Wow. I can't believe it's been a week already. I feel that it has been much more. I have explored the north of Thailand seeing temples and such. I have spoken with monks. Yesterday I made the trek from chiang mai in the north to koh chang in the south. I will have stories to tell and have met some incredible people over the last few days.
I will spend the next few days relaxing on the beach, riding an elephant, trekking through the jungle, and scuba diving.
I am koh chang now, which is an island about 5 hours east of Bangkok. I am staying in a backpacker hut where my bungalow has one bed, some mosquito netting, a shower and toilet and an AC. It is hot as balls here.
This is what I was looking for in a Thai beach-location with a view, atmosphere, options regarding activity, and affordability (about $17/night).
I can say that my Thai is still coming along. It is really difficult to speak and damn I impossible to read. Needless to say hand gestures have come in handy.
Here are some quick observations I have made about thailand
1. The Thai people are reeeeeally superstitious. Tuk tuk drivers will ride around with charms and pictures of minks, the Buddha, or even Hindu deities. Some roadsides have little dollhouse structures that I learned are for spirits to live in so they don't bother the residents.
2. Dogs and cats everywhere--all very friendly.
3. Thai villages and markets are something to behold- definitely busy, motorbikes everywhere. Just crazy.
Ok. Back to relaxing. Hope everyone is doing well back home.
Jeff
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Monday, October 31, 2011
The first 24
Tuesday November 1--1:00pm local time
Spent majority of yesterday figuring out, well trying to figure out, what exactly my plan was in thailand. Spent the morning scouring the markets in Bangkok. As I walked past the food carts, I the first meat I saw on a skewer. Actually, I bought two. It appeared to be grilled pork. As I took my first bite of authentic Thai food, I realized it was not pork rather an organ meat. Round 1-Bangkok The texture was smooth like a pate, so I was thinking liver. Not the best breakfast. So here I am walking around with two pig kidney skewers and an empty stomach. I gave one to a beggar and threw away the one I had taken a bite out of. Problem solved.
I spent the rest of my day reconfiguring plans, taxiing back to the airport, catching a flight north to Sukhothai, and crashing in a new bed--hard.
On a side note I can report what I've seem regarding the floods which everyone is concerned about. Downtown Bangkok seemed very normal. Some of the stores had sandbags in front, but I did not see any water in the parts I was exploring. People don't see overly concerned. On the other hand, flying north was something totally different. From 20,000 feet I could see the destruction. Entire towns were underwater. I could even see the ancient capital of Ayutthaya which I could make out using the map in my guidebook. The water went on for miles. Sometimes all I saw were buildings poking out of the water here and there. It makes me thankful for what I have. And I know a lot of people say that,myself included, but I've never personally witnesses the destruction of a natural disaster until today. 5 years ago we read about the wrath and devastation of hurricane Katrina, and this is probably equal- not in terms of dollars, but in terms of people's lives.
Needless to say I'm humbled
I am now in Sukhothai enjoying a Chang beer (22 amazing ounces for under $2) after an exciting morning of temple exploring. I will share more about that later. I am in real Thailand now-- the constant sound of 2-cycle motorbikes and tuk-tuks, no real traffic laws, and people who are super friendly (except the bike rental shop owner whose lock I lost the key to...she was piiiissed). I can't wait to share more.
Jeff
Spent majority of yesterday figuring out, well trying to figure out, what exactly my plan was in thailand. Spent the morning scouring the markets in Bangkok. As I walked past the food carts, I the first meat I saw on a skewer. Actually, I bought two. It appeared to be grilled pork. As I took my first bite of authentic Thai food, I realized it was not pork rather an organ meat. Round 1-Bangkok The texture was smooth like a pate, so I was thinking liver. Not the best breakfast. So here I am walking around with two pig kidney skewers and an empty stomach. I gave one to a beggar and threw away the one I had taken a bite out of. Problem solved.
I spent the rest of my day reconfiguring plans, taxiing back to the airport, catching a flight north to Sukhothai, and crashing in a new bed--hard.
On a side note I can report what I've seem regarding the floods which everyone is concerned about. Downtown Bangkok seemed very normal. Some of the stores had sandbags in front, but I did not see any water in the parts I was exploring. People don't see overly concerned. On the other hand, flying north was something totally different. From 20,000 feet I could see the destruction. Entire towns were underwater. I could even see the ancient capital of Ayutthaya which I could make out using the map in my guidebook. The water went on for miles. Sometimes all I saw were buildings poking out of the water here and there. It makes me thankful for what I have. And I know a lot of people say that,myself included, but I've never personally witnesses the destruction of a natural disaster until today. 5 years ago we read about the wrath and devastation of hurricane Katrina, and this is probably equal- not in terms of dollars, but in terms of people's lives.
Needless to say I'm humbled
I am now in Sukhothai enjoying a Chang beer (22 amazing ounces for under $2) after an exciting morning of temple exploring. I will share more about that later. I am in real Thailand now-- the constant sound of 2-cycle motorbikes and tuk-tuks, no real traffic laws, and people who are super friendly (except the bike rental shop owner whose lock I lost the key to...she was piiiissed). I can't wait to share more.
Jeff
Sunday, October 30, 2011
The last 48 hours
The clock says 5:31 pm, but I really don't know what time it is. I have been in the air for only 3 hours on this flight, but it is draining. I wonder if I will make my connecting flight in Tokyo? Food was mediocre. Kind of reminds me of that episode of Top Chef where the contestants are challenged to make food for an airplane. Wish that were here.
