Entries Tagged 'Thailand' ↓

There exists in Pai a sort of Thai hipster culture characterized by long wild hair torn jeans graphic T’s sunglasses at night.  Quite interesting… Pai being such a small, somewhat remote, place.  Walk into Phu Pai Art Cafe and you’re in for a refreshing live music experience. I say refreshing because, in Thailand, a place where terrible karaoke and hopeless cover bands abound, the live music here was rock solid.

First up was a band of four members: drum bass guitar singer… classic quartet.  They were a cover band, but not without their own style.  The singer was amazing… A hipster Thai girl with crazy wild afro hair and a voice that made me wonder who… or what… was singing.  A deep, hearty, soulful and unique voice.  The backing musicianship was tight.  Tight enough to make me smile and send a shiver or two down my back.  (It had been a long time since seeing ‘real’ live music).  The set list was nice as well:  Otis Redding Al Green Beatles House of the Rising Sun.  And flourishes of jazz/blues improvisation, hence the shiver, here and there.  

The band that followed was “an experimental gypsy band” comprised of a diverse blend of musicians.  Didgeridoo hums, muted trumpet wails, bass, drums, some kind of violin adds orient, saxophone cries, squeezebox rhythm.  While walking to the toilet a mosquito buzzed in my ear and told me ‘the gypsies are coming.’  Pangs of nostalgia for a bygone era.  A few local ex-pats joined in shaking tambourines as if holding on to something from long ago… maybe the 70′s.  I could’ve done without said sloppy jostling of bells on a ring but I’ll let the kodgers have their cake.                    

First of all, my plans changed pretty drastically in the past couple weeks, as they have been this whole trip. I made it up to Chiang Mai and it was so wonderful that I decided to stay for just over a week… I think. Yesterday, I took a van further north to Pai and I’m staying here for two nights. The north of Thailand is just amazing… I couldn’t bring myself to leave. The original plan was to head down the Mekong and over to Laos again, then over to Vietnam… BUT… I realized that I’m running a bit low on funds and still have to make it to China in order to fly home. I’ve been a sucker for art! I’ve bought a lot of artwork in Chiang Mai from talented locals. Some of it is pretty crazy… far from the traditional Bhuddist art and very controversial in Thai culture. Feet on top of heads, for one example… To get back to the point, anyway, flights to China are pricey! Also, I’ve come to appreciate staying in one place for awhile rather than hopping on a bus every two days. With the latter, you don’t give yourself the chance to really understand the city, it’s culture, it’s nuances, etc. Chiang Mai seemed like the perfect place for me to do this… albeit a week is still a very short time! I met many great people though… travelers, ex-pats, and locals… who showed me the ins and outs. Ultimately, I’m happy I stayed… but a bit bummed about not seeing northern Laos. Next Time!

So the new plan is to head back south to Bangkok in a couple days and fly to Shenzhen, China. From there, I will take a train up to Shanghai and I hope it’s comfy because it’s going to take 25 hours! I guess for around $130 I can get a private sleeper car with a ‘soft’ bed. Should be pretty decent. I’ll spend a couple days in Shanghai, then fly home on the 17th. Noooooo! Really though… It’s bitter sweet. I’m looking forward to seeing friends, family, domesticated animals. And I’m looking forward to Mexican food!

To switch up the topic and stick to the name of this post, Chiang Mai is a great city. It’s the second largest city in Thailand next to Bangkok, but feels (and really is) much smaller. The markets are the best I’ve seen… There are nightly markets in two locations that are pretty standard… trinkets, t-shirts, crafts, etc. but the real deal is the weekly Sunday market. This was the largest market I’ve ever seen. Think about a small music festival or a large outdoor concert… SO many people. It must have covered and area of 15 square blocks. A lot of the same you find at the other markets in Asia, but with much added originality. Street performers, mimes, artists, and on and on. It was a wonderful experience.

