June 29, 2008 7:30am – 7:30pm 2nd Class Bus from Bangkok to Krabi

Our transportation

Instead of flying from Bangkok to Krabi, which would have cost 1,800baht/person ($56), we decided to take the 12 hour bus ride which was only 550baht/person ($17). The cost was one advantage, but for me the big payback was watching the landscape of Thailand pass by. We saw hundreds of cows roaming freely, karsk mountains to the west, karsk mountains to the east, the Andaman Sea to the west, the Gulf of Thailand to the east, simple two room concrete block houses dotted the roadside, occasional lavish mansions by Thai standards, motorbikes zoomed passed, cities where bananas and durian fruit dominated the markets, rubber tree farms, thatch roofs protected from wind by bicycle tires and kids playing and dancing at the bus stops for the entertainment of the passengers. This my friends is the advantage of a road trip. We never could have seen any of this if we had taken a plane. AND it is more environmentally friendly. At this point in our lives, Nik and I have all the time in the world, so we are making the most of it by enjoying this place rather than rushing from one appointment to the next.

The rest stop consisted of a large metal roof structure covering tables with snack foods, a couple hot food vendors and a restroom with squat toilets. Nothing fancy, but it was a good place to stretch our legs.

This is a photo of our first casualty of the trip....Travel Scrabble. This Scrabble board has been part of Nik and I's relationship from day 1, literally. We played on our very first date back on April 6, 2006, and have been playing ever since. This board has gone with us on most of our trips for the past 2 years, and has made it to several of Nik's blog posts. You may even recall his largest victory ever where he scored 318 points in one game. I am very sad to say that Travel Scrabble was left on the bus. We loved you very much, and I hope that someone in Thailand is enjoying this little bundle of joy that Alex donated to us when she left us for NYC.

Upon arrival in Krabi, we had our first of many dinners at their Night Market. About 10 dinner carts dot a vacant concrete patch next to the river along with several metal folding tables. All of the menus are in Thai and English, so most of the farangs make it here eventually!

Nik eating Penang Curry with 5-baht water and a bottle of Coca Cola.

Our next adventure in Krabi was visiting Wat Tham Seua and climbing to the top of the adjacent mountain which is the home to one a large golden seated Buddha and a couple small alters. The climb was pretty rigorous with over 1200 steps…and these were not the typical 7″ steps. Several of them had to be over 15″ tall with only a 4″ tread. It was more like climbing a 1200 rung ladder!

The ascent

All around Thailand, they repurpose used automobile tires into trash bins. There were several along the hike up as well as near the beaches in Phi Phi.

Seated Buddha

View from the top

Another view from the top

After we came back down the mountain, we went back to the guest house to change out of our sweaty clothes, then we came back to Wat Tham Seua so that we could visit with the monkeys!!  Nik took several good photos, so take a look at his website.

I was still worn out from the hike, so I rested with this little kitten.  She was so adorable that I couldn’t resist petting her.  She climbed right into my lap, and wouldn’t leave.  Unfortunately, I am allergic to cats, so I ended up with puffy eyes for a couple days, but it was worth it.

My friend

This happens to be at the base of the temple, but it is typical of all electrical wiring in Thailand. I don't know how people don't get electrocuted.

Then we took a short ride outside of Krabi.  We were on the same roads we had traveled down yesterday on the bus, but it was so much nicer to be on the motorbike!!  The neatest part for me was the rubber tree farms.  I have never seen one, so to watch white latex dripping from the trunk of a tree was pretty amazing!!

Rubber tree farm

Rubber catcher

Nik’s Blog: Last Day in Bangkok, Best day in Krabi

On our last day in Bangkok, we took a taxi north of town to the Chatuchak Weekend Market. The market occurs every Saturday and Sunday, and is frequented by locals and farangs (thai for “foreigner”). Over 9,000 individual booths including food, handicrafts, clothing (new and used), furniture, pet dogs, cats and lizards, books, towels, silk flowers….and the list goes on. So if you’re in the market for used Nike or Puma tennis shoes, a baby turtle and a new teak dining table, this is the place.

It is refreshing to see true examples of local markets thriving here in Thailand.  I wish that we could say the same in America.  Our flea markets are still going strong, and the farmers markets are picking up again.  But the average purchases are made at shopping malls and big-box stores.  I know that we will never get back to this, but I hope that we can all understand the market’s worth.

