I had a request of a map of my travels from the beginning until now.
Here you go!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Thailand - Bangkok
I left Chiang Mai to meet Celia in Bangkok
View Chiang Mai to Bangkok in a larger map
We had a few days to spare before we left Thailand for the next leg of our journey. Bangkok is a huge city with people everywhere. After visiting quiet islands and towns it was quite a shock to find where everyone's been hiding. I met up with Celia and we were crossing the city to get to the hostel, loaded down with her backpack. I got turned around and we walked a few blocks the wrong way so it took us longer to get there than originally planned. We made it to our street though it was the far end of the street and a man stopped right in front of us to make a little bow to the temple across the street. "It's good luck," he said, "you can make a wish. You want married, you want baby, you want good luck, you make a wish at temple." He was very friendly and was telling us that today was a Buddhist holiday and that one of the temples was open for visitors but just for that day and it was closing soon. And, in effort to increase tourism in Thailand, the governments were subsidising the "Thai tuk-tuks" so we could get really cheap fares. Wouldn't you know it, there was one of the "Thai tuk-tuks" not 20 feet away! He chatted with the driver and he said he would take us to see 3 different temples for only 10 Baht each (that's just $.30!). Wow! What luck! "Hurry, it close 15 minute!" "Can we go to the hostel first to drop off our stuff?" we asked the driver. "No time, finish finish!"
We got to the first temple to see the "black buddha." We walked into the gates and the doors were closed for a prayer ceremony. Dang, we must have taken too long getting there.
Next up was the temple with the "lucky Buddha." "Is this the Buddha where you make a wish?" Celia asked to one of the ladies outside the main building. She didn't seem to know what we were talking about.
Next stop jewelry shop... Huh?
Next stop tailor... Huh?
Turns out that shops will give these tuk-tuk drivers gas coupons if they bring tourists to their shops. But the sales people don't like it much because the tourists don't want to buy jewelry or suits. The salesguy at the tailor was actually pretty rude to us so we told our driver we were done with the little tour de Thai town and wanted to get to our hotel... finally.
Later, I noticed on my map a little yellow box that said, "Beware of people offering discount tours and lucky Buddhas. If you encounter any, please call the tourist police."
I should have studied my map more thoroughly.
We did the tourist thing and saw the major attractions including the beautiful palace where the King & Queen live. Inside the palace walls there is also a major temple with a gigantic reclining Buddha that's got to be 100 feet long. Along the back wall are metal bowls about the size of soccer balls and you can get a cup full of miniature coins and you drop a coin in each bowl. There is a nonstop metallic tinkling as you walk around the statue because of all of the people dropping coins. I'm not sure of the reason but it made an interesting atmosphere.
This is the Giant Swing. I believe it was a gift from the Chinese government in the 1800's. I should check my facts. I'm not sure if it originally was a humungus swingset or if they just call it a swing but I thought it had a cool look to it anyway.
Before I left on my trip, my co-worker, Susan, was telling me about a must-see show in Thailand called Siam Niramit. So we went and I thought it was fantastic. The stage is in the Guinness Book of World Records for it's size and there is a huge cast, tons of costumes, etc.
photos borrowed from siamniramit.com
It first visited different parts of Thailand's history and culture and next showed the three parts of the afterlife, Fiery Hell, the mystical Hampaan Forest and Blissful Heaven
It was an incredible show.
Another cultural event that I checked out was traditional Thai puppetry. In this art, three-foot tall puppets are manipulated by three puppeteers who also appear on stage. One is holding the body with his right hand like a regular hand puppet, and controls the puppets left hand with a stick. A second person moves the puppet's right hand with a stick and the third person moves the feet. Everything is perfectly timed. When the puppet's head moves, the three puppeteers move their heads in the same way. Since puppets' faces don't change, emotion is shown by the puppeteers. Whenever the puppeteers walk it is in unison with the movements of the puppet's feet. Like they're all Siamese quadruplets that are connected and make every movement in perfect synchronization. (Did you know that before Thailand was Thailand, it was Siam? Siamese... coincidence?)
