Chapter 23: Thailand

In celebration of the King’s birthday and our annual sports day, I traveled south during the week holiday. My first stop was Bangkok. I traveled there with a few other teachers and students to visit the palace. The King presents a speech annually to his people. Thousands of Thais gather in the heat and sun in their finest attire to see him walk through the palace streets. We arrived at 1 pm and left at 6 pm. We never saw the King (he was sick and could not attend) and never found a seat (barely standing room). I did catch a glimpse of the Princess, however, but I’m not sure it that was worth the trip. Although I was a tad annoyed and exhausted from the heat and waiting, no one else seemed to feel the same way. The Thais showed true concern for their King who had to cancel and were in no way upset at their wasted day. I don’t think this would be the response anywhere else. Their respect gleamed on their faces as they left the gates hoping to catch a glimpse of him next year with no regret of their attendance this year. In celebrations such as this one, I am usually the only white person in attendance. I am used to the stares and pictures, but am starting to feel like a lucky charm. Many older Thais come up to me and touch or grab my arm (sometimes feel down my entire body) with a rich smile and big eyes…I am supposed to bring them luck and happiness. I welcome them and resist breaking the news, thinking that maybe my touch will someday bring them good fortune.

My second stop- Pattya (Thailand’s Cancun meets down scale Waikiki). Lisa and I stayed for one day and decided to search for something cleaner and less commercialized. For my first and last time I treated myself to Starbucks…but when your coffee (200 baht) is 1/3rd the price of your guesthouse (600 baht) it puts things into perspective. We did enjoy coconuts on the beach and fresh seafood, but with the combination of vendors constantly harassing us and fat western older white men who crowded the bars looking for young Thais, we were ready to leave.

We finally landed in Koh Samet, a small southeastern island. It was here that we found our peace and from then on, nothing but sanuk. The island is quite small (it took us 40 min on an ATV from one end to the opposite). It is charming with several secluded beach resorts, backpacker’s huts, beach bungalows and bars, crystal blue water and only one atm. Our guesthouse was serene and rugged, much like camping, and by the time we left I felt teary eyed to say goodbye to the owners and other travelers. Highlights included running into 4 others from our program on the beach (small world), exploring all the beaches via ATV (I only feared for my life once or twice)–and mind you the only “road” that runs through the island is a one way dirt/rock path, waking up for sunrise our last day followed by sleeping on the beach, fire dancers and learning how to fire dance, coconut banana shakes for breakfast followed by som tom (papaya salad) for lunch…and everything in between. You can’t really go wrong with sunshine and the ocean.

After being away…it still feels nice to come back to school. Not like home, but comforting.

 PS The King’s Bday is also father’s day– so happy father’s day dad.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 11th, 2008 at 3:11 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.