Thailand in Words_002
Hi,
We dropped into Bangkok, hopped a cab to the big tourist area Banglamphu, ran into a friend from Koh Pha Ngan who knew the ropes and got us pointed in the right direction, and ended up getting settled into a cheap but clean hotel for two nights. Try as we might, we just didn’t have the partying spirit. We were surrounded by something of a party our entire stay there, and we partook of a couple chillies on patios, to be sure, but generally maintained a pretty healthy lifestyle and headed to bed each night at about 10 PM… grandma and grandpa Griswald! On December 31st, Nic and I tried to pack the main Bangkok tourist attractions all into one day. The result: hundreds of keeper photos, some splendid memories, heatstroke and fatigue. We started with the Grand Palace, and a temple containing the emerald Buddha, an item terribly prized by the Thais. The wat (temple) was so packed that we were squeezed through the place like meat through a grinder. Worth it, though. After that, we wandered to the river, and jumped on a longboat for an hour long tour of the city. After that, we walked to Wat Pho, a temple complex which contains an enormous reclining Buddha. This was the highlight for me, although I had to fight for positioning to get good photos of the monster. After this, we headed back to Khao San road, famous international rodeo street, drank a gin, and tried really hard to stay awake for the big New Years countdown. We made it till about 9:30! It turns out that it was a good night to pack it in early, as the next day we discovered that bombs had been going off throughout Bangkok, killing a couple of people, and injuring 30 or more others. This news was unsettling, to be sure. However, we were not about to pack it in just yet.
We are now in Chiang Mai. We took a night train, which was pretty cool as they served us food and beer, and then set us up with beds for the night. I don’t know what they want from humans, but cockroaches the size of handphones crawled under the blankets with us. Following this discovery, we slept with the our blankets pulled so tight around us that nothing could get that intimate with us again! Today, we got a swanky little hotel room at a place with a pool, restaurant, tours, and internet (right here!) for about $10 a night. Earlier, we rented crappy bikes with baskets for 50 cents a piece, and toured the town. We must have stopped at about six temple sites, two of which were absolutely incredible. We took lots of photos, and I am so itching to share them. A couple we met at the Sanctuary is dropping in to town tonight, so we will hook up with them. We plan to go to a nearby national park called Doi Inthanon tomorrow or the next day, visit some hill-tribes, see some waterfalls, and go to Thailand’s highest peak. Fun fun fun.
Thailand is pretty damn A’ight! The people are so mellow, generally happy, and hospitable. I feel bad, in a way, that we can afford to live so well here, but I in turn envy the Thais that they can live here on a fulltime basis. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the relative value of money thing. I mean, 25 baht for me is about 75 cents… pocket change… and for a little old Thai craftsperson, for example, it’s a hard-earned dinner. We have been doing our best to support crafts-people at the tourist sites without spending our money too foolishly. Expect lots of knick-knacky late Christmas presents!
peace unto y’all,
suteebun