I was moving slowly along with the flowing current of people through the Sunday market and could hear in the distance a mans crackling voice over a loudspeaker. I didn’t pay much attention and continued moving on my way. At once, at 6pm sharp, the entire mass of people came to a halt as music began to play over the speakers. I nearly ran into the man in front of me, but caught on to the idea rather quickly… It was the national anthem. The crowd, thousands of people, had gone from shuffling, talking, yelling, selling to idle and soundless in a matter of seconds. It was quite the site to behold. I couldn’t help tweaking my neck around to get a panoramic view of the mass of people standing still and seemingly breathless. The only ones who moved were tourists thrusting cameras into the air and snapping photos. I might have done the same…

The music stops. The market immediately returns to normal. The eerie feeling was gone. Nothing had happened.

So here I am in Pai. What a lovely place this is… it’s a very small town, about 4 square blocks and a jump off point for some really great natural scenery. It sits in a valley and right on a river at the base of some plush mountains. In the mountains lie hot springs, waterfalls, pretty stuff. I might get on a motor bike and explore… I’ve only got this one whole day here and tomorrow ’till 2:00.

I had an interesting last day in Bangkok… I walked down the riverfront, checked out some parks, and had a cameo in a student film.  I met a group of students and they wanted me to play a part in their movie… I was the rich American who was caught in a love affair with a Thai girl.  She was a ‘superstar’ and was very exited to see me!    it was really great… It reminded me of that art school student passion that seems so far gone… Only a couple months! 

I’m in Chiang Mai now and it’s rather refreshing.  It’s a pretty busy city, but laid back at the same time.  Much more ’homey’ than Bangkok and the weather is cooler and more comfortable.  The ‘old city’ is surrounded by a moat and some remains of a wall that was built around the city 700 years ago to protect against Burmese invaders.  I met a guy from Lebanon named Mohamad and I’ve been spending a bit of time with him.  A like minded individual… We went to a club last night and I really wish that I had my camera because the entertainment was priceless.  It was basically very high production value karaoke.  Better than most I’ve seen… At least the ‘musicians’ were acting like they were playing music. 

My plan at the moment is to take a slow boat to Luang Prabang… back to Laos. The slow boat apparently takes two nights and three days and should be absolutely beautiful.  I hope the weather holds out for me.  After that, I plan on heading to Vietnam, but I’m not sure how to get there yet.  The roads in Eastern Laos are absolutely shit from what I hear and a bus trip to Hanoi would probably take 36 hours… not to appealing.  I’ll figure it out though.  Maybe I’ll fly back down to Malaysia for a few days, then back up to Shanghai… who knows.

I’m off to Chiang Mai tomorrow evening after another day in Bangkok. Bangkok is much more lively on the weekends… I saw a small parade tonight and a ton of locals (many students) out on the town. It’s really a whole different experience than the last two times I was here. So I’m taking the night bus… hopefully it’s more comfy than the bus I took from down south… What a nightmare. My long legs just get crushed when the person in front of me reclines their seat. I had to put my legs into the isle and try to sleep with my spine all tweaked to one side. Not exactly sleep really… more of a dream state… Below is a little something that occurred in Koh Tao. Also, I’ve updated my flickr page. Cheers!

*Flying Things Phobia*

Two nights ago I came back to my bungalow from the beach (Koh Tao) to get cleaned up and relax for awhile before going to meet a couple friends for dinner. After a refreshing, but rather uncomfortable, squatting shower in the tiny bathroom, I drenched myself in bug spray and stepped out to the porch to have a smoke and read a bit. The sun had just dipped below the horizon and the skeeters were coming out. As I’m reading I keep seeing these shadows out of the corner of my eye and I decide that they’re simply the shadows of bugs flying near the incandescent bulb above my head. After a few more minutes, however, one of those creepy black creatures called bats just whizzes right next to my head. I immediately threw up my arms to cover my head and decided that I would kill the rest of the time inside. So, I turned off the outside light… with the logic that if the light is off, bugs won’t swarm around it, and bats, therefore, will not fly over the porch. hmmmm…

