Thursday, April 9, 2009
One thing I forgot to mention about independent travelers these days: it's all about Facebook. No longer do people exchange email addresses, they simply ask: Are you on Facebook? It makes sense for sharing photos or trying to meet up later on your trip. So I don't know if FB is a fad, but for the world traveler, it offers a useful tool to stay in touch and share with other like-minded individuals.
Friday, April 3, 2009
I Love This Town!
I am back in Encinitas, and remembering all the reasons I wouldn't live anywhere else. Many of the travelers I met on my trip complained about where they lived; so happy to be away from there. I could only shake my head, and say that I love where I live, and wouldn't live anywhere else.
I am back in my ocean, the Great Blue Pacific. It's "my" ocean, not in that it belongs to me, but rather that I belong to it. The warm, calm green waters of the Indian Ocean just didn't feel like the ocean to me at all - just a a big salty lake. But I feel at home back in the cold, grey, silty Pacific.
I am back in my ocean, the Great Blue Pacific. It's "my" ocean, not in that it belongs to me, but rather that I belong to it. The warm, calm green waters of the Indian Ocean just didn't feel like the ocean to me at all - just a a big salty lake. But I feel at home back in the cold, grey, silty Pacific.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Last Asia Post
Somehow, nearly four months later, I find myself again at the Bangkok airport, this time heading East, back to Los Angeles. I had a couple great, very hot days in Bangkok, shopping Chatuchak Weekend Market (15,000 stalls = mother of all markets), sweating buckets in the 100F+ heat, and eating Thai street food. I also spent a lot of time in the air conditioned mega-malls, cooling it, amazed at the incredibly polite crowds (this was noticeable after spending so much time in Vietnam, where people in crowds push and shove you out of the way, even if you have no place to go).
I will admit that I didn’t much enjoy Railay, the “paradise” of which I wrote earlier. The backdrop was stunning, the water warm, and hotel very nice. But it was entirely devoted to foreigners, and bore little resemblance to the Thailand that I have grown to appreciate. The people working in the area showed all the signs of foreigner fatigue that comes from too many rude and demanding people, day after day. Add to that the unbearable heat and hordes of mosquitoes, and I was glad to leave for Bangkok.
After I get home I plan to chill out in Encinitas for awhile, surf, and enjoy the perfect non-humid weather. I will take a few small trips in the U.S. and then my sister may come to visit in June. I am still thinking about the next phase of my travels, but it will probably be Europe for 4-6 weeks, then South America in the fall. I will continue to post to this blog, so if you are not someone I talk to regularly, you can check in here to see what’s up.
Thanks for joining me on this fabulous trip!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Paradise
Railay Beach West, where I stay now, is perhaps the nicest beach in Thailand. The folks at Lonely Planet think so anyway. It is on a rugged peninsula of limestone karsts, and the little sliver of pristine beach where my resort is located is accessible only by boat.
I arrived late in the evening and from the Krabi airport I was whisked by minivan to a waiting speed boat. There being no marina, I had to wade to in the water on both sides and I couldn’t believe how warm it was – probably 90 degrees, hardly refreshing. For the first time in weeks I could see stars. In the evening the restaurants lining the beach are lit with many tiny yellow lights, and pulling in there amid the darkness of the rest of the peninsula was utterly charming and romantic.
Unfortunately it is even hotter here than in Chiang Mai, and I have just accepted that I will be sweating constantly. This has been broken up my tropical thunder and rain, but it hardly made a dent in the heat.
Monday, March 23, 2009
A Week in Chiang Mai
When I left you last, I was enjoying the tropical thunder of an evening storm in Northern Thailand. The week in Chiang Mai proved to be an uneventful one. I spent 2 days in cooking classes, took 4 yoga classes, went to the pool twice and had a massage every day. I went to a handful of the 100 or so exquisite wats (temples) in the city limits (outnumbered only by massage places and ATMs). Of course there was a fair amount of eating too. I took advantage of the many vegetarian restaurants to renew myself, stocking up on organic yogurt, wheatgrass, fresh juices and smoothies as well as outstanding Thai food. I feel like I missed many things available in and around Chiang Mai, but in all honesty, it was too bloody hot during the day to do much of anything; the heat caused all interest in exploring to evaporate. However, I am resolved to come back in the cooler months and see more. This is an easy place to imagine coming back to.
Perhaps now is the time to mention that I have managed to put away 24 books on this trip, including many of the classics that I missed in school. I have become a particular fan of Charles Dickens, having read David Copperfield, Great Expectations and Oliver Twist in the last couple months. Isn’t that the beauty of traveling – having time to read and hotel rooms without cable TV? I must confess that Jane Eyre (by Charlotte Bronte), consumed me for several days in Chiang Mai, which is the real reason I didn’t post to my blog very often, sorry!
Next stop: Railay Beach in Krabi province for some snorkeling, kayaking, swimming and rock climbing before heading to Bangkok and then home. I’ll be back in Encinitas on Monday, March 30. Looking forward to seeing everyone!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Raining in Chiang Mai
It’s late on St. Paddy’s day, and a rain, thunder and lightning storm is raging over Chiang Mai. The monsoon season is not due for a couple months, so I don’t know how unusual it is, but seeing the lightning flash over the old temples and ruins in the center (visible from my 4th floor window) is spectacular. I felt the suffocating heat start to break up with a breeze earlier this evening, and this show may be the hammer to drive it away.
