For Christmas Eve dinner we “splurged” and spent about $10 at a restaurant on the river. It was all decked out with lights and a tree. A piano played carols upstairs. It was very “ski lodge in a winter wonderland” except we were in Northern Thailand, it was balmy and everyone had a tan. As we ate a live band started playing covers of all types of music. They were quite good. Leaving the restaurant we strolled next to the river, humming the remainder of “American Pie”. A bubbly western girl approached us and offered a rose, wishing us a Merry Christmas. We past a church and Shauna went in to say a prayer. The church contained mainly westerners and was filled to capacity with poinsettias. It was really special to see all these people away from home could unite and find company in this particular vaulted-ceiling, open-air room. I imagined how close to family and friends it made them feel to know that thousands of miles away they would be performing a similar ritual. I was thinking of all of you then!
On Christmas day we took a red truck (taxi) up a seriously twisted road to Doi Suthep (Doo-ee Soo-tep). Like most things in Thailand, it took some work to enjoy the view. At the base there were hundreds of steps to tackle. Once at the top we beheld the beautiful monastery set on a hill surrounded by lush verdant greenery: it was the perfect place to spend Christmas. (Though not traditional in my mind.) The intricate, majestic buildings were bordered by ornate chimes, which hung from the roof. All of the bells had something written on them. Some bore names of loved ones, others asked for “World Peace” or “A Cure”. Off the courtyard was a terrace featuring a view of the old city of Chiang Mai, which is surrounded by a moat. It was a lovely expedition.
That evening we went to a “monk chat” at a monastery. It’s a chance for the public to learn more about Buddhism and the lives of monks. It’s also an important opportunity for the monks to practice their English with native speakers. This was a wonderful experience. There were about seven of us around a table, free to ask any question. Our monk was very candid and humorous. There was a poignant moment when he said that ‘you will never find a Buddhist terrorist. Buddhists accept all people and ways of thinking’. There is no “my religion is better than yours” mentality. You are free to be any religion and you can still practice Buddhism and attain enlightenment. I won’t get into a discussion about Buddhism here (that could take up pages on it’s own) but just say it was a joyful meeting with a gracious and intelligent man. A lovely and peaceful close to Christmas day.
On the 26th we caught an evening bus south to Bangkok. After gazing up at the starry sky for awhile I feel a sleep, but it was short-lived bliss. Every time we pulled into a rest area they would turn on the lights and blast horrible jingling Asian-style elevator music. I was so relieved to get off that bus, even though I was exhausted and we were in Bangkok again. That day I lounged in a Khao San guesthouse, while Shauna tried to locate her plane ticket. For those who had been wondering, she never did get her ticket, money and bus ticket back, but she was able to have the plane ticket reissued by JAL. Thank goodness. That night we battled the thousands of travelers trying to leave the city for the New Year holidays. It was chaos and we would surely have missed our bus South if it hadn’t been delayed by the heavy traffic by over an hour!
The bus actually took us only to Surat Thani, where we caught another bus to Dok Sak, the harbor, where we then caught a ferry to Koh Samui. What a relief to finally be off a bus and on the boat, looking behind to the jutting rocks and hills on the mainland/coast and ahead to the fertile and lush islands.
When we arrived on Samui we were offered a free ride to the other side of the island. Something free? Pretty overwhelming when most of the Thais we had encountered had tried to milk us at every opportunity. These guys were alright, just bored and waiting for their ferry. They brought us to Lamai beach and wished us well. We took a “room” at New Hut. I say “room” because we were actually in a teepee-like... well, hut. Thatched roof and raised right off the beach on stilts. It was... rustic. And I’m sure it would have been an enjoyable and charming adventure if it hadn’t, moments after we unpacked, started pouring. Oh no! Not New Years in paradise on a beautiful beach IN A TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR! Okay, we still had a couple of days to pray for blue daytime and starry nighttime skies.
This afternoon we met a memorable character named Tom. Now Tom was a slippery chap, an older American on holiday from S. Korea, where he worked as a teacher. He invited us for drinks at his bungalow (first warning). After singing the praises of the party animal crew who would join in he informed us that, unfortunately, they all had conjunctivitis (second and final warning). We nonchalantly avoided Tom at all costs following this meeting.
