Not much between despair and ecstasy

Arrived in Bangkok and we are staying off-off-Khaosan Road proper, and what a difference a few dozen meters makes. Fewer vendors and generally a less ferocious and seedy atmosphere. We've reverted to the "the-bathroom-IS-the-shower-stall" situation, but that's okay: even having an attached bathroom is a luxury. Hell, even having a room is a luxury--we were forced to take the only place left after arriving in the area on the first night: every place was full. Most of my mosquito-related injuries to date were sustained that first night.

It's been hard meeting anyone on the Khaosan Road--the backpackers seem more cliquey, or self-sufficient, or just wary of other farang (foreigners). If they wer looking for a more authentic Thai experience, I'm not sure what they're doing here. The whole road is one big market: stall after stall of pirated CDs, T-shirts, bling, meat-on-sticks, fake IDs, scammy bus-tours, dreadlocks-on-demand, throwing stars, luggage, stolen goods, beauty salons, scummy bars, phony restaurants, taxi touts and crushing, swaying crowds. One accepts it for what it is; don't expect any epiphanies (or maps to secret beaches) here.

Very few English speakers here. Apart from the few Aussies/Kiwis and Brits, we've heard mostly French and German, with a scattering of Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Cantonese. We've only spotted one Canadian-flag patch, and one MEC bag.