Thailand

This morning, while talking with our children thanks to the great inventions of both Skype and the magic jack, it was our son Tony who asked if we were homesick. No, we are not homesick however we so miss our children’s presence, as well as the laughter and good times with friends. Tony also reminded us that we are not only half way done time wise, but also half way in our pursuit to travel the earth fully in its roundness. We are indeed now exactly 12 hours ahead of our home town Conway and traveling closer back home with each flight we take.
No where yet on our travels have extremes been so manifested as here in Thailand. These past days were spent on Phuket island, on beaches named Patong, Karon and Kata, names which 4 years ago were mentioned worldwide during the 2004 tsunami devastation and frankly we had forgotten as the people here want to do . Diamond Cottage resort and Spa, nestled in the hillside of Kata Bay among lush tropical greenery with beaches minutes away, is the place where at night we hang our wet beach towels and cool off in an air-conditioned room where directly outside fountains flow in the pool we step out in when opening the sliding door to our private patio. Somehow we were upgraded to the honey moon suite and I am convinced Tom was the reason. Wherever we ventured in Bangkonk and now on Phuket Island, Tom is greeted and revered like Buddha’s first cousin. At first I thought it was his big Australian hat since “cowboy” is murmured in passing but it ends up that this favoritism is caused by his bushy moustache, the same one which has been covering Tom’s upper lip since he was 17 and according to Tom is to hide a scar. I have never, not in the 27 years I have known him, seen Tom’s upper lip to learn the truth of this reason but here in Thailand this thick, white moustache is creating quite a stir. The island is not near as quiet as we hoped it to be, it is a haven for tourists from Northern and Eastern Europe as well as tourists from China and Japan. In the resort’s “library” where books and magazines are left at random for other travelers to now enjoy I could not find any reading material to take along. Nothing there in English, Dutch nor German but plenty of American authors translated in the various Scandinavian and Asian languages as well as Russian. It appears that few English or American tourists visit Phuket Island while ironically it is English that is used by staff and guides as the language to communicate in and for that we are very grateful. Soft, English music is crooned nonstop in restaurants and stores, often songs we have not heard in decades and enjoy hearing once again. Elvis popularity never died here and signs are out advertising a performing a Thai Elvis impersonator with banners acclaiming “ Elvis is alive”. Words learned in the English language by hotel staff, shop owners and taxi drivers are enough to serve the purpose intended but sadly not enough for conversation and we have of course so many inquiries about culture and history. We learned a couple of basic words, like thank you and good evening. Personally I always enjoyed and appreciated when those who visited my native Holland took the time to learn a few Dutch words and in the eyes of the Thai people we see the same appreciation for our small effort.
The long, white, sandy beaches are very crowded and lined with thousand of reclining chairs with much needed parasols (sun-umbrella’s). For the cost of 100 baht (about 3 US dollars) one can sit on these all day and watch tall, very blond people turn beet red. In Florida we get “winter birds” in Thailand a fitting name could be “red birds”. Europeans are easily identified by their swim suits (Speedo’s for men) or lack of them (topless women) and the breast stroke must still be the first swim stroke taught there since seldom we saw any one swimming the crawl. It was amusing but refreshing to spend a day next to a Swedish family on the beach. Father, mother and two daughters, one well up in her teenage years who laid sprawled, topless in the sun and mom, very worried about her daughter’s exposed feet covered those with a towel. The Andaman Sea is incredibly clear and the color changes from turquoise to aqua depending on the influence from the surrounding green jungle or the sky’s blue. The Sea is so tranquil that even the moving tide barely leaves a ripple and stretched on the water naps can be taken and I believe I did while floating on this mirror in the absence of waves. Incredible to imagine that this is the same body of water which snatched so many during the Christmas tsunami now 4 years ago. Phuket Island has rebuilt and working on revival. Safaris and elephant treks are back in place, restaurants and bars in the swing of things once again, Starbucks has reopened and the harbors are buzzing with departing cruise ships. Here one sees not construction but re-construction. The same can be said of the small island of Phi Phi Don where we snorkeled yesterday and our guide mentioned that on the same beach where we landed everything disappeared during the tsunami, including 4 thousand people. Tourism is the lively hood for the majority of the Phuket people and they are gratified for the return of the tourists. We struggled with the enormity of the loss experienced here late in 2004 and now our presence but do know that for the people here life must go on. One of our tour guides in Thailand, upon hearing our home state asked if we had tornadoes there. When we affirmed his eyes grew huge and shuddering he kept on saying “twister, twister. Oh no!. The movie must have made a big impact here. While in Windsor, Australia we talked with one of the locals there and she said the same “How can you intentionally live in a place that produces tornadoes”? We reminded her that she willingly lives in a place prone to flooding and bush fires. We all live in places where the elements of earth, wind, water and fire can and do produce great tragedies while learning that when we live in fear, we stop living.
