Last Days in Thailand and Bangkok March 10, 2009

Corner Garden- No 1 place. We ate here several nights in a row. Great food, great service, lots of cats...

dragonfruit outside

inside of dragonfruit

2-20-09

Last weekend, the plan was for Wipada and Tom to go with me back to Bangkok and, at my request, see a beach along the way. On Tuesday, I found out that Wipada would not be able to go because she had to work. At that point I was running out of time to go anywhere else on my own, so I caught a train back to Bangkok a day early to at least see a bit more of the city. I left Wednesday night and arrived in Bangkok at 6 a.m. the next morning.

Bangkok train station, 6 a.m.

Cozy Bangkok

view from Cozy Bangkok room

I researched places to stay online before I left and found great reviews about a guesthouse called “Cozy Bangkok” that is within walking distance of the train station. I booked a single room with a fan for 300 baht, or about $9. The reviews were on point. The place was absolutely adorable. It had a great design, the people were all very friendly and it was down a small street with a lot of trees so it felt like an oasis from the big city. The downsides are that it was hard for taxis to find and there were not many restaurants around (although there were some street vendors). I was very happy for my $9.

When I arrived at the train station, it was still dark. I avoided the taxi and tuk tuk drivers and crossed the street to the only place around that looked open to get a cup of coffee. I tried to order an egg but it didn’t work out. In my first conversation without Wipada, I said “egg” and the Thai people (who spoke some English) thought I said “eight.” They thought I was bargaining for my coffee. They said “eighteen” and I, thinking I was paying for the egg, paid eighteen baht, but the egg never came. I finally asked a different waiter what “egg” sounded like in Thai and that’s when I found out he thought I was saying “eight.” Lol. That was my first lesson on my own in Tinglish. Next time I will point.

I found my way to Cozy Bangkok, but it was still 7 a.m. and they didn’t open until 8 a.m. Luckily, there was a sleepy Serbian twenty something outside smoking a cigarette who offered to let me in and get me water, then sat and chatted with me until the receptionist arrived. He said in Serbia it’s not proper to leave a lady alone, so he was being a gentleman. I kept him entertained with my photos of Cambodia since he was going there in a few days. He was nice enough and then said goodbye after the receptionist arrived. I was happy I didn’t have to wait on the street.

After a shower, I headed off to see Wat Pho, home of the massive reclining buddha. Everyone who has given me advice about Bangkok has said not to bother with public transportation since taxis are so cheap. Instead, I followed the receptionist’s directions to take the bus. I asked about the best way to get there and she said catch the bus, so I did. It was quite the trip. There was almost no English spoken, but I was able to communicate with a worker on the bus about which stop I needed to get off at and she pointed it out to me when we arrived. The bus was very very cheap.

The reclining buddha at Wat Pho is massive. It takes up the entire building and must be something like around 80 feet long. It’s too big to fit into the frame of a camera. I did the best I could to document it. I walked around the rest of the temple complex for awhile and looked at all of the monuments for people who have died. Their ashes are buried there.

Thailand plate

traffic

dilapidated house

Wat Pho

me and the reclining Buddha

head of reclining buddha

mother of pearl feet

I think these each contain people's ashes, the position of the buddha is dependent on the day the person was born.

curly tree

three spires

I had the rest of the day to spend in Bangkok and what did I do? I indulged. Labor is cheap in Thailand, so (after wandering around for a very long time in the heat going the wrong direction) I went to a reputable massage school nearby and had a one hour massage for about $10. It was one of the best massages I’ve ever had. After that I took a short ferry ride then had a manicure and pedicure, something I’ve only had professionally done maybe twice in my entire life. It was lovely.

random temple interior

ferry

riverside houses

more riverside buildings

boat

boat on the river

Bangkok downtown

fishing boat

indulgence

Bangkok at night

Back at my hotel, I was befriended by a fellow traveler, an Englishman named Johnny, who said he was asking people what impressions people from their country have of the English. He hadn’t seen any other Americans in Thailand, so we chatted for awhile about the relationship between the two countries and what it means to be American. I told him I had just visited London and I was impressed by how much I hadn’t realized the English influenced my childhood. The names of different writers kept popping up all over in reference to places in the U.K. I didn’t realize how much English culture had affected me as I was growing up. It came as a bit of a surprise.

This conversation marked the end of my time in Thailand. It was sort of an odd ending. I took a few more photos, packed and went to sleep in a hot room only to wake up the next morning and catch a taxi to the airport.

 

Cozy Bangkok from the street

 

clocks around the world, Bon Voyage

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Thailand. I didn’t get to see the mountains in the north or the beaches in the south, but I am certainly looking forward to coming back. I was able to see a side of Thailand most tourists are never lucky enough to catch a glimpse of. The purpose of my trip is to see how people live and with the help of Wipada, I was able to get a good feel for that wherever we went. I thank both Tom and Wipada for being such wonderful hosts and allowing me to share their lives with them for a couple of weeks.