At Chatuchak, the market is so huge that they had to set up a street grid with numbered "soi" or lanes, and they distribute printed maps. This reminds me of the huge antique malls that you find in America, or I suppose it is also similar to Ikea but cooler.

There are a few blocks dedicated to books. Most are in Thai, but they were still nice to look through even though I don't know how the shop owners find anything.

This manikin was sporting a sassy grey unitard as she hung out next to the Thai oranges. It looks cool in theory, but I don't know how anyone could pull it off!!

One of many colorful paper stalls

The best thing about Thai Markets (other than the clothes, housewares, shoes, people watching, jewelry, fabric, books and handbags) is the food. Here you see a young lady serving up delicious fruit shakes. Banana is the best!!

I can report that I mostly refrained from buying anything. I walked away with a zebra print beach towel and a Thailand flag patch to add to my growing collection of country patches. I was tempted by fabric, clothing, dishes and jewelry, but we are still in the travel-every-other-day mode, so it was impractical….and I am on a frugal vacation. Is that an oxymoron?

ps. I looked for the silver beads a friend had requested. I haven’t found them yet, but Chiang Mai is supposed to be the silver mecca of Thailand, so hopefully I’ll have better luck there.

Yesterday we spent the day at Siam Square and MBK which are the big, rather, huge shopping malls in Bangkok.

…Rewind…yesterday morning we went to Chinatown again, but saw the REAL Chinatown.  It was very nice but kind of smelly.  There was an entire street dedicated to shoes, and several of them were only $3-5.  Traffic was crazy and we were always in the way.  Oh yeah, we were at the market at 6:30am.  I know.  Too early.  But we were working out the remnants of jet lag.

So back to the malls.  We arrived @ 8:30, but it didn’t open until 10 so we wandered outside people watching.  The dress(code) out in that area is drastically different than the older areas near the guest house.  Everyone at the mall was stylish and modern, which made me very self conscious.  I had also worn the wrong shoes for a day of shopping.  My feet were killing me after an hour, so by the end of the day I could barely walk.

We spent the entire day at the mall only to discover that we had missed nearly half of it.  Oh well.

**Cool Store: Loft – designy bags, containers, dishes, etc.

Afterwards, we met up with A., one of V’s friends from college.  He was super nice and took us to dinner at Cabbages and Condoms.  Decent, but not great food.  Then we went to a coffee shop called Elefin’s for Lemon Icees.  They were a great counter to the sweltering heat.

The most interesting part of last night other than the company, was the area.  The Sukhumvit part of Bangkok is completely different than the Banglamphu/Thewet area.  Sukhumvit is where all of the American and European businessmen stay when they are here.  We supposedly walked through part of the red light district, which comprised of several outdoor bars where young dolled-up Thai girls would meet older, wealthier white men.  The concept disgusts me because you know that these men would never do this in America.

Or maybe they would, I’ll hopefully never know.

