Friday, April 01, 2005
Khap Khun Kawp, Thailand
They call Thailand the Land of Smiles, and it's easy to see why (and I don't mean the wide availability of opium). What a charming, beautiful, delightful nation. Of course, there are too many people trying to rip you off, and it was way too hot at times, but it's no wonder at all that Thailand is such a backpacker haven: private room accomodation for a dollar and a half, free flowing (and strong) beer and rum, wonderful sites, the world's best cuisine, massages, amazing diving, and a warm, friendly people. I've left Thailand, but there is no way I'm leaving this planet without another journey back.
Funny bit about the heat in Ayutthaya. It's a pretty small town, and there is only one bar open late (after 10) in the Guest House district, and thank God it had air-con. Anyway, while zipping around the wats on a motorbike was a relatively good way to forget how hot it was, everytime Guy and I started putzing around the temples on foot, we quickly became aware of how oppressive the sun was. Back at the bar, Guy and and Irishman were talking abour how hot it was, and mentioned with near incredulity that the mercury had reached 40 degrees. Of course, as an American educated backpacker, I had no idea what that meant. Fortunately, everywhere in Thailand they keep a calculator, often so that a merchant can tell you (or negotiate on) a price if his English isn't very good (15 can sound a lot like 50). Anyway, despite the fact that I was on about my fourth Chang, I was able to remember the 5/9 +/- 32 calcluation from science class. Of course, I had to do it several times because I didn't know if was 5/9 or 9/5, or plus or minus 32, but I eventually figured it out. Anyway, in the end, they were right: forty degrees is D@MN hot!
The highlight of last night was actually performing for the bar. Some drunken 40-year old traveller guy wanted a singer to go along with his electric guitar playing, and I was happy to oblige. I ended up singing with the guy (and later with a drummer) for a couple of hours last night, and my voice was fried this morning. (It was the bartender's birthday, and after she "closed" the bar we continued drinking and performing for several hours with the metal shutter door to the outside closed. Some drunken Thai guy - who spoke almost no Enlgish - kept feeding me (literally, as in holding the glass) beer (that he bought) in between songs to keep us going. What a grand time.
For whatever reason, I seem to be doing quite a bit of singing on this trip (my trekmates in Chiang Mai had quite a bit of it as well).
I got up this morning and went to the train station; thankfully the trains from the North all stop @ Bangkok's airport, so I didn't need to make another trek through there. Had a bit of trouble at Passport Control, however. Some of you may remember a few years back my ID had expired and I was using my passport as my proof of age at bars in the States. As a result, it's pretty beat up and is peeling right next to the photo. The guy in the booth found me so suspicious that he sent me over to his supervisor for inspection (you think they would have done this on the way INTO the country, no?) Anyway, stuff like that always makes me awful nervous - even though I had no contraband and my passport is legal. But I made it through, and had a rather luxurious Bangkok Air flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia. (It's rather funny to me that I'll drop 5,500 baht on a plane ticket, yet I'll walk away from a street vendor or tuk-tuk driver over 10 baht; the truth is, I just hate being ripped off.) The airport here in Siem Reap is quite small, but I was able to get a visa on arrival, and my guest house is quite charming, clean, and my room is enormous. I rode in on the back of a motorbike in from the airport ($1 vs. $5 for a car) and of course the driver tried to (a) take me to a "better" guesthouse, (b) take me somewhere to eat, (c) offer to be my driver for the temples tomorrow. Nice enough guy, but it's a good policy over here never to buy anything from the first guy that tries to sell it to you. The contrast of dodging a few cows wandering the road, and shortly thereafter driving by all the fancy Western hotels on the way into town was rather amusing for me. The rain started to sprinkle as we arrived at my guesthouse, and by the time I checked in it was a full-fledged downpour, which was very welcome after the "40 degree" day yesterday in Thailand. My room actually has a very nice patio attached, and listening to the rain for a spell was awfully relaxing after a day of travelling. I hope it doens't rain tomrrow, seeing the temples in that condition does not sound particularly appealing; I can rent a motorbike with driver for $8, but a car with driver is $20, and hey, 12 bucks is 12 bucks. And motorbikes are fun.
