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Published: January 19th 2006
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Temple of the Emerald Buddha
This massive temple inside the Royal Palace grounds houses a sizable jade Buddha sitting atop a mountain of gold. The figure draws worshipers from all over Thailand, and is viewed as a symbol of good luck for the Thai people. When I first arrived in Bangkok, the place seemed like paradise. Walking out of the airport, there was no trash on the sidewalk! The bus I took into town was clean and air-conditioned. I never worried about where I ate my meals because all the restaurants looked hygenic. I had been expecting that after six weeks in India, Thailand would seem like a vacation, and I was right.
I spent a few days doing very little, waiting for my girlfriend, Megan, who was coming from the U.S. to visit me. Once she arrived, we did some of the requisite sightseeing around Bangkok, but we were eager to head south and get to some beaches. They say Thailand has three temperatures: hot, hotter, and hottest. I don't know which Bangkok qualified as during our days there, but suffice to say it was steamy enough that we very much wanted to be near the water.
Our first destination was Phuket, a large resort island that is one of the most (over)developed in the country. We were arriving during absolute peak tourist season without any accomodation reservation, but we managed to find a place about a three minute walk from the beach.
Christmas
Megan and I on our day of being paddled around in a kayak. We had just come out of a cave into this lagoon bounded by cliffs and jungle. From that point on, we descended into almost utter idleness. Our daily routine was straightforward. In the morning, we'd go to the beach and rent some chairs and an umbrella for the day. Around lunchtime, we'd eat stir fry and tropical fruits from street vendors. Late in the afternoon, once we had had enough of sweating, we'd go clean up for dinner, which was usually fresh seafood.
On Christmas day, we took an excursion to Phang Nga Bay from Phuket on a boat with an entertaining cross-section of Scandanavians, Italians, and assorted other Europeans. The dozens of limestone islands jutting up from the bay were the sort scenery that I had hoped to find in Thailand. The bigger islands had sheer cliff faces rising hundreds of feet from the water. On a few occasions, we set out from the large motor boat in three person inflatable sea canoes with a Thai guide for a closer look at the islands. One had a large cave that we could paddle into at low tide and get a look at the otherwise unreachable jungle interior. The cave was full of bats, which were fortunately sleeping, though our guide warned us that if
Kayaking
Another picture from our Christmas day excursion. You can see the scale of the cliffs in relation to some other kayaks. we were lucky we might "get a little chocolate" on our heads. The views were incredible, even if the trip was a bit tame. (When I say "we" paddled, what I really mean is that Megan and I sat taking photos while our guide paddled.)
Our four days on Phuket were just a warm up for a week on tiny Koh Phi Phi, an island further to the south. As our ferry pulled into the little harbor inside a crescent shaped bay, I began to feel that we had chosen a pretty good place to spend the bulk of our time. Phi Phi had all the cliffs, hills, jungle, and crystal clear water of the Phang Nga islands, just on a somewhat larger scale. Yet the island has no roads and no motor vehicles, just bicycles and foot trails. There were probably considerably more tourists than locals on the island, but still, it was a pretty idyllic little place.
Given the island's small size, there were some options for exploring it apart from organized day-tripping. One morning, Megan and I rented a sea kayak that we could actaully paddle ourselves, though the paddling proved to be pretty strenuous.
Koh Phi Phi
A view with which we became very well acquainted, sitting for days on the beach at Phi Phi. We set out heading around the island in the direction that we thought would bring us to a beach renowned locally for its virtually tame monkeys. We did find the Monkey Beach, but only after we had paddled around half the island. For almost the entire length of the trip, we had cliffs alongside us rather than anywhere we could stop and get out of the boat. We decided to abandon our ambitions of circumnavigation and retire our paddles once we got to a place where we could could stop.
I spent many hours face down in the water with a snorkel. Within a yard of the beach, there were often a few fish to be seen. Farther out were coral reefs teeming with tropical fish. From one beach, it was possilbe to swim out a few hundred yards in water that was no deeper than three or four feet. To be in the midst of a school of hundreds of tiny, brightly colored fish was an experience like none I had ever had, and one that I couldn't get enough of while I was there. The water was so warm that I could float around without even noticing
MBK
A view from the top floor of the megamall. how long I'd been at it until I got out wrinkled and pruned. At one point, I saw a shark that was probably four to five feet long. In my excitement, I started pointing and shouting "Shark!" underwater to Megan, who, once she realized what I was saying, nearly had a nervous breakdown. I at least thought it was neat.
The time on Phi Phi passed quickly, but it was probably just as well that our stay ended when it did. I had become so lazy by the last day or so that even sitting in the sun or getting in the water seemed like too much work. I'd just sit under an umbrella and read all day. If we'd stayed much longer I might have been lulled into a coma.
Back in Bangkok, I continued to be struck, as I had been at first, by the bustle and seeming prosperity of the city. On our last day there, Megan and I went to the seven-story MBK megamall. Having seen its rows of escalators and hordes of shoppers, I'll never think of a so-called third world country the same way again. After Bangkok, I understand what people mean when they talk about the "Asian tiger" countries whose economies have taken off since the 90s. Seemingly everywhere one looks are high-rise hotels, convention centers, huge shopping complexes. I can't speak for all of Thailand, but much of Bangkok is as modern and developed as anywhere I've ever been. Yet for all this development, the place is not without its quirks. For example, Thailand is a constitutional monarchy, and there are huge, billboard-sized images of the king all over Bangkok. Megan and I went to see a movie while we were at the mall, but right before the feature presentation, all present had to stand for a photo montage of the king and Thai countryside set to blaring patriotic music. The experience as a whole seemed somewhat incongruous, but maybe the Thais just really love their king.
I was a little disappointed that Megan couldn't see firsthand some of the chaos and difficulty of travel that I had come through earlier in my trip. We were both of the opinion that coming to Thailand was less of a culture shock than going to Europe for the first time. For myself, I would say Thailand would be the last place I'd return to of the countries I've visited so far. Not that it isn't enjoyable, with friendly people, incredible scenery, great food, etc. It's just so easy and so touristy.
As I write this, I'm back home in the U.S. Although I'm here sooner than I expected to be, I did technically make a circuit around the world. I left the U.S. from New York for Athens heading east, and flew back to Columbus via New York coming from the west. Although I've only been home for about a week and a half, already my feet are getting itchy, and I'm starting to think seriously about South America. Most likely I'll be leaving sooner rather than later.
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nice
its good to hear that u enjoyed the land of smiles Cheers