There’s nothing like sitting at a street side bar sipping a Coke and Chiang Mai only to witness an impromptu parade break out. Arriving at the dreaded, tourist-heavy Khao San Road, we really didn’t know what to expect as this was both our first times visiting the famous backpacker district. The only real image we had of Khao San Road was of Leonardo DiCaprio drinking snake blood in the movie The Beach. We had already made the decision prior to arriving that if the opportunity arose, we too would down some snake blood.
Well, nobody offered us snake blood; just cheap t-shirts, fake arm tattoos, and a ping-pong show. We politely refused it all and decided to do what every other tourist was doing. Drink! It wasn’t long before a couple of police cruisers started to clear the streets, with a faint sound of a marching band in proximity. Before we knew it, we were smack in the middle of a parade for God-knows-what, on Khao San Road. There was everything from a black and yellow marching band bearing uncanny resemblance to the Calgary Stetson Show Band, to lady-boy pageant queens. Boy scouts started filling the bars asking for donations, and it wasn’t long before boys were coming down the road locked up in cages like wild animals. The majority of the people were in school uniforms, leading us to believe that this was some sort of school fundraiser, but then some local seniors came down the pipe dancing like wild macaques, mask included. They definitely weren’t students.
All in all, we felt right at home. The ambiance was similar to that of the Calgary Stampede parade. Maybe this was due to the marching band, or maybe due to the scantily clad girls and morosely drunk men on the sidelines. Whatever it was, the parade appeared to be a success. We, as did every other tourist, donated money for – fingers crossed – a good cause. And if it was another Asian tourist scam, it was totally worth it!
P.S. If you don’t believe us about the resemblance to Calgary’s very own marching band, check out this link!
GATE20.com 
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