Confess your hidden faults.
Approach what you find repulsive.
Help those you think you cannot help.
Anything you are attached to, let it go.
Go to places that scare you.
-words from Pema Chodron, an American Buddhist nun, that really resonate with me as I travel.
So, I made it to Hanoi in one piece and am loving this chilly, northern weather. Hanoi is a vibrant, dynamic city with a historical heart. It reminds me a lot of some of NYC's outer boroughs or maybe the east village. The pho (noodle soup) is amazing plus the good things of French colonialism that remained ain't too bad neither, e.g. baguettes and coffee! I have made a new travel friend, David Duong, a Vietnamese American, who takes me places that I definitely would not go otherwise. Yesterday, we went to a commune(aka village) outside of a permitted tourist zone. We had to have special permission from the Communist Party and were greeted with lunch with the local police and many shots of traditional rice whiskey, a part of any welcome feast. I got to eat pig intestine, bbq water buffalo, chicken liver soup, bamboo salad, sour melon, and much more. Vietnam is by far my favorite country in SE Asia thus far! Tomorrow, I am heading up into the northern mountains around SaPa on the Chinese border to climb the highest peak in SE Asia, Mt. Fansipan.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
A little aloha spirit in Laos.
So it has been a bit since I last blogged. I have been busy tearing up Laos with an old friend from my time working in Hawaii, Cato Cook. And when not traveling alone, you seem to find yourself with much less time to commit to the internet. Surprising I know.
"So, what have we been up to?" you might ask. Well, here is the abbrev. rundown.
-Left southern Thailand for the north after my scuba expedition. 5 hour bus ride to train station, 11 hour overnight train to Bangkok, 14 hour train Chiang Mai. Who said traveling was all fun and games?
- Linked up with Cato in Chiang Mai, the biggest city in northern Thailand and sort of its cultural capital. Spent a few days here, the best being an all-day cooking class on Sammy's Organic Farm outside the city. Can't wait to cook Thai food for the folks back home.
- 1st night in Laos, the border town of Huay Xai. Met some French friends that took us along to a festival at a temple outside town they has heard about. As the only foreigners, or falang, we first gawked at, then taught to dance Laos-style and given free papaya salad to complement our cold Beerlao, the national beer. Also played carnival games alongside teenage monks like throwing darts at ballons and knocking down a pyramid of cans.
- 3 day trek in Nam Tha National Park. One day kayaking along the boundary of the park; two days hiking through mostly pristine rainforest. Both nights we stayed in local hilltribe villages, one night actually in a family's home. We shared meals with villagers and the chief of one village and were able to talk (through our guide) with them about our differing cultures. All meals were delicious regional Laos dishes often with rainforest ingredients like rattan hearts and ginger and we ate with our hands off of banana leaves using sticky rice to scoop up the food. Saw some new bird and bat species (new to me, that is). The forest itself was the best part, absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, most of nothern Laos should be forested mountains but have been largely deforested for logging and rice cultivation. The US led "Secret War" that coincided with the Vietnam War has also left the forest littered with unexploded ordinance. A good reason to stay on trail. Oh yes, and on the 2nd night of the trek at a Lanten tribe village, our guide got us drunk on local rice whiskey aka lao-lao. Cato proceeded to entertain the tribal ladies with his antics that included picking up our sleeping assistant guide Mei and carrying him around, swimming in the river, and slitting a chicken's throat with my knife to make soup at around 1 am.
- The Royal Palace, temples and historic homes of UNESCO World Heritage City, Luang Prabang. A very interesting style of mosaic murals made of painted Japanese glass pieces is unique here. Sunset from the hilltop monastery of Phu Si. The might Mehkong River flowing along the city's western flank (actually really low right now as we approach the end of the dry season). Luang Prabang also has a lively and sprawling night market that sells everything from t-shirts to bamboo rice steamers to raw silk and hilltribe handicrafts. I bought some spring rolls.
- Vang Vieng, pretty much the only "party place" in quiet, rural Laos. Backpackers rent tubes and float down the Nam Song River, stopping at bars along the banks. The bars have a variety of ways for drunkards to hurt themselves ranging from huge slides and trapeze swings into the water to mud volleyball to copious amounts on illegal drugs being sold openly. Cato and I eschewed all the silliness and instead chose to contract food poisoning and spend most of our time running back and forth from our bungalow along the river to the outdoor bathroom. Fun times with a good friend! We did feel well enough to venture out to the river one afternoon for a couple hours, but mostly watched from the sidelines as trashed falang made asses of themselves with body paint, loud music, and overt displays of public affection. Around 5 in the evening, local Lao adults and children got out of work and school and trickled down to watch the gong show going on. As a bit of a sociologist, I was fascinated/appalled by everything going on and content to be the objective observer. Yet I secretly yearned to be 10 years younger and not sick as a dog so that I could just throw thyself into the fray without reservations.
Well, that's about it for now. Today, Cato left to meet up his girlfriend in Bangkok, so I am Mr. Solo Traveler again. However, you are never really alone for long on the backpacker circuit, especially as I am sleeping in a dorm with about 30 people tongiht. It was really nice to have a good friend along for the ride, even if just for a little bit. Sometimes you get tired of just making quick friends that you say goodbye to just as you get to know them. Deep conversations and true friends are hard to find! Cato, you'll be missed, braddah.
Tomorrow, I start the next leg of my odyssey: Vietnam. It begins with a 24 hour bus ride from the capital of Laos, Vientiane to the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi. I at least have a sleeping berth on this huge bus that is billed as "King of Bus." Border crossing at 6am. Can't wait.
Oh, I finally got a bunch of Thailand photos loaded up on Facebook. Better late than never, I suppose! I hope to get my Laos pics up tomorrow before my bus leaves.
Hope everyone is well and looking forward to Spring back home! Oh, did we win the Olympics? Someone wins, right? Usually us, I think.
"So, what have we been up to?" you might ask. Well, here is the abbrev. rundown.
-Left southern Thailand for the north after my scuba expedition. 5 hour bus ride to train station, 11 hour overnight train to Bangkok, 14 hour train Chiang Mai. Who said traveling was all fun and games?
- Linked up with Cato in Chiang Mai, the biggest city in northern Thailand and sort of its cultural capital. Spent a few days here, the best being an all-day cooking class on Sammy's Organic Farm outside the city. Can't wait to cook Thai food for the folks back home.
- 1st night in Laos, the border town of Huay Xai. Met some French friends that took us along to a festival at a temple outside town they has heard about. As the only foreigners, or falang, we first gawked at, then taught to dance Laos-style and given free papaya salad to complement our cold Beerlao, the national beer. Also played carnival games alongside teenage monks like throwing darts at ballons and knocking down a pyramid of cans.
