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Published: January 4th 2007
In the fall of 2002 I flew from San Francisco to Bangkok, where I spent 5 months wandering around and being an idiot. I spent time in Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. The most worthwhile thing I did while there was help different groups of people build adobe buildings, giving me the chance to get off the tourist trail and into remote regions where I could have real interactions with the natives. Other highlights included getting sick, puting myself in danger, and exploring Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Also, everything about Laos was delightful, despite witnessing the destruction caused by America's bombing during the Vietnam War. (People are still severely wounded on a regular basis from unexploded cluster bomblets.)
After Losing my mind in Bangkok I hopped on a train and slowly made my way to Malaysia over a month. Surrounded by tourists and tourist amenities, I was safe and comfortable in my foreign surroundings, well, at least until the leaches, that is....
Emails and pictures from the trip follow:
Oct 03 2002
hello people,
well I have arrived safe, sound, yet weary in bangkok. it was 18 hours of flying and 3 in the korean airport. I
must say it is 800,342,899.765 times more insane than I could have possibly imagined. I am staying in the infamous koh san road area, and their are more foreigners here than thais. It seems I have adjusted well to the 12 hour time difference, having woken up at 9 am feeling well rested, im just waiting for the 1st bout of diarhea to hit.
My itinerary has changed due to flooding in northern thailand, so i guess ill have to slowly head south to malysia and work on my tan exploring the innumerable islands and beaches, oh darn. I don't know what else to say, I'm still in disbelief of my whereabouts, but excited as all hell. Well I just wanted to let you know that those korean commies didn't get me and that no infectious diseases have swelled my brain and caused irreversible damage. See you later, it's time to explore bangkok.love you all, steve
Oct 3 2002
Well this is all to weird to convey in words, but hey it's all I got sitting at this internet cafe on an alley near koh san road, a bit of digital technology among these otherwise slightly run
down streets.
Well I've only been ripped off twice and my stool is still firm as ever, nice actually. Yesterday I was swayed by a couple of touts into a sight seeing tour by tuk-tuk (a small, but loud motorised cart). Hesitantly I went along, as they promised it would only cost 20 baht, which is about 50 cents. They had this whole story about some government promotion for tourism, that the driver would be compensated for bringing me around.
So I went rluctantly after getiing a triple promise on the price. He brought me , speedingly, abruptly turning and weaving through insane bangkok traffic past bustling street markets, to see about four different temples. I was having so much fun intensely riding around and then strolling peacefully through the calm and quiet temple grounds, I didn't care when I figured out the scam.
In between temples he brought me to a store and each one he brought me to, he got paid. At first I was confused, but then I figured it out and just played along, pretending to be interested in buying stuff. Any ways it only cost me 20 baht in the end, I
got to see some amazing stuf, including the biggest friggin buddha I ever seen, which was very big, about 4 stories, and I learned alot about my own gullibility.
I have been going back and forth between being totally freaked out and having an amazing time. The area Im staying is quite comforatablr and really cheap, everything caters to western appetites. Roaming around I suddenly find myself on a busy sidewalk with only thais, all the signs unintelligable, fish heads roasting on a street vendor cart, and mangy dogs pooing on the sidewalk. After a bit of that I freak out a bit and head back to a small cafe withh all the europeans and aussies. It's all good though, I'm getting more used to it and getting to likr it more and more.
As far as expenses go it's crazy cheap. My room is 3 dollars a night, meals are no more than $2, a pack of marlboros for $ 1.20 and that all my expenses besides transport and entrance fees.
Nothing more to say, just wanted to soothe any worries I know some of you have. I feel really safe here, just got to watch
for the many people, hanging out in the tourist spots trying to part me with my money, they are harmless and even ehen you do get ripped off its very little by american standards, as for the large majority of thais, they are all super friendly.
Doing well on mars, steve
0ct 10 2002
Well well well, so the stool ain't so firm these days, but not too bad. I can say that I'll never forget my toilet paper again. Interesting, are those Asian bathrooms. When you ask them what hand they use to wipe with, and they say the left, they really mean it.
So Bangkok is way behind me now and how nice it is to be away from that decrepid city, though it was an interesting experience. The most amazing experience of my life to date was riding the train south out of Bangkok. A three dollar, 3 and a half hour journey in the rickety old 2nd class car, chug chuggin’ down the narrow strip of Thailand toward Malaysia. The glass windows slide down in the train and every one of them is open so there is no glass between you and
all that crazy scenery as it zooms by you and the tropical air blows cool in your face.
