We’ve spent the past two days exploring the island by bike. Usually we just rent scooters, as I don’t like manual transmissions. But after a quick lesson on motorbike gear-shifting from our guesthouse owner, we were off. Yesterday, we circumnavigated the island clockwise. Driving east, we passed a few small beach towns before curving southwards towards the developed side of the island. First, we stopped at Chaweng, a super developed and touristy area. Although the main road runs alongside the beach, you cannot see any beach from the road. It’s a total Waikiki. We parked the bike, grabbed some snacks, and walked through a resort to get to the ocean. It was a really nice stretch of sand with constant waves. The water was nice- warm and shallow out past the waves. It wasn’t white sand and crystal clear waters as our guidebooks claimed (but after the Maldives, I take those descriptions literally), but it was nice. Ko Samui is surrounded by beautiful colored water. The clarity is good, but from our guesthouse in Maenam, we can see turquoise waters all the way to neighboring Ko Pha Ngan. Chaweng is similar with absolutely beautifully colored water.

After a couple hours, we got back on the bike and headed to Lamai, supposedly another developed-yet-nice beach. However, an unnamed bay caught our eyes, so we pulled over and walked down to the beach. We think the name is Crystal Bay, based on the name of a nearby resort, but regardless I think we stumbled onto one of the nicest beaches I’ve ever seen. There’s not too many people, the water is perfect- warm, shallow, amazing hues; huge Hampi-sized boulders border the cove (like if you’ve ever seen photos of the Seychelles), powdery sand, and palms right on the beach to provide plenty of shade.

Crystal Bay

We just swam and took in the scenery for a bit, before deciding to be on our way so we could finish our circuit before dark. On our way to Lamai, we did stop to hike to a little rocky outcrop with two well-known rocks, known as Grandfather Rock and Grandmother Rock. Then we rode straight back to Maenam covering the southern and western sides of the island. The island reminded us of Maui- a lush tropical mountainous island. Would’ve taken some photos to provide here, but we were on a bike.

grandfather rock

grandmother rock

One thing I didn’t mention is that we got a flat tire yesterday. So after investing 100 baht in a new tube and 100 baht in gas (which as it turns out is a lot more than we needed), we decided to take the bike out again today. Oh, also the marine park is closed as its rainy season right now. Anyways, we followed yesterdays morning itinerary of hanging out at Chaweng in the morning and then heading to Crystal Cove in the afternoon. The trouble began when the dark clouds out over the ocean moved in and it began pouring. We ran back through the resort behind us and found a restaurant/internet café. We had some hot chocolate and spent some time replying to emails, while we waited for the rain to subside. It took a little over an hour before the rain really lightened. It was past three when we decided to go- it was still drizzling, but I certainly didn’t want to be driving on wet island roads in the dark. So we hopped on the bike and began the hour-long journey back. The rain wasn’t so bad, as I had sunglasses to protect my eyes from raindrops that stung our skin as we drove. The thing that was bad was the drainage on the road. More than once we were driving the bike through puddles, streams, and huge flows of water on the road. The reddish-orange water came up to my ankles a couple times, as I drove in the wakes of the vehicles ahead of us. I’ve walked through plenty of monsoon floods before, having lived in India, but I’ve never driven through floods before. It was an experience to say the least, but we made it back safely. Its been a fun past couple of days and we’ve seen a lot of Ko Samui, from it beautiful beaches and mountains to its flooded roads.

Greg: Your dad has totally turned you against me.

Jack: I didn’t turn her against you. You did that to yourself.

Greg: Jack, please. You didn’t like me from the second I walked in here.

Jack: I’m a very accepting person, Focker. All I ask for is honesty.

Greg: Oh, honesty? You wanna talk about truth and honesty, Jack? Okay, let’s talk a little truth and honesty. Let’s talk a little “Operation Ko Samui,” Jack.

Pam: What’s he talking about, Dad?

Greg: Yeah, that’s weird, ’cause I thought there weren’t any secrets…inside the circle of trust, Jack.

Jack: I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Greg: You don’t? Huh? What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue? Hey, Pam, guess what. Daddy’s planning a little covert operation in Thailand for the day after the wedding.

Pam: You are?

Greg: Round and round we go, Jack. Hey. I bet everybody would love to hear about your rendezvous…in the parking lot of the Oyster Bay Drug and Sundry. You know what I’m talking about. Where the guy gave you the passports and the documents. Or how about your little phone call in Thai?

Dina: Jack can’t talk Thai.

