One Night in Bangkok Makes A Hard Man Humble

One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble, but three nights in Bangkok can harden the humble man, I'd say. I got a little spoiled in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, a couple of tourist-friendly destinations. Bangkok is not for the naive or the faint of heart.

It's not for the naive because, unless you plan to hide in restaurants and your hotel room, touts at most tourist attractions WILL take advantage of you in every way you can imagine if you let them, and sometimes, even if you don't. I don't hold it against them, and I don't think any other visitors should either -- it's a living -- but if you're going to be here, its better to be ready for it; someone will most likely try to scam you at some point -- many points -- during your trip.


It's not for the faint of heart because unlike Singapore and KL, you won't easily find comforts from home here. If you can't get down with eating things that will surely test your palate, you might get hungry at times. I've been ok and enjoyed most of what I ate, but I grew up eating tripe and boiled pig skin... Then again, there's definitely tamer stuff out there for those of you who can't stomach the gamier animal bits in their food. Rice with omelette is pretty much everywhere there is a food market and is suitable for any palate.

Now, I know there are many of you out there who have visited and loved Thailand (I love it too) and you may disagree with my appraisal... But this blog is a place where I intend to be totally honest and this has been my experience. I don't know... Maybe it's because I am traveling alone and look like an easy target for the scammers... Maybe I haven't visited the districts where there is a McDonalds on every corner -- surely, I haven't seen all of Bangkok.

In any case...

If you're an adventurous traveler and can deal with stuff like this, then Bangkok will reward you. It's a strange blend of ancient and modern, like I've observed throughout my SE Asia travels so far, but in a much more overt way. There are centuries old temples nestled awkwardly into urban or residential areas. There are communities carrying on centuries old ways of living, modern only in their methods of transportation and communication. There are restaurants so intimate and romantic, and with breathtaking views, and yet, curiously, barely known to tourists -- I thought these only existed in books and movies. Bangkok is as exotic as you've probably imagined -- maybe even more than your mind can compute. It will truly sweep you away from your regular life in that way that probably lured you to the open road in the first place.


My first stop was Bangkok's Grand Palace which was home to the King of Siam and some government entities from 1782 until as recently as 1925, just a few years prior to the abolition of monarchies in Thailand. This is where I got my first taste of Thailand's less-than-legitimate touts. I was greeted across the street by one who was friendly enough and told me it was the wrong time of day to visit... There was a religious service that would be going on until 2:00 PM, 3 hours later and until then, tourists were not allowed to visit the grounds. Sounded reasonable enough. And he didn't try to sell me anything. So I took him at his word and began walking down the street as mulling over what exactly I would do to kill 3 hours before I could enter the site.


I was stopped by another tout who reiterated what the earlier man said, and then promptly started telling me about other sites which she'd be happy to arrange a tour of for me for only $... I stopped her. I realized what was going on and walked away, but let me tell you, they are very persistent -- she followed me for about a half block before she finally realized I was not going to buy her tour. Before I reached the entrance, I saw another man standing at the gate and asked him of what they were saying was true, assuming he was an employee. He nodded yes, it was all true and waved me on signaling me not to enter, but something rang false about the man, so I entered anyway. No one stopped me, so I proceeded to the ticket booth. I stood in line and no one advised me to leave. Finally, I got up to the ticket lady and asked about the alleged religious service. She assured me they were lying, and I was welcome to buy a ticket and visit the grounds.

I won't spend any more time talking about the "scams", but this one I thought was interesting because of the elaborateness... Multiple touts working together... It'd be almost deserving of my admiration were I not almost their mark. But bigger picture: the scams are harmless, designed only to part the naive with their money. At no point have I felt threatened or in any kind of danger -- I just want to be clear about that.

Anyway, it turned out they weren't exactly "lying". There WAS a religious service going on, but it didn't mean tourists weren't allowed to visit. If anything, the service added a lot to the experience. I felt a little bad about intruding, but they didn't seem to mind and mostly just ignored the visitors. We surely did not ignore them. Their chants filled the palace from end to end. They were really beautiful -- melodic, rhythmic, spiritual. They had me tingling just like I'm sure other visitors were tingling as well. It was really special.



The palace, like most historical sites, was a delight. Thailand allows access to visitors on a level that I haven't seen often during my travels. It both excites me, and concerns me. While I don't love to be kept at a distance when I'm seeing ruins, I also understand that letting tourists like me walk all over the place will hasten their deterioration.