Bangkok gave way, eventually, to rural huts and shacks on stilts in flooded fields. People with pants rolled up to their knees trodded through the lake that was their lawn carrying buckets of water and laying sand bags. Little Thai children played on the dirt paths along the tracks. Further out the land gave way to farm fields and small villages. Coconut trees and jungle flora filled the gaps between farm fields as the train swayed along speedily on the tracks.
Got off the train in Petchaburi and tried to find my way to where I wanted to stay. The streets were busy with motorcycle traffic. The cycles carried families of two, three, and even four here and there. Zoom zoom zoom, never ending motorcycles and an occasional bicycle cart, with an old man pedaling away, carrying passengers down the street. Coming from Khao San road I was used to seeing other westerners. I suddenly realized i was the only one of my kind and I stuck out like a black man at a KKK rally. Everyone looked and smiled
as I walked by and all the children giggled and said "hallo" "hallo". after finding the guesthouse and settling in I walked through a big carnival with hundreds and hundreds of people. I've never felt so odd.
I stayed in Petchaburi two nights. I walked around all day the second day, seeing some temple ruins from the 16th century. I also climbed up to the palace and temple that set upon a big mountain in the middle of town. On the way up the cobblestone path were swarms of monkeys, climbing around, playing, and begging for food.
The second night I was no longer the only westerner, or "farang", in town. I was joined by A german girl and then by a guy from holland at the guest house and we stayed up late talking and drinking beer, The next morning me and the german girl, ANgie, went to these caves outside of town that housed some beautiful rock formations as well as some sacred buddha images.
Back on the train I rolled further south. From pranburi I caught a songtaew, or truck taxi, to a small town at the edge of a national park on the
ocean. I hiked 20 minutes over a steep rocky mountain and camped in a tent on the beach in tropical paradise. The next day I went hiking to a huge cave and then up a big mountain to a view of the ocean.
Today I got back on the train and rode 5 hours 3rd class to chumphon. Tomorrow I'm headed to a small island called ko tao, where I'll do a bit of island hopping before coming back to the mainland.
Well I guess I've been doing all kinds of stuff, but my pace is quite slow. I have never been so relaxed in all my life. The Thai people are the nicest and happiest people. It's not tourist season yet, so I've had many experiences being the only farang, especially riding third class on the train. It's been frustraing at time not being able to commuincate very well and going through culture shock, but it's all amazing experience. And I know as well that many of my future destinations will be rather touristy and not so true to the Thai way of life, so I am savoring these chances.
Thai is quite a difficult language
to learn, with the whole tonal thing going on, but I can now say hello, thank you, how are you, water, Im good, I'd like.., and I'd like to go to... and they actually understand me. So I'm learning my way around. I feel rather comfortable and have never felt so safe. Thailand is a really beautiful country, one would never know if he judged it from Bangkok alone.
So the monks walk barfeoot through the town, donning the golden robe, hopping on the back of a motorcycle, smoking a cigarette, finding nirvana in each puff of smoke. And then there's me the big dumb american stumbling along, carrying my guitar and smoking cheap Thai cigarettes like it was the end of the world. So off I go, out to sea
Oct 12 2002
My back is as red as an apple painted red and then again. I got sand in my ears, sand in me pockets, sand in my bed, sand in my bum, sand, sand, sand.
So off I went, out to sea, out into the friggin middle of nothing, a three hour journey on a speed boat off the south eastern coast of
thailand. I've never been out to sea, so i thought I might get sea sick with all that topsy tipsy churning in the waves. I didn't, but I did see some others throw some over the side, breakfast given to the great ocean. A little salt with that?
Anyways out there in the middle of the ocean lay Koh Tao, a small little mountainous jungle covered island with coconut trees, lots of little rocky bays, and beaches. It's known to be the best diving spot in asia. It''s definately developed, but it's got a neat style, lots of bamboo bungalows and teak Thai-style buildings. Most of the island is unaccesible to cars so it's easy to get away. It caters toward the hippie-like dive freaks. It's not tourist season yet so it's kinda quiet. THere are few paved roads, so you must ride on the back of trucks on the bumpy dirt roads to get around.