The next morning (the 29th) we pushed open our hut door to reveal the calm Gulf of Thailand and a lovely sunrise. Overjoyed, we headed off to Na Thon, another dock, to join a boat tour of the Ang Thong Marine Park. This is an archipelago, which lies west of Samui. It is protected as a National park, so no ones lives on the islands. It was like paradise to be on the boat, with clear skies, watching the islands and rocks jut from the gulf. On the long ferry ride to the park we were led by several leaping, flying fish (which reminds me; Shauna’s name in Japanese kanji translates to “leaping vegetable”. Mine is “very green” in relating to nature and the environment.) When we reached the docking point there was a transfer into smaller, wooden boats. These brought us to the shore, only when we got there the boats stopped about ten feet from the sand. We were expected to jump into the water and walk ashore. Yikes, I was wearing corduroys and hiking boats, for the anticipated trekking. Off came the shoes, the pants were hiked up and I jumped! Getting to the pristine sand I was soaked, but ready to explore.
We opted to climb the hill to a hidden cave in the rock face. Since I was so wet and my feet were so dirty I decided not to put on my shoes. How treacherous could it be? HA! It was unbelievably muddy from the night’s rain. It was insanely steep. I’m talking about being horizontal on most of the climb. To make it to the top alive, we were obliged to grip a set of ropes, bolted to trees, with every fiber of our being. Monkeys swooped at us from the vines above. And I was stupidly trying to survive this with my shoes tied to my wrist and a heavy bag dangling from my shoulder. I kept saying, as we climbed “this is why I have travel insurance”. (Tiffany, you can put that one on the board!)
Somehow I made it, sticky, dirty and quite pleased with myself. The cave was spectacular. Tall, dark, deep, mysterious... hey, I’m talking about the cave! We oohed and aahed for a good long while and I bit the bullet and put my shoes on.
The next stop for the ferry was an island with a salt-water lake, completely enclosed by mountains. Underwater there were tiny holes that allowed salt water to filter in and out. The remarkable thing is that the lake did not exist until the center of the mountain collapsed into a crater.
We were greeted back on Samui by rain. After another damp night we headed out to explore Chaweng beach. The rumour circulating is that the beaches of Samui are too commercial, but we didn’t find it unpleasant. There were many interesting shops and restaurants nestled between lavish resorts. We found a batik shop and the artist made a custom print for Shauna overnight for under $8!
This was the day that we checked out of “Wet Hut” and moved to our proper hotel room. After two nights of being lightly sprinkled upon as the rain sprayed through the walls I was ecstatic. I tell you, it was heaven. To have a Shower. To have Clean sheets. To have Dry towels. To have a Door. With a Lock. To have an Escape from the rain.
Miraculously, after experiencing three days of rain (with the exception of our serene Ang Thong adventure), New Year’s eve day was sunny and clear. The day was spent around Chaweng and then we had an early dinner at The Beverly Hills restaurant. The name was out of place, but the views were unparalleled. Our waiter there was very eager to practice his English and told us he rarely makes it to Bangkok to see his family and has never left the country. I couldn’t fathom that and it made me realize how blessed I am to be traveling.
Later that night we grabbed a few beers (and bags of ketchup chips) and wandered down to the beachfront. There was a gala taking place in the hotel restaurant, but we were giddy to be dry and sitting beneath the stars. As the time passed we thought of my brother, Ross, and our friend, Gwill, celebrating the new year already. Our own celebration was nearing... The countdown began, the yelling and cheering erupted, the fireworks shot up and sprinkled the horizon, sparkling like champagne. Then people all up and down the beach lit fires beneath miniature hot-air-balloon-like lanterns that lifted into the air, ghostlike. If any of you have seen The Beach, they light three of these marked with the names of the travelers after they are accepted into the community. It was a magical, exhausting day.
On the 1st Shauna and I parted. She was heading for Koh Tao to take a diving course. I was off to Surat Thani to catch a flight to Bangkok. I couldn’t believe how quickly our time had gone. I was heartbroken saying goodbye. I put on a happy, encouraging face until she was gone, then I spent a melancholy moment by myself. She was such a wonderful traveling partner. I’m so lucky to have had the opportunity to visit and travel with her. No one else could have made three terribly rainy days on an island such a hysterical and memorable time.
