And Once Again . . . Why I Like Bangkok

Here I am, staying in a nice guesthouse with a view of the canal where foodstands are set up and huge carp cause constant movement in the canal.  While I was watching from my balcony, though, a huge monitor lizard swam by, pulled itself out of the water and sunned himself on a wall! 



In the evening, I went to the Fort by the Chao Phraya River because I read it was a great place to people watch.  That was definitely true!  People were all over the park watching the river and waiting for the sun to set, but also engaged in activities.  The photo shows 3 people practicing their juggling skills: two men with pins, a man with two ropes with balls (umm - on the ropes)  and a young woman with this bar that is meant to have fire on the ends.  She needs to get much better before she uses the fire!  At 6:00 exactly, everyone stopped EVERYTHING while the speakers played the salute to the King  . . . . . and then they commenced their activities after the music ended. 

I have tried to attach a video but was unable.  Too bad because it sort of captured a bit of the strangeness that makes me like this place.  So trying to re-create - Sun is setting, a large barge is being towed upriver, people are sitting and chatting all over the park and there are speakers playing some very nice Thai music with speaker and electrical cords running all over the park and down the stairs.  It was very 'atmospheric' and lovely, but would NEVER happen in the U.S.!  (Tripping hazard among other things.)
A bit of an add-on:  I went there tonight.- my last night in Bangkok to watch the sunset and, in addition to the usual array of jugglers, dancers, yoga groups, young couples, there was an aerobics class for elderly citizens!  (I know - I should have joined in!). It was great!  Then after the sunset headed to Rambuttri Road for dinner where people tried to sell me everything from frog noisemakers to fake tattoo sleeves and to roasted scorpions and a cool laser that made sparkly lights on the ground!  Ah, ya gotta love Bangkok!

 

Ko Lanta and Khao Sok

The Mangroves

The Fish Farm in the Mangroves

Lanta ended up being an okay place; not my favorite beach but okay.  A wrong choice in accommodations has a big impact and, while it was an inconvenience not staying on the beach, I got plenty of beach time.  There is really an interesting mix of folks there with a large Muslim population.  Everyone gets around on motorbikes or tuk-tuks and it's not unusual to see a woman in traditional Muslim clothing (fully covered from head to toe) driving a motorbike in 90+ degree weather.  I don't know how they can do it.  I sweat just standing still in shorts!  You also see tuk-tuks full of young men in traditional clothing on their way to school?/worship?  It was different than anywhere else I've been in Thailand and I liked that aspect of it.

I found a great Thai/Pizza restaurant that I frequented with great food and the 72 year old cook coming out to ask me if I liked the food.  The manager was a guy in his 60’s with a constant smile and who ran around constantly trying to tend all the tables, selling gas to motorbikes in between.  My last meal there, the cook hugged me and the manager said he would miss me! 

Koh Rok was definitely my favorite part of Koh Lanta, but the half-day kayak trip through the mangroves was also pretty cool.  I loved my guide.  He was 19 and kept asking me, “You okay?”  He said I was strong because I paddled for two hours, but really we spent a fair amount of time playing with the monkeys on the shore.  He would laugh and say, “Look, the snorkeling monkeys.” Because they did stay under water for a long time and were really good swimmers!  They were cute and not aggressive – a good thing in monkeys!

Then on to Khao Sok.  I visited Khao Sok last year and loved it and I STILL love it and hope to go back again someday.  It’s a beautiful place with great jungle noises, including gibbons in the morning off in the distance. 

The smells are also amazing as are the birds, insects and some funny little tree-hopping chipmunk looking things. 

A Tree at Sunset

A Canoe Trip on the Sok River

The View from my Room

Another Karst View While Canoeing

A Hike in the Jungle

This morning I was awakened by monkeys jumping on my roof to get to the bananas near my room.  Fortunately, these also were nice monkeys with no interest in me. 

Monkey in the Park

Monkey in the Mangroves

Monkey by My Room

On the minibus to Surat Thani I met an interesting fellow from Scotland and we talked most of the way.  He’s traveling for 3 months total, has another month to go and is headed for North Thailand.  He works as a freelance nurse so can take off chunks of time he said.  One of what I think is the most difficult things (and at the same time best things) about traveling is that you meet people with whom you really connect, but it’s brief and that’s just the way it is.  No one expects that you’ll keep in touch or ever see that person again, but they make an impression that stays with you.  I’m now on the overnight train waiting for its departure back to Bangkok and winding down my trip.  It’s been a good one.  I’ve had some great experiences, met some incredible people, been to some amazing places and I am ready to head home.

