It’s been really hard to get back into the work mode. Getting up early, planning things, worrying about things, interacting with people... :) On our vacation there were no worries, no planning, just blissful peace. I guess that’s what you call a vacation!
The first thing we did in Bangkok when we arrived was walk around our hostel. We came across a supermarket and decided to go inside. We have this fascination where ever we travel with supermarkets. It’s always so interesting to see what kind of food there is, and especially what kind of American food there is! It’s so nice to find something that reminds us of home. We were blown away with the amount of Western goods Thai supermarkets have! About 10 times as much as Japanese markets have. It is crazy. We thought of all the things we could buy and take back to Japan. We probably could have filled an entire suitcase with American food from Thailand, but decided ‘well, we’ve lived without it this long, I suppose we can wait longer.’ We did bring back a few things though: two boxes of Macaroni and Cheese, two kinds of tea, two boxes of the cereal “Ohs!” and the sweet chili sauce from Thailand. The one thing we were really on the lookout for was Peanut Butter M&Ms. We saw crispy, plain, peanut and even mint M&Ms, but no peanut butter! It is slightly devastating that we have searched three Asian countries and have found none of the glory that is Peanut Butter M&Ms.
Scenes in Bangkok:
Thailand has amazing food. I didn’t realize how monotonous (and EXPENSIVE!) Japanese food can become until I could see it in hindsight. The thing I miss the most is fruit. In Thailand, there were al kinds of cheap and delicious fruit. Which meant plenty of fresh fruit juice, shakes, and all kinds of fruity concoctions. This was also my favorite part of Ecuador - papaya and mango just begging to be eaten. In Japan there is fruit, we regularly buy bananas and kiwi, mostly because that’s all we can afford! There are apples for about $1.50 each, cantaloupes for $12.00+ a small package of strawberries for $5.50, it’s hard to rationalize paying that much for fruit.
This is actually in Taiwan, but look at the yummy fruit.
Also, the flavors in Thai cuisine are much more exciting! Especially the peanut sauce and sweet chili sauce, I could eat those all day. I recommend everyone reading this blog entry to go to a Thai restaurant this evening and having some delicious food. It is true, Thai food can be very spicy, but ask your chef to make it more mild. So go enjoy some delicious Thai food for me.
Taiwanese food, on the other hand, was not all that exciting. We sampled many things I didn’t know the name of at the night markets. They were all good, but not exciting like Thai cuisine. The last night we were there, we went to karaoke with some friends and they served us some snacks. EVERYTHING was fried. There was chicken nuggets, fish sticks, fried tofu, french fries, fried fishy something-or-other, a fried omelet, and fried rice. It was a little sad to eat so much fried food.
In Thailand there are a few booming industries that immediately grab your attention because the salespeople can be really aggressive and they are ubiquitous.
1) Thai Massage: In both Phuket and Bangkok you can’t walk 10 steps without seeing a massage parlor. Even in the temple we visited there was a massage place inside the grounds which was also a massage school. They all boasting a famous “Thai Massage” and for really cheap. You could get an hour massage for about $9.00! Of course we had to try it. So on Christmas we randomly chose a parlor and discovered what was so popular about the massages. I think the popularity stems from the price, not the quality. We westerners are used to paying $60 for an hour massage. Thai massage is definitely way different than western massages. Instead of a ‘massage’ I would describe it as ‘assisted yoga.’ The masseuse is very active and gets all up in your business as she stretches your legs, arms and back. They twist you in all sorts of positions and use their own bodies as tools. Sometimes it felt like we were cuddling because her legs were so intertwined in mine trying to get me to do the pose she wanted...it was crazy! And not very relaxing. I actually had an attack of the giggles just watching Shawn. They had us in the same space so I could see everything he was going through. I asked for a Thai massage, he asked for a Back and Shoulder massage, which eventually turned into a Thai massage. It was hilarious!!! He was so uncomfortable I couldn’t stop laughing. They probably thought I was on drugs. It was definitely an experience. I think next time I would just go for the foot massage!
2) Tailors: Also in both places, there were tons of tailors ready to make you a suit or dress tailored to you. Sounds like a good idea...but what am I going to do with a tailored suit? The men sit outside their shops and offer to shake your hand asking you in what seems like a very friendly, conversational tone, “where you from, man?” Shawn made the mistake of shaking their hands because once they grab hold they don’t let go! They try to drag you into their shops. It was pretty funny. After a few days we just had to ignore them...I hate feeling like I have to ignore people when I pass them.
3) Tuk Tuk: The open air taxis are always looking for a buck, and will ask you every time you pass where you are going.
There was a shirt for sale at lots of the little street stalls that said “No, I don’t want a suit, massage or tuk tuk!” Funny, because that’s almost how we felt.
