Randy coined a phrase to describe our movement throughout the trip, which became most apparent as we approached the last leg of our expedition. He called it "surfing the crest of the wave of political unrest." In other words, we managed to make it out of each country before things got a little too intense. We were in Morocco during Ramadan when the U.S. decided to drop a few more bombs on Iraq, their "Arab brothers" -- a little uncomfortable during an already uncomfortable time. We skeedadled from India when it became apparent that tensions between it and Pakistan were escalating, and a couple of weeks after we left a major train wreck became world news. Nuclear bomb threats and the everyday chaos of India were nipping at our heels and inspiring tears over the deaths of so many people. News commentators prattled on about current events in Indonesia and how they were up to their necks in alligators, but we limited our visit there to the island of Bali, where we were safe. We moved our departure date up a few weeks, though, and only a few days after we left, East Timor (a couple of islands over) decided to become independent from Indonesia, rousing violence and unrest of major proportions. Though we never felt unsafe or fearful throughout our travels, we did feel lucky in our timing and knowing when it was time to leave.
THAILAND
Immediately upon arrival in Bangkok it became clear that Thailand would be a delight. We traveled to fewer parts of the country than we had planned, but the hot weather and visa limitations persuaded us to limit our visit to the southern part of Thailand. The Thai people are quite friendly and cheerful to be around -- up there with the Nepalis in terms of graciousness. And in many ways Thailand is the closest we came to experiencing another country being similar to life in the United States; it has all the modern accoutrements of life in the 90's. Thailand also offered a magnificent array of sensory overload that exceeded anything I had experienced, with a bounty of rich cultural and historical points to feast upon.
What can I say? The food in Thailand was G-R-E-A-T. It was tasty, easily available, and just about as low cost as I've seen. I must admit that I didn't experiment much with the more "exotic" looking fare that usually included some kind of squiggly marine-type animal, and I steered clear of "fish balls" and the like. But the rest had me smacking my lips!
Strolling along the many streets and market areas was one of our favorite things to do. Much of the time we ate at street vendors who set up shop in each neighborhood -- from the looks of it I don't think anyone actually cooked in their homes. Every day we would see whole blocks full of people with their portable kitchens out on the sidewalks and in alleyways, bamboo and canvas umbrellas of every size and color providing shade. Occasionally little tables and chairs were set up in the streets for your alfresco dining pleasure.
Cooks with huge kettle-size woks whisked up Pad Thai or some other concoction of stir fried rice or noodles, veggies, or bread. There were usually two or three charcoal hibachis grilling today's catch of fresh prawns, squid, or crab, or corn on the cob, or one of my favorites: satay -- thinly sliced pork or chicken on bamboo skewers. And last but not least, soup pots full of coconut milk, lemon grass, chicken, lots of ginger, hot peppers and leafy herbs and chunky sticks of spices.
For dessert or snack, try some fresh fruit from merchants pushing their carts full of whatever's in season, ringing their bells like our old-fashioned ice cream wagons. Pineapple, papaya, guava, and watermelon were usually offered. Pick out what you'd like and in moments it artfully would be halved, quartered and then cut into bite-size chunks, put into a cellophane bag and served with a bamboo skewer, all while you watch-and-wait. Or if you're in the mood for something a little different, try some scrumptious little coconut snackette yummies cooked in a cast-iron mold, or a pancake/crepe stuffed with bananas, coconut, or chocolate, then drizzled with butter or sweetened condensed milk. It was enough to make me crazy.
We visited some markets where they sold fresh produce, meat and poultry, and flowers. These markets were very similar to those we found in other parts of the world, but unique unto themselves. The meat and chicken areas, mostly inside roofed areas, were places to avoid unless you could hold your breath for a long time (or even if you couldn't). Outside in the open air, though, was another story. Thailand is fond of fish -- very fresh, they appeared to be, since their silvery tails were still flipping around in the bamboo dishes and crabs were optimistically pinching at the air as we passed by. Vibrant and colorful, most of the stalls were covered with large parasols floating above vegetables piled high in large baskets -- myriad sizes and shapes of peppers (some that would set your mouth aflame), garlic, onions, cabbage, ginger, and loads of items that remain a mystery. Flowers -- tropical and so, so beautiful -- were redolent and abundant. I think I will miss these outdoor markets, which have been set aside in favor of the "super" market in the U.S.
Not that there's anything wrong with supermarkets, you understand. One of the things we got very excited about was the fact that there were real grocery and department stores in Thailand -- something we hadn't seen for months. We dashed off to the neighborhood grocery store soon after our arrival. Although it had a familiar feel to it, we found ourselves cruising the aisles picking up some rather peculiar items, and even purchasing some of them! Here's what our grocery sack contained:
Not your basic purchases in line with recommendations made by the food pyramid. But, all-in-all, from bamboo skewers to coconut curries, food in Thailand was an adventure and a delight I shall not soon forget.