Later, I visited another temple -- Wat Arun. Built in the 17th Century, Wat Arun is impeccably preserved. It appears from a distance to be a massive stone structure, but upon closer inspection, almost every inch of the structure is covered by pieces of ceramic which I understand to have been recovered from pots, bowls, plates and other wares that were thrown out by Chinese traders.



I toured the Khlongs (Thai canals) of Bangkok, still used by the locals to this day. I worried a bit about Malaria, but learned from the CDC website that Malaria is non-existent in Bangkok, so I'm in the clear. But even with Malaria on my mind, the experience of traversing the khlongs -- stilt-homes nestled closely along the banks of the river, locals commuting on the rivers on their boats packed with wares for the market place -- was otherworldly.



I talked a little about a intimate and romantic restaurant I ate at. My boat tour of the Khlongs ended at a pier on the bank of Chao Praya river which cuts through Bangkok. As I stepped off the boat, I looked up at a sign that read fresh coffee. Beneath it sat a couple quietly admiring the view. They looked so relaxed that I had to visit the restaurant. I made my way up to the second floor and seated myself at the open table with the best view, Wat Arun not far away on the other side of Chao Praya. I had heard that Wat Arun was absolutely breathtaking when lit up at night, so I ordered dinner and stayed for the sunset. It was worth the wait.



This was my view as I dined on my Thai Curry Chicken, bones in -- actually one of my easier meals here... It was delicious. But what I most enjoyed was the intimacy and romance. I felt privileged to be sitting there... This amazing spot in the city -- unheralded by any guide books or Travel Channel shows. And for that moment, it was all mine to enjoy. It was one of my favorite moments of my trip so far, one in which I've had many wonderful moments.

On the advice of my friend Mark who visited Thailand this time last year, I decided to visit nearby Ayutthaya, about an hour outside of Bangkok. I caught a third-class ticket for a train at Bangkok train station. 50 cents USD vs. about $15 USD for an air conditioned car. It actually wasn't so bad; the car stayed fairly cool since all of the windows were down and there are fans running throughout the car.




Like I said, ruins are always a delight, and Ayutthaya has the most ruins I've ever seen in a single city (I've never been to Rome -- it's on my list). And it was nice to venture a bit further out into Thailand. Now, I do feel quite conflicted about this, but I rode an elephant in Ayutthura, pictured at the beginning of this blog post. But it was a uniquely Thailand experience, so I decided to go ahead and do the elephant ride.

I visited a few more sites before catching a van pool back from Ayutthaya train station with some other travellers back to Bangkok. This is getting really long, so I'll just share the photos with you all and let you get on with your lives. :)










Alright, y'all. I'm going to pack and go to bed now... I'm flying to Chiang Mai, Thailand tomorrow. Thanks to all of you have been following me and especially those of you who left comments. :) Keep them coming! I really love reading them. Talk to you again soon.

Location:พิษณุโลก 2,Dusit,Thailand

It's KL or Be KL'ed

It's always the places you least expect to enjoy that surprise you. In 2009, it was Santiago, Chile that will stay in my heart despite having been told by some other backpackers that there wasn't much for travelers to do there.

I had considered skipping Kuala Lumpur having heard there wasn't much to see there except for its famous Petronas Towers, but decided to pop in for a visit after seeing how cheap the plane ticket was -- $55.

I bought my departure ticket immediately after landing. I decided to give myself two days to see the city. The first to see Petronas Towers to get that out of the way. The second, to explore the city, wherever the wind may take me. Cab fare to the hostel was about $100 RM (Malay Ringitt), equal to about $30 or so USD. This is an important point which I will explain later.

On the way to the hostel, I struck up a conversation with the cab driver and eventually, negotiated a ride back to the airport for what I thought was a deal, $80 RM. The driver gave me his card and told me to call him the night before to arrange the pickup. Because of some confusion with the roads, he dropped me off about 2 blocks from the hostel with my 40 lb pack -- ugh..

But I found my new home eventually, and there, I met Tony.



Tony's a good man to know KL. I wish there was a Tony at every hostel I stayed at, but there isn't. But he was super knowledgable about the city, knew exactly what he needed to tell me and the other travelers to help us get where we needed to go, and he did it with a smile. It was from Tony that I learned I paid way too much to get to the hostel. And he informed me of the very efficient and affordable subway and bus system in KL and where to find the closest station.

So after locking up my gear, off I went to explore the city. My first destination was Petronas Towers. I snapped a photo of the subway map for reference.




