The Kingdom of Thailand

Children, Beware!

Bangkok is not for everyone, and therefore, was perfect for me. It was chaos from the beginning. My godfather hadn't planned on coming here, but I was set to rendezvous with a friend from Beijing, and believe me when I say our accommodations would be exponentially contrasted from the ones in Bali and Lombok. There was plenty to do and see, so why waste money on a fancier place to sleep? My godfather has been to Bangkok many times, so he took it upon himself to give me a beginners guide while for him enjoying the city one last time. 

*Courtesy of Flickr

Around the corner from the hotel was a boutique for the Thai Silk Co., a.k.a., Jim Thompson Silk Co. This was the first time I had ever heard of Mr. Thompson, an ex-OSS/CIA operative who singlehandedly revitalized the Thai silk industry in the 1950s; I'll get more into his story later. Inside the store were beautiful silk products of every color and design imaginable. We perused the selection for a while before he decided on a few pieces to bring home - unfortunately for me the only "silk" available within my budget would be bargained down to a few dollars in a street market.

Sky Bar
*courtesy travel mint.com

We hopped on a tuk-tuk and jetted over to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel for a light dinner on the hotel patio overlooking the Chao Phraya River. Behind us was a little girl who had a huge basket of bread and would not cease throwing little bits into the river below. Obviously her parents didn't mind since it kept her preoccupied (my father always said, "children should be seen and not heard") and left me very curious. Leaning over the railing, I saw at least one-hundred massive fish gobbling up the bread she was tossing. I tried to take a photo but it was too dark. The last time my godfather was here was with his best friend who had passed away about 6 months earlier, so we grabbed a drink and toasted to his memory. When we finished dinner, we went to Sky Bar atop the Lebua Hotel, the highest open air bar in the world and a filming location for The Hangover Part II. The drinks were super expensive but the view over the bustling city made it well worth the expenditure.

Chinese?

My friend Alex arrived from Beijing the next morning and so we began the backpacker's experience in Thailand. He also had been to Bangkok before and knew his way around the city. We visited several temples in different parts of the city, including Wat Pho - which houses a 100 ft. long gold Buddha laying on his side - and Wat Arun, but were unable to get into the Grand Palace due to long lines and a rain shower. Instead, we headed down to the river and crossed to the other side via one of the large barges that criss-crosses the busy, choppy water. The jetty was next to a fish market which stunk to high heaven, and was only made worse by massive burlaps sacks filled to the brink with every kind of dried fish you can imagine. My friend was thrilled. 

That night we went to see the Siam Niramit performance, on the world's largest production stage, chronicling the history of the Thai people from all corners of the country. Before the show began, we were able to walk around a 'theme' park that featured little villages depicted in the show. I got to extract silk, a very difficult process that of course I failed at miserably. Still, I had fun and was happy to be educated in different Thai subcultures. 

Snacks, anyone?

On our last day in Bangkok, we visited Jim Thompson House, a must see for anyone visiting the city. A little bit about Jim: he was an operative in OSS (predecessor to CIA) during WWII, specifically assigned to the liberation of Thailand from the Japanese occupiers. He fell in love with the country, and recognized the fine quality of the silk, and saw an opportunity to revitalize the industry. Long story short, he lifted the Thai silk industry from ashes to a multi-billion dollar enterprise. He is more famous though for his disappearance. While on holiday in Malaysia, he left on Easter Sunday afternoon for a walk, and was never seen again. Conspiracies abound, even to this day, as to what happened to him. Some suggest he was kidnapped by the CIA while others contend he planned his own disappearance. His legacy, along with the company, and his famous house, resound to this day. 

Prayer House

Jim Thompson originally wanted to be an architect, and he had a deep appreciation for Thai design. He built his home in Bangkok as a showcase to Thai architecture. The house is actually a combination of several authentic Thai houses from different areas of the country that were rebuilt into one giant house that contains a collection of various art, sculptures, and textiles he collected from his travels. Though not necessary in Bangkok, he built the house on stilts to replicate the more traditional building method, minus his interior in lieu of the common exterior stairway. It is remarkably beautiful on the inside with wooded floors and walls decorated with silk tapestries, fine carvings, and chandeliers (sorry, no photos allowed inside). Thompson truly was a visionary; had he pursued an architectural career, I imagine he would be more well-known for rivaling Frank Lloyd Wright. 

Jim Thompson House, Bangkok

Of course Bangkok is synonymous with a wild nightlife, specifically sex shows, lady boys, and that "anything goes" attitude. We did attend a few shows, and were wonderfully entertained by watching the "massage therapists" selling their services outside every bar. The best experience was a large night club that had well over a thousand people inside - quite a feat for a Tuesday night. It was enjoyable to have great music and a diverse group of people (well, diverse gay people) all gathered around dancing into the early morning hours. However, since I try to keep this blog family friendly, you will have to message me to request the stories from Bangkok's nightlife. 

Gate house entering Wat Arun

From Bangkok, we flew south to Phuket and booked passage on a boat to Koh Phi Phi, a small set of islands in the middle of the Andaman Sea that was also the backdrop of both the book and film, The Beach. It really was a backpackers' paradise, a fun and energetic island. The boat going over was packed full, so most of us ended up sitting on the roof, despite choppy water tossing us from one side to the other. There were tons of westerners on the island, many of whom come out and stay for years working as dive instructors or in hospitality. Why not? It's paradise, a never ending party full of gorgeous people, lots of alcohol, drugs, and a year-round tan. The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami wreaked havoc on the island, destroying 70% of the buildings and killing more than 1,000 people. 

