Happy New Year!!! We made it to Thailand just in time to celebrate the end of 2013. We decided on coming to a really touristy area because we figured there’d be a lot going on. Phuket, or as it should be called, Ladyboy Island, did not disappoint. It’s mostly Russians on holiday here – it’s actually really hard to tell you’re in Thailand. It’s basically your typical resort town – lots of markets selling cheap crap, buckets of drinks and the beach. And ladyboys. And statuesque Russian girls with strong bones and too much makeup, rendering them indistinguishable from ladyboys. It was and is a sad affair. Shefali and I played a game when we were people-watching. You get one point if you find a couple where you think the guy paid for the woman (GFE – girlfriend experience) and you get ten points if you think the guy paid for a ladyboy. You get a thousand points if the guy seems like he can’t tell that he paid for a ladyboy. You’d think this to be an inherently racist game to play, and it is – but not against the Asians. Invariably, the couples we pegged for each of these strata involved a caucasian male. So you see, we’re actually prejudging white men, which I’m pretty sure is socially acceptable and even encouraged these days. Though it admittedly says more about us than any of the subjects of our game, fuck ‘em. At the end of the day, they’re still nasty tranny bangers. Well, half of them anyway. The new year’s celebration was huge – all the streets in the center of town packed with people and multiple stages playing to huge crowds on the beach. People were lighting off lanterns and floating them over the Andaman Sea – the peacefulness of watching them float gently out over the water contrasted sharply with the mayhem of thousands of people cheering and dancing all along the coast (video at [2]). Fireworks went off all night and well into the new year. You couldn’t walk anywhere without being blasted with silly string. It was epic. Also, there were lady boys. So many ladyboys. Hopefully you guys have some interesting stories of your own new years adventures, and we can’t wait to hear them all when we get back.
Shefali and Vijay
Lanterns and techno:
Countdown and Happy New Year!!!