Overall, I enjoyed Bangkok. I like cities bustling with life, transportation, and things to see and do. This was no disappointment. I met some cool people and saw some interesting things. But for now, this is the end of my Thai adventure... Off to Indonesia!
View Chiang Mai to Bangkok in a larger map
We had a few days to spare before we left Thailand for the next leg of our journey. Bangkok is a huge city with people everywhere. After visiting quiet islands and towns it was quite a shock to find where everyone's been hiding. I met up with Celia and we were crossing the city to get to the hostel, loaded down with her backpack. I got turned around and we walked a few blocks the wrong way so it took us longer to get there than originally planned. We made it to our street though it was the far end of the street and a man stopped right in front of us to make a little bow to the temple across the street. "It's good luck," he said, "you can make a wish. You want married, you want baby, you want good luck, you make a wish at temple." He was very friendly and was telling us that today was a Buddhist holiday and that one of the temples was open for visitors but just for that day and it was closing soon. And, in effort to increase tourism in Thailand, the governments were subsidising the "Thai tuk-tuks" so we could get really cheap fares. Wouldn't you know it, there was one of the "Thai tuk-tuks" not 20 feet away! He chatted with the driver and he said he would take us to see 3 different temples for only 10 Baht each (that's just $.30!). Wow! What luck! "Hurry, it close 15 minute!" "Can we go to the hostel first to drop off our stuff?" we asked the driver. "No time, finish finish!"
We got to the first temple to see the "black buddha." We walked into the gates and the doors were closed for a prayer ceremony. Dang, we must have taken too long getting there.
Next up was the temple with the "lucky Buddha." "Is this the Buddha where you make a wish?" Celia asked to one of the ladies outside the main building. She didn't seem to know what we were talking about.
Next stop jewelry shop... Huh?
Next stop tailor... Huh?
Turns out that shops will give these tuk-tuk drivers gas coupons if they bring tourists to their shops. But the sales people don't like it much because the tourists don't want to buy jewelry or suits. The salesguy at the tailor was actually pretty rude to us so we told our driver we were done with the little tour de Thai town and wanted to get to our hotel... finally.
Later, I noticed on my map a little yellow box that said, "Beware of people offering discount tours and lucky Buddhas. If you encounter any, please call the tourist police."
I should have studied my map more thoroughly.
We did the tourist thing and saw the major attractions including the beautiful palace where the King & Queen live. Inside the palace walls there is also a major temple with a gigantic reclining Buddha that's got to be 100 feet long. Along the back wall are metal bowls about the size of soccer balls and you can get a cup full of miniature coins and you drop a coin in each bowl. There is a nonstop metallic tinkling as you walk around the statue because of all of the people dropping coins. I'm not sure of the reason but it made an interesting atmosphere.
This is the Giant Swing. I believe it was a gift from the Chinese government in the 1800's. I should check my facts. I'm not sure if it originally was a humungus swingset or if they just call it a swing but I thought it had a cool look to it anyway.
Before I left on my trip, my co-worker, Susan, was telling me about a must-see show in Thailand called Siam Niramit. So we went and I thought it was fantastic. The stage is in the Guinness Book of World Records for it's size and there is a huge cast, tons of costumes, etc.photos borrowed from siamniramit.comIt was an incredible show.Another cultural event that I checked out was traditional Thai puppetry. In this art, three-foot tall puppets are manipulated by three puppeteers who also appear on stage. One is holding the body with his right hand like a regular hand puppet, and controls the puppets left hand with a stick. A second person moves the puppet's right hand with a stick and the third person moves the feet. Everything is perfectly timed. When the puppet's head moves, the three puppeteers move their heads in the same way. Since puppets' faces don't change, emotion is shown by the puppeteers. Whenever the puppeteers walk it is in unison with the movements of the puppet's feet. Like they're all Siamese quadruplets that are connected and make every movement in perfect synchronization. (Did you know that before Thailand was Thailand, it was Siam? Siamese... coincidence?)
Overall, I enjoyed Bangkok. I like cities bustling with life, transportation, and things to see and do. This was no disappointment. I met some cool people and saw some interesting things. But for now, this is the end of my Thai adventure... Off to Indonesia!
Thailand - Chiang Mai
I woke up on the train in Chiang Mai, the second biggest city in Thailand.