Greg: Oh, no, Dina. Jack can talk Thai. Jack talk Thai very well. I’m sorry, Pam, but your dad is not retired. He’s still very much in the C.I.A.

Jack: He’s right. My cover’s blown. I-l-I am planning…a secret operation the day after the wedding.

Pam: What?

Jack: A surprise honeymoon for Deb and Bob. You stupid son of a bitch! You just blew it!

Greg: What?

Jack: Ko Samui is an island off the coast of Thailand!

Watching “Meet the Parents” was the first time I ever heard of Ko Samui and ever since I’ve only heard good things and have longed to visit. It’s the end of our second day here and I’d have to say its been a pretty good past couple of days. The overnight bus was, in Joylani’s words, “the nicest bus I’ve ever been on.” It was a ten hour trip down to the Don Sak pier near Surat Thani and then another couple hours on the ferry to Ko Samui. At the Ko Samui pier, we reboarded our bus and drove 15 minutes to the bus stand- makes me wonder why the bus even goes all the way to Ko Samui only to drive for a few minutes. Anyways, from the bus stand we caught a sawngthaew (basically a truck with two parallel benches in the back) to Maenam, on the northern coast of the island. Wanting to avoid the super-touristed and heavily developed east coast of the island, Maenam turned out to be a good choice. We found a nice beach bungalow within 30 meters of the beautiful water, run by a jolly fat Thai man and his family. Although we got here yesterday morning, it was kind of a wasted day as I caught up on sleep and slept the day away.

Today, Joylani and I explored the village and beach a little more, both of which are spread out over several kilometers. This was, of course, between our eating, swimming, and napping. The atmosphere here is really, really laid back, which is a huge contrast from urban fast-paced Bangkok. We’ll probably rent a bike to explore the island tomorrow, as its quite big, and then do a one or two-day tour to nearby Ang Thong National Marine Park. Thailand issues 30 days visas on arrival, which means we have to be in Malaysia by January 2^nd. There’s so many other places to see in southern Thailand, between the Gulf Coast, the Andaman Coast, and the peninsular interior. I thought we’d spend only a couple days on Ko Samui before moving on, but location and guesthouse are awesome and its so tempting to just stay here for longer. I guess I just have to remind myself of one of our premises of this trip: there’s more out there. We were comfy at home, but we decided to go and explore the world. Even just five months in, we’ve been greatly rewarded thusfar. And we’ve traveled, we’re continually surprised and amazed. So even though I like it here, I know that I’ll probably see and experience even more incredible things in southern Thailand before December ends. So we’ll take my grandmother’s advice, which she passed down from her parents: don’t be a frog in a well. I like Ko Samui, but we’ll continue to travel, explore, and learn.

The old and the new.

Sigh of relief. And amazement. Bangkok is awesome. I admit, even though I was super excited to get here, I tried to have low expectations—probably the result of Matt retorting, “What did you expect? This is the 3^rd world,” each time I would complain or freak out at the general mildew and bugs in guesthouses, and general rundown atmosphere of inefficiencies we were experiencing throughout India and Nepal. He warned me that this is what the rest of our trip would probably be like (probably just trying to keep me more realistic and not trying to dash my hopes). Well, he was wrong. Bangkok is nothing like India. I guess that’s obvious; different country, different region. But beyond the obvious, some things really stand out. [In general] people aren’t loud, lines get formed, shoes get removed before going inside, even street food appears more sanitary…did I mention there’s not too much shouting? Like I said before, Bangkok has been a sigh of relief.

As we rode on the shuttle from the airport to downtown, I was amazed by the city that surrounded me. It reminded me a lot of Honolulu, only bigger, and fresher. So many buildings looked new. And serenely standing in the midst of housing, hotels, and businesses both downtown and through out the city are dozens of wats behind walled compounds, their fiery roofs sparkling in the sun. All the roads were smoothly paved, and at the sight of big familiar cars cruising along the highway, I thought to myself, “Oh look, they even drive on the right side of the road.” Only they weren’t. After another minute’s observation, I realized that traffic was still flowing down the left. After months of seeing Indian-made Marutis, Ambassadors, and an assortment of 3-wheelers, the sight of Hondas and Toyotas (real trucks!) had tricked my mind into thinking the flow of traffic was normal*—that, and the lack of livestock on the road, the increased speed, presence and use of lanes, and the absence of incessant honking…Traffic wasn’t the only orderly thing in Bangkok.
On December 5^th families clad in yellow shirts roamed Bangkok in celebration of the king’s birthday (also father’s day). As evening fell, Matt and I walked down one of the main roads in the direction of our hotel. We noticed people had started lining the side of the street. We stood on a bench behind the crowd to get a glimpse of what was going on. It seemed they were awaiting the king’s motorcade, as indicated by the approaching vehicle on the large tv screen nearby. To my complete astonishment, about a minute before the cars arrived, the crowd went completely silent. If I was a blind person walking down the sidewalk, I would have had no idea that there were thousands of people lining the street. Forget about the 0% likelihood of that ever happening in India, I haven’t ever seen anything like it anywhere. As the motorcade passed, the crowd responded with a polite cheer (cheer, not shouts) and lit candles. While the Thais were satisfied to have gotten a glimpse of their king, I stood there amazed at the calmness of the crowd. Silence in the midst of thousands of people was just so strange.

