Travel with us to an Ancient Asian Kingdom
Travel with us to an Ancient Asian Kingdom
I think the question that I hate the most when we return from our trips and start relating our adventures to our friends and foes alike is “what did you like the best”? or “which place was your favorite”? It is almost an impossible question to answer. I love Africa because of its vast and pristine plains, its countless wild animals, its unbelievable rhythms and its amazing people – I love Thailand because of its thousands of ancient temples, its fabulous folklore and its generous, kind, resourceful people that can handle whatever adversity life throws at them– I love Australia because of its endless beautiful beaches, the amazing beauty you find everywhere, its endless obstacles to living, its sheer ruggedness, and its peoples enthusiasm, cheerfulness, sense of humor and self confidence – I love Fiji and all parts of Oceania because of its sheer beauty, its spectacular waters and water life, its barrier reefs, its ever present music and its childlike, life loving people, and it goes on and on. If you noticed, each place has one thing in common amongst the reasons for loving it………………..its people. Each and every place we have visited, we have found people that have helped us learn so much about life, and have basically asked nothing in return but our friendship. If you would follow our news media’s advise, and keep track of the world’s unrest in almost every corner of the world and how much we are disliked around the globe we probably should have gone nowhere, but we didn’t and we did. Instead, we found a world full of people that have as much curiosity and interest in us as we have in them, that want to learn or practice our native language of English while finding it an honor if we make an attempt at theirs, that want nothing more than to laugh with us, share ideas with us, share their music with us, and let the word “us” actually happen. We have almost always felt a genuine welcome where ever we went. A country is nothing more or nothing less than its people. As much as we have loved each and every place we have gone, and thrilled to its natural wonders and beauty, its people have always been the things we missed most after we departed.
I think I will take this blog opportunity to talk a little about our trips to the land of the epic movie “The King and I”, the ancient kingdom of Siam, or as we know it today Thailand. We have had the good fortune of visiting this country 7 times, the last time in 2007, and have explored just about every nook and cranny in it. We have traveled through the mountainous and very rugged and primitive west and north, and through the sparsely populated eastern areas. We have spent considerable time exploring the central section, where most of the population lives in ancient and over populated cities, such as Bangkok and Ayutthaya with their endless areas to explore. We have traversed the maze of canals that at one time coined the name “the Venice of the East” for Bangkok and shopped in the floating markets where all the shopping and selling is done from long skinny skiffs, expertly poled by locals. We have gone to the south of the country, with its beautiful beaches and mysterious island filled waters. The areas around the city of Krabi on the Andaman coast is spectacular, with its multitudes of rock islands protruding high from the waters with lush vegetation on top. This is where they filmed the James Bond movie, The Man with the Golden Gun. It was one of these hundreds of beautiful islands that housed the giant sun powered death ray and another, the magnificent bad guy fortress/home built into the rock cliffs. We have always been in complete awe on our many day trips through these islands and have never run out of photo opportunities. You name it and we have been there or through it.
The country of Thailand is a monarchy, with a King that has very limited power over governmental affairs but immense power with the people. He is adored by the people, and they pretty much will do anything he asks. Only a year or so ago, when they had the coup to unseat the Prime Minister (who is or I should say was the governmental power in the country) and as usual with these kind of events, the crowds had various groups with various views on the whole matter, and this caused an avalanche of unrest and many riots ensued. The military was called out to control the crowds, but had little effect. It only took a TV appearance by their King who asked that the violence stop and it immediately did. Many people wonder what will happen to this wonderful country once their beloved King has died. He is in his later years, and that sad event is somewhere in the not too distant future. It is one of the wealthiest countries in that section of Asia, and many of its neighbors cast a jealous eye toward Thailand. It is the only country in the region that is overwhelmingly Buddhist (about 85 – 95%) and is surrounded by Muslim countries that have no affection for them. In the southern most sections of the country, there are many problems with Muslim groups that have settled there from Malaysia, causing unrest and using attacks on local government outposts and occasional bombings to make a statement, but so far the police and military have kept any major problems at bay. We have traveled to a degree down there and have encountered no problems. There are some very beautiful places and points of interest that may offer the kinds of things you are looking for. In one part we found some magnificent beaches that were not used by western tourists at all, and being in the off season had no locals there, leaving them pretty much to just us. This can also be a problem, as that means most restaurants are not open, and finding a cold beer and some fried rice can be a challenge. We also found a fantastic fishing village quite by accident. It was an entire village floating on rafts across the river from their fish and crab traps. Up on the highway they sold their catch to the passing traffic, displaying some wonderful looking clams and mussels, mud crabs and even horseshow crabs. As we stood there, we watched them hauling strings loaded with fresh crabs up from the river bank. The floating huts had makeshift electricity obtained from very long extension cords stretching from the floating huts to the buildings on the river banks. Even had TV antennas on the roof of some proving they had all the necessary creature comforts.
The country is a never ending adventure waiting to happen. One note to make is that I would certainly not recommend the renting of a car and go off exploring on your own. Outside of Bangkok, there are NO English language street signs or directional highway signs. Only in Thai, and if you are at all familiar with the written Thai language, you are not going to make heads or tails out of it. Very few people in the rural areas speak English, and unless you are a very quick learner, your limited Thai is not going to find you a way out of your “lost” situation. The traffic is another problem, with hardly anyone paying that much attention to the rules of the road. The streets are filled with motor bikes carrying either an entire family of wife, driver, and the two kids, to one that has the entire stock of his store packed and tied to every exposed part on the bike. It is a nightmare, and for the amount of money it costs to hire a driver, it just doesn’t make any sense not to. It is also very helpful to have a guide that knows the territory and will guide you to the most comfortable of facilities, and the safest of eateries. In many areas of Thailand the facilities are very rustic to say the least, and if you have any problems with your back or knees, the trip to the John can be a nightmare. Most of them are no more than two foot prints that act as a guide to where to place your feet, and a hole in the tile floor. A large water vat is generally next to the facility and a scoop is used to “flush” the hole. Your guide will know where the “western” style toilets are, where the food is good, where the local food if so desired is safe to eat, and on and on. No matter where your tastes lie, there is sure to be something that will stimulate your senses and ignite the explorer in you. One of them is its ancient connection and practice of Buddhism. It is a country with a never ending supply of Buddhist temples, and a population of devout followers that represent from 85% to 95% of the population, depending on which facts book you reference to. Having been raised Catholic, and having spent a lot of time with people of the Jewish religion, dated girls and had many friends in the very bible preaching sections of the Baptist south, spent considerable time in the middle east, and learned many aspects of the Muslim religion, and the one religion that impressed me the most and gave me as much of a genuine feeling of peace as my own religion did was the Thai people and their religion of Buddhism. No matter where you go in Thailand, around almost every corner is yet another temple or Wat (in Thai), some are absolutely huge and quite ornate while others are very modest, and many no bigger than a snack table, each with offerings painstakingly made each and every day and offered as a symbol of their devotion. These offerings are individually made in the homes and also sold everywhere for purchase for those they do not have the time to make them. They are genuinely unique as they may contain beautiful flowers, fresh food, burning incense, even glasses of water or cups of tea. They are displayed of course in the temples by the dozens, in taxi’s and buses, in private automobiles on the dashboard, on the handlebars of motor bikes, in the street, along walkways, in shop windows, literally everywhere. The largest and what most people feel is the most beautifully decorated Wat in all of Thailand is found in the Kings Palace compound. It is immense and very very beautiful. During our many temple visits, we found a number of them that we feel would seriously challenge that belief. The images of Buddha you will find throughout the kingdom are amazing. You can find reclining ones, sitting ones, Jade ones, absolutely huge ones, and ones made out of every conceivable material you could think of. They even have them carved into trees and the root systems grow around them to form a truly interesting effect. It is truly quite amazing. As with most religions of the world, we have found they all have so much in common; all are based basically on the same story theme, and just have gods of different names. The Thais are an extremely peaceful people, following the peaceful teachings of their religion and I like to think of them as little children in adult bodies, full of wonderment and life, find enjoyment in almost everything, yet very capable of taking on life’s challenges. They love fun, they love their families, they love sport, and they are always on the lookout for something new to learn. They are very aggressive in sport and love to play soccer, ping pong and volley ball and the very popular game of Takro, which is similar to volley ball but is played with a small ball about the size of a grapefruit, and made of woven bamboo and the use of hands is not allowed. We have made many friends there, and have even had the honor of choosing the name for a young Thai, born to some dear friends of ours two years ago. As Thai names are very difficult for westerners to pronounce, the Thai people who have contact with the outside world through tourism or other businesses all choose a “western” style nickname to use in their public life. We had the honor of naming “Jason Scott” who is now a little over two years old and just beginning to drive his parents , Natt and Nari crazy as they try to keep up with him as he enters the terrible two’s.
