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Information on Buses, Trains, Boats, Tuktuks, Taxis and Guesthouses: A play by play account of our travels through Asia. This is for those who have been or are planning to go in the future....
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December 27, 1999- Daniel's Thailand Review- Bangkok, Ko Phangan, Ko Chang Ko Phangan 21.11 - 30.11 Milana and I parted in Udon Thani close to the Laotion border. While she headed off to Chiang Mai, I headed down to Bangkok to cure a little
stomach flu I probably picked up from that delicious Luang Prabang salad (containing all sorts of raw vegetables which I was not supposed to be eating!).
After a sleepless night on a rattling local bus, I arrived in Bangkok at
4:30am and headed down to Kao San Rd (the backpacker decompression zone)
to find a place to sleep. On Kao San Road, the night was still in full
swing. There were many drunks, enjoying their beers and Thai whiskey and
toasting the arrival of a new day. Some sleepless arriving or departing
tourists were watching movies (which play non-stop in bars) and the local
prostitutes were roaming up and down the street looking for takers.
Ko Chang 2.12 - 8.12 After our solo vacations, and after meeting up again in Bangkok, Milana
and I quickly decided to make a get away to a sunny island for some more
sun and surf. The destination of choice was 'Ko Chang'.
Bangkok 9.12 - 13.12.1999 Bangkok is the travel center of SE Asia. This city probably has the
cheapest flight deals you can get to anywhere on the planet, and is also
a great place to use as the pivot city of your travel plans. Bangkok has
everything- A river runs through it, a business downtown, huge malls, palaces
and endless temples, more cars and mopeds than you can imagine, dirty air,
a crazy red-light district, and heaps upon heaps of yummy food stalls on
the streets. Let's eat. (Oh, and lots of tourists...) We went on a tour
of Wat Pho, the oldest temple in Thailand and saw its enormous reclining
Buddha (over 40 meters in length), and walked around the Grand Palace. Back in Toronto It may come as a surprise to some of you that Milana and I are back
in Toronto. We had originally planned to be in Goa, India for the New Year
and then move on to Africa in February. However, plans change, and because
we would rather be at home with friends and family to enjoy the New Year's
celebrations than by ourselves, we were quickly persuaded to drop the India
plans and get a ticket home. But don't despair, wherearewe will continue!
There will be more of our travelling adventures coming your way in January.
We wish you all a Happy
New
Year
and
Happy
Holidays,
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November 26, 1999- Solo Adventures- Pai and Chaing Mai Daret's Internet, Chaing Mai- 1/2 Baht (2 cents) for 1 minute It's a hot and sticky Friday afternoon and I am whiling away the time before I catch an overnight bus back to Bangkok. The last ten days have given me an alternate insight into travelling in Asia; I have been both on my own and with my friend Alison, which is a different experience than when travelling in a couple. For those of you who don't know, Daniel and I decided to do some independant travelling for two weeks (nothing wrong!) - after five months together non-stop, we felt we needed a bit of a breather. Daniel decided to head south, back to Ko Phangan, while I headed North towards Chaing Mai. I caught a nasty cold on the too air-conditioned bus up here, so I spent my first few days of independence sick in my little room. Luckily, the guesthouse I was staying at had really cheap Internet access and a decent restaurant on the premises, so my illness was bearable. Alison showed up a few days later, and we made elaborate plans to explore the Thai-Myanmar border region; a more or less off the beaten path part of Thailand (there aren't too many!). I had an inkling the plans weren't going to work when we slept through our alarm the next morning and missed our bus. It turned out well though, as we then decided to join a Thai cooking course for the day. The next day we made our bus and headed towards Pai, a tiny, unassuming town about 4 hours north of Chaing Mai. Pai was highly recommended as a place to relax and unwind after the rigours of Asian travel. We went with the intention of staying 2 days, and ended up staying 6, thereby ruining the rest of our elaborate travel plans (this seems to happen a lot!). We stayed at the wonderful Mr. Jan's, a herbal medicine practioner and the local health clinic manager, who offered perfect little bungalows in his vast herbal garden. The garden is filled with all sorts of flowers and trees, not to mention various water wheel contraptions, little fish