- 3 day trek in Nam Tha National Park. One day kayaking along the boundary of the park; two days hiking through mostly pristine rainforest. Both nights we stayed in local hilltribe villages, one night actually in a family's home. We shared meals with villagers and the chief of one village and were able to talk (through our guide) with them about our differing cultures. All meals were delicious regional Laos dishes often with rainforest ingredients like rattan hearts and ginger and we ate with our hands off of banana leaves using sticky rice to scoop up the food. Saw some new bird and bat species (new to me, that is). The forest itself was the best part, absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, most of nothern Laos should be forested mountains but have been largely deforested for logging and rice cultivation. The US led "Secret War" that coincided with the Vietnam War has also left the forest littered with unexploded ordinance. A good reason to stay on trail. Oh yes, and on the 2nd night of the trek at a Lanten tribe village, our guide got us drunk on local rice whiskey aka lao-lao. Cato proceeded to entertain the tribal ladies with his antics that included picking up our sleeping assistant guide Mei and carrying him around, swimming in the river, and slitting a chicken's throat with my knife to make soup at around 1 am.
- The Royal Palace, temples and historic homes of UNESCO World Heritage City, Luang Prabang. A very interesting style of mosaic murals made of painted Japanese glass pieces is unique here. Sunset from the hilltop monastery of Phu Si. The might Mehkong River flowing along the city's western flank (actually really low right now as we approach the end of the dry season). Luang Prabang also has a lively and sprawling night market that sells everything from t-shirts to bamboo rice steamers to raw silk and hilltribe handicrafts. I bought some spring rolls.
- Vang Vieng, pretty much the only "party place" in quiet, rural Laos. Backpackers rent tubes and float down the Nam Song River, stopping at bars along the banks. The bars have a variety of ways for drunkards to hurt themselves ranging from huge slides and trapeze swings into the water to mud volleyball to copious amounts on illegal drugs being sold openly. Cato and I eschewed all the silliness and instead chose to contract food poisoning and spend most of our time running back and forth from our bungalow along the river to the outdoor bathroom. Fun times with a good friend! We did feel well enough to venture out to the river one afternoon for a couple hours, but mostly watched from the sidelines as trashed falang made asses of themselves with body paint, loud music, and overt displays of public affection. Around 5 in the evening, local Lao adults and children got out of work and school and trickled down to watch the gong show going on. As a bit of a sociologist, I was fascinated/appalled by everything going on and content to be the objective observer. Yet I secretly yearned to be 10 years younger and not sick as a dog so that I could just throw thyself into the fray without reservations.
Well, that's about it for now. Today, Cato left to meet up his girlfriend in Bangkok, so I am Mr. Solo Traveler again. However, you are never really alone for long on the backpacker circuit, especially as I am sleeping in a dorm with about 30 people tongiht. It was really nice to have a good friend along for the ride, even if just for a little bit. Sometimes you get tired of just making quick friends that you say goodbye to just as you get to know them. Deep conversations and true friends are hard to find! Cato, you'll be missed, braddah.
Tomorrow, I start the next leg of my odyssey: Vietnam. It begins with a 24 hour bus ride from the capital of Laos, Vientiane to the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi. I at least have a sleeping berth on this huge bus that is billed as "King of Bus." Border crossing at 6am. Can't wait.
Oh, I finally got a bunch of Thailand photos loaded up on Facebook. Better late than never, I suppose! I hope to get my Laos pics up tomorrow before my bus leaves.
Hope everyone is well and looking forward to Spring back home! Oh, did we win the Olympics? Someone wins, right? Usually us, I think.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Adventures in deep diving
Since I last checked I have had two big adventures. One into the mind; the other into the depths of the Andaman Sea. I'm not sure which was more fruitful, but you can probably guess which was more fun.
On Jan 30th, I traveled to Wat Suan Mohk in Chaiya, Thailand and began a 10-day silent meditation retreat focusing on vipassana meditation. Like any intensive medtiation retreat it had its ups and downs, but was ultimately very rewarding. I continue to discover new things about myself and my mind each time. Some days it easy to focus and clear the mind; others it is almost impssible. On the last retreat I did back in December, I was able to get into much deeper meditative states because the cetner was a bit stricter about the technique they taught. This center, the most famous in all of Thailand for teaching farang (foreigners) about Buddhism and meditation, was very ecumenical in its teachings and laidback in its approach to insight meditation. Rather than deep meditation, my most profound experiences for the whole retreat involved meditating on the Buddhist principles of metta (loving-kindness) and karuna (compassion). I mostly focused on myself, my family, and my friends, but Buddhists believe that meditating with these intentions can really improve the world simply by holding them in your heart and mind. Good stuff, no? Oh yeah, did I mention that you slept on a concrete bed with a thin bamboo mat and a wooden pillow (seriously) which is meant to help your discipline and give you a taste of how monks and nuns live.
Aside from the saving the world, I had pretty varied and full days at the beautiful, forested retreat center. Here is the rough schedule:
4am wake-up bell
4:30 sitting mediation,
5:30 yoga
7 - dharma talk (dharma is the buddhist law of nature, also means "truth" and "teachings") by the abbot of the monastery
8am - breakfast which consisted of weak tea and rice porridge (think Charles Dickens-esque gruel)
9am -chores than time for a dip in the naturally-occuring hot springs on the grounds of the center
10:30 -walking and sitting meditation
12:30 - lunch - delicious thai food ranging from pumpkin curry to mushroom soup or veggie fritters or spciy green papaya salad, all vegetarian. usually with dessert of fruit but sometimes bananas fritters in coconut milk.
1:30 - laundry (DIY by hand) and nap time
2:30 - dharma talk by an old English monk, who was exceedingly sarcastic and funny, but very unmonklike
3:30 - walking and sitting meditation
6 pm - tea time, no dinner to help you meditate better (you actually don't really miss it after the first day or so). Also time for another hot spring soak, but the mosquitos usually ruined things.
7:30 - sitting mediation, group walking mediation around the lotus ponds as the moon came up, sitting meditation
9:30 lights out
So, all in all, very full but peaceful days. I only really wanted to run away on day 6! If anyone has any more questions for me about the acutal meditation techniques or Buddhism, please ask. I don't won't go into too much detail here in case people aren't interested.
Then, after all that peaceful contemplation, I had to a do a quick and dirty, hectic, expensive run to the border with Burma in order to renew my Visa. Upon entering the little fishing village of Khoung, the Burmese immediately tried to sell me whiskey, viagra, marijuana, and opium. I declined and returned to Thailand via longtail boat and motorcycle taxi (picture me on the back of a moped with my huge packpack still on my back hanging on for dear life but loving it all.)