Being back in Bangkok was like a bad dream. It seemed like the city was an evil vortex sucking me in over and over. I spent the night on Khao San, wandered the crowded streets in one final exploration and tried to sleep with the excitement of knowing I’d soon see my brother.
Of course, in Thailand nothing is easy and plans are made to be broken. I arrived at the airport with ample time to check in. After waiting in line for almost an hour I was denied check in because I didn’t have sufficient evidence of onward travel from Australia. I knew I needed this information to enter Australia, but not to depart Thailand. An Air New Zealand agent had advised me of this very fact. Still I was not allowed to check in before I obtained my itinerary print out from United/Air New Zealand, though the attendant had verified that I was booked on flights departing Australia via telephone. I couldn’t accurately say how many Thai Air agents, security guards or information agents I pleaded with for assistance in finding the correct office in the airport, but it was over 20 surely. They not only wouldn’t offer help most of them seemed pleased or amused by my distress. Well I finally did find that office on my own, at 7:45, fifteen minutes before my flight for Melbourne was to depart. There was no hope I would make it on that flight at that point. To add insult to injury, I had to venture into the city to have my ticket reissued. But not until I had been sent through three ticketing lines, to verify that it couldn’t be issued at the airport.
I won’t really go into the 18 hours I had to spend in that ghastly airport, exhausted physically and mentally, harassed, proposed to on two separate occasions (and not the good kind of marriage proposals like you expect on the Paris metro), starving, bored, close to running in front of a landing plane.... I’ll just say it left a sour taste of Thailand in my mouth that took several weeks of reflection in the comforting arms of Melbourne to overcome. I think the final nail in that coffin of frustration was when I checked in for my new flight to Melbourne. The attendant kept telling me that my special meal would probably not be available because I was a “no show” for my previous flight. I corrected her on several occasions, but she kept insisting that I had failed to show up for the previous flight. Then, she checked me through. This was great, EXCEPT she never at any point asked for or saw the so-called necessary documentation of my departure from Australia. I ASK YOU, HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE? WAS IT ALL JUST SOME CRUEL JOKE? This is when that bad taste I was talking about reached its peak.
But please, don’t focus on this final, ultimate Thai adventure, because I did finally forgive and release that anger.
So now I’m in Australia. My darling brother, Ross, was there to greet me at the airport. I’ve been staying with him at his adorable house in Yarraville. Relaxing. Preparing for my upcoming immersion into the parallel universe that is New Zealand. We spent a day at the AUS Open, scoped out the markets, visited with old friends and enjoyed each other’s company (having not seen one another since he left the states on the 19th September 2001). He is a becoming a really wonderful person and I’ll be sad to leave him.
It’s nice to be here again. Everything feels very familiar. Almost a feeling of “I’ve been here in another life” and I suppose that’s fitting. It seems like another life and time when I lived here last. My childhood seems centuries past.
Maybe it’s a false sense of security, but I feel a good deal safer over here. It might be the seeming optimism of the people here. Watching the news is so refreshing! On the morning news today there was a face off between a union leader and a parliament member. Heading to commercial before their segment the latest pop music played (as it does leading to every commercial) and the parliament member was seen in the background, via satellite, bopping along. Compare that with the news I see on NBC Today every night: stern music, somber newscasters and guests, and foreboding shock-you graphics. It’s like we’re on a different planet. I am hopeful for the future and am thinking of your safety and comfort right now.
All in all, life is good. We will survive.
The rest of that trip was smooth sailing. Her apartment is in the hills and the view looks a bit like Hollywood. There is no central heating and so we had to heat up the water for the "shower", which was really just a big tub that you scoop water from to douse yourself with.
Since there are not many westerners in Oita, everyone was fascinated with us. A pair of older ladies stopped us on the street and started singing to us, explaining to Shauna (who speaks remarkable Japanese after only four months) that I looked like an American singer and she looked like a movie star. That seems to be the opinion of all fair haired visitors to the city. We also got a lot of attention when I joined Shauna for a day of work at a junior high school. I acted as a teacher's aid for the day, helping the children practice their English. Knowing how difficult a language English is to learn I was amazed by these children. They were preoccupied with asking me about my hair and about Harry Potter, but their vocabulary and pronunciation was phenomenal.
