Well, once again Robby and I have proven our ineptitude at being diligent bloggers. A busy month has passed since we last posted. Time shape shifts while out on the road but one thing is for sure and that is that the days are starting to fly by.
Although Robby hated to leave Luang Prubang (I have a feeling that if the city was a woman I would currently be single) we finally did just that. We had met a very interesting man on the way from Vang Vieng to Luang Prubang named J.R. He is from Vermont and currently living in Mammoth, CA (the same small town where my brother lives). J.R. was killing time in SE Asia before embarking on an extreme adventure of ski mountaineering in the Zanskar range in northern India. We had all hit it off and spent many enjoyable evenings trying out new delicious foods at the market or down by the river in Luang Prubang. J.R. shared our passion for sticky rice, chili pastes and all things eggplant and those dinners full of amazing food, beer laos, and great conversation were some of the most enjoyable evenings of the trip yet. J.R. also decided to head further north via boat trip up the Mekong and Nam Ou rivers and the 3 of us had the good fortune of having the boat to ourselves for 2/3 of the 7 hour trip. You might think 7 hours in a boat on a hard wooden seat would be a drag but not if the ride went past some of the most beautiful scenery you had ever seen. I continually thought to myself "Ok, THIS is the most beautiful stretch of river" only to come around the bend to a part of the river that had me saying it again. We were all struck by how unique the landscape of Northern Laos is. J.R. had brought along some sticky rice, veggies, and chili paste and we contributed some fruit and we had an impromptu picnic on the floor of the boat. The boat was taking us to the village of Nong Khiaw. We coincidentally ran in to a girl we had met in Thailand and also made friends with several other single travelers staying at the village and spent the days at Nong Khiaw and neighboring Muang Ngoi hanging out with them. We went on a "100 water falls" hike in the hills neighboring Nong Khiaw and fishing/swimming in the Nam Ou while in Muong Ngoi. Muong Ngoi also had a fantastic restaurant very falsely claiming to be a "pizza party" joint. Turned out it was THE place to be for delicious local food. Something must really be said about the varieties of eggplant that grow in Laos. They are delicious! The specialty in Muong Ngoi is roasted eggplant dip eaten--just like everything else--with sticky rice. SO GOOD! Robby is already doing his research on getting mail order seeds and having his dad grow them in the greenhouse. The villages, particularly Muong Ngoi, were lovely and we would have gladly spent more time there but we were running out of cash (there is no ATM, no electricity after 10 p.m.). We headed south to the tourist trap/ancient intrigue that is the "Plain of Jars". Located in the middle of the country scattered across miles are jars dating back 2500 years of which little is known. The jars and their story is interesting, the town they are outside of, Phonsovan, is most definitely NOT. From Phonsovan we re-traced our steps back to Vientiane and then headed south to the "4,000 islands" in southern Laos. We spent the first few days on the largest and least populated of the islands, Don Kong. We pedaled around it's 30 km in an afternoon and spent the days lazing around and admiring the view from the veranda of the guesthouse. The days before Thanksgiving were spent on the much more tourist populated Don Khon. It had a feel like Vang Vieng but to a lesser degree although I can see things heading down that road in a few years. Robby and I weren't nearly as taken with the islands as we had anticipated and decided the best way to spend Thanksgiving would be to travel on to Cambodia. Doing a bit of research had prompted us to get our Cambodian visas in advance instead of at the border and I am glad we did. While the people in Laos are as a general rule very laid back and honest when it comes to tourists, we had read that Cambodians can be a little more hip to the idea of sliding a fast one and/or a total scam to westerners. We witnessed the first of these on the bus moments after getting on to the bus on the Cambodian side and were glad not to be the British couple who found themselves freed of their passports and at least an extra $40 in a sketchy situation. Robby and I entered Cambodia pounds lighter than we left home--rice and beer are keeping us fed so I am referring to our packs not our bodies--and we were relieved to get off that bus and disappear much more easily in to the crowd of our first Cambodian town, Kratie.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Luang Prabang...
