Going where I’ve never been

One of the most important things to realize in Thailand is that impatience and frustration will get you nowhere! Thais are unfazed when it comes to traffic – they will sit at a light for 30 minutes, repeatedly cut off by weaving motorbikes, food-vendor push carts, masses of pedestrians and tuks tuks driving the wrong way, and not give so much as a sigh. They’ll wait until the end of time for buses, a chance to cross the street or a turn in the checkout line. They never bat at eye at a motorbike flying towards them on a sidewalk – they just step aside. The response to any irritating or unfortunate situation is mai pen rai – never mind, no worries!

I’ve never been too easily irritated – I think I’m pretty patient and generally go with the flow. The Thais put me to shame, but they have also rubbed off on me quite a bit. I mean, really, where do I have to be that is so important? Things in Thailand can always wait, and it’s important to accept that if you’re going to make it here with your sanity intact!

The past few days have presented a few frustrating incidents in terms of coordinating our departure. First, there is the issue of getting our Cambodian visas. The border crossing is notoriously seedy and full of scammers – the best advice I’ve read is to assume that every single person there is trying to cheat you. If you take a tour bus, they will have a well-rehearsed breakdown halfway there, causing you to arrive at an overpriced, out of the way guesthouse at 1 a.m., when you have no choice but to stay. Why? They pay the bus drivers commission on every ‘guest’ that is delivered.

The visa costs $20, but the immigration officials will ask for 1500 baht (about $45). Sometimes you can ignore them and hold out a $20 bill, but generally they will shut the window and ignore you until you pay. This money, of course, goes straight into their pockets. There will be touts telling you that you need to pay to be stamped in (not true), that they have to help you fill out the form (definitely not true) and the driver you end up with will tell you that your guesthouse is full/closed and offer you a list of others (that pay him commission). Basically, there are a lot of potential hurdles when arriving in Cambodia, but most of them can be bypassed with enough research (which, obviously, I’ve been doing a bit too much of).

Because of this research, we’ve decided to be smart and get our visas at the embassy here in Bangkok. We have the time, they won’t overcharge and then we can just walk right over the border, no officials to deal with. Gabe took on the task of heading there yesterday while I was at work. After finding the location on their website, he set off on what is easily a 1-2 hour journey (again, Bangkok requires patience!). He didn’t find an embassy, but he did find a pile of rubble and a sign stating that it was, in fact, the Cambodian embassy. He’s trying again today, thanks to an internet forum that gave the new address which has been in place for nearly two years. Maybe it’s time to update the website?

The next hassle involves my work permit. Thai immigration has put this awesome law into effect where you have to have your work permit cancelled at the immigration office that granted it to you. Then, you have to leave the country the same day or else pay a daily overstay fee (no small sum). Naturally the office opens at 8:30, the process takes a couple of hours (not to mention transport time there and back), and you are left with a very small window of time to get out. This is no accident! I’m sure that the extra revenue stream started flowing with the instatement of this rule…

Of course, I’m determined to pull it off and we should be fine since the bus to Cambodia  only takes four hours. It gets complicated, however, when we throw checking out of our apartment into the mix… The owner won’t let me check out the night before (you can’t stay after room inspection!). He also doesn’t want to do it before 10:00 a.m.(why so early? I’ll be sleeping!), nor is he cool with letting Gabe take care of it while I go to immigration (his passport number isn’t on the paper!). Since the process of returning to check out means that we’d never make it to the border on time, we are resigned to moving out on Monday night and getting a hotel. In Thailand, all you can do in this case is smile agreeably and thank the guy…

The next little issue involves stuff. We’ve got clothing, some dishes, some books and my laptop – things we want to take home but definitely don’t want to travel with. My friend Joe is staying for the next year and offered to let us keep whatever we want in his room, since we’ll be back through Bangkok at the end. It was a great plan, til I found out that he’s leaving town on Friday and won’t be back before we leave. It’d be tough to give up internet access tomorrow,as we’ll have lots of last minute things to take care of, so I asked my friend Jim if he could help out. He was planning to move on Sunday to a new condo and is more than happy to take a bag or two for us. It was going to work out perfectly, until he found out that there are no checkouts on Sunday, so he is now moving Saturday morning. Bottom line is that we’ll now have to plan on finding our way to his new place at some point on Monday, between packing up, checking out and moving to a hotel. Fun.

Part of me wonders if I should have just paid the overstay fee, but then my Thai-side kicks in and reminds me that, honestly, it’s not that big a deal. There are things out there worthy of frustration, but this certainly isn’t it! For all of the strange, backwards ways that many things are done here, the Thais redeem themselves with mai pen rai – the world should take note!

Ousting Samak over a cooking show was pretty funny, and having him eligible for reelection two days later was ridiculous. Incredibly, someone came to their senses and Samak ended up with a no-vote, leaving him no choice but to exit the political scene… I started to feel a bit impressed, relieved at this display of apparent good judgement.

