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Published: April 18th 2007
Ayuthaya
Buddha's face carved into the tree Hello, everyone! I hope that all is well with you! I am getting behind in my blog entries for Hong Kong, but we must plow ahead to adventures in Thailand 😊 I was able to spend two weeks in Thailand during my Easter break, and I must say, it is a fabulous country!
Ayuthaya
We landed in Bangkok, but after hearing from friends that the can come as quite a shock and is best experienced at the end of one’s trip, we caught the first train north to a quaint city called Ayuthaya (which we pronounced wrong the entire trip!). Ayuthaya is the site of many historical temples (also called wats) from around the 14th century. We were able to see most of the ruins by foot the morning after our arrival. Their sheer size was quite impressive, and each temple had a distinctly different character. We also signed up for a tour to see the ruins by night. The tour was wonderful, and as beautiful as the ruins were during the day, they were even more spectacular at night. However, after spending most of the day walking around temples, one could say that we were “wated out,”
Ayuthaya
Wat in Ayuthaya and it took a few days before we were up to seeing any more such structures.
Elephants!
However, before we went on our night tour of the ruins, we stopped by a local elephant camp where we got to see the elephants taking baths, and we were able to feed them mangos! The elephants were very friendly - or maybe they just liked mangos 😊
Chiang Mai
Later that night we hopped on a night train to the northern capital of Thailand, Chiang Mai. Our overnight train was great - a very clean and comfortable way to travel!
Cooking class
Our first day in Chiang Mai, we took a Thai cooking class that was offered by our hostel. It was a lot of fun, and the dishes that we made were surprisingly easy to prepare. The first part of our class took us to a local market where we learned about the different types of chilies, curries, and numerous varieties of Thai vegetables and fruits. When we returned to the kitchen, we were each given our own wok, and we could season or add whatever we wanted to the basic recipe to suit our preferences.
It was my favorite kind of cooking - all the annoying and tedious work had been done for us, and we just got to throw it all together and eat it! We made red curry, cashew chicken, fried morning glory, mango sticky rice, green papaya salad, and sweet and sour chicken. It was all very good, but my favorites were the fried morning glory and the mango sticky rice. Yum!
Thai massages
On our second day in Chiang Mai, we decided to partake in Thai massages. They were so cheap, and they couldn't be too much different from Western massages, right? Uh, we were definitely wrong in that assumption. To quote my good friend Becky’s description of the experience, “Well you know you know all those moves you used to beat up your younger siblings with like elbow to the thigh, tying their arms behind their back, or the karate chop?! Well all those moves are alive and kickin’ in Thai massage!” Basically, the practitioner’s elbows, feet, and hands are applied to the critical pressure points of the body, and sometimes this is a bit painful! Becky claims that the veins in her forehead felt like they
were about to explode, but I didn’t find it quite THAT painful! However, this may be one of those things that while interesting, we may never partake in again 😊
Sunday Night Market in Chiang Mai
Following our massages, we visited the Sunday night market. It was so much fun because there were so many delicious things to eat, interesting things to do, and of course, plenty to buy. The night market is not set up for tourists, and the majority of shoppers are Thai, so it was by far my favorite shopping experience in Thailand because it seemed very authentic. We arrived at 4pm and didn't leave until midnight. Whenever we got thirsty we bought a bottle of freshly squeezed orange juice or if we were hungry we picked up a bowl of Pad Thai (the famous noodle dish) or a kebob. Basically, the food was unbelievable and so was the price - very little was more than a quarter. Many of the members of northern hill tribes came to the market with crafts, and it was really fun to be able to interact with them and purchase some of their goods. There were also street dancers,
jugglers, musicians, foot massagers, and nail painters - always something to keep you entertained. I arrived in Thailand so proud of myself for fitting all of my belongings into my school backpack, but it was only our third day in Thailand, and after the night market, I had more than doubled my load. So much for traveling light!
Adventure day!
The next day, we got up early to have what I will call an "adventure day." Our first stop was at a second elephant camp; however, this time we were able to ride the elephants! Initially, it appeared that our elephant was determined to get us through the trail just as quickly as possible, and Becky and I clung to the bench-like seat for dear life - especially as we descended down some fairly steep hills. However, once our elephant reached a large pile of freshly cut leaves and had his fill, we were able to go at a much more relaxed pace. Eventually, our guide let me move down from the bench so that I was actually riding right below the elephant's neck! It was quite an experience to be wading through the river with big elephant
Fruit!
So many wonderful types of fruit in Thailand! ears keeping the flies off my legs!
Our next stop was swimming at a nearby waterfall to cool off. This was very much needed as the temperature was getting quite hot. After a brief dip, we hiked on to visit some of the northern hill tribes. At the Karen village, one of the local girls offered to show me how to weave. I was not terribly skilled, but even at such a young age, she was churning out scarves at an amazingly rapid pace.
