Jon's Thailand Blog

When we were planning the trip up north to Kanchanaburi, we had definite plans of what we wanted to see and a fairly good idea about how we would fit it all in. However, if there is anything to be learned by traveling, plans should be taken only as rough guidelines of both what to do and when to do it.

We left for Kanchanaburi Thursday afternoon, deciding to take a bus to the small town about 2 hours northwest of Bangkok. The bus was actually really nice, with air-conditioning, reclining seats and curtains over the windows so we could try to get a little sleep. We were traveling in a smaller group this time, just Brian, Brad, Abby and I, with others planning to meet up with us the next day on Friday. When we arrived we made our way to the riverfront to find a hostel. We took the first one we found with two available rooms, Sugar Cane. Our rooms turned out to be literally on the water, built out over the river on a floating dock. Although it was pretty well anchored down, every now and then we felt the sway of the water underneath us. The only downside to staying right on the water was the all-night floating karaoke boats that travel up and down the river, blasting Thai pop songs with seemingly obscene base.

Once we dropped off our bags we went out to the main street to walk around and see the area. We went over to the night market first, which was pretty much like any other market we had encountered in Thailand so far, t-shirts, fake jewelry and handbags, sunglasses and a plethora of other goods. As we walked back up the street toward our hostel, we were stopped and persuaded by the owner of a little garden bar to come in and have a drink, promising to extend his happy hour on our account. Feeling that we couldn’t pass up a good happy hour, we decided to go in and have a drink before going to bed. Yet when we got in there, we started talking to the bar owner and met two other girls from Denmark that were backpacking through Thailand for the next three weeks. One drink turned into a few more, and then someone brought out a Jenga set, or “Tumbling Tower” as the box called it. A few hours later through our conversation, it turned out that the girls from Denmark were staying at a guesthouse that was actually owned by the same man that owned the bar that we were at, and the best part was that it had a pool. Now usually, as most mischievous teens know, if you are going to break into a pool late at night to swim, you usually don’t let the owner know. However, the owner of this guesthouse over heard us and was all about it. So much so that he even offered to drive us there, packing the six of us into his pickup truck at taking us over there. We did make one small stop along the way, moving a turtle off the road not so it didn’t get run over, but so the locals wouldn’t eat it. That night we swam in the slightly cold pool, and hung out with a few more of the local guys that stopped by later, Jolly and Saen.

The next day, or afternoon I should say considering we slept in till well past noon, we headed off to the Tiger Temple. The Tiger Temple wasn’t really a temple, more of an open animal preserve with boars, bison, roosters, peacocks and other animals roaming freely about. We were careful not to wear red, yellow or any bright colors, as apparently they attract the attention of the tigers. Seeing the tigers so close was really incredible. The deal was that you could either be guided through the tiger area by one of the handlers, who would take your camera and take pictures of you petting the tigers, for free, or you could “donate” 1000baht to have two tiger’s heads placed on your lap for a special photo. We decided that it wasn’t really worth that much money for a special picture, which in the end didn’t really matter because due to the relatively cool weather, the tigers were more active than normal, and therefore no one was allowed to do the special photo. It seemed like the majority of the tigers were either asleep or close to it when I was walking through the tiger area; it’s also very possible that they were drugged as well. Petting these giant cats was a pretty wild experience, knowing that I was actually touching an animal that could easily kill me given the desire. Yet everything seemed extremely safe, and the handlers were on top of safely guiding everyone around, and avoiding the tigers that seemed a little too active for human attention.

It turned out that since we got to the temple close to closing, around 4pm, we were able to walk up with the tigers as they were placed back in their cages. Here was an opportunity for more pictures, as well as the chance to get peed on by the walking tiger, which apparently is considered good luck. Brad had extremely good luck that afternoon, as he took a few direct shots. When we reached the main area of the preserve, a few of the tigers were let loose to play with each other, and one of the trainers let one chase him around. Then out of nowhere we saw all the animals rushing toward the main dirt road that ran across the grounds. We finally saw what the big deal was; a truck was driving down the road with the back full of gourds or some other type of vegetable/ food substance. It was feeding time, and all the animals knew it, and we were right in the middle of all of it. It was pretty crazy being in the middle of a massive feeding frenzy. We definitely came at the right time.

