Well, strictly speaking we are no longer down under. I am finishing this as I sit at home, but more about that later. We left you at the Sidney airport, on our way out of Australia and into Bangkok, Thailand.
Thai cultural notes: Where do I begin?
Out of Sydney and into Bangkok. This is our first experience in a country where even the alphabet looks foreign to us. Also, we have no set itinerary after our initial two night stay at a Bangkok hotel, so stress levels are higher than normal. We got on the right shuttle bus from the airport (10:15 pm) but our hotel (Hotel Atlanta) is very small and seemingly unknown to the bus driver. We were taken on a long ride through town (everyone else had already gotten off) then the driver and his assistant circled around town (chanting "Atlanta, Atlanta") and let us off at what they thought was the right corner. They were just a few blocks off so we trucked along with our increasingly heavy packs to the hotel, arriving hot and tired after midnight, but were greeted with cold sugar cane drinks. The Atlanta is an old, not-quite-kept-up, but charming place with a lobby that has been in the movies and an on-site restaurant that was the cheapest and best one we found in all of Thailand. The room was a suite with sitting area, bathroom (no shower curtain but toilet paper) and air conditioning.
Off the next day (after spicy soup and salads for breakfast) to make some travel plans and play tourist in the hottest city in the world (based on average temperatures). Unlike Auckland or Sydney or Perth or other large cities, Bangkok is not walkable. The museums, wats (temples) and other sites are usually quite a distance from each other. Your transport options are a tuk-tuk (open air motorbike with small carriage attached - fee negotiable), air-conditioned taxi (metered or unmetered), rental car (very risky), or open-windowed bus (if you can read Thai). The traffic here is much worse than LA Bumper to bumper vehicles move very quickly into openings and lane markers seem irrelevant. Motorcycles weave in and out at will; if it is too crowded they will even come up on the sidewalk. Pedestrians have no right of way (no rights, period). The air is so polluted that many bikers, policeman and workers on the street wear hospital-like masks over their mouths and noses. So we took metered taxis where you pay fixed rates. Our first driver knew as much English as we did Thai and he couldn't read a map so instead of arriving at a shopping center we were taken to the royal palace (I'm sure we don't look like visiting dignitaries.) We learned two important lessons....always write down in the native language where you are going and hand that paper to the driver AND always have someone imposing (like Tim) sit in the front seat with a map on his lap and a grimace on his face.....the driver thinks Tim is checking up on him so he doesn't cheat us but half the time not one of the three of us know where we are really going!
We had heard that Bangkok is the place to have custom-tailored suits and shirts made. On the advice of the hotel travel agent, we walked to a nearby tailor shop. We walked out with our measurements taken and a deposit down on wool suit with six shirts for Tim and a silk ensemble (suit with skirt and pants) for Di, cost competitive with off-the-rack suits at home. We went back for a fitting the next day (those tailors must have been up all night) and plans to pick everything up when we return to Bangkok before our flight home. Hmmm....we may have to go someplace fancy to show off these duds.
The next day, after confirming future travel plans, we headed out for some real sightseeing. First was the Grand Palace and the Wat (temple) of the Emerald Buddha. Simply stunning! There was the architecture we associate with Thailand (like curved roof edges and ornate trim), but the walls were covered with gold or brass or colored mirrors or jewel-like glass or very old paintings of Buddha's life. The detail was unbelievable, the colors bright and shimmering; the total effect made Disneyland look faded. Although every wat is a different design, they were mostly very colorful and detailed...and there were wats every few blocks. These design elements were carried out in a much smaller scale in the spirit houses we saw nearby almost every home and many places of business. Like miniature wats (only 1-2 feet high), these personal shrines were surrounded by fresh flowers, candles, and food offerings....a testament to the importance of Buddhism in Thai daily life. A short ride across the river by ferry took us to the Wat Arum (Temple of the Dawn - large white structure with porcelain mosaics, supposedly beautiful when the sun rises) and later we walked to Wat Po (site of the 46-meter or 151 foot long reclining Buddha -- awe-inspiring, regardless of your religious background).
As you enter any wat, you must remove your shoes (no shorts or sleeveless tops allowed) and sit so that your feet point away from the Buddha image. There seemed to be as many worshippers as tourists in some of the wats (Thailand is 95% Buddhist) and as we read about the religion we could see how the culture was shaped. The Thais are a friendly, accepting people (Buddhism stresses toleration of others) and quite willing to open all but a few restricted sacred rooms to tourists. We were pleasantly surprised at the signage in English and availability of guidebooks and personal guides at the wats, museums, and palaces.