Then the nominees were announced, all of which were members of the same party. My ridiculousness alarm started to buzz, then soon began blaring at today’s election results. The new Prime Minister? None other than the brother-in-law of Thaksin, that other ousted PM who is evading arrest as an asylum-seeker in Britain and who is the root cause of all the political turmoil in the first place. The problem that the PAD had with Samak was that he was a proxy for Thaksin – needless to say, electing the guy’s brother-in-law is not going to appease them!

Back to square one?

http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=130735

I haven’t written nearly enough about food. Sure, I’ve mentioned plenty of meals and commented on the ‘amazing dinner’ more than a few times, but the food here deserves a dedicated post (or 20). After five months, I still get excited about each and every meal, and still marvel at the ridiculously low costs. I’ve completely adjusted to living without a refrigerator and going out anytime that I want to eat, and purchasing nearly every morsel from a cart on the street doesn’t feel strange at all. For those of you who are interested (cough*blair*cough), here is  a rundown of a few of my favorite delicacies:

*khao neeo ping sai puak – This is the sticky rice confection that I eat for breakfast. No exceptions. It’s made by cooking sticky rice in coconut milk then spreading it onto a banana leaf. Then a ball of soft taro (similar to a potato, but is sweeter and has a purple color) is mixed with palm sugar and placed into the center of the rice. The whole thing is then wrapped up, secured with tiny shards of bamboo and grilled over a makeshift barbeque. Other versions put pieces of banana inside, and still others fill them with sugared black bean paste – you can tell which is which by the style of banana leaf folding. These cost 12 cents apiece and are highly, highly addictive.

* Som Tom – This is the quintessential Thai dish, a salad that is served with nearly every meal, especially in the north. There are variations, but the general preparation involves mixing shredded green papaya, tomatoes, long beans, garlic cloves, dried shrimp, lime juice, palm sugar, fish sauce, carrot shreds, chiles and crushed peanuts into a big wooden mortar and then pounding it together with a pestle. It’s eaten with cabbage (used as a chaser for the spice) and, always, sticky rice. It’s unbelievably fresh and incredibly spicy, though that part can be adjusted. They always ask how many chiles you want and often have you taste it along the way to make sure it’s to your liking. A big bag of this (easily for two people) costs about 80 cents.

* This one I cannot, for the life of me, grasp the name of, but the ladies at the corner  know to make it if I show up at their cart! Gabe can be credited with discovering this dish after he used a little trick call ‘alikerdie’ – the Thai word for “whatever.” It’s useful when you don’t know what someone makes but want to find out firsthand! It’s pretty simple, but amazing – they put big chunks of pork, some sort of bell pepper, whole chiles and huge basil leaves into the wok and quickly fry it with lots of oyster sauce and some other unknown spices in mysterious bottles. It’s scooped onto a pile of rice then topped with a runny fried egg; you then season it with the appropriate amount of fish sauce and sugar and take that first blissful bite while the cooks giggle at the farang’s surprising spice tolerance! (80 cents)

*Roti Gluay – This enters heart attack territory, but with one bite you don’t care.  After finding a guy with a shallow wok and a pile of eggs on a push cart, you smile at him and he gets to work. First comes the oil on the wok, then an impossibly thin but very wide circle of coconut milk batter is poured on top. An egg is cracked on top of that, it’s all spread around and then left to fry for a moment. Next he peels a banana and cuts it up into the center of the batter, following with a sprinkling of sugar. The sides of the batter circle are now firm enough to fold over the banana chunks so that it forms a nice neat square. He lifts it up with his spatula, throws a bit of lard on the wok and fries the thing just a moment longer. He then cuts it into small squares, lifts them all together onto a piece of wax paper, douses the top with sweet condensed milk, sprinkles on more sugar (!!), sticks a wooden eating spear into the center and hands it to you in exchange for 70 cents. Incredible.

*Fruit vendors – Probably the coolest thing about Thailand. These guys walk around with a push cart made up of 3 or four glass cases. Each one is filled with ice and stacked with fresh fruit, all peeled, de-seeded and ready to go. The standard selection is half a pineapple, hefty chunks of watermelon and papaya, and entire guavas, rose apples and pomelos. You choose your fruit (I’m hooked on the pineapple – it’s otherwordly here) and he places it into a small plastic bag. He then takes his huge cleaver and with a few swift whacks (THROUGH the bag, mind you!) your fruit is cut into perfect snack sized bites. The standard wooden spear is stuck into the fruit, you are given a bag of condiment (a mixture of sugar, salt and chile for pineapple, similar variations for the others) and it is handed to you in exchange for 30 cents. This is seriously some of the freshest fruit I’ve ever had, and it comes with a show and ready-to-eat convenience for next to nothing! Perhaps this is the secret to promoting healthy eating?

*While I’m on the topic of fruit, I should mention the smoothies. You can always find someone who will blend together a huge cup of whatever fruit you wish along with some ice and, if you want, a bit of sweet condensed milk. This never costs more than 50 cents on the street (something that would easily cost upwards of $4 anywhere in the states).