About a half hour later it’s time to head out so I get my shit together, unlatch the lock, and open the door. I’m trapped!!! All I could see against the twilight beyond the porch was bats! Flying this way and that, back and forth… I pulled the door in so as not to let bats in the room… and I briefly felt like I was trapped in some kind of prison. I had to formulate a plan. OK… I would stay low and position a chair off to my right to block any bats and then head off the stairs on the left. Easy enough… So I crouched down and slowly opened the door. I could still see the little bastards all over the place. I reached out and grabbed the plastic chair and put it into position on my right. A little wider… crawl… a little wider… crawl… AHHHHH!!!! Bats flying right up to me, grazing my head, seemingly attacking me! I got around the door with one arm over my head and slammed it shut. I then threw the padlock into place and jammed it shut with such force that I almost ripped the latches off the door. Still being bombarded, and still crouching, I made for the stairs… and nearly fell down them! But, I caught myself and made it to the trail that leads to the main road. Ahhh… it’s all over… NOPE! More bats! Grazing my head… some literally flying directly up to my face and pulling u-turns at about 3 inches. I ducked and covered as I ran out to the main road. It was all over. I walked over to the main desk to let them know that I was going to stay an extra night.

After the adrenaline rush wore off and throughout the rest of the evening, I told my story to many people… Even people that were staying in the same bungalows… and nobody had experienced any bats. Everyone was like “well, I’ve seen a few here and there, but nothing like what you describe…” I hope I’m not going crazy…

I know the bats were just out looking for their nightly meal, and that they were in control of themselves, but it was simply too close for my comfort. Call me a little girl if you will

PS… I watched The Daily Show ‘Global Edition’ last night. It runs on CNN International once a week. I had no idea this even existed, and it was hilarious as expected. It’s good to see John Stewart Bush bashing in front of a global audience. It would definitely be worth the effort to try and dig up some episodes on the net.

I ended up spending a bit more time than planned on Koh Phangan. The island was gorgeous and the hammock lounging lifestyle just sucked me in. After all of the hectic traveling from place to place in the past month, however, it was really nice to just chill on the beach and relax. A couple of the nights weren’t so relaxed, though. The night of the full moon party was pretty crazy… It was pretty much what I expected and not really my scene, but fun nonetheless. The crowd was diverse and the music was lame. Some parts of the beach were better than others, playing more laid back kind of trance music, but I couldn’t help yearning for a good hip-hop DJ or a good live band. All of the other places on the beach were just playing the regular bullshit top 40 music that you here in every trendy bar around the world. Bikinis and muscles and leathery skin seemingly flapping along with the driving beats.

The highlight for me… hands down… was the fire dancers. I sat for hours watching these guys (and some girls) twirl their Kerosene soaked pois and staffs in ungodly ways. They were also great subjects for photos, which brings me to my next bit. My camera was stolen right off my hip later on in the night so all of my photos from the party are history. This is really more upsetting to me than to loose the camera. If I ever steal someones camera (which I would never do) I have decided that I will take out the memory card and put it in that persons pocket. A moral thief! Admittedly, I was rather drunk… so perhaps I deserved it for not being more ‘conscious.’ Literally. Anyway, that was water under the bridge as soon as I discovered that it was gone. No sense in dwelling…

On the ferry ride to Koh Phangan I met a guy named Glen from New Zealand and ended up sharing a room with him for the week. We rented motorbikes and explored the island quite a bit. The roads were really sketchy in areas… huge potholes, chunks of missing pavement that gave way to treacherous hills, dirt roads with huge ruts carved from water runoff, and VERY steep hills. I heard stories everyday of people crashing all over the place, ending their trips, breaking limbs, losing the skin on one side of their arms and legs… and I actually witnessed one such accident after an Australian guy was pulled into one of the drainage ruts and sucked off the road. I was careful, though, and I didn’t dare get on the bike after drinking… It would be suicide. So my ‘solo adventure’ after Ian’s departure only lasted the bus ride from Bangkok. As of yesterday, however, I find myself completely alone.

I hopped on another ferry yesterday to Koh Tao, an island just north of Koh Phangan. The seas were gnarly yesterday and the wind was stiff. The novelty of the roller coaster ride wore off pretty quick when I was running to the edge of the boat to discharge the salad I had eaten an hour prior. But, once I felt the refreshing blast of sea water drench me from head to toe, the wave of nausea passed and I felt normal once again. I figured it was better to stay on the lower deck and the rest of the trip was smooth. With my sea legs causing me to waver, seemingly drunk, across the precarious platforms on the pier, I arrived to the now normal barrage of locals offering taxis and bungalows and food and pushed my way through to find my own way. I stayed in last night to read, rest and enjoy some solitude. Today should be more interesting as I ran into a group of people I met in Bangkok and a girl I met in Malaysia. It’s amazing to me how paths cross…

First off, Cambodia is an amazing country and has so much to offer. In Phnom Penh, the trip to the killing fields and to Tuol Sleng genocide museum was saddening, but without a doubt a must see. To fathom genocide on that scale makes me ill… I litterally became nautious walking among bones and tattered clothing of human beings.

