So I finally did it, I took an exercise class...in Thai. It was quite the experience, so funny that I had to write about it. In Bangkok, I'm a member of the gym "Fitness World," which is conveniently right across the street from my house and also right next to the BTS. The walls are all glass, so anyone walking out of the BTS can see you running and sweating, quite the set-up.
Every time I go to the gym, before getting to the treadmills, I always pass the little spinning studio, the small black room that is always suspiciously empty. Yesterday, I decided to venture into the little black room and spin my heart out. As it turns out, the spin room doesn't stay black and dark all day. No, it doesn't have windows, it has a multi-color disco ball. The disco ball spins round and round, flashing different colors, creating the ultimate party...I mean, spinning atmosphere.
I walked in 5 minutes before the class started, but somehow I was late. The instructor in the front, wearing a towel on his head, was barking out instructions that I did not understand; I can only imagine they were to encourage the other spinners to go faster?I felt like I was in boot camp but didn't really feel the pressure of it all since I couldn't understand a thing.
My ability to follow the class relied on my peripheral vision, doing the glance to the left and right to see what other people were doing. Do I turn the resistance knob up, down? I navigated my way through the class as best as I could, but it was a bit difficult because it was all too amusing--the Thai electro-pop, the lighting, the towel-headed instructor all made it a bit difficult to focus.
After 35 minutes of spinning, I left the class to find Kate so we could grab some dinner. Much to my surprise, I found Kate on the couch outside of the "dance" studio, totally mesmerized, transfixed by the Thai dance students. Curious, I joined her on the couch to see what it was all about--it was a "hip-hop" class, with not one farang in the mix. I'm not really sure what kind of hip-hop this instructor was familiar with, but it certainly didn't look like anything I'd seen before--there were birdlike arm gesticulations, slides out of a 1970s movie, and weird stretching.
Amused and entertained, Kate and I went to dinner, contemplating what our next Thai exercise class experience might be....
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Bangkok Brief: Neighborhoods, Nightlife and an Overdue City-Orientation
I've realized that I've left out a lot about Bangkok in this blog, which seems to just cover my travels. To remedy that, I thought I'd give you a brief overview of Bangkok's neighborhoods and places I frequent, and a general overview of the city layout.
In Bangkok, there are main street which are arteries of the city--some of these are "Sukhumvit" (the biggest street in Bangkok, where the skytrain runs along), "Phahonyothin" (where I live), "Phetchaburi" (where Bumrungrad, the main hospital is), etc. Off of these streets are smaller streets, usually labeled with numbers: Sukhumvit Soi 1, 2, 3, etc. The even sois are on one side of the street and the odds are on another. Off of the main roads, i.e., Sukhumvit Soi 4, are smaller, but still big roads with names--every few sois is a big street. For example, Sukhumvit Soi 63 is called Soi Ekkamai, and Sukhumvit Soi 55 is also called Soi Thong Lor, but the sois in between aren't main roads. However, the nearby sois are considered part of the Thong Lor neighborhood. So, Sukhumvit 55, 53, 51, 57 are all considered part of the "Thong Lor" neighborhood. Off of these roids (soi Thong Lo, etc) are smaller sub-sois: Thong Lor Soi 1, 2, 3, 4 etc. This is the city planning of Bangkok, definitely not a grid, but a more "organic" way to plan a city, or so one of my friends here says.
Of the neighborhoods I know and am familiar with, most are along the Skytrain, so I'm going to give my overview as if you were looking at a skytrain map:
The main Skytrain line is the Sukhumvit line, which connects the famous Chatuchak market in the northern part of Bangkok to the Eastern neighborhoods like Thong Lor and Ekkamai.
So, starting from the eastern most: Thong Lor and Ekkamai are cool, more upmarket areas that are mixed with Thais (wealthy) and expats--there are a lot of bars in this area and the majority of the "cool" and trendy Thai clubs are in this area. Soi 38 is in Thong Lor, which is famous for having delicous street food into the wee hours of the night/morning, it's fantastic. Almost like a 24-hour diner in NY, but not exactly.
Farther west is Nana is one of the "red light" areas (crazy that it's not THE red light district?!) but it's also where many Indian restaurants, the big clubs (soi 11), and Little Arabia (Soi 3, where my favorite middle Eastern restaurant with Dave the waiter, is) all are. A tad more west is Phloen Chit is where I work, 1 stop away from Nana; I work right across the street from the US embassy and about a 10 minute walk from the Nigh Baazar (2nd best but still damn-good market in Bangkok) and Lumpini park, one of Bangkok's main parks where runners and aerobic enthusiasts (yes, they have park aerobics classes, it's hilarious) gather like clock-work at 5 AM and PM.
2 stops west of Phloen Chit is Siam, the center of Bangkok. As a center of Bangkok, it is obviously where all of Bangkok's enormous malls are (Thais LOVE to shop, it's like a sport here): Central World (the biggest), Siam Paragon (the most luxuious), Siam Discovery, Siam Tower, MBK (electronics galore), and Central Chidlom (department store where FoodLoft is, one of my favorite eating destinations; technically not a mall, and also technically a 5-minute walk away form Siam). Siam is a major stop in the Skytrain as and is where you can change trains to go south towards the Chao Praya river at Saphan Taksin, where all the nice hotels are, the Oriental, Shangri-La, etc, and where you can catch a boat up the river to Bangkok's main tourist sits like the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun and the famous backpacker paradise, Khao San Road. You can also take this Skytrain line, the "Silom Line," to Patpong, Bangkok's other famous red-light district where you can find ladyboy shows, alternative "entertainment," a night market, my favorite Mexican restaurant, and yes, more shopping (the Silom Shopping Complex and some other shopping complex).
If you were to stay on the Sukhumvit line and continue north from Siam, you would reach Victory Monument (I still don't know what the victory was). Victory Monument is a teenybopper's paradise and it's where many of the school kids gather after school. It also has, yet again, great shopping, food, and bars (my favorite jazz bar, Saxophone, and another rooftop hipster/jazz bar/restaurant). Also, one of the better night clubs, Club Culture, isn't too far from Victory Monument.
Farther north from Victory Monument is Ari, my neighborhood. Ari is a quiet, Thai-farang area (again, wealthy Thais). It's filled with cute restaurants, and a few low-key, cute bars that I enjoy frequenting. Then, just a bit farther north from Ari is JJ (Chatuchak Market), the largest open-air market in the world where you can find anything from clothing to home decor to art (I've bought many paintings and photographs) to leather goods to pets (dogs, cats, bunnies to rare pets like squirrels and other rodents, usually dressed in weird outfits which are meant to be cute).
I have ventured off of the Sukhumvit skytrain line, though many of the restaurants, bars and clubs I go to regularly are in these areas. Some other areas to mention though are RCA, a closed-off street, lined with big nightclubs which are Thai-farang mixed; Phra Athit in Banglampu, the bohemian area of Bangkok, not far from Khao San Road, filled with amazingly delicious and inexpensive restaurants, including my favorite Thai restaurant, Hemlock; and Sarasin/Ratchadamri, near Lumpini Park, where there are some cute bars and great restaurants, though to be fair, this area is BTS-accessible.
Hope this helps all of you who were starting to wonder more about where I live (and the heart of the current Thai political turmoil)!
