Smells Like Teen Spirit

The tuk tuk is connected to the bus station, the bus station is connected to Phitsanulok, Phitsanulok is connected to a seven hour, 3rd class, non air conditioned train ride to Ayutthaya. To sum up that experience: after three hours I was ready to kill someone--but the eating was good. Despite the agonizing heat it was hard not to marvel at the incredible selection of food! Dozens of vendors carrying trays of fried chicken with basil, beef, tangy pork chunks on skewers, coconut balls filled with gelatin, mango and sticky rice, coconut pita bread, dollops of melting ice cream in styrofoam cups, bags of ice filled with coffee, pink milk, and coca cola, and endless amounts of other sweets. But, unfortunately the human stomach can only hold so much. We arrived in Ayutthaya, irritable and ... read more

My apologies for the dreadfully long gap between entries. Apart from the Taiwan earthquake which knocked out communication across Asia, and the constant hourly outings to unknown destinations on frightening roads, its honestly just been too freakin' hot to work on a blog. And to wrap everything up: we're not in Thailand anymore. Bali, one of over thirteen thousand islands in Indonesia is famous for its scenic beauty, breathtaking culture, and friendly people. The international fame of their culture has brought a heightened sense of identity among the Balinese. They've retained a unique lifestyle guided by their social, religious, and cultural traditions. The tourism it experiences has also resulted in an extraordinary economic growth and improvements in transportation and communication. Towering volcanos, the majority of them dormant, contain large lakes which provide ... read more

Mental Notes 1. Never linger for more than a few moments at a market stall or you will automatically be obliged to purchase something. 2. It's perfectly acceptable if you find an ant in your green curry. Farewell 'o beloved Railay. We leave you with heavy hearts and sorrowful spirits. But we've got better things to do, like take a plane to Chiang Mai! My initial impression of the city through the stained window of a taxi was that it was a moat away from being identical to Bangkok, but that's a naive opinion of a naive tourist. After further exploration I have realized that, yes indeed it resembles Bangkok, except that it has a moat. I'm only half lying when I say this. After half-arse meticulous examination of the metropolis and consant lecture from the ... read more

Mental Notes 1. Learn the the phrase "I don't understand" in the local language. 2. Air conditioning is the only thing that matters. On our final day in the big city we made the trip, this time an uneventful water taxi ride, to Wat Pho, the modern hero of Bangkok's holy temples. It features a host of superlatives: the largest reclining Buddha and the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand, and the country's earliest centre for public education. Almost too big for its shelter, the magnificent reclining Buddha, 46 m. long and 15 m. high, portrays the Buddha's passing into nirvana (death). The figure is modelled out of plaster around a brick core and finished in, a slowly disintegrating but still beautiful, gold leaf. Mother of pearl inlay ornaments the eyes and feet, the ... read more