Last Day in Thailand

My last day in Thailand was a "fly by the seat of my pants" kind of of day in that I had no plan except catching a cab to the airport in the late evening for my midnight flight to Tokyo.

I slept in until 8:00 which was great, ate my usual complimentary breakfast at the guest house, and then spent the next hour in my room sorting and weighing my two pieces of luggage. It was 11:30 by the time I checked out of my hotel. They kindly stored my luggage in a locked room and provided me a chit as confirmation that they were holding my luggage until later in the day.

The Jim Thompson House is a famous tourist destination in Bangkok. Jim Thompson was an American architect. In the early-1940's he volunteered for the US Army which took him overseas. He fell in love with Asia and specifically Thailand. In 1946 when he was discharged from the Army, he returned to Thailand and started The Thai Silk Company which basically, single handedly, revived what was becoming the lost art of weaving Thai silk. Well as luck would have it, the Jim Thompson House was one Soi (street) over from my guesthouse. I went on the guided 45 minute tour and learned all about Thompson, his house which was pallatial (for the era) and filled with antiques from his personal collection, some dating as far back as the 15th century. There is a nice store on the property selling silk scarves, blouses, purses etc., under the Jim Thompson label but it was all very expensive and I didn't buy anything.

Spirit House outside the Jim Thompson House

After the tour, I took a canal boat to the Palladium shopping centre. 
No clue why I went there except that I had read about it on Trip Advisor, because I have found that Thai shopping centres really had nothing much that interested me. Anyways, as it turned out, the trip to the shopping centre was worth it solely for the boat ride. The canal is not all that wide and these boats are wide, long, and fast. I had no clue where to actually catch the boat as it wasn't obvious from my vantage point. Eventually someone came along whom I could ask. I walked about a block to a platform on the river. There was a small easily missed sign indicating the name of the pier. Within a few minutes I could hear a very noisy boat approaching. The sides are covered in tarps from the railing to about 3/4 the way up to the roof of the boat. When the boat got to the ramp, the patrons pulled the tarp down to the railing, hopped over the side of the boat onto the platform. Hmmm... this looked tricky. I watched patrons hop on the boat in the same manner, hold down the tarp and hop on over the side of the boat and find a seat. This change over of departing and boarding passengers was done in less than two minutes. Speediness was a definite requirement. The real shocking thing was that they collected the fare once the boat was in motion: two women collect fares by walking along the ledge on the outside of the boat, holding on to the roof section. The ride between platforms only takes a couple of minutes so my guess is it's hit and miss as to whether they actually collect from every passenger. I get off the boat and have no clue where the shopping centre is as it looks like I'm dropped off in a sketchy sort of area with "shacks" along the river. I hear someone speaking English. She's Thai and is giving directions to some tourists. I ask her for directions too, thinking that the poor woman probably gets stopped so many times on her way to her destination because her English is very good.

Trash in the river.

I come across Starbucks and order a grande iced Americano. Not cheap at about $5.00 Cdn, same price as at home.

The Palladium shopping centre is nothing to write home about. No clue why I came here... I wander around for about an hour, don't buy anything, and then I risk my life trying to cross the road to head back towards the canal. The interesting thing is there are no pedestrian crosswalks in Thailand. You just cross when you think it's safe to do so. Pedestrians have zero rights. Cross at your own risk. My method has always been to wait for the Thais to make a break for it and I cross with them and that's what I did in this instance too. Next thing I know I'm standing in the middle of a 4-lane road, with cars going both directions and vehicles are passing mere inches from my toes. At that moment I'm thinking, "what the hell !" Oh geez, it was an experience to say the least just trying to safely cross the road.

I get back on the canal boat and am happy that I discovered this mode of transportation on my last day in Thailand and that I got to ride the boats.