ponds and other oddities. When we first introduced ourselves to Mr Jan, he immediately showed us the cat fish he had just bought for one of his ponds, and offered us lemon grass tea, "fresh from his garden". Mr Jan also offered herbal saunas and Burmese-style massages, both of which I tried. The sauna was quite the interesting experience. You sit in this box shaped sauna with your head sticking out, almost like a guillotine. Four other people can be in the sauna at the same time, so it looks rather like a group beheading is about to take place. You go in and out of the sauna three times, the last time you are covered in a honey and lemon concoction, supposedly to make your skin 'baby soft'. I had been warned that the Burmese massage was quite abrasive, but wanted to try it out anyways. It was an adventure to say the least. My masseuse was a little old man who giggled whenever I cried out in pain. "Not like Western massage, more exercise massage!" he said with a big grin on his face. Burmese massage starts off normal, but soon switches to a form of stretching massage, where your limbs are contorted into different, odd positions. It was ok at first, but I was quite exhausted by the end of it. I think I'll stick to more gentle activities from now on. More gentle activities in Pai included elephant riding, which Alison (who is currently obsessed with elephants) insisted we do. We went for 1 1/2 hours on a walk through some fields and a river. It was rather bumpy and nausea inducing, especially as our elephant was more interested in stopping every 2 minutes to eat some trees or branches than walking. Alison sat on his neck for a bit and got sprayed a lot by his trunk while we were in the river. I stayed safe and dry on the elephant chair on his back. I definitely think I like riding camels better!! During our stay in Pai, we happened to witness the Loi Krathong festival, which is celebrated in Northern Thailand on the full moon of November. People float lotus shaped baskets with lit candles and flowers down rivers to atone for their sins of the past year. It is quite the sight seeing hundreds of these baskets floating down the Pai river. I launched one as well, although I am sure I haven't any sins to atone for! Paper hot air balloons are also launched en masse, so the sky over Pai was full of them at night. On the last night of the festival there was a huge fair and parade in town- the population of Pai quadrupled as everyone from the outlying areas came on truck or moped with their families to celebrate. The floats in the parade were done up beautifully with cut flowers and buddha images, and crowned by a contestant in the Miss Loy Krathong beauty contest. Some of the floats were so tall that they hit the power lines- one particularly tall buddha image caused an electrical blackout for half an hour (divine intervention perhaps??). Pai is full of great, cheap restaurants, cool little cafes, jazz bars and tiny Thai art galleries. The surrounding scenary is also beautiful and very walkable, making for the perfect little spot. It was really hard to leave, and in fact, we met plenty of people who were on their third, fourth or tenth week in Pai- it's that sort of spot. We came back to Chaing Mai in order for Alison to meet her friends and go trekking. Since I'm not a big trekker (I rather go diving!), I'm heading down to Kanachaburi (I think!) a place about two hours west of Thailand, where I'll while away a few days before meeting Daniel again on December 1st. We are meeting on Ko Chang, a marine park and island close to the Cambodian border. Hopefully Daniel will let y'all know soon what he has been up to. milana back to index |
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November 16, 1999- Vientaine, Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang Daret's Internet, Chaing Mai- 1/2 Baht (2 cents) for 1 minute (Internet in Laos MUCH to expensive ($2 U.S. every 10 minutes)) Who knows much about Laos? Before coming to Asia, we had a vague idea about Laos' geographic position landlocked between Thailand, Vietnam, China and Cambodia- but not much else. Once in Asia, we heard tales of ridiculously low prices, beautiful people and scenery, French colonial architecture and the infamous (and potentially dangerous) Lao-Lao spirit. Well, most of it is true. All, except for the ridiculously low prices. I guess if Laos has all those other attributes, low prices wouldn't last! Laos is a place like no other. It's capital, Vientaine, for example, is a mix of mud brown streets, crumbling colonial architecture, Buddhist temples and quaint little French restaurants. French colonial influence is evident- Everyone eats baguettes for breakfast, the coffee is strong, and mopeds are the fashionable form