Tranquil in Thailand

Bangkok

I arrived back to Bangkok on Sunday morning in the wee hours of the morning when the sun was barely beginning its ascent into the sky. Fearing I would have no way of getting home, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Bangkok rises early and its public transportation system along with it. I had the exact fare that I needed to get back to Paige’s house and not a cent more. No, I actually had a surplus of 3 Baht when I arrived at Paige’s place, which equals about 10 cents. Talk about awesome planning in the money department. I hope I don’t get that close again, but it certainly teaches you what is necessity and what is frivolity. It reminds me of my mom’s and my trip and how we also ran out of money at the end. I hope two times will be enough to teach me.

After a night of cramped sleeping space, I fell onto her comfortable couch for a little snooze before beginning the day. We went out to find some breakfast on the streets and settled on a little vendor close to her place. I had papaya salad, which is a sweet and tangy salad made from unripe papaya—delicious especially with their wonderful sticky rice, which came as an unexpected side dish. The whole meal, along with Paige’s nearly half a chicken, cost only a little more than 2 bucks! Street food is pretty cheap in Bangkok where there are no tourists because there is so much competition, which is great for me. I was getting tired of the bloated prices in the South. Paige had class, so I decided to wander off on my own, making my way to the beautiful Golden Grand Palace, which is famous for the Wat Phra Keow that houses a very small but very sacred emerald Buddha.

I have never seen so much gold in my life. I mean everything was covered in gold; it was amazing! The day was hot and I was thankful for the small respites under my umbrella when I could manage holding it and taking pictures and under the overhangs where one could view fantastic murals of some of Thailand’s history and legends. The whole complex was quite impressive and expensive to enter, but I figured it was worth the money since it was such an important religious and political site. The emerald Buddha was much smaller than I was expected, rising about two feet at most but made to look more impressive on its nine-foot pedestal on which it rested. The Buddha has three different costumes, one for winter, summer, and rainy. I am pretty sure I saw the “summer” costume.

Paige got out of her class early and since the Palace was close to her school, we were able to meet up and get some lunch and take a taxi boat ride back to the area in which her apartment is located. Later that day we met up with Tuy who is the younger sister of a Thai woman named Wallaya who was an exchange student in the household of my stepdad in the 60’s. She took us to a great restaurant and to a place called Kaosans or the backpacker’s ghetto—where most backpackers and budget travelers stay. Meeting Tuy was such a strange intersection of time and place. I had met Wallaya in WI about six years ago, but I never expected to have a relationship with Tuy. Everyone had a great time together and Paige and I were treated royally as most Thai people are known to do for special visitors and friends of friends. (In their culture, someone like me, a lonely traveler that is connected somehow with their lives, is treated like a daughter, including the worrying and the caretaking. Like I mentioned in Filipino culture, sometimes this relationship can be a little overwhelming, but in general, I am so happy to have met these dear people.)

Khao Yai National Park

The next day, Tuy picked Paige and me up from her apartment because it was raining and she didn’t want us to have to go out, which is so Thai. (They tend to dissuade friends or “daughters” as they considered us from doing anything that could engender a little discomfort.) Traffic was incredibly congested, as Thai people do not know how to drive in the rain, which is crazy considering it rains for more than three months each year—Paige just said that yeah, for three months out the year, the traffic is unbearable! We arrived at the park in the afternoon with enough time to check into our nice log cabin-style room and sign up for the “night safari,” which is nothing more than a deer shining show with an intermission of porcupine antics. What a strange little activity to pass 50 minutes of the evening. I have never seen that many deer, but when you are expecting to see tigers and elephants and wild dogs, deer can be a little disappointing. Oh, well! Tuy made sure that we had plenty of food, water, and Thai remedies for stomach sickness and bug bites even when we told her that we had enough water and did not need any medical supplies. She made a special U-Turn to give us more water and drinks. I couldn’t stop laughing at how careful she was to assuage her conscience that she was leaving us in the best state and health.

We rented a motorbike for 24 hours, which worked perfectly to encompass the day and a half that we had to enjoy the park. Khao Yai is a beautiful park that has both beautiful flora and abundant fauna—although we saw nothing but deer and porcupine. It is organized in a way that you can see most of the natural sites like waterfalls and lookout points with a vehicle that can handle the tough hills. I have to hand it to Paige for wielding that motorbike on the many uphills and downhills. I mean, they were one after the other; it seemed like nothing was straight and flat. It sure burned our gas like crazy. We almost got stuck on the uphills when we wanted to see one of the viewpoints. I said that there was enough gas to get us there, but Paige was a little more hesitant. Of course, with my self-assured manner, I was able to persuade her to proceed up the extremely steep incline leading to the viewpoint, which I had not expected. Well, we made it there with a little pushing of the motorbike with our bodies and some praying! When we reached the headquarters, Paige was uncompromising in her conviction that we needed another two liters of gas for the remaining time, just to be safe. (I was unconvinced and suggested only buying two, but I was happy in the end to have such a practical traveling companion. It was very good for me.)

Besides the fun ups and literal downs we experienced at the park, the most memorable excursion was our four hours on one of the “nature” trails. It definitely was a nature trail, so natural, though, that people were not very welcome. I have dubbed our walk as an adventure in Leech Land. Now, these leeches are not the traditional fat bloodsuckers one might think. No, these are far more insidious—small and squirmy—they got onto our shoes and ankles and socks. At first, it was only mildly bothersome and gross. (For Paige, she was terrified and disgusted the whole way through, but I was able to assist her in pulling off the little buggers when she started to scream.) By the end, after we had gotten lost because the trail literally ended and had to hike all the way back, we were exhausted. I mean, I have gotten lost by myself on numerous occasions—it’s a normal pastime for me now—but I have never been as physically drained as when we reached civilization. Leech Land is not for the faint of heart.