I head over to the MBK Centre and decide to have a pedicure in a hair salon. The pedicure was advertised for 250 BHT ($7.00), but once I'm in the chair she asks if I want a foot scrub for an additional 200 BHT. Well yah I want a foot scrub which is normally part of a "pedicure" back home. Really, for 250 BHT they are only offering a polish change. Whatever, I go for the whole enchilada. She pulls out this foot scrubber thing and it's obvious it has been used previously. I mutter about the lack of disinfectant and how it doesn't look sterile and she asks me what it is that I had said. I said "nothing, I'm just talking to myself. The santitization looks a bit sketchy" to which the lady next to me nods her head and say "I think so too". Oh well... too late to back out now. The nail file and all the utensils had all been used previously, no autoclave in sight, no disinfectant in sight. Crossing my fingers hoping I don't get a fungus and have to chop my toes off when I return home.

I go to Hanako Tokyo for a facial. The place had intrigued me the first time I saw it. It's in the MBK Centre, an actual glass-walled store wherein the patrons lay on spa beds in full view of the walkers-by. All the patrons had gold masks on their faces. It looks pretty neat as the entire store is wall-to-wall white, the estheticians wear white, the chairs are white, the patrons are dressed in white, but all the faces wear gold masks. It kinda looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. They're offering a deal today... 20% off. Awesome! I presume it's because it's not busy in there unlike every chair being full the first time I saw the place. The facial ends up being 90 minutes of the most amazing facial I have ever received. So many products, a great steam, extractions, excellent finger strokes from the technician and then this very cold gold mask. I really enjoyed this experience.

I decide I don't have quite enough scarves yet so I find a stall and buy another 8-10 scarves.

It's now almost 6:00 PM and I'm panicking slightly as my taxi is coming at 8:30 and I still have to pick up my laundry, eat and change my clothes. I stop in at a small Italian bistro on my Soi. Run by an Italian, he has a brick oven outside and it's fired up baking pizzas. I order a pizza. It was fairly good. I pick up my laundry and get myself ready. My taxi arrives an hour early! I told the hotel receptionist that my flight wasn't going to leave until after midnight and I wasn't going to the airport at 7:30 PM. She said no problem, the taxi driver would wait until 8:30 and he did!

Freshly laundered & neatly packaged.

Uneventful ride to the airport. 350 BHT and I tip him 50 BHT. It's always a relief when I'm checked in with the boarding pass in hand. I get through security and customs and then cash out my Thai Bhat and exchange it for Japanese Yen. 

Next stop, Tokyo!

Goodbye Thailand

Bangkok (for the 2nd time around)

When you buy a ticket on Bangkok Airways to Koh Chang the airline provides a shuttle van to pick you up at your guest house and delivers you the airport in Trat (which involves a 30 minute ferry ride). There are three flights a day out of Trat and Bangkok Airways built the airport specifically to get people to the surrounding islands.

The ferry was jam-packed and it was standing room only. I'd never ridden a ferry where so many people were standing. It kinda gave me a slight uneasy feeling and I was thinking about how similar this scenario was to ferries that sink in 3rd world countries due to overcrowding.

Arrived into Bangkok around 2:30 PM yesterday. Given my last foray on the Bangkok train system left me a bit flustered I decided I was going to spend the cash and hire a taxi. The process is to line up outside the airport, tell the clerk where you are going, the clerk tells you the price you'll pay, he writes the price on a chit which is handed to a taxi driver. This ride was going to cost me 450 BHT plus tolls, plus 50 BHT for the driver (all stipulated at the kiosk at the airport). It was around 3:00 PM by the time we departed the BKK airport. Man, what a totally different scene than my last trip into the BKK airport. Now we were in rush hour traffic. It was completely grid-locked, we're sitting in traffic and scooters are whizzing in and out between cars, switching from lane to lane. It was something to see.

I check into my guest house again and feel good that I know a bit of the lay of the land. I decide to go to the MBK Centre and check out the seven floors of mega shopping. Holy toledo! These floors totally reminded me of the night bazaar in Chiang Mai, the floors just kept going and going with aisles turning into other aisles. Each floor of MBK specializes in something. The 3rd floor is all electronics: cell phones, every kind of cell phone/IPad cover you can imagine, cameras, computers. The prices were no steal. The Samsung Galaxy 4 was about $400, not much cheaper than at home. I did buy a pair of Beats earbuds for $14... they're knock-offs (Grade A, she called them) but the sound is amazing. They came in a sealed box with the manual, spare ear pieces etc. This is the first time I've ever bought knock-off anything so we'll see how they hold up but for $14 I'm not holding my breath.