In Bangkok, there are main street which are arteries of the city--some of these are "Sukhumvit" (the biggest street in Bangkok, where the skytrain runs along), "Phahonyothin" (where I live), "Phetchaburi" (where Bumrungrad, the main hospital is), etc. Off of these streets are smaller streets, usually labeled with numbers: Sukhumvit Soi 1, 2, 3, etc. The even sois are on one side of the street and the odds are on another. Off of the main roads, i.e., Sukhumvit Soi 4, are smaller, but still big roads with names--every few sois is a big street. For example, Sukhumvit Soi 63 is called Soi Ekkamai, and Sukhumvit Soi 55 is also called Soi Thong Lor, but the sois in between aren't main roads. However, the nearby sois are considered part of the Thong Lor neighborhood. So, Sukhumvit 55, 53, 51, 57 are all considered part of the "Thong Lor" neighborhood. Off of these roids (soi Thong Lo, etc) are smaller sub-sois: Thong Lor Soi 1, 2, 3, 4 etc. This is the city planning of Bangkok, definitely not a grid, but a more "organic" way to plan a city, or so one of my friends here says.
Of the neighborhoods I know and am familiar with, most are along the Skytrain, so I'm going to give my overview as if you were looking at a skytrain map:
The main Skytrain line is the Sukhumvit line, which connects the famous Chatuchak market in the northern part of Bangkok to the Eastern neighborhoods like Thong Lor and Ekkamai.
So, starting from the eastern most: Thong Lor and Ekkamai are cool, more upmarket areas that are mixed with Thais (wealthy) and expats--there are a lot of bars in this area and the majority of the "cool" and trendy Thai clubs are in this area. Soi 38 is in Thong Lor, which is famous for having delicous street food into the wee hours of the night/morning, it's fantastic. Almost like a 24-hour diner in NY, but not exactly.
Farther west is Nana is one of the "red light" areas (crazy that it's not THE red light district?!) but it's also where many Indian restaurants, the big clubs (soi 11), and Little Arabia (Soi 3, where my favorite middle Eastern restaurant with Dave the waiter, is) all are. A tad more west is Phloen Chit is where I work, 1 stop away from Nana; I work right across the street from the US embassy and about a 10 minute walk from the Nigh Baazar (2nd best but still damn-good market in Bangkok) and Lumpini park, one of Bangkok's main parks where runners and aerobic enthusiasts (yes, they have park aerobics classes, it's hilarious) gather like clock-work at 5 AM and PM.
2 stops west of Phloen Chit is Siam, the center of Bangkok. As a center of Bangkok, it is obviously where all of Bangkok's enormous malls are (Thais LOVE to shop, it's like a sport here): Central World (the biggest), Siam Paragon (the most luxuious), Siam Discovery, Siam Tower, MBK (electronics galore), and Central Chidlom (department store where FoodLoft is, one of my favorite eating destinations; technically not a mall, and also technically a 5-minute walk away form Siam). Siam is a major stop in the Skytrain as and is where you can change trains to go south towards the Chao Praya river at Saphan Taksin, where all the nice hotels are, the Oriental, Shangri-La, etc, and where you can catch a boat up the river to Bangkok's main tourist sits like the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun and the famous backpacker paradise, Khao San Road. You can also take this Skytrain line, the "Silom Line," to Patpong, Bangkok's other famous red-light district where you can find ladyboy shows, alternative "entertainment," a night market, my favorite Mexican restaurant, and yes, more shopping (the Silom Shopping Complex and some other shopping complex).
If you were to stay on the Sukhumvit line and continue north from Siam, you would reach Victory Monument (I still don't know what the victory was). Victory Monument is a teenybopper's paradise and it's where many of the school kids gather after school. It also has, yet again, great shopping, food, and bars (my favorite jazz bar, Saxophone, and another rooftop hipster/jazz bar/restaurant). Also, one of the better night clubs, Club Culture, isn't too far from Victory Monument.
Farther north from Victory Monument is Ari, my neighborhood. Ari is a quiet, Thai-farang area (again, wealthy Thais). It's filled with cute restaurants, and a few low-key, cute bars that I enjoy frequenting. Then, just a bit farther north from Ari is JJ (Chatuchak Market), the largest open-air market in the world where you can find anything from clothing to home decor to art (I've bought many paintings and photographs) to leather goods to pets (dogs, cats, bunnies to rare pets like squirrels and other rodents, usually dressed in weird outfits which are meant to be cute).
I have ventured off of the Sukhumvit skytrain line, though many of the restaurants, bars and clubs I go to regularly are in these areas. Some other areas to mention though are RCA, a closed-off street, lined with big nightclubs which are Thai-farang mixed; Phra Athit in Banglampu, the bohemian area of Bangkok, not far from Khao San Road, filled with amazingly delicious and inexpensive restaurants, including my favorite Thai restaurant, Hemlock; and Sarasin/Ratchadamri, near Lumpini Park, where there are some cute bars and great restaurants, though to be fair, this area is BTS-accessible.
Hope this helps all of you who were starting to wonder more about where I live (and the heart of the current Thai political turmoil)!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Chiang Mai, oh my! A Hippie Haven in the Thai Mountains
I've just returned from a lovely weekend sojourn to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. In fact, this was the first trip I went on where, when I left, I didn't feel "ready" to leave. Some of my preconceptions of Chiang Mai were indeed correct, while, yet again, I was very surprised by other parts of Chiang Mai. I was expecting a cute city surrounded by some nice scenery--sweeping green mountains and rice paddy valleys, but a city without much character due to its status as a tourist hotbed. Tourist hotbed, it was--treks were plentiful on every street, offering a smattering of options from elephant riding, ox cart rides, and bamboo rafting, to hill tribe village immersions (more like cultural tourism or "ogling"), to visits to butterfly farms or tiger kingdoms--but despite the large tourism presence in Chiang Mai, it was amazing to me how laid-back it is. Chiang Mai is completely different from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok--it's a small, livable and easily navigable city (albeit sans public transport), in fact, by the end of my weekend there, I even began to recognize where I was and where things were situated in relation to places I'd been and wanted to go to.
In terms of it's personality, Chiang Mai, Thailand's second largest city, is more like Berkeley, California-- as my friend told me, it's filled with hippie expats who are into organic, vegetarian food and yoga (though of a more spiritual nature, not necessarily yoga as exercise) --this was readily apparent in my first few hours in Chiang Mai as I'd seen more vegetarian restaurants in those hours than in all of Bangkok.
And, not only are the expats different (or the expat stereotype: hippy or English teacher versus sexpat or business person), but the Thai people who live there seem very different as well, and the Thai community seems much more accessible to expats than it does in Bangkok. When we went out at night, we met my friends' Thai friends and students; I'd never been around this many young Thais before! Clearly, Thais and farangs seemed to mix more than they do in Bangkok where bars and other venues are usually "Thai" or "farang," though many of the farang bars do have Thai girls (not men and women). At one of the bars we went to, we saw two local Thai bands--one alternative rock cover band, one Thai hip-hop band--which was pretty cool. Maybe it was the place we were, but overall, the young Thais in Chiang Mai seemed more alternative and dressed like hipsters. Granted, I have seen Thai hipsters in Bangkok, but not this many and it they certainly weren't this pervasive (hipster was the dominant look amongst young Thais I saw). The Thais also seemed more interested and eager to be friends with farangs like us--they were friendlier and a few even came up to talk to us. Despite this Thai-farang mix, there still are "farang" bars in Chiang Mai; we went to one, but there was still a small handful of Thai locals, mainly male, who were just chilling out, talking to the farangs. Also, my friends there spoke much more Thai than I expected (my Thai is limited to key words and phrases) and the Thais seemed exciting and willing to respond to them in Thai; in Bangkok, most people want to respond or speak in English.