*Laab Gai – This is actually the national dish in Laos (I can’t wait!) but is found all over Thailand as well. It’s a spicy salad (salad has nothing to do with lettuce here) made with minced chicken (that’s the ‘gai’ part…it is also made with pork and seafood), green onion, mint leaves, fish sauce, lime juice, ground chiles, lemongrass and ground roasted rice. It’s super fresh, spicier than you’d ever expect, and always eaten with sticky rice! It’s rarely found on the street here (more popular in the north) but I’ve found it at several restaurants for no more than a dollar.

*Thais like to put corn, kidney beans and sweetened sticky rice into their icecream. It’s delicious.

*Oh, the things these people grill on the side of the road! There are Thai sausages, which are generally muu (pork) or pla (fish) with khao (rice) and hidden prik (chiles) used as fillers. They’re never greasy and are always served with extra whole chiles and cabbage/ginger to fight the burn. There are the skewer carts with all sorts of crazy things stacked onto wooden spears – fish balls, pork balls, hot dogs, tofu, bacon wrapped things and many, many variations on these. They are quickly grilled and served with delicious spicy sauce, which makes them all taste the same – like spicy sauce! There are guys that do nothing but skewers of roasted squid – I love it.  There are grilled, roasted and fried chicken legs on every corner (a necessary companion to som tom and sticky rice) and baskets of grilled prawns the size of my hand go for about $2. Skewers of liver are also popular, as Gabe found out the hard way, as are dry-roasted whole fish stuffed with herbs and garlic. These are actually great, but unfortunately I’ve seen the condition of the river in Bangkok and I just can’t do it here… Needless to say, the Thais do not understand vegetarianism.

*Corn – it’s just basic corn on the cob, but it’s hot, buttery and costs about 30 cents for two of them. They even cut it off the cob for you and stick in a small spoon for ease of walk-eating!

It isn’t all great, of course.  There is the aforementioned liver, many curries and ‘point’ places use innards (just look carefully before you point!), a lady downstairs does bullfrogs and I’ve seen more than a few dessert vendors that have trays of fried grasshoppers and roaches mixed among the coconut-y treats! I’ve heard rumors of rat, but I have a feeling that those sorts of things will get much more prevalent in northern Thailand (not to mention Cambodia!!). Overall, however, food is one of the most wonderful things about this place, and will absolutely be the most missed aspect of my experience here. I’m not quite sure how I’ll adjust initially once I’m back home…

I plan to get better about taking photos of these foods, as I know that I’ll want them and I figure that some of you would like to see what I’m talking about.  I’ve got a LOT more to add to this, but it’ll have to wait a day or two – right now I need dinner!

…can the Prime Minister be ousted over a cooking show and then eligible for reelection three days later.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=130537

Last night we ate dinner at a ‘point place’ in a nearby soi. I’ve been a frequent patron here, though I generally get take-away as the soi is a bit smelly due to its proximity to a canal. Since we needed a break from our box and knew we’d save at least five plastic bags by NOT getting take-away, we took plates full of rice and spicy mussels to the single empty table. This table had no chairs and was on the opposite side of the soi from the others, next to stacks of random stuff (tables, pots, boards, car parts, whatever), implying that it wasn’t intended to be used. However, there were no other options and the guy got it set up for us, setting out some plastic stools and the jar of fish sauce. He seemed hestitant.

We sat down at opposite ends so that we were at an awkwardly long distance from one another, necessary as the occasional car that decides to squeeze down these narrow alleys will take out anything that isn’t aligned with the walls. Within 30 seconds I could hear squeaking from below. Frantic squeaking that can only be produced by Bangkok rats anticipating point-place remnants.

I ignored it for a minute or two, trying to figure out if Gabe could hear it or if I was imagining it. The squeaks continued and I finally made myself peer down towards the dark crevices in the stacks of stuff that was sitting next to me. It wasn’t just a rat, it was three possum-sized rodents hanging out around a hole in the ground, twitching their noses and looking at me like they were ready to fight for my dinner. There was an added touch in the form of a few cockroaches (also the size of possums), who appeared to be residents of the hole as well.

I calmly moved my stool next to Gabe and into the potential path of a taxi, deciding that I could deal with a head-on collision more calmly than these dinner companions. The look on Gabe’s face confirmed that yes, he noticed them, and we continued to eat while hovering at the far end of the table. We began to shovel it in a little faster once the boldest of the three scurried up a stray board next to us, knocking it over in the process and causing his friends to become a bit more skittish.

We didn’t talk too much, just averted our eyes from the ground and finished our food. We agreed that we weren’t in the mood to linger and calmly got up, paid for our meal (luckily there’s no charge for the ambience) and exited the soi.

Please note that neither of us screamed, jumped onto the table or even abandoned our meal. We’ll probably even return sometime.

We’ve been in Bangkok faaaarrr too long…

The end of teaching, that is!