I find the food fare on the 5th floor. I'm no expert on Thai food but it certainly didn't look like "fast food" fare that we get at home. I settled on a Vietnamese salad roll. 70 BHT (just over $2 Cdn), and it was actually 3 rolls, cut into chunks. It was okay.

The popular items at MBK seem to be Thai silk scarves, luggage and knock-off purses. I believe I added another 10 scarves to the suitcase load I'm bringing home. Speaking of luggage, I had to buy another piece to get all of my purchases home. Just a small Samsonite carry-on and so many people were wheeling the same suitcase around the mall. Obviously most people are going home with much more than what they came to Thailand with.

I set the clock as I plan to go to the Grand Palace today and have no clue how to get there, how long it'll take and how long I'll need once there. I have to be back at my hotel by 3:30 as I am going on a dinner cruise and need to get to Taksin Pier for 5:30 PM.

My guest house offers a very nice complimentary breakfast. Eggs cooked to order. You make your own toast, cereal, homemade yogurt (delicious), fresh fruit and coffee. I left my hotel by 8:45 feeling a bit intimidated by the Bangkok train system. My first attempt two weeks ago kinda shook my confidence in commuting on the train. Anyways, I'm on the train before 9:00 with all the office workers. The train is freezing cold and I have to put on my long sleeved blouse that I brought along for when I go to the Grand Palace. I find my station no problem and also find my way to Taksin Pier no problem. Then I pay 40 BHT for a ticket to ride the ferry system. River travel is the #1 mode of transportation in Bangkok. I was thoroughly impressed with the "tourist boat". It was narrated and the young woman pointed out the various piers and what tourist attractions were at them. I had planned to get off the ferry at Pier N9 for the Grand Palace but at the Pier previous she mentioned that is where the Reclining Buddha was located. I had read about the Reclining Buddha and decided I'd better hop off and check it out.

Tourist boat.

Many famous Wats have entrance fees. I don't recall how much I paid to enter Wat Pho, perhaps 100 BHT. It was something to see. Photos don't do justice to what you see with your eyes in person. The Reclining Buddha was absolutely massive: 46 meters long and 15 meters high! Wat Pho has the largest collection of Buddhas in all of Thailand. It was so huge that it was impossible to get a decent photo of it because it fills up the entire temple it is housed inside. Aside from the Reclining Buddha there is a lot of very interesting architecture to look at in Wat Pho. I really enjoyed it.

There is a dress code for most temples and especially the super popular temples. Modest dress is key. No tight clothing, no capris, no shorts, no tank tops, no bare midriffs, no open-back or open-toe shoes (even though you remove your shoes to enter the Temple). For the tourists who don't dress appropriately, you can purchase the ever-so-popular Thai cotton pants for 200 BHT outside the Wat, or in the case of Wat Pho they had long lime green coloured housecoats that some people had to put on.

If you show up at a Wat dressed inappropriately these pants can be purchased outside the gates.

I exit Wat Pho and it's another scorcher of a day in Bangkok, +33 C. I stop and admire the amulets... I've had my eye on them since arriving in Bangkok but being I don't know the quality of what I'm looking at, some obviously antiques by the price being quoted, I hadn't bought one yet but I was determined to own one before leaving Thailand. I found one I really liked, Buddha on one side and a Monk on the opposite side, and I buy it for 150 BHT. I also buy a bag of watermelon slices too for 20 BHT.

I go to a different ferry that crosses the river for 3 BHT each way. It goes to Wat Arun. Waiting for the ferry, I ask a lady to take my photo. I return the favour for her. We introduce ourselves. She is Monica from Indonesia and is traveling alone too. She is going to Wat Arun so we hang out together and take photos of one another and together and we connect as Facebook friends. After yesterday's facebook rant about stuck up tourists it was so wonderful to finally meet someone to converse with. 

Monica from Indonesia.