The rustic beauty of the north, from the mountainous areas around Mae Hong Son, to the ancient capital of Chaing Mai and its neighbor of Chaing Rae and into the Golden Triangle is breathtaking. The area and its inhabitants date back centuries, and a lot of it still lives much the same way they always have. Over the years many people from the Karen tribes of Burma (now Myanmar) have moved or have been forced out of their homeland to live in Thailand and with them came their very strange ways. The infamous “long neck” people live here, and this should be put on the DO NOT MISS list if you are ever near one of these villages or have the opportunity to visit one. They live in villages much the same as they have for centuries, and only until recently have not allowed outsiders or “farangi” (which is what westerners are called in Thai) into their encampments. The women have the strange custom of wearing brass rings around their necks. This practice started so long ago, no one actually remembers exactly why or when it started, but it had something to do with the men thinking it made the Karen women more attractive. It starts in the very young years, and as the girl grows, more rings are attached. These rings are very heavy and being solid brass, conduct heat very well, so these women can never go out in the direct sunlight for any length of time, as it would actually cook them. We have seen some elder women of a village with more than a dozen rings on their necks. They are NEVER removed, and if they were, the neck muscles would not be conditioned to support the head, and the neck would break. And all this because some guy, at one time or another, probably after a few quaffs of the local jungle brew, made the decision that the ladies of his village should dress up their necks. Another custom of another Karen tribe is adorning their earlobes, not so much with jewelry, but with very large holes. Similar to our ear piercing, they pierce the girl’s earlobes at an early age, and as each year passes a larger insert is placed in the piercing, so by the time the girls enter
Look closely at her ears
their teens some of these piercings are well over three to four inches across. The old adage certainly applies here, “beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder”.
The Thais are a very society/family conscious people, with social standing and age being the key factors in gaining respect. You will find it humorous that Thais will very quickly start calling you Mama and Papa, once they have met you and start talking to you. Don’t take it as disrespect rather it is their way of accepting you as a kind of family member. Almost no Thais call each other by their first name, as most are known by their surnames or western nicknames, and this extends out to the Mama and Papa bit. Extended families are all very close, and the highest ranking member of the family has to look after his poorer relatives. In return he receives respect, obedience, thankfulness and loyalty. This same approach also extends to business, as the boss man will have the responsibility of seeing after his subordinates and employees of all ranks who are lower wage earners. Almost always items and wealth are shared amongst the family members. You can never really say that any item is “mine” as everyone in the family will sooner or later take their turn enjoying that item. Enjoying harmony within the family (either personal or business family) and avoiding any conflicts are extremely important. An important aspect of Thai life is one that the western world could learn from, and that is their belief that things that are unchangeable are accepted as such and for one to get excited does not change anything – what you cannot change is quite simply accepted. While we spent some time in Bangkok, doing the sightseeing thing and noticing the huge traffic jams that are a daily routine in the downtown area, something just didn’t seem normal. We finally figured out that what wasn’t normal was that no horns were being honked in frustration, and the Thai’s simply made their way in the traffic as the traffic allowed. The phrase of “Mai me bin Haa” is something that is commonly said, and it simply means …. “no problem” or the ever popular “whatever”. Yet another observation of Thai life is their belief in the famous Thai smile theory and that it is a tested way to avoid conflicts. They fervently believe in the adage of “Don’t do anything to me and I will also do nothing to you. – A smile very often brings more than a bored excuse – and also One who has no answer to questions or does not want to criticize simply keeps silent and smiles”. As I mentioned before about the peaceful nature of the Thais, one thing contributing heavily to this is their belief in reincarnation. No matter how big or small a creature may be, it may somehow be connected to your family either in a past or a future life, and therefore will NEVER be harmed in any way. Also, very unlike our western ways, many generations of families will live together under the same roof or in the same compound, and always the eldest will have the respect of all, and will have the final say in any decision. As more modern western ways creep into the big city lives of many Thais, the old traditions remain almost unchanged throughout the rest of the country. The Thai’s are a very hard working and disciplined people. They work long hours, for very little money and are very good in their studies, with a very large percentage of the population (not out in the very rural areas) graduating high school and many go on to college degrees.