The Thai hip-hop band we saw
Now, on to the things I did in Chiang Mai. One day, I rented a car with my friends and we drove to this national park, Doi Suthep Park, right outside of Chiang Mai. We drove up the hill, stopping at view points along the way for views of the city, until we reached Wat Doi Suthep, the famous Chiang Mai wat with gorgeous views of the city and the park. We climbed the 306 steep, serpent-lined (artistic serpents, not real ones!) steps up to the temple from the car park. Unfortunately, it was raining by the time we got to the top, so we didn't get the best views and didn't get to spend too much time in the temple.
Me driving our car on the other side of the road
View of Chiang Mai after a downpour
The 306-step naga staircase
The nagas (Buddhist serpents)
After the temple, we continued driving up the mountain and drove off of the main road (it was quite a drive, tiny road filled with potholes along the edge of the mountain!) to the Hmong hill tribe village (the Hmongs are not the famous long-necked hill tribe for those who may be curious, those are the Karen). The village was surprisingly pleasant--none of us wanted to just stare at the hill tribe people amidst a sea of tourists, which is what we were expecting. However, this village didn't have many tourists at all, we were one of maybe 3 small groups. We passed through the village market, which sold mainly embroidered clothes and crafts, and went to the maintained stepped garden, where there was also a nice waterfall. It was very peaceful and serene and we didn't have any people haggling us to buy things. We were approached by an adorable little girl dressed in the traditional Hmong costume who offered to have her picture taken with us for the bargain price of 10 baht (about 30 cents). We, of course, consented, she was just too cute. After our token hill tribe photo, we headed out of the garden, through the village and back to our car to start heading down the mountain, hoping to catch a hiking trail before leaving. We did get to one trail which was short, but nice. There was a waterfall, a river and a bouldered area. After the hike, we headed back to the city for, what else, amazing organic vegetarian food! Delicious. Oh, and did I mention that I had vegetarian street food too?? For dinner. Twice. At this cute little night food market in the old city. The street food in Chiang Mai was delicious.
The terraced garden in the Hmong village
One of the statues by the waterfall in the village
Our 10 B photo with the Hmong girl
An interesting tree that we came upon during our hike
The night food market by Chiang Mai gate in the Old City of Chiang Mai
Day 2 in Chiang Mai was also lovely and relaxing--it consisted of a 2-hour yoga class, which, as aforementioned, was spiritually, rather than cardiovascularly bent. After yoga, we had an amazing, again, vegetarian lunch, though this time it was all Indian food. Not as good as the Indian in Bangkok, but half the price and so therefore wonderful. My day of luxury and relaxation continued with a massage and then shopping at a weekend "walking" market, a market along a street closed off from cars. I think I'm spoiled by Chatuchak market (the largest outdoor market in the world where you can get anything!) right outside my doorstep, so by comparison, this market was okay. I bought some pretty awesome, hipster-y sneakers and a scarf.
The Sunday walking market
Outside a temple at night time
People making offerings
A large Buddha in one of the temples
Another temple
Overall, Chiang Mai was fantastic, and I definitely plan to go back, if only for a culinary tour. Or perhaps I should just start blogging about food...
Stay tuned for more updates and stories
In terms of it's personality, Chiang Mai, Thailand's second largest city, is more like Berkeley, California-- as my friend told me, it's filled with hippie expats who are into organic, vegetarian food and yoga (though of a more spiritual nature, not necessarily yoga as exercise) --this was readily apparent in my first few hours in Chiang Mai as I'd seen more vegetarian restaurants in those hours than in all of Bangkok.
And, not only are the expats different (or the expat stereotype: hippy or English teacher versus sexpat or business person), but the Thai people who live there seem very different as well, and the Thai community seems much more accessible to expats than it does in Bangkok. When we went out at night, we met my friends' Thai friends and students; I'd never been around this many young Thais before! Clearly, Thais and farangs seemed to mix more than they do in Bangkok where bars and other venues are usually "Thai" or "farang," though many of the farang bars do have Thai girls (not men and women). At one of the bars we went to, we saw two local Thai bands--one alternative rock cover band, one Thai hip-hop band--which was pretty cool. Maybe it was the place we were, but overall, the young Thais in Chiang Mai seemed more alternative and dressed like hipsters. Granted, I have seen Thai hipsters in Bangkok, but not this many and it they certainly weren't this pervasive (hipster was the dominant look amongst young Thais I saw). The Thais also seemed more interested and eager to be friends with farangs like us--they were friendlier and a few even came up to talk to us. Despite this Thai-farang mix, there still are "farang" bars in Chiang Mai; we went to one, but there was still a small handful of Thai locals, mainly male, who were just chilling out, talking to the farangs. Also, my friends there spoke much more Thai than I expected (my Thai is limited to key words and phrases) and the Thais seemed exciting and willing to respond to them in Thai; in Bangkok, most people want to respond or speak in English.
The Thai hip-hop band we saw
Me driving our car on the other side of the road
View of Chiang Mai after a downpour
The 306-step naga staircase
The nagas (Buddhist serpents)
The terraced garden in the Hmong village
One of the statues by the waterfall in the village
Our 10 B photo with the Hmong girl
An interesting tree that we came upon during our hike
The night food market by Chiang Mai gate in the Old City of Chiang Mai
The Sunday walking market
The nice thing, however, about the Sunday market, was that it was in the heart of the Old City in Chiang Mai and therefore surrounded by temples. Chiang Mai is a fraction of the size of Bangkok, but has just as many temples as all of Bangkok. Just from my few hours in this area, I definitely got a taste of the Chiang Mai temples of fame.
Outside a temple at night time
People making offerings
A large Buddha in one of the temples
Another templeOverall, Chiang Mai was fantastic, and I definitely plan to go back, if only for a culinary tour. Or perhaps I should just start blogging about food...
Stay tuned for more updates and stories
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Vietnam: The Bomb.com
My recent trip to Vietnam wasn't necessarily motivated by cultural interest, but to see my friend Thu. Don't get me wrong, I was and still am incredibly interested in Vietnam, but my interests were mostly centered around Northern Vietnam--to visit Hanoi, Sapa, Halong Bay, and Hue in Central Vietnam, as opposed to visiting Saigon, which prior to my visit, I'd heard was very similar to Bangkok. However, my trip to Vietnam surprised me, in more ways than one.
First of all, Saigon is nothing like Bangkok--I'm not sure who told me that, but I definitely would have to disagree based on my two days there. Saigon isn't nearly as developed as BKK: the buildings don't even come close to being as tall, the streets are wide, tree-lined boulevards, there are barely any cars, mostly motorbikes--that was definitely overwhelming, it's impossible to cross the street! You just have to step out into the street and allow the motorbikes to go around you and trust that they won't hit you; this I definitely could not get used to. It's also funny because everyone wears a helmet, unlike in Bangkok, because it's against the law not to, so they've tried to make helmets attractive or "fashionable;" there were all these stores selling helmets that were disguised as different types of hats, it was hilarious.
