The Misadventures of Joey Tafuro

The Thai government has declared Chiang Mai a disaster zone. Due to the burning fields near the border with Burma and Laos a thick haze crept into the valley that Chiang Mai sits in and has engulfed the city with smog and pollution. Thousands of people have checked into the local hospitals and a good portion of the population wear masks right now. I am going to the pharmacy in a few minutes to pick one up myself. It has cleared out for the most part but breathing is still difficult. I have been having a hard timing getting out of bed in the morning and my bones have been achy but I thought that was just due to a poor sleeping schedule. I wouldn’t be surprised if I am suffering from a bit of fatigue. I have been sneezing a lot and developed a bit of a runny nose. Overall I don’t feel too bad but it is just tiny little annoyances that have gradually gotten worse and noticable.

The government has been sending the airforce over the city to dump water in order to cleanse it but I am not sure that is working. The only thing that will help is a strong wind or front to push the dirty air out.

It has been an uneventful past few days as far as traveling is concerned. I am still in Chiang Mai and still finding things to keep me busy. Last Thursday I decided to head out in search of some nightlife and came across a nice bar called “Sax” which played a good assortment of music. I chatted with the bartender for a bit, her name is Nicharee in Thai but goes by her english name of Apple.

She 25 yrs old and lives and works in Wales but is currently on break from that and visiting Thailand again. She was born and raised in Bangkok but has worked in Chiang Mai and has friends here. After she got off work she took me out to a few places around town. One being a really relaxed rasta bar not too far away. We hung out there till closing and then got to jam with the owners and a few patrons for another hour or so. They had bongos, drums, guitars and other instruments to use. I tried my hand at the bongos while a dredlocked, arab guy in dark sunglasses hit the drums. The paintings on the walls of this place were pretty twisted and amazing and I can only imagine the state of intoxication the artists must have been in. The owners finally decided it was time to go so they gave us the keys and said to lock up before we left. We were still wide awake and chatting away so we decided to stay there. I guess the Thai way of life is to not ruin anyone’s good time by telling them that they have to go home so they trusted 2 people who they had never met before to close up their bar. That is a lesson to me in trust and a brand new experience while traveling.

We made plans to hang out the next night and decided to try and get to the rasta bar a little earlier so that we could hear the live band. It was pretty fun. Lots of farang (foreigners). That brings us to Saturday and St Patrick’s Day so I told her we need to at least stop by an Irish Pub for a little while so I can get myself a nice tall Guinness. We eventually made just in time to watch the end of a pretty intense rugby match featuring Scotland. While ordering drinks I overheard someone make a comment about being American so I introduced myself. A group of 3 girls also partaking in St Patrick’s Day activies. It turns out they are all from New York and one was from Levittown, Long Island not too far from where I grew up. Apple wasn’t into the whole Irish pub thing and to be honest, one Guinness was enough so I was ready to go out.

It was getting pretty late but she wanted to meet up with a couple of her girl friends and go get some food. I wasn’t too hungry but I couldn’t pass up the chance to be taken out by 3 girls to a Thai-only hot spot. We showed up at this outdoor food court a few kilometers from where the center and they started ordering away. Thai’s love to eat. It felt like every few hours we were sitting down somewhere with a selection of Thai food. I will admit, I have found a few items no the menus here that I am starting to get a taste for. I realized that it is pad thai that I am not a big fan of and I don’t really like any noodle dishes but anything with rice or curry chicken, beef or pork is very good. Some of the soups are extremely tasty too. I still can’t bring myself to eat them every day but I do my best. I was really glad they took me to this place because it was way off the tourist trail and I was literally the only farang. It was nice to finally get some attention again. You wouldn’t believe how much I missed all the children pointing and smiling at me in Africa calling me MZUNGU!!! It is true though, the further you wander from where all the tourists go the more people look at you and wonder why you are there. Even if it is just a few blocks down the road.

Apple has been great. I appreciate her taking me out and being a good local guide in a sense. We ended up heading out of Chiang Mai the next afternoon to a lake near the mountains. It was really nice and the temperature dropped significantly so the cool air was refreshing. We had some snacks and drank a beer and watched the sunset. That sounds so much like a date… maybe it was? We headed out again that night for what was going to be my final night of drinking and partying for a little while. I told her she was too hardcore for me and that I need to get back on a normal schedule of sleeping during the night and doing things durnig the day. Marisa’s wedding is in a couple of days and I don’t want to be a zombie for all the activities we will be doing.

