I'm going to attempt to explain to all of you just why I think Thailand is so great. It's going to be a mixture of things I've done, things I've seen, and Thai culture. I don't really know where this is going to go, I might have to ramble a little bit. But as the Thais say, mai-ben-rai; no big deal. Hopefully you'll get the picture.
Thai society is way different than western/American society. Although there are a lot of people trying to rip off us farang (the Thai word for white foreigners), for the most part everyone is very very relaxed. Thais will never get angry or raise their voice, will never be stingy with their money or time, will cook for you and mix drinks for you, and will do it all with a big smile on their face. Time isn't really an issue here, and punctuality is looked down upon. Classes here start whenever the professor and students finally make it to class. Could be 5 minutes after the hour, could be 45 minutes after the hour. One thing is for sure though, it's never on time. It takes a lot of getting used to being from such a punctual place as America, and I'll probably never be on time for anything again.
The traffic and the traffic laws here are ridiculous. There are lane lines, but they might as well be for decoration. Cars weave in and out of oncoming traffic, cut each other off constantly, and motorcycles weave in and out of cars at high speeds. One of my professors told us that this is because Thailand was recently a heavily rural country, and people just haven't adjusted to structure and law in an urban environment like western countries. There are these things called tuk-tuks that are basically huge tricycles that are really loud and spit out thick black smoke. They're really annoying, and sometimes more expensive than nice, air-conditioned taxis, but you can fit a ton of people in them so it's a good way to go short distances at night.
Alright, onto the food. I'm sure everyone wonders about the food. The food here is incredible. And ridiculously cheap. For the most part, I never spend more than a dollar or 2 per plate. The portions are small, so sometimes I have to get 2 (or 3), but spending 3 or 4 bucks for chicken curry with rice, paad thai, and pork/rice soup isn't too bad. Don't get me wrong, there are things I've gotten here that I haven't been able to eat. Some of the street food is as dirty as they warn us about, and I've had to spit out or just throw away more cold food than I care to remember. But I've also been pleasantly surprised by some food. Pig blood is in a lot of soups; somehow they form it into blocks so it looks like dark tofu. Apparently it's really good for you. Chicken knuckles and heart are a few of the other things I've eaten. Drinking and eating are institutions here. Meals are events, and if you go out to eat with Thais, everyone orders something and then passes their plates around. Beer is plentiful, and if it isn't beer, it's whiskey.
Thais love their whiskey; I rarely see a Thai drinking anything at a bar or club that isn't whiskey or beer. The usual is to get a table with friends at a club and order a bottle of whiskey that everyone splits, and then order mixers and ice to go along with it. It saves people money, and it definitely saves time going back and forth to the bar to order. Once the bottles are gone, people move from their tables to the dance floor. Usually there is either a DJ (or multiple DJs in multiple rooms at the bigger clubs) or a live band. The DJs are often really good. The big clubs have different rooms for techno and hip-hop. And the live bands are hilarious. Usually they're cover bands, and they cover American songs in Thai accents. It's great, everyone loves it.
Just sitting here thinking about the last month, I know I'm leaving a ton of stuff out. My trip to Ko Samet, an island about 3 1/2 hours south of Bangkok. Beautiful beaches and an all night party scene. There are fire shows outside the clubs and restaurants at night, and one of the guys let me and my friends spin the sticks lit on fire for as long as we wanted. Once again, that's how Thais are. Mai-ben-rai. He didn't watch us to make sure we didn't mess his stuff up. He left to go somewhere, and we never saw him again. We played with his fire sticks for over an hour, finally got bored, and went off to do something else. That was just one little part of an amazing weekend at the beach.
There are night bazaars with huge beer gardens, so you can go have dinner, drink some beer with friends, and then go out into the market and bargain for anything in the world you could possibly want. Well, except clothes my size. The only place I can shop for clothes is at the touristy malls where they expect to sell to big, tall farang. Khao San Road is considered backpackers paradise. Every night there are thousands of foreigners on this street, although there are a decent amount of Thais too. It's the first place everyone wants to go here, and pretty quickly everyone gets sick of it. There are some pretty cool restaurants, shops, and bars, but stuff is overpriced and everyone is trying to rip you off.
