Thailand - Days 1 and 2

Thailand was a nice break from historical site-seeing. Michael and I went to Phuket, an island the size of Singapore on Thailand’s southern peninsula. It is a resort island on the Andaman Sea. Most of our first day was spent traveling. Bangkok is not a coastal city; the ship was docked at Laem Chaebang which is about three hours by bus. When we finally arrived at Bangkok’s international airport I was very impressed, it was one of the largest airports I have ever seen and it looked new and shiny (several billion dollars was spent on it by the time construction was finished in 2002). After our long trek to the gate we waited at a stringent security checkpoint where they confiscated my sun-block lotion because it was over 2 ounces (and I finally found a country with air travel regulations that were dumber than the U.S.).

We flew on a 767 full with 120 SAS students and assorted Europeans and Australians. The flight to Phuket took about an hour and during it we were treated to the best airplane food I’ve ever had (on the way back to Bangkok a few days later we were served curry chicken which was also delicious). The ocean near Phuket is dotted with hundreds of islands which made for some great photo opportunities as we descended to land. Once on the ground it was another 45 minutes from the airport to Patong Beach, the resort area where our hotel was located. Patong Beach is located on the other side of a winding mountain road which is considered the most dangerous in Thailand because of the numerous motorbike-related fatalities that occur there each year.

We stayed in Duangjitt Resort which was nice but it was under renovation since it was the low season. On the way to the hotel we were told by our tour guide that we would have to choose which of tomorrow’s activities we wanted to do, either jungle trekking, sea kayaking, or elephant riding. I started getting angry because the itinerary made it clear that everyone would have the opportunity to do all three. It turns out that our tour guide just spoke poor English and what he said was not what he meant. Once there we were informed that we had to find out which color-coded group we were in which would determine the order of the next day’s activities. The tour company, Destination Asia, split our group of 120 students into two subgroups and then further dividing each of those groups into color-coded groups. Mike and I were in the same group but our friends on the same trip were in another group.

After dropping our things off in our hotel room and relaxing for a little bit Mike and I met up with some friends to figure out what we were going to do since we had the evening free. After some confusion and indecisiveness we finally settled on finding a Thai restaurant and then going to see a Muay Thai boxing match. The tour company, Destination Asia, arranged a shuttle that would pick us up and take us to the fight; we even bought tickets through them. Destination Asia had their own table set up in the reception area of the hotel where Semester At Sea could get information, restaurant recommendations, and arrange transportation.

We walked down a nearby road and looked around for restaurants. We found a bed and breakfast nearby with a restaurant that looked promising so we ate there. It was my first taste of authentic Thai food and it was delicious and very spicy. In Thailand at every meal you are given a small tray with dried chili peppers, diced chili peppers in vinegar, and sliced chili peppers in water which you put on your food. At every meal I ate (breakfast included) I would accidentally put too many chili peppers on my food and make it really hot, I loved it though. At this meal I tried Tom Yum for the first time which is Thai lemongrass soup with various weird roots (whole chunks of ginger root and some unidentifiable things).

After dinner we walked to the nearby 7-11 to get drinks. My mouth was on fire from dinner so I bought some green tea. I was constantly reminded of home throughout all of Asia and Southeast Asia by the ubiquitous 7-11 convenience stores. They were in Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and even Thailand. We all walked back to the hotel to wait for the van that was going to take us to the fight. The ride over to the fight was uneventful until we pulled into a seedy alleyway and stopped near a rundown looking building we all began to have our doubts about this boxing match. We handed our tickets to some people who looked like they worked there and they handed each of us a free t-shirt.

We walked into the arena-area and sat down on some bleachers and waited for the fights to start. Since we had arrived an hour early we had ample time to drink Thai beer. Thailand’s national beer, Tiger, is pretty good but of all the new beers I’ve tried I think Angkor beer from Cambodia was the best. The seats slowly filled up, mostly with westerners, and eventually it was time for the fights to begin. At this point we learned that we were in for a treat, a band would be playing live traditional Thai music throughout the fight. This was a tradition that has been around as long as Muay Thai fighting itself. The musicians were on a raised platform in one corner of the small arena (it looked more like a warehouse) and they played almost nonstop for the next 3 hours, I don’t know how they did it.

The first fight finally began at 9 PM and we were shocked to learn that it was between a 13-year-old and 15-year-old. Before each match begins each fighter performs a pre-fight ritual which involves praying, paying their respects to the King of Thailand, and various other exercises. What distinguishes Muay Thai from boxing in the west is that the fighters can kick as well as use elbows and knees which they sometimes do with a devastating effect. Very few people can withstand an elbow to the head. Despite the possibility for brutality the fighters were always very nice to each other. They didn’t “talk trash” or criticize each other, in fact, on a few occasions after knocking an opponent down they would quickly check to make sure they were okay. There were eight fights that night and since I am not a sports writer I can’t possibly capture what they were like. Thankfully Emily brought her video camera with her so the entire thing was recorded. Needless to say, I had a great time and I felt like I got to see an aspect of Thai culture that very few people get the chance to see.

The following day I had to wake up early for the jungle safari. It was a 3 hour drive by bus to Khao Sok National park in Phang Nga province on the mainland of Thailand. Southern Thailand is covered in rubber plantations which made for interesting scenery as we made our way to the park. Once we arrived at the park we met our tour guide, a youngish Thai woman named Siri. It had started raining lightly by the time we picked out our walking sticks and started our trek into the jungle. We had barely begun our trek when we came to the Sok River which had a strong current. In order to get across we would have to go, four at a time, on a bamboo raft that was pulled across the river by a Thai guy who held onto a rope that was tied to trees on the river banks.