Wat Arun was mind-blowing. It was totally wicked. Gorgeous! We climbed up these majorly steep high steps to the top of the Wat. OMG! We had a slight in-trepidation in doing so. Each step was at least 14" in height, narrow and extremely steep. The railings were wrapped tightly in rope so you could hang on going up and down. We climbed to the first level and took some photos from the lookouts. Then we climbed up another level and walked around the Wat and took photos, then we climbed up as high as we could go. Oh my word. The views from up there were worth the trip. Amazing. (Gosh, I almost have tears in my eyes trying to describe it). Just breath taking and amazing. Now we've gotta come down! One lady in front of us must've been terrified as she went down the stairs step-by-step on her bum.

 Each step is at least 14" in height.

                                           Holding on - even when going up the steps.     

 View from the first level of Wat Arun.

Monica has already been to the Grand Palace. She estimates I'll need at least two hours there. I don't have enough time to take it in leisurely, get the ferry and train back to my hotel, and then make it back to Taksin Pier. I decide the Grand Palace will wait til tomorrow. Monica and I take the 3 BHT ferry back to the other side of the Choa Phraya river where we part company. She is catching a 6:30 PM bus to Chiang Rai to the see the Golden Triangle (it's an 11-hour bus ride).

I make my way back down the river on a non-tourist boat. Oh my word. We were crammed in like sardines (or like the Vancouver skytrain). What a view though. I loved it. I was supposed to pay 40 BHT to return but didn't pay. On the way to the Wat, if you did not purchase your ticket beforehand (I did), they came around and collected and checked your ticket. I asked about paying for the return fare and was told to pay on the boat but no one collected from me and no one appeared to be collecting, not that you really could with it jam-packed like it was. I really enjoyed this ferry ride with the locals and the monks.

Non-tourist boat.

My back cracked this morning. I was already babying it because it felt like it wanted to go out... it didn't really go out, it just cracked. I thought I'd best get a massage to extend the life of my back before it does go out fully. I went to the massage studio across from my guest house. I told the lady that my back was sore as I was unsure which type of massage I should have. I decided a 90-minute Thai massage. Sa was my massage lady. Oh my word. She left me totally impressed. Thai massage is not a fluffy massage by any means. They give you cotton pants & shirt to put on and you lay on a mat on the floor. It's not that dissimilar to Shiatsu and Yoga mixed together. It's really a stretching of all your body parts. She put some ointment on my back and gave me the most amazing shoulder and neck massage. She put her knees on my sacrum and pulled back on my shoulders. Oh geez! I'll never forget it. It totally impressed me and I wished I had her techniques. I've booked a repeat for tomorrow night at 8:00 PM and hope to go back on Saturday for a head, neck and shoulder massage if my lower back is feeling pretty good by then. When I asked when she was working again I was told she works every day. Yes, 7 days a week! Her hours tomorrow are from 11:00 AM to midnight! I can't imagine massaging for 13 hours. Thais are definitely hard working people.

After the massage I head back exactly to where I came from a few hours earlier: Taksin Pier. I am having dinner on the Loy Nava rice barge which cruises the Chao Phraya river. It came highly recommended on Trip Advisor. The boat isn't even 1/2 full of patrons. But they do two sailings every evening and I chose the sunset dinner cruise. Perhaps the later cruise would be busier.

It is assigned seating. Everyone is seated along the outer edges of the boat. It's a lovely ambiance. Red & gold table cloths. I chose 1/2 seafood and 1/2 Thai food. I paid for this many months ago... long before I could've guessed I would be sick of Thai food by now. In hindsight I wished I had gone with 100% seafood. Oh well... I did eat most of the green and red curry! So much food... it just kept coming but it was served in such a way, with non-English speaking waiters, that I didn't really understand how or in what order I should be eating. I proceeded to eat my rice, not knowing the curry was coming. Thankfully they served two small steamers full of rice so I still had some left in which to soak up the curry.

The cruise gave us a souvenir booklet pointing out all the areas of interest that we sailed past. We also got a small garland that I've admired all over Thailand. It smells like Jasmine flowers and then has two red flowers attached to it. It's common to see them hanging from rear view mirrors. I hope mine dries okay and that I can transport it home okay. If it makes it to Vancouver in one piece mine will be hanging from my rear view mirror too.