View Sukhothai to Chiang Mai in a larger map
After finding out that the bus service no longer existed, I used a tuk-tuk to get to my hostel. A tuk-tuk is a 3-wheeled motorbike that is named after the sound it makes.
One of the main things to see in Chiang Mai is a mountain top temple called Doi Suthep. I rented a motorbike and took a beautiful ride up the mountain, through the forest. The temple is really pretty and has a great view, though the clouds sometimes hide it.
Another thing to see in Chiang Mai is all the handicrafts from the hilltribes. I stopped at a silk factory to see how things are done...
I wanted to stay longer in Chiang Mai and explore more but my time in Thailand was coming to an end and I still had to see Bangkok!
Random pics:
View Sukhothai to Chiang Mai in a larger map
After finding out that the bus service no longer existed, I used a tuk-tuk to get to my hostel. A tuk-tuk is a 3-wheeled motorbike that is named after the sound it makes.
One of the main things to see in Chiang Mai is a mountain top temple called Doi Suthep. I rented a motorbike and took a beautiful ride up the mountain, through the forest. The temple is really pretty and has a great view, though the clouds sometimes hide it.
Another thing to see in Chiang Mai is all the handicrafts from the hilltribes. I stopped at a silk factory to see how things are done...
I wanted to stay longer in Chiang Mai and explore more but my time in Thailand was coming to an end and I still had to see Bangkok!
Random pics:
Thailand - Sukhothai
Celia left to surprise Karen and Keith at their wedding in the UK so I'm a lone traveler and I decided to check out a couple parts of Thailand while she's gone. Though it was difficult to leave the paradise of Phi Phi, I caught an overnight train to Bangkok and then up to Sukhothai.
Overnight Train (I got the top bunk)
View Phi Phi to Sukhothai in a larger map
Sukhothai is the ancient capital of Thailand. There are a whole lot of temples there. Some are in ruins and some have held up pretty well. This used to be a bustling capital of the country in the 12th century but since then it's almost disappeared. Thais traditionally only built their temples out of stone and everything else out of wood. Since it's been hundreds of years, all of the wood is gone and only the stone temples remain.
I arrived in the early morning and spent the day wandering around the temples, then caught the evening train on to Chiang Mai
Overnight Train (I got the top bunk)View Phi Phi to Sukhothai in a larger map
Sukhothai is the ancient capital of Thailand. There are a whole lot of temples there. Some are in ruins and some have held up pretty well. This used to be a bustling capital of the country in the 12th century but since then it's almost disappeared. Thais traditionally only built their temples out of stone and everything else out of wood. Since it's been hundreds of years, all of the wood is gone and only the stone temples remain.
I arrived in the early morning and spent the day wandering around the temples, then caught the evening train on to Chiang Mai
Friday, September 4, 2009
Thailand - Ko Phi Phi
An hour-long boat ride took us to Ko Phi Phi.
View Phuket to Ko Phi Phi in a larger map
Though it was a short ride, it was a world apart. I had been reading and sleeping for most of the short trip and so I wasn't focused too much on the scenery. When I looked out the window in the harbor I beheld this: (cue heavenly chorus of angels)
We wandered around the small village with our packs to find somewhere to stay. We didn't have people trying to get us to take their taxi (mainly because there are none on the island because you can walk everywhere), there weren't cars honking their horns (just a bicycle bell or two), no one was trying to lead us to hotels against our will so they could get commission (the scuba shops would give you friendly, accurate, and free information with only "if you're interested in diving, come check us out.")
I love it here!
We found a cheap guesthouse, dropped off our stuff and I found an internet cafe to skype with my family. I was able to talk to the entire crew in one go. I loved it. After that I went straight to the beach with it's white sand and beautiful blue water to relax. We met really friendly people, ate delicious food, and saw beautiful scenery.
We also did a snorkel/kayak/sunset cruise which was a good choice.
The next day we climbed to the viewpoint and saw this:
After the hike, we had lunch at a little restaurant and looked over at the refrigerator...
Close up...
No, cat was not on the menu. That's just where they liked to hang out... In the refrigerator... with the food and drinks. Amazingly, there wasn't a single hair in my meal!