Motorbikes flooding the streets in Saigon
But back to how Saigon was different from Bangkok, in general, Saigon isn't nearly as busy and bustling--it is by Vietnamese standards, but not compared to Thailand. Next, I was surprised by how developed Vietnam was; I knew it was developing very quickly but had still been told how poor it was. I guess poverty has become relative now--from what people told me, I was expecting it to be so poor, as poor as Laos or Cambodia, but this was not the case at all. Ironically, despite its rapid state of development, there is not one 7-Eleven in Saigon, maybe even in all of Vietnam, whereas Thailand is littered with them. There's a saying that if you can't see at least two 7-Eleven's in your view, well, then you're not in Bangkok, or Thailand for that matter. They're so pervasive in Thailand that I just assumed there'd be one in Saigon. When I got off the plane, I needed to top-up my cell phone and I asked one of the women I'd met on the plane where the nearest 7-Eleven was so that I could to purchase more minutes. She chuckled, shook her head and said, "Ha, you're not in Thailand anymore!," meaning that I had to figure out another way to get minutes on my phone.
A small alley in Saigon
Sickle and Hammer
I was also surprised by how much I liked Vietnam--I'm dying to go back and I just got home! I was also surprised by how much I truly fell in love with the food--oh, the food! It was so fresh, light and flavorful, I could honestly eat it all the time. When I got back to Bangkok, I was so repulsed by all of the fried foods and just wanted to run to FoodLoft, a restaurant in one of the department stores, where I know they would have Vietnamese food. Thankfully, I had pho (pronounced "fa;" it's a Vietnamese noodle soup) for dinner last night and I feel a little better, still craving it though. I felt so lucky to have Thu show me all of her favorite things; sometimes I felt like a culinary tourist because sometimes the main sites were the food! In Saigon, we didn't really see too many of the tourist sites, but mostly walked all around the city.
Fresh fruit sold everywhere
So, to start on the foods I had there: I had pho--the noodle soup that I mentioned--at a famous jai (vegetarian) pho shop, and the pho there had the most interesting varieties of tofu I've had, it was amazing! Also, Vietnamese people throw fresh basil, corriander (I left this one out, I hate the stuff!), lettuce, bean sprouts and chilli peppers into everything, it's fantastic, so this was definitely included in the pho. I had santoh, fruit smoothies, which were made from the most unique and delicious fruits I've ever had--Thu and I were on a mission to find another one in a particular flavor, but alas, we couldn't find it; sugar cane juice, which is really refreshing; ban mi, a special Vietnamese sandwhich in a baguette (yes, they too have bread and pastries! gotta love the French) filled with specially-made eggs (I don't know what they do, but I certainly have never had eggs like this, they were great); another noodle soup with a different kind of noodles; rice porridge which is really a misnomer because that name makes it sound bland and unappetizing, but in fact, it's delicious; and a cold-noodle breakfast specialty that is mixed with scallions and dry onions and is flavored, it's a pleasure to the palatte, but I'm blanking on the name! Then, I also has laou, a hotpot. This, by far, was my favorite gastronomical treat. There is a big hotpot which is set over a burner on the table, and is filled with a spiced broth which contains greens, tomatoes, onions, scallions, and other ingredients. Everyone at the table then throws in seafood, fish, vegetables (also pineapple!) and meat to cook in the hotpot (because I'm a vegetarian, we had a separate veggie-only pot). All the ingredients cool in the pot and you then serve yourself a portion of the mixture, which you pour over thin raw noodles in your bowl. The noodles then get cooked and you eat everything together. I couldn't get enough of the stuff, it was so incredible and I wish I could re-create it. I've never tasted anything that good and satisfying that was also so healthy at the same time. At that moment, I was ready to declare Vietnamese food as one of my new favorite cuisines.
Other than the food, it was wonderful to see and hang out with Thu and also to meet her family, who are a very interesting bunch--some are French, others are Vietnamese and she's American (with Vietnamese parents). I also enjoyed how relaxing it was. We went with her family to Mui Ne, which is a small beach town 4 hours northeast of Saigon. We were driven up by her cousin's private driver, which was certainly much nicer than transportation by bus. Driving though, in Vietnam is crazy, it's a bit of a free-for-all and no one really pays attention to the lane demarcations, I guess they're there for show? Also, on the narrower roads, people didn't really pay attention to directions either, but somehow, I never felt endangered in the car.
In Mui Ne, we stayed at a very nice beach front resort which was certainly nicer than anywhere I would stay while on vacation with friends in BKK (it was pretty pricey). The resort has beach access and a private pool. At the resort, Thu and I didn't do too much--we lounged, swam quite a bit and relaxed. The beach itself was okay; the countryside on either side of the beach though, did make me feel like I was in the south of France, not Vietnam (forgetting that I was in Vietnam actually happend a couple of other times as well). Our first night in Mui Ne, we took the hotel bikes and rode towards the main part of the "town" (it was basically a row that was lined with resorts) to get a late dinner before going to bed. We found a very local beach-side barbecue of sorts--it was basically all the Vietnamese people who work in the hotels and go to eat after they're done with work, it was pretty cool to be in such a local setting.
Our resort and the pool
The beach at our resort
By the beach at the resort
Down the beach from our resort
On Sunday morning, we took the bikes out again and biked about 5 miles uphill to the red sanddunes. We got up really early, while it was still dark, so that we could see the sun rise over the sanddunes. It was beautiful and we got there just in time for surise (it took us a little longer to bike up there than we thought it would).
Approaching the sunrise on the way to the sand dunes
Thu in the red sand dunes
Tourists at the sand dunes, all wearing matching red hats
Sunrise
A portion of the fishing village we biked by on the way back
I know I didn't really "do" too much, but I really enjoyed myself and still felt that I got to see and experience a lot, even though none of it was touristy. Through Thu, I felt that I learned a lot about Vietnamese culture, far beyond the cuisine: I learned about Vietnamese family norms and values; the Vietnamese language (it's the most tonal language in the world, but they do use the Roman alphabet!); habits of the Vietnamese youth and trends in the youth culture (apparently they're obsessed with Japan and romance!); religious ceremonies, including the upcoming autumn festival where all these little mooncake shops pop up to sell mooncakes for the festival; traditional Vietnamese clothing to be worn at special times (Thu had 2 tailored while I was with her); social and gender norms (women don't drink, smoke; most men and women marry at around 25, etc); the educational system (Thu was teaching for the summer, first in a university at Danang and then at a university in Can Tho); conceptions and standards of beauty; ideas about foreigners, and many other things.
One of the only touristy things I did: rid in the Vietnamese version of a rickshaw. This used to be the main mode of transportation for Vietnamese people but now motorbikes are; Thu's cousin insisted that I ride in one
I would thoroughly recommend trip to Vietnam; it is a fascinating place with a rich cultural heritage, an amazin cuisine, and wonderful people. Of course, my perception was probably skewed a bit because I was with my friend who is Vietnamese and spoke the language, but I think it's still accessible for anyone, without someone Vietnamese.
First of all, Saigon is nothing like Bangkok--I'm not sure who told me that, but I definitely would have to disagree based on my two days there. Saigon isn't nearly as developed as BKK: the buildings don't even come close to being as tall, the streets are wide, tree-lined boulevards, there are barely any cars, mostly motorbikes--that was definitely overwhelming, it's impossible to cross the street! You just have to step out into the street and allow the motorbikes to go around you and trust that they won't hit you; this I definitely could not get used to. It's also funny because everyone wears a helmet, unlike in Bangkok, because it's against the law not to, so they've tried to make helmets attractive or "fashionable;" there were all these stores selling helmets that were disguised as different types of hats, it was hilarious.
