It's finally here. Four months it took me to get this blog together. Not entirely true. Four months to figure out what I wanted to write about and then one hour to write the blog and then another week to stop being lazy and attach the pictures so I can FINALLY post it.
We were, yet again, very blessed to have the opportunity to travel in Thailand. We had been saying for two years that we wanted to go. Luckily we stayed an extra year in Australia and were able to do this.
The trip was amazing! We visited Bangkok and Tubkaek Beach. Perfect timing for Bangkok as Thailand had violent protests about the government in Bangkok only a few weeks after we left. It is normally a very peaceful country.
We were busy doing a lot while we were there: seeing the Royal Palace, visiting temples, seeing different statues of the Buddha, taking many different modes of transportation (tuk tuk, ferry, bus, train, subway, taxi, van, motorbike, long boat, kayak and airplane - we tried to take as many as we could), kayaking the Andaman Sea, going to a snake show, visiting markets, touring the city and canals.
Bangkok is way more westernized than I had pictured. The downtown is anyway. Skyscrapers, malls (with security metal detectors upon entry), millions of cars and pollution. We stayed on the perimeter of the downtown area where it looks a bit more like I pictured Thailand to be. Lots and lots of people walking in this area. Sidewalks where every other square of concrete is uprooted and you constantly feel like you're walking up and down hill. Hundreds of street food vendors. Steve was up early most mornings and said it was amazing at how early the vendors set up. Some earlier than 5am. And they would still be there when we ended our day at 5 or 6pm. And they would literally have a tin lunch truck but with no roof or they would set up a card table with a stove and wok and cook ALL day long! These people definitely earned their money, which was next to nothing. There were also men who made their living by repairing shoes on the side of the road. No store. No lunch truck. Just a man sitting on one crate working over another crate which served as his workbench.
We went to a few different markets and they were HUGE! They had everything here, literally. Food, clothes, handbags, candles, lamps, trinkets, even puppies. They did! I'm not sure if those puppies were legal or even had the right shots, but if you wanted a puppy, you go to the market. And it was places like this, as well as the lunch truck, that you got really great tasting authentic Thai food. This is where the locals were every day, this is where they ate. So we got some really good food here.
Tubkaek Beach was more like the Leonardo DiCaprio movie The Beach. We stayed at a small resort on a gorgeous beach. Ofcourse we are not really "resort" people so we found other things to do at the resort or nearby towns to stay active. The water was gorgeous; although now come to think of it, we didn't even swim in the water. Not once. The resort was beautiful, luxury but very Thai. We had dinner at an amazing buffet there. Right on the beach with a three piece group singing and playing guitar. It was so peaceful and beautiful. There was so much food, steak, lobster, prawns, salads, pastas, anything you could think of. They had a bunch of different canapes and a variety of small servings for dessert.
The resort had seven pools all in a row, di
fferent shapes and sizes and at different levels along the walk down the stairs from our room to the beach. We only used the pools for 1/2 hour total during our whole trip and only one hour before our car picked us up for the airport. We did that just to say we used the pools. This was how we 'used' the pools: get in. Snap a picture of us in pool. Get out. Next pool. Get in. Snap picture. Get out. Next pool. for all 7 pools. That took us about 1/2 hour total. Sad. But like I said, we're not really resort people.
Highlights of our trip included:
1. Elephants. We rode on top of elephants through the jungle. Of course we had a tour guide, but it was so crazy! They are huge. So lovable and friendly. We were able to feed them pineapples and bananas. You just hold one out in your hand, and they will use their trunk to grab it from you. Of course I was afraid to get elephant slobber on me. During our ride through the jungle, the elephant trumpeted. SO LOUD! It was so great though, just like I'd always imagined as a child. The elephant raised its trunk and out came this enormous shrill. Finally, not in the jungle, but out on the road as we were riding back to our hotel, we passed a man riding an elephant on the side of the road. He didn't have a bike or a car as his transportation, he had an elephant! It was insane and almost surreal to see this. A two ton elephant, 10 feet tall with a tiny Thai man on top riding to their next destination. It was quite incredible to be able to experience elephants in these ways.
