Thailand

From Khao Lak

Bangkok
I thought Bangkok was a great place despite recommendations to "get in and get out" quickly. We stayed right in the heart of the enormous southeastern powerhouse, in a tiny accommodation called Wild Orchid Villas. Very reasonably priced, clean and among many others like it, filled with travelers, ex-pats and hippies alike. We were close to just about everything and anything that you couldn't walk to was a tuk tuk ride away. My favorite amenity of the villa was their wireless internet connection. Although it wasn't lightning fast, it blew Bali speeds out of the water and was in the common/eating area.

Some pertinent items I've come to find out in Bangkok are as follows. It is mainly a motorbike society. There as many Vespas as there are pretty women on the streets. And in certain places, most of those women are for sale. I saw a strikingly large number of older men cruising about town with a young Thai girl on their arm. But, buyer beware, there are many slender, feminine men, dressed as ladies around town. These he-shes are widely accepted as part of the Thai community. Most everything you need or want or buy is very cheap! It's all made right there. The food is excellent! We ate more from street cart vendors and local joints than we did from our hotel. You can also make your meal as hot as you care to. (I really need to get a Thai cookbook before we leave.) The traffic is as heavy as any major bustling city, but the pollution is outrageous. (There are no smog checks happening there.) A good part of the city is on the water. Water taxis run daily throughout. Oh, and one more thing, IT'S FRICKIN' HOT.

During our time in Bangkok I had to work a fair amount, but we did try to do one big thing everyday. First tourist item on the list was The Grand Palace. A ridiculously ornate compound made for the current ruler a few hundred years ago. The pictures we took really don't do it justice. The place is an artistic marvel. Brightly colored stones, glass, mirrors and GOLD make up the outer parts of every building. The main temple housing a priceless jade buddha, the only one of its kind. The following day we continued with our spiritual quest by visiting temples home to the tallest and oldest buddhas.

Our next main tourist stop was the weekend world market. Holy Cow! Football fields of boxed off vendors covered with an ocean of blue tarps and more people than any sports stadium could hold. You can buy anything you want there. And I do mean anything. Groceries, clothes, jewelry, house-ware, furniture, pets, feed, etc. It was absolutely overwhelming. After a few hours par-oozing in the sauna like conditions, we had to call it a day.

The next distinctly Thai thing we did was to go watch a Muay Thai Boxing match. Susanna took a little convincing to go (I had to buy her ticket) but it turned out to be quite an experience. Ten different bouts, five rounds each and the fighter's ability progress' as the night goes on. It just so happens that we caught it on a championship night. The seventh matchup was for a prominent Thai Belt. This being known, I knew I could get Sus to stay until then. At that point my curiosity would surely be satisfied. Well, what we saw was pretty intense. Each match begins with the fighters dancing to ceremonial music (also continues through the actual round). It is an honor to fight and the traditions of their predecessors are carried on without fail. Now they wear gloves, but kicking is allowed and encouraged by the fans. Most of which were there to gamble on the matches. These guys are tough. With each knee to the ribs, the crowd shouts. Each fighter carrying their side of the crowd. Punches, kicks and elbows to the head are standard. These men are machines. Out of all the matches we watched only one guy was taken out by a face punch (glass jaw). The rest of the bouts lasted the full five rounds each, with a decision coming from the judges.

The last thing we did before catching a train south was the riverboat taxi. This was nothing spectacular, but it did give us a better sense of the city. We took a bunch of picts and stopped off a couple places to walk around and of course eat. Other than that, our days in Bangkok consisted of just cruising around, eating, sweating and shopping, with a few hours for my work tossed in there as well. All in all a great place and I'm glad I didn't just "get in and get out".

Khao Lak
After our overnight train ride (pretty funny) and three hour bus ride (it did have A/C) we arrived in the little beach town of Khao Lak. Completely torn down from the tsunami four years ago, this little town has rebuilt itself, for the most part. This two strip town was fairly mellow (we found out we are here during the low season [a.k.a monsoon season]). A bunch of guest houses and little local eateries and bars, mixed with a few posh resorts on the beach front. The pace was slow and it really agreed with us. Our place was middle of the road (although better than our current average) and within walking distance from the beach. We had a pool, a/c and wireless (I was stoked). Our routine wavered only slightly. In addition to eating, shopping and working, we added sunning and motor biking. We rented a scooter (my first time riding a two wheeled motor vehicle) and did the aforementioned with greater ease. The beaches were sauna like and the Andaman Sea temp was equivalent to bath water.

