Lindissi

Needless to say I had a great time in Thailand. So, I just wanted to pass on some of the Gotchas we encountered. The Thai people are very friendly even when they are lying to your face to force you to go shopping so they can make a buck or a baht. So here they are:

In Bangkok, people mainly men approach you on the street and ask where you are going. You respond with "Grand Palace" or "Wat Pho" or wherever. They will tell you it is closed or hasn't opened yet. Typically, this is not true. Then will continue to ask you for a map and circle other sites that they recommended, these sites are farther away and require a tuk-tuk or cab to get there. They offer you a tuk-tuk for super cheap around 40 baht, but they also include a stop or two to shop either at tailor or jewelry shop. Now if you don't mind the annoyance of forced shopping then 40 baht is super cheap. Obviously, you don't have to buy anything. The big issue is when you want to see something and they say it is closed, then you are missing out. One guy told us Wat Pho was closed, which annoyed us because it was our last day so this misconception could have cost us seeing the place. Luckily we where more savvy by then and kept walking to Wat Pho which was of course open.

In Chaing Mai, they took a different approach. Men with very good English skills approach on the street saying they are visiting from out of town too. One guys said Singapore, another said Melbourne. They are all trying to suggest you go to the major shopping area on the out skirts of town where they sell jewelry, hand crafts, parasols, tapestry, etc. One went even so far as to blatantly lie that there was a festival going on with dancers and such that finished at 3pm. Of course, there was no festival only the shops.

As for shopping at markets you will be over charged. Haggle! One thing that worked well was saying "your neighbor was going to sell it for X amount." Where X amount was what ever we wanted to buy it at.

Always have the taxi turn on the meter. They tend to try to give you a flat rate but you have no idea if it is fair or not. Of course, even on the meter they can still get you by taking the long way or driving in circles and you won't be able to tell.

At airports, people will approach ask where you are going and offer to drive you there. I suggest going to the Taxi Stand which costs an extra 50 baht.

We where trying to find the Airport Shuttle once and had to weed through countless number of people trying to offer to drive us where we wanted to go. Some would even say there was no Airport Shuttle which we eventually got too. Needless to say, ask multiple people to try to figure out the truth and at the Airport there is a Information desk.

Oh and for boys you'll be approached for other reasons...wink...wink....so nasty. I don't have any advice for dealing with them because I didn't have to, but I would suggest you just politely go on about your business.   I did get to play connect 4 and Jenga with a madam though...but that is a different story.  We where just looking for beer and could only find the bars that served as fronts for prostitution.  We gave in. Sat down ordered beer and the older one (i assume the madam) busted out the connect 4.  Overall good experience.  Then they even told us where we could go dancing at a real club and not a meat market.  On and boys watch out for the lady boys.

Yes you will see prostitution.  They use bars and massage parlors as fronts.  My Thai friend had the best advice.  If you want a real massage go to the massage parlor with old ladies.  I did have quite a few massage from old ladies! Haha.

Let's see any other advice...pack light there are lots of place to wash clothes and they are cheap.  Don't forget the bug spray (I used a  eucalyptus based spray that doesn't have an deet).

Just thought of this the hotels usually have card at the front desk that have the name of the hotel written in Thai with directions in Thai and everything.  They are great to hand to Taxi's in order to get you to your temporary home stay and sound.  Grab 'em.

Also, if you want to check out some more pics visit my Picasa Web Album. I had a terrific time on the overnight hike where we got to sleep on bamboo mats with bed rolls in a hut where you could peak through the walls.  The annoying beasts of the villages (chickens, pigs, dogs) woke us before day break.  I thought they where suppose to wait till the sun was rising...crazy roosters.  There are also pics of all the amazing temples we visited and the Grand Palace in Bangkok was awesome.  You can also see the beach front bungalows that we stayed at on Koh Chang.

Thailand 2008

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Elephants and Thai people have a special bond.  The elephants are revered by the hearts of Thais.  They are the symbol of the Thai royalty.  That being said elephants in Thailand face a decline in habitation, the domesticated elephants outnumber the wild ones and of course they face poachers.   These intelligent beast of burden have historically played an important role in Thailand. The white elephant is am important symbol in their monarchy and elephants adorn many temples. Even today they are have proven why we are so fascinated with them.  Recently,  BBC reported that elephants where used to record evasive tiger cubs for a documentary.



One of the many things I've wanted to do during my travels is ride an elephant. After failing to do so in India I was looking forward to it on my Thailand trip.  Some people including myself have mixed emotions about riding a elephant particularly in regards to how they are treated.  It is hard to tell whether the elephant you are riding has been treated well or not.  But, we must keep in mind that elephants like many animals have been domesticated for a long time. A mahout is the elephant trainer.  A mahout is with an elephant for his life, since typically the elephant outlives the man.  Like with training dogs the mahout has to establish dominance. Since elephants are much larger and more dangerous than dogs more precautions are taken.  I remember when I was on a jeep safari in India and we encountered a herd of wild elephants.  The driver and guide got very nervous, shut off the engine and made sure we were all very quiet.  Given their size elephants are not to be taken lightly.



While in Thailand I rode two elephants.  The first is below.  Becky and I where in Chaing Mai, Thailand which is the northern territory.  We along with 8 others rode a group of elephants for one hour and then continued on our trek to a village.  Our elephants was the lead elephant and the largest.



We bought bushels of banana to feed the hungry snout that came back to great us.



The rest of the group behind us! 



Our second elephant adventure was on Koh Chang which means Elephant Island.   "Koh" means island and "Chang" means elephant.  Chang is also a beer.    This time we where with the elephants for two hours and we got to take turns sitting on its head.  Which was a little unnerving but completely safe. 