Gabe and I have both pretty much exhausted our list of ways to pass time in Bangkok, hence the lack of blog updates. Additionally, I agreed to write a paper for a friend who is remotely attending a university in Sydney and that has taken over my life for the past few days – not only do I now know everything there is to know about The Truman Show, but am also 5000 baht richer. I also learned that paper-writing (even when I’m trying to write like a C student) is a lot more difficult after a three year hiatus!

The political situation hasn’t been resolved at all, but is at a standstill. Samak refuses to step down and the PAD refuses to negotiate until he does, so things are more or less stuck. There still hasn’t really been any violence (I can only imagine the chaos that would ensue if a massive anti-government group decided to take over the White House for three weeks…), though there is no shortage of debate and controversy circulating.

It’s hard to know what is really going on, however; the articles that I’ve read on CNN and BBC sound really sensationalized, yet a condition of the ‘state of emergency’ here in Thailand is the prohibition of any news report that may “cause panic.” That said, the stories in the paper are rather bland and you honestly would have no idea that anything is going on unless you’re in the protest area. I had to come back to school last Thursday, but there is now talk of resorting to a coup, which would probably result in cancelling the end of the term. We shall see…

Speaking of school, things are wrapping up! Once this week is complete I will have a week of review (though review of what, I don’t know – last week was shot and even today I’ve had two classes not bother to show up!) and then exams for the final few days. I am officially done on the 26th and we’ll be leaving Bangkok on the 30th, which is when my work permit and visa expire. I cannot leave until that day and I must leave on that day – Gabe and I are plotting ways to make it out of the country in time! I can’t believe that departure day is officially in sight – back in the beginning, I honestly did not think that I would be able to finish it out.

I’m certain that teaching is not my calling, and I’m certain that an Asian city with 15 million people is not where I need to settle down. I don’t, however, have any regrets and am so glad that I tried it. Though challenging, teaching has been a great growing experience for me and it is pretty neat to know the ropes so well in a crazy place like Bangkok!

Yesterday while walking down Sukhumvit, on the opposite side of the city, Gabe and I got a phone call from a friend who was sitting in a pub that we’d passed. We turned around and joined the group of friends for a few afternoon beers and I couldn’t help but think how nice it is to randomly run into friends on the street in such a huge, chaotic place. I can’t say that I ever imagined it would happen!

All but about three people from my original training group are staying for at least another school term, and many are planning to be here indefinitely. They’ve all interviewed, accepted higher salaries and found nice apartments. We’ve all made friends, learned survival Thai, found our hangouts and feel really comfortable here; the foreign community is pretty amazing. There is alway something to learn, someone to meet and political debates to be had (especially with the Aussies)! 

I personally am not up for another semester, but there’s no way that I’d be ready to leave Asia in a few weeks! I certainly miss friends and family, but five months would be far too short of an experience and I’m so glad that Gabe and I have the opportunity to take off and really explore for a solid amount of time.

I’ll keep this updated with our travel plans as they develop. We’re still weighing our options in terms of which direction we will head, but Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, more of Thailand and (if money allows) Malaysia are all in the plans. It’s going to be an adventure, as Thailand (which is not exactly stable) is far more developed and far less corrupt than any of the surrounding countries. I can only imagine what lies ahead – this will bear no resemblance to my tour of Europe, that’s for sure!

For anyone who is interested, I thought that I would write a short update on the situation here in Bangkok…

The weekend was a bit of an uncertain one; while there were hints that something big would go down, aside from a tear-gassing episode things remained largely peaceful on the surface. On Saturday morning Gabe and I had gone out to the protest area to check it out – it was bizarre and could have easily been mistaken for a festival were it not for all of the helmet-wearing and stick-wielding. We didn’t stay too long – there were definite tensions just under the surface and we were told by some ‘tourist police,’ in no uncertain terms, to get away. We decided it was best not to stick around and left.

On the way home I received a text message from my boss saying that school would be canceled on Monday due to the protests and uncertainty over what would happen during scheduled government meetings on Sunday, so Gabe and I immediately decided to jump on a bus and head back to Khao Yai for some quiet, some nature and some pool time!

We boarded a bus on Sunday morning and enjoyed an extremely peaceful 24 hours; we didn’t bother going back to the park or anything, just read and relaxed and basked in the solitude and scenery. Between the internet and the television translations from Tommy (see my older post about Khao Yai), we were able to follow what was going on back in Bangkok.

Trains were still disabled, the meeting on Sunday produced no results (the PAD refused to acknowledge it and Samak refused to resign, even at the government’s recommendation) and there was talk of strikes at various municipalities, including the electricity and water companies. I kept hoping for another message from Aron that would let us stay one more day, but no message came and we reluctantly headed back to Bangkok yesterday evening.

There wasn’t too much new news as of last night (Monday), although the strike threats had turned into a very real plan of 200,000 water/electric workers going on strike as of 9 a.m. on Wednesday. They claim that it would only affect police stations, government agencies and the residences of select government officials, but I couldn’t help imagining how miserable our little box would be with no electricity or water!

