You are currently browsing thearchives for 23 November 2006.
just lost internet connection and a long post about getting to Sukhothai. Oh well. You will just have to wait until I get to Chang Mai. Think we may go to Laos and take a slow boat down the Mekong. Stay Tuned.
I decided to stay an extra day in Ayutthaya and see a few more sights. Met a nice dutch fellow named Stijn (sounds like stein) who was also travelling alone, so we decided to travel a bit together. We are heading to Phitsanulok tomorrow and then will catch the bus to Sukhotai, which should have some really cool ruins as it was the imperial capital in the 12th (or 13th) century. Speaking of centuries, one must always subtract 543 years from the Thai year to figure out the Gregorian year, which has made figuring out the age of some monuments a bit challenging (b/c as you know, math is hard).
We saw a few more Wats today as well as ate some real street food for the first time. I’m not exactly throwing caution to the wind, but there was a lot of totally unrecognizable stuff in what I consumed…let’s just hope my stomach holds out. That said, for a total of 60 cents, what can one expect?
In addition, I have been noticing more and more just how many mangy stray dogs there are around in this country…we must have seen 40 of them today, a small pack of them was guarding the entrance to one of the Wats we visited today. Yuck.
We also found a pool thanks to a local tip!
See below for pics. LAA KAWN!
Seriously, trying to figure out which is which can be confusing. I was told by a guide the other day that stupas are meant to contain a relic of the Buddha, like a tooth or a bowl he used or something. This strikes me as very much in the vein of catholic churches and their obsession with relics. In fact, I have been surprised by how…iconographic the whole of Thai Buddhism seems to me. I guess from my readings I was hoping to find something more abstract, but people around the world love an idol i guess. I find all the imagery really distracting and oftentimes bordering on kitch. Seeing them as cultural, or art objects I can find a great appreciation. Seeing them as divine turns me off.
Anyway, I arrived in Ayutthaya this morning from Bangkok, and I have to say, it was a breeze compared to my last few days. I just went to the train station, looked at the times and bought my ticket. Just like that.
Ayutthaya is an AMAZING place (albeit hotter than hell. Is this REALLY the cool season? wtf?). The ruins are incredible. And I definitely recommend renting a bike as I did, as the whole town is easily accessible in this manner. So, without further ado, I present the pics:
Had a very interesting morning. Went to the Snake Farm to learn about how they raise snakes to make anti-venom serum using antibodies produced by horses. It was fascinating. Click on pics above to see the tour and show.
Also, Sunday seems much calmer in Bangkok, the streets aren’t nearly as crazy. Tomorrow I will go to Ayyataya and this afternoon I think I will get a massage and generally take it easy.
On other interesting topics, Bangkok has no real street crossing signs or stopping. You just play a game of chicken to get across every street, no matter how large. Also, the woman next to me at the internet cafe seems to be having a video chat with her Caucasion husband to be in a far away land via some mail-order process. hm.
I am feeling much calmer now. Thought I was on the verge of a panic attack from all the hassle today. The sweat. The inability to find the vipassana meditation lecture. The desire of everyone and I mean everyone to take me to their special sponsor. The inability to get a cab to use the meter or take me cross town. The fact that streets often simply don’t have names and pointing them out on the map to cab or tuk tuk drivers is met with blank stares. The choking fumes. The sweat again. And did I mention the sweat?
Now, with the help of a magic pill, I feel unburdened. I was thinking of switching careers after all this is over and pharmacology is looking good right now.
I have also managed to upload a ton more pics, which I will be linking to shortly. This is a very odd culture indeed, but an interesting one.
Is it too early in my trip to start feeling resentment towards local people? Every person I encounter wants to make the fool that I am part with his money. And some of them get it. Here are some more tips:
-Never pay for a room before you have seen it. The pictures on the internet are deceiving.
-Never pay for anything specifically targeted to gay people (like my hotel or a resort) in the 3rd world. It will invariably be a rip off.
- Starbucks is your friend.
- As yucky as the backpacker’s mecca of Khao San road is, it has the best deals on internet access in Bangkok.
I honestly can’t wait to get out of Bangkok. Hopefully I won’t feel so taken advantage of outside of the capitol. I am planning on going to Ayutthaya on Monday, then heading north to Sukhotai and Chiang Mai. Hopefully the pace will be less frantic there.
