On my flight out of New York, I was seated next to an Aussie couple, probably about my age, who were heading to Thailand as the final stop on about 2.5 years of traveling all over Europe, Canada and the US. They were nice and we chatted a fair amount, finally bidding each other farewell at the baggage claim in Bangkok. It was interesting to talk to people that many times over a period of about 24 hours without ever actually exchanging names. I wonder how much more of that I will do on this trip.
As I de-boarded the plane in Bangkok and walked down the long terminal hallways towards immigration and baggage claim, the thought going through my head was "Holy shit, I'm really here! I can't believe I'm on the other side of the world!" That feeling still hasn't gone away.
My father's grad school roommate, Che, with whom he had not been in touch in 40 years until just a couple weeks ago, picked me up from the airport in Bangkok. Not only was it reassuring to see a friendly face, but he and his family proceeded to give me the most generous welcoming imaginable, taking me out to lunch with his family, showing me around the financial district downtown, offering to let me stay at either his house or his studio in the downtown area, giving me maps and suggestions on places to visit, etc. And the next day, his son took me to the floating market in Ratchaburi, a 2 hour drive from the city (more on this later). It was definitely the right plan to stay with Che and is family the first night, as it would have been quite a bit more chaotic trying to get to a hostel from the airport and then arranging to meet up with him sometime during my stay in Bangkok. Part of me wonders whether it wouldn't be a good idea to take him up on the offer of using his studio and just stay there and explore Bangkok by myself for a few days. But I'm drawn to the idea of meeting people and spending time with them, and that's just not going to happen the same way if I'm staying by myself.
Going over Che's ideas of potential places to visit, it's clear I could spend a couple months just in Thailand. I feel a few pangs of regret that I've already started locking myself into certain dates and locations, like committing to be in Delhi to meet Rachel and Sarah on November 20th. Then again, I suppose it was inevitable that I would begin to develop more structure once I actually arrived, and a month and a half should be a good amount of time to explore Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. And I'm super excited to know that I will have traveling companions throughout my time in India; after Rachel and Sarah take off, I'll be meeting up with Erica, one of my best friends from college, who will be in India for a wedding. I'm a little concerned that the timing now makes it unlikely that I will stop and volunteer anywhere in Southeast Asia or India, but I guess if I really want to, I can always go back to India after spending New Years in Singapore.
On Saturday, Toey (Che's son) took me to the floating market in Ratchaburi. We were accompanied by his wife, Gail (I think), and her brother, Jimmy. There were very few farang (white people) there, and I was grateful to have a guide to take me to a market frequented by locals rather than the one featured in my Lonely Planet book. They showed me which foods to eat and I devoured grilled sea oysters (that's what I'm eating in the picture), fish on a stick, fried prawns, fried pheasant eggs, a couple flour-based deserts, a local fruit similar to lychee (sp?), and some local snack with rice, shrimp, and peanut sauce wrapped in a flavorful leaf. It was food heaven.
After Ratchaburi, Toey dropped me off outside the Overstay (www.theoverstay.com), a hostel I found through couchsurfing. I ended up getting a room for 100b ($3), which thankfully had a working fan (some rooms did not). There was a Jamaican Kamikaze-themed party (don't ask) that was quite fun, but when I woke up in the morning, I decided I didn't really want to stay at the Overstay another night. Finding a place on Kho San Road wasn't really appealing as an alternative and going back to Che's so soon, while I knew I would be welcome, would have felt like admitting defeat. So I decided to get the heck out of Dodge and head down south, figuring I'll come back through Bangkok on my way to Chang Mai. Beach time sounds good right now, and given the advice I've received from multiple friends about avoiding Phuket, it seems like a good jumping off point for Ko Phi Phi (where The Beach was filmed), and then I'll probably go to the eastern coast, check out Ko Tao, and start making my way back up to Bangkok by way of some of the more local beaches Che and Toey told me about.
Having made my decision, I got directions at the 7-Eleven and hopped on a local bus, feeling very proud of myself for having navigated public transit. Unfortunately, they bus let me out at the OLD south station, so I had to take a taxi to the new one. I did manage to turn down one cab driver who wanted to charge me 150b and found another who immediately agreed to turn on his meter, which ended up coming to 68b. I arrived at the bus terminal around 2pm, only to discover that the next bus to Krabi departs at 6:30pm, a couple hours later than I expected based on my brief internet research (damn you, wikitravel!). I decided to splurge ($18) on a first class ticket for the 12 hour ride, which got me air conditioning, quite the blessing since I've been sweating virtually nonstop since I got off the plane, a condition I expect will be pretty much a permanent state-of-being for the rest of my trip. Fortunately, I made the decision well before this trip started that I am not going to be bothered by waiting. So far, so good.
Alright, this is turning into a bit too much of a play-by-play narrative. I'm now wrapping up this post from the front porch of the Good Dream Guesthouse in Krabi, fully relaxed from an hour-long traditional Thai massage. Some kind of 8-day festival begins today, so there will apparently be even more exciting foods and various vendors in the streets tonight. For tomorrow, I have booked a longboat tour of 4 Islands. I'm sure many envy-inspiring photos will follow, assuming the weather permits.
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It's wonderful to read about your experiences. I hope you continue to enjoy the food and find great people. Can't wait to read more!
ReplyDeleteShave the head, Dan!! Go low maintenance/low budget!! Get dirty!!
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