Knowing that we would be back in Bangkok, we headed north by plane to Chiang Mai (recommended by Harry Brown, Tim's office mate, who spent a year there with his family). Chiang Mai is a walled town with a moat (some of the walls and gated entrances are still standing after 700 hundred years). Inside the walls is the older part of town with small shops, many wats and guesthouses (small hotels). Outside the walls are the big new high-rise offices and hotels, the night market, and still many small shops. We stayed at another old but charming guesthouse inside the walls and down a narrow, winding soi (lane off of a major street). It had a complete but uninspired attached restaurant, nice pool, on-site travel agent, and you could buy Pepsi across the street (10 baht). It also had leaking walls so when it rained (every night) we would find puddles on the floor (hey, but for 500 baht -- $14US, who's complaining? -- besides, it had A/C, a real toilet and was very clean!) Chiang Mai is a very walkable town so we were able to see most of the local wats, do shopping for handicrafts, eat well, and visit the night market without use of a taxi (what a relief).
We spent one day on tour of the north country. This included a visit to Chiang Rai (built in 1256 at the site where an escaped royal elephant stopped to rest), gateway to the Golden Triangle and neighboring hill tribes. The Golden Triangle is the area where Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar (Burma) meet. We saw people cross the Burmese border under the watchful eyes of guards. The area was once the site of opium warlords fighting for control of the local crop and an uneasy peace lies among these three nations. Nearby are several locations where you can visit the hill tribes. These people once had growing and refining opium as their main economic basis. Now they produce handicrafts -- some are cheap trinkets and others are beautiful hand work in embroidery, quilting, woodcarving, silverwork, and basketry. They live under very primitive conditions (branch and grass huts, no plumbing, high incidence of disease) and obviously fared better under the old system. But they are very proud of their tribal affiliations with unique ceremonial dress (very colorful) and languages. A different, but not necessarily easier life than the Australian aborigines.
One the way home, a special treat....we stopped at a roadside stall and watched as a woman grabbed a fresh pineapple and (using a machete-like knife) peeled/cored/chopped until we had a bag full of juicy pineapple sections...sorry, Dole, but this is as good as pineapple gets.
One of the high points of the Chiang Mai trip was our day-long Thai cooking class. We (Tim, Di, and a guy from London) and the instructor started with a trip to the local backstreet market. The teacher explained about the different types of rice, spices, and other ingredients...allowing us to touch, smell, and even taste. On the borderline between exotic and yukky was a sample of fried but as yet unidentified insect (either ant or cricket, we don't know. It was crunchy and fairly tasteless). We also sampled 100 year old eggs (they are really eggs that have been boiled in salt water then buried in mud for 3 months -- looked like brown jello and tasted ok but I wouldn't order it if I had to pay for it!). We then returned to the teacher's home where his sister (he wasn't feeling well) spent the day helping us chop, fry, toss, and prepare six dishes. We cooked and ate all day and someone else did the dishes. Yum -- spicy beef salad, green chicken curry, chicken with holy basil, papaya salad, bananas with hot palm sugar sauce, and more. We also got a cookbook and lots of tips ..... also discovered that Tim is a 3-pepper hotness level cook and Di is 2 1/2 pepper level (what a wimp) so both of us were able to clear our sinuses with our cooking.
Capping off our tour of northern Thailand was a bus and truck trip to Wat Doi Suthep, on top of a mountain overlooking Chiang Mai. The wat is 290 steps up a balustrade protected on either side by long colorful dragons, As first time visitors, we could strike one of the large holy bells, a request for good fortune (Believers strike each of the long row of bells - a low-toned, mellow sound). From the wat we could see to Chiang Mai and beyond. We also made a stop at the gardens of the summer palace of the current king and queen.
We knew, from the start that we wanted to snorkel or dive in Thailand. Most guidebooks mention Phuket on the western coast...but reading more and talking to fellow travelers gave us the impression that it was getting very touristy (also, it was still monsoon season over there). So we read more in that book of dreams "Thailand's Islands and Beaches" and settled on a small (50K in circumference) island off the eastern Thai coast in the Gulf of Thailand -- Ko Samui. Taking a big risk (for us) we arrived at Samui airport without a place to stay (but several places in mind). No worries, the accommodations desk quickly arranged a night's stay at Blue Horizons Bungalows on Coral Cove. What picture does that name bring to mind? Blue water with coral formations jutting through the surf? Warm tropical breezes entering the windows of a small suite on stilts above the rocks and sand? Coconut trees and the calls of tropical birds?
Yes, that's the place. We snorkeled off the shore and discovered an even better place next door (Hi Coral Resort -- a nicer suite and a direct view of the water)...so we moved the next day.