I ended up changing hotels this morning and moved closer to the riverside area in order to make it easier on Marisa’s family and the organizers to pick everyone up from one place when we do things. I should be getting a hold of Marisa in a few hours to do dinner with everyone so it will be fun.

It looks like I will have one more weekend coming up in Chiang Mai and then it is time to get the hell out of here. In all seriousness though, I have loved it here. I feel a bit guilty that I don’t have much more than bar hopping and sleeping to talk about but I guess I shouldn’t stress too much. I saved up the money so for a short period I could enjoy life in the form that I want to and not the form that I’m pressured into needing. I’ll have plenty of time for work again someday.

But for now, cheers and sawasdi krap!!

I was told by several travelers that I will enjoy Chiang Mai and that this is the perfect place to recover from injuries. They were absolutely correct. I haven’t done much in the form of travel but I have lived here for the last week in a state of normalcy. I was planning on coming up here for a few days and then heading back to Bangkok for the week and then coming BACK here for Marisa’s wedding but I decided to just stick it out here. I finally stopped going to the hospital and got the stuff needed to do the cleaning myself. I will go back in a few days if it doesn’t look any better but I was given the the OK to take a shower as long as I dry the wounds well and apply anticeptic afterwards. The wounds themselves aren’t too bad anymore but they are still at risk of infection and I am feeling well enough to walk around and start seeing the city some more. I think in another 2-3 days I will be ready to start seeing the surrounding hills of Chiang Mai. There are several tours I can take to tribes and villages nearby as well as trekking and white water rafting. All things that I wanted to do here but up until now have been unable to to do. I hope to not even bring up the accident anymore after this post because I am certainly tired of writing about it.

Nothing really exciting aside from the robbery has occured the last few days. I was ordered by the doctor to stay out of the sun for 2 days so I kept to internet cafes, my hotel room, and the movie theater. The internet said that ‘300’ was playing at the airport plaza but when I arrived it wasn’t showing yet so I settled on ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ which I never planned on seeing but I thought the movie was very good. It was inspirational. I also watched ‘The Last King of Scotland’ and found that incredibly good. I always enjoy a good movie about Africa.

I have changed hotels 2 times since I arrived in Chiang Mai. I liked my first accommodation but it was too expensive and I was mostly paying for the fact that there was a pool available and since I wasn’t able to swim I moved across the street for half the price. I was paying $6 for a very comfortable room. The only problem is a new club opened up right down the street and you can feel the bass beating till 4am. I said Chiang Mai was very quiet and I’m surprised they allowed this club to open up in the location it was because that whole area is very relaxed. There are a lot of homes near by so I would expect some complaints soon. I eventually found my way to a guesthouse in the same area but a few dark streets away. I don’t even know the name of it. It is a Thai name and I am ashamed to have forgotten it already. I am far enough away from the music and I even have a TV to catch up on the news with.

Aside from relaxing and doing the ‘normal’ things I would do if I was at home and not feeling well, I have ventured out slightly. There is a main stretch of road leading down to the Chiang Mai night market with loads of bars and massage parlours. It is much nicer than in Bangkok because the vibe is more relaxed and you can actually go into a bar and have a drink and not be hounded by the other lady patrons. I treated myself to a Beer Lao and a Thai massage yesterday. It was a half massage since I asked him to stay away from the legs with the scabs still. The 30 minutes was extremely painful with my body parts being bent backwards and lots of pressure but in the end it was worth it. When I no longer have any scrapes I will go back for a 1 hour full body massage. Oh, and it only cost $3. It is one of those moments while you travel that you get overcome with a bit of guilt, especially since it was about 8am EST on a Monday morning for everyone back home.

Yesterday, Marisa and Sean left Texas for Bangkok and will be arriving in Chiang Mai on the 19th. I plan on hanging around the ‘old city’ where I am now until they arrive and then I will switch to a riverside hotel closer to where the wedding will be held. I have decided on doing the visa run to Burma. I have quoted a few prices and it seems like $18 is the cheapest I can find for a mini-bus to take 10 people to the Burmese border to cross and then come back to renew our Thai visas. I want to wait as long as possible so then I have a longer time to stay in the country.

