School is back in session. I like my schedule and it seems like I have more advanced classes. I was nervous because now they will know what I am saying but I think it will be good. I will write about my classes soon but first I need to update the three weeks of travel with my mom and brother. I didn’t journal while vacationing so I don’t remember most dates so bear with my re-creation of our trip.
Friday, 10/5
Mom arrived in the morning and Dan arrived at midnight the same day. We stayed near the airport so Mom could just sleep and I could easily pick up Dan in the evening. It was surreal to have Mom walk up in the airport…like with anything, it feels like the 4 months apart never happened. It was so normal! She traveled from South Africa (which is why Dan flew on his own) so she didn’t have much jetlag. Just normal tiredness from traveling for awhile. She had her FIRST EVER Thai dinner that night at our hotel. Pad See-u (fat egg noodles with a brown gravy). She liked it (phew! Weight off my shoulders!).
Dan had some trouble with the Thai immigration as he didn’t know where I lived. After a few minutes of questioning they let him go by taking his U.S. cell phone number. It’s all about formalities here…make a big deal out of it but in the end just taking some random phone number. That may play into the ongoing pedophile search in Thailand—being so relaxed can lead to serious problems but I guess if they weren’t so relaxed I don’t think I would have a job. Luckily for Dan, things are still relaxed and we found each other eventually!
Saturday, 10/6
Late check out and then off to BKK for the next couple of days. We stayed at this unique hotel north of Khao San Road (major backpacker area and also near all of the sites of BKK). The hotel tries to run itself in the most sustainable way possible which is why I chose to stay there. The design was beautiful and it was tucked away from the busy streets of BKK—but the beds were some serious Thai mattresses. A Thai mattress just means it is hard, like really hard. Good for your back? Maybe, but I don’t think Mom wanted to find out! We checked out Khao San Road on a Saturday night which is crazy even in the low season. It’s known as the best people-watching place as there are so many different kinds of people. I would say my mom’s favorite part was a concrete truck driving down the road (keep in mind there’s barely room for people to walk without bumping into each other)! Going forward was one thing but really…did it need to back up into crowds of people? Luckily, there were no casualties. We got dinner with other PiAers who were in BKK. Dan fell asleep at the table—I can’t believe the conversation wasn’t exciting enough to overcome his jetlag J It’s always fun to meet up with people from all over Thailand in BKK.
Sunday, 10/7
It was quickly decided that no one liked BKK so we packed up our stuff and headed to KK a day early. BKK is great for some reasons but sometimes the negatives are too much. The constant traffic, the pollution, the inadequate transportation in parts of the city, and I would say for Dan and Mom it was just too overwhelming in the first couple of days. There’s so much going on that you end up not taking in anything. I was fine to get out of there as I didn’t need any Western fix!
We bussed ourselves to KK after leaving some bags with my friend Chris in BKK (thank you as always!). We tried to pack as light as possible but I think you always want to pack even lighter when you realized you actually have to carry your bags sometimes. Mom and Dan loved the double-decker bus to KK where we got to sit in the front of the 2nd level. A bus ride in the daytime is a good way to get a feel for the area.
When we arrived in KK I got that excited “returning home” feeling. But I would get that when I would arrive in Des Moines too…what is that!? I don’t think most people get that after only a few months. But it is the most familiar thing to me in Thailand. We got to stay at our house as Jordan and Joey were already off to Krabi for a rock climbing vacation. The cockroaches were waiting for us J My mom thinks the cockroaches are bigger than she’s seen in the U.S.! To me, they look like the same size as the couple we had in DC last summer. Maybe my definition of cockroach size is much bigger because of the places I live—this definitely influences my disgust with them. The cockroaches didn’t know what they were in for as we were armed with imported cockroach traps. We put them out and hoped the cockroaches would be able to fit through the eating holes so they could eat the poison. Joey and Jordan have since witnessed them squeezing into the holes and eating-which is maybe more disturbing that they can squeeze into something less than half the size of their body, yuck! Dan was asleep early and Mom and I figured out she has possibly seen every episode of Sex and the City before going to bed!