That night, I got to see this sunset:
What a beautiful island.
View Phuket to Ko Phi Phi in a larger map
Though it was a short ride, it was a world apart. I had been reading and sleeping for most of the short trip and so I wasn't focused too much on the scenery. When I looked out the window in the harbor I beheld this: (cue heavenly chorus of angels)
We wandered around the small village with our packs to find somewhere to stay. We didn't have people trying to get us to take their taxi (mainly because there are none on the island because you can walk everywhere), there weren't cars honking their horns (just a bicycle bell or two), no one was trying to lead us to hotels against our will so they could get commission (the scuba shops would give you friendly, accurate, and free information with only "if you're interested in diving, come check us out.")
I love it here!
We found a cheap guesthouse, dropped off our stuff and I found an internet cafe to skype with my family. I was able to talk to the entire crew in one go. I loved it. After that I went straight to the beach with it's white sand and beautiful blue water to relax. We met really friendly people, ate delicious food, and saw beautiful scenery.
We also did a snorkel/kayak/sunset cruise which was a good choice.
The next day we climbed to the viewpoint and saw this:
After the hike, we had lunch at a little restaurant and looked over at the refrigerator...
Close up...No, cat was not on the menu. That's just where they liked to hang out... In the refrigerator... with the food and drinks. Amazingly, there wasn't a single hair in my meal!
That night, I got to see this sunset:
What a beautiful island.Thailand - Phuket
So the Mass exodus after the full-moon party took us to Phuket.
View Ko Phangan to Phuket in a larger map
Here is a flow of consciousness that I sent to my friend Jen about our less-than-ideal trip:
You know when you book a trip to take and you find out you're going to arrive in a certain place by 930 pm and then the taxi is late and the boat is late and you get off your boat with the rest of the herd of travelers that don't know what's going on and the people directing the hundreds of people aren't very forthcoming with information and they wouldn't be able to communicate it anyway because they don't speak the same language and you get herded onto a bus that is old and dirty and water is dripping from the airconditioning unit in the ceiling and when the bus stops quickly a bucketfull of water pours out of the ceiling onto the seat (BEHIND yours, thankfully) and the bus drops you off at some dodgy and dirty restaurant/travel agent and tells you to wait for the next bus with WAY too many people and only one bathroom that no one can use because some guy ran in there with a hangover/motion sickness and locked the door and then you're told to get on a "songthaew" which is really just a pickup with two rows of seats in the back and you are driven by Evil Kanevil reincarnated through the pouring rain to another dodgy restaurant/travel agent where there are even more people standing around not knowing what's going on and after another hour of waiting you're told to get on one of the two busses but people aren't paying attention/understanding so everyone goes to the first bus with all their luggage and after you load your pack it turns out that there are no seats left because half the people that are on the bus already should be on the second bus so you have to take your stuff off the bus and get in the other bus and the people on the first bus get paranoid because so many bags are getting taken off so they want to see their own bags so they make the people sort through all the luggage and make sure that everyone's is there then the buses finally leave and after a 3 hour drive they take a 20 minute rest stop which turns into almost an hour and you get back on the bus for the final hour of the journey and get to yet another/travel agent where you are packed into a minivan and taken to the hotel called Banana Sombrero (doesn't sound very thai) to check into a nice big room with a big bed and airconditioner but by now it's already 2:30 AM (5 hours after your scheduled arrival time) so you're exstatic by the thought that you'll finally be able to go to sleep and you turn off the light but it's just as bright in the room because there's a neon sign right outside your window and you only have white curtains and it blocks absolutely no light and it turns out the aircon is broken and it actually seems hotter in the room and 4 hours after you go to bed someone starts banging on doors in the hallway but there's nothing to dampen the sound so it sounds like they're banging on your face so you get so frustrated that you storm down the hall and pound on the next door and when he comes to the door you just say "everything ok?" hoping he'll get the point and shutup so you go back into your room and find that it's even hotter and brighter because the sun is now coming up directly into the bedroom and you almost want to cry because all you want is to go to sleep in a cold, dark, quiet cave but you can't......?
