Hi Everyone...
The travel log continues.. although my brain is moving a bit more slowly today. The rain has not hit us today and it is hot! Although it is much more bearable in Chaing Mai than Bangkok.
We spent several days in Bangkok, kind of recovering from our cold, and getting oriented. We did some touristy things and had lots of cheap good food. The most noteworthy of our activities was visiting the stunning Grand Palace and getting a Thai massage.
From where we were staying in Banglampu we caught a water taxi down to the palace. This alone is highly entertaining. There are several "staff": one or two ticket collectors, a driver/captain, and a docker (for lack of a better term). At each stop the "docker" releases a series of specific whistles to communicate to the driver the status of the boat to the dock and when the passengers have dis- and embarked. They sound like unusual mating calls, after which he springs so spryly to the shore. I felt a bit sheepish with my cautious steps into and out of the boat.
The boat, like a bus, has seats and hand rails above the isle. The back few rows are labled "for monks." This however appears to be an optional directive, since they are always filled with regular people, and the monks seem to stand in the back. It is still striking for me to see them wandering around in their orange robes elaborately folded around them. My mischiefious mind wonders if there have ever been any embaressing disrobing experiences. I can imagine a new monk not being adept at the whole wrap around process and perhaps while reaching for something or stepping in and out of the boat may have accidental unwrappings. It amazes me, the grace with which people carry themselves and their elaborate wear. I sometimes have a hard enough time getting the right foot in a pant leg. Anyways, I digress...
The Palace was stunning! Over-the-top as far as temples and decoration. Almost every inch is covered in mosaics of either gold, glass or Chinese ceramic. The inside walls were painted with elaborate murals showing either the experiences of Buddha (inside the temples) or the Ramanya (sp?) epic (on the walls of the covered walkways surrounding the various temples). Holding up roofs and guarding gateways are various mythical creatures (half bird/human, or monkey/human, among others) that are equally elaborately decorated. The emerald buddha was very impressive - dark green enshrined on top of a huge pyramid of other golden buddhas and statues. We left the palace awed but also a bit overwhelmed by the visual display. There is also an elaborate etiquette concerning temple behavior: bare legs, sandals or bare shoulders are not allowed. As a result there is quite the industry of lending that goes on within the temple. The line for shoes, sarongs and shirts was longer than the ticket line. Also obviously no shoes are allowed in the temple, but interestingly you are not allowed to have your feet pointed at the Buddha. They are the lowest part of the body, and overall in Thai culture considered unclean. Which leads to a whole slew of other considerations and rules too lengthy to describe. Needless to say to close your fridge door with your foot would be scandlous. Considering the climate here, it makes sense.
The weather seems to alternate between hot and sunny, and hot and rainy. I am not sure which is better. We had a lot of rain in Bangkok, often nice in the morning with the afternoon bringing on rainstorms. At times the rain was torrential. The sidewalks transformed from being busy with pedestrians, tourists, street merchants to being empty and slick with rain. The merchants pack away their wares, fold up their blankets and dissappear with amazing speed. The rain storms leave behind puddles, and flooded areas, making walking even more adventurous.
Overall, It seems that markets and street vendors can be found in almost every area of Bangkok. It seems to be a cornerstone of Thai culture. You can eat outside, and it is not common to see a vendor with his/her cart dishing out goodies such as fishcakes, satays and noodles to be enjoyed at the accompanying folding tables and plastic stools on the sidewalk. Atmosphere consists of the road and other pedestrians. One time we were eating our noodle soup on the sidwalk and an elephant steps up from the street. It ambles along the curb passing us, stops at the next street vendor and consumes a set of veggies. The rider, a small boy, with a switch and his foot tucked behind the ear of the elephant, sat calmly on top as the elephant ate. As they ambled off after his meal, I noticed the elephant had a reflector attached to his tail! I wonder if this too is legislated in the traffic guidelines in Bangkok.
