Catching up on Sleep

Saturday, August 1, 2009--approx 10:30am, Phuket.



Friday night, after blogging, I ended up at one of the upstairs bars on Khao San... where I was hit on by Nick from Holland (who looked like a blue-eyed Spaniard). What is it with Hollanders, I wonder? Anyway, he was so drunk, I kept having to repeat things like--my name--so I soon lost interest in the conversation. Never fear, though! A couple Aussies and I struck up a chat, and left the poor Spanish guy in the lurch.

At the same open-air bar where I'd hung out the night before, Marc, Cam (my grand father's name--yah!), and I watched the people on the street. So wrapped up were we in the night life, we didn't notice when a scraggle-haired woman sat at the next table. Suddenly, the rose-lady ran up to us, yelling "bag, bag, your bag!" Marc took off down the street, and chased Scraggle-hair. It was his bag. He did retreive it. Rose-lady witnessed many Thais slapping and kicking Scraggle-hair for her attempted theft. She told us with enthusiasm, but I didn't want to look. I felt a weird combination of sympathy and righteousness about the whole situation. After drinking more, Cam hired a tuk-tuk to drive us around.

Between the two Aussies, I watched strings of lights and heard unfamiliar voices whiz by. It was surreal and enchanting. I thought for a moment, "what if I don't go to Phuket?" I could just forget about going to school, getting the teaching certificate, and traveling around Southeast Asia. I could just cancel my flight to Phuket and stay in Bangkok. I could party, maybe find some place to bartend. I could forget about everything that brought me here in the first place. Then... then I could go back to the States and see about a boy.

But I couldn't. I wouldn't know how to face myself once the fog had cleared--once the light entered my room.

Back at the hotel, I had already packed, so I just changed and dragged my bags to the street to hail a taxi. I negotiated 300 THB (around $10. USD) for the ride to the airport. (This, by the way, is half of what the hotel would have charged me to book a taxi through them.) At the airport, I waited with other young people in line--all still tipsy--including two girls I had seen at the upstairs bar earlier that night.

Once at the counter, I placed my bags on the conveyer belt.
"These over 15 kilo," the attendant told me in broken English.
"How much is that in pounds?" I asked, intending to take things out until I was under 15 kilos.
She looked at me blankly.
"In pounds? How many?" I repeated.
She shook her head and pointed to another counter.
"You pay there."
At the other counter, I waited in the wrong line for 20 minutes. And, when I finally paid, it was 1,600 THB (around $50 USD). From this experience, I learned some things:

1) I need to learn the conversion from kilos to pounds.
2) I must get rid of as much stuff as possible before my return flight.
3) Since taking a domestic flight has different restrictions than taking international flights, I must be more aware next time. Or, I should take another form of transportation.
4) Going through checkin in a foreign country after drinking REALLY SUCKS!

I slept on the 40 minute flight to Phuket. Chris (director of the TEFL course in Phuket) met me in front of the airport with one of those cards that had my name on it. He put me in a taxi, gave me the money for the fare, and gave me a map to help the driver. I slept on the ride into Phuket Town. The driver took me to Roongrawee Mansion, my hotel and my home for the next four weeks. I was shown to my room at 10am, and slept until 6pm.

Going out on Khao San Road

Friday, July 31--approx 12:30am, Bangkok time.

I can hear the beat of the clubs in this little glass hut. Across from me is the (not working) pool and sun deck, but it's midnight in Bangkok, so it's dark...



Today, I decided to walk beyond this area, to tour just a little. I walked across the great courtyard between the two palaces, which--depending on the ruler--have been used intermittenly for rice paddy demonstrations, festivals, the city market, and the ploughing ceremony. Beyond the courtyard, I was going to walk as far as I could to the Canal, but a small garden spot caught my eye.



Entering into the little gated area, I took pictures of a bejeweled shrine for Rama I. While inspecting the spired building behind the shrine, a woman came up to me. She's from Chaing Mai, and is on holiday in Bangkok for the weekend. Bless her heart, she took it upon herself to tell me what I should see on this one day in Bangkok.



My angel guide marked my map, circling three places I should go, including the Sleeping Buddha temple, some fabric place where I could get something hand-tailored, and the Golden Mountain. Circling these things, she wrote in Thai. Guiding me to the street, she hailed a tuk-tuk for me and negotiated my little tour with the driver. I am so thankful to this woman for taking the initiative! So, though I could only understand some of what she said, I know that if my adventures take me there; I will look her up in Chaing Mai. Hopefully there is only one hospital there, and that I can easily find her. She is a "baby doctor."