Motorbikes flooding the streets in Saigon
A small alley in Saigon
Sickle and HammerI was also surprised by how much I liked Vietnam--I'm dying to go back and I just got home! I was also surprised by how much I truly fell in love with the food--oh, the food! It was so fresh, light and flavorful, I could honestly eat it all the time. When I got back to Bangkok, I was so repulsed by all of the fried foods and just wanted to run to FoodLoft, a restaurant in one of the department stores, where I know they would have Vietnamese food. Thankfully, I had pho (pronounced "fa;" it's a Vietnamese noodle soup) for dinner last night and I feel a little better, still craving it though. I felt so lucky to have Thu show me all of her favorite things; sometimes I felt like a culinary tourist because sometimes the main sites were the food! In Saigon, we didn't really see too many of the tourist sites, but mostly walked all around the city.
Fresh fruit sold everywhere
Other than the food, it was wonderful to see and hang out with Thu and also to meet her family, who are a very interesting bunch--some are French, others are Vietnamese and she's American (with Vietnamese parents). I also enjoyed how relaxing it was. We went with her family to Mui Ne, which is a small beach town 4 hours northeast of Saigon. We were driven up by her cousin's private driver, which was certainly much nicer than transportation by bus. Driving though, in Vietnam is crazy, it's a bit of a free-for-all and no one really pays attention to the lane demarcations, I guess they're there for show? Also, on the narrower roads, people didn't really pay attention to directions either, but somehow, I never felt endangered in the car.
In Mui Ne, we stayed at a very nice beach front resort which was certainly nicer than anywhere I would stay while on vacation with friends in BKK (it was pretty pricey). The resort has beach access and a private pool. At the resort, Thu and I didn't do too much--we lounged, swam quite a bit and relaxed. The beach itself was okay; the countryside on either side of the beach though, did make me feel like I was in the south of France, not Vietnam (forgetting that I was in Vietnam actually happend a couple of other times as well). Our first night in Mui Ne, we took the hotel bikes and rode towards the main part of the "town" (it was basically a row that was lined with resorts) to get a late dinner before going to bed. We found a very local beach-side barbecue of sorts--it was basically all the Vietnamese people who work in the hotels and go to eat after they're done with work, it was pretty cool to be in such a local setting.
Our resort and the pool
The beach at our resort
By the beach at the resort
Down the beach from our resort
Approaching the sunrise on the way to the sand dunes
Thu in the red sand dunes
Tourists at the sand dunes, all wearing matching red hats
Sunrise
A portion of the fishing village we biked by on the way back
One of the only touristy things I did: rid in the Vietnamese version of a rickshaw. This used to be the main mode of transportation for Vietnamese people but now motorbikes are; Thu's cousin insisted that I ride in one
A Word on the Bangkok Protests
I've gotten a number of emails from concerned friends about the current political situation in Bangkok and about the protests that have been going on. For those of you who don't know, there have been large-scale protests (about 10,000 people gathered on Tuesday) against the current government. On Tuesday, protesters actually stormed and broke into the Prime Minister's residential compound.
Quite honestly, it's hard to even know that there have been such huge protests, and I live here. The only reason that I'm aware of the protests is because the Thai press is covering it and there have been photos on the front of newspapers; otherwise, I might never have known. No one in my office talks about it, the city functions as usual and the protests and activity have been isolated to one area of the city, near Democracy monument where all the government buildings are (ironically, this area isn't too far from Khao San Road, the hippy-backpacker haven of fame). There hasn't been a feeling of tension or increased security--it's as if everything is normal and today is just another day.
It's somewhat unnerving how laid back everyone is here about this--if protesters broke into the White House, shut down a TV station for a portion of the day and effected the government's function for a portion of the day, I think that most people would be talking about it and that citizens all over the US would be up in arms. My friends and I speak so casually, wondering, "is there going to be a coup?," but that's the laid-back attitude many people have here. It's really "mai ben lai," a Thai mantra meaning the equivalent of "no worries," and surprisingly, I guess this applies to governmental protests as well--well, maybe the protesters don't feel this way, but it seems like the city as a whole does.
For a bit of background, the protesters don't like the current Prime Minister, Samak, and accuse him of being Thaksin's pawn in office, that he's just continuing in Thaksin's place. Thaksin is the previous PM who was deposed; he's currently in exile in London, but he faces possible emprisonment for charges of corruption if he ever returns to Thailand, and other charges too, I believe. The protesters are part of a group called "The People's Allicance for Democracy," which is actually a bit of a misnomer because they don't want Thailand to be a democracy at all--they believe that the democracies in Thailand have led to corruption. They are in favor of a military government with appointed officials.
Anyway, moral of the story is that I'm fine, I've been unaffected by the protests, though I hope for the sake of Thailand and the Thai people that this gets resolved soon.
Quite honestly, it's hard to even know that there have been such huge protests, and I live here. The only reason that I'm aware of the protests is because the Thai press is covering it and there have been photos on the front of newspapers; otherwise, I might never have known. No one in my office talks about it, the city functions as usual and the protests and activity have been isolated to one area of the city, near Democracy monument where all the government buildings are (ironically, this area isn't too far from Khao San Road, the hippy-backpacker haven of fame). There hasn't been a feeling of tension or increased security--it's as if everything is normal and today is just another day.
It's somewhat unnerving how laid back everyone is here about this--if protesters broke into the White House, shut down a TV station for a portion of the day and effected the government's function for a portion of the day, I think that most people would be talking about it and that citizens all over the US would be up in arms. My friends and I speak so casually, wondering, "is there going to be a coup?," but that's the laid-back attitude many people have here. It's really "mai ben lai," a Thai mantra meaning the equivalent of "no worries," and surprisingly, I guess this applies to governmental protests as well--well, maybe the protesters don't feel this way, but it seems like the city as a whole does.
For a bit of background, the protesters don't like the current Prime Minister, Samak, and accuse him of being Thaksin's pawn in office, that he's just continuing in Thaksin's place. Thaksin is the previous PM who was deposed; he's currently in exile in London, but he faces possible emprisonment for charges of corruption if he ever returns to Thailand, and other charges too, I believe. The protesters are part of a group called "The People's Allicance for Democracy," which is actually a bit of a misnomer because they don't want Thailand to be a democracy at all--they believe that the democracies in Thailand have led to corruption. They are in favor of a military government with appointed officials.