Luang Prabang...
We have been in Luang Prabang for nearly a week now and all I can say is, WOW. It is without a doubt one of the most charming cities we have been to so far. Lying on a peninsula formed by the intersection of the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers, the town is loaded with crumbling colonial French villas intermixed with sparkling Buddhist Wats. Given this curious mix of architecture the whole town has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. The town is incredibly seductive, it feels as if you have somehow been transported back 100 years to Montmartre,Paris without leaving Laos. Watching orange clad monks stroll by carrying umbrellas while you sip coffee in 90 year colonial French villas is a common occurrence. All of the streets and building are lined with paper lanterns and when they light up at night, atmosphere and ambiance permeate the town like a fog. Even with all the retired, package tourists from
France and America, the town still maintains a magic all its own. Some call Luang Prabang the Pearl of the Orient, I certainly would.
If Luang Prabang is the Pearl of the Orient then the last town we were in, Vang Vieng, must be its turd... While Luang Prabang transports you to the Paris of a hundred years ago, Vang Vieng transports you to Daytona Beach during spring break. Despite being set in one of the most scenic valleys I ever seen, Vang Vieng has managed to completely sully itself by catering to drunken party tourists, promoting "tubing" down the river. This entails getting in a tube and floating from bar to bar while blaring club music fights for attention from a dozen different sound systems. The result is a overwhelmingly muddled mess of drunken hedonism. The only thing its missing is "Girls Gone Wild" but Im sure they'll be here soon. With complete disregard for local culture and sensibilities. The town is filled with topless fools and bikini clad harlots wandering the streets, acting like idiots and giving all westerners a bad name. The hostility between the locals and the tourists is so palpable you could cut it with a knife. I have never been in a place where there was such a venomous atmosphere. While im all for a party, the sad part is that it is taking place in a truly spectacular valley, and most of the people there too drunk to notice or for that matter, give a shit. Think Yosemite valley but in Laos, 2000ft+ limestone cliffs rising vertically out of idyllic rice paddies, and covered in virgin rainforest. This drunken mess could be done anywhere, on any river, in any part of the world. Why ruin such an amazing place? If it were in the States Vang Vieng would surely be a National Park. Oh well...Between the drunks and the scenery
this place was definitely jaw dropping.
We started the month off in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. It is a rather ho-hum kind of place, if you didn't already know it, you would have no idea that it was a capital city. Vientiane is laid back and pleasant but not really worth writing home about. Although we were able to finally find some Belgian beer. Even though they were $6 a bottle, Chimay Blue and Chimay White were a welcome relief from the piss that is beer in Asia. We spent 3 days.
We will be back on the road in a day or two. We will take a slow boat up the Mekong to a little village and spend a couple days. Then we will start making our way south to the Plain of Jars and eventually to an area of Laos on the Cambodia border know as "4000 Islands". The Mekong apparently fans out into dozens of islands, small and large. There are waterfalls and the rare Irrawaddy dolphin.
Till then...
We have been in Luang Prabang for nearly a week now and all I can say is, WOW. It is without a doubt one of the most charming cities we have been to so far. Lying on a peninsula formed by the intersection of the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers, the town is loaded with crumbling colonial French villas intermixed with sparkling Buddhist Wats. Given this curious mix of architecture the whole town has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. The town is incredibly seductive, it feels as if you have somehow been transported back 100 years to Montmartre,Paris without leaving Laos. Watching orange clad monks stroll by carrying umbrellas while you sip coffee in 90 year colonial French villas is a common occurrence. All of the streets and building are lined with paper lanterns and when they light up at night, atmosphere and ambiance permeate the town like a fog. Even with all the retired, package tourists from
France and America, the town still maintains a magic all its own. Some call Luang Prabang the Pearl of the Orient, I certainly would.