Visa-run behind, another 2 weeks in Thailand stamped into my passport, I headed back to the Andaman Sea and the little scuba-crazy town of Khao Lak. Here I boarded the MV (marine vessel) Koon for a 3 day, 3 night scuba voyage to the Similan Islands. It was a really nice big boat with a shared, aircon room with a huge window onto the sea (my roommate and sometime diving buddy was a sweet lady from Yugoslavia named Dushka. Her boyfriend, who refused to share a room with her, claimed to be a dentist but was to all appearances a gangster (seriously) with a neck tattoo and much jewelry and talked about his associates (other dentists?) who bought ipods wholesale in the US to sell for greatly inflated prices in Yugolslavia. The rest of the divers were a diverse mix of Americans, Norwegians, a hyperactive Philippino, Germans, Singaporians, and rich Thai people from Bangkok who spent more time drinking Johnny Walker and watching Jackass in the plush, aircon lounge with a massive flatscreen TV than diving. The food was excellent and prepared by a sweet old Thai mama and the front of the boat was festooned with garlands and food offerings for Buddha and good spirits to give us a safe journey. The boat also had a outdoor dining and common area with a smaller TV where we watched episodes of the BBC "Blue Planet" and "Planet Earth" series ast night and had our meals and dive briefings. There was an upper deck that served for sunbathing, diving into the turquoise waters when anchored between dives, and was also where I slept 2 out of 3 nights in order to stargaze and catch the sunrise (gorgeous of course).
The dives were uniformly excellent and a learning experience for me each time. We had a couple of dives with really strong current because of the new moon tidal phases that required some semi-scary open-water ascents and descents. We went to the worldfamous Similan Islands, a series of granite islands with massive granite boulders scattered across the sea floor surrounded by amazing coral reefs. A one spot I free-dove with my divemaster to see a mermaid statue placed on the sea floor to commemorate the 2005 tsunami Then on to the Island of Koh Bon where I saw a manta ray! Although a small one (about 6 feet across) it was still a great sighting as the peaceful giant flew past in slow motion before fading into the murky blue. At Tachai Island I did a sunset dive where upon coming to the surface the riotuous sunset was relected on the surface of the water form below. But by far, the highlight was the two dives we did on Richelieu Rock, considered one of the top ten dive sites in the world. All I can say is that it was full on "Finding Nemo" with the healthiest and most diverse corals, sponges and anemones I have seen in Thailand thus far. The coolest species encountered were: many rare shrimp, including tiny cleaner shrimp cleaning the teeth of a peacock grouper from the inside (what trust!), harlequin shrimp, dancing shrimp and mantis shrimp. Spiny lobsters, clownfish, basslets, emperor fish, triggerfish, blue-spotted stingrays, green turtles, moray eels, gardem eels, flounder, ornate ghost pipefish, tiny yellow seahorse, lionfish, scorpionfish. I could go on, but I should probably stop now.
Anyhow, it was like total sensory overload (in a good way) coming right on the heels of the meditation retreat, and really enhanced the experience for me. If anyone is interested, an Ameican guy named Kevin Smith from the US took excellent video of all our dives and will be posting it to youtube in the next few days. You can find it with his username: KS89991 One of these days I will get some pictures loaded up to facebook or picasa. I have tried several times for hours only to have multiple failures becasue of crappy internet connections. So hang tight, they'll get up eventually.
Anyhow, I am next headed up to the northern city of Chiang Mai to meet up with my old friend Cato that I worked with in Hawaii in 2005. We will then travel on to the highlands of northern Laos to do big jungle trek. So check back here in a couple weeks, same Bat time, same Bat channel!
On Jan 30th, I traveled to Wat Suan Mohk in Chaiya, Thailand and began a 10-day silent meditation retreat focusing on vipassana meditation. Like any intensive medtiation retreat it had its ups and downs, but was ultimately very rewarding. I continue to discover new things about myself and my mind each time. Some days it easy to focus and clear the mind; others it is almost impssible. On the last retreat I did back in December, I was able to get into much deeper meditative states because the cetner was a bit stricter about the technique they taught. This center, the most famous in all of Thailand for teaching farang (foreigners) about Buddhism and meditation, was very ecumenical in its teachings and laidback in its approach to insight meditation. Rather than deep meditation, my most profound experiences for the whole retreat involved meditating on the Buddhist principles of metta (loving-kindness) and karuna (compassion). I mostly focused on myself, my family, and my friends, but Buddhists believe that meditating with these intentions can really improve the world simply by holding them in your heart and mind. Good stuff, no? Oh yeah, did I mention that you slept on a concrete bed with a thin bamboo mat and a wooden pillow (seriously) which is meant to help your discipline and give you a taste of how monks and nuns live.
Aside from the saving the world, I had pretty varied and full days at the beautiful, forested retreat center. Here is the rough schedule:
4am wake-up bell
4:30 sitting mediation,
5:30 yoga
7 - dharma talk (dharma is the buddhist law of nature, also means "truth" and "teachings") by the abbot of the monastery
8am - breakfast which consisted of weak tea and rice porridge (think Charles Dickens-esque gruel)
9am -chores than time for a dip in the naturally-occuring hot springs on the grounds of the center
10:30 -walking and sitting meditation
12:30 - lunch - delicious thai food ranging from pumpkin curry to mushroom soup or veggie fritters or spciy green papaya salad, all vegetarian. usually with dessert of fruit but sometimes bananas fritters in coconut milk.
1:30 - laundry (DIY by hand) and nap time
2:30 - dharma talk by an old English monk, who was exceedingly sarcastic and funny, but very unmonklike
3:30 - walking and sitting meditation
6 pm - tea time, no dinner to help you meditate better (you actually don't really miss it after the first day or so). Also time for another hot spring soak, but the mosquitos usually ruined things.
7:30 - sitting mediation, group walking mediation around the lotus ponds as the moon came up, sitting meditation
9:30 lights out
So, all in all, very full but peaceful days. I only really wanted to run away on day 6! If anyone has any more questions for me about the acutal meditation techniques or Buddhism, please ask. I don't won't go into too much detail here in case people aren't interested.
Then, after all that peaceful contemplation, I had to a do a quick and dirty, hectic, expensive run to the border with Burma in order to renew my Visa. Upon entering the little fishing village of Khoung, the Burmese immediately tried to sell me whiskey, viagra, marijuana, and opium. I declined and returned to Thailand via longtail boat and motorcycle taxi (picture me on the back of a moped with my huge packpack still on my back hanging on for dear life but loving it all.)
Visa-run behind, another 2 weeks in Thailand stamped into my passport, I headed back to the Andaman Sea and the little scuba-crazy town of Khao Lak. Here I boarded the MV (marine vessel) Koon for a 3 day, 3 night scuba voyage to the Similan Islands. It was a really nice big boat with a shared, aircon room with a huge window onto the sea (my roommate and sometime diving buddy was a sweet lady from Yugoslavia named Dushka. Her boyfriend, who refused to share a room with her, claimed to be a dentist but was to all appearances a gangster (seriously) with a neck tattoo and much jewelry and talked about his associates (other dentists?) who bought ipods wholesale in the US to sell for greatly inflated prices in Yugolslavia. The rest of the divers were a diverse mix of Americans, Norwegians, a hyperactive Philippino, Germans, Singaporians, and rich Thai people from Bangkok who spent more time drinking Johnny Walker and watching Jackass in the plush, aircon lounge with a massive flatscreen TV than diving. The food was excellent and prepared by a sweet old Thai mama and the front of the boat was festooned with garlands and food offerings for Buddha and good spirits to give us a safe journey. The boat also had a outdoor dining and common area with a smaller TV where we watched episodes of the BBC "Blue Planet" and "Planet Earth" series ast night and had our meals and dive briefings. There was an upper deck that served for sunbathing, diving into the turquoise waters when anchored between dives, and was also where I slept 2 out of 3 nights in order to stargaze and catch the sunrise (gorgeous of course).