Just as I was leaving for work this morning, I got a call from my friend Raina saying that her school was closed for the day and to check on ours. I hadn’t gotten any messages from Aron and my coworkers were waiting downstairs for our ride, so we all assumed that it would be a normal workday for us; Raina’s school is very near the protest area and had been closed several days last week. My internet wasn’t working so I wasn’t able to check on the latest news…

We came to school a few hours ago and things were quiet, though there were some students here along with all of the teachers. I was finally able to read the news and found out that a PAD protester was killed early this morning by a government supporter, a state of emergency has been declared for Bangkok (meaning that the military will now step in, override the constitution and censor some media) and that the strikes are still planned for tomorrow unless Samak resigns. There will be selective electric and water shutoffs and whereas trains have resumed service (the executives all resigned yesterday), as of tomorrow there will be no buses.

We got a call about an hour ago saying that the school decided to cancel classes and was sending back the students who had shown up, as they don’t want to be responsible should anything happen. Unfortunately teachers are not allowed to leave, so I will be killing time here until 4:00. I don’t foresee there being classes tomorrow if these strikes actually occur (no buses = no students!), so I’m prepared for a week of reading and catching up on various projects! With any luck, I won’t actually have to show up…

It seems like things will get interesting, though hopefully not violent. I’ll keep this updated and, if you are interested in learning/reading more, http://www.bangkokpost.com will have info for you. Until next time…

I’m not sure how much coverage it’s all getting back in the states, but there is quite a bit of political unrest in Thailand right now.  The general issue is that the PAD (People’s Alliance for Democracy, the government opposition group) is staging a massive protest in an attempt to overthrow the current government forcing Prime Minister Samak out of power. Everything has been coming to climax over the past few days…

The protests have been increasing in size, publicity, and effectiveness since May. The PAD is responsible for the last coup 2 years ago when they ousted the corrupt Prime Minister Thaskin. The PAD are saying that its still the same corrupt government but with a new face, which is PM Samak. The PAD have made it obvious they are not backing down or going home until the current government is gone.

It is apparent there are mixed emotions from Thai’s about the current situation. When you talk to the lower income bracket, blue collar workers, most state their support for the current government. Thaskin/Samak are well liked by the poor. They frequently offer handouts or incentives to the poor such as: supplement fuel, free bus transport, free trains, etc. The educated Thai’s state that the PAD are trying to empower a non-corrupt government that will help Thailand grow to its potential rather than hoard billions of Baht (thai currency) as Thaskin is charged with doing. The PAD claim they love Thailand, they love the King, and they are trying to make Thailand a better place.

As of Monday roughly 10,000 PAD assembled near the government compound in Bangkok. By Tuesday morning, the PAD had taken control of the local TV station forcing it off the air. They also stormed the government compound taking complete control. Throughout the entire week tension has been escalating and the PAD protesters are being bussed in, walked in, by the thousands. Friday morning, the tension broke as police used force to regain perimeter control of the government compound, locking inside at least 10,000 PAD.

Friday afternoon, I was feeling much better from my illness and decided to go check out the protest from afar. Upon getting down to the area it appeared the police had it under control and everything was “peaceful”. More PAD had arrived and their numbers were building by the hour outside of the compound area. I was able to keep my distance and still snap off a few pictures. I walked way around the “conflict” area to the back of the government compound where multiple streets and a bridge converge into the area. I could visibly see the protesters inside the compound talking on microphones to the protesters on the outside of the police barricade. The police inevitably sandwiched themselves between the protesters on the inside and the mass of protesters on the outside. I was still far enough away to feel safe but close enough for my heart to beat fast. A PAD woman who spoke a little english and asked what I thought about the situation. She explained her side of the story and showed me her friend who had a bloody head from the violence earlier in the morning when the police forced their way in closing off the perimeter. The chanting got louder and as I stood on a railing over the canal I got to watch it unfold. It appeared the PAD on the outside were about to force their way over the police to get in. Everyone was yelling and holding up their weapon of choice (bat, golf club, piece of metal, etc) as the police lined up behind each other outfitted in riot gear. Before any violence could take place, the police held up a little flag showing they surrendered. The police could not leave as they were sandwiched between the PAD inside the compound and those wanting to get in. Peacefully the PAD made an opening and allowed the police to march out single file.

As of Friday, we learned the PAD took control of at least 2 of the southern airports. Security was brought in to Bangkok Intl Airport to ensure it remained open. As of midnight Friday, all trains are shut down. School is canceled at least for Monday as of now.

We aren’t too sure what’s going to happen. While there has been no serious violence (yet), tensions are definitely high and there are tens of thousands of protesters on the Government grounds for the fourth straight day, all outfitted in helmets and armed with bamboo sticks, clubs and other weapons. Check the Bangkok Post for up-to-date info: www.bangkokpost.com

Here is a short video I shot showing hundreds of police surrendering to the PAD and filing out of the compound. Check it out:

I’ve discovered the secret to staying sane while living in Bangkok, and it’s called Ko Si Chang. Ko Si Chang is an island in the gulf that takes only 2 hours to reach by bus from Bangkok; by car it takes nearly half that time. I heard about it through a friend who was taken there by some of his Thai friends last month, and it sounded too good to be true – a quiet island in a weekend-trippable location?!?