This island was an adventure in its own right. Coral Cove is nestled between two of the biggest tourist towns (Lamai and Chaweng) on the island. To get around you walk, rent a minibike, or negotiate with a taxi (well, its really a truck whose bed is outfitted with two long rows of seats and places to hang on.) So we walked the 2 kilometers south towards Lamai the first evening for dinner. As we approached town (we thought) it started to rain (make that pour) and we stopped at a small open-air snack bar to wait it out. It was then we realized that we had missed the turnoff to town. We decided to walk back and see if we could find it.....It was a dark and stormy night, we were lost in a place where we couldn't read the signs, no taxis around, no people, no streetlights, and we were wet and hungry......when I told Tim I would travel with him to the ends of the earth, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind. Eventually we found the town (needless to say it was not a bustling metropolis) and had a great dinner, watching native dancers perform. We took a taxi home (we are not as dumb as we look!).
The next day after some snorkeling, we rented a small (50 cc) minibike and drove north to the tourist town of Chaweng. We kept to the side of the road as we were passed by cars, trucks, taxis, and other (much more powerful) motorbikes. You could tell we were tourists by our speed and our helmets. The road was only 2.5 k but seemed much longer. The main street of Chaweng is rutted dirt with construction and lined with restaurants, dive shops, and expensive tourist hotels (making us very glad we stayed in remote Coral Cove). After lunch and a stop at a cooking school to pick up some ingredients for home (US), we made our way back.
The next day we decided to drive the minibike around the island. On the way we passed by some interesting X-rated rock formations (ask to see the photos), a mummified monk wearing sunglasses, three waterfalls (at two Di had to walk since the bike wouldn't make it up the road with both of us), a great seafood restaurant, lots of little settlements, and a huge golden Buddha on an island (visible from afar and reachable via a causeway). Lots to see on this little island. After settling our motorbike rental bill ($9.80 for two days including gas), we had an early dinner and crashed (into bed).
We arrived early at Samui Airport for our flight back to Bangkok. You know you are in the tropics when the airport is a series of open air very large grass huts and all the personnel are wearing tropical print shirts. After a short flight we are back in the lobby of the Atlanta (this time we know how to get there directly via shuttle). We pick up our finished suits and wander the markets, looking for that last souvenir t-shirt.
Our last day is spent taking a wonderful English-language tour of the National Museum. Our guide gave an informative and interesting talk about the history, culture, and religion of Thailand. For lunch we went to the food stalls within the nearby university complex. After getting our rice and curries in styrofoam containers (but not really knowing what we ordered), Tim went to the drink stall. He said Pepsi, held up two fingers, and motioned that we wanted to take it away. To our surprise (and my giggles) the stallkeeper took out two small plastic bags, emptied a bottle of Pepsi and some ice into each and handed them to us with two straws. It was like walking with a bag of goldfish. And try setting the bag down while you try eating.....interesting to say the least. Since we were still thirsty, Tim took the bags back for refills (it cost him 2 baht less the second time...must have been the bag deposit). You may not want to try this at home.
We then saw a huge ornate palace made out of teak wood (another fine English-language tour) and a visit to the national display of handicrafts (strongly supported by the queen). Here were some exquisite examples of silver etching, very intricate basketry, and mosaics made with the shimmery green/blue shells of beetles (collected post mortem). An impressive collection, unfortunately not available for purchase. We ended our touring with a walk through the rather depressing Dusit Zoo, with dirty and primitive caging of animals. Fortunately, it looked like better living conditions were under construction. One last Thai dinner then to bed. The vacation was essentially over.
We were up at 4:30 am the next day for our ride to the airport. Let's see, as far as I can remember it was a long wait at Bangkok Airport, 5 hour flight to Tokyo, wait at Tokyo Airport, 9 hour flight to Los Angeles, pick up luggage and go through customs then wait at LA Airport, 3 hour flight to Chicago, wait at O'Hare, then 1 hour flight to Detroit. We figure it was about a 36 hour Friday including several naps, 3 breakfasts, two lunches, four in-flight movies, and endless bags of peanuts. Di's parents picking us up was a most welcome sight (thank, Mom and Dad K).
Present day: We've been back a week and I have finally finished this last postcard. It really has taken that long, it seems, to decompress and reprogram ourselves. We arrived to a very clean house (thanks, Helen) and raked yard (thanks, Tricia and family) and paid bills (thanks, Chris). So after endless loads of laundry, cleaning the hiking boots, unpacking the 16 boxes and 4 mailing tubes of goodies we sent back to the US (thanks, Mom and Dad T), and dumping the dirt out of the suitcases, I guess we are ready to face the real world again.
To all the family and friends who have shared our trip via these postcards, thanks for your patience (hopefully you weren't bored too often) and your messages, forgive my sporadic grammar, inconsistent spelling, and endless use of dashes ---, ellipses ....., and run-on sentences. We missed your faces and voices. When you have some time, stop by and we can bore you with more stories and even glance through the results of developing the 109 rolls of film we used (geez, that should limit the company this summer).
See you soon and keep in touch,
-- Di and Tim
| Page Top |
Map |
Itinerary |
Last |
|
| Tim and Diane's email address is ttdk@aol.com | ||||