Anyway, moral of the story is that I'm fine, I've been unaffected by the protests, though I hope for the sake of Thailand and the Thai people that this gets resolved soon.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Amusing Anecdotes
Thought I'd post some funny occurrences, especially those that only seems to happen in Bangkok:
I spent last night with my cousins Beth, Andy, Jenna, Hallie, Owen and their aunt Susan and cousin Evan--we went to a market, dinner, and then, after dinner, I took them all, minus a few, to Patpong, the red light district in Bangkok (men walk around with "pussy menus," displaying all the types of "shows" you can see), but which also happens to hve a decent night market and is a particularly good place to find handbags. We were on a mission to find a nice bag for Jenna and also a tasteful ladyboy show (I guess this seems like an oxymoron). Trying to find a show was fairly amusing. One man came up to me and said, "Ladyboy show?" I said, "Yes, but I would like the ladyboys to be in costumes (I'd seen one where they were in costumes and it was cabaret style, very campy, very entertaining). Are they in costumes? Are they wearing clothes?" "Yes, yes" he assured me and led me to where his venue was. I climbed up the stairs into what seems to be a strip club, only to find ladyboys stripping, clearly not what I wanted. I started to head to the place I'd been to before when yet another man approached me and said, "Ladyboys with clothes;" he'd clearly heard me speaking to the other man. I tried to clarify again, pointing to my dress, and tugging at it for emphasis. He said, "Yes, yes, clothes, clothes," so I tried one more time, following this man to his questionable venue. I went up the stairs and all I could see this time were naked ladyboys, and I just turned running, signaling to my cousins to turn around immediately.
Finally, we made it to the place where I'd seen a show and I asked the maitre de of sorts if there was going to be a performance tonight. He told me, much to my dismay, that "the drag queens are all on vacation! they're all out of the country! not in Thailand! The show has to take a break and wait until they come back." How was I supposed to know that all the drag queens in Thailand take a vacation at the same time (or together)?! It was pretty hilarious when he said it, as if it was a totally normal thing to say. He told me to come back when they're back, and was actually quite flattered that I love his show. He asked me which number was my favorite, and I told him the Madonna number. "Ohhhh! (In an excited, high-pitched voice) 'Give it to me!' That's not me but another guy. I'm Rihanna now (which he stressed because he was clearly so proud of this, it was so cute!) Come see me!!" I told him I would and went on my merry way.
After this outing, I went home in a taxi since the BTS was already closed. My taxi driver, who I'd addressed in Thai, then asked me in English where I was from, what I did here and we started chatting. Then, he asks me if I like American Football, it's his favorite! Now, while this may be normal in the States, it is not normal in Thailand. People don't even talk about it, I haven't heard the NFL mentioned once and the only time I've heard anyone utter the word "football," it's in reference to soccer--so you can imagine how shocked I was. And then he went on and on and on, "I LOVE football! The Patiuts (Patriots)! I love the Patriots! Tom Bady (Tom Brady)! Quat-uh-bak (Quarterback)! Best position!" I was so amused, "No! Not the Patriots! The Giants! I'm from NY so I love the Giants! We're better than the Patriots! We won the superbowl." I also told him that if I played football I would want to be a linebacker and he laughed so hard, not really sure why. "I would be a quarterback but I'm too small! I would run and catch the ball, run since I'm fast!"
He then asked me about all the players on the Patriots line-up--"Who is that man with black skin (he points to his arm)? He so fast!!!" "Randy Moss?" I responded. "Yeessss!!! Rady Moss (Randy Moss)!!! So fast so fast!" After some other player discussions (he also loves the Texas Longhorns as a college team!), he then told me he watches American Football on his cable box (I don't even have this?!) and that he has 3 NFL DVDs he watches. Needless to say, I never thought I'd be talking about American football to a small Thai taxi driver. So amusing.
Anyway, thought those moments were post-worthy. Stay tuned for a post on my trip to Vietnam coming soon!
I spent last night with my cousins Beth, Andy, Jenna, Hallie, Owen and their aunt Susan and cousin Evan--we went to a market, dinner, and then, after dinner, I took them all, minus a few, to Patpong, the red light district in Bangkok (men walk around with "pussy menus," displaying all the types of "shows" you can see), but which also happens to hve a decent night market and is a particularly good place to find handbags. We were on a mission to find a nice bag for Jenna and also a tasteful ladyboy show (I guess this seems like an oxymoron). Trying to find a show was fairly amusing. One man came up to me and said, "Ladyboy show?" I said, "Yes, but I would like the ladyboys to be in costumes (I'd seen one where they were in costumes and it was cabaret style, very campy, very entertaining). Are they in costumes? Are they wearing clothes?" "Yes, yes" he assured me and led me to where his venue was. I climbed up the stairs into what seems to be a strip club, only to find ladyboys stripping, clearly not what I wanted. I started to head to the place I'd been to before when yet another man approached me and said, "Ladyboys with clothes;" he'd clearly heard me speaking to the other man. I tried to clarify again, pointing to my dress, and tugging at it for emphasis. He said, "Yes, yes, clothes, clothes," so I tried one more time, following this man to his questionable venue. I went up the stairs and all I could see this time were naked ladyboys, and I just turned running, signaling to my cousins to turn around immediately.
Finally, we made it to the place where I'd seen a show and I asked the maitre de of sorts if there was going to be a performance tonight. He told me, much to my dismay, that "the drag queens are all on vacation! they're all out of the country! not in Thailand! The show has to take a break and wait until they come back." How was I supposed to know that all the drag queens in Thailand take a vacation at the same time (or together)?! It was pretty hilarious when he said it, as if it was a totally normal thing to say. He told me to come back when they're back, and was actually quite flattered that I love his show. He asked me which number was my favorite, and I told him the Madonna number. "Ohhhh! (In an excited, high-pitched voice) 'Give it to me!' That's not me but another guy. I'm Rihanna now (which he stressed because he was clearly so proud of this, it was so cute!) Come see me!!" I told him I would and went on my merry way.
After this outing, I went home in a taxi since the BTS was already closed. My taxi driver, who I'd addressed in Thai, then asked me in English where I was from, what I did here and we started chatting. Then, he asks me if I like American Football, it's his favorite! Now, while this may be normal in the States, it is not normal in Thailand. People don't even talk about it, I haven't heard the NFL mentioned once and the only time I've heard anyone utter the word "football," it's in reference to soccer--so you can imagine how shocked I was. And then he went on and on and on, "I LOVE football! The Patiuts (Patriots)! I love the Patriots! Tom Bady (Tom Brady)! Quat-uh-bak (Quarterback)! Best position!" I was so amused, "No! Not the Patriots! The Giants! I'm from NY so I love the Giants! We're better than the Patriots! We won the superbowl." I also told him that if I played football I would want to be a linebacker and he laughed so hard, not really sure why. "I would be a quarterback but I'm too small! I would run and catch the ball, run since I'm fast!"
He then asked me about all the players on the Patriots line-up--"Who is that man with black skin (he points to his arm)? He so fast!!!" "Randy Moss?" I responded. "Yeessss!!! Rady Moss (Randy Moss)!!! So fast so fast!" After some other player discussions (he also loves the Texas Longhorns as a college team!), he then told me he watches American Football on his cable box (I don't even have this?!) and that he has 3 NFL DVDs he watches. Needless to say, I never thought I'd be talking about American football to a small Thai taxi driver. So amusing.
Anyway, thought those moments were post-worthy. Stay tuned for a post on my trip to Vietnam coming soon!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Pinch Me?
Yes, actually, please do. This past weekend, I went with a few girlfriends to Koh Samui and Koh Phangan. Although the infamous Full Moon Party was supposed to be the highlight and focal point of the weekend, another completely unexpected experience overshadowed the supposedly "epic" beach party--a 24-hour stay at the luxurious Four Seasons Estates in Samui. A friend from NY invited me and a friend (I brought Kate) to stay with her and her friend in their hotel room they had gotten for the weekend, so that we could all go together to the Full Moon Party. But before I explain the shock I was in for, let me begin with how I got to the Four Seasons Estates, because the contrast, in retrospect, is too hilarious.