2. Renting motorbikes. I was so excited for this! I never rode a motorbike or motorcycle before. Not even on the back of one. We hired one each for Steve and me while we were in Tubkaek Beach. At 9.30am we arrived at the f
ront desk to retrieve our bikes for the day. It wasn't until the girl instructed me to sit on the bike that I started to get nervous. She said, 'You've riden a bike before, right?' I told her no and she was quite nervous to give me the key to the bike, which only made me more nervous to take the key and then ride the bike. Wasn't it like a bicycle? Like that old saying 'it's like riding a bike?' No. A motorbike is nothing like riding a bicycle except that they both have only two wheels. Needless to say I chickened out and happily got on the back of Steve's bike. In retrospect, it was the best idea as the traffic was crazy and I didn't know where we were going. So to have us on separate bikes, it would have been very difficult to stay together or communicate if one of us needed to take a break and the one in front kept on driving. Being on Steve's bike, I was able to be his side and rearview mirrors. On the main roads, there was quite a bit of traffic. It was similar to Route 73 in Jersey. Very busy, quite speedy, merging, turning, and few opportunities to do any of these because there were so many cars. To get to the main road, we probably had to drive about 20 minutes. We left our hotel and it was exhilerating. Riding without doors, with the wind in our faces. Luckily there weren't any bugs. And motorbikes are mostly the way to travel on back roads. In fact, we regularly saw a family of 4 on one motorbike. No joke. The father driving with a small child in front of him, then a small child behind him and finally the mother at the very back. I have to remind myself that these are tiny Thai people who do not have the hips and butt I do which take up the entire back seat. There is no way we could have fit two small children on our bike. Plus, none of them were wearing helmets! Just insane. But I guess it's just normal and a way of life for them. Anyway, so 20 minutes to the main road, we left our hotel and after driving for 10 minutes, we decide to stop at 7-11. That's right. 7-11. They are international and even in small towns. Because it was on the other side of the road, Steve would need to do a U-turn. He came to a full stop, then asked me to get off the bike because he wasn't sure what the weight would be like doing this turn. No problem. I hopped off and looked both ways to cross the street while he began his U-turn. It was more of a half U-turn as he lost his balance and ended up off the bike and the bike was on its side. I slowly walked over to him. He was moving and he wasn't going too fast so I knew it wouldn't be too bad. It seemed like he had just fallen off a bicycle. Again, motorbikes and bicycles have nothing in common except for two wheels. It turns out that he hurt himself pretty badly. A cut down his right shin that went for about 5 inches, scrapes on one knee and the other shin and a couple bruises here and there. Since we were at 7-11, we bought some soap, water and cotton balls to wash out the dirt and rocks to a
ssess how bad it was. A local man came over to try to help, he actually tried to help wipe off the blood. After washing, Steve decided to go to the clinic. The local man drove us into town and we spent the next two hours waiting for and getting serviced by the doctor. Steve had to remain on bed rest for the remainder of the day. We decided to hire the bikes for the following day too since we only got to ride it for a total of 20 minutes. And it was great. We rode around our area of the penninsula, stopped at a temple, a small town for lunch, waterfalls, a beach, and a cobra show. We were definitely happy to have rented these although Steve had a minor accident.
3. We visited a cave and a waterfall in the same day. Although they were both beautiful sights, what I remember most was being a celebrity. There must have been a school field trip because at each place were a couple of buses and tons of kids. Steve and I were walking around the cave looking at things when a little girl asked me my name. I told her. She then said, 'You are beautiful.' So sweet! And quite flattering. Then Steve came over, they asked his name and then said, 'You are handsome.' So, that was sweet too. But it was then less flattering for me. Not that I was jealous and of course Steve is handsome. But, I realized then that they were probably practicing their English. They must have learned in school that girls are beautiful and boys are handsome and it's a nice thing to say to boys/girls. Oh well, they seemed excited to meet and talk with us. Onto the waterfalls. A small walk and passing some school kids and there were these great waterfalls. All the kids were in the waterfall. There was a small natural pool at the bottom shallow enough to be safe where anyone could go in. Because there were about 100 kids there, we decided just to observe. While watching the excitement, a little girl came up to me asking me if I could take her picture. I said yes and went to take her camera. She then skipped away from me, to her teacher, handed her teacher the camera and then ran back to me to sit next to me. She wanted her picture with me! How cute was that? She said t
hank you when it was done and then another girl came to sit next to me. After she was done, another girl. About 10 girls did this and then we got a group shot. It was quite funny and I do not know why they wanted their picture with me. Was it because I had red hair? Had they never seen red hair before? Was it because I was so pale white and they weren't used to that? Perhaps it was because I was so tall and most Thai people are short. Or perhaps it's like the first girl said at the cave, I was beautiful and they just wanted their picture with me. Ha! Anyway, it was a lot of fun for those 10 minutes and I felt like a celebrity.
4. Anytime we ordered a beer, they would give one 40oz bottle with 2 glasses. Apparently Thai people are superstitious - ordering 2 of anything is bad luck. So people won't buy 2 oranges, they will buy 1 or 3. So I can't really explain the 2 glasses that accompanied the 1 un-superstitious bottle of beer. These 2 glasses seem like bad luck to me. After the first time, we then knew to order one bottle and two glasses.
5. Monkeys. At one of the caves, wild monkeys lived there, like 50 of them. They were so tiny. They swung from trees. They fought with each other. They groom each other. The babies feed from the moms or ride on their moms backs as they run around. It was so cool to see these monkeys in their natural habitat. When we arrived, the monkeys were at the top of a cliff. They then used the vines to swing down to the ground level where people were eating. They were so quick and graceful. The best part was that these monkeys took food right from peoples hands. Steve and I both got to feed them.
