Dan and I caught a really late flight to Bangkok (we arrived sometime around 2AM) and decided to stay in the airport - like true transients - and catch the 5AM bus three hours or so to Ko Samet in Southern Thailand. The instant we stepped out of the airport, we realized how disoriented and in many ways, helpless, we were. We took a sketchy-ish cab to the Eastern bus station, which was a dingy station full of tired people, both local Thai and dirt-covered backpackers. Our bus was being packed full of vegetables from Bangkok, and we all piled in for the trip to Ko Samet. In the early morning, looking out at the Thai countryside, the sky was a brillant white - the kind of white that is quietly frightening - and I remember seeing the blood orange sun and shaking Dan, saying "look at this, just look."
We then took the hour ferry to the island from Ban Phe and, by then, the sky cleared and everything was exactly what paradise looks like: blue water, white sand, etc. We stayed at a small bungalow, which was full of half-stray dogs, like all of Ko Samet. Everywhere you went, there were dogs sleeping, following you, watching you, running around, trying to survive on garbage. There were these three black puppies on the road toward our bungalow that would follow you when you passed. There were all these dogs covered in fleas and trying to find shade from the sun. And all the yawning puppies sleeping under our chairs during dinner. It was so sad and touching.
We spent the next day and a half on the island, enjoying the slow speed of beach life. The main beach was full of tourists (young and elderly burnt to a crisp) and Thais trying to sell you coconuts/massages/temporary tattoos, etc., so we walked around for a while and explored the rest of the island. We found a really nice secluded beach and spent the day there.
After spending one last afternoon in Ko Samet, we caught a bus from Ban Phe back to Bangkok to check into our hostel. Apparently, we didn't know that our hostel was located in Th Sukhumvit, which is basically Bangkok's red light district. Everywhere, there were these disgusting old fat white men with pretty young Thai women. It was really depressing. And since everyone thought I was Thai, people probably thought poor Dan was some sketchy white guy. To say the least, we did not spend much time in Sukhumvit. However, like the rest of Bangkok and Thailand, Sukhumvit had delicious street food. I can not stress how much I love Thai street food! Not only is it freshly made right before your eyes, not only is it the most delicious thing EVER, it is ridiculously inexpensive. The best dinner Dan and I ever had in Thailand cost 50 baht for two (in Chinatown). That's under US $1 for two people! The dishes that we enjoyed included Thai noodle soup with fresh cilantro, vegetables, coconut juice, and pork balls; fried rice with seafood; garlic fried chicken; chicken and beef kebabs with pineapple and hot sauce; freshly made fruit smoothies or freshly squeezed tangerine juice; loti pancakes filled with banana and drizzled with chocolate, ginger fried sea bass; and so much more. It's a good thing that I love spicy food because in Thailand, if it's not spicy, it's not good! For street stalls, if there are seats, you sit down with local Thai and chow down in the sweaty heat. It's really fun to watch the vendors make the food (an art in itself). In Bangkok's Chinatown, the noodle lady kept flinging noodles into the air as she cooked. We were definitely within noodle-throwing distance. It was great. We snacked so much. I would go back to Thailand just for the food.
Since Dan was playing at an ultimate frisbee tournament for two days (which he won, by the way!), I explored Bangkok. For the first day, I went to the typical tourist sites: Wat Pho (with the giant reclining Buddha), the Grand Palace, and Wat Arun. I took the ferry, which was nice as it really gives you a sense of the river. The wats or temples were very impressive and full of beauty. It was nice to see such ancient history right in the middle of crazy Bangkok.
Somehow, when I tried to get a tuk-tuk to take me to another Wat, he took me where I didn't want to go for two hours. This was after he discovered that I couldn't speak Thai and wasn't Thai. It was pretty terrible to say the least. The upside of it all was that I got to see the city in a really interesting way: zipping through pollution and traffic, catching glimpses of daily Thai life (selling Buddhas wrapped in plastic and protection amulets, kids kicking around soda cans, women washing vegetables). I've decided that travelling as a woman can be pretty difficult in Bangkok. But it all turned out completely fine. I really appreciate how incredibly safe Hong Kong is now.
I also went to the big weekend market up by Mo Chit, which would take me days to walk through it all. It's this winding market full of anything you might want, and is the spot to be for both local Thai and tourists. It was funny to be shopping around since everyone, again, thought I was Thai. I tried to explain that I wasn't Thai; it was strange to explain that I was "Chinese", not Thai. Because, for sure, if I said "American", they wouldn't believe me. One man wasn't convinced at all and I had to lie and say I was half Thai. When I was at the market, there was a sudden downpour and everyone kept shopping, soaked through their clothes and moving through the alleyways flooded with dirty water. There's nothing like splashing through a sweaty, crowded, and gigantic market. When I met up with Dan, we tried to find a place to stay near the train station in Chinatown, as we were planning to leave early the next morning. Wandering around, we ran into a full-on Peking opera show in the street! We walked near the sounds of drums and saw the actors backstage, in make-up and constume, and sat down to enjoy the show with the rest of the audience (mostly elderly Thai-Chinese).
For our last day and a half in Thailand, we took the train up toward Northern Thailand to the ancient ruins of former capital, Ayutthaya. It was about an hour and half ride; we took third-class and further discovered how Thailand is very much a third-world country. Looking out on the countryside, poverty was everywhere. Green fields, shacks with hanging laundry, garbage strewn everywhere, the stray dogs. This was a definite culture shock. In Ayutthaya, we explored the many ruins of the city. We ended up at this one unnamed and quiet wat with the most beautiful smiling Buddha I have ever seen. It was in this crumbling room with no roof, covered with flowers and bright robes. A very old woman came up to us and showed us how to pray and give our respects. In this empty room, kneeling in front of this beautiful Buddha and pressing a gold piece of paper against its arm, I was overcome with a mixture of peace and confusion, as I wasn't sure what it meant. But it meant something.
1 comment:
Your pictures and descriptions are beautiful.
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