Mum arrived on the 23rd, after being in aircraft and airports for just about two whole days. We spent two days here in Taiwan, then went to Thailand for 5 days before returning. Part 1 here is about the Thailand leg of our trip. --ed
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Sawatdee!
Well it's been a whirlwind of a tour so far. Thailand is an amazing place to see and its people are definitely some of the most gentle and polite that I've come across. Even the dogs are gentle creatures. Never heard one bark once while we were there. Although they (the dogs) hang out on the streets, most have collars and tags, and they don't smell, so they definitely belong to people. Those who don't have collars look well-fed and taken care of.
The architecture is fabulous and of course the food is to die for. We spent a couple of days in Bangkok. I did not realize what a HUGE city it is! The whole city looks like something out of a Sci-Fi movie. The tall concrete jungle with spotless sidewalks, flashing/animated signage and disembodied voices providing instructions on the absolutley immaculate Mass Rapid Transit system all really lend to the Sci-Fi effect. Add to this the contrast of the richly decorated and perfumed Buddhist temples dotted throught the city and it really does feel, well, exotic.
We traveled a little south to the beaches where we had a little respite from the city before heading way north to beautiful Chiang Mai for the Interhash get together. I actually found my Hash buddies from Trinidad, so we hung out with them and the other 6,000 hashers from aroung the world at Chiang Mai's 700 year old stadium. Food, wine and beer were all for the taking. The highlight of the whole tour for me was going further north to an elephant preserve where we got to meet the elephants, including the beautiful babies!! I just couldn't stop hugging the sweet calf that you'll see in the pictures that I bring back!! We also went rafting on the river, and visited one of the "longneck" hillside villages.
We're back in Taiwan now, where we were due to attend Marc's boss' wedding but I was not well, so I ended up not going. However, the same gang took us out for a really nice Japanese Sukiyaki (sort of like a hot pot) dinner last night. They just kept bringing out more and more seafood and kaoliang. It was all really, really good.
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Today we're taking the train north-east along the coast, then south past 1000-m-tall cliffs, on the way to Hualien. We're going to spend one night there, then two nights in picturesque (and Canada-esque, apparently) Sun Moon Lake.
More updates soon! --ed
Comments
Sounds like you've already got your money's worth!
Thanks for taking some time out of both of your (apparently!) very busy schedules to tell us all of the places you've been (and the rich linking is appreciated, ed!)
Hua Hin looks gorgeous, I think you should have spent a bit more time there splashing around on the beaches (provided you've had nice weather for your visit, I have no idea -- is it still rainy there this time of year?)
Conversely, Chiang Mai looks like just the kind of place Marc would feel well at home driving a supercar around in (virtually, anyway) Come on Marc, tell me you don't see that striped curb on the hairpin as a challenge. The pics on Wikipedia are good but not great; here's hoping you both find lots of good photo ops. Please be sure to get yourselves together in a few of them to bring home for us!
I'm jealous about the food; have an extra helping for me, will you? We're all looking forward to more posts from both of you in the coming weeks; hope you continue to have a great time!
Happy trail
Thanks to your guest columnist this blog is picking up speed. that's good news.
Wow! That's quite a lot of activity in such a short time, the stuff that lifelong memories are made of. I'm reading this as I would an Ian Fleming thriller. I hope you're not too worn out to fully bask, you basker, in these extraordinary (to me) moments.
You don't seem to have too bad a hangover from the koalang, from what I had read, it doesn't have much of a reputation.
What is your sense of the main difference in culture between Thailand and your new home (for now). Are people similar? Do restaurants have the same smell? Now that you've been there, would you consider going to teach there? Do you wish you had gone there instead?
I'll let you complete your visit without any pressure to instantly describe all your comings and goings, you have so much more to do than to keep us informed as things happen. But went the brouhaha is over and the dust settles, I want satisfaction.
Arosoir
Replies
Kev:
Hua Hin was lovely indeed.. but this year's jellyfish season is really severe, apparently. I don't know if they're dangerous, but they are massive (one I saw washed up on the beach was the size of a volleyball -- and that with most of its tentacles missing) and gross and all over the bloody place. I did some swimming, but mostly we lounged on the beach itself.
Chiang Mai was lovely -- quiet and just a touch touristy. We'd been warned that it was 'cold' in Chiang Mai at the beginning of winter, because it's so far 'north'. We survived the 24-degree cold by sheer force of will.
The food was lovely, but we both got a little sick on the last day. That's the last time I have Chicken Tartare.
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Pops:
Yes, it's been hectic so far. I'll need a vacation from this vacation! But mum did come half-way around the globe, so we're both of the mind do a lot while we're here. We've tried to take some quiet moments to reflect and appreciate what's around us, like we did in Sun Moon Lake, and we've taken lots of pictures.
We didn't have much Kaohliang, since we rode to the restaurant on my scooter. It can be pretty rough stuff in any quantity, though.
As far as the differences between Thailand and Taiwan: one of my fellow expatriates described Thailand as a "dirty Taiwan". I can see why that would be said, and to some extent I agree. Both places are warm, and the people are generally extremely polite. Polite to a point that would be blatantly insincere in a Westerner. And the food is exotic.
But Thailand is definitely its own place. Locals don't notice Westerners so readily, as it's much more of a tourist destination. Speaking of which, it's easier to find white faces in Thailand to begin with. The taxis and tuk-tuks and street vendors are a little more rapacious there too; but it's not a small bit of cathartic fun to be able to tell some stranger to stuff a lemon up their bums every 45 seconds, if one so desires. Mum actually thought I was being a bit of an asshole when I told the taxi vultures at the airport to take a hike when they tried to charge me double the going extortion rate for a ride into town.
I find the language quite intriguing. This time (I had been there for 2 days before), I noticed some Chinese-influenced words and phrases, to the point that I could almost understand the context of a conversation. That was a little strange, as I didn't know enough Mandarin to notice it the first time.