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Published: November 4th 2010
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Sukothai
Near Phitsanulok but these rice fields are in Sukothai.....the legendary Thai founding city and kingdom Travel Days 47 - 53
This is the longest I have taken in between blogs as it has been over ten days since I left Chiang Mai and two weeks since I last blogged. Additionally, things move much slower for me in Bangkok as it is more like home.....so there isn't as much to report. It should be noted that I will be hitting the two month mark on the road starting this Saturday. Today I sit in a Burger King in Central Jakarta in order to get this latest blog out there. I had been sick for the last three days and did not take many photographs or do any exploring. My next blog will be about my Indonesian experience in and around Jakarta and meeting Nining, my online Indonesian language conversation partner. I will stay in Indonesia until next week. Onto my travels...................
My last day in Chiang Mai was the only night I had to share my shared room. My new roomie "Craig" from Australia was a good enough guy and we shared extensive conversation (he is quite a talker) and a beer before I left the following day. As far as Rainny goes, we are
Motorcycles
Motorcycles are still the main game in town in many provincial cities. This is especially true amongst couples and younger folks who are among the most commonly seen at festivals and night markets. friends as we always have been. If I read her right, she appears as smitten with a fellow in New York as I was with her. My motto is that we can never have enough intelligent and attractive women with a positive influence in our lives......and so it goes.
I decided to take the bus to return to Bangkok which is a much cheaper but slower alternative. (These buses are often far better than Greyhound and much cheaper!!!) In order to break up the trip, (into two 6 hour parts) I elected to stay overnight in a hotel in the large provincial city of Phitsanulok where my friend Nang lives and works. She works at the nearby Ratchaphat University situated on the scenic Nan River that flows through town. She and I have talked many times online and she likes to ask me questions related to her American boyfriend.
Nang agreed to take me around town and show me some of the sights. (I had been several times before with my Hotel and Tourism students when I was teaching English in Bangkok in order to visit the famous Wat Phra Sri Mahatat temple.) She took me to an
Walking through the Agricultural Festival
You are surrounded by lighted stalls and small congregations of people as you wander along the well lit path. Among the events going aside from agricultural premise: breakdancing and a folk music concert agricultural street fair that was going along the river and to the local market that stretches on the street for quite a long ways. It is a quiet town but quite big and worth seeing if you have your own transportation or a friend in town. The temples that sit along the river are stunningly beautiful in the evening and early morning. Unfortunately, I didn't manage any good photographs of them. It was very nice of Nang to show me around and maybe I will get a chance to repay the favor if she ever comes to Bangkok or Boston.
On the trip from Phitsanulok to Bangkok, I began to see evidence of the flooding that has been in the news starting in Nakon Sawan which is near one of the main dams that harness the flow of the rivers going south to Bangkok. It didn't appear near as serious as in the Northeastern part of the country but roads, fields and many public spaces had high water levels and obvious flooding problems.
Once I returned to Bangkok, I continued to stay with my friend Yngve and his girlfriend Fon who both continue to work and study away.
I took care of some personal details that had been left unattended such as getting my teeth cleaned, trimming my beard and washing clothes. All of these things are quite cheap and convenient in Bangkok.
One of the most unique aspects of my visit (sleeping on the couch) was the unique "setup" I got. One of Fon's attractive friends "accidentally?" left her address book on my couch and somehow I was given the responsibility to call her and return it to her(in person). Life could certainly be worse. Ironically, she had been staying and working in Boston for the last few years until she just recently got called home to run the family hotel in Phuket. (Because her mother has been sick). It is ironic that I would meet her in Bangkok.
During my stay in Bangkok, I made it my mission to find a little known but Thai made vodka that was manufactured in Chiang Mai (and that I previously couldn't find there despite looking and asking around). I am not a big fan of whiskey or the oligopolistic and cartel-like business culture that promotes it in Thailand. I managed to locate some bottles on a trip
My first class bus to Bangkok
For $9 this included lunch, snack, water and dessert......LOL to Khao San Road (the main backpacker district in Bangkok) in the trendy Tha Pra Jan area. The vodka is nothing special taste wise, but it is nice to see another kind of liquor that is both local and NOT Whiskey.
Also at Khao San Road, I was fortunate enough to meet with Tate and do a video eating bugs.(It is on my Facebook page) For many, this might be an exotic thing (like Thailand). But for me, it has become quite normal after watching a number of my Thai friends eat them on a regular basis. I admit, some of the bugs, such as slug looking things, I still cannot get over the sight of them so I understand people's reservations. However, for many of them, there is nothing unhealthy about them or even unusual about the way they taste. For many reasons, (political, economic, environmental, etc.) expect more bugs to be eaten in the future. It is nice to find a culture that does embrace and integrate this into their cuisine. It says something when one of the finest food cultures in the world can do so. I am still waiting to see bugs on the menus
of fine dining restaurants and where chefs are able to do something even more creative with their presentation and taste. (As yet, I haven't found this anywhere, but I am looking).
As usual, I got up early to take some photographs and video a few mornings before heading to Indonesia on Friday October 29th. (As I write it is already November 4). I have to say that the new airport train link (from my location) was very convenient and cheap (only 15 baht or about 50 cents USD). For me, Bangkok is still a city with a lot of magic despite its many foibles. It has much of the best (and the worst) that the world has to offer. I have chosen in this blog to focus on what I perceive to be the best!!
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