While there, we spent most of our time scuba diving; I went ahead and did the advanced scuba certification course which included six dives. There aren't many dive sites near the island, so we took large boats to neighboring islands that were protected and thus had better sea life and reefs. Two dives that stood out were the night dive (a very intense experience) and the King Cruiser Ferry wreck dive, which sank under questionable circumstances. My dive instructor told me the rumor was that the company was losing money on the route and decided to sink the ship to collect the insurance, and that it was an open secret since dive boats were waiting nearby to dive the wreck almost immediately after it sank. Everyone survived. 

"Thank you, oh great one"

Aside from diving, we took a long-tail boat to Maya Bay and around the other islands. Maya Bay was the actual shooting location of The Beach, which sadly caused significant environmental damage to the area; the studios bulldozed a large area to make the beach appear bigger. It was still beautiful with tall limestone cliffs surrounding the crystal clear azure blue lagoon. Tons of people were there picnicking on the beach; there are no restaurants because it is technically a park, and until recently no one was allowed to stay after dark; there are now campsites and a permanent restroom facility. Still, we enjoyed swimming and some light snorkeling. On our way back to Phi Phi Don (the biggest island), we stopped at monkey beach where hundreds of monkeys live off tourist feeding them bananas. They would try to do tricks to get people to give them food; some would climb the rock face and jump in the water. Thankfully they weren't nearly as aggressive as the ones in Bali. 

Long-tail boats as we enter Maya Bay

We originally had only planned on staying in Phi Phi for a few nights, albeit having had to forgo the parties in order to be fit for diving the following morning. We decided to stay a bit longer so we could indulge. Starting at five o'clock, the island comes alive with partiers. Street vendors set up tables selling small buckets with ice, liquor, and mixers for people to just walk around with (open container laws don't exist); every bar and restaurant had someone outside trying to get us to come inside. But before getting the party started, most people head up to Lookout Point high above the two bays to watch the sunset, so we hiked up as well, exhausted as we were after two days of intense diving. 

Back in the village, we enjoyed a cheap Thai dinner and headed to the beach lined with bars and clubs. A lot of the places have some very naughty paraphernalia at the entrance to humor the adults, and of course provide perfect photo opportunities to post online (sorry, none to be put on here). I met one of the dive instructors at Sunset Bar for a few drinks. He had been on the island for 11 years, and survived the tsunami. His account of that day was horrifying. However, the island has been redeveloped since then and now there are early warning systems in place. After leaving him, we walked along the pristine beach looking for a suitable place to relax. We settled for one that was playing drum and bass, and included a fire show that made it all the more intense.

Krathong

After our stay in Phi Phi, we went back to Phuket and stayed next to Patong Beach on the west side of the island. From here we took two day trips. The first was a cruise up to James Bond Island where The Man with the Golden Gun was filmed. The limestone cliffs sticking out of the water are similar to the more popular Halong Bay in Vietnam (where Tomorrow Never Dies was filmed). From the boat, we got into a two-person inflatable canoe and rowed to a few islands that had caves. It was really fun, and at times scary. There were tons of bats, and the corridors smelled horrible, but they eventually opened up to small lagoons in the middle of the bluffs. We even got to make a ceremonial flower offering to the gods called a 'krathong,' which are made with a slice of banana tree trunk, banana leaves, and flowers. They then are floated in the water and set on fire. Making it was fun, the only sad part was we couldn't keep it.  

Our second day trip took us north again, but off Phuket Island, to the southern Thai jungles for elephant trekking and white water rafting. The elephant [village] consisted of about a dozen elephants. We rode on a trail through the jungle that lasted about thirty minutes - which was plenty because riding an elephant evokes the feeling you're going to fall off with each step it takes! Following the ride, there were a few show elephants that performed a couple of tricks. We ended up having to wait a while because there were more people than elephants available to ride, so Alex and I hiked down to a swimming hole to cool off. 

Elephants can hoola-hoop, but I can't!

After the elephant camp, we drove thirty minutes down the road to the rally point for white water rafting. It started at the base of a small dam, and two times a day the locks are opened so that the otherwise calm stream transforms into a raging river of death and destruction…okay, maybe not that bad (unless there were snakes). There were many, many rafts full of people waiting to go, but luckily we were one of the first to go. Rafting has for me always been thrilling, ever since my godfather took my brother and I rafting on the Snake River in Wyoming when were boys. This was just as enjoyable, and full of fun - especially when we got tipped over not once but twice, losing one of the other rowers in the process. 

Khom Loi

Overall the day trips were a lot of fun, minus the second one whereby we spent more time in the van traveling to and from than actually enjoying the activity. Nevertheless, that evening we ventured out to explore the nightlife of Phuket, though sadly it was not as vibrant as Bangkok's, instead more up the alley of people who enjoy sports bars. Walking by the beach, we came across a merchant selling Khom Loi, which are sky lanterns made of paper. A candle is lit inside, heating the air and making them float up in the sky. It is supposed to resemble a jellyfish slowly floating in the night sky. Usually these are made for the Yi Peng festival, but can be used at any celebration. Tonight was my night to celebrate the end of a fantastic trip. 

The last day was spent relaxing on the beach before catching an evening flight back to Singapore. I read the book, Life of Pi, and was unable to put it down, which provided a good distraction while I baked in the sun, occasionally going for a swim, and breathing my last bits of fresh air for a while.