Chinatown photo by Nik

Chinatown loading zone photo by Nik

MBK Shopping Mall with crazy traffic! photo by Nik

Our dinner destination photo by Nik

Nik’s Blog: Bangkok

1:30am

Yesterday (meaning 1 1/2 hours ago) was a pretty good day.  We started off by switching rooms at the guest house.  We were in a room with a shower and toilet (650 baht/$20), now we are in a room with a shared shower + toilets (400 baht/$12).  I have to say that I miss the other room, but at least we found a wireless network here!  Nik is writing emails right now!!!
After changing rooms, we made our way to the water taxi which took us down river to the stop near the Grand Palace.  We wandered around the area in search for breakfast, and found ourselves on a small side street eating the best Pad Thai ever!!!  The portions were small, but so tasty.  This is the first Pad Thai I have ever had with the dried shrimp, which is the traditional method.  It is going to be so hard to eat American Thai food after this trip!
Next up was the Grand Palace.  The Palace  has a huge white wall completely surrounding the grounds with Stuppa-like gates on each side.  All streets and sidewalks in the area were covered with Thai nik-naks, tourists, tuk-tuks and tour buses.  You have never seen so many tuk-tuks!
Entry to the Palace was 250 baht/person ($7.50), which is pretty steep, but worth it.  Nearly every wall, ceiling and surface was covered with very colorful glass tiles.  And these weren’t large glass tiles, they were very small.  There were also a couple buildings that were covered in gold leaf glass tiles.  We took several sitting breaks to rest and people watch.
Also, the Emerald Buddha is on these grounds as well.  It is located in the largest religious building on site and the most ornate.  To enter the building we removed our shoes and sat along with the other tourists and devotees.  The shrine was breathtaking.  The image (this is what they call the statue) is seated on top of a lavish golden throne that is protected by two golden guards on either side.  Also, every wall is covered with colorful glass mosaics and the ceiling is painted a deep red with golden motifs.  We were also fortunate to witness a religious ceremony being performed in the Hor Phra Monthian Dharma.  The temple itself was closed to devotees only, but several were seated along its perimeter and the proceedings were broadcast on loudspeakers throughout the complex.  We happened to be close enough to hear the congregation respond, which was beautiful.
Beyond the shrines is the actual Royal Palace.  The grounds were meticulous and the buildings were impressive.  They were a funny combination of Romanesque porches, windows and columns with the more detailed roofs that are gilded like the Buddhist temple next door.
As we were leaving, we found heaven on wheels!  Close to the exit, there was a cold drinking water truck!  It was so delicious!!
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful.  We had lunch at a little noodle shop near the university, took the water taxi back to the guest house, drank an iced coffee and took a “nap”.  We fell asleep around 2pm and woke up at midnight…which is why I am writing @ 1:30am!

Tuk-tuks lined up and ready to take advantage of any willing foreigner!!

Changing of the guard. This is the 3rd time I have witnessed a changing of the guard. First in Copenhagen, next in London and now in Bangkok.

Guard at the main entry to the temple

Reliquary on the Upper Terrace

Reliquary: Detail

Ceiling of the Chapel Royal of the Emerald Buddha

Wall Detail of the Chapel Royal

Scaled model of Angkor Wat

Wall Detail

Guard in front of Chakri Maha Prasat Hall

For more information about the Grand Palace, click here.

Nik’s Blog: In Bangkok

Today was our first full day in Bangkok.  We intentionally avoided making plans so that we could wander around the city.  We woke up pretty early at 8:30 and took to the streets.  It was nice to see various vendors setting up their stalls for the day.  Everyone was peeling and cutting vegetables, washing meet, putting serving sized portions in plastic bags, etc.  Our first stop was breakfast.  Thais don’t really eat breakfast like we do in the US, but their meal is just like all the other meals of the day.  We stopped at a street cart that served a rice-porridge with egg, lemongrass and mystery meat.  The owner was very nice and showed us that we needed to break the egg first then stir so that the meal would cool down.  It was excellent, but I didn’t eat the meat.  Afterward, we continued to wander.  Then we took the water taxi over to Chinatown to wander there.  It is fascinating that this town can support so many shops….Maybe this is why all of the Americal car dealerships are always grouped on a “motor mile”.

After wandering through the mechanic section, we found Golden Mount.  We weren’t looking for it, so it was a nice surprise.  It is a small temple built on the overgrown rubble of a previous temple.  It didn’t excite me too much, but the view from the top was pretty good.  I am surprised by the number of high rises throughout the city.

Next, we headed to Chinatown.  I got turned around a few times while we were there because everything looks so similar.  We went through a larger market and the most fascinating thing was the boys delivering the produce from the loading dock to the stalls.  They were using these huge bamboo basket/wheelbarrows and moving very quickly.  We were in their way several times.  Also at the market we saw several women making flower wreaths that we think are part of a religious celebration.  Hopefully it is and we ‘ll see parts of it later this week or this weekend.

Then it was nap time…8 hours of nap time!!!

[Monks walking around in orange robes]

[Cats and Dogs everywhere]

For dinner we went to a nicer indoor place near the river.  It was good to be in air conditioning for an hour!  Then we walked around looking for fried bananas and found one of hte more touristy streets.  It was the first time we saw more “farangs” than locals.  Next we went to a park near the river to sit for a little bit before heading home for a game of double solitaire and research of what to do next.

Our Cathay Pacific plane that hosted us for 14 hours from Los Angeles to Hong Kong!!

We really are here.

Canal near the guest house.

Delivery boys at the Chinatown market

Inside one of the market buildings.