That night, after a solid dinner, we were walking up the main road and ran into Saen, one of the local guys from the night before, who beckoned us into the Buddha Bar, where it turns out he worked at. Out came the infamous Jenga set, as well as a few hookahs. Saen then asked us if we liked reggae music, and offered to take us to a Thai reggae concert the next night, featuring his favorite reggae band, Job2Do. We all agreed, thinking it would be pretty sweet to hang out with more locals and get a more realistic taste of Thai life outside of the tourist perspective that we were used to.

The next day we met him at the Buddha Bar at around noon. We then rented a truck, hopped in the back and Saen and his girlfriend drove us outside of the town to a lake where the concert was going to be later that night. The lake had a few poorly made slides and platforms to jump off of, looking like a favorite vacation spot for the locals, as we were the only farangs (white people) there. Then we saw that there was a motocross race around the lake as part of this ongoing festival, which was pretty crazy. At this point we had learned not to expect anything, so we all kind of laughed like “man, what are we doing here??” but at the same time weren’t too terribly surprised. After swimming and watching the race for a little while, we decided to go back into town to take a nap and shower before coming back that night for the concert.

When we got back that evening, it turns out that the concert wasn’t exactly what we were expecting. It was at this point that we found out that Saen was actually part of the Thai biker gang, and that this reggae concert was actually not really just a concert, but a headliner for a giant biker gang festival. So there we were, four farangs and 2,000 Thai bikers dressed in full leathers and riding in on their choppers. Yet the atmosphere was far from what you would find at Sturgis or any biker rally in the States, where there is definite bad blood between the different biker gangs and fights are common. Here, one of the first songs we heard was a song that was about all the bikers loving each other and getting along, united by the love for riding and open roads. Even the embracing and pacifist Thai culture had permeated the biker gang mentality.

Job2Do was pretty good, and before we knew it we were all up dancing with all the locals, who were stoked that we were all having such a good time. I guess it is customary in Thai culture, or at least this setting, that when you meet someone you first offer him or her a sip from your drink, and then bow as a greeting. Considering we were the only white people up in the front dancing like everyone else, and the Rasta pants Brad bought made us stand out even more, everyone wanted to come say hi, and that meant a lot of drinks. Everyone was extremely nice, and kept asking us if we were having a good time, which of course we were. We ended up meeting the boss of Saen’s gang, who invited us over to his house the next day for dinner. He also told us that if we had any trouble at all, all we had to do was find him and he would “take care of it”. It’s a nice feeling being backed by a 30-man Thai biker gang.

Worn out from the night before, we didn’t get up the next day till well into the afternoon. We then rented motor scooters, and followed Saen out into the countryside to his boss’s house. He had a really nice plot of land, enough for a few ponds that he fished out of for food, as well as a large area of empty land where he is planning to build guesthouses and a restaurant within the next few years. A few of the other bikers from the night before were there, and it was really cool talking and hanging out with them again, even though most of their English was about as good as our Thai. We had an absolutely incredible meal cooked from scratch traditionally outside on charcoal, with rice, red curry, soup, and a few other dishes that I still don’t know what was in them. It was really cool to have an actual traditional Thai meal, and just to spend time with the locals and do what they would be doing. It gave a much better perspective on the culture and the people, and was quite a refreshing break from the tourist mentality that we had become somewhat accustomed to. It was one of those things that we couldn’t predict or plan on, but thoroughly enjoyed, perhaps even more than if we were able to see the waterfalls and caves. In my opinion, travel is almost less about the sights you see and more about the interaction with the local culture and other experiences gained though exposure to situations and cultures outside of one’s familiarity. This weekend was definitely one of those experiences.

The next day, Monday, Brian decided to go swimming with Saen and his girlfriend, while Brad and I hopped on our scooter to go visit the Bridge over River Kwai, which has been made famous though both print and film. American, British and Australian POWs captured by the Japanese built it during WWII. According to Allied engineers, the bridge would take about five years to complete. Yet due to extremely hard and long work hours, the bridge was completed in about 15 months. Soon after its completion, it was bombed by an Allied air strike. The bridge isn’t terribly impressive in person, yet the historical fame of the bridge made it worth seeing.