We have heard many 1st time tourists say that they felt the famous greeting of the Thai people known as the “Wai” or when they hold their hands together in a prayer like position is an act kept up only for the sake of tourists. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. The Wai is a major part of Thai protocol and a highly important sign of reciprocal demonstration of respect. In most normal cases the palms with outstretched fingers at breast height are held against each other with the thumbs pointing toward the body and you slightly bow. The younger one or the one who has the lower social status always makes the greeting first, and then the senior or more important person answers with a lower Wai or by positioning his hands a little lower in front of the breast area from where the younger or less important one held his. The height of the palms is the most crucial criteria of respect to be demonstrated. The higher the more respect is paid. Thus no Thai will use a Wai for a greeting or farewell with children, servants or beggars. Yet it is a common practice to see young mothers have their little children offer a Wai to tourists, simply out of respect and most tourists DO return the Wai. Only for members of the royal family, monks or in offering respect to Buddha are the finger tips ever held over the eyebrows. Important non-Thai people or tourists are welcomed with the finger tips held in between the eyebrows, and the thumbs just about touching the tip of the nose. A Wai is always returned unless there is a huge social or age difference in between the two persons. (I have never seen one NOT returned)Then the more important or older one leaves the Wai unreturned. Also as a matter of respect the Wai is never returned by Buddhist monks (and of course not by members of the royal family). Apart from using the Wai as a greeting or departure gesture it is often used as a thank you. As you can see, it is by no means a “touristy” thing, but something of great importance and meaning to the Thai people. There are markets everywhere. Next to temples, they are the most commodious thing in Thailand. On most any day/night of the week you can find a market somewhere. Be it a produce market, a meat market, a crafts market, floating markets around Bangkok or the famous and infamous night markets of any major city, with Bangkok and ChainMai having the most famous and largest. At either of these you can find hundreds and hundreds of stalls selling anything from fake and UN fake Rolex watches, to the newest of still in the theatre videos, fine electronics and very interesting jewelry and unique nick-nacks. At produce markets you should be prepared to see live eels and turtles, fruit bats, cooked and uncooked insects, mounds and mounds of meat and “meat” by products, tables stacked high with fresh fruit, chili’s and vegetables in varieties you’ve never seen, even the delicacy of unborn water buffalo, which no one in the village can even afford, but is considered an extreme delicacy. One funny story was as we were driving from the north down toward Bangkok, and at every traffic light I noticed that vendors would approach the stopped vehicles, especially trucks and offer something for sale. I asked our friend and guide La what these things were and being very fun natured he just smiled and at the next light he rolled his window
down and yelled to one of the vendors and a very small amount of money changed hands and he was handed a plastic envelope. When he handed it to me, I looked in pure wonder at this little delicacy …………… it was three rather large dried cockroaches that the truck drivers eat for a little pick me up on their long over the road hauls. One of the many things that amaze me about these markets is the lack of refrigeration. At home we can’t wait to get home and put the eggs or dairy products into the refrigerator or die from food poisoning as we were all told when we were young, yet in most countries of the world, eggs are never found in the refrig, but on the shelves with the dry goods. In Thailand and other tropical countries, eggs will sit in these markets for well over a day, and sometimes many days in the direct sunlight in temperatures well over 100 degrees. The same goes for meats (even unborn water buffalo) cheese and other dairy products. The most noticeable at over a block away are the fish markets. Piles and piles of shellfish of every kind, along with raw fish are in the heat, and sunlight, and sold all day long. I found it difficult to get within photograph range, as the smell is just over powering. As strange as it seems, you see no locals getting sick from these items, but I doubt you could say the same thing about any tourists who are foolish enough to eat any of these items. I won’t go into detail, but the meat markets are not for the squeamish, as the Thai’s as most Asian people, waste very little of anything, and EVERY single part of the animal is sold and put on display in the market. It makes for some very unusual and very unforgettable memories. One fun aspect of any of the markets is the art form of haggling over the price, which is almost always expected. In fact in some markets, if one doesn’t haggle it is almost taken as an insult, as the Thais think of this as great fun. You start off asking what the price is, they tell you and you counter with an offer at least 50% lower than his starting price, and the fun begins. They will then produce the good old calculator, and from then on this tool is used to show whatever the current offer or counter offer is. I found out early a technique that always seemed to work fine for me. The Thai’s love to gamble on almost everything, as strangely enough most of the south pacific and Asia do, and when the haggling hits a stalemate, with a sizeable gap between the two prices, I would take out a large local currency coin, and make them the offer that heads was their price, and tails mine …………….. Flip the coin and whatever happened, happened. Even losing was fun and the price was so little anyway it didn’t really matter. Everyone ended up a winner and it brought happiness to the Thai’s even if they were the loser. I wouldn’t recommend attending these markets as a daily ritual as it can get kind of annoying after awhile unless you are a pure and unadulterated shopping junkie. You CAN AND WILL find some fantastic bargains if you look for them and not fall prey to the first items found. Almost always you will keep finding similar or even identical items spread throughout the market and a smart shopper who is not ashamed to haggle can walk away with some real genuine bargains. We have talked to many US and European shop owners that make three and four trips to Thailand each year to stock their shelves with interesting and not often seen items in their countries, and make extraordinary profits. Besides the bargains, it is also a great spectator sport and fabulous people watching. Transportation in and around the cities is good, as you don’t need to be brave and try to figure out the bus system, instead they have the wonderful little “TukTuk’s” to deliver you to where ever you want to go. They are no more than a double seat enclosed rickshaw type vehicle that is powered by a motorbike engine and driven by people who have absolutely no fear of impending death in the crazy traffic. Luckily they have a very distinct sound, and I think this helps them in navigating in and around the mass of other vehicles, and also lets the others know they are there. They are not built for comfort, and definitely not for the size of average westerners. Anyone over 6’ will spend the trip in a crouched over position, with little or no room to turn their heads. They are very cheap, you generally do survive the trip and you can just about find them anywhere.
Let’s talk about the eats and drinks or sips and nibbles of Thailand. It is abundant, fresh, very very hot, and quite delicious. Unless you have a stomach of steel always ask for no “pet” (which is pepper) and you will still roll your eyes with the first bite. This is mainly true with local Thai dishes. At most restaurants, it is quite acceptable to order no spicy and then if you really feel brave, every table has its own furnace available with a tray of hot chilies, very spicy fish sauce, chili paste, and also the rest of your normal condiments like salt and black pepper, catsup and mayonnaise. The food itself revolves around beef, chicken, fish and all sorts of veggies. Whether asked for or not, rice is always served. I always prefer and order their fried rice with beef, which is just so much better than anything I have ever had at one of our Asian restaurants at home. In Northern Thailand you will find what they call “sticky” rice, which is separated with the fingers on your right hand and made into small lumps, and then dipped into various sauces or just eaten plain. You will notice that Thais don’t really eat what we would call meals. They start and end the day with rice and a soup of some kind, and then snack during the day. In the fish category, I can truthfully say that Thailand is the only place in the world that I have found prawn as big as that are available in southern Thailand. They are called Tiger Prawn and they are huge and soooooo delicious, almost the size of small lobster tail, and even sweeter. Three are more than ample to fill you up, along with the portion of fried rice, maybe some veggies and you are done. Look for them and you will thank me forever. One of their favorite local snacks, which you will find at little rolling stands everywhere, at every market, will be a number of rolling carts selling them and you can tell about a block away that you are approaching a dried Squid zone. It is salt dried small squid that is rolled through an old fashioned washing machine type set of rollers then very lightly grilled for a few moments. The locals can’t get enough of it, yet there is something I cannot stomach about the smell, so that I could not even sample one. TRY IT AT YOUR OWN RISK. I guess the next little story would fall under the heading of Odd businesses, but on one journey through the northeastern section of the country, our friend La asked us if we would like to visit a very unique factory. We of course said yes, as the Thai’s are also a vey entrepanourial people, and come up with new ideas all the time. This one apparently worked, as someone thought why not make something out of the fish parts and fish that are not eaten. They opened a small shop making “all fish products”, everything you can imagine, bread, cakes, pasta, muffins, even cereal made from fish. It caught on, and the business is now located in a very large factory, with a large shop selling its products. As for me, for some reason I elected the “fish ice cream” to try, and promptly began to eat it once we got back in the car and headed for our next destination. At first the taste was one of a vanilla type flavor but long after I finished the container, the taste lingered and lingered and lingered. Not a good thing.