Once on the other side we made our way up a steep narrow path. With the tour guide behind us we had no idea where to go. Michael and I heard the sound of falling water nearby and found a small stream where the path ended. Unsure of what to do next we turned around to find a path going up a steep incline. We decided to follow that but after a short time we realized it was the wrong way. We walked back down towards the stream and waited for our guide while swatting mosquitoes that seemed impervious to the ridiculous amounts of insect repellant I had applied to every exposed body part. We stood and waited with others in group and made nervous jokes about getting Dengue Fever.

When Siri and the rest of our group caught up we learned that we were going to walk through the stream. No one told us we would be walking through water, in fact the Destination Asia tour company had recommended that we bring hiking shoes. Undeterred, I tried to hop from fallen branches and half-submerged rocks to avoid getting my feet wet. Eventually I gave up and just hopped into the water (as a result my shoes would be soaked and smelly until we got to Bangkok several days later). One of the girls in our groups broke her flip-flops and Siri graciously gave hers to her and walked barefoot the rest of the way. One guy had the good idea of using leaves and branches from a plant to make shoes which worked okay for a while. Sometime later he realized that he had put his shoes down and forgot to pick them back up again.

Scrambling up and down steep muddy paths I would go to grab hold of trees and plants and then remember Siri telling us that some of the plants are poisonous and if touched caused swelling and pain. The trek took us through more creeks, mud with the consistency of quicksand, and sharp jagged rocks. It was exciting and made more so by the possibility of touching poisonous plants or getting dengue fever from a mosquito (luckily no one in our group was hurt). We joked amongst ourselves about the possibility of getting blood poisoning from cuts and scrapes on feet and then walking through mud and possibly unclean water (to my knowledge no one was seriously injured but a few people had some nasty cuts on their feet from the jagged rocks).

Being in the thick jungle, literally in the middle of nowhere, was really exciting, even though we didn’t see any wildlife. After an hour or so of walking up and down hills through mud and water we walked down a steep path that I recognized as the one Michael and I had accidentally walked up earlier. We got back to Sok River and crossed on the bamboo raft once again. Looking like proper savages we emerged from the jungle covered in sweat and mud, glad to be back and ready for lunch. We were all treated to a Thai buffet in which I yet again put too many chili peppers on my food.

After lunch it was our turn to ride elephants. In Thailand elephants are considered sacred, they are commanded by mahouts, people originally from Tibet, who are well-respected for their ability to train and control elephants. The mahout sits in the front of the elephant towards the head where he can gently nudge the elephant’s ears with his feet to coax it into going left or right. In the event that the elephant is feeling rebellious or has caught sight of a particularly tasty plant the mahout has a hook which he uses to hook the elephant behind the ear (we were assured that to an elephant the hook would feel like a tickle).

Michael and I sat together on a seat with a safety bar on top of the elephant. The gentle swaying of the elephant as it made its way through the jungle was a nice way to relax after our jungle trek and a Thai buffet. As the mahout guided our elephant through the muddy jungle paths the mud squelched underneath the elephant’s feet. After following paths for 45 minutes or so we came into a clearing full of tall grasses, various plants, and a scattering of flowers. All around us the sides of the mountains towered above us, everything up to and including their jagged peaks were covered in trees.

While we were in the clearing, the other mahouts stopped their elephants and gave the riders the opportunity to take some pictures, but ours did not. Instead, he let our elephant walk into, and through, trees while it ripped up vegetation with its trunk and stuffed it in its mouth. Eventually we left the clearing and resumed our journey through the jungle, this time following a path that seemed to lead back to where we had started.

After leaving the elephants we rode to the Sok River where we got into canoes and went downriver. Michael and I didn’t even have to paddle since we, like everyone else in our group, were supplied with guides to paddle for us. It had started raining and we never really saw anything particularly interesting, though the guides did point out some snakes in trees and a monkey up high on a cliff that overlooked the river. After our relaxing trip down the river we got back on the buses for the 3 hour ride back to the resort at Patong Beach.

We got back to the hotel in the late evening and decided to go out on our own to buy some sandals and find a good Thai restaurant. For some reason we decided that we didn’t need anything to protect us from the rain, despite the fact that it had been raining heavily off and on all evening. It started raining as we walked down a street near the hotel looking for someone who sold sandals so we wouldn’t have to wear our shoes that had been soaked by the jungle trek. We found some sandals but were left stranded underneath the corrugated metal roof of a store because the rain had turned into a downpour.

As we waited for the rain to stop we watched the Thai transvestites (known affectionately as “ladyboys” in Thailand) across the street trying to convince passing men to pay for their services. After 15 minutes of waiting the rain had not yet abated. A Thai guy in his 20’s who had been standing near us introduced himself and asked us where we were from. After a brief discussion we learned that he was the owner of the clothing store we were standing in front of. He told us that he had plastic ponchos in the store but that he had just closed it and could not open it again. After consulting with his grandmother who was nearby selling beverages he offered to sell us their ponchos. We couldn’t possibly accept that so we politely said no. He then asked his grandmother if he could go back into the store to get some ponchos to sell to us, which he did once she consented.

Since we were looking for a Thai restaurant we decided to ask him if he knew of any. He immediately put on his plastic poncho, said something to his grandmother in Thai, and then told us to follow him. We walked not too far down the street to a restaurant that he said was very good. He was an extremely helpful stranger and he was right about the restaurant, the food was delicious. It was probably the spiciest meal I have ever eaten. After dinner I walked back to the hotel and went to sleep looking forward to sea-kayaking the next day.