The dives were uniformly excellent and a learning experience for me each time. We had a couple of dives with really strong current because of the new moon tidal phases that required some semi-scary open-water ascents and descents. We went to the worldfamous Similan Islands, a series of granite islands with massive granite boulders scattered across the sea floor surrounded by amazing coral reefs. A one spot I free-dove with my divemaster to see a mermaid statue placed on the sea floor to commemorate the 2005 tsunami Then on to the Island of Koh Bon where I saw a manta ray! Although a small one (about 6 feet across) it was still a great sighting as the peaceful giant flew past in slow motion before fading into the murky blue. At Tachai Island I did a sunset dive where upon coming to the surface the riotuous sunset was relected on the surface of the water form below. But by far, the highlight was the two dives we did on Richelieu Rock, considered one of the top ten dive sites in the world. All I can say is that it was full on "Finding Nemo" with the healthiest and most diverse corals, sponges and anemones I have seen in Thailand thus far. The coolest species encountered were: many rare shrimp, including tiny cleaner shrimp cleaning the teeth of a peacock grouper from the inside (what trust!), harlequin shrimp, dancing shrimp and mantis shrimp. Spiny lobsters, clownfish, basslets, emperor fish, triggerfish, blue-spotted stingrays, green turtles, moray eels, gardem eels, flounder, ornate ghost pipefish, tiny yellow seahorse, lionfish, scorpionfish. I could go on, but I should probably stop now.
Anyhow, it was like total sensory overload (in a good way) coming right on the heels of the meditation retreat, and really enhanced the experience for me. If anyone is interested, an Ameican guy named Kevin Smith from the US took excellent video of all our dives and will be posting it to youtube in the next few days. You can find it with his username: KS89991 One of these days I will get some pictures loaded up to facebook or picasa. I have tried several times for hours only to have multiple failures becasue of crappy internet connections. So hang tight, they'll get up eventually.
Anyhow, I am next headed up to the northern city of Chiang Mai to meet up with my old friend Cato that I worked with in Hawaii in 2005. We will then travel on to the highlands of northern Laos to do big jungle trek. So check back here in a couple weeks, same Bat time, same Bat channel!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Down the shore. (The Thai beaches that is, not the Jersey. Same same but different.)
Well, things are certainly looking a bit better than the last time I blogged, post-bike-wreck. All my wounds, both those physical and those of the pride, seem to be all healed up at this point. Turquoise salt water does wonders for both.
I am writing this from a little internet cafe on the side of the highway full of little Thai boys using their Sunday to play Grand Theft Auto and sniper games and Fifa WorldCup online. I am outside the Wat Suan Mohk International Retreat Center where tonight I will begin a 10 day silent meditation course. This center is one of the best known temples in Thailand for teaching and well known to foreigners interested in practicing vipassana (insight) mediation. I recently completed my 1st ten day silent retreat just 2 months ago near Seattle. That course taught the same meditation technique but with a more rigorous daily schedule of nothing but sitting meditation; it also originated in Burma. This center is a little more friendly and allows for walking mediation as well as yoga and there are even natural hot springs on the campus for soaking in the evenings! Still, 10 days to be alone with nothing but your thoughts is a challenge. This retreat is one of the reasons I chose to come to Thailand in the first place, and it feels good to be achieving that goal. So that is the present. As for the past...
Since my last blog, I finished my Advance Open Water Training in Koh Tao. Had a blast with my group and made a bunch of really good friends. The diving although fun, wasn't great the last few days due to high wind and waves which affected visibility. The highlights were by far the deep dive (to 90 feet below the surface) in which I was within a few feet of a grey reef shark and saw a scorpionfish and the night dive in which I saw a Great Barracuda bit a rabbitfish in half and swallow it in two bites! We also saw a rare cuttlefish and lots of green flashing phosphoresence. It looks like swirling stars underwater every time you move your hands around quickly distrubing the little critters. No whale sharks or manta rays unfortunately, but I will have another chance when I go on a 3 day/2 night live-aboard cruise with 15 dives to the Similan Islands. I am also hoping to see Leopard Sharks.
I left Koh Tao, traveling with two friends from my scuba school, Kris from Denmark and Kirsty from Norway. There are loads of Scandanavians here incidentally. Swedes especially. Supposedly 600,000 out of a country of only 9 million come to Thailand every winter. Anyhow, we took the night ferry from the island back to the mainland. On this ferry you are literallt given a space that is half a small mattress to share with a total stranger. Eveyone has to pretty much spoon all night and the entire boat has to roll over at the same time practically. From Surat Thani we went up to Khao Sok National Park, a quiet little area up in the mountains. The park protects some of the oldest primary lowland rainforest in the world and is home to elephants and tigers and gibbons, oh my. I saw the gibbon, but no tigers unfortunately. I did however get to see Rafflesia, the largest flower in the world (check my photos on Facebook). It is about 2 feet in diameter, red and fleshy, and smells like sour milk to attract flies as pollinators. The biology nerd in me was loving it! I also ran into some cool folks from Sweden, Pelle and Lina, who shared my interest in the lizards and critters all around us, so that was nice to have others to nerd out with. My lady traveling companions just couldn't understand why we were so excited about a giant, stinky flower alas.
After 2 peaceful days in the national park, we headed down to Raileh beach where stunning 500 foot limestone cliffs crash straight into the sea. We spent 3 nights here just bumming on the beach; although one day we did get ambitious and rent kayaks to explore sea caves and we even found a semi-deserted beach to go snorkeling from, a rarity in Thailand. I also went solo for a day to take a speedboat tour of the Ko Phi-phi Islands which are gorgeous bt totally overrun with Tourists and development. I got to see a German man get attacked by monkeys on the beach, so that was interesting. I also did some of the best snorkeling of my life at an open water site they took us too. Oh, and we went to the infamous lagoon Maya Bay that was used as the location for the Leo DiCaprio movie "The Beach" that may be responsible for ruining Thailand (in the sense that there are too many tourists). A good day but I was glad to move on from the crowds.
Saying goodbye to our friend Kris, Kirsty and I travelled on the sleepy island of Koh Lanta. Here I found my ideal, cheap, ramshackle, family-run beach bungalows with good music and food and hammocks galore. I had to spend a lot of time out of the sun and the water to let my motor-bike wounds heal, so it was here on Lanta that I finally got some serious loungin done and my first sun-burn, oh yeah. I also got back on the bike, so to speak, and drove a motorbike all over this large island with Kirsty. We explored the Old Town, which was really quaint and the first place I have seen any wooden homes on the beaches that pre-date the tsunami. We also got to see a crazy Kenyan Masai band play fun afro-fusion music to celebrate the anniversary of one backpacker-famous resort. But the best part was just watching the sunset from a hammok with a pineapple shake in one hand. Good times.