Koh Rok

The Beaches

 

The Sea Life

 What Lives There

 

Beach, Beach, Jungle

Beach 1 - Koh Tao

This is a diver’s island but you don’t have to be a diver to love it!  Koh Tao is mountainous and lush.  There are noises of insects that are almost deafening at times and birds and butterflies galore.  I met a person today who has lived here for 8 years, splitting his time between dive instructor here and ski instructor in Jackson Hole.  He said when he first came here, there were 5 dive shops; there are now 60!  The ‘village’ feels touristy with lots of shops and people, but you can hike up the mountain and it becomes a lot more secluded and actually the beaches don't feel that crowded.  This island is on the Gulf of Thailand and the sea is very calm.  My bungalow is across a walkway from the beach which is great for viewing sunsets and the snorkeling is pretty good right there with some nice corals and schools of fish. 



Three Sunsets

The restaurant connected to the place I'm staying is pretty good also but there is no shortage of good restaurants on this island!  Today I booked a snorkel trip around the island and had a very typical Thai experience.  I was supposed to be ready for the taxi to take me to the boat at 9:30 – I was ready at 9:15.  I waited and asked the hotel manager at 9:35.  “Don’t worry – he  come”, she said. At 9:45 I asked her again and she said, “Wait there.  He’ll be her soon.”  She then disappeared.  At 9:55 I asked the restaurant guy as she was still gone and he made a phone call.  Taxi came; I missed the boat.  The taxi driver, however, convinced another boat that was leaving to “catch me up” to my boat.  It was so silly!  The people on the "wrong" boat and I laughed about it and when I got dropped off, they all waved yelled Good-bye!  My ‘new’ boat people were already in the water, so I joined them and when I got back on the boat, the guide was totally confused that he now had an additional person.  Uh, so was I!  Anyway, it worked out and two of the places, Mango Bay and Japanese Garden, are really beautiful with great corals and fish.  We also spent some time on a small island very near Koh Tao called Nang Yuan Island - very beautiful.

Some Corals at Japanese Gardens



Boardwalk on Nang Yuan to View

Beach 2 - Koh Lanta
Koh Lanta is a very large island and it takes a long time in a mini-van and two car ferries to get here. There's a large Moslem population here, so many women riding motorbikes in Burkas - interesting.  In fact, there are lots of every kind of people, especially tourists riding motorbikes.  It seems to be the main method of transportation here and I don't do motorbikes.  It's a pretty island, fairly flat with lots of long beaches.  I happened to book a place that is not on the beach.  What was I thinking?  It got "fantastic" reviews and it's nice enough.  In fact, my room is great with views to the sunset, but it's a walk to the beach!  Duh!  This is also not a snorkeling beach.  Today, I put on snorkel and mask and swam out quite a ways and didn't even see one fish!  Where are they?

Relax Beach - Koh Lanta

It's a great beach for swimming though, getting deeper very gradually and it seems to attract lots of families and lots of people from Sweden - like everyone I have met here with one exception (Toronto).  Tomorrow I have booked a snorkel trip to Koh Rok which is supposed to be lovely.  Then a trip to the other side of the island (Old Town) to kayak in the mangroves.

A Happy Fish in Mango Bay

My 14" Roommate in Kho Tao

Jungle?
Then will begin my journey North with a stop-off at Khao Sok (the jungle) for a few days before the overnight train to Bangkok.  I have been to Khao Sok before, but it is an incredibly beautiful place with lots to do and a beautiful park in which to hike.  Photos to follow on that part.

Some Thoughts on Myanmar



Sunset in Bagan



A Wedding Party

Now that I am back in Thailand, I have been reflecting on our trip to Myanmar.  One thing that I am certain of is that I prefer Thai food and am really happy to have it again.  We found it challenging to find good food and, in some cases just food we felt okay eating, but we did come across some great restaurants also.  As I’ve said in previous posts, the people are probably the nicest I have ever encountered.  While the country has opened to tourism, it has a long way to go.  The new capital, Nay Pi Taw, is a gross and huge statement to the wealth of the generals and the businessmen and women with whom they deal.  While we refused to visit, our train went by the place and we spoke to some people who did visit.  There are huge new highways with no traffic, big and expensive hotels with no guests and street after street of important looking buildings that foreigners cannot access.  A person I spoke with said he rented a motorbike and rode around for 4 hours and saw only a fraction of the place, but did see some scary looking buildings that he couldn't access including one titled the Department of Relocation.  Meanwhile, people are living nearby and all over the country in poverty.   I mentioned our horse cart driver who took us through his village.  He did not own the horse or the cart.  It was owned by a rich man in his village who received 75% of the proceeds from our ride.  Our driver received about 3,000 kyats which is around $3.00 and that is considered pretty good money.  We, of course, made sure he got as much as his “boss”.  He and his wife both work on farms owned by rich men in the summer and rainy season when the horse cart business drops off, he making $4/day while his wife makes $3/day. 


