My Two Week Vacation Part II: Thailand

Part II: 1/2-1/4 The Arrival in Thailand

Took the red eye to Thailand, got in around 5-6 am.

1/2/10 Crazy Taxi Drive
Taking the red eye to a foreign country will understandably put you on edge. It was roughly 5am as I lugged my baggage to the closest cab so I could be rushed to my hotel for a good night's rest. But before my moments of tranquility, I had to experience the worst car ride of my life. During my stay in Shanghai I had experienced reckless driving. Perhaps it was the fact I was smashed from a night's worth of alcohol or that I was in the company of my friends but those car ride felt a lot safer than the one last night.

I got into a cab with this older gentleman. Initially, I was glad he was my driver because it seemed he was responsible- he wasn't flat on his face, snoring at the wheel like the other prospective drivers at this hour. Little did I know, the sleepy drivers may have been a sounder choice compared to this maniac.

Now to describe the maniac's driving habits. Instead of staying in one lane, he insisted on swaying back and forth between lanes. In fact, he liked to drive on the center divider of the lanes- I felt like I was riding on a monorail as this conductor from hell stayed the course on those damn lane dividers. When he wasn't trying to drive on the line, he constantly changed lanes without signaling- the only time he DID signal was when he was cutting someone off. When he started driving on the dividers he had the nerve to honk at motorcyclists who were actually driving in a lane. I guess they were unfamiliar with his driving rules. In addition, when we were on a freeway with but a single car on the road, instead of passing the slower driver on one of the four available lanes, he insisted on tailgating this car. Every time we were slowing down I held my breath as he was always very stingy with the break pads. Every moment of my drive I hoped my hotel was just around the corner. Don't hold your breath. Alas, yet another 7/11. Dogs roam the streets and street cleaners occupied the road side gutters. The climax of this nightmare ride almost ended in tragedy. There were 3 children and an older man J-walking a large street. While this recklessness was pure stupidity on the part of the pedestrian, my driver from hell stubbornly drove straight at them. He was playing a dangerous game of chicken. He almost hit the children missing them by mere inches. He started yelling at them. Douche. I came to Thailand to avoid stressful situations like these.

1/2/10
During my first day I slept in and checked out my neighborhood. Jenn's flight was delayed a day so I had to find things to do. Went to Lumphini Park, took lots of pictures. It was a chill day but it could have been a lot better with company.

1/4/10 Getting Busy in Thailand

Today(1/3/10) was a good day. A lot was done and my health was fairly good...I actually felt kind of normal. Perhaps my "illness" is exhaustion. Busy as today was, my body held up.

First Jenn & I went to Wat Po to holla at our friend "The Reclining Buddha". As we drove to the fine temple we passed massive photos of the king and his royal family. He is everywhere. When we got there we decided to look at a map of the area. Our befuddled faces were noticed immediately by a kind stranger. This Thai man began to speak to us in very good English. The gentleman told us that Wat Po and The Grand Palace would be extremely busy as the 5 day holiday was fast approaching. He recommended a "golden mountain" and other sites. Unfortunately, with our limited time in Bangkok, we had to kindly refuse his suggestions. On to Wat Po. The architecture was absolutely amazing-tall spire looking structures with fabulous tiles plastered on them forming an array of beautiful patterns, behemoth structures with golden Buddhas and tall guards guarding the entrance. Yeah, that was redundant. Cats roamed the temple. My mother would say these cats were Bodhisattvas overseeing the temple. I wouldn't be surprised. The reclining Buddha was HUGE. Many pictures were taken and we offered a bajillion coins into numerous offering bowls around the structure. Finally, we decided to indulge in some massage action. I got the herbal body massage-epic. Felt really renewed.

Our adventure continued to Khao San Road where we checked out the plethora of outdoor shops. Bought some nice shirts, Jenn got one too. She was obsessed with these shirts with huge sunglasses on them. The atmosphere is unbelievable- hundreds of peddlers bargaining with all sorts of characters from all over the world. The beggars brought my fantasy to a stop, though, as I realized there are people who are really struggling. A legless man on a skateboard rolls towards me, a legless man crawls across the floor, a woman with a child begs for milk...I feel compelled to give them money but I don't. Why? Have I grown so distrustful of homeless people back home that I'm not willing to part with a couple of bahts? The world is cruel. Hopefully there are better days ahead for these unfortunate individuals. On a lighter note, we went to an Irish Bar. Outside we posed with Thailand's version of Ronald McDonald. Of course he was posing with the praying gesture. Jenn and I had a wonderful lunch at this nifty joint as we listened to some bomb oldies. Jenn got something Thai while I got mashed potatoes, cold slaw and some sort of sandwich. Yeah, it's a nice change from Japanese food. We finished it off with a game of pool where I took home a "controversial" victory. Last thought of this segment-our cab driver was singing to some old English song about mashed potatoes. Awesome.

After Khao San Road we went to Ratchadamnoen Stadium to check out some Muay Thai boxing. 1500 bahts. Kind of expensive but worth the experience. We watched about 5 different fights. Red vs Blue. 5 rounds per, 3 minutes long. I was impressed by those willing to go at their opponents with his fists and discouraged by those who hugged it out like little bitches. sigh. The locals were betting/gambling like mad. It was a wild site...betting continued throughout the fight. They even had these 15 year olds fighting. They were beasts. I imagined my own middle school schoolers getting into a ring with them...would not be pleasant. Maybe my boy Kaito who's a black belt in shorenji could kick some ass.

Afterwards, we went to eat dinner. Jenn and I had a nice conversation about old books we've read in our childhood and our failures as readers for the SAT. I thoroughly enjoyed the company. I ate at the same restaurant the night before. When my waiter saw me today he smiled and said "Company?" as he was happy to see that I wasn't dining alone. Then we went to the massage place down the street to have our feet cleaned by fishes. I was so damn TICKLISH! I couldn't stop laughing...everyone were staring but I couldn't help it. While I was suffering from the ticklish nibbles of death, two sweet Indian children asked me about my situation. The older sister joked that her brother would get eaten by the fish because he's so small.

We capped off the evening at the bizarre near our hotel. Haggled with a woman for a belt and Jenn haggled her way to a pair of shades that she did not want. We were constantly hassled about going to a "ping pong show". Look it up. Good day...happy we don't have to wake up at 5am tomorrow for the train to Angkor Wat =)