Im staying in quiet little Tanote bay in my own small bamboo bungalow on the beach, with a small bed inside and a deck with my new favorite thing in all the world, a hammock.
Today I spent all day snorkeling
in tanote bay, swimming in the schools of psychedelic fish among the funky coral, hence the cherry red back. I've never been snorkeling or seen coral before so it was absolutely incredible. I would get lost down there, losing all sense of myself and time. Sometimes I'd look up out of the water and realize I was way the hell out there.
So I think im gonna be here for a bit before hopping to the next island. THen I'll go back to the mainland for a while before checking out the western coast and exploring the Andaman sea and making my way to Malaysia. It's hard to think I haven't been gone even two weeks. When I think about it, 5 months seems like a long time, but the longer Im here I realize there is never enough time to see it all. OH well Im just making the most of it, going where I feel, and leaving when it's time. We'll see what happens.
So for now Im gonna go find myself some aloe-vera, some crack, a spiked whip and a cheap Thai hooker, then call it a night. BYE ( Ok, maybe not the aloe-vera. Im not like that)
Oct 16 2002
hello everyone,
I apologise for not being able to return all the letters I've been getting from everyone, but internet sevice is quite spotty out here, often really slow, and expensive as well, so I got to keep it to these group messages for at least a while. I do enjoy hearing from everyone though, so don't think Im not reading your messages.
Yesterday I could actually move without intense pain, my sunburn is down to a light pink and no longer a bright red. I was pretty paralized for a couple days and just kinda laid around on my stomach alot. I did manage to get off of koh tao and make it to the bigger and less developed koh pahngnan. I ve been travelling with this german fellow, my age named nicholas. Yesterday we hiked through some thick jungle to a nice waterfall. Other than that I've just been lounging on the beach and swimming. Today I think Im gonna go snorkeling again, but keep my shirt on this time.
Tomorrow Im going back to the mainland, check out some ruins then go on a trek in a national park. So yeah, thats my story. It's all happening. I don't really feel like i'm in thailand anymore, the south get lots of tourists, so alot of people speak english and there are many wesern style places to stay and eat. It's good for now, but alot of people just look at southern thailand as a cheap place to lye on the beach and party. I'm avoiding that scene as much as possible and avoiding the crowds.
Life is pretty damn easy here once you get used to it, it seems wrong in a way, to be able to live so easily, but I have been working hard for this for quite a while. It was well worth it. I am looking forward to some more real cultural exerience up in the north. Still though, even when surrounded by tourists I feel like im in europe, haven't seen another ameriacan in weeks.
thats all for now, see ya in your dreams, steve
Oct 22 2002
So where was I or where am I or who am I or what is all this, what the heck is going on here? I don't know and don't care to answer such silly questions that I ask myself all the time(me asking who?). Anyways Stuff keeps happening and I keep doing all this friggin "stuff". sometimes it's fun, sometimes it's scary, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, some times I freak out, lots of times im smoking a cigarette, but it's still all just "stuff", or "experience" that's a better word.
And off I went, all the "stuff" changed, at least more dramatically. It's always changing. The experience continued as it does now and will forever and always has and so on and so forth. It's so fun to go on and on and not say a friggin thing all you gotta do is put in a comma, using it ever abusively, and you can go on and on just like I like to do, , , , ,....... So to get on with it: The sun rose every day and I woke up and stuff happened. Then I went to sleep and even stranger stuff happened. Thats how the days have been going here in thailand. But about that stuff in between the sunrise and sunset:
So I left Ko Phan Ngan and went to the jungle, to Khao Sok National Park. In the jungle, the mighty jungle steve got really, really, really wet hiking in the pouring rain(hence the term, "rain"forest), got attacked by many leeches, and got lost in the dark.
I stayed in a nice little tree house bungalow. I shared the place with a couple snails, a gecko, some creature that lived on the roof and another one that lived behind the painting. He liked to scratch at the painting from behind, but only in the morning. It was nice to lye in bed and listen his scratching. I could see the wholes in the painting he had made from his scratching, but I never looked into one of the holes to find out what he was, I didn't care to know. I named him Fred.
All the time in the jungle, but especially at night, I heard the most amazing symphony of a billion creatures singing a billion different melodies and rythms, electric it was and absolutely incredible. I didn't see a single tiger or elephant, but I did see many many leeches. There was some other cool wildlife, but I was too busy picking leeches from between my toes, to give them my attention.
