arrival...

I've always found it erie, descending into a new city at nightime. as the plane angles down for final approach, all that i can do is sit and try to imagine the city that is rising up towards us under the murky blackness.
i feel great, i've slept the entire flight and am more than ready for the task at hand; get into the city and find a place to sleep. as the lights from the city become brighter, i try to pick out any kind of identifiable markings - some evidence that i have, in fact, arrived in south east asia. as far as i know, i could be anywhere.
the plane touched down with no difficulty. (big ugly bastard) i'm up and out of my seat the second that we stop.
Now this is what i call an aiport, puts tokyo to shame. high vaulted ceilings and long corridors of artwork. i lazily strolled along, listening to some music, taking in all the details. i wasn't in any particular hurry, after all i'd be here for six weeks.
the walk to the luggage claim had to have been about 10 minutes, and i'm sure that it didn't help that i was strutting along in a dazed but euphoric fashion. when i arrived at the luggage belt i began scanning for my bag, then realized that it was dirrectly in front of me. thankfull for the stroke of luck, i bend down and scoop it up, throw it on and head for the exit. on the way a woman asks if i need a taxi. "how much to kho sahn road" i ask her. "950 baht" she replied, it was all i could do not to laugh at her. "i'll keep looking" i said as i walked past her.
i push through the door to the street, and feel the humidity for the first time. like being slapped in the face with a hot, wet t-shirt. "that's going to take some getting used to" i thought, and started searching for a cab.
a group of people on the other side of the ramp were waving and calling to me, i ignored them and walked down a little ways. no way were they getting me that easy, although the second time it happened my curiosity got the better of me, "how much to kho sahn?"
"400 baht"
much better. i nodded in agreement and proceded to follow the guy from the other side of the metal gate. we walked for a good 500 feet, each on one side of the get, walking in silence. once i got to the gate he began with the questions.
"where you from?"
"canada."
"vancouver? montreal?"
"toronto."
"welcome to thailand"
"thank you"
"how long you stay in bangkok?"
"couple of days, but i'm in thailand for 6 weeks"
"ahhh, long time"
"...."
"i do tattoo's"
"okay"
"i give you my number?"
"no thanks"
with that he pointed to a cab with an open trunk, i put my large pack in the trunk, taking my day pack with all my most important stuff with me. trust no one.
a different man came to the side of the cab and crouched down near my open door with a clipboard.
"so where you go?"
"kho sahn road. i was told 400 baht."
he nodded.
"bangkok big city. lots traffic. take long time. you pay 100 baht to take highway. quicker."
"no, i don't mind the long way."
"okay okay, you tip my driver 100 baht"
"fine"
"you going to kho sahn road, you going to smoke?"
"maybe"
"you want me to help?"
"no"
"ahhh...okay" he then said a few things to the driver in thai and closed the door.
he drove the whole way into the city on the highway. i was proud of myself, managing to avoid two scams already. the tip for the driver i didn't mind, it was only 3 bucks anyway.
me and the driver exchanged a few words along the way. he had practiced his idle chitchat well, because when i asked him if it was indeed the very end of the rainy season he said that he didn't understand english. fine with me. i was happy to simply stare out the window at the city streaming past, curious about what i'd discover once i began exploring beyond the wall of low buildings that lined the highway.