A National Holiday

Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Bangkok, Thailand
October 2010

Hello My Dear Family and Friends,

Well, I finally had some time off first week of October, their national holiday, seven days . I got to go to Thailand! Bangkok. ( I am saving the beach extravaganzas for another time.) It was such an easy trip to make.   I left through the massive international airport in Hong Kong, taking a leisurely spa day out there before going. I spent four days there.

While in Bangkok, I stayed in an oh so affordable, wonderful little inn called the Villa Cha Cha. I feasted on all sorts of Thai food, Israeli, Indonesian (on the Air Asia flight out) and the massive buffet at one of the large hotels in the city.

First day I sort of relaxed along KaoSan road, very touristy, all sorts of hairy, smelly backpacker types everywhere, wannabe hippie types and clumps of other foreign tourists.

Day two, I'd signed up for two tours of the floating markets in these incredibly beautiful small villages set on the water. You navigate along them in narrow, long boats, buying whatever you need from vendors selling from similarly long and narrow boats . The tour guides there (I was warned) want to take you on all sorts of side trips (a coconut sugar making farm—shopping for cheap trinkets, a cobra show and elephant rides). We had no choice on the coconut sugar, but everyone on the tour said no to the elephants and then the guide got mad when we wanted to opt to go to the Cobra show and would not take us. The market in the evening was an amazing feast of sight, sounds and tastes. When it was dark, we floated at night along the river and saw all the firefly (lightening bugs?) covering the trees along the water. Beautiful. I made some travel friends with a young-ish group of guys from Seoul Korea, an Australian couple from Melbourne and a family from Israel! After we got back, the Korean guys and I went out to a restaurant on the street for some great Thai food, like I needed to eat anymore.

Day three, a friend suggested I take a cooking class. What a highlight and excellent idea. For four hours, our teacher took us to the market to buy the food, taught us how to make our own coconut milk for the dishes, and how to mash and grind the lime leaves, spices and chiles for the curry sauce . We would make one dish, go back inside and eat it, then back to make the next dish. I think we learned how to make a total of eight dishes. I didn’t eat for the rest of the day. My table mates-cooking partners were a young couple (the woman was originally from Namibia and her boyfriend was a nice chap from near London) and a young restaurant worker from Japan. The taxi dropped me off near my hotel but I got lost in the rain (I was there during the tail end of their rainy season.) because while I was in cooking class, hundreds of street vendors had put up their booths along the streets and I couldn’t find where I was! I wandered, soaked, for about 40 minutes and then I ran into the Korean guys! They helped me find my way back to my hotel (I guess I am getting to be a doddering old man!!!).

Day four, I used my Lonely Planet guide to do a walking tour of the river banks, National Palace and saw all the Buddha temples. The National Palace was a mind boggling experience of temples and statues . I had to buy pants to cover my shorts so I could go into the temples. I didn’t have much choice on the pants—see if you notice them in one of the pictures. Later, I ended up taking a 'tuk-tuk’, like a tricycle-motorcycle, and jetted around to the different temples (a person on the street said I would be blessed with good luck if I saw the Buddha in all three of his poses sitting, standing and reclining—so what the H, I would give it a try—maybe you will get some good luck looking at the pics), and was later taken by Mr. tuk-tuk on a side jaunt to this massive high-class toursity place selling jewelry and stuff (the tuk-tuk drivers get gas coupons for taking unwary-exhausted tourists like me there to buy things—I bought a silver ring with my birthstone).

That evening, (I had earlier searched Siam Shopping Square for the classic Hard Rock pin for my dear sister-in-law) I went to a boylesque cabaret show in a fancy hotel downtown—don’t ask, it was pretty awful if you want to know my opinion, but it sure drew in gawking tourists . I had the sumptuous buffet, watched some odd teacher tour groups chowing down sushi and the like (it seemed like they hadn’t been out in years!) and I discretely kept my distance. Suddenly, and I am not kidding you, I heard an Elvis Presley song. Mind you my dear, I am in Bangkok, Thailand, in the year 2010, and I hear "Love me Tender" or some such crooning. I sort of chuckled to myself, tickled that they would be playing that over the hotel’s musak sound track. As I was leaving the buffet, there, on a small stage was a rather portly Elvis impersonator singing (already song four I think) in his tight fitting costume. I had to rush off so no one would see me laughing. How surreal was that? And, later as I was leaving the early cabaret, I ran into the Japanese guy from the day before! Now tell this ain’t a small world, eh? Truth be told, I think everyone was following the suggestions in the Lonely Planet Guide. LOL.