Kate and I took an overnight train departing Friday night down to Surat Thani, a major hub town for travelers going to Koh Tao, Koh Samui and Koh Phangan. When we made our train arrangements, we were told that we would get beds to sleep on on the train--the ability to be completely horizontal at night was one of our main reasons for taking the train down as opposed to the VIP bus which we'd taken to Nongkhai. However, once we got on the train and were escorted to our places, we were shocked to find that they weren't beds, but normal train seats. We immediately started freaking --how were we going to sleep on seats that didn't even recline! Here we were thinking we were so smart to get beds! The woman seated across from Kate saw we were clearly distressed and to try and make matters better for us, she offered Kate a wing from her KFC dinner (?!). After Kate kindly declined, she then explained to Kate that the train staff makes the beds at about 8pm--our seats would be transformed into bottom bunks and an upper bunk would be pulled down from above. Thankfully, we did get beds and were able to sleep comfortably, curtained off from the train passageway. It was a bit noisy, though this didn't disturb my sleep nearly as much as the elderly woman who pulled back my curtain and woke me up at 4:45 AM, barking at me, in what seemed to be a very concerned tone, in Thai (she'd had clearly lost her memory). After I patiently told her that I did not speak Thai, and close my curtain to fall back asleep, she wouldn't take no for an answer--she opened my curtain again, tried to talk to me, again, and I tried the same tactic, to tell her that I didn't speak Thai and shut my curtain. This went on for about 3 or 4 more rounds until finally she woke up the KFC woman who spoke to her in Thai and I could finally go back to bed. In the morning, the KFC woman told me she was an old woman who'd lost her mental faculties. Other than the noise and the early morning visitor (albeit humorous after the fact), the train, overall, was a great way to travel.
After the train arrived, 2 hours late, in Surat Thani, Kate and I boarded a double-decker bus to take us to the ferry where we would cross from the Surat Thani pier (40 km away from the train station) to Samui. The bus was packed to the GILLS with backpackers--old, young, European, Australian, American, hippies, punks, yogis--I've truly never seen such an interesting mix of Westerners in my life. Kate and I immediately knew that we were on the "Full Moon Express" and that the majority of these people would be heading to the Party. The bus attendant asked Kate and me where in Samui we would be staying so he could recommend an appropriate mode of transportation. When we told him, "The Four Seasons," he just stared at us blankly for a moment, to make sure we were serious, repeated what we'd said, and after a nod of agreement, he told us, still in disbelief, where on the island the hotel was and how much we should expect to pay to get there.
After about an hour on the bus, we were dropped off at the pier to board the ferry to Samui, which was the first stop; the ferry continued on to Phangan after. The ferry, which was also packed with people headed to the Party, traveled through the Samui archipelago for about 1.5 hours in some of the most beautiful seas I've ever seen--we passed gorgeous mountainous islands emerging from the crystal-clear waters, which varied in shade--sometimes blue, and other times turquoise or aqua. Upon arrival in Samui, Kate and I took the most memorable motorbike ride ever--two of us on the back of one bike, with our backpacks stored up in front of the driver. The bike strained under the stress of our weight as we climbed up the island on our way to the hotel.
View from the ferry
We finally made it to the hotel and took a seat in the reception. I think the concierge was just as surprised as Kate and I were--what were two young backpacking girls doing here?!?! Kate and I looked out and we really did have to pinch each other; this wasn't a hotel, but a collection of villas steeped into the luscious green mountain, overlooking a breath-taking view of the ocean. We were given a complimentary welcome beverage, which we sipped, still stunned by the beauty and elegance of the resort, as we filled out our arrival forms, becoming actual guests in the hotel. After the registration, we were taken in a golf cart to our home for the night and two days. We passed different "villas" until the cart stopped in front of a residence with the sign "Estate 10;" we weren't staying in a hotel room, or even a villa, we were staying in an estate.
Views from the Four Seasons
We entered the building, which then opened up into a dining room, living room and I could tell there was a pool. It turns out, the estate was a collection of four villas, each a separate building--3 for sleeping, and 1 for entertainment; there was also a dining pavilion, 2 private pools (each the size of any respectable hotel pool), heaps of outdoor lounging space, and a downstairs living space, as if the main, upstairs living space wasn't enough. In total, we had 9,000 square feet of indoor space, let alone the outdoor space which included 2 outdoor showers, 2 pools, the dining pavilion, significant reclining space around the pool, and massive day-bed like pieces of furniture for outdoor resting and reclining. There were 2 floors, 4 marble bath tubs, 3 bedrooms, 2 living rooms, 1 dining room and many gorgeous bathrooms (I did not count). The pool was perched on the edge of our estate grounds, overlooking the water from a few thousand meters above sea level; the pool was also connected to the dining pavilion to facilitate extreme laziness, and there were two stone gargoyle fountains at the edge that were amusing, though their Gothic-like presence did seem a bit out of place. We also had a private butler, Chai, who was on-call 24-hours a day. He was such a nice man, who could anticipate any possible need or desire you can fathom.
The main living area
One of the three baths
One of the outdoor lounging areas
View of the main building, the pool and the food pavilion
The food pavilion and the fountains
One of the smaller residence villas
Residing in such luxury (there must be an even more powerful word for this...maybe they've invented one in Dubai) also comes with incredible food and service. All weekend, we had food brought to us by the pool at our beck and call, and we could order just about anything. The alcohol, top shelf of course, was also freely flowing and available on demand. For lunch after our arrival, we had caprese salad, sandwiches, and hummus and pita by the pool. For dinner, we ate at the hotel's beach-side restaurant, which on Saturday nights was a buffet-style barbecue complete with fire-dancers for entertainment; we had a lovely meal.
Kate and me hanging out by the pool
Kate, me and Gill at our beach-side dinner
Before arriving at the Four Seasons, Kate and I assumed that we were invited by my friend's friend, paid for either by her or her family. It turns out all of this was provided by, not my friend's friend and her family, but two of her friends (my friend's friend's friends) who were both investment bankers in Hong Kong. They were the nicest guys, and welcomed me and Kate as a part of their Samui weekend. For most of the time, we all ate, drank, swam in the pool and relaxed. The other girls and the two guys got a number of spa treatments and also went on a private elephant trek, which we heard was amazing. It was extreme relaxation and indulgence.
Drinks by the pool
We decided that we would all go to the Full Moon Party together and the guys had arranged a private boat transfer ahead of time to take us to the party and back. After dinner, we were taken in a mini-van to the pier, where we were surprised yet again. We weren't in just any old boat, but a new yacht. It took us very quickly across the sea to Phangnan for the Party; it was only a 20 minute ride.
Gill and Kate caught in the wind on our speedy yacht
We got to the island and I can honestly say that I'd never seen anything like this in my life--the beach was jam-packed, a sea of people dancing the night away to all sorts of music. There were 20-25,000 people on the beach for the party; the August party is usually the largest because it is peak season. People had bright lights like at a rave; others were painted with neon paint (at the end I got a Danish flag on my cheek); others were half-naked. I saw men urinating in the water; trash strewn about everywhere; girls mooning and flashing people; people dancing on top of unsturdy wooden structures (I won't even justify them with the word "table"); people grabbed my butt, breasts and stomach--it was a huge free-for-all. But it was funny, because on one part of the beach, you might be dancing to hip-hop music and that section of the beach would be its own micro-party where you couldn't hear any other music, but then, 100 meters down, people might be dancing to trance or classic rock, but the sounds would never mix or overlap, they were totally contained units! Kate and I got a standard-size sangsom (whiskey) bucket, but there were super-sized buckets too, like the size of buckets painters use! I felt as though I didn't really have the typical "full moon experience" since I wasn't with backpackers, I arrived and left on a private yacht, and we left at about 2:30 and not 5 or 6 AM since that's as long as the boat could wait for us--I'm not complaining at all, I prefer the luxury and brief encounter any day, I'm just saying that my perception and experience may be different from others'. However, I can't deny that it was a crazy party.