On the other side of the coin is Ankgor Wat. The ancient ruins of a great civilization are just phenomenal to see and walk amongst. I fully understand now why this is one of the wonders of the world. I was really suprised at how liberally they let you walk around… You could litterally climb all over almost anything if you want to. This is both a good thing and a bad thing, I suppose. Good because I was able to explore what I wanted and also get good angles for photos… Bad because it’s not the best way to preserve such ancient ruins.

So, I’m on my own now. Ian and I parted ways yesterday and he’s on his way back to the states. I headed south by bus and after 18 hours of travelling by bus and ferry, I arrived on Koh Phangan, an island in the gulf of Thailand. I’m back in tropical paradise! I met a guy named Glen from New Zeland on the ferry and we are sharing a room to cut costs. We have a nice place right on the beach and a good distace away from the ‘party beach,’ so as not to go crazy trying to sleep tonight with the full moon party in full effect. Not that we aren’t participating, just not to the extent that I’ve heard some do. I rented a motorbike yesterday and I’ve been exploring the island a bit… It’s a great way to go around here because taxis are expensive and everything is pretty spread out. Some of the roads heading into the island are crazy! Super steep gravel roads… but fun… very fun. I’m being careful, though, many people around here get injured because of negligence. Yesterday, I saw an Australian kid get stuck a water runoff rut on the side of the road. He ended up ok, but the bike was pretty well damaged.

I’m planning on staying here for maybe 5 days, maybe 4 depending on how I feel. I have some decisions to make as to where I’m going to go after this… I’ve finally posted some new photos for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy and cheers!

Well well… so I find myself today in Bangkok. After two really nice days in Vang Vieng, we decided that the best way to get to Cambodia would be to hop a bus to Bangkok and fly into Phnom Penh… sooooo thats where we’re at. We traveled for a mere 15 hours yesterday and will fly to Cambodia on the 10th. I realize that the route I’m taking through Asia is fitful at the very best, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

I’m pretty bummed that I didn’t get up to Luang Prabang, but I’ll possibly hit that on my way up when Ian takes off on the 19th. Jenn… I tried to visit your favorite place, but Ian really wanted to see Ankgor Wat and if we continued into northern Laos, we wouldn’t have the time.

Vang Vieng was absolutely gorgeous… The view across the river was magnificent, ancient mountains completely covered in jungle (even the seemingly vertical cliffs!), dense puffs floating through the peaks and the river meandering by. The occasional cock-a-doodle from a rooster and thunder roaring in the distance. Really a magical place. We took a small tour by kayak down the river and visited a couple caves and, of course, a bar… right on the river… complete with a massive rope swing/diving platform. What a blast! One of the caves we went to was really great, but rather disapointing at the same time. The river actually runs through the cave and during the dry season, we would have been able to swim into the cave with light helmets and float around on tubes. Since the water is so high, however, we were only able to swim in about 5 meters and look up into the dark… So I couldn’t see much in the way of the cave, but it was really great swimming under water into a cave. The only thing I really didn’t like about Vang Vieng was the amount of young people that were there just to get absolutely wasted… Don’t get me wrong, I definitely took part in my fair share of the fruits, but some people just take it too far… and wind up being entirely disrespectful toward the locals. It probably makes them wonder what the hell kind of youth the west is breeding…

We hopped on a bus yesterday at 1:00 pm and made our way back down to Vientiane. From there, hopped a shuttle to ‘Friendship Bridge,’ which is the border of Laos/Thailand where we went through exit customs and hopped on another bus in order to get off and go through entrance customs into Thailand where we hopped on another bus that took us to Bangkok. We arrived here at 4:30am.

So here I am in another big city and I’m not very impressed so far… only two days here, so whatever. I really wish I was still in Laos… Photos on my Flickr page. The tags are a bit of a mess… I’ll fix them later Cheers.