On the plus side, I did meet a nice greek guy out in the bar last night who gave me some tips on places he had been. He wasn’t a fan of Bangkok, but quite liked other parts of the country.
Just chatted with Jose and my picasa account is now upgraded and I should be able to upload now…and wouldn’t you know it, I forgot my usb cable! Oh well, till next time.
1. DONT look at ANYBODY. Instead, fix your gaze on some faraway place about 300 miles ahead and 10 miles above you. Otherwise you are a goner, having clearly shown that you want to buy a lapdance, t-shirt, tour or someone’s daughter.
2. Do I really look straight to these people? Why am I offered all matter of woman in all manner of positions doing all manner of thing for 400 baht (negotiable)?
3. There is NO breeze and it is VERY humid. (and this is cool season!) Give in, become one with and at peace with the pool of sweat that surrounds you.
4. Nothing is the price it says it is.
5. Everything is for sale.
6. Except peace and quiet.
7. I gave into the heat today and had an iced latte at the mall. Can the runs be far behind?
8. Shopping is clearly the national pastime.
9. Foot massage is the second national pastime.
10. Who is blocking certain international websites? (or am I just being paranoid?)
Many pics to follow, I ran out of space on picasa and can only buy an upgrade from inside the US. (Jose will be taking care of this for me shortly. thanks Jose!) In the meantime, here are a few:
…who says he’ll give you a small tour for an hour for 30 baht. Believe me, you will end up visiting one of his patrons/friends/fellow scam artists, whatever. I was aware of these from the Rough Guide I have, but still got taken a little this morning. Fortunately for me, I wasn’t interested in purchasing an expensive package tour to Chiang-Mai from his friend at the TAT, nor was I about to shell out 1600 for a longtail boat ride up and down the Chao Praya. I walked down a few docks and got an amazing 75 min ride around the river for 800 baht (prob still a rip off, but well worth it to me. I had the boat to myself). Bangkok is chaos made solid. Add to that the fact that even though it is the cool season, it is still VERY humid and I sweat. A LOT. But I am adapting. Went to see the palace grounds today as well as several Wat and was blown away by the intricate detail. Then I walked across most of the city till I couldn’t take it anymore and had to bargain a tuk tuk at a high rate just so he would promise that we wouldn’t visit any of his “friends” and that he would take me directly back to my hotel. Some of my other firsts today included a fresh coconut (not bad), a guided tour of Wat Pho with it’s amazing reclining Buddha and an overly friendly massage near my hotel. The internet connection at the hotel is very slow, but I will try to sneak down later tonight and plug in my camera to upload some photos. Bangkok is truly an amazing other world.
…but I think that I could like it, once I get my footing. It has been a day of rather complete disorientation. I arrived with my internal clock all screwed up, so I decided to rest for one hour once I got to the hotel (a one hour, crazy taffic ordeal, I must have been asked by about a million people at the airport if I needed a ride, politely telling each of them that the hotel was sending someone for me. Of course he was waiting in a completely different exit from immigration, but fortunately I was able to track him down with the help of a local. It was after that we began the crazy traffic ordeal).
Of course, even though I set my alarm, my clock was so screwed up and I so tired that the next thing I knew, some loud noise from outside my window woke me up at around 2:30pm. I had slept about 6 hours. Oh well. Once I was up and showered, I headed out to explore the surrounding area by foot. Bangkok has a massive scale and massive activity of just about every kind on every corner. I counted at least 40 foot massage places and many others that would massage more than just feet by the look of them. In fact, As I consulted my guide book, it looks as if I may be onthe border of the red light district.
So far my impressions of Bangkok are that everyone seems very friendly and happy; That their street numbering system had to have been designed by a short sighted fatalist missing a chromosome or two, and that the food here is very good. I splurged on a very upmarket meal (at restaurant Celadan) at an upmarket hotel and was VERY pleased. This was the best masaman curry I have ever had in fact. The fact that the meal cost 30 bucks I rationalized by noting that I need to ease into the chaos here and therefore treating myself well for a few days is fine. Don’t you agree? I will try to post photos tomorrow or the next day if I can find a station that will allow me to upload.
I write from what has to be the shittiest internet teminal in the dusseldorf airport. I am very excited about my trip. This is finally it…yay…this shitty teminal doesnt even have a working exclamation point, so you will just have to take my word for it, LOL…next time i write, it will be from the other side ofte world