of transportation. However, it is all done Lao-style; the baguettes and coffee are served drowning in sweetened, condensed milk, and the mopeds are either driven "a la famille", with Mama, Papa and two kids on the family vehicle, or "a l'enfant", with a maniacal looking 10 year old at the wheel. Mopeds are actually the best way to get around, as paved roads are virtually non-existant in Laos. The "National #16 Highway" going from North the South, is nothing more than a one lane, bumpy, winding hell- our 10 hour (260km) bus ride from Luang Prabang to Vientaine can attest to that! The Laotian people are not known for their strong stomachs- before we got on the bus many travellers warned us that the locals are apt to puke a lot on the ride- they were right. Probably the best experience we had in Laos was the 3 hour inner tube ride we took down the Nam Song river. In Vang Vieng (about 150km north of Vientaine), this is one of the two main activities- the other being cave explorations in nearby hills. The river rides work like this: You get a group of 4-6 people together and head over to one of the inner-tube renters. Here you pay 5000 Kip ($1 cdn) for your tube and a ride by tuk-tuk (a 3 wheeled cab) to your launching point. The tuk-tuk drops you off about 10 or 15 km upstream and you are meant to float your way back. Barring any mishaps, the ride is pleasant and warm, with a few exciting rapids along the way. That's the way it was for us, but we saw many hapless tubers left tubeless and a bit scratched up when they crashed into a huge tree that fell across the river. Lucky for us, an experienced tuber was with us and told us when to start paddling furiously to avert the tree! Vang Vieng is a strange little town. The contrast between the lifestyles of the locals and their visitors are vivid. I found the contrasts disturbing, but others just found it 'quaint'. V.V. only has dirt roads which are mostly filled with little bamboo and wood huts and restaurants. Visitors on the other hand stay at these huge, well-build guesthouses which fill a few of the roads. You sit at the lovely 'Sunset Cafe', sipping on your banana shake and watch the action on the Nam Song river below: Locals crossing the river by foot or long boat, carrying large sacks of rice and other produce; men washing themselves and their vehicles in the river; herds of cows and ox cooling off from the midday heat; large trucks fording the river carrying laughing locals and supplies crowded in the cab and back. Occasionaly a tuber comes floating down the river, providing great amusement for the locals as they struggle to disembark. Greater amusement is provided for onlookers when a tourist refuses to pay the 1000 Kip (20 cents) for the river crossing by boat and instead struggles to cross the hip deep 300 meter river by foot. The locals make the foot crossing look easy, but the antics of tourists as they struggle to carry their bicycles across, makes you realize that perhaps it is not easy. When you walk down the roads of Vang Vieng at night, the seedier side of the town comes to life. Little children come up to you in greeting: "Piom?" they ask. Piom? Opium- Opium dens are a favoured haunt of tourists who want to try the illicit Laotian pasttime. Men also come and whisper "Ganja?" in your ear. Huge bags of the stuff are available for 10 000 Kip ($2). We were completely oblivious to this side of Vang Vieng until we met the Canadians at our guesthouse. They were from British Columbia and fit the Canadian BC stereotype perfectly. They laughingly called Canada the land of 'Marijuana and Maple Syrup'. As they showed us the various soft and hard drug parephenelia in their room, they said they were from the Marijuana part- we said we must be from the Maple Syrup part as we bade a quick retreat. milana (hopefully daniel will write something HERE about Luang Prabang and his view of Laos) back to index |
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October 31, 1999- Taman Negera, Kuala Lumpur and Penang Internet Cafe, Penang- 6 Ringgits ($2 CDN) per hour Both much and nothing at all has happened since we left Kota Bahru in the middle of October. The better part of the time has been spent doing not much sightseeing and grand amounts of lazing around (as if the Perhentian Islands weren't enough!). Our first stop was Taman Negera, the great jungle reserve of penisular Malaysia. Here we were to have gone on jungle hikes, overnighted in hides close to salt licks which wild animals frequent, and walked along the 'longest' treetop canopy in the world. To get into this reserve, one takes a 3 hour ride inland on a longboat. Longboats are these long, wooden rafts capable of holding approximately 20 people. The boat is subdivided into 10 little