Along with this you will find an immense selection of fresh fruits. They are plentiful amounts of mango, lychees, jackfruit, pineapples, rambuttan, longans, pomelos, papayas, watermelon, coconuts and more varieties of bananas than you ever thought existed. There is also the notorious fruit called DURIAN or affectionately known as stinkfruit. Its smell is so repugnant, it is actually not allowed in most hotels or on airplanes. I have tried it and found it to taste similar to what I would imagine leftover creamed onions at room temp to taste like. The smell getting to the bite is something that will test your mettle but take my word for it it is simply awful. Yet on more than one occasion we have seen a group of Thai men sharing one in great delight. They simply love it. Different strokes for different folks. The drinking part is basically your basic soda pop, (I have yet to see Pepsi there but coke everywhere) lots of fruit juices, coconut milk and always use the BOTTLED WATER. It is notoriously cheap, so don’t be foolishly brave and part with the few pennies it will cost to get your supply of bottled H2o, in the long run you will thank yourself. Other than that they do have some delicious beers. My wife who is by no means a beer drinker and simply loves their local beer called Singha Beer. Another favorite among the Thais is called Chang Beer, and you can find this on tap almost everywhere. Either is a potent brew with alcohol levels at 6.3% and 7.0% respectively. It is quite funny as the locals have acquired the habit of drinking the Chang beer with tons of ice in a glass. Somehow they think that all the ice will dilute the beer and make it less potent. They don’t realize that the total alcohol per volume stays exactly the same, and it just proves the power of mind over matter. For those who crave a more recognized brew Heineken is available almost everywhere. The single thing we love the most about eating out in Thailand is, when you receive the bill, it is akin to stealing as the tab for a simply wonderful meal is so inexpensive. Also, you never ever have to worry about paying tax or the dreadful task of figuring out what the correct tip would be to leave. You don’t “tip” as It is already in the bill, and besides that it is strongly suggested that you don’t tip as the Thai people will feel this is a gift, and receiving a gift requires the return of a gift to you. They strongly feel they are being paid for a job they are doing (whether or not we feel they are getting far too little, they are very proud to be getting whatever their wage may be) and they would feel uncomfortable about getting a tip.
As the whole purpose of this blog, is to inform you and ready you for a visit to Thailand, I feel that along with all the other suggestions and tips I have tried to pass along, there are three separate excursions I feel very strongly about you making. Make a note of them, and then decide if any of them jiggle your adventure bug. One is to a nice sized city north of Bangkok, and named LopBuri. It is a city, that at one time long long ago, had a ruler that had a problem. I honestly don’t remember the actual folklore involved, but it had something to do with him being lost and needing food and water, and almost near exhaustion and needing help desperately, in the night some monkeys’ brought him nourishment and saved his life. From that moment on, he declared them sacred and made it a law that they had free reign over whatever part of the old city they wished, and he built a temple in their honor in the center of the old city. As the city grew, it spread out from the center where the old city was located. There were at that time maybe a few dozen monkeys that inhabited this section. Well as in most Thai folklore, the history ruled through the ages, and to this day, there are now thousands of monkeys living in the old city. They blend right in with the locals and tourists, steal items when they can, get left more food and drink than they need, scamper among the power lines, and generally hold audience at the old temple. While we were there, we even saw one bite a tour guide that got a little too close. Always remember that they are not pets, and generally if left alone, and not threatened they will leave you alone. They have their own little system, so respect them and let them do what they normally do. It is however a real hoot, to see all these animals scampering about in all directions, and traffic and people on the constant lookout for them, as remember they were made a sacred entity, and NO harm should come to them. Another wild little adventure is about a two to three hour drive northwest of Bangkok, in the city of Kanchanaburi. You can easily combine it with a visit to the site of the original Bridge on the River Kwai, which would make a full day’s trip. At any rate, there is a temple and small monastery there, that is known as the Tiger Temple. There are many Tiger Temple around the country and most deal with folklore of tigers in the region at one time or another that did something or another a very long time ago, but this temple is the real McCoy. It seems that a young monk was praying in this area some years back and some farmers found a young pair of tiger cubs, which because of a poacher, were left with no mother. They took the cubs to the monk, knowing he would know what to do with them. The monk began to raise them feeling that Buddha had given them to him and showed him what his life’s calling would be, and over time, other cubs were brought to him by other farmers. This all attracted other monks to come and help him in his life’s mission. A larger temple was built, and also a small monastery. Over the years the Tiger population has grown to over 20 full grown and basically wild tigers, with no restraining devices on them whatsoever. They roam the grounds with total freedom, and generally spend the day in a canyon type area where they have water and shade from the sun. There are no bars separating them from visitors and only a donation is asked to help cover the expenses of feeding them. The monk, who started it all, spends the day with them, sitting on a rock and praying. He has a few helpers there that guide visitors into the tigers, and to show them how to walk among them, and what to do and not to do. There has been some pressure lately for the government to close down this operation, as there have been a few somewhat severe accidents, but the monks say no, and they hold a tremendous amount of power in Thailand. The day we were there was an amazing day in our life. Never did we dare to think that we would be one day sitting among these beasts of such beauty and power. We would look at their paws, and realize it was as big as a meal tray and could so easily separate you from your head with no effort at all. It is amazing to find that when you do something as thrilling as this, you don’t have that much fear as you are doing it, as you are overcome with sheer awe and are mesmerized by these beautiful beasts. But you do ask yourself later one question, “what the heck was I doing”? It is definitely a photo op that will come along only once in a lifetime. It was awesome. A very unique and fun side trip would be in the south around the Krabi area and about a thirty minute drive is going to the Sheraton Resort (I wouldn’t recommend to stay there as it does not by any means come even close to representing anything to do with Thailand. It is very modern, lots of glass and devoid of any Thai charisma) in Andaman beach and at 3:00 PM each and every day “LaLa” the baby elephant, goes for a swim and totally delights the children and adults alike. It is not known how much longer they will allow this to happen as LaLa is getting much bigger very quickly, and as with any wild animal, it could cause tragic results. She dives under the water, she lets you ride on her back, she loves to squirt water at you from her trunk, and to the delight of little children she sometimes heeds natures call and lets loose in the ocean. On one occasion, as maybe 15 or 20 people were playing with her all of a sudden there were a few big splashes and this one little boy went running out of the water, screaming to his parents, “ Mommy, mommy the big elephant went Caca in the water!” And lastly a final trip suggestion, if you are in the southern area and around Krabi or Phukett, take a day and visit the island of PhiPhi. It was severely damaged by the Tsunami and has done a remarkable job of rebuilding itself. As we had close connections with the island and its people, and had known its magic prior to the tsunami, it could never return to its original state in our eyes, but to a new visitor it still is a magical place. Take the ferry from either Phukett or Krabi and it is about a two hour boat ride, with wonderful views of the surrounding sea and some of it islands. The ferry will be loaded with young people, eager to get to PhiPhi to start their holiday, as it still acts like a magnet to Scandinavians, despite their horrific loss of life as a result of the tidal wave. Eat at its many very nice little restaurants, shop in its numerous and never ending lanes of shops and just enjoy the sport of people watching which is at its best on PhiPhi.
I think I will take this blog opportunity to talk a little about our trips to the land of the epic movie “The King and I”, the ancient kingdom of Siam, or as we know it today Thailand. We have had the good fortune of visiting this country 7 times, the last time in 2007, and have explored just about every nook and cranny in it. We have traveled through the mountainous and very rugged and primitive west and north, and through the sparsely populated eastern areas. We have spent considerable time exploring the central section, where most of the population lives in ancient and over populated cities, such as Bangkok and Ayutthaya with their endless areas to explore. We have traversed the maze of canals that at one time coined the name “the Venice of the East” for Bangkok and shopped in the floating markets where all the shopping and selling is done from long skinny skiffs, expertly poled by locals. We have gone to the south of the country, with its beautiful beaches and mysterious island filled waters. The areas around the city of Krabi on the Andaman coast is spectacular, with its multitudes of rock islands protruding high from the waters with lush vegetation on top. This is where they filmed the James Bond movie, The Man with the Golden Gun. It was one of these hundreds of beautiful islands that housed the giant sun powered death ray and another, the magnificent bad guy fortress/home built into the rock cliffs. We have always been in complete awe on our many day trips through these islands and have never run out of photo opportunities. You name it and we have been there or through it.