Silence.
When it was over the people slowly began to disperse, and Matt and I continued our way down the street towards our hotel in hopes of catching the fireworks along the way. We weren’t exactly sure where they would be shot off from, but decided to follow the crowd and stopped walking when everyone else did. Soon the show started. We heard them go off before the explosions hit the sky—dthoom, dthoom, dthoom. The explosions came in sets of 10-15 each time. The whole show was like a finale, except for the actual finale which was just a few smiley face bursts. The spot where we stood was just under where the fireworks were going off; it was exciting to watch the sky light up above us. Thankfully we weren’t too close to the launch site though. In the middle of a set, I exclaimed, “Oh my gosh, the fireworks are falling on the people!!?!” Some of the fireworks seemed to be exploding prematurely. From where we stood it looked as though some of the sparkles were going into the crowd. We watched the show a little bit more attentively, and brushed some ash out of our hair. I liked the combination of order mixed with a little bit of chaos. Some things in the States are just too sterile—they’ve lost a sense of adventure and spontaneity in the fear of being sued.

Fireworks in the crowd.
Some things Matt didn’t mention—the king’s picture is everywhere in elaborate displays of affection and nationalism. He’s the world’s longest reigning monarch and an element of stability in a country that has seen many coups in the last several decades, as recently as 2006. It seems that everyone loves the king. From what I know, he seems like a nice guy. One of my favorite pictures is one where he has a slightly concerned look on his face, camera strap around his neck, and a bead of sweat dripping off the tip of his nose. It’s quite a different shot from those posed pictures of royals were conditioned on seeing, and definitely gives the air of, “He’s one of us. See that sweat? See the concern?” They really did a good job with the whole campaign, it’s got me sold.
*Normal as in normal flow of traffic in the States.

Tributes to the king.

We’ve been in Bangkok for six days already. We’re actually leaving tonight, which means its one of those waiting/lets-kill-some-time days, which is why I finally have a chance to write. Bangkok has been non-stop since we arrived. And while I’m on the topic, I need to write a little bit about arriving. Last time I was in Thailand I spent the majority of my time building a rural village on an island in the Andaman Sea, with only a day in Bangkok. So it was with much surprise that we arrived in a vibrant, thriving, modern city. I’m not sure how Thailand is classified from a development perspective, but Bangkok is first-world all the way. The bus from the airport was the nicest one we rode since Turkey, the roads are immaculate, and everyone’s driving what looks like brand new cars. The culture seems to be much more liberal than anywhere we’ve been since Greece, although I’m unsure if that’s intrinsic to Thai culture or Western influence.

One of the first things we noticed upon arriving was the king. We arrived the day before his birthday and the city was just electric. The gangways at the airport had photos of him and phrases like, “Long Live the King” or “Happy Birthday to Our Beloved King.” Riding into the city, it seemed that just about every building displayed a large photo (or billboard on the larger buildings) with flowers and shrines. Most people were wearing yellow polo shirts too (yellow symbolizes Thai royalty), although some were wearing pink polos (apparently the king had recently made his first public appearance, after a long hospital stay, wearing a pink shirt). The city was decorated with golden gates, giant flower arrangements, water fountains, and dozens of song/dance performances dedicated to the king. We walked around our first night and enjoyed the festivities with the thousands of other Thais that flocked the streets; watching the light and water shows, admiring all the decorations, and snacking on street food. That’s another thing we really like about Thailand- so much good food. The street stalls sell everything from your basic pad thai and noodle soup to Joylani’s favorite breakfast mango with sticky rice or desert banana pancakes (both of which are topped with a sugary coconut syrup). I’m also a fan of the red pork, whether in a bun or atop rice, as well as the plethora of kebabs- chicken, pork, beef, sausage, etc, etc.