I was in Japan for only two days, but Shauna made those two days filled with Japanese culture. We went to an onsen (natural hot springs heated by the volcanic rock) in the hills of Beppu, to a kimono dressing class, had a traditional Japanese dinner and rode all around the city on bicycles, their major mode of transport.
On the 14th December we left for Bangkok. Bangkok is a crazy, crazy city. For anyone who has been to New York City, you have only seen the tamest part of Bangkok. Two days was not enough time to see the whole city, but it was all that Shauna and I could take! We rode about mainly on tuk tuks (a kind of motorbike with a carriage on the back). The first day we arrived was obviously the wrong day to be taking tuk tuks as we could not find any that didn't want to take us shopping. It was some kind of promotion day where they were getting a good deal of commisions just for bringing shoppers, even if they were just looking. The good part was the ridiculously low price for the rides. About 25 cents for an hour of riding from wat to wat. Hard to argue with that. We saw many of the major wats in the city including the Golden Mount, Wat Pho (with the massive reclining Buddha), Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn)...
Early on the 17th December we lef t for Siem Reap, Cambodia. We knew it would be a long and difficult journey, but we were excited to see Cambodia. Making it from Bangkok to Aranyaparthet (Aran-ya-patay), the border city, was no trouble. We stop here to arrange for visas and have some lunch. Then a pick up truck drove us to the border. As soon as we got out we were surrounded by tiny girls and boys, all begging for baht. Some of the little girls had babies hanging from their necks in sling-like carriers. They would come very close and let the comatose babies rub against you. Of course, being so fond of children, this was a depressing moment for me.
Once on the Cambodian side in the town of Poipet we boarded a cramped minibus where we waited for almost two hours for a couple who had trouble with immigration. Finally around 3 pm we started out for Siem Reap. We past shack upon shack, small stilted houses, aluminum shelters. Amputees and starving children. Grazing cows with prominent ribs. All this from a bus with absolutely no shocks on the most horrendous road that even the post winter potholes of New England can not be compared to. It was dirt almost exclusively and there would be holes in the middle of the road that would drop us nearly two feet. This constant dropping motion did not end for over seven hours.
In Siem Reap we checked into a guesthouse called Beng Melea. It was clean and cool and quite a relief after that journey! Peup, the boy who showed us the room spoke excellent English and told us about Siem Reap, and his family and how it was torn apart by the Khmer Rouge (Ka-may Roov). His brother had been a scholar and spoke French fluently and was killed in the early eighties by the army. His mother wasted away over nine years and died of what I understood to be a broken heart. He told us how in just the last four years since the civil war ended in 1998 the country has been rebuilding and healing. We agreed to let him take us around the next day, though we had been planning on just spending one day at Angkor Wat and returning to Thailand.
The next day he took us to the zoo, the killing fields memorial, the Landmine Museum and the floating village on Tonle Sap. The Landmine Museum was quite moving. Aki Ra, who runs the "museum", lives on this small piece of land just outside of Angkor Wat and collects thousands of landmines that he has found and dismantled. The UN estimates that the Khmer Rouge left around 10,000,000 land mines all over Cambodia. Aki Ra, with his volunteers and with help from former Khmer Rouge members, has cleared over 60,000. Along with his family, his home is one to several children who have lost limbs to landmines. The Cambodian government has taken him to court to try and close down his museum because they see it as a negative influence on the travel industry they are trying to promote since the end of the war. He now runs the display as a "closed museum" where you are basically visiting with Aki and his family.
Many people who visit stay to volunteer translation services, promotional services (such as producing educational films or pamphlets), or even help with mine hunting. There is a site at http://www.landmine-museum.com/ where you can read about his history and that of the museum.
Riding out to the floating village and then taking a boat around the communities was also interesting. We rode out to Tonle Sap (the large lake in the center of Cambodia) and chartered a private boat that took us past the countless houses on bamboo rafts, boat houses, schools, churchs, markets, and fish and crocodile farms. Most of the people living in this area are Vietnamese, as we could see from the many big umbrella style hats.