I learned KLCC stands for Kuala Lumpur City Centre, and learned this was also where Petronas Towers was located. $1.60 RM later, and I was at the doorsteps of the Towers. At the base of the tower is a huge, luxurious mall. I purchased my ticket for the tower tour, but learned that my tour would not be until 7:00 that evening, giving me about 6 hours to kill. So I hung around the mall a while before remember a promise I had made to Karen Motiejunas, a friend, to help her daughter with a school project -- I'm to snap photos of landmarks throughout my travels that include a hand-drawn avatar of her. So dutifully, I took this picture -- my first with my little inanimate traveling companion, Flat Alena.


Tour time finally came. I'm not usually a fan of guided tours, but this one was really cool. There were two stops on the tour; the first was the Skybridge that connects the two towers.



I was lucky to be on the skybridge during an electrical storm. I was able to capture a bolt of lightning right at the end of this video.


The second as the observation deck from the top of the tower which was really neat.


As you can see, Flat Alena photobombed me. Curses, that sneaky little girl! :)

So anyway, not a whole lot to say about the tower except it's really high, gave me butterflies in my stomach, and it's pretty famous -- it's been in a few movies even. But it was a neat experience in any case.




After Petronas Towers, I returned to the hostel and fed my internet addiction in the common room. There I met Selwyn, an Australian traveler who was stuck in Malaysia after his U.S. Visa ran out while he was in Chicago staying with his girlfriend. Poor guy. Not sure why he didn't go home to Australia. I'm guessing he just wasn't ready for his trip to end -- he's been on the road for 6 months so far. Then in my dorm, I met a couple of German nursing students who were in KL doing a 2 month internship, and another Aussie, Richenda who was just in town for a day and would be taking off the next night for Turkey, the first stop on a 4 month backpacking trip. I had read about a beautiful cave on the outskirts of KL where Hindus worship and had decided to check it out along with KL's Chinatown on my last day in town.


I saw Selwyn in the common room in the morning and invited him to come along -- I knew he was bored. I think he's stuck in Malaysia for like a month. Then I saw Richenda in the dorm as I was collecting my things -- I knew she had no agenda for her 1 full day in KL, so I invited her along as well. I'm glad I did. It was nice having a couple 'single serving friends' on my excursion.




Tony gave me instructions on how to take KL's Metro bus to the site which was cheap and convenient. Batu Cave turned out to be pretty breathtaking.


It's said that if you make a wish, then ascend its 290 steps without stopping, your wish will be granted. On my way up, I was greeted by some friendly monkeys and wanted so badly to stop to take a photo, but I was determined to have my wish granted and pushed on. I made it to the top ok, where I found this.



I stopped to enjoy the monkeys on the walk back down. The were so adorable, for the most part....


But you must remember these are wild animals and they will defend themselves when they feel threatened:



So it was definitely a worthwhile trek out to Batu Cave. Afterwards, we decided to stop by a "fish spa" for some rest and relaxation. What's a "fish spa" you ask? It's this:


You may not be able to tell, but the fish are eating the dead flesh off of my feet. It sounds gross, I know, but I assure you, it is pretty terrific.

Oh yeah, about paying too much for my ride to my hostel. After a couple subway rides, I felt pretty confident using KL's transit system to get to the airport. So I took a sub and a bus -- total cost? $11.00 RM (vs. $80 RM I was quoted by the cab driver). AND the bus was super comfortable, well air-conditioned and quicker.

I'm in Bangkok now; just touched down this evening. I know a few of you out there have been here before, so if you have any suggestions on what I 'must see', please suggest away in the comments section. I allotted myself a couple of days in Bangkok, and plan to fly to Chiang Mai to ride some elephants on Tuesday... I'll give you another update in a couple of days. Thanks for all the comments! They're a great cure for homesickness which inevitably creeps up now and then when you're travelling alone...

Location:Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

First of Nine Lives Used...

Had my first near-brush with disaster this morning, but by sheer luck, I averted it. Well, I'm being a bit overdramatic... it would have been more of an inconvenience, not a disaster. But anyway, so I decided I was going to fly out from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur this morning and out of cheapness, I bought a ticket for a 5:55 AM flight... It was like $50 versus $120 for all the other flights throughout the day. Which was fine -- I would still be able to get a decent sleep, but it meant that I had to wake up at 4:00 AM to make my flight. Like the responsible kid that I am, I set a couple of alarms on my phone: 3:45 and 3:55... neither of which sounded for reasons I still am not sure of... Somehow, I naturally woke up that morning and had the sense to check my clock. It was exactly 4:00 AM. So I made it to the airport ok and was able to get out of SG and to Kuala Lumpur... Whew!