The tuk-tuk driver did take me to the Sleeping Buddha temple, but they were cleaning it and it closed before I could see the actual Buddha. This is okay, because I plan to visit again, and the grounds were so beautiful, I was caught up in taking pictures anyway. In the tuk-tuk, I was choked with smog and fumes (I totally understand why many Thai walk around with face masks!), but enjoyed zooming through the congested traffic. We weren't as nimble as the motorcycles or bicycles, but it was fun to be just inches from other vehicles, and within chatting distance to other tuk-tuk passengers.



The stop at the fabric store was somewhat pointless. It would have been nice to purchase 100% silk, but I'm not ready to shop yet--a feeling that is foreign to me! But it's difficult not to feel obligated to shop. Anyway, I quickly ran out of the shop, after being followed around every corner by the salesman. I hate it when people hover!



After the shop escape, my driver asked me to go into a tourist center. If I booked something, I would get a coupon for gas, which I would give to him. Unfortunately, I didn't understand at the time why I was in the Center and, upon telling the agent that my tuk-tuk driver wanted me to come in for "a coupon or something," she promptly told me they were all gone, and to have a good day.



My last stop never happened because the tuk-tuk driver said the Golden Mountain was closed. I can't help but think he was just tired of driving me around... and was upset that I didn't get him a gas coupon.



Oh well! Back on Khao San Road, I looked around, sort of determined to buy something. But I didn't. Instead, I went to sleep, and will now go out.

Staying over in Bangkok

Thursday, July 30, 2009--approx 2pm, Bangkok time.

On the flight to Bangkok from Tokyo, I slept. It was my intention to gaze down on the lights of Bangkok--to be in awe of it and my new experience--but this romantic idea was soon abolished when the toll of the last few days hit me in the Tokyo airport. This is different than I imagined it would be.

The fact that things are different than I imagined does not surprise me. What surprises me, really, is that I haven't been surprised at anything so far. I have been prepared to be amazed, confused, displaced... but I haven't felt that way at all. Rather, I have enbraced easily the exchange of the Thai baht (currency), the street vendors, the hookers and backpackers, and the nightlife. Despite my lack of research, I feel totally comfortable making decisions in this "strange and foreign" land.

But, perhaps, because Thailand (Bangkok specifically) is so integrated, I should not feel so smug. Everything here has an English translation, and I have not felt secluded because I speak only English (an ignorance about which I'm quite embarassed, and must often forgive myself). The area I'm in (Khao San Road, north Old City) caters to English-speaking foreigners, as do the transit and hotel industries.

I came in last night by cab (taximeter) from the Suvarnabhumi airport. It cost me about 300 THB (approx 10 USD), which dropped me off at the end of the street. Khao San Road is blocked off at night from motor vehicles, due to the street partying, and only tuk tuks (tiny open trucks with 2-row seating) are allowed entrance. As I rolled my luggage through the groups of partiers, food carts, vendors, advertisers, and hookers, it reminded me of New Orleans. Music and people hang from balconies and rooftops, giving the atmosphere a general sense of celebration. Sorry, folks; I didn't see any flashing.

I'm staying at the D&D Inn, a haven for young partiers and backpackers. It's slap in the middle of Khao San Road, which is known for its many shops and street vendors. Luckily, the D&D has one of the biggest signs on the street. Otherwise it might have blended in with the myriad other signs, arrows, and neon. The entrance is down one of the many alleyways, which leads straight through the lobby, then out the other way to the cross-alley behind the building, where more shops and bars are lined up.

I had selected the hotel from my "Top 10" guidebook I read on the flight from Tokyo (before I fell asleep), which noted it is a "great place to meet people" and, although I had intended to go straight to bed when I got here, I became exhilarated with the excitement on the street. Bangkok nightlife rages on until the wee hours. Khao San is packed with bars, signs, posters, people, smells (both delicious and disgusting), and... trash.

I stuck mostly around the strip, but did venture off for a little bit (with Chang Lite in hand). I promptly got lost, but kept my cool, and found my way back to the Khao San, where I met Renee from Holland.

My timer is running out on the internet cafe computer, so I'll tell you more later... time to do the tourist thing.