Good news is the gin and tonic was strong and free. Don't want to over imbibe though so I'm stopping at one.
My mind is divided on two things--where will I be going and what will I see? I have heard conflicting reports of the situation in Bangkok. Either way, I hear nothing but good things about the Thai people. I can't wait to land.
I was always jealous of professionals who get to travel around the world. Let me assure you that novelty wore off in about 45 minutes of my second of three flights. For a brief moment I thought I had Internet. False alarm. Oh well. Gonna start reading then probably take a nap. I guess if this is posted then I made it to Tokyo and did not land in the pacific.
Jeff
shit. Turns out I'm not even over the ocean yet. Im over fucking Canada! ( no offense to my Canadian friends). My trip will be more awesome when I fly over Alaska. Time to check google maps.
Note to self: apparently google maps only works with an internet connection. Google fail.
8:25 pm Saturday
Still sunny. It's like we're chasing the sun..... Reading the new(er) Tucker Max book. Hilarious. I imagine his voice is like Daniel Tosh's from Tosh 2.0.
Note to self: Kirin Ichiban=fantastic, warm Kirin Ichiban not so much. Oh well. It's free so fuck it. Just chugged it so I'm getting a short lived buzz. Hopefully it'll make the plane fly faster. Why does Thailand have to be so far away anyways??
Jeff
8:45 pm
After Rise of the Planet of the Apes, an interview with Jennifer Aniston, a 15 year old episode of Friends, and an episode of House, we get Captain America. Hopefully it won't suck as bad as when I paid to see it in the theater. Doubt it, but I'll give it a chance.
Jeff
9:05pm Saturday
It still sucks.
Insert international dateline here
4:45 pm Sunday
Descending into Tokyo. Gotta figure out how I'm connecting to Bangkok. Shoud be interesting. In case I didn't mention before, we left Chicago about 2hrs late because they broke the plane when they were loading the luggage. Hopefully I can catch the last flight to Bangkok tonight and make it there before midnight.
JM
11:24pm Sunday.
Time change. Arrived in Tokyo about 5:15pm local time. Figured I'd try and make my original 5:30 flight....not happening. Thankfully they had a table at the terminal and already had me booked for the 6:30 flight. To make things better, they even bumped me up to economy plus AND I was the only person in my row! Caught a few z's before the adventure of getting to my hostel. It's go time.
JM
1:00 am Monday October 31
After an exciting cab ride filled with club music and broken English and my nonexistent Thai, I am crashing. Goodnight world.
JM
Good news is the gin and tonic was strong and free. Don't want to over imbibe though so I'm stopping at one.
My mind is divided on two things--where will I be going and what will I see? I have heard conflicting reports of the situation in Bangkok. Either way, I hear nothing but good things about the Thai people. I can't wait to land.
I was always jealous of professionals who get to travel around the world. Let me assure you that novelty wore off in about 45 minutes of my second of three flights. For a brief moment I thought I had Internet. False alarm. Oh well. Gonna start reading then probably take a nap. I guess if this is posted then I made it to Tokyo and did not land in the pacific.
Jeff
shit. Turns out I'm not even over the ocean yet. Im over fucking Canada! ( no offense to my Canadian friends). My trip will be more awesome when I fly over Alaska. Time to check google maps.
Note to self: apparently google maps only works with an internet connection. Google fail.
8:25 pm Saturday
Still sunny. It's like we're chasing the sun..... Reading the new(er) Tucker Max book. Hilarious. I imagine his voice is like Daniel Tosh's from Tosh 2.0.
Note to self: Kirin Ichiban=fantastic, warm Kirin Ichiban not so much. Oh well. It's free so fuck it. Just chugged it so I'm getting a short lived buzz. Hopefully it'll make the plane fly faster. Why does Thailand have to be so far away anyways??
Jeff
8:45 pm
After Rise of the Planet of the Apes, an interview with Jennifer Aniston, a 15 year old episode of Friends, and an episode of House, we get Captain America. Hopefully it won't suck as bad as when I paid to see it in the theater. Doubt it, but I'll give it a chance.
Jeff
9:05pm Saturday
It still sucks.
Insert international dateline here
4:45 pm Sunday
Descending into Tokyo. Gotta figure out how I'm connecting to Bangkok. Shoud be interesting. In case I didn't mention before, we left Chicago about 2hrs late because they broke the plane when they were loading the luggage. Hopefully I can catch the last flight to Bangkok tonight and make it there before midnight.
JM
11:24pm Sunday.
Time change. Arrived in Tokyo about 5:15pm local time. Figured I'd try and make my original 5:30 flight....not happening. Thankfully they had a table at the terminal and already had me booked for the 6:30 flight. To make things better, they even bumped me up to economy plus AND I was the only person in my row! Caught a few z's before the adventure of getting to my hostel. It's go time.
JM
1:00 am Monday October 31
After an exciting cab ride filled with club music and broken English and my nonexistent Thai, I am crashing. Goodnight world.
JM
Thursday, October 27, 2011
two days until takeoff
For anyone who wants to follow my solo journey to Thailand for the next two weeks--this is your window to my adventures and shenanigans. As everyone probably already knows, there is crazy flooding there now which should make things interesting.
I hope to learn something new about myself.
I hope to not look back.
I hope to not end up in a Thai prison.
Keep posted,
Jeff
I hope to learn something new about myself.
I hope to not look back.
I hope to not end up in a Thai prison.
Keep posted,
Jeff
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