6. Toilets. Man, how do I describe these? Being on the other side of the world, you may wonder if the water goes down the other way. I have no idea. The big surprise was that it was basically the top of the toilet, like the seat that the boys put up and down, cemented to a hole in the ground. Before we went, sometime in my life, I vaguely remember hearing toilets like these existed. I forgot until we got there. The hotels had regular westernized toilets, but almost all of the public toilets were this hole in the ground. It was quite challenging. I'm not quite sure how boys do it, it seems like there is a far distance between themselves and where the pee ends up; perhaps they have urinals. But for the girls, you put your feet on the toilet seat, and squat. It is quite uncomfortable. To me, squatting is reserved for camping and the woods, not to public toilets. And it's wet. I like to pretend that it's just the water from the toilet splashing up from the flushing, but who knows what it really is. I have tunnel vision with that. So it's a bit slippery. It was an experience to say the least. And I am very grateful that westernized toilets are well above ground and have a seat.
Thailand was an amazing place to go, so gorgeous and welcoming. This country has so much to offer in such a small space and we didn't even see that much of it. I am so glad we got to go there! Looking forward to the next trip...until then...
Cheers,
Kate
21 Weeks
fferent shapes and sizes and at different levels along the walk down the stairs from our room to the beach. We only used the pools for 1/2 hour total during our whole trip and only one hour before our car picked us up for the airport. We did that just to say we used the pools. This was how we 'used' the pools: get in. Snap a picture of us in pool. Get out. Next pool. Get in. Snap picture. Get out. Next pool. for all 7 pools. That took us about 1/2 hour total. Sad. But like I said, we're not really resort people.
ront desk to retrieve our bikes for the day. It wasn't until the girl instructed me to sit on the bike that I started to get nervous. She said, 'You've riden a bike before, right?' I told her no and she was quite nervous to give me the key to the bike, which only made me more nervous to take the key and then ride the bike. Wasn't it like a bicycle? Like that old saying 'it's like riding a bike?' No. A motorbike is nothing like riding a bicycle except that they both have only two wheels. Needless to say I chickened out and happily got on the back of Steve's bike. In retrospect, it was the best idea as the traffic was crazy and I didn't know where we were going. So to have us on separate bikes, it would have been very difficult to stay together or communicate if one of us needed to take a break and the one in front kept on driving. Being on Steve's bike, I was able to be his side and rearview mirrors. On the main roads, there was quite a bit of traffic. It was similar to Route 73 in Jersey. Very busy, quite speedy, merging, turning, and few opportunities to do any of these because there were so many cars. To get to the main road, we probably had to drive about 20 minutes. We left our hotel and it was exhilerating. Riding without doors, with the wind in our faces. Luckily there weren't any bugs. And motorbikes are mostly the way to travel on back roads. In fact, we regularly saw a family of 4 on one motorbike. No joke. The father driving with a small child in front of him, then a small child behind him and finally the mother at the very back. I have to remind myself that these are tiny Thai people who do not have the hips and butt I do which take up the entire back seat. There is no way we could have fit two small children on our bike. Plus, none of them were wearing helmets! Just insane. But I guess it's just normal and a way of life for them. Anyway, so 20 minutes to the main road, we left our hotel and after driving for 10 minutes, we decide to stop at 7-11. That's right. 7-11. They are international and even in small towns. Because it was on the other side of the road, Steve would need to do a U-turn. He came to a full stop, then asked me to get off the bike because he wasn't sure what the weight would be like doing this turn. No problem. I hopped off and looked both ways to cross the street while he began his U-turn. It was more of a half U-turn as he lost his balance and ended up off the bike and the bike was on its side. I slowly walked over to him. He was moving and he wasn't going too fast so I knew it wouldn't be too bad. It seemed like he had just fallen off a bicycle. Again, motorbikes and bicycles have nothing in common except for two wheels. It turns out that he hurt himself pretty badly. A cut down his right shin that went for about 5 inches, scrapes on one knee and the other shin and a couple bruises here and there. Since we were at 7-11, we bought some soap, water and cotton balls to wash out the dirt and rocks to a
ssess how bad it was. A local man came over to try to help, he actually tried to help wipe off the blood. After washing, Steve decided to go to the clinic. The local man drove us into town and we spent the next two hours waiting for and getting serviced by the doctor. Steve had to remain on bed rest for the remainder of the day. We decided to hire the bikes for the following day too since we only got to ride it for a total of 20 minutes. And it was great. We rode around our area of the penninsula, stopped at a temple, a small town for lunch, waterfalls, a beach, and a cobra show. We were definitely happy to have rented these although Steve had a minor accident.
hank you when it was done and then another girl came to sit next to me. After she was done, another girl. About 10 girls did this and then we got a group shot. It was quite funny and I do not know why they wanted their picture with me. Was it because I had red hair? Had they never seen red hair before? Was it because I was so pale white and they weren't used to that? Perhaps it was because I was so tall and most Thai people are short. Or perhaps it's like the first girl said at the cave, I was beautiful and they just wanted their picture with me. Ha! Anyway, it was a lot of fun for those 10 minutes and I felt like a celebrity.