If Luang Prabang is the Pearl of the Orient then the last town we were in, Vang Vieng, must be its turd... While Luang Prabang transports you to the Paris of a hundred years ago, Vang Vieng transports you to Daytona Beach during spring break. Despite being set in one of the most scenic valleys I ever seen, Vang Vieng has managed to completely sully itself by catering to drunken party tourists, promoting "tubing" down the river. This entails getting in a tube and floating from bar to bar while blaring club music fights for attention from a dozen different sound systems. The result is a overwhelmingly muddled mess of drunken hedonism. The only thing its missing is "Girls Gone Wild" but Im sure they'll be here soon. With complete disregard for local culture and sensibilities. The town is filled with topless fools and bikini clad harlots wandering the streets, acting like idiots and giving all westerners a bad name. The hostility between the locals and the tourists is so palpable you could cut it with a knife. I have never been in a place where there was such a venomous atmosphere. While im all for a party, the sad part is that it is taking place in a truly spectacular valley, and most of the people there too drunk to notice or for that matter, give a shit. Think Yosemite valley but in Laos, 2000ft+ limestone cliffs rising vertically out of idyllic rice paddies, and covered in virgin rainforest. This drunken mess could be done anywhere, on any river, in any part of the world. Why ruin such an amazing place? If it were in the States Vang Vieng would surely be a National Park. Oh well...Between the drunks and the scenery
this place was definitely jaw dropping.
We started the month off in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. It is a rather ho-hum kind of place, if you didn't already know it, you would have no idea that it was a capital city. Vientiane is laid back and pleasant but not really worth writing home about. Although we were able to finally find some Belgian beer. Even though they were $6 a bottle, Chimay Blue and Chimay White were a welcome relief from the piss that is beer in Asia. We spent 3 days.
We will be back on the road in a day or two. We will take a slow boat up the Mekong to a little village and spend a couple days. Then we will start making our way south to the Plain of Jars and eventually to an area of Laos on the Cambodia border know as "4000 Islands". The Mekong apparently fans out into dozens of islands, small and large. There are waterfalls and the rare Irrawaddy dolphin.
Till then...
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Positively, Pleasurable, Pachyderm Posting
Sawa-dee krap! Lucy and I are coming to the end of our time in Chiang Mai. We have spent the last 10 days in and around Chiang Mai, Thailand's second city. Although it has 7.5 million less people than Bangkok, Chiang Mai is the heart and soul of Thailand. It is the cultural, artistic, and educational center of Thailand and the subsequent hipness is apparent at every corner. From the trend-setting co-eds crowding the streets near the national university to the galleries and boutiques of local artists and designers around every bend to the progressive conservationism of Elephant Nature Park, it is clear that Chiang Mai is a driving force in Thailand. Which is why it seems that it is every Thai's fantasy to move to Chiang Mai and follow their dreams. And for that matter, every ex-pat and tourist, many of the bars, resturants, book stores, etc are run by foreigners who dug the vibe so much they never left.
In keeping with the scene, Lucy and I have fluctuated between chilling out by the pool and casually taking in the atmosphere. We arrived on a sunday and were able to check out the Sunday Walking Street, which is a big street fair in the heart of the Old City. Alot like Artwalk in Olympia, this weekly happening is a showcase for the arts in Chiang Mai. Lots of streets are closed off to traffic and the whole town comes out to walk around and enjoy all the crafts, music and food that the city has to offer. It was a great introduction to the city! After a day or two of "taking it easy", we went for a self guided walking tour of many of the old Wats (temples) in the Old City. A good day of looking at monks and old statues of Buddha culminated with a Thai massage from some inmates at the local womens prison. As part of the rehabilitation process, inmates who are within 6 months of release are taught Thai massage and allowed to practice on the general population at the prison. While they are still under the watchful eye of the government, they are allowed to keep all the money they make and use it to restart their lives once they are released. We figured, hell, if we're going to get a massage while we're in Thailand why not get one from an inmate. I'm not sure if it was because it was my first Thai massage or if it was because I got it from a criminal, but I sure was sore and bruised the next day.