food stalls, where we eat every night

all the wats have roofs like this and most buiildings have similarly shaped architecture

The king’s birthday is a national holiday and Bangkok was just crazy all day. Many streets were closed and other roads were consequently parking lots. We took a morning walk to a park near the Royal Palace and took in the madness. Dozens of stalls filled the park, giving free box lunches of rice/noodles/meat to lines of hundreds of people. I guess some organizations were just sponsoring all these stalls, so we joined the thousands of other Thais for some free grub. Oh, and everyone was still wearing their yellow polos, although today everyone was also carrying Thai and Buddhist flags. Those that weren’t eating lined the streets to wait for the king’s motorcade to pass. We thought there was going to be a parade, based on the crowds lining the streets, but they dispersed after the small motorcade passed into the palace. We explored a little bit more of the city later, heading to city center of Siam Square. Besides being the transportation hub the city’s buses, taxis, SkyTrain, and Metro, it’s a shopping Mecca. We found everything from small clothes stalls to the upscale mall, Siam Paragon, filled with stores like Hermes, Armani, and Versace- I think I’ve only seen knock-offs of all those brands since we were in Milan. Movie theaters, auto showrooms, food courts, and anything else you could want can be found in Siam Square. Our visit to Siam Square had me thinking that Bangkok is more modern than most US cities.

7-Elevens are everywhere and are all open 24/7 to accomoddate the city that truly never sleeps

the infamous Khao San Rd.

We returned to the park near our guesthouse and the Royal Palace that evening to take in the festivities. We watched the king give his speech and the monks chanting on giant screens set up all over the city. Then we stood and ate our kebabs and pad thai as we waited for the kings motorcade to pass on a circuit of the city. We saw the king as the lights were on on the inside of his car. We later learned that people come from all over Thailand just to glimpse the king as we had…Then we just looked up and watched the fireworks explode above us for about 30 minutes. It was really cool because they were being shot off not too far from us and they were exploding right above us. If I’m any judge, it seemed that the king had a pretty good 80th birthday.

birthday decorations all over the city

people in the streets to sing to the king and watch fireworks

this guy must’ve partied too hard…couldn’t help taking a photo
Our third day was spent exploring the area between our guesthouse and Chinatown. We took a river ferry down to Chinatown, which was quite interesting. Joylani enjoyed seeing all the fruit, while I liked the meat/seafood. We walked around for a couple hours, including exploring a giant indoor market that sold everything you could ever need. We didn’t buy anything, but we did have to make way several times for motorcyclists who were driving through the market- some things will never make sense to me. Afterwards, we headed over to Wat Pho to see the wat and largest reclining Buddha in Thailand. Quite a sight, although I much prefer to just admire the Thai architecture of the temples. Sorry if my Bangkok run-down is more of a list of the things we did, but it was quick week and I’m just trying to recount what we did. Hopefully more observations and reflections will follow. I guess my realization that day, since we explored a lot of the city, is that food and shopping can be found anywhere in the city. Street markets and food stalls are absolutely everywhere- its good to be here.

Day four was a productive one. Joylani got her stomach checked out at the hospital in the morning, before we headed to the Southern Bus Terminal to buy our ticket to Ko Samui. After getting our ticket, we took a bus to Lumphini Park in central Bangkok. We hung out at the park for a few hours, seeing among other things, meter-long monitor lizards catch foot-long fish in the pond and hundreds of Thais showing up for a daily aerobics class in the evening. Afterwards, we spent a few fruitless hours wandering the thousands of stalls at the enormous Suan Lum Night Bazaar. We got a little lost on the buses on the way back, but managed to get back okay. The next day was much the same, first visiting the weekend-only, sells-everything, dwarfs-any-market-you’ve-seen-in-your-life Chatuchak Market in the morning. Afterwards, we got lost on the bus system, but ended up taking the Metro, SkyTrain, and bus back to our guesthouse. If you’re wondering why we went to so many markets, its because we’re ditching much of our belongings in Bangkok and need some warm weather clothes. So two days of shopping and getting lost- not something I want to repeat anytime soon.

Anyways, we’re off tonight on a night bus/ferry to Ko Samui. Bangkok was a pleasant surprise coming from South Asia. Developmentally, it feels like home. And while it’s a city, there are still a lot of things to see and do. The food has been good and the people helpful. I do miss three things so far though: English, chai, and shaves. Nonetheless, Bangkok has been great and I’m ready to explore the rest of Thailand and South East Asia.