Our final experience of the day was bamboo rafting. Fortunately for us (or maybe unfortunately!) we had arrived at the beginning of Songkran - the water festival which is basically a huge water fight to celebrate the New Year. People douse each other with water because they believe that the water washes away bad luck. We had no idea this was the case as we boarded our small raft. However, we began to realize that something was going on when as we pulled away from shore, our guide, laughing like the wicked witch of the west, violently swung his long bamboo pole alongside the raft and smacked the water with enough force to send
a small tidal wave our way. This was war. Our guide so thoroughly enjoyed soaking us that he often forgot to watch where we were going. Ironically, this resulted in his pole-weapon being decisively sliced in half by an unseen rock. The rest of the crew had a good laugh at this turn of events until a nearby boat supplied him with a new pole - then he had a good laugh! However, the war was not just between us and our crazed captain. All of the people who lived along the banks of the river were waiting for our small raft and ready to attack. We had so much fun 😊
Ko Chang beach
Following our adventure day, we took a night train back to Bangkok, and after stepping off the train, we boarded a bus to take us to the beach! We finally arrived at the island of Ko Chang near sunset, and we had a wonderful dinner on the beach complete with a fire juggling show! Although we hadn't made reservations anywhere, we were able to find a bungalow right on the beach for $5 each per night!
The next morning, Becky and
I went on a snorkeling trip and visited 4 different islands near Ko Chang. The water was unbelievably clear, and we were able to see many different types of fish and corral. My favorite was the parrotfish, which is about a foot long and is mostly pink with areas of yellow and bright green. The fish were surprisingly numerous, and at one point there were a few too many fish - every direction I turned there were hundreds of fish eyes staring at me! The next day, we relaxed and did some swimming. I was also able to try scuba diving, which was quite fun! We left Ko Chang the next morning to return to Bangkok.
Bangkok
I am really glad that we saved Bangkok for last because it was in many ways an intense experience. There are quite a few scams looming about the city, and at times you really have to be quite firm with taxis or other local transpiration that want to “show you around” which is Bangkokese for “I want to take you to a store where I get a really great commission!” In general, getting around Bangkok is incredibly difficult. We arrived at
the bus station, located a taxi, and showed the driver the business card from our hostel on which directions were clearly written in Thai. The driver took one look at it, shook his head and drove off. We tried 3 more taxis all with the same result. One finally offered to take us if we would pay more than double what it should have cost! Basically, taxis do not like to use the meter or take you anywhere that is less than 15 miles away (the reason why most wouldn’t take us to our hostel). We were finally able to get a metered taxi with the help of someone working at the station. However, even though our hostel was relatively close by, the traffic is so bad in the city that it took us almost an hour to reach our destination! From then on, we took the metro whenever we could 😊
On our first full day in Bangkok, we spent most of the day at the immense weekend market, which was not as good as Chiang Mai's, but still fun. On our second day, we headed to one of Bangkok's most famous attractions: Wat Phra Kaew and
Beach bungalow
We were right on the beach! the Royal Palace. Wat Phra Kaew is actually a group of many different temples, and each was so beautiful. Many of the wats were covered in pieces of glass and mirror as well as gold. It was all very ornate. The Royal Palace was also quite impressive. However, no king has resided in the building since King Rama VIII was mysteriously found shot in his room inside of its walls.
ETC
The King
Thailand's king enjoys a sort of semi-divine status in the country. The people sport "I love the King" wristbands and tee shirts, and pictures of him are absolutely everywhere in Thailand. However, I did not see one picture of him smiling. One of the Thai people said that they couldn’t imagine Thailand without the king. Many of the Thai people believe that the king has incredible wisdom and has done wonderful things for the country. I guess it was just so shocking to be in a country where a person who is so connected with the country's politics is so adored by everyone! Critics of the king can be jailed for up to 15 years, and the popular website YouTube was blocked while we were
there because a video was posted that was seen as being critical towards the king. However, there is little risk of such criticism coming from Thai people as they just seem to adore him!
Elephants in Thailand
Elephants have been part of Thai agriculture and defense for centuries. They were formally considered to be the country’s “super weapon,” and at one time there were over 10,000 domesticated elephants in Thailand. Today there are about 2,300 elephants that are currently domesticated; however, many elephants are currently unemployed because the logging industry in which they use to work has been banned in Thailand since 1989. Tourism is now one of the only ways that the elephant owners can make enough money to feed the animals. Interestingly, Thai law requires that domesticated elephants be allowed to “retire” when they reach the age of 61.
Durian
Thailand has many unusual fruits, but I think that durian is the most unusual. It is called the king of all fruits because so many people in Asia absolutely love its flavor, and it has many vitamins and minerals. However, there is another, darker, side to this fruit. Uncut, it is larger than the size of
a football, and has large pokies all over it. However, it is when you open the thing that you get a real sense of the durian. It looks like a dead thing’s yellow liver, and the smell can be absolutely horrific. It is basically a mix of smelly socks, sewage, and a garbage dump! Doesn’t that sound just delightful? Many public spaces and forms of transportation specifically forbid a person to carry an open durian on board. We were able to try this fruit at one of the night markets in Bangkok. Ours didn’t smell too bad, but it still pretty much took away any appetite that we had. However, bravely, we plunged in, and actually, it didn’t taste too bad. It was rather like a sweet avocado - very rich and creamy. However, although it doesn’t taste too bad, the smell is still a bit too much for me!
So, that was Thailand! Now, the real world is calling once again - in the form of term papers. Oh well. Vietnam is only two weeks away! Take care, everyone!
Rachel
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Becky Bouas
non-member comment
Why?
Why didn't I go travel with you this year? I love our photos and your stories. I wish I could have shared those experiences with you. You will never run out of stories to tell your grandchildren.