In any case, the time had come for some REAL time away from the city – my recent excursions have been 80% travel and haven’t offered any real respite. A few other friends were planning to go as well, so the timing was great! We took it easy Friday night and headed out after my run on Saturday morning.

It was nearly painless to get there – we took a taxi to a bus station where we got onto an 8 a.m. bus that was headed straight for the pier in Siraicha. There was just a small hiccup in the form of the bus breaking down halfway there…luckily there was soon a second bus pulling up behind us, ready to take us the rest of the way. We took a 40 minute ferry ride to the island, memories of Bangkok fading with every minute that passed…

The island was beautiful and I found it hard to believe that it was so close! It’s largely a vacation spot for Bangkokians – very few foreigners or even Thais from other areas. This means that it is super quiet and has less traffic than any place else I’ve been in Thailand – in fact, we saw hardly any cars whatsoever, just motorbikes and bicycles.

We got a ride to the place where my friends were at, thinking that we’d put our bags down and scope out other options. As soon as we walked up and saw them eating lunch at a table overlooking a gorgeous rocky coastline and a wide selection of empty bungalows with views of the same, we decided to stay put. The son of the family showed me a bungalow with a balcony and an amazing view of the sea – we moved in, paid for a motorbike rental and then all six of us took off to go swimming.

My friends had found a quiet, rocky little swimming area off of a dirt path – I couldn’t believe how clear the water was! There was no one around and we enjoyed it for a bit before moving on to a sandy beach.  We all had a few beers, hung out, then left when some storm clouds moved in, stopping along the way to buy dinner and bottles of whiskey.

The evening was wonderful; the storms never materialized but we had an incredible ocean breeze as we all enjoyed drinks and conversation on the balcony. I decided that I would definitely be calling in sick on Monday! One night couldn’t possibly be enough…

Once I made that decision, karma struck – I woke up Sunday morning with a high fever and heavy cough. It took me all morning to get out of bed, but eventually I made it up and we joined everyone for breakfast on the other side of island. I never hit a point of feeling great that day, but I sucked it up and enjoyed myself anyways. The others were going back to Bangkok that afternoon, so Gabe and I struck out alone. We drove our motorbike to the ancient palace, beautiful grounds containing tons of old royal ruins. Gabe had heard mention of a ‘secret’ beach that could be reached from this area and he was determined to find it!

It actually didn’t take that long and thanks to his hand-drawn map and superb navigation skills (I wasn’t much help considering the fever and sweltering day) we headed down an overgrown path that eventually spilled out onto a completely secluded little beach! It wasn’t exactly pristine – the proximity to Bangkok results in a significant amount of garbage washup – but the water was beautiful and there was no one else in sight. We spent several hours there and I couldn’t get over the seclusion of it all!

Eventually hunger and thirst got the best of us, so we hiked our way out. We made a detour along the way, as we had also read of a huge cave that could be reached from somewhere along this little-used path. We were rewarded twice; first with a gorgeous rocky overlook high above “our” beach and then with the actual cave entrance, which was quite big at the opening. Supposedly this cave extends all the way to the opposite side of the island, but it quickly narrowed off and we didn’t go too far.

It had been a great day with some neat discoveries, and I was feeling much better by that point. We showered then went to a cape on the island, reputedly a great sunset spot. It was another short hike out over a surprisingly overgrown path; there were a few fisherman around, but no one else. We settled on the rocks at the very end, with waves crashing below, and enjoyed a brilliant sunset and complete solitude.

Once darkness set, we decided to try the little restaurant at the top of the cape. We expected it to be a bit pricey, but we were pleasantly surprised! We had a table set out over the water, again completely to ourselves, and ordered incredibly fresh seafood from the incredibly inexpensive menu. On the way home, our motorbike ran out of gas right in front of a minimart, stocked with bottles of petrol. It was, without a doubt, a near-perfect day.

I woke early on Monday to take care of a few chores (ie calling in sick), then decided to spend the beautiful morning playing with my camera. Eventually my batteries died and Gabe was out on our balcony, so I climbed back up the steep staircase and we started our day. After breakfast we packed our things and made sure that the bungalow owner didn’t mind us staying until late afternoon (of course she didn’t – she also didn’t care if we turned in our motorbike at 3 instead of at the noon ‘deadline’).

We then drove to the main beach to rent a sea kayak. For $12 we got a kayak, two snorkel/masks and three hours of play time. It was my first time paddling anything, and although Gabe was very encouraging (and I’m very sore), I’m sure that he did most of the useful work! It took about an hour to get to Bat Island, and it was a great hour! The coastline was rugged, the sky was bright blue and the water was wonderful. Bat Island has a few bungalows, but there was no one there; we pulled our boat in and spent the next hour exploring the water off of the beach.