During two of our days here we took a boat out on the Andaman Sea. The first one was out to Phang Nga Bay where in less than one generation this remote corner of Thailand has been transformed into a favorite water sport and boating destination for the tourists. Not too many years ago it was only the long tail boats carrying the fishermen one could find under the shadows of the gargantuan rocky monoliths which make up the island landscape. Now throughout the bay, tourist laden boats and sea canoes can be found mixed with the fishermen still hunting for prawns, fish, crabs, squid and jelly fish. We somehow left on the canoeing cruise with a notion that we ourselves would be the ones paddling the canoes. Not so, at the first drop off, the canoes/kayaks were thrown in the water from our boat and there were all our guides, sitting in the back, smiling and waiting. Alex, the main guide, obviously chosen for his best command of the English language kept on shaking his head when we asked to man our own boat. Obviously that was out. Venturing inside the caves of some of these rock formations, literally lying flat on our backs while barely above our faces the stalactites were hanging while in the dark traffic jams were forming were probably better navigated by our young Thai friend. I could have done without the flashlight he brought along which showed bats inches away and I was too stunned to even scream, I only clenched my eyes and mouth tight and hoped for the bats to have a very good grip. We stopped by many islands until we reached our main destination, James Bond Island, which our boat could not reach, based on the shallowness of the water surrounding the island and we all were transported by long boat to what I can only describe as a shopping nightmare. It is known that tourists come with money and the whole idea is for ALL the money to stay in Thailand. I abhor shopping and had successfully managed to not make any eye contact with the constant flow of vendors selling wares on the beaches. We had even learned not to stop while strolling the streets of Phuket and never to glance at the items displayed. I was not prepared for the James Bond Island approach. I blame it all on my good manners which made me automatically respond to a hand reached out which I presumed was in greeting. Immediately, this tiny Thai woman , pulled my solid six foot frame into her stall while repeating “ You buy, you buy”. I wrestled myself loose with a no buy, no buy and thought I had been successful and almost reached Tom who was watching it all in wonder when her helper grabbed my other arm and back I went while they were filling a bag with Thai souvenirs. The only escape to freedom came through succumbing and children of ours, you will understand and hear more of the story when Christmas stockings are opened next year. On the way back to the boat I walked with my head down and hands very close to my side. We spent another day snorkeling the clear water around various islands in the bay and enjoyed being surrounded by the many tropical fish tremendously. Intriguing were the many sea cucumbers on the ocean floor which we had never seen so close before. On the islands monkeys were their cheeky selves and one happily ran over and grabbed a can of Pringles from two unsuspecting young beach goers. Here in Thailand plumeria grows in abundance as well as many other flowers and thick jungle growth. Almost daily on Phuket island rain is felt but does not lower the hot, tropical temperatures. Today, our last day we chose not to even venture out to the beach but stayed more in the shade and visited the temple built high up near the Big Buddha of Phuket in honor of Thailand ‘s King Adulyadej 80th birthday. Throughout our visit in this Buddhist Kingdom, the love and respect the people of Thailand have for their King is evident was well as the deep spirituality and reverence to Buddha. Cars, taxis and boats all carry flower leis for Buddha’s blessing in safe keeping. Taxi drivers create temples inside their vehicles through marked, light colored splotches ion the roofs. Not so much different from the St. Christopher’s medals Christians display for safe travel.
Most of the Thai people travel on mopeds and they travel fast while weaving in and out of traffic. If helmets are worn often it is only by the driver while whole families can be found on one moped with children before and behind the driver and on mother’s lap in the back, all without helmets. That was bothersome to see, as was the Russian mother who sat up front with her two year old child on her lap while we were all transported quite fast by van over the island’s main road to the harbor where the boat departed from. None of us were wearing seatbelts, there were none in the van but when our driver was pulled over by a sharp whistling policeman that was not the issue, neither was the speed he had been driving with or illegal passing. It is pure speculation on our part why he received a ticket/warning but it may have been in not responding immediately to the uniformed police. When trying to learn more our driver only smiled. Sam, our Bangkok guide asked us if we knew why Thailand is called the land of the smiling people and we did not. His words “When we do not understand what you are saying… we smile”. The people we have met here have been gracious, welcoming, incredibly efficient and serve with a friendly smile, sometimes more than we want to be served since yes, Alex, we do want to paddle our own canoe.