The country of Thailand is a monarchy, with a King that has very limited power over governmental affairs but immense power with the people. He is adored by the people, and they pretty much will do anything he asks. Only a year or so ago, when they had the coup to unseat the Prime Minister (who is or I should say was the governmental power in the country) and as usual with these kind of events, the crowds had various groups with various views on the whole matter, and this caused an avalanche of unrest and many riots ensued. The military was called out to control the crowds, but had little effect. It only took a TV appearance by their King who asked that the violence stop and it immediately did. Many people wonder what will happen to this wonderful country once their beloved King has died. He is in his later years, and that sad event is somewhere in the not too distant future. It is one of the wealthiest countries in that section of Asia, and many of its neighbors cast a jealous eye toward Thailand. It is the only country in the region that is overwhelmingly Buddhist (about 85 – 95%) and is surrounded by Muslim countries that have no affection for them. In the southern most sections of the country, there are many problems with Muslim groups that have settled there from Malaysia, causing unrest and using attacks on local government outposts and occasional bombings to make a statement, but so far the police and military have kept any major problems at bay. We have traveled to a degree down there and have encountered no problems. There are some very beautiful places and points of interest that may offer the kinds of things you are looking for. In one part we found some magnificent beaches that were not used by western tourists at all, and being in the off season had no locals there, leaving them pretty much to just us. This can also be a problem, as that means most restaurants are not open, and finding a cold beer and some fried rice can be a challenge. We also found a fantastic fishing village quite by accident. It was an entire village floating on rafts across the river from their fish and crab traps. Up on the highway they sold their catch to the passing traffic, displaying some wonderful looking clams and mussels, mud crabs and even horseshow crabs. As we stood there, we watched them hauling strings loaded with fresh crabs up from the river bank. The floating huts had makeshift electricity obtained from very long extension cords stretching from the floating huts to the buildings on the river banks. Even had TV antennas on the roof of some proving they had all the necessary creature comforts.
The country is a never ending adventure waiting to happen. One note to make is that I would certainly not recommend the renting of a car and go off exploring on your own. Outside of Bangkok, there are NO English language street signs or directional highway signs. Only in Thai, and if you are at all familiar with the written Thai language, you are not going to make heads or tails out of it. Very few people in the rural areas speak English, and unless you are a very quick learner, your limited Thai is not going to find you a way out of your “lost” situation. The traffic is another problem, with hardly anyone paying that much attention to the rules of the road. The streets are filled with motor bikes carrying either an entire family of wife, driver, and the two kids, to one that has the entire stock of his store packed and tied to every exposed part on the bike. It is a nightmare, and for the amount of money it costs to hire a driver, it just doesn’t make any sense not to. It is also very helpful to have a guide that knows the territory and will guide you to the most comfortable of facilities, and the safest of eateries. In many areas of Thailand the facilities are very rustic to say the least, and if you have any problems with your back or knees, the trip to the John can be a nightmare. Most of them are no more than two foot prints that act as a guide to where to place your feet, and a hole in the tile floor. A large water vat is generally next to the facility and a scoop is used to “flush” the hole. Your guide will know where the “western” style toilets are, where the food is good, where the local food if so desired is safe to eat, and on and on. No matter where your tastes lie, there is sure to be something that will stimulate your senses and ignite the explorer in you. One of them is its ancient connection and practice of Buddhism. It is a country with a never ending supply of Buddhist temples, and a population of devout followers that represent from 85% to 95% of the population, depending on which facts book you reference to. Having been raised Catholic, and having spent a lot of time with people of the Jewish religion, dated girls and had many friends in the very bible preaching sections of the Baptist south, spent considerable time in the middle east, and learned many aspects of the Muslim religion, and the one religion that impressed me the most and gave me as much of a genuine feeling of peace as my own religion did was the Thai people and their religion of Buddhism. No matter where you go in Thailand, around almost every corner is yet another temple or Wat (in Thai), some are absolutely huge and quite ornate while others are very modest, and many no bigger than a snack table, each with offerings painstakingly made each and every day and offered as a symbol of their devotion. These offerings are individually made in the homes and also sold everywhere for purchase for those they do not have the time to make them. They are genuinely unique as they may contain beautiful flowers, fresh food, burning incense, even glasses of water or cups of tea. They are displayed of course in the temples by the dozens, in taxi’s and buses, in private automobiles on the dashboard, on the handlebars of motor bikes, in the street, along walkways, in shop windows, literally everywhere. The largest and what most people feel is the most beautifully decorated Wat in all of Thailand is found in the Kings Palace compound. It is immense and very very beautiful. During our many temple visits, we found a number of them that we feel would seriously challenge that belief. The images of Buddha you will find throughout the kingdom are amazing. You can find reclining ones, sitting ones, Jade ones, absolutely huge ones, and ones made out of every conceivable material you could think of. They even have them carved into trees and the root systems grow around them to form a truly interesting effect. It is truly quite amazing. As with most religions of the world, we have found they all have so much in common; all are based basically on the same story theme, and just have gods of different names. The Thais are an extremely peaceful people, following the peaceful teachings of their religion and I like to think of them as little children in adult bodies, full of wonderment and life, find enjoyment in almost everything, yet very capable of taking on life’s challenges. They love fun, they love their families, they love sport, and they are always on the lookout for something new to learn. They are very aggressive in sport and love to play soccer, ping pong and volley ball and the very popular game of Takro, which is similar to volley ball but is played with a small ball about the size of a grapefruit, and made of woven bamboo and the use of hands is not allowed. We have made many friends there, and have even had the honor of choosing the name for a young Thai, born to some dear friends of ours two years ago. As Thai names are very difficult for westerners to pronounce, the Thai people who have contact with the outside world through tourism or other businesses all choose a “western” style nickname to use in their public life. We had the honor of naming “Jason Scott” who is now a little over two years old and just beginning to drive his parents , Natt and Nari crazy as they try to keep up with him as he enters the terrible two’s.
The rustic beauty of the north, from the mountainous areas around Mae Hong Son, to the ancient capital of Chaing Mai and its neighbor of Chaing Rae and into the Golden Triangle is breathtaking. The area and its inhabitants date back centuries, and a lot of it still lives much the same way they always have. Over the years many people from the Karen tribes of Burma (now Myanmar) have moved or have been forced out of their homeland to live in Thailand and with them came their very strange ways. The infamous “long neck” people live here, and this should be put on the DO NOT MISS list if you are ever near one of these villages or have the opportunity to visit one. They live in villages much the same as they have for centuries, and only until recently have not allowed outsiders or “farangi” (which is what westerners are called in Thai) into their encampments. The women have the strange custom of wearing brass rings around their necks. This practice started so long ago, no one actually remembers exactly why or when it started, but it had something to do with the men thinking it made the Karen women more attractive. It starts in the very young years, and as the girl grows, more rings are attached. These rings are very heavy and being solid brass, conduct heat very well, so these women can never go out in the direct sunlight for any length of time, as it would actually cook them. We have seen some elder women of a village with more than a dozen rings on their necks. They are NEVER removed, and if they were, the neck muscles would not be conditioned to support the head, and the neck would break. And all this because some guy, at one time or another, probably after a few quaffs of the local jungle brew, made the decision that the ladies of his village should dress up their necks. Another custom of another Karen tribe is adorning their earlobes, not so much with jewelry, but with very large holes. Similar to our ear piercing, they pierce the girl’s earlobes at an early age, and as each year passes a larger insert is placed in the piercing, so by the time the girls enter
Look closely at her ears
their teens some of these piercings are well over three to four inches across. The old adage certainly applies here, “beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder”.