It was on this day that we realized Shauna's plane ticket was gone and we asked the hotel to call the bus company to see if the driver or either of the restaurants had spotted it... more on that later.
The next day was Angkor Wat day. We knew that one day wasn't even close to enough, but we were going to see as much as we could. In total we visited seven wats, tombs and monastaries. We started with Angor Wat, the main wat, and watched the sun rise behind it. Then we climbed what was left of the stairs, while clutching a loose handrail, to the top spire. Not for the faint of heart, but the view was worth the effort! One of the other wats we made it to was Wat Phrom, the Tombraider wat! It had massive Banyon trees growing on the walls and pillars. They looked as if they had started up on the walls and grown down towards the ground. The last thing we did at Angkor was climb a huge hill, which led us to a temple with hundreds of steps, which finally led us to the view of the most unreal sunset. There was a full view of Siem Reap and beyond. We also watched the full moon rise over Angkor Wat.
The next day we set off for Thailand. We decided to brave the same road once more, because it was the least expensive and, surprisingly, the fastest route (not including a flight, which was out of our budget). They had done some work on the road so it was a much smoother ride this time. We were making great time when we made our first stop. Our second stop was for lunch and Shauna asked the driver, who also worked for the hotel, to write out a receipt for her to try and claim some expenses on her insurance for her lost ticket. It was then that he informed her someone at the last stop had found her ticket. What a convenient time to tell her! He offered her the option of taking a ride back to the restaurant with a man who wanted to charge her 50 dollars (it had cost us about 10 roundtrip from Bangkok to Siem Reap) or hitch-hiking and then taking a bus back the next day. That seemed kind of dangerous so Shauna tried to make arrangements for the company to pick up the ticket and deliver it anywhere in Bangkok. We shall see if that works out. We are not heading back to Bangkok for several more days...
Overall, visiting Cambodia was a humbling and magical experience. If I hadn't made that journey I honestly don't think this trip would have been fulfilling for me. All I can say is if you have the resources and the desire to alter your outlook on life please go to Cambodia. The people were unbelievably friendly, the scenery was astounding, Angkor Wat was a storyland of mystery and majesty. You may, however, want to consider flying into Siem Reap or Phenom Phen instead of taking the overland route. That will definitely be my path the next time I go!
We didn't want to spend another night in Bangkok so we tried to take an overnight train to Chiang Mai right away. Only standing room was available, which was out of the question for a 14 hour trip. So we took the train to Ayutthaya that night, spent the day riding about on bikes, and then caught the train to Chiang Mai the next night.
We are in Chiang Mai now and I love it! Thailand is a mixed bag (just as that shopkeeper in Bar Harbor said, Mum!) and I had been getting a lot of bad nuts. Chiang Mai is changing my whole experience of Thailand. It is cooler, being up in the mountains, which is nice. Last night Shauna and I went to a restaurant off the beaten path where no farang (foreigners) seemed to tread. It was a spicy, authentic meal. We had been subjected to the Thai take on western food or the western take on Thai food for so long this was a relief. We then stumbled upon a night market (separate from the night bazaar) that is only open on Sundays. There were children doing traditional Thai dance and playing music. I really enjoyed myself. Chiang Mai is considered the cultural and artistic capital of Thailand. This is probably why I was drawn to it and why I am enjoying myself here. If I were to live anywhere in Thailand, this would be the city for me.
The old town of Chiang Mai (which is the inner square, surrounded by rivers) is small enough to walk around, but big enough to be interesting. Shauna went to the hilltribes and elephant grounds today, so I'm on my own and have been wandering all day. Being by myself has been a lot of fun and I've done a lot of people watching (which I love). I opted not to do the elephant/hilltribe trek because I have been talking to a lot of people about how farang disrupt the cultures terribly. It seems that many tribes have become addicted to opium because there is such a high demand for it. They harvest it and sell it to trekkers and become addicted themselves. Even though I wasn't planning to buy any opium(!) I still didn't want to support the whole industry. Hopefully I didn't make a mistake and miss something really remarkable.