Thailand
Where to start.
I started, like most people do, in Bangkok. It’s big, noisy and hectic at first glance. The city’s infrastructure is right there for you to see. Electric lines shoot everywhere and curl around your head as you walk down the busy streets. There are night markets, day-time markets, markets in alleys, and markets that block the sidewalk and flow into the street - you can get your anything here. Practice haggling before you come, it’s important when it comes to doing business from a tent. If Thai food, religion, and dress has been translated and used by hippy culture, Khao San Rd. in Bangkok is where it comes back together. There were some people who seemed to have come to Thailand and never left.
Tourism is one of Thailand’s top industries. In Bangkok people developed very creative schemes to make the most of this industry. Tuk-tuk (motorcycle taxi’s) rides will deliver you unexpectantly to their business partners’ shop and several others having to do with visiting a temple that go something like: ‘Happy Buddha. Only for today.’ We went to the Grand Palace, where the King of Thailand still resides. Thailand is a constitutional monarchy so while there are pictures of the king on elaborate arches all over the country, there are also candidates’ election billboards as well.
Chiang Mai and north-west Thailand is geographically and historically very different from other parts of Thailand. There are many languages spoken by Thai people that separate in some ways the cultures of NE, NW, Southern and Central Thailand. The city of Chiang Mai itself is very old. During our stay, they were celebrating the Intakin Festival and the 700th birthday of their city wall. The festival was held at a temple that housed the city pillar. Most Thai people are followers of Theravada Buddhism. Wat’s, or temples, are centers of worship where monks of some monastic orders practice.
To break the tourist circuit, Jan and I went on an excursion on scooters for a few days. The roads were a little intense and the signs less than helpful, but with help from friends we met along the way we made it to some hard-to-get-to places. Besides tourism in Chiang Mai, Northwest Thailand’s economy is primarily agrarian and we passed many farms growing rice, bananas, and beans. The tropical environment helped spawn some incredible things (to a girl from upstate NY). In general things just seemed bigger, from the elephants to the giant bugs.
Phuket, in southern Thailand, is a center for tourism. Crazy tourist beach culture can be pretty alienating and we didn’t stay long. The islands and small towns of southern Thailand are incredible with their mostly sand beaches and limestone cliffs and rock formations. Kayaking and Thai longtail boat are both good ways to explore the area from the water. Many parts of southern Thailand were devastated by the 2008 tsunami. Tourist boats were left far inland by the waves and some still remain there.