We spent a few more days just hanging out in town and decided we would move on to the next place on sunday. However, on saturday, we were having coffee next door to our hotel about to go get bus tickets to the next place, when we started reading about this place called the Elephant Nature Park. Lucy and I have never had any interest in doing any of the "tourist" activities and in Chiang Mai they are everywhere. There are dozens of places advertising "elephant treks" or "Elephant safaris" this place, however, seemed much different. The Elephant Nature Park is a place that was created by a local woman named "Lek" as a sanctuary for all of the long suffering elephants of Thailand. I won't go into the long history/tradition of elephant problems in Thailand but I will say this; Thailand had upwards of 100,000 elephants at the beginning of the 20th century, now they are down to about 5000, a decline of 95% in just over 100 years. Although a visit to this place was way out of our price range, we decided to go anyway since it allowed us a progressive, sustainable and totally unique way to experience Thailand's elephants. Not only were we able to feed, bathe, pet and otherwise play with elephants ranging from 75 year old Matriarchs to 3 1/2 month old babies, we were also given a thorough education on the plight of Thailand's elephants. This education included a documentary about the centuries old cruel practice of "phajaan", the ritualistic breaking of a young elephant. Although we were never inclined to, after watching the video we were really glad that we never took part in any of the other, much more prevalent, elephant actives available in Thailand. It was a terrible thing to watch but really drove home the motivation behind "Lek's" tireless work. The park and its mission for a symbiotic relationship between conservation and tourism, was a very inspiring look at the potential for conservation projects in Thailand and the rest of the world. At the end of our two days there Lucy and I were able to be with "Lek" one on one while she held a 3 month old baby and sang it "Que Cera Cera", coaxing it to lie down for a nap as if it were her own son. It was a fitting end to a very inspirational experience with elephants in Thailand. I highly recommend checking out their web site, http://www.elephantnaturepark.org
We're glad to have extended our stay in Chiang Mai in such a way but... Our Thai visa runs out on Oct 31st so we leave tomorrow on a night bus to Nong Khai and the Lao border. We will spend a day or two in Nong Khai then cross over the Mekong into Laos and its capital, Vientiane.
Till then...
In keeping with the scene, Lucy and I have fluctuated between chilling out by the pool and casually taking in the atmosphere. We arrived on a sunday and were able to check out the Sunday Walking Street, which is a big street fair in the heart of the Old City. Alot like Artwalk in Olympia, this weekly happening is a showcase for the arts in Chiang Mai. Lots of streets are closed off to traffic and the whole town comes out to walk around and enjoy all the crafts, music and food that the city has to offer. It was a great introduction to the city! After a day or two of "taking it easy", we went for a self guided walking tour of many of the old Wats (temples) in the Old City. A good day of looking at monks and old statues of Buddha culminated with a Thai massage from some inmates at the local womens prison. As part of the rehabilitation process, inmates who are within 6 months of release are taught Thai massage and allowed to practice on the general population at the prison. While they are still under the watchful eye of the government, they are allowed to keep all the money they make and use it to restart their lives once they are released. We figured, hell, if we're going to get a massage while we're in Thailand why not get one from an inmate. I'm not sure if it was because it was my first Thai massage or if it was because I got it from a criminal, but I sure was sore and bruised the next day.