If I do the visa run to Burma then that will seal the deal that I am heading south again after the wedding. Once again altering my travel plans. The original idea was to go north into Laos and then make my way through Vietnam and Cambodia but I think I will go back down to Bangkok and actually enjoy my time there then head to Pattaya the first or 2nd week of April. An ex-coworker of mine (Mark Pratt for any CAF folks reading this) will be in Pattaya with his wife and I would love to head down there and have drinks with them. The beaches there are supposed to be really nice so I figure I can get the sun I was supposed to get in Ko Phangan. After that I will make my way into Cambodia and onward.

I always expected that my plans would change at some point but right now the month of March looks nothing like I had planned and it looks as if April will be more of the same.

This is the new article that talks about the incident outside the hospital when I was leaving yesterday.

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Gold robber shot by police
Posted on Friday, 9 March 2007, 10: 48 GMT

A gunman robbed a gold shop in the Chiang Mai muang district, but was shot by police officers during his escape attempt. Chiang Mai police report that Mr. Supat Lhuengpechngam entered the Yaowaraj Gold shop in the Padung market of the Chiang Mai muang district and brandished a fake pistol in an attempt to rob the gold shop’s owner, Mr. Narin Meeratanakarn. Mr. Narin produced a real firearm in an effort to prevent the robbery but was overpowered and had the weapon stolen from him. Police revealed that Mr. Narin and his wife were shot in the process. A traffic officer in the vicinity responded to the incident and opened fire on Mr. Supat, killing him as he tried to flee the scene. The gold shop owner received slight injuries but his wife was fatally wounded and passed away at a local hospital shortly after the incident. A street vendor was also injured in the exchange of gunfire between Mr. Supat and the traffic officer. (Source: Public Relations Department)

Staying with the theme of things, Thailand has continued its reign as the heart & soul of excitement on my trip. A visit to Raum Praet hospital just outside the city walls concluded with word from an actual doctor that the infection in my right leg has not gotten any better and that it would need attention immediately. My heart dropped as she told me to lay down on the table and relax. Suddenly 4 nurses were standing over my bed. I started to breath heavily and could feel my heart pounding and wondered whether or not this was it. After 2 months on the road, the trip was going to end here with word that I needed immediate surgery to remove the infected limb.

At least that is what went through my head for about 30 seconds of my morning. The 4 nurses were actually just coming through to prepare a table for a couple of kids that got scraped up probably playing soccer in the street and just wanted to take a look at my leg for kicks. The doctor pulled out a long needle and began poking at the site of the 2nd degree burn. She told me that she is going to have to cut some of it off which she did but luckily she just meant a small portion of the skin that was already burned. She said I will lose the skin and it will scar but that it should heal fine otherwise. The other bad scrape that was healing a slowly on my lower leg was bright pink and looked decent to me. She asked me what I planned on doing today and I told her not a whole lot. She said that was good because she doesn’t want me outside because they are going to leave the wound open instead of covering it with a bandage, in hopes that it will dry and scab quickly. She is concerned that it has been 10 days and it still isn’t closed completely. I was given new antibiotics and sent on my way after a hefty bill. I guess when you see a real hospital doctor they like to charge you a bit more. The peace of mind that everything should be fine is worth it.

The real excitement didn’t occur till after I was leaving the hospital. Chiang Mai is known as a pretty safe destination in Thailand but I guess even in the safest places you can have your isolated incidents. I tried flagging down a tuk-tuk to take me back to my hotel but there weren’t any coming down the side street so I headed for the main road. Just as I turned the corner I hear 3 loud gunshots. Pop, Pop…. then POP! (I’m a big fan of the onomatopoeia) I have heard a lot of loud bangs and pops during my travels, from blown tires in Ethiopia to backfired engines elsewhere. At first I let this one slide as just another random noise but then the crowd started forming and doctors from the hospital got on their motorbikes and headed across the street to check out it out. I’m not sure how many were involved but there was a robbery at the gold shop. I had to be the only one in Chiang Mai walking away from the incident. A Thai man ran up behind me and told me to be careful that it was a robbery and the men had fled. Looking back on it I should have probably gone TO the scene rather than walk by myself away from it down the quiet street that lead to the neighborhood of my hotel. I figure the robbers aren’t coming back to where they just set off 3 shots and might be looking for a lone traveler to take as a hostage. A fleeing criminal is usually the most dangerous.