Tonight, after dinner we walked one more time inside this great room we have stayed in for the past week, it offers a beautiful view out back with riches and elegance but out front, right outside our door is the other Thailand where many live in poverty. We are glad to have seen both. Early tomorrow morning we depart back for Bangkok and go on to Kathmandu, Nepal where tomorrow afternoon we hope to glimpse a view of the Himalayas. It is time to trade our beach flippers in for our hiking boots and go trekking, once again.

Thank you Thailand,.
Tom and Els

Flying the nine hours from Sydney to Bangkok were spent reading and watching, finally, the movie Australia. The book I read was traded up for at our hostel in Sydney the day before we left and it is the first time I am reading in Dutch, a translated book by John Irving, an author whose books I normally read in English and treasure when I do . Reading “ A prayer for Owen Meany” in the Dutch translated version, which by the way is extremely well done and kept to Irving’s style, while flying over countries and cities where as Americans we could not fly over without destruction, pain and loss when this book was written is something that will stay with me.
We flew with Thai Air which is overtaking New Zealand Air as the favorite and Bangkok is an airport which has arrivals, customs, declarations down to such an art that we landed and were headed in a taxi, for our down town hotel within 30 minutes. That was even after booking an excursion trip which resulted after looking way too lost while finding a taxi. Our hotel had been booked earlier through Club hotel and basically based on what we saw as a daily expendature so we were absolutely stunned to see what the same amount of money allotted in NZ and Australia suddenly brought us. The room is probably 10 times the size of our room in Sydney, it has hard wood floors, a large, flat screen Sony TV, sound system and the biggest bathtub ever which I have been floating in. The service is impeccable and it appears that every table in the hotels restaurant has at least three waiters anxiously hoping for an opportunity to serve and plates are whisked away the second the fork is laid to rest. Doors are opened and the greeting, bowed with hands folded together is so reverent, graceful and respectful and somehow when I return the greeting I feel and must look as a klutz. For the first time in my life I know what it is like to be absolutely lost in a world whose language I am not even close to understanding. Few speak English here and on a shopping expedition for a converter the shop owner brought in a young boy who is learning English at school and was able to assist us. The currency used here is called Baht and one US dollar buys around 35 baht at the moment. Our first purchase was buying a guided tour in Bangkok and cost 500Baht , around 14dollars and it was amazing that in exchange we were picked up at our hotel by private car and while one man chauffeured us through Bangkok the English speaking tour guide, named Sam, explained the many sights and escorted us through three temples and of course part of the tour involved dropping us by stores selling gems and handmade silk suits, neither which we are planning on toting along in our backpacks. Guide Sam informed us that he self-taught his English language skills and that it is his dream to one day go to America and see New York City, its freedom statue (Lady Liberty) and the Grand Canyon. Bangkok, like many other Asian capitals is a large, chaotic, and bustling city with sharp, mind-blowing contrast. Shanty dwellings versus modern high rise buildings. Saffron-robed Buddhist monks walking the street in early morning versus blaring music from pubs and bars the night before. Glittering Buddhist temples coexist next to worn commercial buildings, shopping centers, hotels and restaurants. Very noisy and crowded streets full of buses, mopeds, bright colorful taxis, tuk-tuks and chauffeur driven Mercedes, Rolls Royces and BMWs. The mass of people trying to ply the streets of Bangkok is captivating and one could spend hours observing this phenomena. Thais drive on the left side and that’s about it. Other than that anything goes. Right-of way is apparently determined by the size of vehicles and the white dash lines are for the mopeds to slither on. Driving against the flow of traffic is normal as demonstrated by our driver who had no patience with slow moving traffic. Walking takes a special skill since crossing can be quite hazardous and mopeds will hop on the sidewalks when the street traffic slows them down. One can actually take a ride on the back of these mopeds, many serve as taxis. Neither Tom nor I were that brave. Thailand appears to have three seasons: hot, hotter and hottest. March is the hotter stage and spending the noon hours walking the temples became gruesome and we started looking for shade at every chance. Sam , our guide, was a world of information and he shared it with great enthusiasm. He explained why on almost every street corner a small Buddha temple can be found. If you built a temple you are guaranteed a place in heaven. Ninety five percent of Thais are Buddhist with the rest consisting of Muslims, Hindus and Christians. Sam took us to three temples. What Pho was the largest and is also the oldest temple in Bangkok and is home to more than one thousand Buddha images, more than any other temple in the country. It also houses the largest Buddha image, the reclining Buddha which is 46 meters long and fifteen meters high and fully decorated in gold plating with mother of pearl on its eyes and the soles of its feet. At the temple of Wat Trimit we observed three Buddhist monks removing the bad luck from a woman while her family prayed around. It was very moving and throughout the visits at the temples one could sense the holiness and sincerity of those who came in prayer and left their offering for Buddha and the monks at the altar.
Shoes are removed at the doors and shorts and sleeveless shirts are not allowed so I draped a shawl over my arms and wore the skirt I brought especially for temple and church visits. Learning the culture and manners of the countries we travel in is fascinating. What is considered good manners in one culture may be considered rude in another. In Thailand doorway thresholds are considered a sanctuary for spirits, it’s important not to step on a raised threshold but rather to step over it. Especially in the temples the thresholds were quite high but in our hotel room the threshold for the bathroom was equally high enough to stumble over in the dark.
Thanks to Sam we are flying out of Bangkok to the small island of Phuket in South Thailand where it will be quite calmer than Bangkok with its 10 million inhabitants and treating ourselves to the beaches and snorkeling there. During the economic boom of the mid 80’s to mid 90’s hotels have been overbuilt in Thailand . As a result prices are very reasonable compared to most countries given the high accommodations and services offered. Most hotels include a breakfast buffet and it is amazing what is served for breakfast in Thailand. With my love for exotic food I find myself in heaven. This morning I started the day with Sparerib soup with bamboo and fungus, yes that is how the mushrooms floating in it were called. Maybe not every one’s idea of breakfast food but it hit the spot for me.
Time to wait in the lobby for the driver who is taking us to the airport for the unexpected to Phuket.

LA-KON, Tom and Els