We spent a few more days just hanging out in town and decided we would move on to the next place on sunday. However, on saturday, we were having coffee next door to our hotel about to go get bus tickets to the next place, when we started reading about this place called the Elephant Nature Park. Lucy and I have never had any interest in doing any of the "tourist" activities and in Chiang Mai they are everywhere. There are dozens of places advertising "elephant treks" or "Elephant safaris" this place, however, seemed much different. The Elephant Nature Park is a place that was created by a local woman named "Lek" as a sanctuary for all of the long suffering elephants of Thailand. I won't go into the long history/tradition of elephant problems in Thailand but I will say this; Thailand had upwards of 100,000 elephants at the beginning of the 20th century, now they are down to about 5000, a decline of 95% in just over 100 years. Although a visit to this place was way out of our price range, we decided to go anyway since it allowed us a progressive, sustainable and totally unique way to experience Thailand's elephants. Not only were we able to feed, bathe, pet and otherwise play with elephants ranging from 75 year old Matriarchs to 3 1/2 month old babies, we were also given a thorough education on the plight of Thailand's elephants. This education included a documentary about the centuries old cruel practice of "phajaan", the ritualistic breaking of a young elephant. Although we were never inclined to, after watching the video we were really glad that we never took part in any of the other, much more prevalent, elephant actives available in Thailand. It was a terrible thing to watch but really drove home the motivation behind "Lek's" tireless work. The park and its mission for a symbiotic relationship between conservation and tourism, was a very inspiring look at the potential for conservation projects in Thailand and the rest of the world. At the end of our two days there Lucy and I were able to be with "Lek" one on one while she held a 3 month old baby and sang it "Que Cera Cera", coaxing it to lie down for a nap as if it were her own son. It was a fitting end to a very inspirational experience with elephants in Thailand. I highly recommend checking out their web site, http://www.elephantnaturepark.org
We're glad to have extended our stay in Chiang Mai in such a way but... Our Thai visa runs out on Oct 31st so we leave tomorrow on a night bus to Nong Khai and the Lao border. We will spend a day or two in Nong Khai then cross over the Mekong into Laos and its capital, Vientiane.
Till then...
Saturday, October 24, 2009
The first of many
Welcome to our new blog! Thanks for following us over here...that applies for both cyberspace and Asia.
While I look forward to curling up with my journal every evening, blogging does not appear to have the same pull. It's been several weeks since Robby or I have written anything longer than a Facebook update. Perhaps blogging is like traveling in that the hardest part is simply getting started? The only other thing I have to get started this evening is packing my exploded backpack for the millionth time, so eating a package of Oreos and catching ya'll up on our time in Thailand seems like a pretty good option. I'd hate to lose you, my dear reader, with a lengthy post so I will skip the details with a promise to blog more frequently.
Robby and I made it to Ayutthaya via bus from Trat on the 13th. We spent a hot day pedaling around the ruins and enjoying a new night market. We took an east bound train on the 15th to Pak Chong to check out Khao Yai National Park. Back to Ayutthaya on the 17th to treat ourselves to a first class night train to Chiang Mai. Highlights of our week in Chiang Mai have included staying at a guesthouse with a pool, getting the rub down from female inmates, wrecking a scooter, and observing a fluent spanish speaking thai ladyboy tour guide.
I love Thailand.
--L
While I look forward to curling up with my journal every evening, blogging does not appear to have the same pull. It's been several weeks since Robby or I have written anything longer than a Facebook update. Perhaps blogging is like traveling in that the hardest part is simply getting started? The only other thing I have to get started this evening is packing my exploded backpack for the millionth time, so eating a package of Oreos and catching ya'll up on our time in Thailand seems like a pretty good option. I'd hate to lose you, my dear reader, with a lengthy post so I will skip the details with a promise to blog more frequently.
Robby and I made it to Ayutthaya via bus from Trat on the 13th. We spent a hot day pedaling around the ruins and enjoying a new night market. We took an east bound train on the 15th to Pak Chong to check out Khao Yai National Park. Back to Ayutthaya on the 17th to treat ourselves to a first class night train to Chiang Mai. Highlights of our week in Chiang Mai have included staying at a guesthouse with a pool, getting the rub down from female inmates, wrecking a scooter, and observing a fluent spanish speaking thai ladyboy tour guide.
I love Thailand.
--L
Friday, October 23, 2009
Night Markets
A quick word(s) about night markets. They rule! Best invention of all time? Yes. Reason enough to come to Thailand? Yes. Number of dishes eaten by Robby in one sitting? 4 (so far...) Number of unidentifiable foodstuffs on sticks? Too many to count.