It was crystal clear and lots of neat stuff to see – innumerable fish, sea urchins, crabs, coral, neat shells and other crazy sea life. We headed back around noon and had a much easier return trip, as we were no longer fighting against the waves. There was a storm brewing, however, and I prayed we’d beat it in – I’m sure they were unfounded fears, but I couldn’t erase mental pictures of our kayak getting pushed into the rocky sea cliffs! Luckily the rain gods smiled on us once again and we made it back smoothly. We stopped for more seafood then ran out of gas yet again (not in front of a minimart this time). Once that problem had been solved (thanks, Gabe!), we showered, dropped our bike at the pier and took a ferry back to the mainland, where we reluctantly boarded a Bangkok-bound bus.

It was so refreshing to find a place where one can actually be alone (such a rarity in this part of the world!) and to discover that there really are secret beaches and secret caves and secluded islands, all within reach. We are back in Bangkok now, but have less than four weeks to go – I can’t wait for all of the secrets yet to be discovered!

 note: I recovered from my brief illness, but passed it along to Gabe, who was hit twice as hard. Luckily it is possible to find Campbell’s soup in Bangkok and luckily I’m a good enough girlfriend to make the journey and find it 😉 He’s doing quite well now!

Let’s revisit the transportation topic for a bit, shall we? This past weekend Gabe and I decided to check out the floating markets. Whereas this used to be a very viable form of market, thanks to local ‘wet’ markets and grocery stores they are not longer needed. They are, however, great for tourism and thus still exist. A floating market is exactly that – vendors paddle their longboats down canals selling all sort of food to anyone who waves them over and wants it. Some carry loads of produce while other have entire ‘kitchens’ on their boats (yes, wooden boats) where they cook up pad thai, grilled squid, noodle soup – everything!

Damoen Saduak is “the” market that everyone goes to, but I’d heard that it has gotten so touristy in recent years that it’s no longer worth visiting for anything more than a photo op. With a bit of research, however, I found that there was a smaller, much more local and much more authentic market called Tha Kha in nearby Amphawa (located about 100km from Bangkok). Of course there are buses departing every 20 minutes, every day to get there, but after stumbling across someone’s blog description of a ‘secret’ railroad in West Bangkok that also went to the area, we had to try it!

The Mae Klong railway is the shortest stretch of track in the country and isn’t connected to any of the other rail lines. It literally starts off the side of the road, hidden in a market, and runs once every hour to Maha Chai. Once you get to Maha Chai, there is a river. Instead of building a bridge, they decided to just end the tracks. Oh, these tracks also happen to be in the middle of another market, and the vendors have to move all of their stuff out of the way each time that a train comes in!

So anyways, supposedly this track ends, you get off, take a ferry to the other side of the river where the tracks begin again and take you all the way to Samut Songkhram (also called Mae Klong), the home base for going to Amphawa and/or Damoen Saduak. Now that you have an idea of what we had in mind, let me summarize our journey for you:

10:00 a.m. – We embark on the 25 minute walk to the Bang Po pier where we board a riverboat.

11:15 a.m. – We get off of the riverboat at the last stop in south Bangkok and get a tuk tuk to take us across Thaksin Bridge to the rail station.

12:15 p.m. – The 10 baht train leaves for Maha Chai; we enjoy rural scenery and try to ignore the incredible heat for an hour.

1:10 p.m. – The train pulls into Maha Chai and we manage to find our way to the ferry.

1:30 p.m. – We get on the 3 baht ferry along with some other people and a ton of motorbike drivers.

1:35 p.m. – We get off the ferry and ponder where to start looking for this mystery train station. My directions said ‘down a soi, near the 7-11’…

2:00 p.m. – Using trial, error and our 20-word Thai vocabulary, we find the train tracks at the very end of a soi, through a field, literally in someone’s overgrown backyard. There is a group of people hanging out at what I guess you could call a station, laughing and explaining to us that the other train wouldn’t come until 4:30. They try to get us to have a beer but we leave, finally understanding why the people who gave us directions kept shaking their head and holding up four fingers, and hoping that we can get a bus instead.

2:30 p.m. – After trying to communicate that we are looking for a bus to many different people (all of which keep telling us ‘rot fai! Ban laem, See!’ – go to the Ban Laem train station, train at 4), we finally find some motorcycle drivers who, with lots of pantomime, are able to inform us that there are buses back across the river! We are glad to finally have it make sense, because we KNOW that the buses exist! Apparently this town is waaayyyy too small for such a thing.

3:00 p.m. – After eating some delicious khao pad moo (fried rice with pork) from a woman who gets a kick out of the fact that foreigners have stopped to eat (this town doesn’t see too many), they can order in Thai and they like it spicy, we get back on the ferry and head to the other side again.

3:40 p.m. – After nearly an hour of asking about buses to Mae Klong and having everyone point us in all sort of different directions, we find one. Apparently there is a bus coming, which is why some people point one direction (wait down there) and other people point the opposite way (it’s coming from over there). Word seemed to have gotten out that the farangs need to go to Mae Klong, because by the time a taxi driver stops to inform me that we want bus 481, every person that we pass points to the end of the road and says “481, to Mae Klong!” Needless to say, people once again made sure that we got where we were going and we boarded the bus with no issues.