This weekend we decided to get out of Bangkok once again and headed down to Pattaya, about 3 hours southeast of Bangkok. Pattaya is by far one of the most mindblowingly weird and wild places I have ever been. Known world wide as an extremely stereotypical tourist destination, Pattaya’s other claim to fame is the ridiculous amount of prostitution and escort services. We got into the city after dark, and walked around for a while trying to find a place to stay, avoiding the numerous bar/guesthouses that one can rent by the hour. We finally found a hostel that had enough room for us and went out to see the town.

As we walked down “Walking Street”, the main drag of the city, there were several bars that had several girls, or probably more accurately several “lady boys”, calling out “welcome! welcome!”, panning for money. Several “girls” were already occupied with some lonely soul. The maze of street shops and vendors was also more extensive than anything we had seen before. Shop after shop selling pretty much the same array of knockoff goods and cheesy souvenirs were all placed conveniently between the restaurants, bars and clubs.

One of Dylan’s friends, Andrew, lives about 20 minutes outside of Pattaya, and he came down that night to meet us and show us around the city. After a decent meal at an Irish pub, where we all ordered the cheaper Thai food, we followed Andrew two a few of the more legitimate bars and clubs he knew of (ones not blatantly selling sex). It was a blast hanging out with everyone. At one of the clubs we actually saw a two-man rap cover band. Apparently anything goes in Pattaya.

The next day we went out on a large boat to one of the nearby islands. The beach was absolutely beautiful and the water was warm and crystal clear. It would have been truly amazing had there not been the obscene amount of tourists (I suppose we counted as well). I’m really looking forward to heading further south and finding even more stunning beaches that are a bit more secluded.

One of the really weird things that we continued to notice more and during our weekend there was the number of old white men with young Thai girls, essentially being paid to be their girlfriend during their stay. This was a far cry from the “normal” form of sex prostitution that is simply for physical services. It seemed that here these girls were performing emotional services as well, holding the man’s hand, rubbing his back, both looking both board and awkward. It was really a very bizarre social dynamic. What was even stranger was that many of these men had a friend or two with him, each with their own girl.

The second night, Abby's ex-boyfriend's parents, who live in Pattaya, took us all out for a delicious seafood dinner. The highlight of the second night was definitely the ice bar called “-5°”. The bar was completely made of ice: bar, tables, chairs, shotglasses, even the floor was a slippery layer of ice. It was 500baht for 30 minutes inside with unlimited drinks, although it soon became apparent that the vodka they were serving, as they could only serve hard alcohol because anything else would freeze, was mostly water. The really cool thing was that when you took a shot you slammed the ice shotglass on the ground, watching it shatter everywhere. By the time 30 minutes were up we were all really cold, despite our sweet parkas, and really do get back out to the Thailand heat.

We headed back on Sunday, and all headed out to Kao Sarn Road that night for my 21^st birthday. Although it didn’t really mean a whole lot legally turning 21 in Thailand, it was still a blast regardless. Brian even bought me a grasshopper and maggots for my birthday dinner. It was great to spend my birthday here with everyone, and I feel that I can really trust everyone here too look out for each other and me. Monday night we all went out for my official birthday dinner, and then I was surprised with a cake and candles that night when we all got back. It was a fitting end to a really fun weekend.

The highlight so far was definitely our 4-day trip to the upper southern Gulf of Thailand, which I just returned from last night. Thursday morning the university took us on a “getting to know each other” overnight trip at the 5-star Dusit Resort in Hua Hin, completely paid for. We left Bangkok at 7:30am on a chartered bus that took us 200km south to Hua Hin, a small resort town right on the beach. Getting to campus that early was a bit rough, considering most of us went out the night before to this cool English pub called the Londoner, so I pretty much slept the entire bus ride there. When we got there we were all extremely impressed. Apparently the Dusit Resort in Hua Hin is one of the top resorts in all of Thailand. It was absolutely incredible. The lobby was all marble with an extremely ornate fountain, and everything screamed first class luxury. The landscaping on the grounds was immaculate, complete with exotic flowers and palm trees. The room and Andy and I shared overlooked a small field where people were getting massages under cabanas, and the ocean water. We immediately headed for the beach, which was just steps from the hotel pool. There we enjoyed slightly cool water (like San Diego in the summer) and just relaxed in the sun.