Phuket
We had heard a lot of hype about Phuket with it's beautiful resorts and pristine beaches. Since we are on a backpacker's budget instead of a leisure traveler's budget, we didn't get to stay in those hotels or see the beaches.
When I woke up in the morning (very early morning thanks to the sun and banging) I took a walk down the street to see the beach. I passed bar after bar with bad smells coming from the sludge that was running through the gutters and being hassled about getting transport or a suit or a massage or something else I didn't want. The beach was close to the hotel but it had big red flags and signs that prohibited swimming because the current was too strong.
I walked back to the hotel and told Celia we were checking out and going to another part of the island.
We made our way to Phuket Town, the more historical and subdued part of the island. We found a quaint guesthouse and set out to do some exploring.
I didn't even take pictures.
We left the next day.
View Ko Phangan to Phuket in a larger map
Here is a flow of consciousness that I sent to my friend Jen about our less-than-ideal trip:
You know when you book a trip to take and you find out you're going to arrive in a certain place by 930 pm and then the taxi is late and the boat is late and you get off your boat with the rest of the herd of travelers that don't know what's going on and the people directing the hundreds of people aren't very forthcoming with information and they wouldn't be able to communicate it anyway because they don't speak the same language and you get herded onto a bus that is old and dirty and water is dripping from the airconditioning unit in the ceiling and when the bus stops quickly a bucketfull of water pours out of the ceiling onto the seat (BEHIND yours, thankfully) and the bus drops you off at some dodgy and dirty restaurant/travel agent and tells you to wait for the next bus with WAY too many people and only one bathroom that no one can use because some guy ran in there with a hangover/motion sickness and locked the door and then you're told to get on a "songthaew" which is really just a pickup with two rows of seats in the back and you are driven by Evil Kanevil reincarnated through the pouring rain to another dodgy restaurant/travel agent where there are even more people standing around not knowing what's going on and after another hour of waiting you're told to get on one of the two busses but people aren't paying attention/understanding so everyone goes to the first bus with all their luggage and after you load your pack it turns out that there are no seats left because half the people that are on the bus already should be on the second bus so you have to take your stuff off the bus and get in the other bus and the people on the first bus get paranoid because so many bags are getting taken off so they want to see their own bags so they make the people sort through all the luggage and make sure that everyone's is there then the buses finally leave and after a 3 hour drive they take a 20 minute rest stop which turns into almost an hour and you get back on the bus for the final hour of the journey and get to yet another/travel agent where you are packed into a minivan and taken to the hotel called Banana Sombrero (doesn't sound very thai) to check into a nice big room with a big bed and airconditioner but by now it's already 2:30 AM (5 hours after your scheduled arrival time) so you're exstatic by the thought that you'll finally be able to go to sleep and you turn off the light but it's just as bright in the room because there's a neon sign right outside your window and you only have white curtains and it blocks absolutely no light and it turns out the aircon is broken and it actually seems hotter in the room and 4 hours after you go to bed someone starts banging on doors in the hallway but there's nothing to dampen the sound so it sounds like they're banging on your face so you get so frustrated that you storm down the hall and pound on the next door and when he comes to the door you just say "everything ok?" hoping he'll get the point and shutup so you go back into your room and find that it's even hotter and brighter because the sun is now coming up directly into the bedroom and you almost want to cry because all you want is to go to sleep in a cold, dark, quiet cave but you can't......?
Phuket
We had heard a lot of hype about Phuket with it's beautiful resorts and pristine beaches. Since we are on a backpacker's budget instead of a leisure traveler's budget, we didn't get to stay in those hotels or see the beaches.
When I woke up in the morning (very early morning thanks to the sun and banging) I took a walk down the street to see the beach. I passed bar after bar with bad smells coming from the sludge that was running through the gutters and being hassled about getting transport or a suit or a massage or something else I didn't want. The beach was close to the hotel but it had big red flags and signs that prohibited swimming because the current was too strong.
I walked back to the hotel and told Celia we were checking out and going to another part of the island.
We made our way to Phuket Town, the more historical and subdued part of the island. We found a quaint guesthouse and set out to do some exploring.
I didn't even take pictures.
We left the next day.
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