March 29 through April 2, 2023
My group tour to Thailand/Laos/Cambodia/Vietnam went from March 30 through April 24 and I was planning to continue my blog during that time. But two things happened to interrupt that... firstly the Thailand part was split in two (March 30 to April 2 and April 17 to April 24 and then April 25 to April 30 on our own) so I figured I should write about Thailand all at one time. Second, somewhere in Laos and then later in Cambodia it became impossible to view my blog (Laos is a bit of a communist country so maybe that's why?). In any case it was such a hassle, I'm just now (on April 26) catching up. Not ideal since things really started to blend together over the past month but I'll give it a try anyway. Luckily I have five thousand photos to look at to remember what I did in each place 😂 Not even kidding.
Overview and highlights of Thailand (part 1): We started off in Bangkok and Art and I had a day or so on our own before the tour began. We found our way to a temple (soon to be one of MANY) which has an enormous reclining Buddha statue (again, one of MANY), discovered the transit system (pretty sleek), and had some delicious Thai food (I definitely expanded my repertoire of Thai food options on this trip). Thailand seems to be a country that aspires to be "first world" (if I'm allowed to say that) and is a semi-democracy (yes there's free speech but you can't say anything bad about the king publicly). Decent infrastructure exists but is still in process (much of the electrical wires appear tangled and exposed but somehow it works 😕). You really can't drink the tap water but you can flush toilet paper (in most places). There are tons of street food markets and it's debatable to me how regulated food safety is, but it's probably fine for locals and iffy for tourists. Clearly tourism is big business here and is helping Thailand become more "successful." We did wander to one of the night markets which turned out to have a slightly seedy side but I guess that's Bangkok; on the same street we also visited a very modern mall. The outlying villages, by contrast, all had a quiet charming Buddhist vibe.
Tour highlights: a cooking lesson from a local in which we made delicious red curry; a visit to Jim Thomson's home (American ex-pat who made his fortune in the Thai silk industry); a visit to the Grand Palace (inspiration for The King and I) followed by a talk with a student activist enlightening us about freedom of speech (and challenges with government) in Thailand; dinner cruise on the Chaophraya River. The food we ate was different and plentiful and I'm glad we got to try out so many options. When I told the tour guide that we order the same thing every time we go out for Thai back home, he looked a little sad 😔 We also went to the ancient city of Ayutthaya which is a world heritage site where 33 kings lived over the years. Most of what I remember from these tours is how very hot and humid it was 😅
The locals seem very friendly; the heat was oppressive (and only got worse in the countries to follow); the food was largely great. The tour group was made up of 16 people and I was by far the youngest. I didn't quite realize that when I signed up but it worked out fine. They reminded me of my parents at times 😏. They were an incredibly well-traveled group and for sure that was their main personality trait 😐. The tour guide (KC) was fantastic even if his accent and English took some getting used to. His attitude was charming and even-tempered and worked well with this group. I would take a tour with him again (not so sure I'd take a tour with the other group members though 😏).
Cheers, Deena
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April 17 through April 24, 2023
The main part of the group tour ended on April 16 and we had a day back in Bangkok. We said our goodbyes to half the group, then Art and I reunited and we spent the day/evening together which was nice 💝 (maybe absence does make the heart grow fonder, and all that). The next day I was off again on the "post-tour extension" to northern and western Thailand (which I was required to take). I'll summarize that part of the trip here.
First we went by train to Mahachai in the western part of Thailand, stopping to see the heart (guts?) of the fishing industry. I managed to tolerate the very pungent odor but it was not my favorite part of the tour by any means. Then we took a ferry across the Tha Chin River and a bus ride to Kanchanaburi where the bridge over the River Kwai mostly still stands (built by hundreds of thousands of Asian laborers and WWII POW's under terrible conditions). Once again, lots of history gaps to fill in for me (many of the older people on our tour lived through all this history so it wasn't so new to them). I was thinking I should go watch that old "Bridge Over the River Kwai" movie but then they told us it's not entirely accurate, so maybe not 😑 For the experience, I did walk across the bridge/railway which, by the way, was a bit scary as there are parts without side rails and not much room to move if a train comes through 😮 but I managed to survive. We also found our way into nearby caves where the POW's sought respite and we discovered some newborn kittens; life goes on in interesting ways.
The following day we walked a lengthy and challenging hike called Hellfire Pass where Japan's POWs were ordered to blast through the mountain to make way for a railway from Thailand to Myanmar (for WWII logistical advantage). As you might expect, many lives were lost here as well. The hike was tough but I made it (obviously) and no one in our group got injured. I keep swearing off hiking internationally but then there I go again 🙅 We later took another boat ride to see a different view of the bridge over the River Kwai (which I learned is pronounced "kway" not "kwai"). Our accommodations during this part was at a "river camp" which was basically "glamping" and was quite lovely really. I especially enjoyed having my own tent! Their pool was a natural spring, the premises have been used as a setting in various war films, and the dinners were all communal with piped-in American music from the 70's. Loved it.
Flew to Chiang Rai the next day and spent 2.5 days exploring its sights: the White Temple, the Blue Temple, the Opium Museum (more interesting than I thought), an actual Rubber Tree farm (fascinating), and the Golden Triangle (an area where Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet). Most interestingly we took a trip to see the cave where 13 Thai boys got trapped in 2018. It was made into a riveting movie about 2 years ago and had me on the edge of my seat even though I knew how it turned out in real life (spoiler: all the boys survived). Very cool to see it in person 💜 (One of our tour group members fell ill right before the cave excursion; this was not unusual for her but I felt bad that she missed this highlight.)