Night markets are basically what Pike Place Market could/should be if it were open at night and was full of ridiculous things that came on sticks. It seems that most every town in Thailand worth shaking a squid at has one. Of course, some are better than others but all are better than any other dinner options. These outside markets contain rows and rows of stalls surrounding a a central area that has dozens of stands selling food. The stalls have on offer everything one could ever want to cook or eat, including many things that you never knew existed.
Lets start with stuff on sticks.
There is; chicken on a stick, chicken kidneys on a stick, pork balls on a stick, fish balls on a stick, whole fish on a stick, crab on a stick, prawns on a stick, squid (whole or sliced) on a stick, hotdogs(pork and chicken) on a stick, hotdogs wrapped up like eggrolls on a stick, dumplings full of unknown numbers of unknown things on a stick, various vegetables on a stick, various fruits on a stick... Oh you like fruit do you? In the non skewered options there is every fruit you can think of plus a whole host of ones that you never knew were out there. There are; Watermelons both red and yellow(?), cantaloupe, coconuts, apples, oranges, limes, pears, dragonfruit, mangoes, papayas, bananas, grapes, several varieties of mysterious spine covered fruits, several varieties of non-discript unknown fruits... Full assortment of vegetables? Check. Every possible cut of beef, pork and chicken(with or without head, with or without feet, or if you prefer, just the feet)? Check. Everything that has, does or ever will live in the ocean? Check. Live catfish? Check. Filleted catfish? Check. Live eel? Check. Loafs of bread with any number of different, hidden fillings? Check. Regular loaf of bread? Maybe. Doughnuts? Check. Little balls of fried dough with prawns, crab, ham, or anything else you can think of in them? Check. All kinds of esoteric and incredibly popular deserts that come in plastic bags? Check. Did I mention noodles? Noodle soup? Check. Noodles in gravy? Check. Noodles with any or all the above mentioned things? Check. Rice? Check. Am I forgetting anything? Probably. Everything less than $1? Check.
Then of course there are all of there non food related things for sale. Clothes, shoes, electronics, culinary tools, CDs, books, ect. Think of it as a Wal-Mart crossed with the Pike Place Market and its outside and at night.
Is it the best thing ever? CHECK!
-Robby
P.S. I LOVE THAILAND! Robby forgot to mention that night markets are that much better after paying less than $2 to swim in a swanky hotel's pool to work up a huge appetite for THINGS ON STICKS!--Lucy
P.P.S.
Tonight we found a stand that sells fireworks! I knew I was forgetting something!
Also, I ordered what I thought was a type of noodle dish. I ended up with a whole fried fish the size of a football! I LOVE NIGHT MARKETS!
-Robby
Night markets are basically what Pike Place Market could/should be if it were open at night and was full of ridiculous things that came on sticks. It seems that most every town in Thailand worth shaking a squid at has one. Of course, some are better than others but all are better than any other dinner options. These outside markets contain rows and rows of stalls surrounding a a central area that has dozens of stands selling food. The stalls have on offer everything one could ever want to cook or eat, including many things that you never knew existed.
Lets start with stuff on sticks.
There is; chicken on a stick, chicken kidneys on a stick, pork balls on a stick, fish balls on a stick, whole fish on a stick, crab on a stick, prawns on a stick, squid (whole or sliced) on a stick, hotdogs(pork and chicken) on a stick, hotdogs wrapped up like eggrolls on a stick, dumplings full of unknown numbers of unknown things on a stick, various vegetables on a stick, various fruits on a stick... Oh you like fruit do you? In the non skewered options there is every fruit you can think of plus a whole host of ones that you never knew were out there. There are; Watermelons both red and yellow(?), cantaloupe, coconuts, apples, oranges, limes, pears, dragonfruit, mangoes, papayas, bananas, grapes, several varieties of mysterious spine covered fruits, several varieties of non-discript unknown fruits... Full assortment of vegetables? Check. Every possible cut of beef, pork and chicken(with or without head, with or without feet, or if you prefer, just the feet)? Check. Everything that has, does or ever will live in the ocean? Check. Live catfish? Check. Filleted catfish? Check. Live eel? Check. Loafs of bread with any number of different, hidden fillings? Check. Regular loaf of bread? Maybe. Doughnuts? Check. Little balls of fried dough with prawns, crab, ham, or anything else you can think of in them? Check. All kinds of esoteric and incredibly popular deserts that come in plastic bags? Check. Did I mention noodles? Noodle soup? Check. Noodles in gravy? Check. Noodles with any or all the above mentioned things? Check. Rice? Check. Am I forgetting anything? Probably. Everything less than $1? Check.