Yes leeches, black slimy bastards that make you bleed for hours after you pull their parastitic teeth out of your skin. They spit in you, yes they do, an anti-coagulant so the blood flows right in their greedy little stomachs.
After a while I got used to pulling them off, or flicking them off and then trying to crush them with my shoe. That not working, then smashing them with my water bottle. After that, with the dirty scums still squirming, I took my lighter to them until they burnt to a crisp. I don't like killing things, but when it comes to sucking my blood, I kinda freak out.
Well The rainforest taught me how dumb I was: hiking without rain gear, hiking in sandals, etc, etc. So I moved on to the Andaman Sea to learn more about my lack of intelligence. Pha-nga is where Im at now, after taking a 8 hour boat tour of the pha-nga bay. It was a small boat and there were 6 other backpackers: a good old friendly canadian couple, a british couple who stuck to themselves, a witty irishman, and a gay Thai boy from bangkok. Quite the seaworthy crew we had. And to lead us was the old silent Thai man, who steered the boat, in his red underwear, through crazy caves and around the millions of gigantic rocks that stuck up from the ocean. It looked like god was putting together a mountain range, but he accidentally dropped all the pieces into the ocean. After the tour I spent the night at a Thai-muslim fishing village that was built entirely on stilts and sitting in the middle of the ocean. Yes you heard me right, a Thai-muslim fishing village that was built entirely on stilts and sitting in the middle of the ocean.
So thats all the stuff and crap that happened. And there's more to come, though however hard my feeble atttempts at controlling my fate, it changes. Ands so my plans have altered themselves to fit my destiny, my fate. I guess Im not gonna be working on the organic farm, but instead helping to build an ecological village, here in thailand, out of natural materials. Materials like adobe, cob, hay bails, and dead babies.
Yes yes yes, the day I sent my confirming e-mail to the farmer dude, telling him when I'd arrive, I received an email from a friend in portland teling me about the natural building project. I thought it would be cool to do both the organic farming and the building but, sitting down to a computer today to research this convention, I received an email from the farmer dude telling me all about it and also saying no go on the farm, cuz he was gonna be doing the project.
FOr the first 10 days of next month, I will be attending a meditation retreat. So you won't hear from me for that time, but neither will anyone else in this earthly realm, for it is a silent retreat. Then I'll head to the Building project for the rest of the month. So that's the plan that may well change. I guess I'll see. nothing else to say except I'm having a time here in planet steve, ever-expanding like a marshmallow in the microwave and vibrating like like a jello mold during an earthquake. Bye
P.S.- sucking Jello through a straw is the way to go, but it's gotta be red jellow and the straw, clear.
P.S.S.-sucking dead babies through a straw is cool too, but they really must be dead and not just sleeping or in a coma.
Oct 24 2002
The noises of the jungle night, an eerie music, a harmony of a billion different creatures humming in the jungle moonlight. Strange echoing mammal calls, like drops of water in a long hollow cave and endless ringing of a million chirps at a million different frequencies, electric vibrations, high voltage insect currents running through the damp topical air.
I write to dim light, chain smoking neurotic American madness displaced in the Thailand tropical wilderness. What odd creature am I doing here? This ain't no concrete jungle, this ain't no Brittany spears listening , emenem, shopping mall, dollar store, George bush flag waving, TV watchin' kinda place, but yet the smoke of a Marb Red fills my lungs and as I blow it out, it illuminates in the foggy light of the three quarter moon, Phillip Morris carcinogens poisoning the jungle pure air.
My European genetics and western customs, my American conceptions, it's an odd presence here, like black on white. But this place is just that, itself and nothing more. It is innocent wild nature and I am guilty insane unnatural, thinking of the digital pictures I took today, football, pizza, and a big bowl of chocolate chip ice cream.
American madness finds no peace here, just its own anxiety that not even a big Thai beer could calm. Smoke another one buddy and listen to the night sing, just like it has for a million years without you.
Oct 30 2002
Once again I found my self staring out a bus window, watching rural Thailand wizz by as the hot sticky air blew in my face. It's amazing to catch the glimpses, little pictures of people’s lives, being lived humbly and simply in blissful poverty, So many people laying about sheltering from the hot tropical sun. Outside the cities many homes are made from local trees with bamboo walls and thatched roofs, either that or concrete and tin. Most people sell something from the front of their homes, no matter how rural, a few dining chairs around a food cart, local produce or fish stand on the side of the road, and many shops selling snacks and drinks.