Oh, I also did a one-day run down to the Malaysia border and crossed at a little outpost in the jungle called Khuadon. You have to do this in order to renew your visa and spend more time in the country. Then it was another day of traveling all day (yesterday) heading away from the beack and back north. Now, I am just outside the rural town of Chaiya, and my lazy beach days are over (for 10 days at least). It was great to soak up some serious sun, the first time I have done so since I left Hawaii in 2006. But I am ready to get down to some serious psyche-cleaning that only a long meditation retreat can really provide. I have met loads of great people and made some real friends and eaten lots of amazing thai food. So several missions accomplished, but many more to come, no doubt.
P.S. Again, sorry for spelling mistakes, I am too cheap to proofread this thing as time is money in internet cafes.
I am writing this from a little internet cafe on the side of the highway full of little Thai boys using their Sunday to play Grand Theft Auto and sniper games and Fifa WorldCup online. I am outside the Wat Suan Mohk International Retreat Center where tonight I will begin a 10 day silent meditation course. This center is one of the best known temples in Thailand for teaching and well known to foreigners interested in practicing vipassana (insight) mediation. I recently completed my 1st ten day silent retreat just 2 months ago near Seattle. That course taught the same meditation technique but with a more rigorous daily schedule of nothing but sitting meditation; it also originated in Burma. This center is a little more friendly and allows for walking mediation as well as yoga and there are even natural hot springs on the campus for soaking in the evenings! Still, 10 days to be alone with nothing but your thoughts is a challenge. This retreat is one of the reasons I chose to come to Thailand in the first place, and it feels good to be achieving that goal. So that is the present. As for the past...
Since my last blog, I finished my Advance Open Water Training in Koh Tao. Had a blast with my group and made a bunch of really good friends. The diving although fun, wasn't great the last few days due to high wind and waves which affected visibility. The highlights were by far the deep dive (to 90 feet below the surface) in which I was within a few feet of a grey reef shark and saw a scorpionfish and the night dive in which I saw a Great Barracuda bit a rabbitfish in half and swallow it in two bites! We also saw a rare cuttlefish and lots of green flashing phosphoresence. It looks like swirling stars underwater every time you move your hands around quickly distrubing the little critters. No whale sharks or manta rays unfortunately, but I will have another chance when I go on a 3 day/2 night live-aboard cruise with 15 dives to the Similan Islands. I am also hoping to see Leopard Sharks.
I left Koh Tao, traveling with two friends from my scuba school, Kris from Denmark and Kirsty from Norway. There are loads of Scandanavians here incidentally. Swedes especially. Supposedly 600,000 out of a country of only 9 million come to Thailand every winter. Anyhow, we took the night ferry from the island back to the mainland. On this ferry you are literallt given a space that is half a small mattress to share with a total stranger. Eveyone has to pretty much spoon all night and the entire boat has to roll over at the same time practically. From Surat Thani we went up to Khao Sok National Park, a quiet little area up in the mountains. The park protects some of the oldest primary lowland rainforest in the world and is home to elephants and tigers and gibbons, oh my. I saw the gibbon, but no tigers unfortunately. I did however get to see Rafflesia, the largest flower in the world (check my photos on Facebook). It is about 2 feet in diameter, red and fleshy, and smells like sour milk to attract flies as pollinators. The biology nerd in me was loving it! I also ran into some cool folks from Sweden, Pelle and Lina, who shared my interest in the lizards and critters all around us, so that was nice to have others to nerd out with. My lady traveling companions just couldn't understand why we were so excited about a giant, stinky flower alas.
After 2 peaceful days in the national park, we headed down to Raileh beach where stunning 500 foot limestone cliffs crash straight into the sea. We spent 3 nights here just bumming on the beach; although one day we did get ambitious and rent kayaks to explore sea caves and we even found a semi-deserted beach to go snorkeling from, a rarity in Thailand. I also went solo for a day to take a speedboat tour of the Ko Phi-phi Islands which are gorgeous bt totally overrun with Tourists and development. I got to see a German man get attacked by monkeys on the beach, so that was interesting. I also did some of the best snorkeling of my life at an open water site they took us too. Oh, and we went to the infamous lagoon Maya Bay that was used as the location for the Leo DiCaprio movie "The Beach" that may be responsible for ruining Thailand (in the sense that there are too many tourists). A good day but I was glad to move on from the crowds.
Saying goodbye to our friend Kris, Kirsty and I travelled on the sleepy island of Koh Lanta. Here I found my ideal, cheap, ramshackle, family-run beach bungalows with good music and food and hammocks galore. I had to spend a lot of time out of the sun and the water to let my motor-bike wounds heal, so it was here on Lanta that I finally got some serious loungin done and my first sun-burn, oh yeah. I also got back on the bike, so to speak, and drove a motorbike all over this large island with Kirsty. We explored the Old Town, which was really quaint and the first place I have seen any wooden homes on the beaches that pre-date the tsunami. We also got to see a crazy Kenyan Masai band play fun afro-fusion music to celebrate the anniversary of one backpacker-famous resort. But the best part was just watching the sunset from a hammok with a pineapple shake in one hand. Good times.
Oh, I also did a one-day run down to the Malaysia border and crossed at a little outpost in the jungle called Khuadon. You have to do this in order to renew your visa and spend more time in the country. Then it was another day of traveling all day (yesterday) heading away from the beack and back north. Now, I am just outside the rural town of Chaiya, and my lazy beach days are over (for 10 days at least). It was great to soak up some serious sun, the first time I have done so since I left Hawaii in 2006. But I am ready to get down to some serious psyche-cleaning that only a long meditation retreat can really provide. I have met loads of great people and made some real friends and eaten lots of amazing thai food. So several missions accomplished, but many more to come, no doubt.
P.S. Again, sorry for spelling mistakes, I am too cheap to proofread this thing as time is money in internet cafes.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Motorbikes and bull sharks and mango lassis, oh my.
So it's been a while since I have blogged. To be honest I have been avoiding it for days. Mostly b/c I didn't want to tell the world about my stupid motorbike wreck, but I am over it now. Unfortunately it's not much of a story but here goes. The day after I finished my scuba certification course (which was great! swam with several bull sharks, yeah), I decided to rent a motorbike with some friends and explore the rest of this island. However, all my friends backed out at the last minute. I was gonna bail too, but then felt that I needed to do it anyways b/c I was consumed with the thought that if I went alone I would crash the bike. Everyone on this island you see other backpackers covered in bandages from their bike wreck and the guidebook warns a lot about it, for this island in particular bc the roads are so bad. But I have this thing about conquering fears when they seem unfounded.