sections in which each occupant attempts to make themselves as comfortable as possible using the provided cushions- you are sitting on the floor of course!! Our first night we stayed at Nusa Camp, a wilderness camp with little cottages and dorms, that struck me as resembling a resort in Muskoka (That's an area in Canada for you non-canadians). In fact, as we sat outside our cabin in the evening, with the mosquitos buzzing around and the stars bright in the sky, I almost imagined I was in Canada, rather than in the middle of a Malaysian jungle! The next morning we went on a self-guided jungle trek towards a set of waterfalls. The hike was really something out of an Indiana Jones movie- scrambling up rocks, crossing rivers using a rope and fancy footwork.. Daniel and I never fell into the river on our entire 4 crossings, but the two Irish guys whom we were hiking with did! I caught one of the guys falling into the river on film, so when it gets developed, I'll put it up! I have to say I was quite proud of my crossings- I never thought that I would make it! Unfortunately, we never made it to the falls, as 3/4 of the way towards our destination, I had a strange allergic reaction to a substance stull unknown. We decided it was best to seek medical attention OUTSIDE of the jungle. We caught the last riverboat out of the jungle, and after an exhausting feat of chance bus connections we arrived in Kuala Lumpur late at night. Enough was enough- after 8 weeks of cold showers, hard beds, sand on the floor, geckos on the walls, mosquitos in your bed and nasty spiders in the corners, we checked into the Concorde Hotel and spent a week basking in Western, bland, hotel-chain comfort. Kuala Lumpur was our holiday from our holiday- after visiting a medical clinic (nicer than any I've seen in Toronto!) and getting some medicine, we did nothing but watch movies and sleep. Kuala Lumpur is a good place to do nothing. It has endless malls and movie theaters where most of the population seems to hang out. KL's pride and joy are the twin Petronas towers, the tallest twin towers in the world. You may have seen them in Sean Connory's recent movie, 'Entrapment', where they star as the centre of S-E Asia's financial community. I'm not a architecture connaisseur, but I must admit that they are quite stunning and futuristic. You can't go up to the top as security is very high- you can only admire the lobby and the adjoining mall. There's not much else to say about our time in KL. In one of my few energetic moments (my medicine was very sleep inducing), I went to the Textile Museum, while Daniel went to the National History Museum. Unfortunately, the exhibit that I was interested in seeing was closed. South- East Asia is famous for its unique textiles; each region's looming style and weaving techniques are different. The exhibit I wanted to see was about Batik, as I am quite interested in how they make it. Oh well. From KL we took the night train to Georgetown, the old colonial trading town on the island of Penang in the North-West of Malaysia. We only stayed a few days as it rained constantly while we were there. Georgetown is an odd place, it reminds me of a cross between a ghost town and a movie set. The architecture is beautiful, these old colonial building mixed with extravagant Hindu and Buddhist temples- all of it falling apart. Windows are boarded up, paint is peeling, signs hanging off, many of them fire gutted- it's quite sad. Many of the people seem to fit right into this ghost town image. Old wise, Hindu men in long gowns sit on the porches and stare vacantly down the empty streets. Beggars in varying states of physical disabilities and illnesses lie on the streets. Drunken waiters bemoan their lack of luck in life. I found it really rather depressing- A town of lost hope perhaps? I spend the vast majority of my time in Georgetown searching for a raincoat, mine had ripped. Oddly enough, they seemed to be sold out everywhere. When I finally found one it stopped raining about 10 minutes later. back to index |
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October 15, 1999- Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia Abdullah's Cafe- 3 Ringgits ($1 CDN) per hour Sometimes you find a place which you don't want to leave-- You get a sense of familiarity about a place, perhaps because of the environment, perhaps because of the people you meet. You feel at home, you're comfortable, you're calm, everything is just right. When you leave this place you feel an incredible sadness, as if you are leaving home all over again. I've felt this way a few times while I was travelling, once while I lived in Paris, another time when I travelled through Greece. The Perhentian Islands were also such a place. We had an