Monday, 10/8
Woke up to do some serious laundering of dirty clothes for all of us. We then walked around my part of town and Mom and Dan proceeded to meet every dog or cat we passed. I realized I’ve become immune to seeing animals constantly. I still greet some but not nearly as much as they did! We made friends with a women who owns a little bakery and we played with her dog. When we walked out with our Thai baked goods (which were actually good and tasted like chocolate) my mom couldn’t believe that the woman would survive on the income from that tiny store. I don’t know either but most people seem to have a set up like that and are doing ok. I think it helps that their house is usually attached. As my mom said and I agree, Thais are really hard workers. Think, people who work at markets travel from their homes, to a city center with all of their items, then set up the stand, put all the items out, after hours of sitting in the sun or under an umbrella they take it all apart and travel back home. EVERY DAY! It’s just so different from what I’ve always thought work is.
Then off to KKU to check emails and meet my co-workers who were still administering final exams (being a PiAer is totally unfair but it’s so nice to be able to travel when others still have to work—the downside is I am paid less, but I’ll take vacation time any day).
We got dinner at the veggie place on campus and then walked around the campus night market. I had never really been to this night market as I figured nothing was vegetarian but I was wrong. I’m super happy I got to see it and we got to try different things. Our dinner at the veggie place was pretty spicy for them…oops! I thought my mom was going to choke right there on our couch. I guess my taste buds have adjusted more than I thought. It was spicy to me but that’s what made it yummy!
Tuesday, 10/9
Back to KKU for a printer and Internet where I figured out how hard it is to get a tourist visa to Vietnam. Why does it all have to be so difficult! Of course, I figured this out after we purchased our bus tickets to Chiang Mai for that night and the only Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand is in KK and BKK. Unfortunate but we thought the hassle of getting the visa would outweigh the few days we would get there. So Vietnam was nixed and we thought ending the trip in southern Thailand would be even more beautiful.
I received my birthday present-a bicycle! So I can now bike to things that are close by. I’ve decided not to get a motorbike as I don’t think I NEED it. There is public transportation and I should use it-even if it take 3 times the amount of time as a motorbike. I got all the time in the world here…even if it means I have to wake up early. So I’m pumped about my cute, 50s style bicycle with a basket and a back seat for passengers! We splurged for the most expensive one in hopes that it will be the best. (Progress on the bicycle—Joey has been riding it to work and it takes about the same time as a motorbike, priceless! But the handlebars are awkward and the brakes are iffy. I rode the bike home from downtown KK and couldn’t help laughing out loud at myself riding alongside motorbikes with my blue Doremon decorated helmet. What a site to see…as if I don’t get looked at enough!).
We got to walk through a true market on the way back to my house (the bus to Chiang Mai left at 9pm-yay for overnights, maybe). Sometimes big markets just pop in KK. Maybe other people know it’s coming but I never do. All of a sudden I am riding the sawng thaew home and we detour to this tented community that is blocking a road. It’s lovely (not physically but just that there is something different every so often) but seems so random to me. My mom had her favorite food there—a waffle with maple! She tried new things but I think my mom just really likes her tried and true foods. I made my brother try new things but after the whole trip I think there is just no topping pizza for them. They loved The Pizza Company pizza (something just like Pizza Hut). Haha, Thai food is not for everyone and I do admit I love pizza too. Years of frozen pizza didn’t turn me off the way it truly should have.
Overnight Bus to Chiang Mai
The worst overnight bus I have EVER taken! This was no VIP although it was still air conditioned thankfully. The bus itself was not bad but my mom and I got the worst seats. What defines the worst seats…not being able to recline! Imagine sitting straight up and down for 11 hours while the people in front of you reclined their seats so you could see the tops of their heads. Imagine if you were bigger than we were! Thailand is not made for big or even average sized Americans. It was far from pleasant and sleep was very minimal. Mom got to use her first Thai toilet but she didn’t face the door. She claims there was no splashing. I don’t think she liked it.