Me, Kate and our sangsom bucket
A sea of Full Moon Party-goers
Our full-moon group: Me, Kate, Gino, Sarah, Gill and Wai
A beach-side bar snapshot and lights galore
Face paint
On the boat back, we hopped the line to our boat and heard people asking, "what color is their sticker?!" It was a pretty sick exit, if I do say so. When we arrived back at our estate, we had late-night food and champagne waiting--we had pad thai (some of the best I've had), margarita pizza, french fries, hummus and pita and a cheeseburger (for the guys)--all warm and ready to be eaten in the food pavilion. We went to bed full and satisfied.
In the morning, Chai woke us all up with breakfast ready--fresh mango, pineapple and other fruits; bagels, smoked salmon, capers and freshly sliced tomatoes and onions; scrambled eggs with mushrooms and other items were featured at the meal. The rest of the day was pretty much the same as the day before until we had to leave in the early afternoon to catch our flight (yes! flying, an appropriate mode of transportation after a luxury stay) home. We took the ferry, then the bus and then song-taew to the airport; then a short flight and a taxi ride and I was back at home, back in reality, though this is certainly a weekend I won't forget.
Kate and I took an overnight train departing Friday night down to Surat Thani, a major hub town for travelers going to Koh Tao, Koh Samui and Koh Phangan. When we made our train arrangements, we were told that we would get beds to sleep on on the train--the ability to be completely horizontal at night was one of our main reasons for taking the train down as opposed to the VIP bus which we'd taken to Nongkhai. However, once we got on the train and were escorted to our places, we were shocked to find that they weren't beds, but normal train seats. We immediately started freaking --how were we going to sleep on seats that didn't even recline! Here we were thinking we were so smart to get beds! The woman seated across from Kate saw we were clearly distressed and to try and make matters better for us, she offered Kate a wing from her KFC dinner (?!). After Kate kindly declined, she then explained to Kate that the train staff makes the beds at about 8pm--our seats would be transformed into bottom bunks and an upper bunk would be pulled down from above. Thankfully, we did get beds and were able to sleep comfortably, curtained off from the train passageway. It was a bit noisy, though this didn't disturb my sleep nearly as much as the elderly woman who pulled back my curtain and woke me up at 4:45 AM, barking at me, in what seemed to be a very concerned tone, in Thai (she'd had clearly lost her memory). After I patiently told her that I did not speak Thai, and close my curtain to fall back asleep, she wouldn't take no for an answer--she opened my curtain again, tried to talk to me, again, and I tried the same tactic, to tell her that I didn't speak Thai and shut my curtain. This went on for about 3 or 4 more rounds until finally she woke up the KFC woman who spoke to her in Thai and I could finally go back to bed. In the morning, the KFC woman told me she was an old woman who'd lost her mental faculties. Other than the noise and the early morning visitor (albeit humorous after the fact), the train, overall, was a great way to travel.
After the train arrived, 2 hours late, in Surat Thani, Kate and I boarded a double-decker bus to take us to the ferry where we would cross from the Surat Thani pier (40 km away from the train station) to Samui. The bus was packed to the GILLS with backpackers--old, young, European, Australian, American, hippies, punks, yogis--I've truly never seen such an interesting mix of Westerners in my life. Kate and I immediately knew that we were on the "Full Moon Express" and that the majority of these people would be heading to the Party. The bus attendant asked Kate and me where in Samui we would be staying so he could recommend an appropriate mode of transportation. When we told him, "The Four Seasons," he just stared at us blankly for a moment, to make sure we were serious, repeated what we'd said, and after a nod of agreement, he told us, still in disbelief, where on the island the hotel was and how much we should expect to pay to get there.
After about an hour on the bus, we were dropped off at the pier to board the ferry to Samui, which was the first stop; the ferry continued on to Phangan after. The ferry, which was also packed with people headed to the Party, traveled through the Samui archipelago for about 1.5 hours in some of the most beautiful seas I've ever seen--we passed gorgeous mountainous islands emerging from the crystal-clear waters, which varied in shade--sometimes blue, and other times turquoise or aqua. Upon arrival in Samui, Kate and I took the most memorable motorbike ride ever--two of us on the back of one bike, with our backpacks stored up in front of the driver. The bike strained under the stress of our weight as we climbed up the island on our way to the hotel.
View from the ferry
Views from the Four Seasons
The main living area
One of the three baths
One of the outdoor lounging areas
View of the main building, the pool and the food pavilion
The food pavilion and the fountains
One of the smaller residence villas
Kate and me hanging out by the pool
Kate, me and Gill at our beach-side dinner
Drinks by the pool
Gill and Kate caught in the wind on our speedy yacht
We got to the island and I can honestly say that I'd never seen anything like this in my life--the beach was jam-packed, a sea of people dancing the night away to all sorts of music. There were 20-25,000 people on the beach for the party; the August party is usually the largest because it is peak season. People had bright lights like at a rave; others were painted with neon paint (at the end I got a Danish flag on my cheek); others were half-naked. I saw men urinating in the water; trash strewn about everywhere; girls mooning and flashing people; people dancing on top of unsturdy wooden structures (I won't even justify them with the word "table"); people grabbed my butt, breasts and stomach--it was a huge free-for-all. But it was funny, because on one part of the beach, you might be dancing to hip-hop music and that section of the beach would be its own micro-party where you couldn't hear any other music, but then, 100 meters down, people might be dancing to trance or classic rock, but the sounds would never mix or overlap, they were totally contained units! Kate and I got a standard-size sangsom (whiskey) bucket, but there were super-sized buckets too, like the size of buckets painters use! I felt as though I didn't really have the typical "full moon experience" since I wasn't with backpackers, I arrived and left on a private yacht, and we left at about 2:30 and not 5 or 6 AM since that's as long as the boat could wait for us--I'm not complaining at all, I prefer the luxury and brief encounter any day, I'm just saying that my perception and experience may be different from others'. However, I can't deny that it was a crazy party.
Me, Kate and our sangsom bucket
A sea of Full Moon Party-goers
Our full-moon group: Me, Kate, Gino, Sarah, Gill and Wai
A beach-side bar snapshot and lights galore
Face paintIn the morning, Chai woke us all up with breakfast ready--fresh mango, pineapple and other fruits; bagels, smoked salmon, capers and freshly sliced tomatoes and onions; scrambled eggs with mushrooms and other items were featured at the meal. The rest of the day was pretty much the same as the day before until we had to leave in the early afternoon to catch our flight (yes! flying, an appropriate mode of transportation after a luxury stay) home. We took the ferry, then the bus and then song-taew to the airport; then a short flight and a taxi ride and I was back at home, back in reality, though this is certainly a weekend I won't forget.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