But it wasn't without a little bit of sadness... I was having a LOT of fun hanging out with my sister, Melissa, my brother-in-law John and their kids (my nieces and nephews), Kirin and Lily. But, my experience has been that the joy of traveling is the feeling of being untethered -- disconnected from your life -- and the unpredictability. It's like being a pebble that was slung from a slingshot. So I had to leave, and fairly quickly. But I'm really glad I started my journey in Singapore. It's a great jumping off point for a SE Asia tour -- a perfect place to ease yourself into the foreign-ness that is SE Asia. And it was so wonderful to spend time with Melissa and her family. I missed them all so much...




I got my first taste of Singapore on Monday afternoon. After I posted my first blog, I decided to strike out and see what I could find. Ruby was so kind as to loan me her gate key and Kirin's bus pass (which, like an idiot, I forgot to give back and have with me here in Malaysia... Sorry Ruby!). I'd heard Little India was a fairly fun an interesting place, so I chose that as my destination. Its always a little unnerving using a city's public transportation system. I searched for online resources to see if I could find a trip planner, but couldn't find out. After a while, I gave up and just jumped on a bus. Luckily, I was headed in the right direction. I stopped by a little market to check out their wares first and to ask around for directions. One of the shop owners was kind enough to give me instructions on how to get to Little India and I made it there before long.




Little India was cute, and fun, but what stuck with me the most about my first adventure was just how safe I felt the whole way. The strictness I had read about was nowhere to be found. No intimidating police milling around -- I think I saw one police car the whole day. In fact, throughout my experience, the only manifestation of this alleged 'strictness' was that I couldn't buy a pack of gum when I felt like chewing one. Gum can only be purchased at pharmacies and only the 'nicotine' and 'dental gum' varieties, legal because of their health benefits.




On Tuesday, I met with Melissa and John for lunch (during their work day no less...). Melissa and I met first at Lau Pa Sat, a complex of street food stands rife with cheap but delicious eats, otherwise known as a 'hawker center'. There are many of these through out Singapore. SG is a global financial center now; these 'hawker centers' are sort of a throwback to its roots which were more similar to poorer SE Asian countries like Vietnam or Cambodia. But as I understand it, despite the bargain basement prices for food, hawker centers are highly regulated for cleanliness, even moreso than the surrounding restaurants. So not only can you find a bargain at these centers, but you'll also be eating some of the safest (and most delicious) food in Singapore.




I was able to find something there that was very similar to a food that I ate a lot as a child -- Penang Goreng, or "Banana Fritter". It's a slice of banana that is battered and deep-fried... and utterly delicious. The heat melts the banana into a warm pudding, and the batter is fairly neutral in flavor but adds a layer of crispness. It's dripping with grease, but it is a rich and decadent treat.



After Lau Pa Sat, Melissa went back to work, and John walked me over to Chinatown, where I would spend the afternoon, before returning to work himself. He gave me a brief tour of Chinatown before dropping me off at the front of Ann Siang Hill Park which connects to two sides of Singapore's China town. The street that we stood on, shown here, was once the frontage to Singapore's harbor. All of the land beyond that was filled in -- man made -- and it's is now home to Singapore's financial district, a giant steel forest of skyscrapers.




As John walked away, I turned and walked into Ann Siang Hill park, the city to my back. I nearly forgot it was there as I was absorbed into Chinatown's nostalgic architecture and decor.




But when I reached the top of Ann Siang Hill, I turned around and saw this...




A mass of old buildings with Chinese-style roofs huddled together against a backdrop of concrete and steel skyscrapers. In a way, I kind of feel like this sums up Singapore and a lot of booming SE Asian countries (including Malaysia) right now. Singapore only officially became a country after the Second World War, which makes it a virtual infant... Yet in that short time, it's matured into one of the worlds most vibrant economies. The same has happened in Malaysia, and yes, it's now happening to Vietnam as I understand it. Sights like this just serve as a living reminder of Singapore's rapid growth and the industriousness of its people.
Anyway, I'm heading out now. I'm about to head up to the observation deck and sky bridge of Malaysia's famous Petronas Towers, those round twin towers that you so often see in movies... But I had a bunch of video and pictures of Singapore I wanted to share with you all, so I just put them together in a video. Hope you enjoy it! I'll talk to you all again soon.

Location:Singapore, SG

On the Road Again - SE Asia...