Well, this fear was apparently well-founded. After a really nice paved drive to another big beach, I felt that was not enough and I needed to take this putt-putt, skinny-tire contraption offroading to another, more deserted beach. I though, if all the Thais and cool surfer Norwegians can do it, so can I! Having a lot of ATV and 4x4 experience I was actually doing ok for a while, but then I came to a patch of super-steep, super gravelly road. It was also at that moment that I was looking at the view of the beautiful cove below and not at the road. And before I knew I was lying on the ground, bleeding profusely with the bike uphill from me, wandering what jut happened. Luckily, I was going about 3 mph when I laid the bike down. So all I really got were a few deep gouges (not even stitch-worthy) and a lot of road rash on my hands, right arm and right knee. The funniest part was that as soon as it happened and I was standing there on the side of the road looking at the bike, blood soaking through my shorts and dripping down my leg, I didn't feel upset at all and in fact, though to myself, "Well, now that's out of the way!" Like I knew it was my destiny to wreck a bike along and could do nothing to avoid it. Heh.
So I went home and cleaned and patched myself up (infection is really common here bc of the humidity). The worst part was going to pay the piper for the damage to the motorbike. Seeing as they don't sell insurace for rentals here, I ended up spending the equivalent of 500 bucks to repair the very superifical scratches to the bike. It ran just fine, not even a flat tire, but they actually replace all of the scratched parts with brand-new factory parts so that they can charge the next guy for his scratches to their seemingly-new bike. I was able to talk them down a bit being apprearing so pathetic in all my bandages, and my Brit friend Dave tried to get their sympathy by telling them that I worked with sick children backl home and had been saving for this trip my whole life and that this expensive wreck would end the trip for me. Surprisingly, the Thai ladies at the rental place did not seem to buy that. All in all, it was a stupid mistake and a pricey lesson but I didn't beat myself up over it too much (which I usually do) and didn't let it get me down for more than a day or so.
B/c of the injuries though I had to stay out of the water for a few days. But I still wanted to complete the advanced dive course, so I decided to just cool it here on Koh Tao, not a hard decision. I moved out of my nice big bungalow with a king size bed (about 15 bucks a night) into a cheap dorm room where I don't get much sleep (people leaving for early dives everyday) but I have made lots of friends. I did go on to complete the advanced course and keep my wounds infection free, so things are looking up. Today, I am finally leaving the island with 3 new friends on the night boat (you sleep out on the deck!) and tomorrow we will arrive in Khao Sok National Park. It is one of the oldest patches of rainforest in the world and has tigers and elephants and waterfall galore. Then it's on to Rai LAy beach on the west coast, a famous rockclimbing spot with limestone cliffs straight down to the sea. So that should be fun.
And no more motorbikes I assure you.
P.S. Sorry for any spelling errors. Internet is expensive, correcting mistakes is time-consuming, and I am lazy.
Food Log: I have been getting lazy about this bc it's all good. So I think I will only include my favorites or the really wierd stuff.
Laab Catfish - not really sure what this was, but very good and typical Esaan food, a southern Thailand regional people.
Goy Lek - this was the sauteed liver and tripe of a pig. there was a little stone inside one piece of the stomach that the pig had preseumably swallowed not long before his demise.
BBQ barracuda, marline, and king mackerel. the fish here is amazing and there are all these little places where you sit at tables set up right on the beach and pic your piece of fish then they grill it up for you.
Sauteed Morning Glory in oyster sauce.
Well, this fear was apparently well-founded. After a really nice paved drive to another big beach, I felt that was not enough and I needed to take this putt-putt, skinny-tire contraption offroading to another, more deserted beach. I though, if all the Thais and cool surfer Norwegians can do it, so can I! Having a lot of ATV and 4x4 experience I was actually doing ok for a while, but then I came to a patch of super-steep, super gravelly road. It was also at that moment that I was looking at the view of the beautiful cove below and not at the road. And before I knew I was lying on the ground, bleeding profusely with the bike uphill from me, wandering what jut happened. Luckily, I was going about 3 mph when I laid the bike down. So all I really got were a few deep gouges (not even stitch-worthy) and a lot of road rash on my hands, right arm and right knee. The funniest part was that as soon as it happened and I was standing there on the side of the road looking at the bike, blood soaking through my shorts and dripping down my leg, I didn't feel upset at all and in fact, though to myself, "Well, now that's out of the way!" Like I knew it was my destiny to wreck a bike along and could do nothing to avoid it. Heh.
So I went home and cleaned and patched myself up (infection is really common here bc of the humidity). The worst part was going to pay the piper for the damage to the motorbike. Seeing as they don't sell insurace for rentals here, I ended up spending the equivalent of 500 bucks to repair the very superifical scratches to the bike. It ran just fine, not even a flat tire, but they actually replace all of the scratched parts with brand-new factory parts so that they can charge the next guy for his scratches to their seemingly-new bike. I was able to talk them down a bit being apprearing so pathetic in all my bandages, and my Brit friend Dave tried to get their sympathy by telling them that I worked with sick children backl home and had been saving for this trip my whole life and that this expensive wreck would end the trip for me. Surprisingly, the Thai ladies at the rental place did not seem to buy that. All in all, it was a stupid mistake and a pricey lesson but I didn't beat myself up over it too much (which I usually do) and didn't let it get me down for more than a day or so.
B/c of the injuries though I had to stay out of the water for a few days. But I still wanted to complete the advanced dive course, so I decided to just cool it here on Koh Tao, not a hard decision. I moved out of my nice big bungalow with a king size bed (about 15 bucks a night) into a cheap dorm room where I don't get much sleep (people leaving for early dives everyday) but I have made lots of friends. I did go on to complete the advanced course and keep my wounds infection free, so things are looking up. Today, I am finally leaving the island with 3 new friends on the night boat (you sleep out on the deck!) and tomorrow we will arrive in Khao Sok National Park. It is one of the oldest patches of rainforest in the world and has tigers and elephants and waterfall galore. Then it's on to Rai LAy beach on the west coast, a famous rockclimbing spot with limestone cliffs straight down to the sea. So that should be fun.
And no more motorbikes I assure you.
P.S. Sorry for any spelling errors. Internet is expensive, correcting mistakes is time-consuming, and I am lazy.
Food Log: I have been getting lazy about this bc it's all good. So I think I will only include my favorites or the really wierd stuff.
Laab Catfish - not really sure what this was, but very good and typical Esaan food, a southern Thailand regional people.
Goy Lek - this was the sauteed liver and tripe of a pig. there was a little stone inside one piece of the stomach that the pig had preseumably swallowed not long before his demise.
BBQ barracuda, marline, and king mackerel. the fish here is amazing and there are all these little places where you sit at tables set up right on the beach and pic your piece of fish then they grill it up for you.
Sauteed Morning Glory in oyster sauce.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
The (Koh) Tao of Diving
So I made it away from the smoggy frenzy of Bangkok to the beaches at last! I left the City of Angels (they have one on Thailand too) on Tueday morning via train. The train south was rather slow expecially as it left the city. The downtown core gave way to shantytowns, then floating ghettos, then suburbs with large house and satellite dishes, and finally rice fields in every direction. Some dry and being burned to ready them for the wet season, the ash swirling in the windows of the train. Some still green and verdant, scarecrows warding off thieving birds. People would get on the train at every stop and walk the aisles selling all manner of snacks and knickknacks. I had a variety of seatmates from a grumpy old man to quiet Muslim women with babies to a lovely little family that I shared my my Ipod with.