absolutely wonderful time there, and it was very hard to leave after two weeks. The Perhentian Islands are made up of one small and one big island. We stayed on Perhentian Kecil, the smaller (and cheaper) of the two. Kecil has two main liveable areas; Long Beach, which as the name suggests is a long, white sandy beach, and Coral Bay (where we stayed), a smaller bay on the other side of the island. The two areas are connected by a harried 15 minute walk through the jungle. The island has no roads, no cars, no moterbikes; the only way to get around is by foot through the jungle, or by boat. We stayed at the Sunset Resort on Coral Bay, run by the charming Melanie (from Germany) and her Norwegian partner Stein (whom we unfortunately never met). They also own the Perhentian Dive Centre where both Daniel and I took scuba diving courses (but more on that later!). These islands are complete paradise, except for the accomodation, which was mostly not-so-nice huts for inflated prices. We decided to splurge for a beach front hut at Sunset, which was definitely the nicest place to stay on the island. We payed 50 Ringgit a night ($20), but it was worth it-- every night we went to sleep and woke up to the sound of waves breaking 10 meters away from our hut! Although our place was luxurious compared to the other huts on the island, we still had to deal with the same island life 'highlights' as everyone else. These included little and not-so-little lizards on the walls, endless mosquitos (and mosquito bites), water pump problems, generator breakdowns, ice cold showers, and on our last day, a bathroom full of dead dragonflies (we left the light on during a storm!). Rumour has it that there were also scorpions on the island, but luckily we never saw one. We did, however, see a modern day Tarzan, who apparently lives in a tree on the island. We saw him a few times strolling along the beach, in his little home-made loincloth, carrying his parasol and supplies from the village to his tree. When asked where he comes from, he replied: "I am from the universe, welcome to my planet". Later, we found out that he had admitted to Melanie at one point that he was once a citizen of Portugal. As I mentioned earlier both Daniel and I took scuba diving courses from the Perhentian Dive Centre. Daniel took his advanced course (I am sure he will tell you about that himself) and I took my Open Water course. I earned the dubious distinction of 'Longest Open Water Course Student", as it took me a 'mere' 10 days to complete my course (compared to the normal 4 days). I also earned the distinction of "Most Graceful Boat Entries from the Water" impressing everyone with my cries for help as I attempted to pull myself (usually unsuccessfully) from the water into the boat. Luckily, I had the ever-patient Ben as an instructor, who, along with his lovely girlfriend Eleanor, gave me enthusiastic pep talks throughout my nervousness, ear problems, boat entry problems, buoyancy problems and whatever else that kept me from diving happily. Although I hated it at first, I really enjoyed scuba diving at the end of the course-- It's a completely different world down there full of beautiful and strange creatures. Other than scuba diving, we didn't do much else during our island stay. We did meet all sorts of interesting people, such as Tom, Lisa and Catherine from Britain, the fun-loving Trina and Syrno've from Norway, and Quentin and Jeannette from South Africa (whom we met originally on Ko Phangan in Thailand). With them we shared endless card games, card tricks, and yummy barbecues. Time goes by so quickly in the Perhentians, and although we spent most of our time 'relaxing', the days just flew past. It's surprising how quickly time passes when you're just lounging around!! Now we are back in Kota Bharu, city of cheap Internet access, in order to write this update, email a bit, and then catch the "Jungle Train". We are headed to Tamar Neggera(sp?), a national park 6 hours by train south of here, in order to experience the Malaysian Jungle. We will probably stay there for a few days to do a jungle trek and then head to Kuala Lumpur from where we will do our next update. Until then!! Milana back to index |