Boy, it didn't really sink in that I was traveling again until I typed the word "boy" at the beginning of this sentence... Right now I'm sitting at a Thai Restaurant on the grounds of my sister's building, the Thai Pan, which I understand from its Yelp reviews that it's quite tasty. I'm quite looking forward to a good meal. But it really hit home, to me, just how integral writing about my experiences is to my enjoyment of traveling as the experience itself. Hence the blog.

For me, blogging and traveling go hand in hand. It forces me to reflect on my experiences and how they're affecting me from moment to moment. Not a moment passes that goes unanalyzed and unappreciated. And most importantly, not a single experience will go forgotten.




No even the 36 hours leading up to this moment which has been nothing but planes, airports, and sleeping, but I'm going to tell you all about it anyway. Deal with it.

The first thing that struck me was how quickly I felt like I was out of Seattle. I felt like I was in another world as soon as I stepped up to the All Nippon Airlines (ANA) ticket counter to check in. Despite the feeling that I was running late, I actually arrived minutes before they opened at 10:15AM (for my 1:15PM flight). ANA is a Japanese airline, and it was immediately evident as they lined up their crew before about 3 or 4 waiting American travelers for a synchronized "Ohayoo Gozaimasu" (Hello) and a bow. It was like the Rockettes, but upside down and with their torsos instead of their legs.




The flight itself was actually very nice, like all trans-oceanic flights, I'm finding. Personal video monitors are standard along with a healthy selection of newer movies and old classics available free to the passenger, and even video games. Already having a healthy collection of games and video on my iPhone and iPad, I opted to save my stored content and enjoy their free movies. I saw Pixar's "Brave" which was cute and more touching than I was expecting (I probably should have expected it, being a Pixar movie and all), I saw "Safety Not Guaranteed" which was much more thoughful and layered than its trailer suggested, and I saw "In Search of a Friend for the End of the World", the only indie comedy about the Apocalypse that I think I've ever seen. Interesting, but I don't think I'd watch it again. Finally, I watched the old Robin Williams classic "Dead Poets Society", a great movie about living life, one that I'm really glad I saw right before I embark on this journey... Yes, it's at times corny, and at other times sad, but I like its message of living life outside the lines.




The in-flight meals always impress me. In fact, it's food I'd probably eat happily if served at a fast food restaurant. They're usually reasonably portioned (not too big), relatively non-fatty, and tasty meals...

I had a 2 hour delay in Narita Airport which wouldn't have been so terrible except that it meant my arrival time to Singapore would be 3 AM instead of 1AM. But I had free wi-fi and was able to check Facebook and iMessage back and forth with a few friends while I was there, which was nice. My main concern was waking up John (my brother-in-law) and my niece and nephew at 3AM, but luckily the kids didn't stir when I arrived, and John was very gracious (albeit sleepy-eyed) when I arrived.




The kids and he were already gone when I woke up this morning, but I got a chance to meet and get to know Ruby, my sister's friend and live-in caretaker. She is totally fantastic. She made me a couple cups of really fancy coffee and then took me down to the kids' school so I could say hello and give my niece and nephew a big hug. John and my sister are really lucky to have her!




So now that I've slept and showered, I am ready to see the world, but before I go, a couple of observations...

One. I worried way more than I needed to. Things have actually gone very smoothly; things have a way of working out, in my experience. My first worry was not being able to vote, but luckily, my absentee ballot arrived literally the day before I left for Asia, so I was able to drop my ballot the morning I left and cast my vote -- so I'm happy to have done my duty as an American.



Second. I worried a lot about having 'everything I needed' for entry into a foreign country. But so far, things have been pretty easy. Even Singapore, known for its strict customs was a piece of cake. The customs lady was really informative, friendly and very chatty. I rather enjoyed my customs experience, oddly. But I think being a worry wart is good thing in a lot of ways. Yes customs was easy, but probably because I checked and triple checked the entry requirements before stepping on the plane.

Third. Boy, the world has changed technologically since my 2009 trip to S. America. Back then, it was just me and my iPhone 3g and I needed to check into an Internet cafe everytime I wanted to post a blog. It's really nice to have my iPad with me this time around, allowing me to write a little whenever I get the opportunity. Now, I won't need to interrupt my trip to write, and I'll always be able to write when I feel inspired to. And I know Panorama has been around for a while, but I love the way iOS 6 has it integrated into the camera -- it's something I'll actually use, and have already used a lot.



Anyway, I'm almost done with my lunch, so I'm off. I'll check back with you all again soon, when I have more interesting stuff to talk about....

Location:Singapore