The temples around the city are beautiful, especially Wat Pho with the reclining Buddha. I've yet to go into the Grand Palace, but it's so close to where I live I know I'll go soon. It amazing to see big buildings next to ancient temples. Monks are everywhere in the city and, while everyone does pay them respect, they're so much a part of the culture that the respect is just understood and not displayed as much as I expected.
This place is huge, and I have yet to discover even a fraction of the city in which I live. I see and experience new things every day, and I hope to share more and more with everyone as it all unfolds. I may be going to Chiang Mai this weekend, I may be going to Ko Samui, an island further south than Ko Samet. Whatever I decide to do, I'm sure I'll return with more stories and more adventures.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Finally decided to do a blog
Well I've been here almost a month now, and it's everything and more than I could have imagined. I just got back from a national park called Khao Yai for the weekend, about 3 hours northeast of Bangkok, and realized there's too much awesome and amazing stuff that I'm doing to not share it and then just forget about it all.
One group left for Khao Yai Thursday afternoon, but some of us had stuff to do Friday so we couldn't leave until then. I left with my roommate Mat, a girl from my program Katie, and her friend who will be studying in Korea this semester Friday afternoon on a bus to Pak Chong, which took about 3 hours. From there, we took a songthaew up to the park. Actually, it was more like a big tuk-tuk because it was a tricycle and could barely make it up hills that weren't really that steep. Transportation in Thailand is often sketchy and even seems downright dangerous sometimes, but there really isn't any other way to get around some places. It's fun, cheap, and part of adjusting to the culture. When we got to the entrance of the park, the other group was at a camp site about 10 miles in, so we took another songthaew and met them at the visitor's center. From there, we just hitchhiked around the park. We were cramming 10 of us into the beds of pickup trucks and would just bang on the roof of the truck when we wanted to get off. No one ever asked for money, and most seemed used to doing this kind of thing for foreigners.
We got to our campsite, got tents, and then set out on a hike. We hiked along a river, which is really really low because it isn't the rainy season. So we eventually abandoned the trail to walk along the rocks that usually make up the river floor. We found a couple waterfalls that are probably pretty big during the rainy season but are little more than big cliffs with water trickling down now. At one of the falls, there was a rock that was perfect for cliff jumping, only about 10-15 feet high, but hanging out over the pool so it was easy to clear the cliff. We jumped into the pool to test the water depth. After swimming at least 15 feet down and not touching the bottom of the pool, about 5 of us climbed up and jumped off the rock. It wasn't a huge jump, but it was nice to get in the water because it was getting really hot.
We eventually got back to the trail and came out of the forest at Haew Sanuk, a more touristy waterfall. This one was much bigger, maybe 75 feet, and there was a decent amount of water coming down. Once again, nothing like it is in the rainy season, but still beautiful.
When we got back to the campsite, we went and got food and just kind of relaxed. Once it started to get dark, the campsite came alive with Thais cooking food and drinking whiskey. Some camps had cooked up what most of us would consider feasts. We started talking to a group of Thais that spoke very little English next to us, and before we knew it, we were in their circle eating with them and drinking with them. We ended up staying up pretty late just hanging out with them. Us practicing our Thai, them practicing their English. Most of us are taking Thai at school, so it was really cool to hang out and try to communicate with the little Thai we know. I feel like my Thai is coming on much faster than I expected, and I try to use it whenever possible.
We went with the Thais the next day to the biggest waterfall in the park, Haew Narok, but once again it was barely more than a trickle of water with a big pool at the bottom. There are pictures of the waterfall during the rainy season, and it looks incredible. If you google it you can see just how beautiful it is in the summer and fall. Maybe I'll try to make it back there in August.
After the waterfall, they drove us all the way back out of the park and to Pak Chong, maybe a 40 minute drive. Thais are so nice, hospitable, and friendly it's impossible not to feel like we're part of something great when we're here. Never once did I feel unsafe hitchhiking, and countless times strangers have gone out of their way to do something for me while I've been here.