You see the whole family around one of the small homes, babies running around naked, children in their white school uniforms, and the parents cooking, or slowly working on some project. In between the homes, patches of jungle open up to farm fields, with many rubber tree plantations, rice paddies and banana groves.
It would all be quite peaceful if not for the manic maneuvers of the bus driver and the blaring Thai pop music. My first bus ride I was quite scared at the speed in which the driver flew along the left hand side of the bumpy roads and the psychotic passes he made. I found out that all drivers drive the same crazy way. I can only imagine how they train these people.
The bus honks, approaching the many motorcycles carrying families of three and sometimes four, all rowed up on the seat, babies dangling off the back. The motorcycles move over to the side of the road quickly for the seemingly brakeless bullet of a bus. If it's a bigger vehicle that needs passing, the driver simply honks, maintains the same speed and swerves into the other lane regardless of opposite traffic. The oncoming vehicles just quickly and automatically move far over to their own shoulder and then the bus swerves back, nearly missing the vehicle just passed. Like I say at first I was freaked out and scared, but after many rides you get used to it and feel quite safe. Everyone on the road knows how the bus behaves and it's all just business as usual to the Thais.
I like riding in the back, so I can feel each crack in the road and so the roaring engine massages my buttocks. Often I feel like I'm on my way to school, getting picked up on the side of the road in the morning carrying my backpack, but then again I never rode a school bus with monks and veiled Muslim women.
So like this we all bounce along at great speeds, stopping now and then to pick up or drop someone off. Every great once in awhile we stop at a bus station. Along with the commotion of people getting on and off the bus comes the vendors, usually older Thai women, who sell their fried chicken, fruit, drinks, fried noodles in Styrofoam containers, or handmade sweets. They come on the bus carrying big arm loads of their merchandise and walk up and down the narrow aisle repeating in their high pitched voices the Thai words for what they sell. So like this we all bounce along at great speeds, stopping now and then to pick up or drop someone off.
Today I rode the bus from Trang to Hat Yai. Hat Yai is a busy, multi-ethnic crossroads city. I’m only here to cross the border into Malaysia, which I’m only doing to get my visa renewed, Just cross the border and come right back. The occasional Osama Bin Laden T-shirt that I see kinda freaks me out about flashing my American passport around too much. "From Canada", I say.
I decided to find myself a quiet island close to Malaysia to spend the remaining time on my visa. I found a really nice island called Ko Muk on the Andaman Sea. It was a small island, with nice beaches, coral offshore, clear blue water and a traditional fishing village with friendly folks. I stayed in a nice bungalow and only a few other travelers.
I befriended a pair of French girls and hung out with them quite a bit. They had been on Ko Muk a while and had made friends with many of the villagers. So I snorkeled and swam and went into the village with the girls to talk with the locals and play with the kids. It's rare to find a place so traditional in Thailand.
Last night I had one of the most amazing experiences ever, fishing in the Andaman Sea at sunset. The French girls invited me to come fishing with some fishermen they knew. So off I went out on another long tail boat, but this time fishing. My line was wrapped around a plastic bottle and I used a battery as a sinker I caught nothing, but I did not care. The fishermen were super nice just laughing and joking the whole time, only two could speak any English. The pink and orange from the setting sun reflected off the ocean, flashing and twinkling in the ripples on the surface. The light faded slowly as we fished away the rest of the day. It seemed we all got quieter as it grew darker, until a peaceful silence was reached. The silence was only broken by the motor starting up again to head back.
After fishing we went back to the fishermen's shack and they cooked us a big dinner. We drank Thai whiskey and beer while sitting around the fire, since there was no electricity.
So that's that. I’m back on the mainland and in the city now, up against a full day of traveling tomorrow to Cross the border, come back, take a train to Bangkok and then from there, a bus to Chaiyaphum. I decided not to go to this month’s meditation retreat and instead spend all of November working on the earthen village, for it's a one time event and I want to see and be a part of the whole process.
Well that's my blurb, Ill let you al know how it goes, Steve
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tonya
non-member comment
leeches on my toes
steve you make me want throw this cat off my lap, grab my pack, and get lost in a jungle pulling leaches off my toes. .....