Last CallIt's far from closing time here in Bangkok. Most of the youngsters are probably getting ready to go out for the evening. The women are putting on their make up, the Thai
ladyboys are putting on their makeup. I'm not putting on any makeup. Instead, I'm here writing to you.
Like waking up from a dream, I again find myself scratching my head in bewilderment. We are in Bangkok at a fine little guesthouse called the "Wendy House". Modern conveniences are abound: Hot water, air conditioning, cable television, laundry service. Across the street we climb a flight of stairs to the skytrain platform reminiscent of platform nine and three quarters. The train would take us throughout the new parts of the city such as the National Stadium for the national soccer team or the Thai financial district for the international businessmen. We never even get on the train as we are distracted by two shopping malls each climbing over ten stories high.
Long live the King
As I may have mentioned before
, the Thais love their king. And for good reason. Claiming the throne in 1946, the billionaire used most of his money for rural projects such as clean water and subsistent farming. He's helped steer the nation through several coup d'etat s in the last twenty years and has fostered a democratic civil government. The King resembles a God-like status, as anthems in his name are sang at sporting events, between movie previews, and at street fairs. When the King goes on everyone stops like pressing pause in our matrix. People stand, look up at the sky and sing. Lisa and I look around and play the part each time this happens. It's hard not to get goosebumps even as foreigners.
A note on hippiesI think many of us have gone through a hippie phase once in our lives. Some color their hair purple, others go and follow the grateful dead, others still turn to outer body experiences. But eventually, most of us leave the hippie world and either get jobs or cut our hair or donate our tie-dye t-shirts to goodwill.
In Thailand, there are many who still cling on to their tie dyes in desperation. One of these places is called Pai. In the northern district of Mae Hong Son, Pai is a rest stop for many travellers heading on to the town of Mae Hong Son, where the long-necked villagers are said to reside. Lisa and I pass on going to this village and instead focus our attention to resting in the town for a brief stay. We try a lemon grass shake, claiming to hold an array of vitamins and cleansing agents, which reminds me more of the ectoplasm from
Ghostbusters. The dilated, blue-eyed Russian ex-pat owner talks to us for a while. He says it's great in Pai. More mellow, more relaxed than the big cities. I have to agree it's a nice play to stay for a few days, but I'd venture to guess that he's still holding on to his tie dye t-shirt.
Ken and Barbie"No, I don't understand Thai", Lisa says for the 734th time this month. They respond by saying, "You, you same same like me. like Thai." Lisa nods her head and smiles, and then tries to explain to the waitress once again what she would like to order for the evening. Having an Asian heritage confuses the locals in these parts of the world. It's like having a Barbie doll that talks like Ken: they just don't get it. And when I try to speak Thai, it's like Ken talking like Barbie very poorly. In any case, initial frustration leads to admiration as Lisa realizes (and I emphatically agree) that the Thai women are some of the most beautiful in the world. So being called a Thai becomes a high honor.
The three week blur
Over the last few weeks, I would have expected myself to take copious notes, and have expected Lisa to have ninety-six more pictures. But I would be lying if I said this. When month two sets in during trip number two, the local villagers look the same, the British are talking about which bars to watch the soccer match, the Australians are talking about which bars to watch the Rugby matches, and the rest are fiddling with their backpacks twice the size of them.
So instead of trying to narrate through the three weeks chronologically, I'll try to point out some moments of clarity.
*We spend roughly a week in Chiang Mai and really enjoy the city. While it's touristy, you get a sense that the locals live among you, that they haven't tried to separate you into a tourist ghetto. One of the highlights is that we take a great cooking class from a teacher named
Boom. Contrary to popular belief, Boom is a petite, Thai, soft-spoken teacher. She teaches us how to make the big three dishes of Thai Green Curry, Pad Thai, and Tom Yum Soup. I realize that my spice-o-meter ranks low according to Thai standards as I tell myself next time not to eat the entire short,red pepper.
*We stay at a beach paradise called Railay Beach in the Krabi province. Flanked by two limestone cliffs roughly sixty feet high, we spend the highlight of the day at the pool and in the water. That night, we look at the orange and purple sunset from the restaurant, watch the locals play volleyball and realize why this paradise is 25% more costly than the rest of the beaches nearby.
*Back north, we try our luck at an Ayuraveda (reminder to self to check spelling) retreat for a couple of days to mentally check out. While the hot yogurt on the head treatment is a bonus, two days later I'm looking at the receipt as I wonder how we spent our money. The Indian doctors are quite nice and knowledgeable, but the rest of the time I feel like we are extras in the
Citizen Kane movie: the retreat is a huge, two-story white edifice, with ninety hotel rooms and only one set of guests, including ourselves.
*Back in the south, we spend a day travelling to the islands of Ko Phi Phi. We see Maya Bay, home to the story named "The Beach", which was made into a famous movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio. It's a movie where strange things happen on an island paradise where a community is found to be shut off from civilization. While we see beautiful jungles and caves, the five hundred tourists we also see leads me to believe that civilization finally made it.
We travel to the islands by speedboat at speeds that induce bumpy rides. The red wood trim at the bottom of our white boat feels like it should be caving within moments. Our tour guide for the day is smiling through all of this, as his 5' 2" frame walks about the boat, and is often seen with a wide grin and his two thumbs up. He points out a Viking Cave nearby, which is home to birds, and is home to their saliva which is taken from them and sent to Korea and China where they make bird's nest soup.
The islands today are quite calm and peaceful. No rough waves, no tsunamis. To be quite honest, the islands have been completely rebuilt since the 2004 tsunami. When asked where he was during the tsunami, our guide smiles, holds his thumbs us and tells us he was lucky man since he was sleeping and slept through the whole thing.
*We continue our beach life at another beach called Ko Lanta. South of Ko Phi Phi, Ko Lanta reminds me of the last undisturbed beach of Thailand. While it took us forever and a day to reach Ko Lanta by minivan, we stay at a place called white flower. White flower is owned by a swede who likes to give out nightly Sambuka and a Thai who DeeJays at a local radio station that plays American songs. I go on a curry kick. I try their Green curry, yellow curry (pineapple and chicken), and Muslim curry (red curry with peanuts and potatoes and chicken). Two days later, I've eaten enough curry and we've had enough beach and go back to Krabi town where we eat possibly the worst Italian meal of our lives.
How is Lisa doing?Oh, she's doing fine. I humbly apologize for not talking more about Lisa on the blog. Instead, I shorten things by saying "we" quite often. And I'm sure she has her own stories and her own takes on the trip. So i'll try to copy some of the emails she's sent to many of you guys and add them on to the blog in due time. If you like the pictures you see on the flickr site and on the blog, thank Lisa. She's the photographer on the trip. Just tell her to stop taking so many pictures of the flooded forest.
Normal LifeUnlike last year, I can honestly say that I'm quite excited to be returning home this time. We both feel that we're ready for some normal life. We want to go to happy hour, maybe enjoy some American movies and maybe even enjoy finding employment - if nothing else at least for the medical insurance benefits. I've quite enjoyed writing these and I hope that you have enjoyed reading these from time to time. I think I'm done travelling for quite some time. As for what comes next, maybe I'll start another blog someday called "normallifesherman.blogspot.com". On second thought, maybe I'll get a job.
Thanks for reading, and always remember to keep travelling...wherever you are.
Travelling Sherman
PS. I'll get the Thailand photos up on Flickr in the next week or so. Check back!
