Now in Manila! - Previously in Thailand

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So, here we are in Manila, after about three weeks in Thailand. I almost have a feeling that I don't need to really write anything about Thailand, since every farang (non-Thai person, usually Caucasian) in the world seemed to be there while we were - except in Phitsanulok. One thing I noticed is that the country's many towns often influence the names of Thai restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Phitsanulok is a town half-way between farang centers Bangkok (farther South) and Chiang Mai (farther north). Sarah and I had wanted to see the thirteenth century ruins at Sukhothai, but the Lonely Planet advised us to stay in Phi-lok (as the locals call it) as it had more charm.

But it took some time to find the charm, largely due to the heat. As we woke up quite late and our breakfast was more stressful than planned, we decided to check out the town. But the heat and the sun's intense rays made us mad - mad enough to crave expensive chain restaurant Pizza. This was after we walked around searching for an open vegetarian-oriented restaurant for a good three hours while exploring the city. I quite enjoyed the outdoor gym equipment that lined the river bank.

The city is actually best known for its gold-plated buddha, considered by Thais as the most beautiful buddha in Thailand (at least according to a Thai person who sat next to me on a bus). We saw that too.

The next day, we checked out the ruins at Sukkhothai, on a bicycle, after an hour-and-a-half long bus journey. And once we returned, we actually enjoyed lots of good food - pork satay (for me of course), salted strawberries (which I enjoyed, but Sarah didn't), and some inexpensive tofu/vegetable dishes on the riverside, plus a couple of bottles of beer. After a songtheaw (a small pickup truck with a roof and benches along the sides in the back) drove us back to our hotel (with a name we don't know - as it did not have any roman characters on any of its signs or advertisements), a man with a bicycle cart came up to us. As Thai people assume that you are interested in purchasing something if you make any sort of eye contact with their goods, the man stops. As we were curious about what he sold, we asked him, and then he just started making what he sold. He took out a small amount of dough, flattened it by whirling it around by his hands, and then placed it on his concave, circular griddle. Next, he cracked a brown egg, and placed it on top of the dough, and as it fried, he folded all of the sides in and flipped over his concoction. Then he swirled some condensed milk on top, rolled up the treat, and placed it in paper wrapping. And then he prepared another one - just knowing that we could not refuse it. The treat was yummy, and later we found out in Chiang Mai that it is called a Roti (or Rotee if you prefer). And we consumed several during our time in Thailand.

Some other highlights:
*Leo Beer - well, it's head and shoulders above the other beers in Thailand, and it won't give you a headache.
*Pai - we did nothing there, other than learn some Thai Cooking basics, but the air is kinda clean (unlike the rest of Thailand)
*Dr. Leeper - He's a Chiropractor, based out of the Shewe Wana spa in Chiang Mai, who helped Sarah out tremendously after she was bedridden with horrific back pain.
*Chiang Mai Sunday Night Market - Lots of tasty street food and great deals, but way too many people.
*Wat U Mong in Chiang Mai - We enjoyed a conversation with a monk who grew up in Australia and its serene, but kinda dirty surroundings.
*Pid Term Yai (Hormones) - A touching, quirky, but a bit overlong movie about the early summer of four groups of Thai teenagers. I'd recommend it if it comes to a film festival.
*Fresh Mangos
*The food in general - and it even tastes good without meat!
*The people - Thai people are very helpful and congenial, as long as they aren't selling you anything (and many vendors are actually very nice).

Some lowlights:
*Having to negotiate prices for everything other than food and hotel rooms - And knowing that we are paying higher prices just because we are farangs.
*Vendors who assume that you want to buy something if you just look at it. One woman grabbed Sarah after we walked away from her stall. We simply did not like her pillow cases, but she assumed we wanted a less expensive price.
*The abundance of farangs (caucasians). I prefer to experience other cultures rather than bring my own into a place. Many travelers view Thailand as a place to party and exploit.
*Elephants on city streets - Really - is it right for an elephant owner to bring one on to a city street and have drunken farang tourists pay for it.
*Khao San Road - this is the Bangkok budget tourist ghetto, where vendors sell all sorts of stupid t-shirts (and fine, I bought a couple). It's manic, but the only Thais around are those who work at the restaurants and manage all of the stalls. Our first hotel was very nice and located there, but we decided to stay in the Sukhumvit area the next time around, which felt far more like how I imagined Bangkok, for better or worse.
*The Heat - it's far more oppressive than that in South American tropical areas, but this was expected at this time of year.

We will return to Thailand toward the end of our trip, as we intend to fly back out of Bangkok. We also need to check out this temple located on top of a volcano.

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