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September 30, 1999- Kota Bahru, Malaysia Abdullah's Cafe- 3 Ringgits ($1 CDN) per hour Kota Bahru is on the North-East coast of Malaysia. It is in Kelantin province which is predominately Muslim. It is strange to be in a Islamic society again- prayer calls, covered heads and bodies, arabic script and images of Mecca are everywhere. One thing that has struck me as very interesting is how many women cover their heads here. 98% of the women are covered from what we have seen, which is much different from Jordan where only about 40% of women wear the hijab. Not only do the women wear the hijab, but they also wear full neck to toe formless gowns that cover every curve of their body. I wonder if women here are forced to cover- most girls over the age of 8 or so seem to cover as well, which signifies that it is a custom which leaves little to free choice. In Amman, most girls were uncovered and it is predominately a personal choice. So far, Malaysia is very interesting. We haven't seen to much of it yet, but the food is delicious and the people friendly. Today is Friday, the Muslim rest day, so nearly everything is closed. Luckily the Internet cafes are open, and Internet time is very cheap- it's a good way to spend a day! The urban areas of Malaysia are very modern from what I have heard, and Kuala Lumpur (KL) is supposed to have quite the trendy scene. Kota Bahru is pretty quiet though, the liveliest it gets is at the night market, where you can sample all sorts of delicious barbecues, rice dishes, pancakes, fruit drinks and desserts. People eat with their hands at the night market, which gets quite messy if you have a rice dish. Since I am left-handed I ate with my left hand which is a big no-no here. Tonight I will bring my own fork instead! The train ride down from Thailand was wonderful- a very comfortable experience in comparison with the Chinese trains. Tomorrow we head off to the Perhentian Islands for two weeks to do yet more sun worshipping. Daniel and I are also going to take a scuba diving course. I am going to take my Open Water (beginner's) course, and Daniel will take a more advanced one. Apparently the Perhentians are a marvellous place to dive. Unfortunately, the islands are quite expensive and we expect to pay about 25 Ringits ($12 CDN) a night for accomodation and 30 Ringits a day for food. Internet service is supposed to be very pricey also, so I don't think we will do another update until we come back to the mainland. back to index |
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September 27, 1999 - Koh Phangan, Thailand Batik and Internet Shop- 4 Baht (16 cents CDN) per minute We are presently living in paradise. We have a little wooden cabin on Haad Yao beach which is on the North-West part of this island. Our cabin has a porch complete with bamboo chairs and a big coconut-laden palm tree right in front. Besides coconuts, the palm tree is also home to one side of a hammock that hangs between the tree and the porch. Daniel has made this hammock his home for most of the daytime, he is usually found swinging on the hammock, drinking a fruit shake and reading a book. Beyond the tree is a short beach of white, smooth sand that stretches lazily from one side of this pretty bay to the other. The beach gives way to the gently laping waves of the clear blue South China Sea, whose water (at least in this part) has the same temperature of a lukewarm bath. 15 meters into the sea lies a stretch of coral- the coral looks rather brown and dismal from afar, like a bunch of rocks jetting out from a cold, rough shore. However, all sorts of interesting marine life is supposed to live there according to Daniel who has already done some exploring. It is monsoon season right now, so one would expect the bad weather to keep sun worshippers off the beach and our wooden cabin empty. Luckily for us, the weather only turns windy and rainy in the dead of night, when the pitter-patter of rain drops on your roof and the sound of the roaring sea can be properly appreciated from your bed. This leaves the days free for the gorgeous blue skies and sunny, warm weather that is necessary for this island's proper enjoyment. On the 24th of September we went to the full moon party on Haad Rin beach. These parties are legendary- I've heard about the debauchery and wildness that goes on there from many people over the years. Magic mushroom omelettes were said to be sold freely along with all sorts of other illicit substances. We were expecting a rave-type atmosphere with psychedelic accessories and tripping people. Instead, it all seemed rather tame- alcohol was the substance of choice, and most people seemed inebriated rather than stoned. Of course, there were some people who most definitely were on sone sort of mind-altering substance, but they were a small minority. The atmosphere seemed more Greek Island party than rave. As well, it wasn't just one big party, rather it was a bunch of seperate events put on by the different discos, bars and restaurants that lined the beach. You could go and enjoy different types of music from mainstream, rock n' roll to techno. One of the nice things was that each bar and restaurant fronting the beach had set up dozens of low tables, beach mats and candles on