Thailand
As I've traveled for the last year, most backpackers I've met
said Thailand was one of their favorite places. I'm looking forward to my
visit.
15-27JUN03
I found a reasonable room at the Best Beach Bungalows on Chaweng Beach and
fell asleep for a few hours. While eating breakfast, I spied several Thai
massage businesses along the beach. I read my book and glanced
occasionally to see which place gave the best massage. Then, I lined
up.
It was good.
Two hours of bliss for about $7 US. I resolved to get a massage every day
while I was in Ko Samui. I filled the rest of my day eating, reading,
sleeping, swimming in the warm surf, and generally relaxing.
By the third day of
my Thai massage, I was becoming a regular customer and had fun chatting with the
three partners, Duan, Nee, and Kip. I took my CD player with me and
listened to Bob Marley or Paul Simon while getting my massage. Nee and her
cousin, Pahm, asked me If I knew how to reggae. I said, sorta. They
invited me to meet them at the Club Reggae that night.
Club Reggae was very
nice. A live band that played a little reggae and a mix of other good
dance music. I drank a few tequilla sunrises and danced a few
dances. Dancing in the tropics is a sweaty affair and it took lots of time
to cool down between songs. We lasted until around 2am then Pahm made room
on her motorbike for three and took me back to my hotel.
The next day as I
was getting my massage, I asked Nee if she would like a holiday. She said
she would ask her partners. They agreed that Nee should have some fun so
we began to plan a two week holiday to Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
I arranged for
tickets on the ferry and on the night train to Bangkok. We left at noon
and arrived on Kao San Road (infamous backpacker ghetto) the next morning around
ten. Kao San Road is a non-stop circus. Travelers come and go
at all hours. There are food, and shops of every description lining the
street.
My old backpack is a
bit too small so I found a new backpack and a small pouch just the right size
for my camera and a guidebook and my current novel. Nee found a skirt and
a pair of tops she couldn't live without. Everything was really
cheap.
The next day I was
determined to track down ECC Thai Language school. I found them on the net
and took a taxi to their location. I filled out their application and took
their entrance test. After a glance at the test and the application,they
decided they could waive the interview to determine whether I might be
successful with the course. The first available course starts in
mid-August. I'm waiting for email confirmation.
That night we began
the quest for ribs. When I was in Jakarta the sign said there was a Tony
Roma's in Bangkok. Look it up in the yellow pages, right?
Wrong. We had to check 10 shops and travel agencies before we found a two
year old phone book that listed "Tony Romans". Five more stops
and we found an older directory with no listing at all. So, we started
asking taxi drivers if they knew where to find it. At last we found one
who thought he knew. He took us to a great sea food restaurant (not Tony
Roma's) Nee insisted that he keep trying and finally like a vision from
heaven the sign appeared. We had a great meal of barbecued baby back ribs
and a brick of onion rings.
The next day, Nee
took me to Wat Pho. This is the temple where she received her Thai massage
certificate. We visited her school and several of the temples around the
grounds. I was awed by the Reclining Golden Budda. Apparently the
image was getting a facelift because it was surrounded by scaffolding. It
is 46M long and 15M high and very impressive. After the temple we
took a water taxi across the river to see where Nee lived when she attended
school.
We found a swimming
pool close to the hotel and spent some time in the sun. We watched the
World Cup. We watched HBO and MTV. But, mostly we had fun walking up
and down the streets looking at the stalls and sampling food. I have a new
favorite drink thanks to Nee, watermelon shake (ice and watermelon blended
together). We saw a bari saxophone player wailing at a tree in the park
and we saw a version of a Thai game that is part basketball and part
football.
Then we took off for
Chiang Mai. This time we traveled on the day train so we could see the
scenery. It was beautiful. Rice paddies, jungles, mountains.
We took second class aircon and to my surprise we were fed three times. It
was fairly comfortable until the air conditioner was fixed then it got
chilly.
We passed the time
on the train trying to improve my Thai. To give you and idea of the
challenge here is a sentence in Thai: Mai mai mai mai mai. If you
get the five inflections right it means: New wood doesn't burn, does it? I
think I'm in trouble but, Nee is patiently trying to improve my
tones.
We arrived after
dark in Chiang Mai and found a hotel near the river that encirles the old part
of the city. The next day, I woke up with a raging fever and a cold.
So, the first task was to find a pharmacy. I downed some cold medicine and
some ibuprophen and waited for my fever to dissipate. We spent a quiet day
while I convalesced. The medication did not reduce the fever and that
reminded me of the time in Bali. There after a week of treatment the fever
persisted until I took antibiotics. So the next day, I took some of my
supply. Bingo, the temperature dropped to near normal and I felt much
better.
Well enough, in
fact, to have a Khan toke dinner. This is a buffet and cultural show at a
local venue. The food was great and the show was beautiful.
Classical Thai dancing and dances from the hill tribes surrounding the
area.