The Thais are a very society/family conscious people, with social standing and age being the key factors in gaining respect. You will find it humorous that Thais will very quickly start calling you Mama and Papa, once they have met you and start talking to you. Don’t take it as disrespect rather it is their way of accepting you as a kind of family member. Almost no Thais call each other by their first name, as most are known by their surnames or western nicknames, and this extends out to the Mama and Papa bit. Extended families are all very close, and the highest ranking member of the family has to look after his poorer relatives. In return he receives respect, obedience, thankfulness and loyalty. This same approach also extends to business, as the boss man will have the responsibility of seeing after his subordinates and employees of all ranks who are lower wage earners. Almost always items and wealth are shared amongst the family members. You can never really say that any item is “mine” as everyone in the family will sooner or later take their turn enjoying that item. Enjoying harmony within the family (either personal or business family) and avoiding any conflicts are extremely important. An important aspect of Thai life is one that the western world could learn from, and that is their belief that things that are unchangeable are accepted as such and for one to get excited does not change anything – what you cannot change is quite simply accepted. While we spent some time in Bangkok, doing the sightseeing thing and noticing the huge traffic jams that are a daily routine in the downtown area, something just didn’t seem normal. We finally figured out that what wasn’t normal was that no horns were being honked in frustration, and the Thai’s simply made their way in the traffic as the traffic allowed. The phrase of “Mai me bin Haa” is something that is commonly said, and it simply means …. “no problem” or the ever popular “whatever”. Yet another observation of Thai life is their belief in the famous Thai smile theory and that it is a tested way to avoid conflicts. They fervently believe in the adage of “Don’t do anything to me and I will also do nothing to you. – A smile very often brings more than a bored excuse – and also One who has no answer to questions or does not want to criticize simply keeps silent and smiles”. As I mentioned before about the peaceful nature of the Thais, one thing contributing heavily to this is their belief in reincarnation. No matter how big or small a creature may be, it may somehow be connected to your family either in a past or a future life, and therefore will NEVER be harmed in any way. Also, very unlike our western ways, many generations of families will live together under the same roof or in the same compound, and always the eldest will have the respect of all, and will have the final say in any decision. As more modern western ways creep into the big city lives of many Thais, the old traditions remain almost unchanged throughout the rest of the country. The Thai’s are a very hard working and disciplined people. They work long hours, for very little money and are very good in their studies, with a very large percentage of the population (not out in the very rural areas) graduating high school and many go on to college degrees.
We have heard many 1st time tourists say that they felt the famous greeting of the Thai people known as the “Wai” or when they hold their hands together in a prayer like position is an act kept up only for the sake of tourists. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. The Wai is a major part of Thai protocol and a highly important sign of reciprocal demonstration of respect. In most normal cases the palms with outstretched fingers at breast height are held against each other with the thumbs pointing toward the body and you slightly bow. The younger one or the one who has the lower social status always makes the greeting first, and then the senior or more important person answers with a lower Wai or by positioning his hands a little lower in front of the breast area from where the younger or less important one held his. The height of the palms is the most crucial criteria of respect to be demonstrated. The higher the more respect is paid. Thus no Thai will use a Wai for a greeting or farewell with children, servants or beggars. Yet it is a common practice to see young mothers have their little children offer a Wai to tourists, simply out of respect and most tourists DO return the Wai. Only for members of the royal family, monks or in offering respect to Buddha are the finger tips ever held over the eyebrows. Important non-Thai people or tourists are welcomed with the finger tips held in between the eyebrows, and the thumbs just about touching the tip of the nose. A Wai is always returned unless there is a huge social or age difference in between the two persons. (I have never seen one NOT returned)Then the more important or older one leaves the Wai unreturned. Also as a matter of respect the Wai is never returned by Buddhist monks (and of course not by members of the royal family). Apart from using the Wai as a greeting or departure gesture it is often used as a thank you. As you can see, it is by no means a “touristy” thing, but something of great importance and meaning to the Thai people. There are markets everywhere. Next to temples, they are the most commodious thing in Thailand. On most any day/night of the week you can find a market somewhere. Be it a produce market, a meat market, a crafts market, floating markets around Bangkok or the famous and infamous night markets of any major city, with Bangkok and ChainMai having the most famous and largest. At either of these you can find hundreds and hundreds of stalls selling anything from fake and UN fake Rolex watches, to the newest of still in the theatre videos, fine electronics and very interesting jewelry and unique nick-nacks. At produce markets you should be prepared to see live eels and turtles, fruit bats, cooked and uncooked insects, mounds and mounds of meat and “meat” by products, tables stacked high with fresh fruit, chili’s and vegetables in varieties you’ve never seen, even the delicacy of unborn water buffalo, which no one in the village can even afford, but is considered an extreme delicacy. One funny story was as we were driving from the north down toward Bangkok, and at every traffic light I noticed that vendors would approach the stopped vehicles, especially trucks and offer something for sale. I asked our friend and guide La what these things were and being very fun natured he just smiled and at the next light he rolled his window
down and yelled to one of the vendors and a very small amount of money changed hands and he was handed a plastic envelope. When he handed it to me, I looked in pure wonder at this little delicacy …………… it was three rather large dried cockroaches that the truck drivers eat for a little pick me up on their long over the road hauls. One of the many things that amaze me about these markets is the lack of refrigeration. At home we can’t wait to get home and put the eggs or dairy products into the refrigerator or die from food poisoning as we were all told when we were young, yet in most countries of the world, eggs are never found in the refrig, but on the shelves with the dry goods. In Thailand and other tropical countries, eggs will sit in these markets for well over a day, and sometimes many days in the direct sunlight in temperatures well over 100 degrees. The same goes for meats (even unborn water buffalo) cheese and other dairy products. The most noticeable at over a block away are the fish markets. Piles and piles of shellfish of every kind, along with raw fish are in the heat, and sunlight, and sold all day long. I found it difficult to get within photograph range, as the smell is just over powering. As strange as it seems, you see no locals getting sick from these items, but I doubt you could say the same thing about any tourists who are foolish enough to eat any of these items. I won’t go into detail, but the meat markets are not for the squeamish, as the Thai’s as most Asian people, waste very little of anything, and EVERY single part of the animal is sold and put on display in the market. It makes for some very unusual and very unforgettable memories. One fun aspect of any of the markets is the art form of haggling over the price, which is almost always expected. In fact in some markets, if one doesn’t haggle it is almost taken as an insult, as the Thais think of this as great fun. You start off asking what the price is, they tell you and you counter with an offer at least 50% lower than his starting price, and the fun begins. They will then produce the good old calculator, and from then on this tool is used to show whatever the current offer or counter offer is. I found out early a technique that always seemed to work fine for me. The Thai’s love to gamble on almost everything, as strangely enough most of the south pacific and Asia do, and when the haggling hits a stalemate, with a sizeable gap between the two prices, I would take out a large local currency coin, and make them the offer that heads was their price, and tails mine …………….. Flip the coin and whatever happened, happened. Even losing was fun and the price was so little anyway it didn’t really matter. Everyone ended up a winner and it brought happiness to the Thai’s even if they were the loser. I wouldn’t recommend attending these markets as a daily ritual as it can get kind of annoying after awhile unless you are a pure and unadulterated shopping junkie. You CAN AND WILL find some fantastic bargains if you look for them and not fall prey to the first items found. Almost always you will keep finding similar or even identical items spread throughout the market and a smart shopper who is not ashamed to haggle can walk away with some real genuine bargains. We have talked to many US and European shop owners that make three and four trips to Thailand each year to stock their shelves with interesting and not often seen items in their countries, and make extraordinary profits. Besides the bargains, it is also a great spectator sport and fabulous people watching. Transportation in and around the cities is good, as you don’t need to be brave and try to figure out the bus system, instead they have the wonderful little “TukTuk’s” to deliver you to where ever you want to go. They are no more than a double seat enclosed rickshaw type vehicle that is powered by a motorbike engine and driven by people who have absolutely no fear of impending death in the crazy traffic. Luckily they have a very distinct sound, and I think this helps them in navigating in and around the mass of other vehicles, and also lets the others know they are there. They are not built for comfort, and definitely not for the size of average westerners. Anyone over 6’ will spend the trip in a crouched over position, with little or no room to turn their heads. They are very cheap, you generally do survive the trip and you can just about find them anywhere.
