Advertisement
Published: November 2nd 2006
Sawadee Kha. I've been travelling through Thailand for the last three weeks with my wonderful friend, Lindsey Calderwood. In all honesty, it has been pretty intense. One minute I hate Thailand and the next minute I can't get enough, I love it.
The good: the children with their huge smiles, the breathtaking, colorful/golden wats (temples), the peaceful monks walking amongst pure chaos yet so relaxed and calm.
The Bad: being harassed by Tuk-Tuk drivers, an unpleasant week of travellers diarhea (the worst was at the bus station in Bangkok, trying to balance on the squatter toilet with my backpack on), the extreme heat and humidity, the impossibility of going for a wander down the street and not smelling a hundred different smells, from bbq meat, durians (rotting brain smell and taste), salted fish, fish oil, garbage, sewage (all contributing to my nauseousness), and people pointing and laughing at us (perhaps now I know what racism feel like).
Highlights:
Wats (especially the Grand Palace, home of the Emerald Buddha)
Pictures of the King EVERYWHERE! Long live the King!
Saffron Colored Robes that the monks wear.
Locals sheltering their face with umbrellas.
Yellow t-shirts represent support for the king...now I understand why yellow
is the most popular color to wear.
How ridiculously cheap everything is! Accomodation is roughly $6 and you can get a delicious local feed for $1-2. Renting a bike for a day is $1. A visit to the doctor in the hospital including consultation, stool sample, and 3 prescriptions was a whopping $34!
Fruit stands! $1 for a whole pineapple, watermelon or any other exotic fruit of your choice.
Coconut shakes.
Fans in the guesthouse rooms.
Kanchanaburi-Death Railway from WWII.
End of Buddhist Lent festival in Sukhothai. Interesting traditional Thai music and dance and heaps of people racing down the river in longtail boats.
Elephant trekking through the jungle in Kho Chang.
Visiting hill-tribe villages, especially the Long Neck Karen. The women wear long brass wound spirals around their necks. They weigh several kilos and push down on the muscles around the collarbone, giving the impression of a longer neck.The primary reason for wearing them now is for beauty and to preserve their culture while they are in exhile from Myanmar.
White water rafting from Pai to Mae Hong Son. Preferred method of transportation over a crammed mini-bus.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.071s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 8; qc: 26; dbt: 0.0495s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Margery Fine
non-member comment
Love getting your Blog entries
I love your Blog entries. Nothing like doing some vicarious traveling between meetings. Thailand sounds wonderful (sans the squatter toilet thing -- I kind of remember that scene from my traveling days.) Keep it coming.