Matthew Polly in Slate is logging his trip to Thailand:

Khao San Road is where WTO protesters go to vacation. It is a collection of cheap hostels, Internet cafes, semi-legit massage parlors, disreputable travel agents, nightclubs, and endless stalls manned by Thai merchants willing to cater to the desires of the First World’s spiritually confused, culturally eclectic youths. And what do they want? Primarily, tattoos, henna, and dreadlocks. As I walked past a Thai grandmother braiding Bob Marley hair into a twentysomething Japanese head while a Thai man was needling Superman’s symbol onto his shoulder, I thought: If this is where peace, love, and understanding lead, then let’s give war a chance.

My journal entries from Thailand are lost with an old website, but I never really updated them so you’re not missing much. He’s a better writer, but I think I had cooler adventures than most Western travelers to Thailand (for starters, I wasn’t a backpacking hippie). Members can see pictures of my trip in the gallery.

Categories: Travel