Well, since I've already been here a month and am just now starting this blog, I obviously have tons of stories that I need to share with everyone. Many of them even my parents haven't heard because communication is difficult and I'm often busy both in the mornings and at night. I'll fill all of you in on those another day, and probably not in as much detail. Just know that everything is better even than I could have imagined. The culture shock has been existent, but I've dealt with it really well. It makes me realize that I don't crave the conveniences that America offers as much as maybe I thought. I really could see myself moving to Thailand in the future. The people, the culture, the nightlife, the location, everything that Thailand has to offer.
One group left for Khao Yai Thursday afternoon, but some of us had stuff to do Friday so we couldn't leave until then. I left with my roommate Mat, a girl from my program Katie, and her friend who will be studying in Korea this semester Friday afternoon on a bus to Pak Chong, which took about 3 hours. From there, we took a songthaew up to the park. Actually, it was more like a big tuk-tuk because it was a tricycle and could barely make it up hills that weren't really that steep. Transportation in Thailand is often sketchy and even seems downright dangerous sometimes, but there really isn't any other way to get around some places. It's fun, cheap, and part of adjusting to the culture. When we got to the entrance of the park, the other group was at a camp site about 10 miles in, so we took another songthaew and met them at the visitor's center. From there, we just hitchhiked around the park. We were cramming 10 of us into the beds of pickup trucks and would just bang on the roof of the truck when we wanted to get off. No one ever asked for money, and most seemed used to doing this kind of thing for foreigners.
We got to our campsite, got tents, and then set out on a hike. We hiked along a river, which is really really low because it isn't the rainy season. So we eventually abandoned the trail to walk along the rocks that usually make up the river floor. We found a couple waterfalls that are probably pretty big during the rainy season but are little more than big cliffs with water trickling down now. At one of the falls, there was a rock that was perfect for cliff jumping, only about 10-15 feet high, but hanging out over the pool so it was easy to clear the cliff. We jumped into the pool to test the water depth. After swimming at least 15 feet down and not touching the bottom of the pool, about 5 of us climbed up and jumped off the rock. It wasn't a huge jump, but it was nice to get in the water because it was getting really hot.
We eventually got back to the trail and came out of the forest at Haew Sanuk, a more touristy waterfall. This one was much bigger, maybe 75 feet, and there was a decent amount of water coming down. Once again, nothing like it is in the rainy season, but still beautiful.
When we got back to the campsite, we went and got food and just kind of relaxed. Once it started to get dark, the campsite came alive with Thais cooking food and drinking whiskey. Some camps had cooked up what most of us would consider feasts. We started talking to a group of Thais that spoke very little English next to us, and before we knew it, we were in their circle eating with them and drinking with them. We ended up staying up pretty late just hanging out with them. Us practicing our Thai, them practicing their English. Most of us are taking Thai at school, so it was really cool to hang out and try to communicate with the little Thai we know. I feel like my Thai is coming on much faster than I expected, and I try to use it whenever possible.
We went with the Thais the next day to the biggest waterfall in the park, Haew Narok, but once again it was barely more than a trickle of water with a big pool at the bottom. There are pictures of the waterfall during the rainy season, and it looks incredible. If you google it you can see just how beautiful it is in the summer and fall. Maybe I'll try to make it back there in August.
After the waterfall, they drove us all the way back out of the park and to Pak Chong, maybe a 40 minute drive. Thais are so nice, hospitable, and friendly it's impossible not to feel like we're part of something great when we're here. Never once did I feel unsafe hitchhiking, and countless times strangers have gone out of their way to do something for me while I've been here.
Well, since I've already been here a month and am just now starting this blog, I obviously have tons of stories that I need to share with everyone. Many of them even my parents haven't heard because communication is difficult and I'm often busy both in the mornings and at night. I'll fill all of you in on those another day, and probably not in as much detail. Just know that everything is better even than I could have imagined. The culture shock has been existent, but I've dealt with it really well. It makes me realize that I don't crave the conveniences that America offers as much as maybe I thought. I really could see myself moving to Thailand in the future. The people, the culture, the nightlife, the location, everything that Thailand has to offer.
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