Unfortunately, we didn't pay homage at either tsunami memorial, but we did go elephant trekking! Sus and I each got our own elephant (equipped with trainer/guide) for a hour long tour through the jungle. Hmm, well it was mainly through rubber tree groves, creeks and bamboo brush, but the actual experience didn't suffer. It was amazing being on top (in a chair) of the elephant as it tramped through the bush. My elephant (the son of the one Sus rode) ate the entire time. As my guide and I struggled with the language barrier, I was able decipher through our small talk that the beasts consume 200-250 kilos of food a day. He was a genuine man about my age who has been working with the mammals for half of his life. And only recently did he move to Khao Lak to stay at this elephant camp. Oh, and every elephant has only one handler/care taker.

Phuket
Another couple hour bus ride south from Khao Lak is the widely popular Phuket. We crashed in the city for a night to get our bearings. During our brief stay, Sus caught an Indie Film Showcase and we bother stumble into a local bar's grand opening. A proper set up with free food and live music. It just so happened that we met another western couple (we were the only four in the whole bar) living in Nai Harn (our next destination). We got a few tips from them and the next day were on our way.

Nai Harn
The island of Phuket has many beach towns that fell victim to the tsunami. However those places didn't look too worse for the wear. These tourist hotspots were filled with hotels, shops, clubs and people. There are a bunch of little beaches all around this little island, but we opted to stay far south at Nai Harn. Partially because it was away from the crowds and partly for the surf possibility. Being the southern most beach on the island it's well exposed to any swells coming up from the Indian Ocean and wrapping around Sumatra. Before adventuring over to Thailand, we were told by a few travelers that there were surf spots on the southern west coast. Having been to most of them and hearing the locals talk, the surf comes infrequently, if at all. But it being monsoon season, I still had high hopes.

No surf, but after a good sunburn and another scooter rental we fell upon a live snake show. This had to have been the most outlandish thing I've ever been witness to. Maybe because I despise snakes or maybe it's because I'm a rational person, but either way I sat in utter shock as this 15 year snake handling veteran wrestled with the deadly serpents. The picts aren't that telling, but the video clips Sus got say it all. Hopefully, I can try and figure out how to post them. Otherwise, the next holiday get together will a little more special.

Phi Phi Island
The easy life gets kind of repetitious after a while, so we've jetted to Phi Phi Island. A two hour boat ride from the town of Phuket, this island is a diving, partying and vacationing mecca. Luckily, we managed to grab a bungalow right on the beach (it's really quite a piece). We are away from the main drag again, but a 100 baht boat taxi can remedy that in about 10 minutes. Relaxing, sunning, shopping and now catching up on overdue emails are now the norm. We booked a dive charter for tomorrow morning so I'll be diving while Sus snorkels. No experience, no certificate, no problem! I love Thailand.

Well, I'm an official diver now. I completed a little orientation course and two 50 minute dives - even have the certificate to prove it. I was a bit nervous at the start but caught on very quickly. The equipment is the same as snorkeling, so my prior experience with that certainly helped out. Seemingly, the two most difficult things to do while submerged were fill you mask up with water, then clear it and remove your regulator, keep exhaling and reattach it. Both came quite easy which made the two dives that much more enjoyable. More time seeing new things and less time thinking about needed skill sets. While under I got to see up close all the things my sister's told me about and that I've only seen while bobbing at the surface. Such as eels, parrot fish, grouper and a reef shark! The colors were brilliant and the feeling of staying under for so long was unreal. It's tranquil and other worldly down there.

Not only did I have a great time, but Sus got in the big blue as well. She set aside her uneasiness about the ocean and went snorkeling for the first time! She had a two man escort (myself and the instructor) from the boat to the reef. She didn't last long but got to see a lot of new things and said afterwards that it made her "feel little". Kind of like the feeling you get when you look up at the stars at night. I know from many times in the water with Sus that it took all she had to get off that boat and I couldn't be more proud of her.