100 Days In Asia

For those of you who may be wondering why you have not heard more from me, you apparently don’t know Audra well enough.  krysti and becky–I can now relate to what you said about NY.  I would have left her at the kinkos.  I will have to do a seperate blog when I return to the States to let Audra know what she missed while she was spending 3 hours at a time (no exageration) in the Internet Cafe.  I know that some of you have said that you enjoy the blog but that we should be exploring more than sitting in front of a computer but it is like trying to convince Walker that there is nothing wrong with buying something on sale–a waste of breath.  So, I might not be posting again for a few weeks but I am having fun and seeing everything that audra is posting about plus more.  If we get caught in a rain storm sometime, I will fill you in on plenty of good stories, like Audra wetting herself multiple times.  otherwise, you will have to wait and hope that i remember.

 

2 Brits that own a place here… Paul P’s friendsOriginally uploaded by audra26.

They ALMOST drank me under the table…

 

Jonathan’s first Thai creationOriginally uploaded by audra26.

I met Jonathan there at the end to eat the finished product!

I guess some might say my last post (Best Laid Plans…) was “bitching,” but it was cathartic! And, just to clear a couple of things up… I guess Jonathan didn’t technically “lie” about the length of the flight — he was just wrong. Also, he is not annoying me like it may have sounded… he is being sweet and we are having a good time (except that he’s always trying to keep me off of the net!)

In Bangkok we saw LOTS of WATS (that rhymes.) Wats are Buddhist temples… some of them were really cool, but as my friend Paul Parker says, once you’ve seen the tallest, fattest, biggest, goldest buddhas… it’s time to head out of town! I’ll try to post some pics for you.

After we found our real hotel and headed out the first morning, we were on our way to see one of the neatest and largest tourist attractions in Bangkok — the Grand Palace, as well as some other sights. It was New Year’s in Thailand. On the way there, we met a Thai man who said that because of the New Year, the places didn’t open until 1:00. We had just seen a sign that other places were closed the day before for the New Year. He recommended that we go see 2 other temples and to the Tourist Authority to reserve our train tickets to leave Bangkok. He told us also that it was the last day to shop at the Export Center without tax (because of the new year) and that we should go there. He said a “Tuk-tuk” driver would take us there for $20 Baht each (50 cents; a Tuk-tuk is a scooter with 2 seats that are covered in the back… I’ll show you pictures if I can transfer them here), but to be sure we needed take one with the yellow and white logo, because those are the government ones and they are cheaper. We were standing in front of the University where he taught as a computer professor. So the driver showed us to a Tuk-tuk that happened to be driving up, and negotiated with him in Thai.

We got in and starting riding around to some of the other temples that opened before 1pm… thinking how nice the professor was and not believing how cheap the driver would take us around for a couple of hours.

At first I was skeptical. Our guidebooks say beware of people saying that the sights are closed, Tuk-tuk drivers, jewellry scams (Thailand is known for it’s sapphires and rubies), and people who speak English well. But, it was the new year and we had seen that other sign. We went to these other places and thought that they weren’t too crowded. Then we went to the Tourist Authority and bought our train/bus/ferry tickets to Ko Samui, a beach island in S. Thailand.

The Export Center wasn’t what we were expecting. I thought it would be like a huge indoor flea market, but it was like a jewellry store. We again became suspicious and didn’t buy anything. Then we left and the driver asked if we wanted to go somewhere else to shop and we said no, just drop us off. We only paid him the $1 and a tip, then later were certain that we’d been a part of one of the scams that the books warn about!

These guys are GOOD… that day, at one of the Wats we went to (that was crowded with tourists), a random Thai man came up to us and started telling us about how his family was in from Australia and U.S. for a family reunion. He asked where we were going and confirmed that the Export Center was not to be missed that day because of no tax… We are in Thai-Land of Make Believe! We were approached by a similar scammer the next day and told him to get lost.

That afternoon, we met up with Jonathan’s cousin’s brother-in-law. He lives in Bangkok and works for a non-profit, which runs an orphanage, inner-city schools, and a home for adults and kids with AIDS. He brought us there to meet the children and it was really amazing what they do for the kids. The Czech Ambassador was there with his wife and mother, because they sponsor a child and came to play with her. I’ll post a link to his organization when I have his card with me.

The next day we went to see what we’d missed because of the shysters. We ate at some questionable establishment in what I suppose you could call a cafe… ? for about $1.50 (that is total… for both of us!) Everything we eat is meat or fish in sauce with rice or noodles. The food here is pretty good and we haven’t gotten sick yet.

Oh, and about the spoons. As the guidebooks told us, Thai’s eat with a spoon and a fork. If you eat with the fork, they will think you are rude or bizzare. Here, we eat with the spoon and use the fork to scoot the food on the spoon. Knives seem to never be used (except in tourist restaurants). In fact, we saw a Thai through the window of a KFC cutting a large chicken tender with a spoon!

(To be continued tomorrow, while Jonathan is cooking me lunch)