their stretch of the beach. These beach mats were filled all night long with loungers sipping their drinks, chatting and watching the surrounding action. Between the bars were all sorts of vendors selling barbacued meats and vegetables on sticks, baked goods, pizza, yummy fruit concoctions, body painting, massage, jewellery, souvenirs and, of course, bottles of alcohol. It seems that the drink of choice on Koh Phangan is a bottle of local rum or whiskey bought with a bottle of pop- the tables on the beach were full of empty bottles, evidence of their popularity. We have rented a moped for most of our stay here and spend our time exploring the island when we get bored of lying on the beach. Daniel does the driving, as he knows how to ride a moped, while I just enjoy the ride. The terrain is flat on our side of the island, but full of unpaved and potholed roads which makes for bumpy rides. The other side of the island is very hilly and it is a struggle to make it up (and down) each hill. You see tourists on mopeds all the time who are stuck on the middle of a hill- their mopeds (these are low-powered ones) gave out on them! One thing that is very bad is that nobody wears helmets here- there is hardly any traffic here. I have to say I was a bit nervous at first going helmetless, but we don't go too fast and so far we have been ok. It is quite a nice feeling to have your hair blowing in the breeze while you are motoring around, I can now understand why all those Harley drivers are always protesting that they have to wear helmets! We will stay on this island for a few more days, and then head down by train to Malaysia. We are going South quickly as the East coast of Malaysia gets its monsoon season in early November, apparently all the guesthouses in the area close down and only reopen in February. back to index |
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September 21, 1999 - Bangkok, Thailand Cybercafe- 1 baht (4 cents CDN) per minute Travelling in Thailand after China is a complete culture shock. I feel almost the same way I did when first entering Israel after living in modest, Islamic Jordan for a month. Bangkok has entire areas that cater exclusively to tourists, one of the most notorious being the Banglamphu- Kao San Road district which is the official 'backpacker' hangout. We spent the first day in shock- the endless Western cafes playing movies and loud music, the gritty guesthouses, the hippy clothes sellers, the hawkers selling everything from massages to banana pancakes- everything is geared to satisfy your whims. I hated it at first- the throngs of tatooed, noisy, high-energy, flip-flop and sarong wearing tourists was overwhelming and I longed for the off the beaten path style of our previous adventures. Daniel, on the other hand was completely happy to immerse himself into the culture of banana pancakes and late night movies. I soon got over my initial abhorrence and resigned myself to a few days of Thai massages (very nice), facials and other girlie, decadent stuff. After our first night in Bangkok, we decided to move off of Kao San Road to the lovely Villa Guesthouse, a fifteen minute walk away. Villa is a renovated, traditional Thai home. Each room is decorated with antique furniture by Tooey, the owner and an interior decorator. We stayed in the 300 baht ($12 CDN) room which looked like something out of a decorator magazine. We didn't do too much sightseeing in Bangkok as we are planning to go back at least twice; once when we head North to Laos, and again when we catch our flight to India. One of the best things in Bangkok are the fruit shakes- I instantly fell in love with the banana-pineapple combination, while Daniel started drinking plain banana shakes in mass quantities. You can buy these shakes everywhere from street vendors who make them on the spot, cutting, peeling and blending the fruit with lightening speed. They serve the shakes in little plastic bags- you carry your bag and drink the shake through a straw. These bags present problems if you want to eat something else at the same time, as you cannot put the bag down without spilling the shake. Fortuately most food stalls have little containers handy where customers can put their shakes while they eat. Thais seem to have a love affair with sweet condensed milk- every shake, coffee, tea and dessert gets a good helping of the stuff. The coffees for example, are served by first pouring in a good portion of sweet milk and then adding the coffee. You then stir the coffee lightly or heavily depending on how sweet you want it. Daniel says that this type of coffee is also served in the Canary Islands where it is called 'Leche-leche' (milk-milk). back to index |
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