Circuitous: Sawatdee Kaa

Thailand marked the beginning of a whole new phase of Asia. If Nepal could be thought of as a crash course, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Indonesia might be regarded as alternating rounds of depth and back-to-basics education and experiences. Each of these places has been fascinating in its own right. There were many similarities as well as striking differences between customs, cuisine, modernization, geography, history, and political climate.

We had a few mishaps on the way to Thailand. My toiletry bag was missing from my luggage when we arrived to Bangkok. Additionally we had withdrawn money in Nepal to bring to Thailand because we knew that it was one of the three countries in the world where our ATM cards will not work. However, we soon found out that no one would exchange Nepali Rupees for Thai Baht and it looked as though we were going to be stuck with a large amount of useless currency. After a desperate attempt at calling private money exchange businesses, our embassy, the Nepal embassy, and even a Nepali restaurant we finally found a man at Nepal Airlines who offered to exchange the money for us for a fee. We never felt so lucky.

Bangkok is a very nice city. It is very westernized compared to Nepal. The difference was evident from the get-go. You can buy everything a lady might need (except for a magnifying, lit up compact mirror :). The numerous street markets are the first obvious wonder of the city. At first I was a little apprehensive about eating street vendor food, but thankfully that didn’t last long because the street food in Thailand has been some of the best and cheapest food we’ve had on our trip thus far.

After a few days in Bangkok we went to Sangkhlaburi on the boarder of Myanmar. Sangkhlaburi is a town frequented mostly by Thais, so we saw only one other group of westerners during our stay. The bus dropped us off in the middle of town and there were no taxis in sight. No one spoke English. We were able to communicate that we needed a taxi, but we were kindly informed there were only motorbikes available. I honestly thought I could never have been talked into getting on a motorcycle after my days taking care of motorcycle accident victims in the intensive care unit, however when it came between walking miles with our very heavy bags or taking a very slow ride on a flat road with very little cars on the road, the choice became clear. Witnessing entire families with one or more young children riding on the same motorcycle somehow made me feel more reassured that people would drive with a heightened sense of caution. All in all, it wasn’t so bad (not that I plan to do it again).

In Sangkhlaburi we visited a few temples but the uniqueness of the town is that it rests on a lake in which many of the villagers have houses suspended on bamboo structures that are floating in the water. Many of the people are Mon Burmese refugees. You can immediately recognize the Mon from the local use of Thanika, a yellow paste made from the ground bark of the Thanika tree that is commonly used in Myanmar as a face-paint and sunscreen. Across the lake lies the ruin of the longest wooden bridge that was ever built. Beside it lies a newer floating bamboo bridge. In the lake waters the local children splash about, swimming under the bamboo bridge from one side to the other and jumping off the old wooden bridge into the waters below.

Next we visited Ayutthaya, the “City of Gorgeousness” and the former capitol of Siam. We rented some 1960’s-era bicycles and rode around from one old temple ruin to the next. In the evening we visited the local markets where we tried some of the local culinary specialties.

Sukhothai was our next destination. Sukhothai preceded Ayutthaya as the capitol of Siam, and is also filled with about 500 beautiful old temple ruins. We really appreciated the ruins, particularly in comparison to the newer gold-plated, glittery tiled, gaudy temples that are so prevalent in Thailand.

Thailand is an amazing place. It is easy to navigate, the landscape is beautiful, and the people are incredibly nice. In addition, many places and things have fun names like Hung Dong, Pornpoo, The Yang, and Bang Sue! Haha! We saw some hilarious dinner menu translations too, our favorite being stir-fried crap with lemon.

Unfortunately, like Nepal, Thailand had some significant political unrest while we were in the country. Several people died in protests in Bangkok and the tension seemed(s) to be escalating. The country could be on the brink of a civil war and/or military coup. The situation is complex and we understand much more about it now than we did prior to our travels.

After Sukhothai we headed up north to Chiang Mai. We decided to take a Thai cooking class at an organic farm. We learned to make our own red and green curry pastes, Pad Thai, Tom Yum and many other yummy dishes. We look forward to having a dinner party and cooking Thai food for all our friends and family when we get home. We also spent 5 days in a Thai massage course. Thus far, we had been enjoying Thai massage for roughly $6 an hour almost every other day, and wanted to be able to take this skill with us so we can massage one another once we are back in the land where it costs $1 a minute. It was an excellent course. We learned a routine for a 2 hour total body massage.

While in Chiang Mai we also visited an elephant preservation farm. There are many places to go and visit elephants in Thailand and we wanted to make sure that our money was going to contribute to the well-being of the elephants. The Asian Elephant is an endangered species. The Elephant Nature Farm rescues elephants that have been mistreated and helps to rehabilitate them. It was a great experience to be so close to these majestic animals. It was also heartbreaking to hear about some of the abuse and injuries they have sustained. We spent the day feeding and washing the elephants as well as learning about the organization.

After Chiang Mai we headed to the Surin Islands. Mu Ko Surin is a beautiful island that is a national park of Thailand. The water was a clear turquoise blue, the beaches soft white sand, and the surrounding landscape thick dense jungle. There is one restaurant on the island and no hotels. Our campsite was oceanfront. Each night we went to sleep to the sound of the waves, and every morning we woke up in paradise. During the day, we saw monkeys and Monitor Lizards. At twilight, the hillsides are filled with a cicada-like humming unlike anything we've ever heard. By night we watched "Flying Foxes" fly and crawl through the branches in the trees above the beach (they are the largest fruit bats in the world, some reaching a 6 foot wing span.)

During the days we took long tail boats snorkeling and lay around reading in hammocks. We were able to spot sea turtles, reef sharks and a mirage of rainbow, sunlit iridescent fish and small sea creatures. It was one of the most beautiful things we’ve ever seen. We each only had to endure 100 or more minor jelly fish stings in our time there to be able to enjoy this experience.

While on Mu Ko Surin we had no internet or cell reception. My Grandmother had been very ill and she passed away while we were there. I regret that I could not be there with her as she passed, but I’m so thankful to have had her in my life for such a long time. I’m also extremely grateful that I was able to have one last loving and lucid conversation with her before we left for the island. She was so happy that I was getting to travel and see the world. After my nursing career in the ICU and witnessing so many family members watch their loved-ones pass away; I know that this last conversation is something so precious that not everyone gets the chance to have.