Chiang Rai also had some cool night markets to explore which I, of course, did. Interestingly Chiang Rai was the only city where each night we experienced major rain and wind storms. One night I went out to get my hair done and a storm started up midway through and then the lights went out in the whole town! The salon had a backup generator that lasted for about 5 minutes but they were mostly done by then anyway. I had my hair rinsed out in cold water 😏 and finished up by iPhone light 😲. I didn't really get to see how it turned out until I reached my hotel room (and even then not until their power returned two hours later). Luckily it looks great, but definitely one of my most memorable hair experiences!
Long drive the next day to Chiang Mai, which was our final village and maybe the most interesting to me. First we got to visit our tour guide's family rice plantation and watch them harvesting. Then we visited a hill tribe called "Karen Hill Tribe" where the women all wear neck rings for decoration, adding one each year. It was fascinating to see and talk with them about this practice that might seem strange to a foreigner. See photos below. I wound up buying some handmade crafts from them as well (I support everyone!). Afterwards we went to an Elephant Sanctuary, where we learned all about elephants in Thailand, their plight, their usefulness, and their daily life. This sanctuary struck me as doing everything right (I know many similar places do not). We got to feed, touch, and bathe them (super cool!) and contribute to their well-being financially. Highly recommend.
In the evening I checked out the night market (most massive one I've seen so far), and the next day we went to (yet another) temple, (yet another) market, and I got (yet another) massage. I've gotten massages in every country on the group tour (they're so cheap!) but this one was special since they train and employ female ex-convicts. Love the idea and decided to support the mission with my tourism dollars. Maybe we should try something similar in the US?
Finally we flew back to Bangkok and said our final goodbyes/farewells and I got to reunite with Art once again! He enjoyed his time in Bangkok playing backgammon, working on backgammon and math research, and generally soaking up the A/C in his hotel room 😅 He and I had one final Thai dinner to celebrate the end of the tour, before flying to Phuket the next morning!
Deena
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April 25 through April 30, 2023
It's not pronounced "fuck-it" as we quickly found out 😉. Phuket is a beautiful narrow peninsula in the southern part of Thailand, filled with many beaches and many tourists. It is also where a large number of people were killed in the 2004 Tsunami; there has been a fair bit of rebuilding since then. We stayed in an Airbnb on the west coast of the peninsula, about a 1/2 hour from the really touristy Patong Beach and about an hour or so from the central part of Phuket. We chose Phuket because I was looking for some chill downtime after the go-go-go of my month-long tour.
Our Airbnb was in an area called Karon Beach which is pretty laid back; it has a beach, a night market (not massive), restaurants, lots of massage places, and MANY weed businesses (we did not partake). The Airbnb itself was reasonably nice with just about everything we needed (even laundry!), although the climate in the apartment only seemed capable of 2 settings: cold when A/C was on, and stuffy when we turned it off. Alas. The wifi was great (I'm writing this from our apartment 😊 after all), the stove worked (after the technician came to fix it), the fridge was full-size, the shower water was warm-ish, and the washer worked. I was glad to be able to "eat in" for at least some of our meals. What more could we ask for?
Aside from our downtime, we did two excursions here: snorkeling in the Phi Phi Islands (pronounced "pee-pee", I swear), and visiting an elephant rescue sanctuary. The snorkeling involved a few island stops and, although a bit touristy, it was beautiful and we enjoyed ourselves. I finally found the only waters in the world that are my temperature! I jumped right in off the boat, and since they provided life vests, I didn't drown 😂 We got to see some spots where famous films were shot (like James Bond) and we got to relax in cheap lounge chairs while sipping pina coladas (and while watching all the Instagram influencers get their perfect shots). The waters were clear, the waves were brisk, the weather was hot, and all was well 💓
At the elephant sanctuary (which I highly approved of for its ethical standards), we got to learn all about Asian elephants, create meal balls for them, feed them directly, take photos, and then bathe them in the mud. Wow! A tiring half-day but totally worth it, see the amazing photos below (including our "elphies" which are "selfies" but with elephants 😀) Never have I ever enjoyed a shower more than I did after the mud-bath adventure. Since Art hadn't been with me when I did a similar excursion in Chiang Mai, this allowed us to both enjoy the experience.
All in all, I feel ready to move on from southeast Asia to Japan. We are doing fine, perhaps except for a few injuries Art sustained falling on sidewalks or tripping while entering the bathroom (but he's healing well) and two shins I managed to bruise nicely on a bed last week 😧 and my left arm pinched nerve is much better (but not fully healed). Thailand was better than I expected in a lot of ways, especially with tourism/infrastructure, food options (I need to ask Thai Orchid for a lot more menu items when I return), super cool rain storms, and the vibe of the people (should we all consider becoming Buddhists?).
Things I miss at this point: hugging my kids 💝, walking/hiking with friends, being in the same time zone as my family/friends, my favorite breakfast cereals, cold milk, real orange juice, hot water in the shower, flushing toilet paper down the toilet, using tap water to brush my teeth, finding good hair gel, reliable wifi, and consistently great A/C 😅 Final note: I have decided it's time to break my new bad habit of drinking too much soda (a side effect of not trusting the water, and also eating lots of heavy spicy food) and plan to quit it starting in Japan. Feels right 👍
Onward to Tokyo 🛫
Deena and Art