Let’s talk about the eats and drinks or sips and nibbles of Thailand. It is abundant, fresh, very very hot, and quite delicious. Unless you have a stomach of steel always ask for no “pet” (which is pepper) and you will still roll your eyes with the first bite. This is mainly true with local Thai dishes. At most restaurants, it is quite acceptable to order no spicy and then if you really feel brave, every table has its own furnace available with a tray of hot chilies, very spicy fish sauce, chili paste, and also the rest of your normal condiments like salt and black pepper, catsup and mayonnaise. The food itself revolves around beef, chicken, fish and all sorts of veggies. Whether asked for or not, rice is always served. I always prefer and order their fried rice with beef, which is just so much better than anything I have ever had at one of our Asian restaurants at home. In Northern Thailand you will find what they call “sticky” rice, which is separated with the fingers on your right hand and made into small lumps, and then dipped into various sauces or just eaten plain. You will notice that Thais don’t really eat what we would call meals. They start and end the day with rice and a soup of some kind, and then snack during the day. In the fish category, I can truthfully say that Thailand is the only place in the world that I have found prawn as big as that are available in southern Thailand. They are called Tiger Prawn and they are huge and soooooo delicious, almost the size of small lobster tail, and even sweeter. Three are more than ample to fill you up, along with the portion of fried rice, maybe some veggies and you are done. Look for them and you will thank me forever. One of their favorite local snacks, which you will find at little rolling stands everywhere, at every market, will be a number of rolling carts selling them and you can tell about a block away that you are approaching a dried Squid zone. It is salt dried small squid that is rolled through an old fashioned washing machine type set of rollers then very lightly grilled for a few moments. The locals can’t get enough of it, yet there is something I cannot stomach about the smell, so that I could not even sample one. TRY IT AT YOUR OWN RISK. I guess the next little story would fall under the heading of Odd businesses, but on one journey through the northeastern section of the country, our friend La asked us if we would like to visit a very unique factory. We of course said yes, as the Thai’s are also a vey entrepanourial people, and come up with new ideas all the time. This one apparently worked, as someone thought why not make something out of the fish parts and fish that are not eaten. They opened a small shop making “all fish products”, everything you can imagine, bread, cakes, pasta, muffins, even cereal made from fish. It caught on, and the business is now located in a very large factory, with a large shop selling its products. As for me, for some reason I elected the “fish ice cream” to try, and promptly began to eat it once we got back in the car and headed for our next destination. At first the taste was one of a vanilla type flavor but long after I finished the container, the taste lingered and lingered and lingered. Not a good thing.
Along with this you will find an immense selection of fresh fruits. They are plentiful amounts of mango, lychees, jackfruit, pineapples, rambuttan, longans, pomelos, papayas, watermelon, coconuts and more varieties of bananas than you ever thought existed. There is also the notorious fruit called DURIAN or affectionately known as stinkfruit. Its smell is so repugnant, it is actually not allowed in most hotels or on airplanes. I have tried it and found it to taste similar to what I would imagine leftover creamed onions at room temp to taste like. The smell getting to the bite is something that will test your mettle but take my word for it it is simply awful. Yet on more than one occasion we have seen a group of Thai men sharing one in great delight. They simply love it. Different strokes for different folks. The drinking part is basically your basic soda pop, (I have yet to see Pepsi there but coke everywhere) lots of fruit juices, coconut milk and always use the BOTTLED WATER. It is notoriously cheap, so don’t be foolishly brave and part with the few pennies it will cost to get your supply of bottled H2o, in the long run you will thank yourself. Other than that they do have some delicious beers. My wife who is by no means a beer drinker and simply loves their local beer called Singha Beer. Another favorite among the Thais is called Chang Beer, and you can find this on tap almost everywhere. Either is a potent brew with alcohol levels at 6.3% and 7.0% respectively. It is quite funny as the locals have acquired the habit of drinking the Chang beer with tons of ice in a glass. Somehow they think that all the ice will dilute the beer and make it less potent. They don’t realize that the total alcohol per volume stays exactly the same, and it just proves the power of mind over matter. For those who crave a more recognized brew Heineken is available almost everywhere. The single thing we love the most about eating out in Thailand is, when you receive the bill, it is akin to stealing as the tab for a simply wonderful meal is so inexpensive. Also, you never ever have to worry about paying tax or the dreadful task of figuring out what the correct tip would be to leave. You don’t “tip” as It is already in the bill, and besides that it is strongly suggested that you don’t tip as the Thai people will feel this is a gift, and receiving a gift requires the return of a gift to you. They strongly feel they are being paid for a job they are doing (whether or not we feel they are getting far too little, they are very proud to be getting whatever their wage may be) and they would feel uncomfortable about getting a tip.