Wednesday and Thursday, 10/10 and 10/11
Chiang Mai is the second largest city in Thailand and its official claim for tourism that it’s smaller than BKK but has more wats. Some people might be drawn to that but I’m not a big wat-goer. They are beautiful but it’s like churches in Europe…you see a few but you usually don’t plan a trip around seeing them. In Chiang Mai, I was incredibly surprised to see English signs! All over the place! It was crazy to see how much of the city was catered to tourists. Nice for a vacation but I personally can’t imagine living there…I think I’d rather just go back to the U.S.
We walked around a lot and shopped at the Night Bazaar. The Night Bazaar had all sorts of things to buy so we searched for most of our presents here. Clothes, movies, necklaces, anklets, hill tribe crafts, etc. The “be all end all” of Thai tourist shopping supposedly.
Chiang Mai was only going to be a jumping off point but as we tried to decide the rest of our trip we kept staying “just one more night”. I don’t even know what we did other than walk, shop and plan our trip! Lots of the things to do in Chiang Mai involved being on a tour and we didn’t want to do most of those.
Friday, 10/12
We finally found a tour that sounded like something we wanted to do. Since I requested no elephant rides (not very nice to the poor elephants) and no visiting the hill tribes (weird to watch people trying to live their own life while you are taking pictures and wondering how they live like they do). We found the Elephant Conservation Foundation and it was amazing. We were in a group of under 12 and took a van into the mountains were a woman named Lek is working to save Asian elephants who are abused or mistreated in Thailand. We learned so much about Asian elephants and I came away with so much more knowledge but also so many more questions. There are less Asian elephants than African elephants yet no one really thinks about them. Asian elephants are much smaller and their tusks are not as big. Lek takes care of 31 Asian elephants on her land and she is trying to lead a revolution in how Thais think about and treat the elephants. The short story is—the elephants that you see as a part of tourism here are badly mistreated in how they are trained, they physically suffer from carrying people on their backs and also from being on the streets begging. I think it goes without saying that elephants belong in the wild but Lek has taken a more moderate approach. She is trying to show Thai elephant trainers how they can use the elephants but in a more positive way. Training the elephants can be through positive reinforcement rather than abusing the animal into following you. It’s a serious problem, especially for the supposed animal that represents Thailand. Lek is also trying to show how successful her place is for tourists and that there are people who will not ride elephants or feed them miniscule amounts of food on public streets. Thais can still profit from elephants but in a way that is good to the elephant.
Promise me that before you come to Thailand you will at least research your tourist options before taking part. Responsible tourism is important anywhere and I think it is the best for the country. Ok, I am done preaching.
All in all, the day was wonderful we got to feed the elephants (man, do they eat a lot of food. Something like a third of their body weight every day!). An elephant’s skin is so rough and they have so much more hair than I thought. Very cool. We also got to wash them in the river. I loved it. Slapping water onto them from a bucket and scrubbing them hard with brushes while big elephant poopy floats by you. Fantastic experience! We even got a kiss from one of the baby elephants. Like a small plunger on your face but so much cuter. Most of the day was spent just watching the elephants roam and do their own thing. We heard a lot about each elephant and their interactions with others are their backgrounds. The stories were heartbreaking but you could see how Lek’s place had changed these elephants. One of the elephants had killed her trainer (I won’t go into details but she was not treated ok, and just like people who are abused, some find physical violence the only way to get out) but now she peacefully eats food out of our hands. Completely amazing and inspiring day. Lek is one of the most influential people in Asia these days and I can see why. What she has done is amazing and I hope to witness more changes in the next few years.
MORE TO FOLLOW!!
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