After about an hour we went to lunch at the main resort restaurant, simply known as “The Restaurant”. It was buffet style with some of the best food I have had on this trip, fresh seafood, meat, gourmet salad, and a large dessert and fresh fruit bar. Since the portions here are pretty small by American standards, it was the first time many of us had felt full since we had gotten here. After lunch we hung out by the pool for a little while then went and did some “team-building” activities, which were actually pretty fun. We split into three teams of about 11-12 each and competed in three different tasks (spider web climb, some other rope climb and filling up a bucket with multiple holes). After, the team with the overall time was awarded some sweet Dusit Resort polos. My team came in second, yet I still ended up with one somehow. After the activities it was back to the beach, then over to The Restaurant for dinner, which was equally good, if not better than lunch. That night most of us hung out on the beach. It was definitely a good time. The tide here is pretty crazy; low tide goes out probably a good 300 meters. It’s pretty cool to walk out to, however in the dark you can’t really see what you are stepping on.

The next morning we all got up for breakfast bright and early (9:30, I swear they never let us sleep in here), however it was not a disappointment- just as good as the rest of the meals, including a pretty good omelet bar. After we all checked out, we got back on the bus which took us about 15 minutes away to Maruekatayawan Palace, built by King Rama IV in 1923 in classic raised Thai Architecture style. It offered amazing views of the sea, as well as a sense that one was living “above the world”, raised up as Thai royalty is.

After the tour of the Palace, the bus dropped about 12 of us back at the hotel, while the remaining Thammasat remained on the bus back to Bangkok. Instead, we caught the hotel shuttle, which drove us in to the center of the actual town of Hua Hin. From here we walked to our hostel, which was essentially on a dock right on the water. Although this sounds pretty sweet at first, let me tell you I think we went from the best accommodations in Thailand to the worst. Lonely Plant’s description of a “dark and gloomy” hostel was spot on. Yet, the fact that Brian and I shared a room paying only 200 (about 3 dollars) made it worth it. You could easily feel every spring in our mattress, and our only sheets were the provided towels. However the best part of the hostel was how you flushed the toilet. We searched for a long time for any sort of lever or chain with which to flush the toilet, until we realized what the big bucket of water in the bathroom was for. To flush the toilet, you were to pour the water into the toilet bowl, which of course made the water splash everywhere. It was an experience to say the least.

We then spent the remaining afternoon on the beach, had a quick swim and hung out for a little before heading into town to find food. Brian and I went searching for street food with the rest of the group got some Italian and Indian food. Our food, for 25 baht each, was pretty delicious, although I couldn’t tell you what it was. Some sort of seafood and egg with noodles, I think. My stomach as grown quite accustomed to strange, and often spicy food. After dinner we went back to the hostel to relax and some others went to the beach to chill out. Unfortunately Charity got sick from something she ate, and went back to her room early. However, Charity happened to be sharing a room with Abby, Marney and Meris, and at the end of the night none of them wanted to go back to their room for fear of Charity getting sick again. Therefore, when Brian and I got back from the beach at around 4 am, we found all three of the girls sleeping in our bed. We found a way to fit five “decently” comfortably, and got some semblance of sleep.

The next day we all got up at a decent hour (more because of how hot it was in the bed and not because we planned on it) and headed to the beach before our noon checkout. Then a few of us went to find an internet café and some food.

Our next stop was another small beach town about 100km south called Prachuap Khiri Khan. Some of our group decided to take a taxi bus down, which apparently had karaoke, the rest of us rented motor scooters for the journey. I had never ridden one before, and it was amazing. I had a sweet Honda Wave 100 which topped out at about 100km an hour, or 60MPH. After cruising around the town to get the hang of it, and get somewhat used to driving on the wrong side of the road, we all set off south toward Prachuap Khiri Khan. It was a blast scooting along the Thailand countryside. It didn’t get better than Bruno, Mr. Italian, cruising along with a towel around his neck singing in Italian at the top of his lungs. It’s probably a miracle none of us got hurt, considering we were going flat out most of the way. I did however manage to roll my bike into a ditch when we were getting going after a quick stop, with no calls of “are you alright”, and only “get a camera! Get a camera!” It was really funny. Then a little while later a dog ran out right in front of me chasing a car, then when it saw me ran straight directly in front of me, leaving no where for me to go but right into it’s back hip. After I hit it I looked back and it was standing in the bushes looking at me, so I’m just going to assume it’s completely fine. We finally arrived at the next hostel that evening and found the others had pretty much started the party without us. After what was one of the best showers of my life, we sat down at the restaurant next to our hostel, which was a set of nice bungalows, and ordered dinner. The rest of the group had already made friends with the owners of the restaurant, Act and No, who were both incredibly nice, genuine people. That night they ordered tuk-tuks for us and took us out to a little hole in the wall bar. It was a nice relaxing atmosphere with a live band, and served 3-dollar pitchers. We all thought the price was pretty sweet, even though we realized that we were only paying $6 for our hostel.

