Thailand: The Amazing Race (and why I couldn't)

Bangkok Layover--Koh Tao 9/5-9/11

1. breakfast at apples- pancake and fruit/muesli/yogurt
2. booked bus to ko tao…cramped!!
3. met up with clement on khaosan
4. bought prepaid phone
5. got on bus... sat with clement. long ride. slept at ferry station. slept on ferry. slept on the front deck of ferry sprawled. burned my belly. 
6. commitment fears--  food. hotels. people. places. 
7. wandered ko tao… booked open water cert and room for 5 days- scubafication!
8. picking up trash on the beach=exercise! and good way to meet locals!
9. call Amazing Race producer back, but get boyfriend first? or dont

(Scubafication until the 11th)

Koh Tao recap

From Kanchanaburi, I booked a ticket to Koh Tao for about 800 baht.  Coincidentally, my friend Clement had done the same thing from Bangkok, and we were able to sit next to each other on the bus/boat.  He’s my funny french friend-- a good person I met at the Bangkok couchsurfing event and had been hanging out with.  But sadly, after we got off the boat and settled into our hotels, we didn’t see each other again.  That's how traveling goes I guess. 

 so french

Anyway, I wasn’t planning on getting dive-certified, but in looking for a room to sleep in, I got lazy.  And it looked like staying at this dive resort would be a good deal (turned out to be 4 nights resort accommodation + dive certification+ excellent dinner for 269 USD).  In retrospect, I’m glad I did it.  I met a lot of really cool people and had an excuse to be in the water a lot (not as much as I’d like to be).  At the same time, I’ve decided that I’m still much more into skin diving.  All the tanks and weights kinda freaked me out, but maybe that would be different if I got my advanced and was able to go down a little deeper.  

Koh Tao beach

Also, I was amazed at how much trash had washed ashore every day. My first night I set out to walk and started picking up trash.  There was SO much and I wish I had taken more pictures.  The saddest thing was when I woke up the next morning to see that the beach was again, covered in washed up trash.  So again, I set off for 1-2 hours walking the beach picking up trash. This became a sort of habit for the next few days, and it was crazy how many friends I made this way.  Workers from nearby restaurants would offer me beverages and trash bags, little kids brought me trash that I'd missed, and others would just make small talk.  I made so many friends, burned a lot of calories, and got a nice tan just from picking up trash.

America/The Amazing Race calls

Found out that a producer from the Amazing Race had called my house, and I guess they are the same casting as Survivor, and they'd circulated my old Survivor  audition tape?

They want me to have a boyfriend that I've been with for 9+ months.  That's weird, but I might be able to find someone and fake it? I'll look into it when I get back, but right now I'm already doing it. Dad always says "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"

Thailand: Soul recharge in Kanchanaburi

Kanchanaburi Saturday, September 3rd

a little nit nawy

good luck chok di

1. woke up early enough to talk to Martha on the phone- sticky rice
2. got stuff out of the room early… 
3. taxi to southern bus terminal… bus to kanchanaburi= hot
4. got pandan bun, sausage roll, and pandan puffs from srifa- so ono!!
5. found ban sabai sabai… 
6. pulled up to old man's house. stayed in a hammock in his loft, dog at my side.
7. no internet.  no other humans or cars. 
8. i was tired= day of rest
9. read thich nhat hanh
10. rode bike to next town to find net café and dinner—udon and ice cream

Kanchanaburi Sunday- 9/4

yes chai
no mai chai
nevermind mai pen rai
goodbye laaaah gon

1. woke up, got ride to bus stop- pizza and almond tart breakfast
2. internet café- sams guest house-- floating shack on the river!
3. dropped stuff off… caught bus to erawan
4. hiked up, hiked down all barefoot
5. met some cool english kids caught bus back to sams but stopped for a sec at night market- chicken, cashew, and pineapple dumplings?
6. ate at apples—the shit!
7. cleaned up in room
8. went back to night market—chive dumplings? oreo shake, ice cream, beef jerky, and coconut mochi ish? holy crap…

safest tuk tuk in sai yok!

Hiked to the final tier barefoot

Erawan

my raft-room on the river kwai

Kanchanaburi Recap

I loved Kanchanaburi.  My first night there, I stayed in a hammock in an open bungalow.  With the rain pouring down, no internet, and no transportation, I decided to have my “Aso Sa” (Samoan- sacred day of rest and reflection).  I read a lot of Thich Naht Hanh and wrote a lot.  After the rain subsided, I borrowed a bicycle from the property owner to go get some food from town.  If i didn’t mention it before, one of my favorite games since I’ve been here is ordering food when I have no idea what it is, but trying to give them enough clues about what I like so that it will turn out awesome.   This night turned out to be Udon which was pretty damn good.

The next day I hiked up Erawan Waterfalls without any shoes, and then slept on a raft bungalow on the River Kwai.  I had my best meal thus far there at Apples.  Some kind of citrus coconut chicken dish… that was amazing.  The woman asked me about my taste as if she were asking about my entire medical history.  Then watched me as I took my first bite (modest, but proud of her work). The care that went into making it made it that much more delicious. 

Best meal I've ever had. Cashew, chicken, jabong, mint, coconut, curry, papaya, green beans, garlic, tomato, and countless other things

Thailand: Roses and Garbage in the Khaosan jungle

Khaosan Friday- Sept. 2

11 sip et

12 sip song...

