attend in the thousands), we met together. The place was just like I had expected: the whole beach frontside had been taken by thousands of people dancing at the techno music beat. King-size speakers had been distributed all over, to say nothing of the laser beamers. Alcohol and drugs being common currency, as well as some flying T-shirts (and one or two bras) as the nirvana'ed dancers were going ape.
There were some local guys painting everyone with bright, fluorescent colors for a dollar each, and the three of us painted some flowerish motives on our faces, got ourselves something to rinse our throats (gin tonic being my choice) and proceeded to join the partying horde... And so the party lasted till dawn. We sure had a good one. At sunrise, the Hat Rin beach had entered a time loop and had been transformed into Normandy, 1944: hundreds of hopeless corpses collapsed on the sand, senseless to anything going around them. If their mothers saw'em hehehe! Was quite a sight. Two days later, Paola and Pilar headed towards Kho Samui and after that to Phuket and I myself went, once again, back to Bangkok, very glad for having traveled across half the country for "just" a night out!

One last time to Bangkok, and out! By now, my one month tourist visa was running out. I had few days left to reach my deadline before leaving the country, and I still was unsure of what my plans for the following months would be. The thing is that I have lately been thinking of renting a studio-flat in Bangkok. Let me explain that out: Eve and Pum -my Thai friends- had told me that renting a small studio in Bangkok should cost around 5000 baht/month (100 euros), so I figured that since I was going to use Bangkok as a central hub to travel during the next two or three months to the other South East Asian countries (Laos, Cambodya, Vietnam and Burma, all of them next to each other), maybe it would be a good idea to rent a cheap apartment in Bangkok where I could always come back to without the hassle of the Khao San Road guesthouses. Also, like I said above, I am deep into studying stock trading (I study few hours a day on my laptop), and I needed an stable internet connection to download the daily quotes stream, so I could use my own studio to dedicate those few hours a day to my studies. So, to sum it up, I spent the next three days visiting serviced apartment buildings and I found one very luxurious in North Bangkok for 180 euros/month. It's a bit more expensive than I'd intended to spend, but the apartment is simply top notch (air/con, wooden floor, totally furnitured, etc). I told the residence manager that I'd think it out over the following days and come back with my final answer. I don't know what to do: in one hand I definitely could use my own place to study. My plan was to study two weeks, then off for another two week to another neighboring country. Then come back and study another two weeks, and off again to yet another un-visited country, and so on for the rest of the summer. It sounds like a good plan, doesn't it? But in the other hand it's a bit of liability as I ought to pay up front 3 months under the concept of deposit, which means my plans would be pretty inflexible during such period of time, and that puts me somewhat off. I still haven't worked it out as of today. Anyway, my visa was about to expire so I had either way to get out of the country should I not want any problems with the Thai immigration department. Once out of the country, you can easily re-apply for a fresh one-month tourist visa. I know of a lot of people who have stayed in Thailand for over a year doing the in-and-out dance. So, I booked a sit in the next bus towards Cambodya, which is barely a day trip away. I still haven't traveled to the north part of Thailand (Chiang Mai's whereabouts), but I will certainly do it soon since I will come back to Thailand in the following weeks. So, on the 10th of June 2004, I crossed the border into Cambodya, the land of the Angkor Wat temples...

In my opinion, what I have enjoyed the most about Thailand has been the chance to meet with other travelers. I know I should be saying here something about the country itself or something, but after having seen so few backpackers in the middle east (Turkey being the exception) I appreciated again interacting with other travelers. Please mind that I am saying travelers, not tourists. I dunno, I just loved meeting so many new people after a feeling a bit lonely the last two months.

This country is beautiful as far as natural scenic views goes. The southern beaches, the rain forest up north, etc. A delight to your eyes. The Phang-Nga National Park. I shat myself, enough said! The people: always smiling, always polite, always eager to help foreigners. They call it the Land of Smiles after all. Good value money wise: If you have a fair budget, and as long as you avoid touristy areas, you can have a hell of a time while keeping your bottom line in green. Lots of night-life kicking in, and the Full Moon Party is a must-do even if rave parties ain't your thing. They just don't serve them any bigger! Some blokes would say: chicks, chicks, chicks! Thai women are hot for those with oriental likings.

Sex-tourism industry. Like I said before, not a pretty sight to see a drunk old western sucker trying to shag a Thai teenager for 20 euros. Food. Why does everyone say that South East Asian food is the best in the world? I just don't get it. Firstly, if your body doesn't stand well spicy food like my own, you're screwed as half the dishes carry hot spices. Second, I find it very limited in options: it's all rice, noodles (which is nothing but re-shaped rice), chicken or sea food. Those're all your options, and the sauce dressings don't get much better, so it gets old pretty fast. Mediterranean food kicks Thai food's ass any day of the week. Some places like Phuket or Kho Samui have been way too commercialized. But I guess that could be said about 90% of the tropical beach regions in the world. Bangkok's lookout. That city is in dire need of a washing up: polluted, dirty, traffic'ed, over-concreted and all around a God-damned big mess. That being said, it sure is a fun town hehe!