The tourist networks in Thailand are amazing. There can be 3-4 people in totally different parts of town, but they all have this routine down that directs you to what ever product or service they are selling and then they all split the costs. For example, a merchant selling souvenirs will mark up the prices for a tour group because they give part of their profits to the tour operators.
Another example, we took a tuk tuk to the train station to try to buy a train ticket down to Phuket Island, and of course he asked us why we were going to train station. We said we wanted to buy train tickets. He pried for all the information he could get - where we wanted to travel to, how long we were staying, etc. Then, he proceeds to drive past the main entrance of the train station to a travel agent. He stops and says, here - these people can help you get the tickets you need. I felt like we had been duped. Of course he gets some of the profit which only makes our tickets more expensive. It turned out to be ok because all the trains were booked anyway, so we had to buy a bus ticket. We had a 12-hour overnight bus ride ahead of us - yikes. The bus/travel companies also are all networked so that they only stop at certain road side rest stops that are owned by the same people. They are up cooking hot meals at all hours of the night ready to sell to weary tourists, and charge $3.00 for a roll of toilet paper, and $5.00 for a tube of Pringles. Insanity! Even more insane was how they wouldn’t let us go up a block to the 7-11 on the other side of the street. If we were spending money, we were doing it there where they could all get in on the profits. To have that kind of network is amazing...and I’m sure it’s much better for them collectively. Besides, I guess tourists have money to spend.
The 12-hour bus ride actually turned into a long 16-hour trip before we could relax in our hotel in Phuket! We were so weary and gross by the time we got there, it was so nice to have a place to hang out for the next 9 days. We had already made arrangements to fly back to Bangkok - we had enough foresight to know that one long trip would be enough!
Some people are wary of going to touristy areas when they travel because they don’t want to be labeled a ‘tourist’ and they would rather see ‘real’ culture. I can agree with this viewpoint to some extent, but the goal of this vacation was to relax and being a tourist can be the best way to relax. It is nice to be catered to, comfortable and have everything you need within a small area. It’s true, we did not see much of the traditional Thai culture, but that was definitely ok by me!
Only at one point in our trip did I get a little frustrated with the tourist aspect. Along with the tailors, massage parlors and tuk tuks there are also tour groups offering all kinds of trips in and around Phuket. To add some diversion to our trip we decided to take a half-day snorkeling tour to three separate islands. It sounded like a lot of fun. Well...it was nice to see some islands, but we were packed into this speed boat, driven to an island that already had about 10 boats anchored to it. This is a small picture, but you can kind of see how crowed with boats it was:
And this was a SMALL island! Each of these boats brought about 30 people. If that wasn’t disappointing enough, we were given 40 minutes to snorkel and then back to the boat. That’s hardly any time at all! It turned out to be plenty because there were so many people on the tiny beaches and snorkeling that you were just bumping into people anywhere you swam. Not to mention there were about 5 fish and they were all the color of the sand. It wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. Shawn, bless his heart, was just so excited to be able to breath and see underwater was having a fabulous time. :) He’s so cute!
I was a little disenchanted with the whole thing after realizing that we had signed up for a cattle drive instead of a relaxing tour of islands. The next spot was just off the boat near an island. No beach, just swimming around the boat. There was some nice coral, and it was a little better than the last.
The third island was similar to the first. I didn’t snorkel, but Shawn did and said there was way more fish than either place before it. I was content to sit on the beach. Overall, the tours weren’t all that great. Too many people on too little space and too little time. Not to mention there is no eco-friendly part about it. I can only imagine all the damage these tours are doing to the natural environment around these islands.
One thing both Thailand and Taiwan have that the USA needs more of is scooters! It was so funny to see so many people racing around on scooters. Not so safe, but so convenient and very cheap. Scooters don’t necessarily have to follow traffic rules, they are in and out of traffic and at every red light about 20 scooters line up in front of the cars. When that light turns green it’s like mayhem! Bunches of scooters just letting loose, kind of like racehorses coming out of their gates. Really cool.
We rented one such scooter in Taiwan and had an absolute blast driving it around! Of course we had the guidance of our friend,Jen, who lives there and owns a scooter of her own, so it wasn’t so scary. It was also the feeling of being free to choose where we want to go and when we want to do it! For the past 5 months we’ve been taking public transportation everywhere, and especially during that vacation we had been on all kinds of buses, taxis, trains, boats, etc. It was a new-found freedom! And I have already mentioned that the ‘scoot’ (yes, it’s a verb) through the mountains to the temple and waterfall was one of my favorite memories. It was a misty day, kind of grey and a little foggy, but the drive was absolutely beautiful!! It was really refreshing to get out of the big cities and crowds of people for a change.
Wow. I have just spent the last hour or so writing this very long entry at school! Yes, I am a very busy person :) Those are some of the things that stick out in my mind from our trip.