The next morning we got up very early (which would have been impossible without Meris’s wakeup call) and went to Wat Thammikaram, a temple on a steep hill, which was full of monkeys. There were monkeys everywhere. When we drove up on our scooters, they all came out of the trees and caves and directly to us, expecting us to have food. We bought some peanuts from this little kid, Bon, and began to feed the monkeys. It was pretty wild. You could hand a peanut to them and they would reach out and grab it out of your hand. They would tug on your shorts and even reach in your pocket to get fed as well. It was a bit almost overwhelming at first; Dylan got over it and just dumped his bag on the ground and watched about 5 or 6 monkeys fight over the remaining nuts. The monkeys were climbing all over the scooters, and even trying to steal the keys and helmets, which learned we had to keep with us. This scene continued all the way up the 396 steps to the top. There were monkeys on the railings, on the steps and in the trees, it was really a crazy scene, and all wanted to be fed. The view from the top was pretty cool, seeing the surrounding islands, town and rice patties in the distance. The temple itself could have been fairly beautiful, aside from all the monkey feces and urine everywhere. After we all got back to the hostel we decided it was definitely time for another shower.

I flew out of LAX to Bangkok via Taiwan with James. The total travel time of the flight was about 18 hours, including a 4-hour layover, however I left LAX at 11pm on Wednesday, January 2^nd and arrived at BKK (Bangkok airport) at 12pm Friday, January 4^th. The flight was actually not bad at all. I watched a couple movies and got some solid sleep. We had a bus from Thammasat University pick us up from the airport with two other guys from Germany, Max and Ben. In my jet lagged state, it took me about 15 minutes of driving on the highway toward our hostel before I realized that we were driving on the wrong side of the road. Driving here is absolutely insane. Lane lines are pretty much a waste of paint, and turn signals are a rare courtesy. People merge in and out of lanes with no warning, and often no reason, causing a chain reaction of lane changes and braking that surprisingly rarely conclude in an accident. In my week here I can’t believe that I haven’t seen one accident. Apparently Bangkok has some of the worst traffic congestion in the world, and I believe it, definitely topping Los Angeles by a long shot. The really interesting thing about traffic here is the plethora of motorbikes and motor scooters, which it seems like everyone owns. As traffic is almost always stopped at lights or merges, the motorbikes fly up to the front of the light between cars, in the shoulder, and on the sidewalk. Then when the light turns green, all of them take off in front of all the cars.

My first impression of Bangkok was that it was extremely polluted, which apparently it is well known for. Los Angeles easily beats Bangkok in air-quality. There are also a ton of stray dogs everywhere since the population here is about 97% Buddhist and don’t believe in killing anything. It seems like they are all fairly docile and used to humans, so there shouldn’t be any problem with diseases from being bitten or anything.

We spent our first night at the Rambutri House on Kao Sarn Road. It wasn’t bad at all, having clean sheets, AC, and even wireless internet (for a small fee). Kao Sarn Road seems to be a backpacker’s mecca in Southeast Asia, having a hostel and bar every 3 or 4 buildings, often combined. If anyone is familiar with the book or movie “The Beach”, it is where Richard stays his first night in Thailand, which is described by Alex Garland as “a decompression chamber for those about to leave of enter Thailand; a halfway house between the East and the West”, which I felt was fairly accurate. Street vendors litter the streets, offering everything from jewelry, wooden frogs, bootleg movies, to fake IDs, all extremely cheap. Currently the exchange rate is 1 US dollar to about 30 baht. Thus, I have been getting fairly good at dividing everything here by 30 to get the price in dollars. The price of food is the first thing that I noticed. My first meal was lunch at a small restaurant right of Kao Sarn Road, where I got a full place of cashew chicken and white rice and water for about 3 dollars, or 100 baht. Bottled water on average costs 10 baht, or 33 cents. Some of the best food I have had was a plate of Pad Thai (fried sprouts, noodles, egg, chicken and spices) from a street vendor for 25 baht, less than a dollar. The amount of food is also ridiculous. The streets are lined with food street vendors, all cooking and selling food and sweets. It seems everywhere you turn there is food, and someone is always eating.

