Bangkok

     Go ahead, curb your anticipation, it is time for Thailand Part 2: Bangkok!  After waking up at five in the morning to catch a ferry to the mainland, I hopped on a bus to the Surat Thani Airport.  I enjoyed a Thai iced coffee (regular iced coffee only with condensed milk as a substitute for both milk and sweetener) and sent an email to my closest informing them that I was alive and well.  At this point I was complacent that I had been so effective in traveling and this sentiment would carry on for the duration of my trip. 

     After a quick flight I found myself in the same spot that just a little more than a week ago had caused me utter panic; organizing a cab into the city of Bangkok.  I knew my destination and luckily, so do most people that live in/have ever been to Bangkok.  One quick interaction landed me in the front seat of a pink mid-2000’s Toyota Corolla, weaving in and out of Phahonyothin Road’s (Bangkok’s super highway) unmarked lanes.  My destination was the famed Khao san Road and I was arriving two days ahead of the commencement of a four-day countrywide water fight celebrating Thailand’s New Year.

Creepin' on ze crepes.

     On a normal night the sun sets on Bangkok and Khao san road becomes inundated Westerners as vendors of every good imaginable call out to attract costumers.  After a week of lazily enjoying my heliotherapy on Haad Sadet’s isolated beach I was shocked at how packed Khao san road was.  The moment I set foot on Khao san road’s dusty crumbling pavement I was engulfed in the loud banter of people whom seemed to be competing for who the honors of loudest conversationalist.  My senses were attacked from every angle; streamers flapped just a few feet over my head while the rising aroma of frying pad Thai attacked my nostrils from below.  Throngs of all nationalities hustled around me and in that moment I knew I had arrived back to the chaos that is Bangkok. 

     With none of the Gulf of Thailand’s surf to cool down with I meandered through the open-air market with my pack on my back, sweat dripping down to, then off of, my extremities.  I was bombarded by propositions from locals peddling their low-priced wares.  The Rikka Inn was my destination, but I had no idea what the hotel looked like so I wandered down the street looking about like a young boy frantically scrambling through his first copy of SI’s swimsuit edition.  The sights and sounds and smells were urging me to take a load off and look around, but I denied my urge to become immersed in anything except finding my hotel.  My long day of traveling was wearing on me and I wanted to put my stuff away and explore the road thoroughly. 

     By the time I had checked into my hotel my stomach felt like had begun to eat itself so I ventured back into the chaotic market of Khao san road for seafood and Chang.

     I had two days of exploring Bangkok before Songkran's outbreak of celebratory madness and I made the most out of both of them.  The first day I took a foot tour of the city’s famed attractions, the majority of which were Buddhist temples (Wats) and shrines.  I found myself thinking often about the Thai and their obvious dedication to Buddhism.  Everywhere I went, aside from the full moon party, there were monks.  I also noticed that everywhere I went there was a promiscuous air, oozing sexuality. 

      Once the sun set upon Bangkok, women of the night called to passers from barstools openly and often.  Ladyboys squeaked at each other in high heels and dresses short enough to make the Spice Girls (I grew up in the 90's, what do you expect?) look like nuns.   The monks never paid any heed to the glaringly obvious lechery that surrounded them and yet these deeply contrasting lifestyles offer two of Thai culture’s most recognizable characteristics; widespread Buddhism and the sexual freedom that the country offers. 

     I found it vexing that Buddhism, a scrupulous religion to say the least, could thrive in such a sexually liberal country.  Now, I know I am talking about extreme examples here and it goes without saying that Thailand isn’t only known for these two aspects, but I found myself being reminded of this gap everywhere I looked as I wandered Bangkok.  It seemed to me that Bangkok has two sides to it catering to two very, very different crowds.

     In the daytime the streets bustle with restrained action as Hawaiian-shirt clad tourists from all over the world roam the streets, their maps upside down, their pockets growing skinnier with every footstep.  When these zinc-crusted foreigners have finished their tours and the clock strikes 9 the city capitulates to the utter chaos of the evening.  I'm close to positive I never saw a monk out past the stroke of 9 in my entire trip.  There is much indifference between these different lifestyles, yet they coexist in such close proximity.

Phol drove me all around Bangkok for less than 1 dollar.  He then dropped
 me off in a suit shop and wouldn't let me leave until I heard the full pitch.

     I suppose that in the eye of tourists, acceptance is one of the prevalent allures of the nation.  Thailand is the land of smiles for that very reason, the culture welcomes any and all.  Freak or conservative, anarchist or weekend warrior, in Thailand you are who you are and you will be greeted with a warm smile regardless.  No matter who you are or what your values are, there is something for you in Thailand. 

     I had previously mentioned grouping my posts by location, but I’m going to reorganize this structure due to the drenched memories of Songkran inundating my brain at the moment.  That being said, get excited; up next is Songkran, the world’s largest water fight.

The flowing robes, grace, bald... Striking.  Really.

Giant Buddha

A shrine to Thailand's king; Rama XI

Thailand: Part 1 - Koh Phangan

Now that I have allowed ample time to collect my thoughts on Thailand, the problem is remembering all of them! In my twenty-odd days of traveling in the Land of Smiles I covered quite a bit of ground, starting in the southern islands and jaunting as far north as the Golden Triangle.  My trip was divided by three main destinations: Koh Phangan Bangkok, and Chiang Mai.  Accordingly, I have decided to order my Thailand entries chronologically and according to vicinity.