Phimai: The Khmer Ruins of Thailand

Tuy and her friend came to pick us up the morning after Leech Land, which had still left us fatigued, and I told them that I would like to go to the Khmer ruins northeast of the park, not expecting that they would take me. But of course, they would not let me travel alone under their watch, so we all drove to the small town of Phimai in the Isaan region. Leaving Khao Yai, we noticed how remarkably hotter it became. We exchanged the cooling shade of all the trees for the blaring sun of the dusty Isaan towns. I felt a little guilty that Tuy was going to so much trouble to get me to the ruins about which I had read in my book, but I gave up worrying when I reminded myself that I had not requested that she bring me to Phimai and that she was doing it of her own accord. Even though it was so hot that we started to sweat instantly upon exiting the vehicle, I thoroughly enjoyed the ruins, which resembled or supposedly predated the ruins in Angkor Wat, Cambodia. More than anything else, I love seeing ancient ruins because they display such an incredible link to the past and times gone by that have ceased to exist in all forms but their historical relics on exhibition for the curious passersby. The grounds were beautifully kept and the centrality of the main temple area was something to behold. It was definitely worth the grand “detour” we made after the park.

Chiang Mai

From Phimai, we began the long journey back to Bangkok, arriving just in time for me to grab the VIP bus to Chiang Mai. I have fallen in love—out of necessity—with the night buses. This bus was even better because it was VIP, meaning there was a small snack served and we got a drink at the only stop we made during the night. But the big bonus was the extra legroom, so even though I did not really sleep, I was able to stretch out and not wake up with a crooked stance. I was ready the next morning to begin my conquest in Chiang Mai where the McCartys—the missionary couple who sponsored my volunteer work in the Philippines—graciously welcomed me into their home, which they currently share with a lovely Indian couple because they spend the majority of the year in the States. I was so looking forward to meeting their friends, particularly their “housemates” who seemed absolutely lovely from the email correspondence we had previously sent.

As per my adventurous personality, I decided to waste little time in getting out to see the city. My first and only destination of the day—due to the strenuous conditions I had not anticipated—was the famous temple of Wat Doi Suthep on the outskirts of the city and near the home where I was staying. I told the wife of the couple who is sharing the home that I planned to walk to the temple, figuring it was a short distance from the bottom. She kind of looked at me askance and laughed a little on how far it was, but she faithfully dropped me off where I requested and told me to give her a call when I got back down. So, I happily began my climb, not really paying attention to the fact that I was the only one walking and that the temperature was over 100 degrees in the sun. I got to a landing where people had parked their cars and I thought that surely that was the temple. I questioned a group of young boys, who giggled like little girls and said that the temple was 20 km up the hill. My jaw dropped and before really freaking out, I asked for a second opinion from one of the vendors who confirmed that it was indeed up the hill but only 9 km and not 20. Setting my jaw in a particularly square fashion, I resolved to make it up to the temple on my own two feet as originally planned. I plugged in my iPod to a sermon and secured my widely brimmed hat and began the march. By the time I reached the temple summit, I had walked almost 12 km and was beginning to wilt.

The view from the top was exquisite and I could not help secretly reveling in the heightened appreciation I possessed for the temple site considering the strenuous path I had taken. There was nothing, however, that could stop me from taking a bus back down to the bottom. When I told my new friend about my journey, she just laughed and told me that she had informed me that it was quite a distance! Many people laughed about my walking up the mountain, so I am glad that I was able to make a small unconventional impact on the tourism scene of Chiang Mai.

To finish off the week, I took out one of the bikes at the house and decided to go all around the interesting part of Chiang Mai, which is quite small and easily discovered by bicycle. In fact, having a bike was such a blessing because there is not much of a public transportation system in Chiang Mai, so without a bike or something one has to wait for the public songthaews, which can get kind of expensive and difficult to find depending on where you are. On my way to the city, I took a small detour to look at one of the many temples in this city called Wat Suan Dork and found a Thai massage parlor that looked quite reputable. For five dollars per hour, I would pretty much go anywhere although that is the going rate for a Thai massage, so one can afford to be choosy when it comes to technique and ambience. Thankfully, this small place right outside of the temple was excellent, and I had one of the best massage experiences of my life. I mean Thai massage is spectacular. It really gets at those hard to reach places and the masseuse bends and folds you like paper with only minimal pain, which is completely worth it in the end. Seriously, if you have never had a Thai massage, you are missing out.

Like I mentioned, biking around the city is really convenient and quite safe and easy. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that people are really respectful towards cyclists, which made my life easier in the fray of motorbikes and constantly shifting traffic. Needless to say, it was an adventure that certainly heightened my observation skills, which are mediocre even horrendously lacking in other situations. The city is beautiful and clean—always something I value—and full of interesting people and markets. Although I almost collapsed of heat stroke by the end of the day, I was blessed to go out for dinner with a friend of a friend who took me to a great Japanese restaurant and lovely coffee shop. (I have come to adore iced coffee and tea made with sweetened condensed milk, which is pretty much the best solution to heat stroke.) Ending the day with a breezy stroll through Chiang Mai’s night bazaar was like icing on a delicious cake.

What a great second week of being in Thailand. I so enjoyed meeting people this week who are loosely connected to me through really important people in my life back at home. It is truly a blessing to see how people’s lives can intersect in a different time and on a completely dissimilar spatial zone. This is only the beginning!