Modern, yes. Rapturously ancient? That, too. You might think you're in any one of America's great cities, except for the architectural flares such as the graceful curves on the tips of the rooftops, the miniature temples in front of every home and every business, and the gilt and bejeweled palaces and wats (Buddhist temples-monasteries). The Grand Palace was covered with millions of tiny colored mirrors, metallic paint, and gold and precious gems making it sparkly and magical. The heavy accent of our guide made it all the more exotic. The "Celestial Residence" displayed magnificent collections of Buddha statues, jewels, porcelain, and other goods from around the world, in addition to a somewhat disturbing collection of Elephant tusks and other animal parts.
Then there's the life on water -- the floating markets on the Chao Phraya River, and the water taxis that whisk you away from downtown traffic jams and buzz along up to riverfront restaurants and hotels. A sleek alternative to taxis on land, we decided to get off the bus (literally) and give it a try. After one out-of-town expedition, our bus pulled up in Bangkok at about 5:30 a.m. -- way too early for the rest of civilization to be up and running. We had decided to try a new hotel that was advertised in a flier we picked up beforehand at a local cyber cafe. It read: "reduced rates, just across the river, ten minutes by water taxi."
We hiked down to the river, found the boat ferry, purchased our tickets, and toodled on out to the pier. No one was there, of course, it was too early. We waited and waited, and before long the ferry bumped on in and the captain asked us where we were going. Presumably asked, that is -- sorry, no English. We showed him the brochure of the hotel, and he nodded and took off across the river, dodging barges and private boats. When we got there, the hotel was no where in sight. Oh, we found out, we were on the wrong ferry. We got back on, crossed back over the river, checked again with the ticket seller about which ferry to take, and found out that the correct ferry doesn't even start operating until 6:40 a.m., a 25-minute wait. We waited. It arrived as scheduled, we hopped on this sleeker model of water taxi called a "long-tailed boat," and breezed along the river the predicted ten minutes to the pier near the hotel. After jumping back on land we meandered around like keystone cops for a bit longer until we found the hotel, which looked quite nice, thank you very much. At this point my stomach is growling for breakfast, and I'm eyeing the hotel coffee shop.
Unfortunately, we were informed that we needed a "voucher" from the cyber café on the other side of the river before we could check in and blah blah blah and then my stomach started growling again. After much finagling they relented and let us check into a room upon our promising to go get the necessary paperwork, "just across the river, ten minutes by water taxi."
We rode around a lot on the public bus system in Bangkok, as well. We got lost many, many times, but during one of our carefree rides we looked over and saw a movie theatre advertising a new flick: Star Wars: Episode I. We jumped for joy, and actually made it back the next day and tooled on in to buy our tickets. The theatre technically outranked many U.S. theatres, and once we found our "assigned" seats and settled in with our Star-Wars-cups-and-popcorn deals, the lights went down and, instead of previews of upcoming movies, there was an elaborate video tribute to the King of Thailand. Everyone stood up in reverence, watching the sophisticated images of their beloved King flow on and off the screen. ("He's a good king for the people," a Thai man at the next table told me one night while we sat at a folding table out in the middle of the street eating dinner.)
Koh Samui is a tiny island off the strip of land that extends southward towards Malaysia, in the Gulf of Thailand. We chose to relax here for a few days, scooting around in a rented jeep or catching a ride on a songthaew -- a small pickup truck with two benches in the back, used as taxis.
Most of our stay was at Lamai Beach, where the water was smooth, flat, and silvery, all the way to the horizon. It was here that we learned how to "belly shop", where you find a nice spot on the sand and Thai people wander up and down the beach hawking their wares. At night there were plenty of outdoor bars and cabarets with cute Thai women waving and shouting at us (or Randy, I should say) to come and have a drink, or maybe something more. Who knows?
We had a great time on our boat trip to Ang Thong National Marine Park, an archipelago of great peace and beauty. A bigger dive-type boat shuttled us around the deep-water parts of the park, and longboats would come out to the boat and ferry us to the beaches -- somewhat time consuming, but a fun experience. The first island we stopped at had a hiking trail of well-worn rocks and vines and tree roots that were tossed in wildly, and the only way we could keep on the trail was by clinging to a rope strung from tree to tree. Our next stop was at an island that had a salt-water lake in a crater in the middle of the island. The turquoise water of the lake was framed by high limestone cliffs, lots of vegetation, and tons of ants. Our third and last stop was at another island where we snorkeled over the beautiful coral reef - it was quite lovely, and I saw my first crab (who quickly went to hide under a big piece of coral), lots of fish, big sea slug type things, and clams (they looked like cement balls that opened and shut). It was fun!
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More pictures of Thailand |  |