Snake Affair March 10, 2009

On Monday, Feb. 16, I stayed home while Wipada and Tom went to teach. A new cleaning lady came over to clean the house during the day. Neither one of us spoke the other’s language, but we tried to communicate. After awhile, I came downstairs to get something. She was in the kitchen and stopped immediately when I came down and tried to tell me something. I’m incredibly impressed she pulled the English word out of her vocabulary. She said, hesitantly at first, “s…snake” and waited for my reaction. Instantly I found the irony in the situation. See, I have been having snake dreams for years and especially over the past year. I’ve also had an unusually high number of snake sightings for the northeast. I even had two garden snakes living under my front porch last summer. I had just remarked to Tom the other day that I hadn’t seen a snake or had a dream in awhile, so perhaps their message had passed. Tom had said in his two years in Thailand, he hadn’t seen a snake yet, although both poisonous and harmless snakes are common. Then, this happened. It was perfect. I was alone in the house with the cleaning lady and a snake shows up, as if just to remind me that the species is still around.

 

Indochinese Rat Snake

 

She pointed to the couch in the front room. Obviously, she was terrified. I went upstairs and put a pair of shoes on and came back down. Standing back as far as I could, I moved the couch and sure enough, a snake was curled up underneath- a long one, maybe four or five feet but skinny with big black eyes. It didn’t budge. It reminded me of the garden snakes in my yard and my gut reaction was that it wasn’t poisonous. Just in case, I went back upstairs and put on a taller pair of boots. I got a broom and with the cleaning lady watching, I went forward. The snake did not like being swept and quickly slithered under the entertainment unit, where I though for sure it would hide out. Instead, it kept going… around the stairs, into the bathroom, around the kitchen and back into the bathroom where it curled up. I was surprised at its tenacity. Most snakes I’ve met try to get away from humans. This one didn’t seem to be the least afraid of me, just annoyed. Clearly, it wanted to stay. It also slithered with the front of its body four or five inches off the ground, which I had never seen before.

There was an empty pipe opening in the bathroom and I was determined not to let the snake vanish into it, so soon I was reaching the broom around the door and sweeping the snake out. It really did not want to leave. I swept it back into the kitchen and it headed in any direction but the door. My sweeps became stronger and stronger as it struggled more until I was all but batting it. In one foul sweep it was out the door and I quickly shut it. The cleaning lady jumped up and down in pure joy at the success and immediately set about mopping the floor. I didn’t move because the snake didn’t move. It remained in the spot it had landed right outside the door staring at me. It was as if it was just waiting to come back inside as soon as I left the room. I examined the doorway and sure enough, there was a small hole in the weather stripping that it probably could have fit through. I plugged it with a towel, but the snake still didn’t move. It was staring right at me. It’s eyes followed my every move. Because I had nothing better to do, I sat down and waited for it to leave. It didn’t. For a good ten minutes we had a staring contest. The floor was dry by the time I decided to take action.

With the cleaning lady backing me up, I grabbed the broom again and opened the door and went after it. I swept it out of the driveway. It fought me the entire way. It even tried to scale a wall, but I wouldn’t let it. I got it out into the road and my broom wasn’t working well enough. The cleaning lady brought me a stiffer one and that worked better. I felt like I was golfing. I was trying not to hurt it but the driveway and the snake weren’t cooperating. With one last large swing it was into the grass on the other side. Defeated, it slithered into the shady grass and was never to be seen again.

When Tom got home we looked up the species online and found it to be an Indochinese rat snake… a distant cousin to the black rat snakes I’m fond of in the Northeastern US. Just as I thought, it was harmless. Later that night, a woman Wipada said had a sixth sense came over and said the snake sighting was good luck. I consider it to be so. We lit candles for Buddha that night out of respect.

No 1 Hospital March 7, 2009

 

102 degree fever- uh-oh!

 

Feb. 11, 2009

Last night I was running a fever of 102.2 all night. I took two sets of Tylenol PM but woke up in the morning without a change. Tom thought it was best I go to see a doctor, so Wipada left school to get me and bring me to the hospital. I was worried. I read the hospitals in Bangkok are better than all the U.S. hospitals but the rural ones are sub-par. It pays to know people who know people. Wipada brought a friend with her to pick me up. The woman had once been very mean but Wipada taught her to be nice and credits her gratefully for that. She’s much happier now. She knew a doctor at the hospital, so Wipada brought her along. At the hospital, we walked right in and were immediately greeted by the doctor. I handed away my passport and she asked where I was from and how old I was. She was grilling me for information so I was worried, but soon she grabbed my arm and dragged me over to a bulletin board and showed me a picture of her son. “This my son. He a doctor in Chicago. You marry my son and be future daughterin-law.” We all laughed, and I was relieved. In Thailand, a foreigner equals money and white skin equals beautiful, so this is not the first time that had happened. She asked, “You have boyfriend?” I said “yes, handsome boyfriend,” but she continued to call me daughter-in-law for the rest of my time there.