Soe Win and Horse - Nice Horse!

We drove through another village on the way to Mt. Popa where people had to walk a long distance to get water.  Some had carts with steel drums full of water, but there were men and women carrying two buckets balanced on their shoulders with a stick.  There is an election in 2015 and most everyone we spoke to is hopeful that Aung San Suu Kyi will be elected again and will be allowed to lead the country this time.  In the meantime, tourism is a way to help the people of this poor country.  So if you were planning a visit, do it!  These wonderful people need you!

Nats (A Visit to Mt. Popa)

 

Mount Popa

Today, our last day in Bagan, we went to Mt. Popa.  It’s only about 30 miles from here, but takes about an hour to reach.  It is the home of 37 nats which are spirits.  We didn’t know what to expect, but when we arrived, our guide took us into a temple where there were 37 ornately dressed statues, each with a “theme” of sorts.  Some were riding tigers or carrying things including one guy who likes to drink and had several bottles of rum!  These guys are based in Animism and there are rules while on the mountain – no peeing on the ground, no cursing or bad language, no mean talk and don’t wear red or black.  We didn’t want to piss them off, so we followed the rules!  This religion was in Myanmar long before Buddhism and only by making concessions to include the animist beliefs was King Anawrahta able to introduce Buddhism. 

Lucky House Nat - Monkey Not Included



Some Nats

 

We then climbed over 700 stairs to a monastery perched on a hilltop and with lots of scrappy monkeys on the way up!  Not a fan of the monkeys!  We also stopped at a chicory farm which (I didn’t know this) comes from a palm tree.

Gathering Liquid

Making Sesame Oil

 

They harvested liquid and made great tasting drinks, including a fairly potent alcohol!  They made candy from the seed part, chairs from the wood, placemats and baskets from the leaves – I don’t think any part of the tree was wasted and they did all of this with very primitive methods, using an ox to make sesame oil and a small woodfire oven to heat and distill the liquor.  It was fascinating but really not surprising.  If I have learned anything while here besides that most of this country’s inhabitants are very friendly and extremely honest, it is that the people of Myanmar have learned to be resourceful because many of them do not have much; in fact, they have very little.  We ended the trip with a visit to Be Kind to Animals The Moon vegetarian restaurant and the food was GREAT!  We then got rained on walking back to our hotel in the dry season!  Go figure!  Tomorrow to Mandalay and on to Thailand.

The Path Up the Mount

 

Bagan

Pagodas - Ayerwaddy River in Background

 We have been here a couple days and are totally impressed by this place.  The scope alone is difficult to fathom, let alone the incredible beauty.  The first day here, we climbed up a narrow staircase in one of the pagodas and watched the sunset.  It was inspiring!  Yesterday we rented bicycles for 1500 kyats (about 1.50) and spent the morning bicycling and looking at more pagodas.  Today we rented bicycles again and saw more pagodas, temples, stupas and Buddhas, climbing one very tall pagoda to catch the view at the top – amazing!  This afternoon we hired a horsecart and driver (Soe Win) and he took us to several more pagodas, including some on the Ayerwaddy River.  He also took us for a ride through his village and showed us his home.  He said he was born in this little village just outside of Old Bagan.  He talked about his family, politics, his horse, work, the village all while taking us the back, less traveled way to some incredible pagodas, the last being a great place to climb and watch the sunset.  It was a great day!  If you happen to visit Bagan, look for Cart #71.



Two Pagodas or Stupas

Two Buddhas



Amanda Temple (The Largest)

If you had a week, you couldn’t possibly visit all the pagodas here which total somewhere close to 3,000 with each containing at least one, and often several Buddha.  I have read that the pagodas started to be built in this area around 950, reaching a peak around 1200.  By 1287, it is thought they were beginning to be abandoned.  There are many theories as to what happened – the most accepted being that they were invaded by the Mongols, but no one is really sure and one expert says the people never really left. 

A Temple

They have withstood earthquakes including a major one in 1975 and the Burmese continue to restore and rebuild these amazing structures constantly but, unfortunately, not always correctly and some of she statues look almost cartoonish.  Still, they are amazing and impossible to describe.  The photos here do not even begin to capture the magnitude of this place, but it’s the best I can do.  This place, in my opinion, is the highlight of Myanmar and I am very happy that I was able to experience it.  Come here if you can – and soon! 

A Beautiful Sunset