Floating Downriver - Thailand

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Thailand

October 24
I started my three-day trek to Chiang Mai. We stopped for mosquito repellent, pens and chicken feet, which are eaten in the same manner as crawfish. I had to break the feet in two and then eat the meat. As soon as we got off the truck it started to rain and it continued to rain. It was about a three-mile walk to the Hmong village where we stayed. There are a lot of pigs here. Our guide, Mr. Dun, told us Hmong history and what a typical village might look like. We had a mud hut with a fire near the door for heat. When the fire burnt out, it was a little cool and damp at night but at least we were not getting rained on and they served us a lot of food.

October 25

Goods are sold off boats at the floating markets outside of Bangkok

A couple of the girls in the group decided to go back, so one of the guides took them. We stayed with Mr. Dun and we also picked up some guy from the village to come just in case Mr. Dun got lost or sick. I talked a lot with the British couple on the trip; he graduated from Dartmouth and had many reflections on America.

The actual trek was hell. It rained all day and we had mini-mud slides, which made us fall down a lot. It was a four-hour walk to a covered area where we had food prepared for us. Then, we took an hour elephant ride to get closer to our camp. We walked another hour and arrived at the next village, that of the short-necked Kaaren people. This was a better-constructed building and more inviting to sleep in, less of a draft.

I also gave away my pens to the children; this is a common gift, as they need pens for school and can't afford to buy their own. The British couple had brought balloons as gifts, which they also liked. Although there was time to talk with the Kaaren people through Mr. Dun, the group was tired and went to bed early.

October 26
I was woken up at three in the morning by a pig, which woke up all the animals. So not too much sleep even though I was worn out by the trek. I did have one dry piece of clothing to sleep in, which was a tank top. We did leave the village and took an hour trek to the river. The sun came out and it actually was warm so the tank top was fine. We crossed some rice patties and arrived at a river. The group took a bamboo raft down the river, which had swelled after the rains. We ran into a bamboo dam and I though I might have to bail but the raft crashed through the dam. It was odd as I had to stand the whole time and paddle and parts of the raft were under water.

After finishing the boat trip, we had a truck waiting for us that took us back to Chiang Mai. On the trip back, we visited the highest temple in Thailand. It was purple and looked neat as it was up in the clouds but we were really tired. It also started to rain again.

Buddha kicks back and relaxes in the Reclining Buddha statue

Returning to my hotel, I met a British couple and we went to kickboxing together. They stop the fights so there were no knockouts or blood. They last five rounds of three minutes. Foreigners had a fenced off area to sit in away from locals. I liked the pre-fight dance that all fighters perform. It's a way to pay homage to their family and coaches. Also, the amount of betting and the degree to which the betters attempt to sway the judges' decisions is noteworthy. When their fighter lands a bunch they will yell loudly to make it seem like it was a harder punch then it actually was.

October 27
I was sore today. I tried to sleep in but woke up early. I walked down to the bazaar, which was a struggle in itself. I did buy some souvenirs, including dolls of the Hmong and Kaaren. I wanted to see more of Chiang Mai but had little left in the fuel tank. A little bit of a fever also, I think, because of the conditions the last couple of days. The train back to Bangkok had nice scenery the first couple of hours but now it is dark and time to go to bed.

October 28
I stayed at the same Thai house in Bangkok as the first time. I arranged my trip for tomorrow and my visa for Cambodia. The Royal Palace was next which is a huge complex, with colorful temple guards at the entrances. The complex also contains the Emerald Buddha. This statue is revered and thus one cannot photograph it or point your feet in its direction while seated. Then on to Wat Po, which has the Reclining Buddha, which is a huge golden statue of the Buddha, as you may expect, reclining. He is resting his head on his right hand and has his legs kicked out. I then took a water taxi to the Temple of the Dawn. My last stop was Khao Sahn Road for some shopping. I bought some Thai boxing shorts, which are kind of skimpy.

October 29
In the morning I went to the floating markets, one of the more interesting sights I have seen in awhile. The first stops were a coconut farm and a teak wood artesian shop. The market itself is largely people on boats that are selling a variety of goods, including food, clothing and souvenirs. The money and goods are then exchanged between the boats.

Next, on to the bridge over the River Kwai. There were a couple museums in the area; the most prominent was a World War 2 museum. The actual bridge over the River Kwai is not that impressive but historically important. It is part of the notorious Burma Road built by many POW's after the Japanese occupation.

October 30

Two mythical guards protect the Royal Palace in Bangkok

The trip today was from Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia. At the border another American and I crossed the border ourselves as it was cheaper and we had no hassles. Everyone else in the group paid locals to help them through. We waited two hours at the border restaurant for the rest of the group. It was nice to talk to an American again; I hadn't spoken with one since mid-September. It's good to talk about common American experiences.

It's obvious where Cambodia starts because of the roads. There are some areas with six feet deep potholes. Also, I believe it is an executive order to have the Cambodian flag flying in citizens' front lawns. It's also very obvious how affectionate the Cambodian people. I only had to talk to them for a few minutes and they would be laughing and rubbing my legs and back.

The tour guide tried to get us into an upscale hotel at Siem Reap. I'm used to sleeping in hotels with animals in it, but I'm used to live animals crawling around not dead, stuffed ones. The hotel was out of my price range so he took us to a backpacker's place and got us prepared for tomorrow's visit to Angkor Wat.


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