Then of course there are all of there non food related things for sale. Clothes, shoes, electronics, culinary tools, CDs, books, ect. Think of it as a Wal-Mart crossed with the Pike Place Market and its outside and at night.
Is it the best thing ever? CHECK!
-Robby
P.S. I LOVE THAILAND! Robby forgot to mention that night markets are that much better after paying less than $2 to swim in a swanky hotel's pool to work up a huge appetite for THINGS ON STICKS!--Lucy
P.P.S.
Tonight we found a stand that sells fireworks! I knew I was forgetting something!
Also, I ordered what I thought was a type of noodle dish. I ended up with a whole fried fish the size of a football! I LOVE NIGHT MARKETS!
-Robby
YAY Thailand!!
Well, I am happy to report that this post will have a much more positive tone and be free of any four letter words. Such negativity and foul language are no longer necessary now that Robby and I are in THAILAND! We were successful in reserving seats on a Kolkata bound train for the morning after we arrived in Delhi (we were in dreadful Delhi for less than 24 hours. During which time we ate NOTHING that didn't come out of a bag. Hallelujah for cheap junk food.). Our train ride, like India itself, was full of surprises. Once we arrived at the station we realized we had been bumped up to first class. Score! A few stations down the line, the train was stopped due to protests which had caused damage to the track. Bummer! But waiting (for 6 hours!) is much less of a bummer when done in an air conditioned first class compartment. We were 12 hours late arriving in Kolkata and flew out the next morning to Bangkok (October 1st)! Robby and I knew things were looking up when we were offered complimentary cocktails while watching TV on the headsets in front of us. May I strongly suggest to those of you reading that you fly Kingfisher Airlines when ever traveling in Asia. Getting off the plane in Bangkok was like a breath of fresh air--literally! I had formulated a plan to get us from Bangkok to Trat (a small town 6 hours from Bangkok in SE Thailand) that involved several buses and a fairly tight time frame. Such a feat would have been impossible in India but went off without a hitch in Thailand and by midnight Robby and I were headed to bed in our larger-than-california-king-size bed at the guesthouse in Trat. We spent the following 2 days wandering around Trat, eating delicious food, and just being delighted by our first impressions of Thailand (and our second and third and fourth etc). After that, we left Trat via ferry for the island of Ko Chang. What would have be a lovely place to visit during the dry season was dampened (pun intended) by the constant downpour. We did get to spend one lovely half day during which there was sun playing in the warm, clear ocean. After 5 days of bungalow life in the rain we decided to head back to Trat to formulate our plan for the rest of our time in Thailand (our visa is up on Oct. 31st). Although I would be happy to spend weeks in Trat (I have really fallen for this little town), it's time to move on and tomorrow we take the bus to Ayuthaya in central Thailand. Ayuthaya was the capital of Siam from 1350-1767. It was a center of Asian trade during this time with merchants from as far away as France and Portugal marveling at this "Venice of the East", and it is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. A bit larger of a town, it is a kind of "island" in that 3 rivers converge to form a sort of moat around the main part of Ayuthaya. It is full of temples/ruins and Robby and I are looking forward to renting bikes and seeing the sights. Weather reports claim the weather is better more in land and it will be fun to play outside without getting soaked. I love Thailand! -Lucy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