The next day we
scheduled a tour around Chiang Mai including: elephant rides, bamboo raft
ride, ox cart ride, and buffet lunch.
Jarle (Norway) and
his new wife Anabelle (Portugal) shared a cab with us and we all had a great
time.
Watching the
elephants play soccer and basketball may have been a touch touristy, but it was
fun. We fed the elephants bananas, rode for and hour or so then we hopped
on a bamboo raft and floated down the river and caught an oxcart to the
taxi. After the buffet lunch, we visited an orchid farm then returned to
the hotel. I was exhausted. My temperature was down my my energy was
low so we had pad thai in the room.
Our time in Chian
Mai is coming to an end so I booked our return tickets by air to Ko Samui.
Nee has never flown before so she is very excited. She keeps talking on
the cell phone to Kip. The only part of the conversation I understand is
the "wow, wow. wow" part. It has been really fun to have someone
to share this part of the trip. Food and lodging cost almost the same for
one or two and transportation costs are cheap. I think I got the best part
of the deal. I've had a professional massage from a Wat Pho graduate every
day for the last two weeks. My ol' body hasn't felt this good in 15
years. I'm so loose, I rattle when I walk.
When I get back to
Ko Samui, I'll hang around for a week or so, then head for the Malaysian
border. When I re-enter Thailand I get another 30 day visa. I think
I'll visit other parts of Thailand and maybe in 30 days I'll visit Cambodia
after which I'll return for the CELTA school in Bangkok.
28JUN-04JUL03
I'm back in Ko Samui. Mostly I'm hanging around the beach or the
room. Occasionally I find enough energy to eat or to go chat with Nee at
work. My room has cable TV and is very nice for only $12.50 US per
night. Nee is spoiling me. She brought a hot water maker and some
tea bags and showed me where to buy ice. Now I have my daily ration of
iced tea a a mere fraction of its former price.
I
rented a motorbike and Nee drove us around the island. We saw some very
interesting rock formations and spent a few hours lounging on rocks at the
waterfall. We stopped at a hardware store and bought some wire to fix the
battery door on my camera.
One
night we went dancing. Nee's cousin, Pahm, gave us all a ride on her
motorbike. DJ was okay, but live music is better.
We
alternate between Thai food and western food. Nee knows some restaurants
with good food that is very cheap. You can get a big plate of pad thai for
about $2US. But, watch out for the red things.
I'm
still thinking about where I'll go after I get my visa renewed.
04-12JUL02 I've
spent several days in Ko Samui not doing much. Nee works some and I hang
out on the beach reading. I found a really good used book shop where I can
trade what I've read for new stuff.
One
day we rode the motorbike to visit the Big Budda, a spectacular shrine on a
small island connected by a causeway to Ko Samui.
I
developed a marketing campaign for Nee's business with signs and coupons.
We worked out a deal with a local hotel to hand out discount coupons and to
display her sign in each room. I spent an hour or so using Publisher to
whip up all the stuff. It was fun. Her partner Duan gave me a thank
you massage for the marketing work and then later the same day Nee gave me
another massage. Talk about loose.
I've
developed a taste for a drink made by mixing fresh watermelon and ice in a
blender. It's better than Slurpee. Last night we went to a club that
caters to people from Thailand. There was a band that put on a great
show. I wish I could understand what they were singing about. There
were even groupies screaming and giving love notes to the male lead
singer.
Because
there is a TV in the room we've watched lots of HBO. I've caught up on all
the movies that I've ever wanted to see. Nee likes to watch the channel
from Taiwan with Kung Fu movies. The movies are in Thai with Chinese and
English subtitles. The subtitle translations are hilarious.
For
dinner one night we went to the Panviman Restaurant. They set tables on
the beach about 10m from the breaking waves. A little wine and candlelight
made it a pleasant evening.
I
have to leave Thailand because my visa is about to expire. I've decided to
go to Cambodia and Vietnam for a month or so. Tomorrow Nee will give me a
ride to Na Tron to catch the ferry. I will be sad to say goodbye.
Then I catch the bus to Bangkok, then catch another bus to Cambodia. It
will be a long journey but I have two books. If I have the endurance, I'll
catch a bus the same day I arrive in Bangkok otherwise I'll stay one
night. If I stay one night my visa will be expired and I'll have to pay a
small fine at the border. I'll decide when I get there if a night's sleep
is worth 200 baht.
If I spend the day in
Bangkok, I hope to get a replacement part for my camera. The battery cover
is broken and I've wired it shut to make the camera work. Talk about
spontaneous. I don't even know what will happen tomorrow.
13-14JUL02
A quick bus trip to Bangkok arrived at 5am. Not much was open on Khao
San Road so I had a watermelon shake and waited for the email place to open so I
could check about language school and the status of my camera part.
By
the time the travel agencies opened the bus for Cambodia had already departed so
I checked into the Khao San Palace and rested up until late afternoon when I
went to Tony Roma's for onion rings and barbecue sauce.