As the whole purpose of this blog, is to inform you and ready you for a visit to Thailand, I feel that along with all the other suggestions and tips I have tried to pass along, there are three separate excursions I feel very strongly about you making. Make a note of them, and then decide if any of them jiggle your adventure bug. One is to a nice sized city north of Bangkok, and named LopBuri. It is a city, that at one time long long ago, had a ruler that had a problem. I honestly don’t remember the actual folklore involved, but it had something to do with him being lost and needing food and water, and almost near exhaustion and needing help desperately, in the night some monkeys’ brought him nourishment and saved his life. From that moment on, he declared them sacred and made it a law that they had free reign over whatever part of the old city they wished, and he built a temple in their honor in the center of the old city. As the city grew, it spread out from the center where the old city was located. There were at that time maybe a few dozen monkeys that inhabited this section. Well as in most Thai folklore, the history ruled through the ages, and to this day, there are now thousands of monkeys living in the old city. They blend right in with the locals and tourists, steal items when they can, get left more food and drink than they need, scamper among the power lines, and generally hold audience at the old temple. While we were there, we even saw one bite a tour guide that got a little too close. Always remember that they are not pets, and generally if left alone, and not threatened they will leave you alone. They have their own little system, so respect them and let them do what they normally do. It is however a real hoot, to see all these animals scampering about in all directions, and traffic and people on the constant lookout for them, as remember they were made a sacred entity, and NO harm should come to them. Another wild little adventure is about a two to three hour drive northwest of Bangkok, in the city of Kanchanaburi. You can easily combine it with a visit to the site of the original Bridge on the River Kwai, which would make a full day’s trip. At any rate, there is a temple and small monastery there, that is known as the Tiger Temple. There are many Tiger Temple around the country and most deal with folklore of tigers in the region at one time or another that did something or another a very long time ago, but this temple is the real McCoy. It seems that a young monk was praying in this area some years back and some farmers found a young pair of tiger cubs, which because of a poacher, were left with no mother. They took the cubs to the monk, knowing he would know what to do with them. The monk began to raise them feeling that Buddha had given them to him and showed him what his life’s calling would be, and over time, other cubs were brought to him by other farmers. This all attracted other monks to come and help him in his life’s mission. A larger temple was built, and also a small monastery. Over the years the Tiger population has grown to over 20 full grown and basically wild tigers, with no restraining devices on them whatsoever. They roam the grounds with total freedom, and generally spend the day in a canyon type area where they have water and shade from the sun. There are no bars separating them from visitors and only a donation is asked to help cover the expenses of feeding them. The monk, who started it all, spends the day with them, sitting on a rock and praying. He has a few helpers there that guide visitors into the tigers, and to show them how to walk among them, and what to do and not to do. There has been some pressure lately for the government to close down this operation, as there have been a few somewhat severe accidents, but the monks say no, and they hold a tremendous amount of power in Thailand. The day we were there was an amazing day in our life. Never did we dare to think that we would be one day sitting among these beasts of such beauty and power. We would look at their paws, and realize it was as big as a meal tray and could so easily separate you from your head with no effort at all. It is amazing to find that when you do something as thrilling as this, you don’t have that much fear as you are doing it, as you are overcome with sheer awe and are mesmerized by these beautiful beasts. But you do ask yourself later one question, “what the heck was I doing”? It is definitely a photo op that will come along only once in a lifetime. It was awesome. A very unique and fun side trip would be in the south around the Krabi area and about a thirty minute drive is going to the Sheraton Resort (I wouldn’t recommend to stay there as it does not by any means come even close to representing anything to do with Thailand. It is very modern, lots of glass and devoid of any Thai charisma) in Andaman beach and at 3:00 PM each and every day “LaLa” the baby elephant, goes for a swim and totally delights the children and adults alike. It is not known how much longer they will allow this to happen as LaLa is getting much bigger very quickly, and as with any wild animal, it could cause tragic results. She dives under the water, she lets you ride on her back, she loves to squirt water at you from her trunk, and to the delight of little children she sometimes heeds natures call and lets loose in the ocean. On one occasion, as maybe 15 or 20 people were playing with her all of a sudden there were a few big splashes and this one little boy went running out of the water, screaming to his parents, “ Mommy, mommy the big elephant went Caca in the water!” And lastly a final trip suggestion, if you are in the southern area and around Krabi or Phukett, take a day and visit the island of PhiPhi. It was severely damaged by the Tsunami and has done a remarkable job of rebuilding itself. As we had close connections with the island and its people, and had known its magic prior to the tsunami, it could never return to its original state in our eyes, but to a new visitor it still is a magical place. Take the ferry from either Phukett or Krabi and it is about a two hour boat ride, with wonderful views of the surrounding sea and some of it islands. The ferry will be loaded with young people, eager to get to PhiPhi to start their holiday, as it still acts like a magnet to Scandinavians, despite their horrific loss of life as a result of the tidal wave. Eat at its many very nice little restaurants, shop in its numerous and never ending lanes of shops and just enjoy the sport of people watching which is at its best on PhiPhi.
Now let’s talk a little about the resourcefulness of the Thai people. For four straight years we would spend two weeks on what is known as PhiPhi Island (see above), which became famous after the horrible Tsunami of 2006. We always rented the same beachfront bungalow that sat right on the beach a short walk away from the restaurant. Every morning, as we finished breakfast, we would walk back to our bungalow and sit on the front porch and write postcards, do some reading or catch a snooze. That was always around 10 AM in the morning. The year of Tsunami, we were scheduled into our regular bungalow exactly ten days after the tidal wave hit. It struck the island at approximately 10:15 AM. Yup, we would have been right there and as we found out later, the inhabitants of our bungalow, as all the bungalows along the beach were swept away and either confirmed dead or are still listed as missing. When we went back to the island to visit with surviving friends and to view the devastation, the only thing left of our bungalow was ONE cement block that had been part of the front porch. Everything else was completely gone. Over 50% of the island inhabitants were killed, and that included both tourists and locals. The Scandinavian countries alone lost over 3,000 citizens as it was a very popular destination for them. On a very flat island, especially when everyone is thinking of fun things leaves very little time or places to run to for safety. The remarkable thing we found after this tragedy was how the Thai’s took the horrible hand dealt to them. We were there roughly 2 weeks after the catastrophe and with all their losses, both material and personal, they stood up straight, said to themselves “ok, we have had our mourning period, but now it is time to get back to work and start again” and they did just that. No waiting for handouts, no one being sent in to help them, just themselves their neighbors, and a few small groups of foreign volunteers, getting together to help each other, and starting with the first boards and nails they could find. The loss of hundreds of traditional Thai Long Tail Boats was catastrophic, as these are very labor intensive to build and a major source of income for many of them. They are a work of art, and costing over $20,000 American dollars to build one, they are a prized possession for those fortunate enough to have owned one. While we were there, we found ourselves going out into the village to buy supplies, and instead of going to one store as we usually would, we would make a stop at almost every little shop and buy two cans of soda here, two bottles of beer there, some cookies here, some candy there, we even found ourselves buying some things we didn’t even need just to help them out. The looks on their faces of pure gratitude was unforgettable. Each time we did this, it cost so little but the returns to ujs were so high. They had so much to complain about, but we never heard anyone complaining. It was a memorable visit, and we will deeply miss what the island once represented and the people we knew and cared about, laughed with and talked with, that were not spared.
So, that’s about it. We have tried to cover everything that we felt was important, but like in any writing I am sure that once I finish, I will remember even more things I would have liked to put into this blog. However there is just so much you can reasonably expect people to read, and I hope I knew when to stop. Thailand is just so much more than simple words can convey, and if you decide to go you will also find the magic that this country and its people possess. I miss it already and even though it is unlikely for us to return there again, I am still holding out hope, that things may allow us once again to explore its cities, enjoy its people, and find the peace that it brings over me. “Pope gunn mai” or in English till next time, or see you later.
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jungle land pets - July 25, 2008 at 7:20 pm
its so interesting and so flowing and so eye opening and inspiring.
come to myanmar burma. I think you will have something more which the world will find interesting and inspiring.
Eugene Phu kyaik - November 19, 2008 at 2:07 am