After nine hours, the train deposited me in Chumphon, one of the gateway cities to the south. I bargained my way onto a cheap pickup truck-taxi that took me to the pier 10km outside town. There I got on the midnight boat to the island of Koh Tao. The boat was much cheaper than the highspeed catamarans that most tourists take bc it steamed through the night for 8 hours. You get a slim mattree to crash on and a dirty pillow. Along with a young couple from Los Angeles, we were the only farang (foreigners) on the boat. The rest of the people were Thai going to work on the island, fisherman, and dock workers that loaded the boat high with Chang and Singha beers destined for the resorts on the island. As we ran out through the river to the ocean, we passed many fishing boats and canneries. I fell asleep to the gently rocking of the waves in the Gulf of Thailand (a far cry from the heaving of the Bering Sea!)
Woke at sunrise as we pulled into Koh Tao. My new friends and I then began the hunt for accommodations. What we didn't realize immediately was that the island was inundated with kids that had just come over from Koh Pha-Ngan and the biggest Full Moon Party of the year that coincided with New Years. It took us several hoursto find a spot, but I finally settled into my first Thai teak and rattan bungalow at the Pranee Bungalows (about 15 bucks a night and almost right on the beach). I just stayed at Pranees for 3 nights to relax and take in the beach scene before beginning the scuba training. Pranee's was at the quiet end of the beach, next to a posh resort, but only a 5 minute walk up the beach to all the restaurants and bars. The weather has been dodgy with scattered downpours and some cool, but still muggy days. That being said I have still managed to get sunburned even with the little bit of intense equatorial sun that has managed to hot my weak Alaskan/Montanan skin! I have made some really nice friends here from all over, Britain, Canada, Ireland, Sweden, etc. and on their recommendation decided to do my scuba course with the Big Blue Dive Resort.
I started the dive training 2 day ago with just classes the first day and shallow-water skills training yesterday. Today, we got to go to 12 meters and two different dive sites. Already I have seen some nice angelfish, triggerfish, sting rays, squid, barracudas, pufferfish, conchs, sea slugs, and lotsa coral.This afternoon I passed my final exam, and tomorrow I complete certification with 2 dives at 18 meters. I will then be a certified Open Water Diver. I am liking it so much that I may go straight on for the Advanced course after a rest day. It is about another 200 bucks (the regular course being 300), but Koh Tao is about the cheapest place to do it in the world and supposedly they certify more people than anywhere else as well. The one downside to doing it in Koh Tao is that the pressure of so many people diving here and the development to accomodate them all is evident. The water quality that I have seen thus far has been pretty bad with extremely low visibilty. There is coral bleaching evident all over, caused by pollution run-off, and just lotsa broken coral everywhere from novice divers kicking it. The resorts cosume a lot of seafood and fishing stocks have taken quite a hit in recent years. Paradise lost I suppose. However, the diversity of marine life is still amazing, and tomorrow I will most likely get to swim with some bull sharks. Plus, one juvenile whale shark has been lurking about one dive site. Fingers crossed...
Not quite sure where I will head next, but if I do the Advanced course, I should be here in Sai Ree Beach for at least 3 more days.
As promised, here is a list of the better foods I have eaten so far. It pretty much looks like a menu from a restaurant at any Thai restaurant in the US. I haven't gotten too adventurous yet, because I am trying to hit all the basics first.
Pad Thai - my first meal at a street vendor in Bangkok. Sadly, not very good. Not even peanut sauce. This national dish varies widely from place to place. But then I had amazing pad thai (or pat thai) here in Koh Tao with tofu all the fixins.
Tom yum khung - spicy prawn soup, eaten from a vendor underneath a banyan tree on temple grounds
Spicy fried catfish with mango salad - at the Chatuchak weekend market
Green Coconut curry with chicken -Outstanding!
Chicken balls on stick - from a street vendor on the Khao San road, drunk food, not so good
Spicy papaya salad -Yum.
Banana bread - bought from a vendor on the train platform, awesome!
here in Koh Tao - Panang (dry) Curry with pork and friend rice, Pad Kraopao (fried basil wih mild chillies and veggies), Massaman Curry (sweet curry with peanuts and potatoes).
My breakfast is invariably either banana pancakes or muesli with yogurt and fresh fruit.
The fruit here is great, and often blended into cheap shakes: coconut, mango, papaya, banana, watermelon, and more.
After nine hours, the train deposited me in Chumphon, one of the gateway cities to the south. I bargained my way onto a cheap pickup truck-taxi that took me to the pier 10km outside town. There I got on the midnight boat to the island of Koh Tao. The boat was much cheaper than the highspeed catamarans that most tourists take bc it steamed through the night for 8 hours. You get a slim mattree to crash on and a dirty pillow. Along with a young couple from Los Angeles, we were the only farang (foreigners) on the boat. The rest of the people were Thai going to work on the island, fisherman, and dock workers that loaded the boat high with Chang and Singha beers destined for the resorts on the island. As we ran out through the river to the ocean, we passed many fishing boats and canneries. I fell asleep to the gently rocking of the waves in the Gulf of Thailand (a far cry from the heaving of the Bering Sea!)
Woke at sunrise as we pulled into Koh Tao. My new friends and I then began the hunt for accommodations. What we didn't realize immediately was that the island was inundated with kids that had just come over from Koh Pha-Ngan and the biggest Full Moon Party of the year that coincided with New Years. It took us several hoursto find a spot, but I finally settled into my first Thai teak and rattan bungalow at the Pranee Bungalows (about 15 bucks a night and almost right on the beach). I just stayed at Pranees for 3 nights to relax and take in the beach scene before beginning the scuba training. Pranee's was at the quiet end of the beach, next to a posh resort, but only a 5 minute walk up the beach to all the restaurants and bars. The weather has been dodgy with scattered downpours and some cool, but still muggy days. That being said I have still managed to get sunburned even with the little bit of intense equatorial sun that has managed to hot my weak Alaskan/Montanan skin! I have made some really nice friends here from all over, Britain, Canada, Ireland, Sweden, etc. and on their recommendation decided to do my scuba course with the Big Blue Dive Resort.