Day five, I was to head back (and I was erroneously told I should leave at 2 pm for my 4:40 flight back to HK), but I digress, I’d gotten up early and went to the National Museum of Thailand . Nerd that I am, I guess, not too many people or tourists appreciate a national museum like I do, so I pretty much had the place to myself to wander around. Excellent exhibit on modern Thai culture and crafts, all the ancient collection of funeral barges, ivory, games and puppets, and an amazing history of the various kings and queens of the country. Rama V was easily my favorite, indeed; I believe he was the one on whom they modeled the musical The King and I (based on the book, Anna and the King?) Almost missed my plane. The shuttle bus got stuck in the awful Bangkok traffic and decided to stop on the freeway to talk to some other shuttle bus driver for a while. (I am not being flippant. I’ve already endured being stuck in various busses in traffic on freeways and busy city side streets—all the passengers were chased off the bus by the driver and we had to navigate our way through five lanes of stalled traffic to find an opening in the street divider to cross the other five lanes to get back onto the Clifford Estates property.) Once at the airport, I begged, pleaded and apologized for being late and they let me jump the hour long lines and a van was waiting for me at the end of the terminal to drive me even further out to the plane. Being the last one on, they were almost literally pulling the stairs out from under me as I dashed up onto the plane! Who needs a gym membership out here?

Forgive me for not blogging sooner . I am on major sensory overload constantly…see above…typical days here… no classroom for six weeks-schlepping up four flights of stairs, no electricity in the school and no air conditioning on other days when there was power AND having to move my own desks and chairs across cracked, tiled halls into my room—but really, I am not complaining. My students are so great. I love their respect, naïveté and enthusiasm for learning—they are why I am doing what I am doing. Talk about learning to be grateful for little things, something I am reminded of all the time here.

Well, of late, I haven’t heard from too many people. No complaints. I know my emails are being caught going out and emails coming in from some of my friends and family are not making it (I guess???). Please know that I do respond to every email I get from you as individuals. So, if you don’t hear back from me, something has happened to my reply. I also feel bad that I am not sure you are getting the ones that I send to you. Oh well, life in this country, eh?

Peace, blessings if you need some. Until next time, abrazos y amistad, Albert

Comments

Jorge
2010-10-17

Albert, thanks for the blog and the photos. Sounds like you had a fun vacation. I feel blessed by proxy after seeing the 3 Budas. Hope you continue to enjoy your year of adventure.

Regards, Jorge

Lori
2010-10-18

Hi Albert! I really enjoyed reading your update! I've been busy with school though we had a great week off. Got to go back tomorrow. Why can't vacations be longer?
Lori

Brent
2010-10-18

Albert,
Glad to hear about your trip to Thailand. Sounds like you had a really wonderful time. Keep the updates coming. Don't forget about all of us back in the US!

Brent

Paula Jean
2010-10-18

Wow! Sounds like so much fun!! Thank you so much for the update. I love it!

Anthony
2010-10-18

Ok good luck here I come as I viewed all three Buddhas. Do you have your next trip planned out yet?

Myra Pompeo
2010-10-19

Love the pants!!! Most of all Love hearing about all your adventures! Missed hearing from you dear cousin. Are you happy? Homesick? Making friends?
Kisses and hugs, Myra

elsie scott
2010-10-19

hi albert, i am pea green with envy, you have seen the reclining buddha up close and persoal..... one of my bucket lists... see everything twice! once for me too.... miss our dinners... elsie

2025-02-12

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