I am safe though and got back to my hotel fine. Just a little excitement before 12 noon. I wonder what the rest of the day will be like.

Best Experience: Dancing to good house music at the Good Vibrations show in Singapore.
Worst Experience: Getting sick my last day in Singapore.
Best Acommodation: Red Dragon Hostel in Kuala Lumpur.
Worst Accomodation: Anuja Guest House in Kuala Lumpur.
Best Food: The laksa soup.
Worst Food: The meat inside the laksa soup.
Scariest Moment: Shawn’s broken toe. I was worried, what can I say.
Best Scenery: North of Penang heading towards Thailand with rock cliffs and blue water.

So I left Bangkok for the quieter vibe of Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand. I decided to fly simply because a 12 hour bus ride was not what the doctor ordered for my already travel- depressed self. I am feeling much better. Chiang Mai is definitely quieter and while it isn’t cold by any means it lacks the suffocating heat, humidity and pollution that Bangkok has. I figure I will spend the next couple of days here waiting for the 2 wounds on my arm and leg to heal completely. I figure with less people here I can just relax and not feel like I am in party central with absolutely nothing to do but sulk.

There are lots of book shops and coffee shops around Chiang Mai. Since alchohol thins the blood and I still have wounds that are technically open, I have to stay away from the $1 beer scattered all over town. It is amazingly more difficult than I thought to not drink. Not so much because I want to be in a drunken haze my entire trip but going to a bar and having a beer is a great social activity and without that it is difficult to meet locals and other travelers. I have traded in the beer for fruit milk shakes. I have been tasting the banana shakes as often as possible and putting them down like beer.

I have to see the doctor again tomorrow. I could actually go to the pharmacy and get the material myself to re-wrap it but the clinic isn’t too expensive here and I would rather hear from the doctor that things still look ok and not infected.

Not much else going on right now. I am in the city where I need to be towards the end of March. I haven’t decided if I am going to hang out in northern Thailand till then or go back to Bangkok for a little bit once I feel better and then come back up. That is a lot of back tracking but an overnight train isn’t too expensive and it will be just like getting a hotel for the night so no big deal. I would arrive in Bangkok in the morning and do the same when I return to Chiang Mai.

My one big concern right now is not overstaying my Thai visa. The penalties are pretty hefty if that occurs so I have to think about making a border run and that might be just the thing to do with the extra time I have. I can head towards the Burmese border for a day trip and get stamped on my way out and come right back in with a renewed 30 day free visa. I would head to Laos but I think the journey is a bit long and I plan to go to Laos anyway. The only other options are Cambodia which is extremely far from where I am now or flying to Ho Chi Min City, Kuala Lumpur or some other affordable destination, although I would like to avoid that. I have to think of something or else I will be officially an illegal alien.

I arrived in Bangkok last night. I wish I could say my excitement level was high but it just isn’t. I stayed in the Sukhumvit Road area which is more of an ex-patriot and seedy part of the city. This morning I got my bags and took off for the legendary backpacker mecca of Khoasan Rd. There are budget guesthouses, hostels, restaurants and night clubs all over the place.

I settled into a single room with a/c and a tv and then went out looking for a new doctor. I came across one about 10 minutes away by foot. The doctor took a look at all my wounds and said the one on my right leg that was a burn isn’t looking good. He said it was slightly infected but will be ok. The rest were ok except the 2 that are still wrapped up in bandages because they are healing slowly. My right lower shin and my left forearm are probably going to be wrapped up for another 2-3 days which means still no showering. I attempted to wash myself last night but it wasn’t very satisfying.

I am just not having fun anymore. I don’t really wanna walk long distances, being in the sun is extremely uncomfortable and I feel really dirty. It looks like I am going to call Khoasan Rd home for a little while until the 2 wounds are dried up and I can shower. It doesn’t really hurt anymore except when applying anticeptic. Maybe once I can take a GOOD shower and not worry about keeping anything dry I can start enjoying myself again.

For now, maybe I should just put my blog on hiatus since there won’t be much to talk about. If I can muster up the desire to visit some historical sites I may do that. I will keep everyone posted.