I am again having culture shock in Thailand. I think I am just happy to be in a country that wasn’t bombed by the U.S. But like my return to Bangkok from Burma in December, my arrival in Chiang Mai from Laos has me a bit stunned. First, there are loads of foreigners here, not all tourists, but lots of ex-pats. There are gleaming shopping malls and flashy cars, fast food restaurants, and even, gasp, Starbucks (but a good latte is easy to get from a local place, so no need to go). I was contemplating what Thai people think of all the foreigners in town, but then I considered that in the U.S. alone we have a lot of Thai immigrants, so maybe we can look at it as one big exchange program. I guess some Thais would rather live in the U.S., and some Americans would rather live in Thailand. I can see why: all the comforts of home (nearly), and a fraction of the price. Indeed, Thailand is proving to be the cheapest of the bunch, confirmed by my informal “Cost of Coronette Index”, which is a comparison of the cost of a pre-packaged ice cream cone (think Drumstick) across Laos, Vietnam and Thailand. (This is similar to my “Cost of Burrito Index” for California).
Other than the obvious tourist factor, Chiang Mai (although it is a big city) is laid back, and a good place to just be for awhile. I think there as many Thai massage places in Chiang Mai as there are coffee places in downtown S.F. (2-3 per block??), packed in among loads of ancient temples (no, I haven’t gone in one yet).
Tomorrow is cooking class – more ammunition for my home culinary adventures!
I am again having culture shock in Thailand. I think I am just happy to be in a country that wasn’t bombed by the U.S. But like my return to Bangkok from Burma in December, my arrival in Chiang Mai from Laos has me a bit stunned. First, there are loads of foreigners here, not all tourists, but lots of ex-pats. There are gleaming shopping malls and flashy cars, fast food restaurants, and even, gasp, Starbucks (but a good latte is easy to get from a local place, so no need to go). I was contemplating what Thai people think of all the foreigners in town, but then I considered that in the U.S. alone we have a lot of Thai immigrants, so maybe we can look at it as one big exchange program. I guess some Thais would rather live in the U.S., and some Americans would rather live in Thailand. I can see why: all the comforts of home (nearly), and a fraction of the price. Indeed, Thailand is proving to be the cheapest of the bunch, confirmed by my informal “Cost of Coronette Index”, which is a comparison of the cost of a pre-packaged ice cream cone (think Drumstick) across Laos, Vietnam and Thailand. (This is similar to my “Cost of Burrito Index” for California).
Other than the obvious tourist factor, Chiang Mai (although it is a big city) is laid back, and a good place to just be for awhile. I think there as many Thai massage places in Chiang Mai as there are coffee places in downtown S.F. (2-3 per block??), packed in among loads of ancient temples (no, I haven’t gone in one yet).
Tomorrow is cooking class – more ammunition for my home culinary adventures!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Food Court
I have landed in Chiang Rai in Northern Thailand. So many people have been to Thailand, I won’t spend much time describing it to you here.
One thing I missed in the other countries was the Thai food court, seemingly unique to this Asian country. For the uninitiated, a food court is a collection of food stalls (like the street kitchens in Vietnam) around a central seating area, where the food is cheap and delicious (about $1 for a meal). The large fashionable malls throughout Bangkok have them too (much sleeker and with fancy pre-pay cards to ease purchase), and they are one of the best eating options in town.
I think everyone has seen bad English translations of Asian languages, but the following menu from the night bazaar food court in Chiang Rai tops them all:
The Moustache is Tiny Squid Roast - 10 Baht
The Demon Moustache Squid Roasts – 20 Baht
The Ark Shell Scalds/Burns – 40-50 Baht
The Meatball Fries, Every the Wood – 10 Baht
Say what???
The other thing I can wholly appreciate back in Thailand is the 2 hour Thai massage for only $6 (the going rate in Chiang Rai). I think I could have one every day….. And that is what I may be doing since I am trekked-out and templed-out at this point (the 2 main attractions in Northern Thailand).
One thing I missed in the other countries was the Thai food court, seemingly unique to this Asian country. For the uninitiated, a food court is a collection of food stalls (like the street kitchens in Vietnam) around a central seating area, where the food is cheap and delicious (about $1 for a meal). The large fashionable malls throughout Bangkok have them too (much sleeker and with fancy pre-pay cards to ease purchase), and they are one of the best eating options in town.
I think everyone has seen bad English translations of Asian languages, but the following menu from the night bazaar food court in Chiang Rai tops them all:
The Moustache is Tiny Squid Roast - 10 Baht
The Demon Moustache Squid Roasts – 20 Baht
The Ark Shell Scalds/Burns – 40-50 Baht
The Meatball Fries, Every the Wood – 10 Baht
Say what???
The other thing I can wholly appreciate back in Thailand is the 2 hour Thai massage for only $6 (the going rate in Chiang Rai). I think I could have one every day….. And that is what I may be doing since I am trekked-out and templed-out at this point (the 2 main attractions in Northern Thailand).
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