Thailand - The beginning of 3 months in S.E. Asia

At last Asia…and the cultures I had spent so many days dreaming about. India and Nepal are a part of the Asian sub continent. But in many ways they are not the Asia I have envisioned. I came out on this travel to see Asia. So arriving in Bangkok and finally eating some quality Thai cuisine was priceless. The flight to Bangladesh and out again was delayed and delayed. Though I had good company in a crazy Italian named Simon.

Arriving in Thailand ment, meeting back up with Beth and Shell as well as Shells friend Korin and the following night meeting up with the parents as well as my other sister Jessica. For two weeks we were catered to and lived a more lustrous life out of our backpacks thanks to Mom and Dad. We toured some parts of Bangkok in the beginning as well as the end. We also caught a flight down to Krabi visiting the Phi Phi islands, the coasts of Ao lang and Railay, and many other beachs and islands via the long boats.

Bangkok was a surprise in how clean it was. Especially after leaving the streets of Paraganj in Delhi 2 days previous. When I left the Main bizarre in Paraganj. The sewers had backed up. So they literally took off the manhole covers and were shoveling out piles of shit right onto the street. When you looked down the street there were like twenty of these piles each a meter and a half in circumference and another meter high. The smell in the afternoon heat left a lot to be desired. All I could do was shake my head with the same remark I had said a thousand times before as I walked out of Delhi… “India!” Arriving in Bangkok though, I felt like I could practically eat off the streets there. Everything was so clean everywhere. That and the airport (Which is brand new) felt like a space port in how modern and flashy it was.

Walking the streets of Bangkok at night on Sukmuvit street with the sky rail above, or khao san Road, or the night market feels like something out of a science fiction movie like blade runner or a hundred other great films. It is an international city. One colorful clean and new. New buildings are springing up all over the city along with a hundred or more shopping centers. It is interesting to be in the mix of such a new and modern city but I wish I could of seen the old Bankok. The state I come from has the Mall of America. So I could do without all the malls and Mcdonalds. A friend I met traveling some months ago wrote that after leaving India and arriving in Bangkok. You felt like it had sold it’s soul for new and beautiful. It does feel that way somewhat. There are all the golden temples but the canals are empty along with so much more. I really do like Bangkok. It just reminds me too much of home. Maybe in the next few days of wandering here with my camera and curiosity I will find what I am looking for.

The markets through out Thailand are end less. I couldn’t keep track of the amount of stalls and vendors I have walked by or seen in the last 3 weeks. There’s the night market, The weekend market, the street market, the floating market (All on boats), and so many others. The streets are endless with them. Which are fun in the beginning but when you are with three sisters and your mother it gets to be a bit much. I never really buy much traveling. So in all that shopping with them I ended with only two new brace lets, some new swimming trunks, and a new sarong replacing the one I lost and had bought in Brazil those many years ago.

We made our way back to the Andaman sea along the south west coast of Thailand. From Ao Nang we caught a ferry and hour and a half out to Ko Phi Phi Don. A huge island off the coast of Thailand. Ko Phi Phi Don was hit pretty hard in the 2004 Tsunami, so a lot of the island was under reconstruction while we were there. It was a nice little stretch of beach with a hundred restaurants and clubs but to many water mosquitoes (an under water “thing” that is constantly stinging you all over your body….does not feel good) But we did sign on to a tour that took us out to many beautiful picturesque islands including Ko Phi Phi Leh and Maya beach where the movie “The Beach” was filmed. It was stunning and fun till one of the boats broke down and we had to get towed back in the rains.

A few days later we caught the boat back to Railay beach along the coast. There are 4 beach’s along this stretch of the coast and all are only accessible by boat. Railay in many ways is the post card of the beach’s of Thailand. The headlands along the sea are huge round rocky bluffs along with many tall pinnacle shaped islands off shore. It is stunningly beautiful with its lush green forests, long quiet white sand beach’s, hot weather, and clear turquoise and teal waters, It brought to mind Rio De jainero and the south coast of brazil minus all the city and noise. The food is good and the life is easy. Long boats ferry passengers to many different islands off the coast at a low cost and you can venture your way out to any of a number of secluded beach’s on the islands off the coast.

I had read about Railay in a local news paper article two months before leaving home. It turned out to be even better than I had hoped. There are also many rock climbers and base jumpers out every day high or low on the cliffs. Many of which had huge stalagtites hanging from them. It’s hard to explain just how high these limestone walls are but some of these climbers were just a small speck on the walls high, high above.

In and amongst all these rocky cliffs and bluffs were also many caves high and low. Many of which we climbed around or into. One of these caves carried a legend with it that an Indian princesses ship crashed along the coast so many hundreds of years ago and she took shelter in the cave…. So if a fisherman these days is looking for good fortune and a good catch, he leaves an offering at the caves entrance for her. The most common offering is a wooden phallic. So to say a little there is a pile of peckers at the base of the cave varying in every shape, size, color, and variety that a princess might want.

When I look back on the last two weeks with the family. What was best was spending time together. Which we did every day all day long most days. And we had a great time together. We shared every meal, boat ride, bed, and sunset. Dad got sick one night so we pushed three beds together in one room and 5 of us spent 2 nights all sleeping together in a bunch like pea’s in a pod, watching movies in air conditioning back in Ao Nang. It was good to touch base and share stories together. But two weeks passed quickly like so many weeks before it all and all of us split up again. Mom, Dad, and Jess are heading home. Beth and shell are heading north and I am heading south. It was good to touch base but it will also be nice to get back out on the road again. Just as soon as I spend two more weeks down on the beach. I wish you well and will be in touch again soon. One more great thing about S.E. Asia - Wi - Fi. I love you all. Till that day my friends. - Jeremy