There isn’t much to do here in Hat Yai. My guide book warned against this place as just a transport hub with no real charm to it. There aren’t any sights and I’m tired of sitting at bars drinking so I will write.

My guide book also told me that Hat Yai is a huge sex tourism town and services a lot of men who cross the border from Malaysia for an evening of fun. I am happy to report that I have not been approached and overall it has been a pleasant experience. The tuk-tuk (mini-taxi) drivers are the only hassle I see so far but even they are mildly aggressive.

I decided to check up on the news of this area seeing as though the US and British embassies advise against travel to the deep south provinces of Thailand. Last week 31 bombs went off in some of the surrounding provinces. It turns out last 2006 there were a string of 6 bombs that went off here killing 20 or so people including tourists. Thailand is 90% Buddhist with the rest mixed with hindu, muslim and christian. The extreme south, where I am now, starts to blend Thai and Malay culture and seeing as though Malays are Muslim as a whole, things get nasty. I have heard that the south actually wants to secede from the rest of Thailand. So far all they have accomplished are mall, shopping center, hotel and ATM machine bombings set off from motorcycles that are ignited don’t really have a fear of traveling to unstable destinations. I was perfectly comfortable with Daisy in DR Congo, never felt threatened in Ethiopia let alone anywhere else in Africa. I guess if something is going to happen there isn’t much I can do about it and I sure as hell won’t avoid a destination just because my government either doesn’t want me there for my true well-being or just doesn’t want my money being spent here.

There is relative peace and safety in almost every part of this world. With the exception of a short list of destinations that the British embassy is VERY good at supplying travelers with. For example during the Israeli bombing of Lebanon or the actual war compaign in Iraq or the civil war in the Ivory Coast. I have read stories and heard of people being perfectly fine traveling to northern Iraq, Iran, Syria and a handful of other “hot spots”. Granted I have NO desire to visit Iraq myself right now and have no purpose to anyway but the point is our media in the U.S. likes to show all the terror, horror and death but won’t tell you about how peaceful Somililand and Puntiland in northern Somalia are right now and that all it takes is applying for a visa before arrival and you can enjoy a beautiful culture that rarely anyone sees.

I was having a drink earlier and thinking about life like I normally do when I forget to a bring a book out with me. I noticed a cockroach making its way across the street. It was like watching someone play frogger except I actually had a vested interest in the little bug. I was rooting for him to make it and he stopped a few times and went back and then to the left and then back to the right and forward. He liked to occasionally stop and not do anything. I guess he thought if he stood still and let the cars go by him than he would miraculously end up in safety on the other side to go do whatever it is he was trying to do. He made it about half way across and stopped moving again and then BAM!, he was smacked pretty hard and flipped on to his back wiggling around. It really broke my heart to see him get hit because I truly did want him to make it. I thought maybe he could just flip himself over and finish the job but then along came a truck and smashed his body straight across the road.

Point of my story you ask? Nothing profound. I just don’t wanna be walking across the street someday and get hit by a car. That would suck. Far too much to see and experience. Or no, maybe I’d rather get hit while I’m moving around rather than stuck in one position. Or no, maybe because he stopped moving, he got hit?

Or in the immortal words of Andy Dufresne “Get busy livin, or get busy dyin”.

Last night was my final evening in Malaysia. I arrived in Georgetown, Penang and found a quiet Indian run hostel. I decided to go with a dorm this time around and for $2 I got myself a bed. It was only myself and 2 other people who seemed to be locals. I locked up my valuables, situated myself and headed out to see what Georgetown had to offer. I was hungry so I sat down for some rice with chicken curry. It was fantastic. So far I had only spent $15 on a 4 hour bus ride, a bed and dinner with 2 beers. I’d say that is good value.

Now I sit in Hat Yai a transport hub of Southern Thailand. The land of smiles. Thailand. I am here, finally. 3 years ago I started planning a trip to SE Asia and Thailand was my main destination. It feels good to finally arrive. Due to some stomach issues this entire day I will not be trying my taste buds on any Thai food but believe me there will be plenty of time for that. I plan on being here for the entire month until after Marisa’s wedding. Tomorrow I will be heading to Ko Pha Ngan where I will spending just about a week basking in the sun on one of Thailands nicest islands.

By the way, Ko Pha Ngan is pronounced “CO Pan-Yan” or “yang”