20 yee sip

30 saam sip  

100 loi

1. woke up… got email back from Martha that i could stay longer!
2. yogurt and fruit
3. changed my plane ticket
4. switched hostel… slightly cheaper but sketchy and right next to khaosan. 
5. not as good an idea as previously thought
6. was gonna hop a boat to skytrain? ran into efrain instead
7. Indian food. omnom
8. visited golden tower wat. visited some other wats too.  wandered and looked for all the wats.
9. cha yuen and ice cream!
10. walked in park… foot massage
11. mcdonalds/ rape convo/ split
12. token american thoughts
13. went home… came back out for pad thai/sticky rice
14. loud room… rough sleep

    

    khaosan jungle

bell, stop, breathe, smile

Bangkok recap

Bangkok was so exciting to me at first with all the lights and buildings and riverboats.  My first night there I went to the biggest couchsurfing event I’ve ever been to.  There are so many travelers that there are even subcultures within the backpacker scene. 

But there's something really strange and sad about it too.  I learned what a "ping pong show" was (google it if you don't know, just don't do it at work).  And there's a heavy sex/drugs culture, no doubt.  But I don't see that as Thai culture-- it's a mix of rich tourists who can pay to come see/do perverse things, and a beautiful forgiving land that's been exploited to not ask for more.  

“Because the good family’s way of life is the way it is, the prostitute has to live as a prostitute.  no one among us has clean hands.  no one of us can claim that it is nort our responsibility… the wealth of one society is made up of the poverty of the other. "

Excerpt on "Roses and Garbage", noble girls and prostitutes-- from Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hahn

I should make a point that I never went out alone at night, and I never felt unsafe in the presence of other Thai people.  Even the tiny old men soliciting ping pong shows and the ladyboys offering a good time could look me in the eye with compassion and offer directions if I was lost.  

The only time I felt unsafe was in the presence of another American.  We had talked about going to another town and splitting a hotel.  As the conversation went on, he talked about how the last time he shared a hotel with a girl she got mad when he tried to put the moves on her, and he justified it by saying she was asking for it by inviting him to stay with her.  I defended the girl, and in a roundabout way backed out of making any travel plans with him.  Then he went off on how American girls are always too worried about getting raped.

That statement hit me like a ton of bricks, and I knew it was true (not in the way he meant it--to say that we're uptight and need to loosen up), but I especially knew in that moment what it means to be an American woman, where we have a legal system that prosecutes rapists.  And why I'm often perceived as naive when I visit other countries.  I rarely worry about rape when I'm in the states, but suddenly I realized there's a whole 'nother "asking for it" clause that this American abroad seemed to adhere to.  I appreciated his candor, but I also knew I didn't want to be around him anymore. 

Aside from all that, I also found myself getting way too comfortable.  In Bangkok, I learned/used numbers and bartering phrases, but unfortunately that’s about it.  When I realized that I hadn’t been carrying my language pad with me, and that I had few interactions with Thai people that weren’t centered on commerce, I decided it was time to take a breather from Bangkok.

Thailand: From Homeless-in-Hawaii to Ballin'-in-Bangkok

Wednesday 8/31/11

how much? nee tow rai

can i have a little discount? lot noi dai mai

1. booked a fancy ass 5 star hotel in bangkok!! 
2. big ordeal finding my hotel—3 taxis later
3. found it… yes i want that free wine! naptime!
4. lil jog
5. discovered what a ping pong show is :/
6. met with csers—crepes and som tam
7. biggest couchsurfing meetup ever-- hundreds in the street
8. went dancing
9. 711 taro bun and pork bun

I've paid more for campsites in Hawaii than I paid for this 5 star

early in the night at a Couchsurfing party

attacked by the swedes!! :)

the riverbus I'd take to and from the hotel

Bang-a-rang-kok Thursday 9/1/11

1. neung
2. song
3. sam
4. see
5. haa
6.  hok
7. jet
8. pet
9. gow
10. sip

1. MASSIVE BUFFET, cybernet,  jog, sauna, pool. soaked up the fanciness.
2. river tix to khaosan
3. holy crap!  backpackers heaven. 
4. cool pants. guidebooks.  australian guys.
5. rain forced to stay at sawasdee for 600 baht :(
6. met another solo traveler, were gonna meet at wat buttt the rain.
7. tried to book ticket to kan and koh tao with clement…  but 3 days!? 
8. i have commitment issues.  or maybe i'm still coming out of a breakup. or maybe i'm just alone and scared in thailand?
9. ended up wandering around getting buckets, shopping, and eating crickets and sticky mango rice
10. my funny french friend clement-- bucket = baguette

    

    part of my massive breakfast

soaking up the fanciness

ate it

He said bucket, but I heard baguette and thought "oh! you are so French!"

Thailand: A day in the life of Michelle

Phang Nga Tuesday 8/30

Toilet… WHERE!?- horng nam tinai

sorry- hart hot

i don’t understand- mai kow jai

thai iced tea- cha yuen

1. lunch with michelle- som tam—was going to get a ticket to james bond
2. bought socks/ ice cream… then more ice cream!
3. long walk to park
4. watched monkeys with locals
5. rice milk at market
6. michelle’s students interviewing me
7. dinner at pizza place with michelle/seth/sudjit? crepe on the way to bus stop
8. ticket to Bangkok
9. middle of night binge on pocky and rice snacks

following Michelle to school

Breakfast!

in her classroom

Monkey bidness

The next day we had a fun time trying to order some really good som tum… we just let them surprise us and ended up with little mini crabs in it.

And it was so good! While she was at school, I found myself returning to the park.  It was a long walk there, so when I got there I just picked a spot that was semi shaded to just sit.

walk in the park

monsoon-ish

There were other families there, and I suddenly felt awkward.  This stinky sweaty farang… female… and alone! In a public park! Anyway, this turned into a highlight as the awkwardness and guardedness between parties subsided.  Watching the monkeys play nearby, it became like a theater where we all watched the monkeys with anticipation, and laughed together at key moments.  The baby trying to sneak past the momma, who would then grab it by the tail and yank it right back.  That’s  a universal  comedy, I guess.