The other traditional Thai experience - the Thai massage was interesting in that it seemed to be a combination of massage, chiropractic care and yoga. My masseuse constantly suprised me with the positions he put me in or himself in to create stretching poses or massage a section of my body. There were various cracks and pops throughout the process, and I have yet to decide if all of my body was thankful for the encounter. Although, it was definitely a relaxing and interesting experience. Peter only had a half hour massage and came out with a little bit of leg pain. So he was decidedly less enthusiastic about the process.
After 5 days in Bangkok, we took a sleeper train to a northern town called Chiang Mai. We slept on bunks on an air-conditioned train - the whole trip took about 10 hours. Upon arrival we were approached by many people regarding guest houses. Even the tourist information people are very active in their "help" - at times it is overwhelming. It is to the point that we take wide circles to avoid the tourist info desk until we have specific questions for which we have yet to seek info. Also we often receive unsolicited advice from pedestrians on the street. At times this feels very helpful, othertimes it is a bit intrusive and overwhelming. It is not unusual for "Tuk Tuk" drivers to stop on the side of the road, and offer tours of the city for ridiculously low amounts. Although this appears less the case in Chaing Mai.
We finally ended up at an amazing Guest House (Gap Guest House). You walk into the compound, and everywhere there are plants. The breakfast area is an open sided area covered by a traditional style roof. Only plants and wood carved panels hang off the wooden columns to act as dividers from nature. The rooms are also a bit more traditional than the cement squares we had seen previously. Even more attractive is the A/C and warm showers attached to each room. Luxuries we did not have at our previous location!
We enrolled in an all day cooking class, which was fantastic. We made about 8 dishes with the instruction of "Joe" a very engaging, encouraging and humerous Thai guy. There were 6 of us in the class one woman from Argentina, a guy from San Fransico, and two Swiss (Peter was very enthused to have fellow Swiss Germans to confirm the names of the foods we were using). We first went to a market where Joe explained the vegetables (so many types of egg-plants, beans, roots and peppers). Then we went to the cooking class compound. Again covered terraces with open sides, excellent for this climate. The idea of being in an enclosed kitchen cooking in this climate is not appealing, not to mention it seems to be a rarity.
All of the ingredients were prepared and portioned for us, and we had the difficult task of cooking them in our individual woks (usually lasting at most 5 mins), with our teacher cheering us on. We ate what we made for lunch... it was excellent!!! (green curry, fish cakes, fried chicken and cashew nuts, spicy seafood soup, fish soufflee in banana bowl). After lunch we had some difficulty rousing ourselves from our food coma. We left the afternoon session with dinner for that night - pad thai, spring rolls, and custard in pumpkin (excellent!). The course also included a cookbook. They also told us how we could subsitute for ingredients we many not be able to find back home. I am very excited to cook some of this stuff upon our return. Overall, the Thai way of cooking greatly appeals to me - it is all about fast, fresh, color and taste. I like anything that does not require endless baking and is rich in color and taste!
Chang Mai overall is a more accesssible city than Bangkok. It is less polluted, traffic is less overwhelming, and it is generally a bit smaller. We are staying in the old part of the city, which is in a square, and separated from the expansion by a small moat and some remnants of the old city wall.
Today we took a small tour on a "Tuk-Tuk" with a driver associated with the guest house. A smiley man who, when he found out I was dutch, took every opportunity to use the word "langzam" (spelled phonetically for you non-dutch speakers) -meaning slowly. We saw a temple, and went to production centers for silk, paper/silk umbrellas and fans. The silk-making process was interesting to see. Particularly how they boil the cocoons and pull off the silk to form a thread. The umbrella making was less interesting. The painting on the fans and umbrellas was a bit heavy handed for our liking.
We may head on a several day treck into the hill country. To see some of the hill tribes, go for a ride on an elephant and raft on a bamboo raft. We'll keep you posted. Meanwhile we enjoy the lush surroundings of our guesthouse, the excellent food, and the company of other foreigners at meals.
Hope all of you are well. And thanks for the e-mails back!
Take care, Trish & Peter