So today will be a lazy afternoon in Siem Reap, maybe meet a few travellers and read a bit. Tomorrow, I conquer Angkor Wat.
Funny bit about the heat in Ayutthaya. It's a pretty small town, and there is only one bar open late (after 10) in the Guest House district, and thank God it had air-con. Anyway, while zipping around the wats on a motorbike was a relatively good way to forget how hot it was, everytime Guy and I started putzing around the temples on foot, we quickly became aware of how oppressive the sun was. Back at the bar, Guy and and Irishman were talking abour how hot it was, and mentioned with near incredulity that the mercury had reached 40 degrees. Of course, as an American educated backpacker, I had no idea what that meant. Fortunately, everywhere in Thailand they keep a calculator, often so that a merchant can tell you (or negotiate on) a price if his English isn't very good (15 can sound a lot like 50). Anyway, despite the fact that I was on about my fourth Chang, I was able to remember the 5/9 +/- 32 calcluation from science class. Of course, I had to do it several times because I didn't know if was 5/9 or 9/5, or plus or minus 32, but I eventually figured it out. Anyway, in the end, they were right: forty degrees is D@MN hot!
The highlight of last night was actually performing for the bar. Some drunken 40-year old traveller guy wanted a singer to go along with his electric guitar playing, and I was happy to oblige. I ended up singing with the guy (and later with a drummer) for a couple of hours last night, and my voice was fried this morning. (It was the bartender's birthday, and after she "closed" the bar we continued drinking and performing for several hours with the metal shutter door to the outside closed. Some drunken Thai guy - who spoke almost no Enlgish - kept feeding me (literally, as in holding the glass) beer (that he bought) in between songs to keep us going. What a grand time.
For whatever reason, I seem to be doing quite a bit of singing on this trip (my trekmates in Chiang Mai had quite a bit of it as well).
I got up this morning and went to the train station; thankfully the trains from the North all stop @ Bangkok's airport, so I didn't need to make another trek through there. Had a bit of trouble at Passport Control, however. Some of you may remember a few years back my ID had expired and I was using my passport as my proof of age at bars in the States. As a result, it's pretty beat up and is peeling right next to the photo. The guy in the booth found me so suspicious that he sent me over to his supervisor for inspection (you think they would have done this on the way INTO the country, no?) Anyway, stuff like that always makes me awful nervous - even though I had no contraband and my passport is legal. But I made it through, and had a rather luxurious Bangkok Air flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia. (It's rather funny to me that I'll drop 5,500 baht on a plane ticket, yet I'll walk away from a street vendor or tuk-tuk driver over 10 baht; the truth is, I just hate being ripped off.) The airport here in Siem Reap is quite small, but I was able to get a visa on arrival, and my guest house is quite charming, clean, and my room is enormous. I rode in on the back of a motorbike in from the airport ($1 vs. $5 for a car) and of course the driver tried to (a) take me to a "better" guesthouse, (b) take me somewhere to eat, (c) offer to be my driver for the temples tomorrow. Nice enough guy, but it's a good policy over here never to buy anything from the first guy that tries to sell it to you. The contrast of dodging a few cows wandering the road, and shortly thereafter driving by all the fancy Western hotels on the way into town was rather amusing for me. The rain started to sprinkle as we arrived at my guesthouse, and by the time I checked in it was a full-fledged downpour, which was very welcome after the "40 degree" day yesterday in Thailand. My room actually has a very nice patio attached, and listening to the rain for a spell was awfully relaxing after a day of travelling. I hope it doens't rain tomrrow, seeing the temples in that condition does not sound particularly appealing; I can rent a motorbike with driver for $8, but a car with driver is $20, and hey, 12 bucks is 12 bucks. And motorbikes are fun.
So today will be a lazy afternoon in Siem Reap, maybe meet a few travellers and read a bit. Tomorrow, I conquer Angkor Wat.