The first day James and I went and bought local cell phones, costing about 75 dollars for a phone and 300 baht worth of prepaid minutes. A week later I still have 100 baht worth of minutes left. That evening we met Andy, Abby and Dylan, who were all already there, for dinner. Andy is from USC as well, Abby from Texas and Dylan from Australia. One interesting thing about the meals here is that the dishes are brought out one by one at seemingly random times. One person’s meal might come out, then 5 minutes later the next meal comes out. Therefore, we have given up on waiting for everyone to get his or her food to start eating. That night we went out together and explored some of the Kao Sarn nightlife, possibly the best way to break the ice and get to know each other.

The next day, Saturday, we woke up and went down for breakfast at the hostel and met the rest of the group studying at Thammasat that was staying at the Rambutri House, Dylan (Australia), Andy (USC), Abby (Texas), Charity (Hawaii), Meris (USC), Brad (USC), Marney (Canada), James (USC), and Bruno (Canada). We all set off to look for housing. Someone had previously posted a link for the Ratanakosin Island Condos on our Facebook group page, so we decided to check that out first. Upon arriving, we met Justin, who managed several of the condos in the building with his aunt. When we told him that we all wanted to stay there, his eyes got big and in all honesty looked a little scared. However, Justin was amazing, and after looking at several rooms and being treated to a snack in his aunt’s apartment, we all had rooms. The girls were sharing 2 singles, Brad and Andy each had singles, James and I shared a two bedroom and Dylan and Bruno shared another two bedroom. The building is absolutely beautiful. All the rooms are fully finished, wireless internet, amazing views of the smog surrounding the city, a beautiful pool, health spa, gym and restaurant. I have several pictures, which at one time or another will be posted on here. Our group gets along really well, and we are having a blast getting to know each other.

Sunday was spent hanging out by the pool, and then going to Pata Pinklao (Pinklao meaning mall), to guy general things for the apartment. Pata Pinklao is huge, consisting of 6 floors where you can buy anything, clothes, movies, electronics, groceries, cell phones, etc. It even has a petting zoo on the roof. I bought my uniform for school, consisting of a white button up shirt and black pants. Coming in I thought I would really hate wearing a uniform, but it is actually not bad, especially when everyone has to do it. Plus, Thammasat is a really prestigious university, not just in Bangkok, but also in all of Southeast Asia, so you get a lot of respect by wearing the uniform and not looking like a stupid white tourist (which unfortunately we look like the rest of the time).

Classes started on Monday, and it was definitely an interesting experience. The thing that struck me first was what has become to be as “Thai-time”. All the students in our first class showed up about 10 to 15 minutes late, which apparently is totally and completely normal and accepted. The second apparent difference between class here and back in the States is that the Thai students talk to each other throughout the entire class as the professor is lecturing, seemingly not paying any attention. It is also fairly common for students to answer their phones during class and carry on full conversations. These actions receive little or no scolding from the professor, and it seems that he or she is mostly only lecturing at the exchange students than the Thai students, as we are the only ones who seem to pay attention. The classes are all 3 hours long, which is a little intense, given that I am used to classes that are only about an hour and half. We do usually get a 15-minute break an hour and a half in though, so plus Thai-time, it’s a solid 20-30 minute break.

Food on campus is pretty good and equally as cheap. Chicken, rice, soup and bottled water is about 35 baht, a little over a dollar. So far we have been taking taxis to school, and it has worked out well. We usually split it between about 3 or 4 of us, since all the classes start at the same time, and the total fare is around 55-60 baht, so max only 20 a person. The bus system I subject to a lot of traffic and plus none of us can remotely understand the bus lines or schedule; it has been all but ruled out. Since it is still not too hot out, coming home I have started taking a boat across the river (our condo is just across the river from the school), then walking the rest of the way, which is only 10-15 minutes. Perhaps one day I will wake up early enough to try and do this going to school.