Garlands are hung from rear view mirrors, 

on Spirit Houses and all things you wish to have protected.

I saw the Bangkok protesters up on one of the bridges we sailed under. Man, what a massive noisy crowd... blowing whistles and waving flags. I'm grateful that seeing them from a distance is as near to them as I've come thus far. A bit saddened by all the tourists who cancelled their Thai vacations out of fear that the news stations were reporting. Bangkok is such a huge city it's been really easy to never cross the paths of the protesters.

The cruise is worth it for the views, or at least I thought so. I chatted up two Germans after the cruise. They weren't impressed but I was. They were comparing it to Singapore and said it just didn't measure up. I have nothing to compare it to so I enjoyed it and thought it was worth it. I think it was around $50 for two hours.

The alarm is set for 6:30 AM on Monica's suggestion that I be at the Grand Palace at 9:00 AM before it gets overly crowded and hot.

I only have two full days remaining in Bangkok. I made a list of each day and what I hope to do on those days. I sure wish I had more days in Bangkok. I don't understand those people who say "fly into Bangkok and then get out". I'm really enjoying this city and keep comparing it to New York - simply because of how large it is. I will have to read up and compare the two for size. I'm thinking Bangkok must be larger but I don't know for certain yet.

Mae Hong Son to Mae Sariang, Thailand

Preface: Spent 2.5 hours typing this post only to have had the system log me out somewhere along that time frame and there wasn't a single word saved! After a night's sleep, let's try again. I'm typing this on Dec. 25 at 6:40 AM and am sick with a full on cold.

Our day starts at 9:00 AM and we head on down the road only about 15-20 minutes or so and we reach our first adventure of the day. We are going to take a long tail boat up the Pai River towards Burma to visit the Karan Long Neck Tribe. This was a great surprise for me as I didn't know this was included in this tour that I had switched to from my first choice months ago.

As Mae Hong Son started to grow and develop, the Karan Tribe people were moved out of Mae Hon Son by the Thai Gov't and they were relocated to this patch of land about 2 km from the Burmese border. They're refugees from Burma.

Sutthi and I get on a long tail boat, put on our life jackets and take a fast boat ride 15 minutes down the Pai River. Our boat is captained by a man in the rear commanding the motor. His son, who looks to be about age 12 or so is sitting up front. The motor of a long tail boat is about 20 feet long. It has a very tiny propeller. The river has some activity on it. We pass rice farmers carrying heavy bags of rice on their heads, loading it into their boats. Long Tail boats can take on a vast amount of weight and they don't show the slightest sign of capsizing. We can see how much the river rose during the rainy season by all the garbage that got caught up in the tree branches. It looks to be some 6-8 feet up in the branches. Our boat pulls up to the bank and the young boy jumps out first.

Long Tail boat on the Pai River (heading towards Burma).

The smell of smoke greets us on the banks of the Karan Village. Talk about culture shock! I have never ever in my life seen anything like this. The "road"/trail goes up the hill and bamboo houses are chock-a-block lined up side-by-side. By house, I imagine they're perhaps 240 square feet. Another reality check as to how "big" we do things in North America. I spot my first Karan woman with the brass rings on her neck and I am conscious of the fact that I shouldn't be gawking at her like she's in a zoo but it's hard not to stare. Most of the houses have a frontage area where the women are weaving scarves to sell to the tourists. No clue what the men do all day but many of the women are being productive.

Wearing brass rings is choice nowadays, or so Sutthi tells me. But there was a baby probably a year old with rings on her neck so how that is her choice I haven't quite figured that out yet. The woman who was holding her, if I presume that is her mother, wasn't wearing any rings on her neck.

The rings are changed 5 times throughout a lifetime. As the neck elongates, the rings are removed (can't imagine how they do that), and replaced with a long section of rings. Around age 45 the final set of rings is placed on the neck and these are the rings the lady will wear until the day she dies. At their heaviest, the rings can weigh 7 kg. I held a set of rings that weigh 3 kg and that was pretty darn heavy. Can't imagine wearing more than twice that weight.

