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Published: June 24th 2006
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Debarking a river bus
Monks get special seating on all public transportation. So we leave for New Delhi in the morning it's time to sum-up Thailand. Words like "exotic" or even "delicious" don't accurately capture the vastly foreign experience that this country has yielded, so to stall for time we'll outline our last several days.
When last we spoke, Brian and Alissa were relaxing by the pool and bicycling among the ruins in sleepy (and even sunny) rural Sukothai, Thailand. Now picture the exact opposite. That’s Bangkok. The city is vast, blanketed by traffic and smog and is about as modern a city as any.
We won’t bore you with all the ins and outs of our days spent exploring this madness, but here are the highlights. One of our first nights here, Brian somehow managed to get us onto a nighttime sightseeing tour of Bangkok, for free no less. Okay, so it was narrated entirely in Thai, but the price was right. Atop a red double-decker tour bus and alongside thirty or so Thai tourists, we hit the Bangkok traffic to see the Royal sites of which the nation is so proud. The city wasn’t exactly designed for a tour bus, however, and the guide standing at the front and
even the passengers were continuously ducking to avoid decapitation by power lines, tree branches and strings of lights hung as part of the King’s anniversary celebration. Risk of death aside, we got a birds’ eye (pigeon’s, at least) view of the city’s big historical sights and we’re fairly certain that we saw the Grand Palace, Democracy Monument and something that looked like a Parliament building.
Following our first encounter with what we’re quite sure was the more moneyed side of Thai society (judging by the number of digital video cameras filming our ride), we soon had our first glimpse of the poor Thai/cheap backpacker society that is so much more pronounced here than anywhere we’ve been. Rambutri Lane--in the Banglamphu backpacker district--is a nearly carless stretch of internet cafes, sketchy travel agents, bars run out of decapitated Volkswagen busses, and street-side stalls selling everything from used books to what is clearly the plunder of a stolen backpack. Headlamps, sleeping bags, digital cameras, and ancient discmen are all very used, and all readily available. We pulled up a bar stool alongside a variety of expats, vacationers and very grungy “Farang” (foreigners) of unidentified purpose in order to catch the USA
vs. Ghana World Cup match. We ended up spending most of the time watching the games on the street, however, as some backpackers dodged children selling trinkets and flowers, and others for some reason tried bargaining food vendors down from 15 baht (about 35 cents) to 10 baht for a plate of fried rice.
We skipped many of the normal tourist sites such as the Grand Palace and the restored home of the 1950’s American silk merchant, Jim Thompson. We did, however, visit the magnificent “reclining Buddha,” a gold and plaster monument 50 meters long and 15 meters high in one of the holiest Wats (temples) in Tibetan Buddhism. The Wat complex, itself, was decorated in brightly colored tiles, and cartoonish statues guarded each of the many gates. Sort of Disneyland-like if you ask us, but maybe we were just “Watted out.” The Buddha itself was spectacular, as we hope the attached pictures convey.
Following our final Thailand temple visit, we hopped on Bangkok’s water bus, which Brian immediately deemed the best mode of transportation in the history of all transportation. Bangkok’s rivers and canals have historically been the city’s most important public arteries, and with road traffic
as bad as we experienced, a ferry is much quicker than even the most skillfully navigated motorbike. Anyway, we took a commuter boat through the incredibly filthy river (which, Brian notes, has only commercial traffic, no pleasure craft at all) to one of the city’s largest shopping malls in search of a jeweler who could fix Brian’s sunglasses. At first glance, the place seemed familiar enough, but as we ascended the seven stories things got seedier and somewhat less legitimate. By fifth floor, normal looking stores were replaced by stalls selling designer jeans, electronics, and any album or movie imaginable--all sold at a 95% discount. Realizing that Thailand was somehow exempt from global trademark and patent laws, we left clutching our intellectual property as tightly as our bags. (And for those of you who were wondering, we did buy designer jeans, and have a notarized letter from the president of Diesel attesting to their authenticity).
As we wrap up our trip though Thailand, we wanted to share a few observations for those of you who may wish to travel here in the future. First and foremost, when in doubt remove your shoes at the door. This goes for temples,
guest houses, pool patios and even some restaurants. (It makes for clean floors and will soon be a rule in Brian and Alissa’s apartment…take note.) Second, this country is BYOPP—Bring Your Own Paper Products. That goes for toilet tissue, napkins, Kleenex and paper towels. We’re not kidding here. Brian drank coffee out of a plastic bag a few days ago. Making this situation even stranger is that plastic straws are passed out with gusto. And not just the cheap straight ones, but bendy ones with colorful swirls. Buy a coffee, a beer, a two-liter bottle of water and you’re definitely getting a straw. No napkin, though. Third, the Thai language is a total mystery, so don’t even try. We’ve been here for eleven days and still cannot say “Thank you” properly, let alone “green curry”. Word of advice about restaurants—pick one with pictures on the menu. Finally, Thai people are incredibly friendly and outwardly happy. On the whole, the smile and laugh a lot more than your average American, which doesn’t take long to get used to. Tomorrow we head off to India, we’ll see how its affability compares. Over and out.
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zhara
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happy travels!
emma and i are still following you two along on your adventures! india awaits and we await news from india!