My journey started on the perfect note as I indulged in sampling some domestic suds at the Auckland Beer festival whilst awaiting my departure.  After a couple hours of socializing with boisterous folks of all shapes and sizes and nationalities I decided that Black Duck’s Porter was my favorite out of the bunch and headed to Auckland International. 

After traveling for about fifteen hours I finally landed in Bangkok, disorientated and exhausted.  My white New York Giants t-shirt was drenched the moment I stepped off my plane and this moist trend would continue for the entirety of my three-week journey; Thailand’s apoplectic heat was as constant as it was unavoidable.  My thick New York blood wasn’t intended for a sweltering climate and my skin and shirt conflated within moments of setting foot on the tarmac. 

            Trying to organize a cab brought me to the infallible realization that I had hopelessly marooned myself in a country where I had no means of communicating with the locals.  Luckily one of the members of the group I was meeting spoke fluent Thai and my visceral conversation abruptly halted as I shoved my phone in the cab driver’s ear. 

My first night in Thailand was spent in Bangkok, gyrating amongst great friends to the pulsating bass that engulfed us upon our arrival at RCA.  It was a Sunday and the clubs were packed.  We had enjoyed a severe Thonging prior to our arrival and spirits were high.  We marveled at the fact that we, three UMW alumni, were in Bangkok, reunited over fourteen thousand miles away from where we first met. 

            Our ephemeral reunion ended the following evening, as I had to catch my flight to Surat Thani.  We exchanged goodbyes and I commenced a journey to Koh Phangan that would take me that evening and the whole next day. 

After my flight I caught a bus. 

After my bus I caught a tuk-tuk. 

After my tuk-tuk I caught a ferry. 

After my ferry I was corralled into a taxi fleet staging area where countless taxi drivers apathetically rejected my request.  My destination was Mai Pen Rai, a hotel on the isolated northeast corner of the island that offered cliff side bungalows overlooking the sapphire blue waters of the Gulf of Thailand.  Apparently the already treacherous dirt roads had further washed out during a heavy rain earlier in the week.  Eventually I got a nod and was welcomed into the tin-covered bed of a rusted pick-up by a smiling English couple that was just as clueless as I was about the maniac who was about to take the wheel.  Within moments of my butt hitting the raw tin bench we were off, careening dangerously through the dense jungle verdure atop a rutted orange dirt road. 

We laughed to each other through clenched teeth as we raced around hairpin turns wildly, hiccupping across the smaller bumps and flying through the air on the larger ones.  The driver tried to kick me out at one point, telling me to walk from there and proceeded onwards down a steep embankment after I adamantly rejected his barely comprehendible demands. 

We drove another half hour until finally reaching Mai Pen Rai and I couldn’t have been happier.  I couldn’t help but laugh at the concerned faces of the English couple peering out from the gloomy cavern of the pickup’s bed as they disappeared in a cloud of dust and exhaust fumes.  I was inundated with complacency having breached language barriers via wild gestures and shouting to reach my esoteric paradise.  

Mai Pen Rai translates to “is no problem” and that couldn’t have been any more suiting.  I capitulated all of my thoughts of the outside world and enjoyed a week feasting on freshly caught seafood and basking in the sun between meals on the grainy tan sands of Haad Sadet.  More often than not, I forgot about my bed and slept in my bungalow’s hammock with my book on my chest.  I had made it to Asia and found myself lulled into a peaceful trance by the tranquil ways of the Koh Phangan’s inhabitants. 

Only twice did I notice a break in the islanders’ laid-back disposition; the first came whilst competing in a soccer tournament where the Thai exhibited a fierce competitive nature.  The second came to in a neon-clad mob of thirty thousand partiers descending onto Haad Rin for a Full Moon Party where the Thai kept pace throughout the night, dancing with their heads shoved into buckets.  The had sun set and the moon rose in its glorious entirety.  My soccer team and I howled at the moon and proceeded to boogey the night away. 

Buckets were filled and emptied as bass throbbed from what seemed like hundreds of subwoofer stacks.  Each bar had its own PA system and each PA system had its own genre of electronic music cracked to its maximum capacity.

Techno, house, dub, progressive house, trance, psytrance, electro, euro disco, breakbeat, drum and bass, moombahton, glitch hop and so much more…

My my, my my.  The choices were endless.  We danced and sang and laughed well into the next day where we parted ways after exchanging contact information.  I had two more days of tranquility on the island after the madness of the Full Moon Party and I spent them on a scooter, dodging the frothing Thai drivers while exploring the island. 

ครั้งที่ดีที่สุดสำหรับผมก็คิดถึงคุณทั้งสองแล้ว!

Sunrise From Haad Sadet

My bungalow from the balcony

Koh Phangan taxi awaiting customers at Haad Sadet

Baking bread for the hotel

Janet sizes up the competition.

Haad Sadet from Silver Cliff's balcony

Haad Sadet at night from the bungalow

Trail to Wat Kow Tahm

Temple at Wat Kow Tahm meditation center

Wat Kow Tahm Meditation Center

Sleeping Buddha

Whale Sharks!

Psytrance stage

Traces of the previous night's insanity

Mai Pen Rai

Koh Phangan gas station:  A barrel with a hose attached to it

Street vendor sushi

The first time I saw this bugger he was wandering up and down Haad Sadet's beach.  There was a couple sleeping on their towels and he waddled them to inspect the situation and when the man awoke with a wild boar grunting in his face he leapt up shrieking in surprise. 

The best way to get around Thailand.