I started the dive training 2 day ago with just classes the first day and shallow-water skills training yesterday. Today, we got to go to 12 meters and two different dive sites. Already I have seen some nice angelfish, triggerfish, sting rays, squid, barracudas, pufferfish, conchs, sea slugs, and lotsa coral.This afternoon I passed my final exam, and tomorrow I complete certification with 2 dives at 18 meters. I will then be a certified Open Water Diver. I am liking it so much that I may go straight on for the Advanced course after a rest day. It is about another 200 bucks (the regular course being 300), but Koh Tao is about the cheapest place to do it in the world and supposedly they certify more people than anywhere else as well. The one downside to doing it in Koh Tao is that the pressure of so many people diving here and the development to accomodate them all is evident. The water quality that I have seen thus far has been pretty bad with extremely low visibilty. There is coral bleaching evident all over, caused by pollution run-off, and just lotsa broken coral everywhere from novice divers kicking it. The resorts cosume a lot of seafood and fishing stocks have taken quite a hit in recent years. Paradise lost I suppose. However, the diversity of marine life is still amazing, and tomorrow I will most likely get to swim with some bull sharks. Plus, one juvenile whale shark has been lurking about one dive site. Fingers crossed...
Not quite sure where I will head next, but if I do the Advanced course, I should be here in Sai Ree Beach for at least 3 more days.
As promised, here is a list of the better foods I have eaten so far. It pretty much looks like a menu from a restaurant at any Thai restaurant in the US. I haven't gotten too adventurous yet, because I am trying to hit all the basics first.
Pad Thai - my first meal at a street vendor in Bangkok. Sadly, not very good. Not even peanut sauce. This national dish varies widely from place to place. But then I had amazing pad thai (or pat thai) here in Koh Tao with tofu all the fixins.
Tom yum khung - spicy prawn soup, eaten from a vendor underneath a banyan tree on temple grounds
Spicy fried catfish with mango salad - at the Chatuchak weekend market
Green Coconut curry with chicken -Outstanding!
Chicken balls on stick - from a street vendor on the Khao San road, drunk food, not so good
Spicy papaya salad -Yum.
Banana bread - bought from a vendor on the train platform, awesome!
here in Koh Tao - Panang (dry) Curry with pork and friend rice, Pad Kraopao (fried basil wih mild chillies and veggies), Massaman Curry (sweet curry with peanuts and potatoes).
My breakfast is invariably either banana pancakes or muesli with yogurt and fresh fruit.
The fruit here is great, and often blended into cheap shakes: coconut, mango, papaya, banana, watermelon, and more.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Bangkok randomness
So after many hours in planes and many bad meals and 2 decent movies (Funny People and Public Enemies) later, I made it to Bangkok. This place is so much, it's had to process really. I got in at 2 am on the morning of the 2nd so I haven't even been here two days yet, but it feels like a lot longer. For starters it is hot and humid. I knew it was gonna be like this, but was not truly prepared for it. The key seems to be lots of cold showers and moving slowly.
I think I'll just share some miscellaneous impressions of the place so far, I'm not up to writing a true narrative quite yet.
the first billboard I see after leaving the airport is for Amway.
a massage parlor in the Patpong area (redlight district) advertising "special testicle massage" for 800 baht, about 25 bucks.
an elderly monk in neon orange robes casually smoking a cigarette as he waits for the bus.
a dead bloated dog floating in the middle of chrao praya river, our ferry boat barely missing it as we cruise by.
teenagers in parks all over the city practicing muay thai (kickboxing), capoiera (brazilian dance fighting), and break dancing.
a flock of naked little boys swimming in the filthy canal, they all strike various muscleman poses as our boat full of tittering tourists roars past.
as I write this I am in an internet cafe surrounded by thai children playing World of Warcraft. adding their own sound effects.
a solitary policeman mans a car checkpoint as my taxi from the airport leaves the tollway and hits the mad labyrinth of surface streets, he glares sternly at me as we drive by but does not stop us.
the Chatuchak Weekend Market, literally 15000 stalls of vendors, all the selling the same junk. this is the like the elephant graveyard of tshirt and jeans from the US, but here they find new life.
kimodo dragons cruising the grounds and ponds of Lumphini park, gorging on pigeons and giving me sideways glances.
roosters begin crowing at about midnight, the dogs and myna birds soon follow and never let up til after dawn.
the atonal gonging of dozens of huge buddhist bells leading up the steps of the Golden Mount shrine.
at 3 am 4 littles girls chase each other in the street, playing some game that involves balloons tied to their ankles.
and, that's just the beginning...
a interesting passage I just read in the Economist. It's about acutally living in a foreign country but it applies to traveling as well, I think:
"foreigness is intrinsically stimulating...an escape from the boredom and banality of the everyday. the mundane becomes superreal and expereinced with an intensity evocative of the events of a true biography... living in a foreign country can evoke many of the emotions of childhood: novelty, surprise, anxiety, relief, powerlessness, frustration, irresponsibility. It may be this sense of a return to childhood , consciously or not, that gives the pleasure of foreigness its edge of embarrassment."
hmmm, something to chew on.
What to expect in coming posts: A log of my amazing meals here, complete with ratings, just to make you all jealous. Maybe I'll figure out how to embed a photo or two. And much much more!
I think I'll just share some miscellaneous impressions of the place so far, I'm not up to writing a true narrative quite yet.
the first billboard I see after leaving the airport is for Amway.
a massage parlor in the Patpong area (redlight district) advertising "special testicle massage" for 800 baht, about 25 bucks.
an elderly monk in neon orange robes casually smoking a cigarette as he waits for the bus.
a dead bloated dog floating in the middle of chrao praya river, our ferry boat barely missing it as we cruise by.
teenagers in parks all over the city practicing muay thai (kickboxing), capoiera (brazilian dance fighting), and break dancing.
a flock of naked little boys swimming in the filthy canal, they all strike various muscleman poses as our boat full of tittering tourists roars past.
as I write this I am in an internet cafe surrounded by thai children playing World of Warcraft. adding their own sound effects.
a solitary policeman mans a car checkpoint as my taxi from the airport leaves the tollway and hits the mad labyrinth of surface streets, he glares sternly at me as we drive by but does not stop us.
the Chatuchak Weekend Market, literally 15000 stalls of vendors, all the selling the same junk. this is the like the elephant graveyard of tshirt and jeans from the US, but here they find new life.
kimodo dragons cruising the grounds and ponds of Lumphini park, gorging on pigeons and giving me sideways glances.
roosters begin crowing at about midnight, the dogs and myna birds soon follow and never let up til after dawn.
the atonal gonging of dozens of huge buddhist bells leading up the steps of the Golden Mount shrine.
at 3 am 4 littles girls chase each other in the street, playing some game that involves balloons tied to their ankles.
and, that's just the beginning...
a interesting passage I just read in the Economist. It's about acutally living in a foreign country but it applies to traveling as well, I think:
"foreigness is intrinsically stimulating...an escape from the boredom and banality of the everyday. the mundane becomes superreal and expereinced with an intensity evocative of the events of a true biography... living in a foreign country can evoke many of the emotions of childhood: novelty, surprise, anxiety, relief, powerlessness, frustration, irresponsibility. It may be this sense of a return to childhood , consciously or not, that gives the pleasure of foreigness its edge of embarrassment."
hmmm, something to chew on.
What to expect in coming posts: A log of my amazing meals here, complete with ratings, just to make you all jealous. Maybe I'll figure out how to embed a photo or two. And much much more!
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