Friday, August 12th, 2005
at 2:26 p.m.
Thailand was really incredible. I know it's such a clich� to hear when people come back from some new vacation place, but it was. We started off in Bangkok which, for some reason, I didn't think would be as urban and crazy as it is. I was thinking it would be more like an old-fashioned capital city, but it's very intense, so much traffic, so many people, tall buildings made of concrete, crowded stalls everywhere, huge wide boulevards crammed with traffic jams, massive shopping structures, etc. Yet still amid all this are large quantities of wandering dogs (they all looked exactly the same: medium size, light colored, very intelligent features, a curved tail, and upright pointy ears), but in the heat they were sprawled all over the place. Actually though, they were all very tame and docile. Also, there were chickens everywhere! Imagine this hyper-urban crowded city with chickens strolling along the sidewalks as if it's the most natural thing in the world, hehe.
The old part of the city, however, is a totally different story, and much closer to how I had imagined Bangkok. It's cut off from the rest by a series of canals and the river. The grandeur of the palaces and temples cannot be described in words--but I'll try. . .They are massive and detailed structures of such a completely different architectural style than what I've seen before, covered in either gold or really intricate multi-colored pottery pieces. Everything is really tall and graceful and monumental, and even all the hedges and bushes are trimmed to have similar shapes.
Anyway, while we were staying in Bangkok my favorite part was when we drove through the countryside to get to the 'floating market,' a market that is situated on all these longboats on a canal just above the Gulf of Siam, about 2 hours away. But more on that later. . .Getting out of the city and seeing all that jungle was incredible. It was so lush and tropical; a landscape I've never seen before. Think of the type of vegetation portrayed in Vietnam War films. . .at first it was all marred by the worst and ugliest type of urban sprawl but after that it was so beautiful.
The floating market was definitely fun and unusual, but the best part of that day was getting there on the long tail boat. Basically it's like a motorized canoe, but its front curves up gracefully to a point. It goes extremely quickly, and for about an hour after we were dropped off by the car we wound our way through this series of tropical canals, which had houses built up on stilts set on them, and each had boats tied to the canals (since that's how they get around mostly). The market itself was very unique since it was all on longboats tied to the walkways of canals. Very fun!
After that we headed up north where we had the most breathtakingly beautiful resort ever, Anantara (though those pictures just cannot do it full justice). It was unbelievable and I actually still can't fathom that we stayed somewhere like that! Thailand is so inexpensive that for the price we'd pay for a motel, we got this. . .our room was so elegant and detailed and overlooked the rain forests of three separate countries, because we were right in the 'Golden Triangle,' which are the borders of Loas, Thailand, and Myanmar (Burma). Separating them are the 'Mighty Mae Khong' river that runs throughout southwest Asia. We took many longboat rides along it to various hill tribe villlages, which are very old and traditional, with everything hand-made from the houses to the clothes, tons of dogs, chickens, and pigs scattered about, and self-sustaining agriculture. It was just the two of us, with our really awesome guide Watt, so we were able to go in, and we bought some amazing handcrafts they made, like some beautiful hand-loomed material that took 2 weeks to make, jewely, laquered wood things like a trays, etc. We went to several of these village throughout our time there, taking either the river route or winding up into the mountains in jeeps. The mountains felt so otherwordly to me; they are just vertical cones planted on a flat landscape--amazing. The area was actually just opened up to foreigners so everything is extremely culturally-pristine. This is because it was actually seriously dangerous prior to several years ago. The Golden Triangle used to be the highest producer of opium in the world, and all the villagers worked on it. Also, not only was there the opium (and heroin) trade and rivalries and gangs, but there were many violent border disputes. Now, however, the opium is gone and the borders are settled, but that means that the local villagers are all out of jobs. So. . .the king, who is highly revered by all Thais as being very humanitarian and caring, has employed them for replanting the rainforests where the opium fields had destroyed them through slash and burn! This all began about five years ago, and already the rainforests are really starting to flourish. I was very impressed by this measure by King Bhumipol.
The temples in the north are as mystical as the ones in Bangkok are grand (for the royal family). They are often set on mountain tops with an air of being not-of-this-world, especially since mostly they are enshrouded in mist weaving through all the trees and leaves. They are also much more ancient, so they have a very definite presence in history.
When we finally wound down our trip and headed back to Bangkok, I was ready to go home, but also really looking forward to my next trip, maybe to the south where they really badly need a return of tourism. If one can find an affordable flight to Bangkok, one should go because it is so unbelievably affordable. We bought rings set with local gems, had Armani suits made for us, and I got the rose-colored Mulberry Roxanne bag, all for nothing in American prices!!! Seriously it's dirt cheap, beautiful, exciting, and cultural. You couldn't ask for more out of a trip.
What song is playing on my iTunes right now: What I'm reading: What I'm Wearing: Back to anecdotal journalism again! - Tuesday, May 1st, 2007
New Slang by The Shins
LSAT books
A long black ribbed tank with silver sequins on the shoulders, jeans, and black flip flops
Plan? - Monday, Jun. 19, 2006
FINALLY things are going better!
(This month redefined my understanding of stress and 'hell') - Monday, April 24th, 2006
Just a few more days! - Monday, February 27th, 2006
Another one to chalk up to College Experiences - Sunday, February 12th, 2006