4:30 p.m. – The hot and sunny day has turned into a (wonderfully) cool and (unsettingly) stormy day. Luckily we’re on a bus and it has an inexplicable 20 minute stop at a gas station, which is just enough time for the worst of the rain to pass.

4:45 p.m. – We pull into Mae Klong and the bus driver points across the street at a blue minibus, saying “Amphawa!” We nod and as soon as we step off there are motorcycle drivers pointing at the same bus, making sure that we know. We head over, taking their word for it and deciding that we’d rather get to this market before it’s over than find a place to stay.

5:15 p.m. –  The packed minibus finally leaves. I know that we’re on the right road, because I checked out a map beforehand, but am not quite sure how to know when to get off. A few minutes into the trip the driver pulls over to collect money and asks where we’re going – I tell him Tha Kha market and he seems to understand, nodding and confirming “market!”

5:45 p.m. – Everyone has left the bus except for Gabe, myself and an older couple. They look concerned and the woman asks where we need to go. I tell her and she definitely understands – she’s able to tell me that the Tha Kha market was a looonnnggg way back. The driver seems confused, but we decide to just get out (we are at a market, in front of a Catholic church of all things!) and figure out what to do. It’s looking as though we are NOT meant to make it to Tha Kha!

6:00 p.m. – After a few minutes of wandering, realizing that small jungle towns don’t have taxis zipping by, we talk to a motorcycle taxi guy who is hanging around the church. Luckily there is street sign above our heads, pointing the way to our (wishful) destination and it’s easy for him to understand where we want to go. He says to wait, that he knows how we can get there…

6:10 p.m. – Sure enough, here comes the same minibus, running the reverse route! The motorcycle guys waves him down, telling him where we need to go. We climb in, embarrassed, and the driver gets such a kick out of it that he takes us all the way back for free, smiling and enjoying a Leo beer as he drives.

6:25 p.m. – We arrive at the market! It is packed and seemingly impossible to have missed along the way. Luckily it didn’t really get going until 4, so we haven’t missed much. We have enough good light left for some great photos, then eat delicious food, stroll around and enjoy being nearly the only foreigners in attendance.

9:00 p.m. – After a course of snacks for dinner (dim sum, skewers of chicken/veg, som tom and beer) we get a snocone-esque dessert and sit on a curb to enjoy it. A very nice waiter with good english invites us in, saying we don’t need to buy anything, just to make ourselves more comfortable. We decline the offer, but talk to him afterwards about places to stay. I am starting to feel a bit worried about accomodation…we are in a tiny town and things are going to shut down, quickly.

9:20 p.m. – We are in a tuk tuk headed back to Mae Klong. This is the result of the waiter telling us that Amphawa has no hotels, just homestays (expensive!) but that Mae Klong has plenty. He then sends a girl to help us find a ride, make a call to a hotel and tell the driver where to take us. She does all of this, again going above and beyond to make sure that we’re taken care of. I had jotted down a list of cheap places that I’d seen online and the driver obligingly takes us to the Mae Klong Hotel.

10:00 p.m. – We open the door to room 304 and realize that the Mae Klong Hotel doesn’t employ maids. The pillowcases seem clean, there is a sink and it only costs 200 baht – this is about the end of the good points! This is a room that would easily fall into the “crackhouse” category in the U.S. (though without the danger factor). By this point there is no way that we’ll try to go somewhere else, so we laugh and make the best of it. After some snacks from 7-11, a bit of reading and lots laughing about our ridiculous day, we go to sleep (Gabe is sleeping on top of his rainjacket).

6:30 a.m. – We get up, are ready to leave in 15 minutes and get out of that place! We want to go to Dameon Sadouak, knowing that the tourists start arriving around 9 a.m. Miraculously, there is a taxi from Bangkok driving by and he is happy to take us there. A direct trip!

7:15 a.m. – We get dropped off and start wandering around, taking a few photos and brushing off the boat-ride sellers. We eat some breakfast – noodle soup and pad kaprow – then continue photo-taking while the light is good. It is fairly empty, which is nice but also made us the ONLY targets for the souvenier hawkers.

8:30 a.m. –  The place is filling up with tour buses and it’s getting pretty miserable. It is incredibly touristy, everything is overpriced and the vendors are relentless. Lots of big white people packed into overpriced boat rides, buying tacky souveniors and snapping photos.

9:30 a.m. – We are ready to go! Having enjoyed our morning pre-crowd experience, we jump on a songtaew to the main road where we take a big air-conditioned bus straight back to Bangkok. The normal way, if you will.

When it was all said and done, what took us 8 hours and 9 legs on Saturday took only 2.5 hours and two legs on Sunday. Was it a case of doing it the hard way? Maybe so, but what’s traveling if there’s no story?