Getting down to business, she sat me down and I explained the symptoms: aches for three days, fever for two days, diarrhea for one day. She said “Check butt.” That didn’t sound pleasant so I said no. I looked at Wipada wondering if she would be laughing, but she had no reaction. She said it again a few times and I kept saying no. Then she took my arm and started to take me away and explained Wipada had asked I get a shot. I was unsure about getting an unknown shot for an undiagnosed fever, so I said no again and she said, “Then check blood.” I laughed. She hadn’t been pronouncing the “l” or the “d” correctly in her Tinglish so I had misunderstood “blood” for “butt.” I finally said yes. She gave me a canvas tote bag souvenir from the hospital and handed me a paper for farangs that basically said it was a good hospital and they knew what they were doing, in English.

I was whisked away to a desk with waiting chairs next to it and a woman took my blood. Wipada, the other woman and I sat in the waiting room and ordered juices from the juice bar in the waiting room. I had a watermelon smoothie (no cream, just fresh watermelon and ice). (How many hospitals have juice bars in the waiting room, really?) It took only about 20 minutes to have the results and she immediately brought me into the ward and showed me the print-out. “Ah!” she exclaimed, “You have bacteria infection, see?” She pointed to a 90 something percentage reading clearly indicating bacteria. “I give you shot.” So I was walked over to another room and given an antibiotic shot in the butt. It was quick and then it was over. After, the doctor brought us over to a bulletin board to show off pictures of the employee trip to Angor Wat. I was told later she paid for everything for her employees to go including the charge for their passports and entrance into Angor Wat, which are not cheap. She was very proud, and rightfully so. She left us and Wipada left to pay the bill and get my prescriptions while I waited with her friend in the lobby. In the meantime, the doctor came back and brought me a bag of spring rolls and other fresh Vietnamese food she had made. I couldn’t believe my eyes. “For my daughter-in-law” she said. Wipada came back and said the bill had come to 800 Baht, which is around $25. She said the doctor had given me the best shot available and had also given me 10% off. We went as a group to find her and thank her and were led to an employee lounge area that looked more like a full kitchen with a large dining room table in someone’s house. The table was lined with food and more spring rolls like the ones she had just given me. She was stirring something on the stove and gave a bowl full to Wipada’s friend. I couldn’t believe my eyes. We thanked her profusely and left. Wipada told me she was the owner of the hospital. We were in and out in under and hour. It was the best hospital experience I’ve ever had in my life. I’m truly amazed. She is No. 1.

 

my goodies from the hospital- a tote bag and food plus antibiotics

School in Thailand March 7, 2009

 

Wipada with her Pre-K students

 

Feb. 10, 2009

I went to school with Wipada and Tom to visit their classes. The first part of the day was spent with Wipada. We went to morning announcements, which was the most impressive to me. The kids all line up according to their classes while a marching band plays. When most everyone is present, the school does their own version of the pledge of allegiance and national anthem. One girl sings on a microphone and several other girls make announcements. Then a serious looking fellow got on the mic and talked for awhile. Wipada said he was telling the students about the upcoming testing. After many questions, I’ve concluded the school has Pre-K through 9th grade in it for a total of about 2,000 students. There is a separate high school. Parents pay for their kids to go to school and they pick the best school they can afford.

Here’s an interesting tidbit: each class has a “challenged” student in it. They like to mix them into the class so the students learn how to treat them as one of their own and so that the challenged student learns how to act around normal people. Mostly it seems there are autistic children and kids with down syndrome. Wipada has an autistic child who showed up and was instantly smothered with hugs and asked to give everyone a kiss, including me. The student had been sick for about two weeks so it was a reunion of sorts.

In class, the attitude was surprisingly relaxed. Wipada teaches Pre-K and has two assistants. When I asked she said at this age the most they do is teach them how to take care of themselves and be polite. Each has a locker and has to keep track of their own items- a backpack, shoes, a coat, etc. Later I saw them setting the table for lunch. After lunch they take a nap and then I’m not quite sure what. I left in the middle of the morning with Wipada to go have our hair washed. I was shocked she could just leave like that, but it was no problem. Her two assistants watched the kids and she was free to go. This seems to be common and it must not reflect negatively because the school apparently loves her. She could go to a better school and be paid more but she wants to stay to get a good retirement package. I must say it was one of the happier schools I’ve been in. The kids, the teachers and the cafeteria ladies were all very relaxed and smiling.