We also got to bath with the elephants are the ride.  Becky wasn't wearing her bikini but didn't want to miss the experiences so she went in with her clothes on. 



These pictures are when I almost got ran over by the elephant exiting the poll.  It was quit rocking there so I didn't think it would exit that way. Needless to say I escaped unharmed....



Here we are at the end of the trail.

Yes I rode an elephant....twice!

During my vacation in Thailand, I spent a few hours talking to a few young monks. I found two temples in Chiang Mai that offer "Monk Chat." At these temples they set a few hours aside a few times a week where monks and visitors can chat. The monks come typically to practice English. The visitors come out of curiosity or to learn more about Buddhism, the lives of the monks and Thai culture. I found the experience altered my preconceived notions of monks. You know, peaceful and non judgmental and all that stuff..





I spoke with two monks. Primarily, Ugone who is from Loas and spoke excellent English. The other monk spoke very little English and basically just listened to Ugone and I talk. He giggled quite a lot too. Ugone became a monk when his mother died, he was under the age of ten then. It is customary for male children to becomes monks when their mothers die. He is now 20 and studying environmental studies. Mr. Giggles was a little younger maybe 18. The 3 of us sat at some tables under umbrellas at Wat(Temple) Chedi Luang. Other monks moved the umbrellas to make sure I had some shade. Very appreciated! It is hot!





Wat Chedi Luang is about 6000 years old. It used to house the famous Emerald Buddha but that is now in its own temple in Bangkok. Wat Chedi Luang is famous not only for its history but for the elephant status that decorate the base.





Our conversation begin just like most would with introductions and personal stories. I also learned Ugone had just got a laptop and he was having some trouble installing a driver. So, I somehow became monk tech support. I offered him my e-mail in case he had more questions. After learning about where they came from and what they are studying. I asked some basic questions about Buddhism and the like. I learned the color of the robe doesn't have anything to do with the rank or age of the monk, the colors that are used by different sects of monks are arbitrary. The groups just pick there colors. The orange robes are worn by the city monks who focus on learning and education and the burgundy robes are worn by forest monks that focus on mediation. I also learned that Buddhism practices in Thailand are stricter than Chinese or Japanese Buddhism. Apparently, Chinese and Japanese monks may marry and touch women and all that fun stuff while Thai monks can't even touch women. He described Thai Buddhism as the "Catholic" of Buddhism practitioners.


Ugone talked about being "Clear" or knowing your path in life and how to reach to any situation put in front of you. He found himself to be very "Clear" and that I and Mister Giggles are not. Hmmmm...okay. I am sure it is great to have your entire life planned out and to be prepared for any situation but unfortunately for all of us shit happens and no matter what your plans is something is going to have to change and no matter how much you train or plan or study there will be challenges that may overwhelm you. But he has his life planned out for now. He also told me to look in for happiness and don't convent people's Mercedes.


Ugone told me that he plans to stop being a monk after his studies and to maybe go into computers or something where he can make a lot of money. Coming from someone who just told me not to want someone else Mercedes I found this humorous. Then he asked me if I had any secrets. I'm thinking like what? Do I have someone buried in the backyard...mmm...no! So, I say something like, "mmmm...not really." He then states everyone has secrets. Ok, what kind of secrets are we talking about here.... I don't go off spouting every thought that comes to my mind but typically if someone asks me a direct questions I will *usually* answer honestly. As a after thought I thought he may considers some things secrets that I don't like sex. Yes, I have had sex! My mother knows this so big fucking secret. I don't go introducing myself to people and include that but hey it really isn't a secret. After this continued for awhile he says I am dishonest. I think everyone is somewhat dishonest or has been dishonest to someone at some point in their lives but I don't find dishonesty as one of my primary characteristics. So, I ask why do you think I am dishonest. He replies because he studied psychology . So, from a psychology course and talking to be for a brief time he decided I was dishonest. At this point I felt like leaving but I don't. I also think that if you are trying to get me to agree with is point of views insulting me isn't going to help, his psychology class should have taught him that people will more likely get defensive and attach back or build a wall against him and his ideas.


It was almost time for me to leave because I told Becky I would be back at the hotel before then but I didn't want to leave on a bad note. So, we go one to talk about more things. like American politics. He says he likes Obahma but thinks McCain is going to win because the American people are afraid. This is his opinion but I hope we prove him wrong.


He also said that he thinks men are better than women because men rule. I am thinking why is a monk who in my view should be non-judgmental declaring men are better. Because the rule!?! I think many people in ruling positions have huge character flaws like being greedy or power hungry so I cannot classify these people as better.


Additionally, Ugone likes war movies because soldiers know how to react to every situation. I spoke to my office mate about this statement, she is an marine. She basically says that training helps but they didn't always know how to handle everything. Anyway, I digress to my point that the monk like WAR MOVIES!


Eventually, I really had to leave because I was super late to meet Becky. They wanted me to come back to talk more but I told them it was my last day in Chiang Mai. Mr. Giggles teased me and asked if he could come with me. Then he told me he would be thinking about me....I am sure he meant something like he will be praying for me or something.


All in all even with the insults. I found it to be a worth while experience and decided that these where young men just like most young men around the world and becoming a monk for them is a way to a better education and opportunities in life that they otherwise wouldn't have had in their villages. Most monks, like Ugone, do not stay monks forever and they can leave whenever they like. I think it would have been a different experience to talk to a life long monk. At least it would be interested to be able to contrast them. I do recommend the "Monk Chat" experience to any visitors of Thailand. It is one of the few places you can talk to locals and learn more about Thai people and their cultural.


I didn't get any pictures of this but I also saw monks on cell phones, monks smoking cigarettes and monks with Starbucks cups!