Some women wear the big earrings that create the big hole in the earlobes. Some women choose to wear a golden colour on their faces. It looks like a stencil. One teenage girl had  gold-painted leaves on her cheeks. It was pretty.

Karan Long Neck Village

We walk up to the end of the road where the school is. Although it's a school day there is no school as there is no teacher. A common problem here as Sutthi tells me that teachers simply decide to not show up because they don't want to work so remotely. Karan kids are only educated to the 2nd or 3rd grade.

The bamboo houses are built close together. They look to be about 240 square feet in size, all built on stilts. Many women weave scarves in front of their house and hang them out to sell to tourists.

A beautifully designed home

The nice thing about touring with Sutthi is that he is able to communicate with these people. He chats up some guys standing around a fire stirring a huge vat of delicious smelling pork.  Karans are not Buddhists. They believe in the spirit world and are cooking the pork to take it up to the cemetery as an offering to their ancestors. Afterwards there will be a big celebration. Some young men are preparing floral wreaths for the celebration. The vat's "lid" is made from woven leaves. A woman pours beer over the leaves.

   

We chat up a woman sitting outside her home. She pulls out the contents of her tobacco bag: bitternut, leaves, and some dried herbs/leaves. Sutthi explains to me about the bitternut that they chew. It leaves their teeth stained brown, their lips stained red and it's addictive like tobacco. She offers me 1/2 of her bitternut.  “No thank you”, I tell her.

She offered to share her Bitternut with me.

We start heading towards our boat and Sutthi spots an elder and he gets so excited. He first met this lady 20 years ago and he was so happy to see that she was still alive. We find out that she is 90 years old now. She wears the brass rings on her neck, and on each of her calves too. She is chewing bitternut and is spitting it out not so lady-like. She wipes her mouth and the red stain looks like a lip liner gone astray. Sutthi gives her some money and it's obvious he has an affection for her.

Our last stop is to buy some BBQ'd bananas. Very tasty. 

The boat captain and his son are waiting at their boat to take us back up the river to civilization.  We take our places on the floor of the boat and head back up the river

We drive a few hours and stop for lunch. Today's lunch was a whole fish fried crispy with crispy garlic. We also had the ever present white rice, stir fried vegetables and a crispy fried bone-in pork. Delicious as I've come to expect with all Thai food.

Along our travels, if there's an interesting Temple, Sutti shows it to me.

Next stop is a Calacite crystal cave at Mae La Noi. We stop at the information centre where we hire a private taxi to take us to the cave. Sutthi and I hop in the back of a rickety old Toyota pickup truck. The driver guns it as best he can up the steep mountain road and I hold on for dear life. At the cave we hire a guide with a dim flashlight. We walk down into the belly of the cave some 120 meters. It has 5 chambers. It was only discovered 20 years ago and is estimated to be 435-500 million years old. No photography allowed and no bright lights as any light at all affects the calacite and turns it brown (hence the very dim flashlight). We climb back up the 144 steps and hop into the back of our taxi/truck which we share with an American from Washington, DC. He is on a 5-month cycling tour. He had finished 3 months in Cambodia and was now touring Thailand.

Our stop for the night is in the town of Mae Sariang. The streets are adorned with purple flags stuck into the ground every few feet. Sutthi says that means the Princess of Thailand is in the area. The day of the week you are born on has a colour associated with it. Purple is the Princess's colour, yellow is the king's colour. These flags are everywhere. There's a heavy police presence. Sutthi checks me into the Riverside Resort with an intention he will find a cheaper place to sleep but the hotel clerk tells him that he won't find anything for miles as the roads are closed off. Sutthi decides to stay at the Riverside Resort too. There's really nothing to do in this town. No night market. I went out for a walk but the streets were really quiet and dark. I found a 7-11. These stores are everywhere in Thailand. I bought some ointment for my sore throat, a kitkat bar, a lychee jello cup, and a big bottle of water. It came to less than $3.00 Cdn.

For a hotel set on a river bank, it was a noisy hotel. I put my earplugs in and head to bed. Never heard a thing all night.