Wipada knows some of her best friends through school. She also lived on the premises for awhile. Tom did too when he first came to Thailand. Wipada has a free lease on a space behind the cafeteria. Eventually, they moved to a property Wipada owns and had been renting out. They fixed it up and moved in. To be a teacher in Thailand is one of the better professions. It is well-respected and relatively well-paid by the government. A great bonus is free healthcare. That reason alone is part of why Tom and Wipada stay in Thailand instead of going to the States. They’ve though about it, but Tom has had health problems and requires about $500 worth of medications each month. In Thailand as long as he or Wipada teaches they are free. That’s a hard deal to pass up.

 

salon where Wipada took me to get our hair washed and styled for about $3 each

 

Tom teaching adolescents

 

 

After my hair was washed and styled, I went back to school and visited Tom’s class. He teaches English sounds to teenagers. I’m not sure what level it was that I visited but they were definitely adolescents. He has to have an aid or else many of the boys don’t behave. You can imagine the reaction when I walked in, but I held my own. Tom and I had a conversation in front of the class about where I was traveling and the students had to repeat it. He wrote it on the board and asked the students if they knew where each of the places were in the world. Then he had them sing for me, “How many roads must a man walk down…” Right after that the class was over, which was a bit of a relief. I guess teenagers have a lot in common all over the world. It can be such an awful age.

We had lunch and then left school again. Tom and Wipada dropped me off at the house to rest and they headed off to the nearest visa place to adjust Tom’s visa so he can leave the country to go to Angkor Wat on Saturday. I wasn’t feeling well, so I slept a lot.

Silk, Elephant and Silver Villages March 7, 2009

Today, Monday, February 9, 2009, was a day of main attractions. Our schedule was full. First we visited the silk village, then the elephant village, then the silver village. As a bonus, we were able to relax with a couple who had just moved from Belgium four months ago after quitting their pizza shop. The man is Belgian and the woman is Thai. They moved onto her land and built their ideal place of relaxation… a wide open house with a pool, garage and even an outdoor pizza oven created with oven parts from Italy. It was fun to see a European take on Thailand. I would be happy to live in a complex like theirs.

The silk village was fascinating. The looms are massive and take several people to run. The King orders his silk from this particular village and I was told up to 20 people work on one loom for garments for him and the rest of the royal family. The silk fabric is woven at about 5 centimeters a day. That’s intense! My favorite part was seeing the dying process. There was a display set up with the different threads matched up with the natural material their dye comes from. In another section, a woman was in the process of dying threads blue and was crushing up a yellow color from a plant material. She was going to mix them to make green. I miss how that knowledge is passed down. In the States, I’ve heard stories of kids who think milk comes from a refrigerator and don’t know it’s from cows or goats. I think its important to remember how these processes work. In Thailand they learn by doing. They teach the kids how to garden and such. I think it’s wonderful and necessary.

 

silk loom

silk in progress

dye display

vats of dye

 

silk scarves

 

 

At the elephant village, I rode an elephant with Tom and watched an elephant show. The ride didn’t feel too much different from a horse-back ride, except we were a lot farther off the ground and weren’t situated in a saddle. The show was impressive. We saw the elephants paint, walk over people, stand on two legs, throw darts, play soccer and basketball, etc. They are very intelligent animals. They used to be utilized to do heavy labor, but they’ve been replaced by machines. Now, the Seauo tribe depends on tourist dollars to survive. (For Megan…) I am happy to report that the animals seemed well cared for and content. It makes sense… no one wants an angry elephant on their hands.

 

Courtney and Tom ride an elephant

elephant standing on two front legs on a stool

 

the elephant who paints

that's one strong elephant trunk...

 

 

Most of the silver village was closed because one of the wives had just died and most vendors went to her funeral. Wipada had a friend there who stayed open waiting for us. It was a great treat because I was able to get a taste of what they can do. After a short visit, her friend hopped in the car with us and we went to visit a woman with silk worms so I could see the first part of the silk process. The silk worms are grown in a large flat circular basket. When they are ready to make a cocoon, they do so in another contraption. When the cocoons have been made, they are put in a boiling pot of water. Yes, I learned the tragedy. The silk worms do die, but then are eaten by the makers. Yes, I ate one silk worm. It had a nutty flavor. Tiny strands from the cocoons are pulled together and then pulled away from the pot, sticking together to form one single strand which is pulled and wrapped around a spool. The thread is later bleached white and then died another color and then makes its way to the loom.

Afterwards, we visited the couple I spoke of earlier and relaxed for awhile. At sunset, we left and headed back to Surin for dinner, which completed the day. Tomorrow I go to teach adolescents about English sounds with Tom.

 

silkworm cocoons being boiled

 

Thai/Italian pizza oven

Surin train station at night