How I survived travelling through Thailand alone - Part 1

"Hah? You're going alone? Are you sure it's safe?", asked the people I told about my plans to travel to Thailand alone for 8 days. Plus, the look of concern and slightly mild disgust as they, probably, imagine what it's like doing what I was proposing to do in a country like Thailand. All these, I find rather unnecessary as travelling through Thailand is, I feel, exactly the same as travelling through Malaysia. Of course, some argued that they wouldn't travel around Malaysia on their own either but they just have very different tastes on holidays and travelling. Somebody else cited the language as a potential problem since I wouldn't be able to understand if somebody in the crowd is plotting to drug me with opium dissolved in a magic fruit-shake and rob me of my highly-valuable Malaysian passport. (I've heard it can sell for about RM100,000 in the black market!) To which, I reply that I don't speak Malay either so what's the diff if I were to travel Malaysia alone?
So, anyway, I went and made it back, not only in one whole piece, but with the memories of places I've seen, experiences I've encountered and people I've met. In order that I may always remember this trip, I've decided to blog the highlights of my trip right here. So begins Part 1: how I witnessed the first gang fight in my life right here in the Land of a Thousand Smiles...