www.theblisspages.com - travel: Thailand

Thailand

Thailand has always been a favourite place of mine and I've visited it ten times or so. The people are lovely, the temples magnificent and the beaches superlative.

Bangkok

Some people love Bangkok whilst some hate it - and I'm not surprised, as experiences can vary hugely. You can stay in guest houses for a couple of pounds a night, or in International hotels among the best in the world. You can visit Patpong and see acts that you would have thought were anatomically impossible. Just think ping-pong balls.

See the poem I wrote celebrating my favourite restaurants round the world.

Alternatively, there are superb shopping malls and eating-places not forgetting Chatuchak Weekend Market. You can eat Durian, a fruit so pungent that it is banned from all the top hotels. It has been likened to eating strawberries and cream whilst sitting on the toilet, but if you taste it with an open mind, you might enjoy the experience.

The little two-stroke three-wheelers known in Thailand as Tuk Tuks are generally a great way to get around Bangkok, but don't try to emulate a friend of mine. He was in a hurry and promised the driver an extra 50 baht if he got there in 15 minutes. Big mistake! The enthusiastic driver ignored red lights, went down one-way streets the wrong way, over pavements and even pulled a few wheelies! He got his 50 baht and my friend learnt a valuable lesson.

Then again, you can opt for the spiritual side and visit the many temples. The Grand Palace is, well, grand, and if you're lucky enough to visit during the kite-flying season, the sight of thousands of kites flying opposite the palace is amazing. There are temples everywhere, from the tourist traps of Wat Pho (The Temple of the Reclining Buddha) and Wat Phra Kaew (The Temple of the Emerald Buddha) to small but still beautiful temples that you can see from long-tailed boats speeding along the rivers and canals of Bangkok. I enjoyed meditating in many of them.

However, Thailand is much more than just Bangkok...

Further north

Sukothai is situated between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. It dates back to 1238, founded by two Thai generals who helped to push the Khmers from this area. It was the first capital of Thailand. Theravada Buddism was introduced and Sukothai became a thriving religious and commercial centre until it eventually lost its power and became a vassal state of Ayutthaya in the 15th century. The old town of Sukothai covers an area of about 70 square kms.

I took a bus up to Sukothai (about 430kms from Bangkok) and hired a bike to cycle around the ruins.

It was a very peaceful and reflective experience.

I've found a site with some good pictures of Sukothai.

I later went to Chang Mai (about 5-6 hours drive from Sukothai), and went on a three-day trek, staying in hill-tribe villages.

On the first day, we walked for about six hours, with plenty of hills. I was exhausted when we arrived but didn't sleep very well in the spartan conditions.

On the second day, we walked through a long cave complex under a mountain, which one of our fellow travellers found traumatic, as she was claustrophobic. In the middle, it was only three feet wide and there was a serious wind, which blew out our torches as we popped through like corks! We had to climb ladders over unseen drops, but a dropped torch took a long time to hit the bottom! Eventually we got out and went down the other side of the mountain on elephants. They were sure-footed, but when I saw how near their feet were to the precipitous drops, I was more nervous than when we were going through the caves.

The real treat was on the third day, when we had eleven hours white-water rafting. This was seriously exciting stuff on roughly made bamboo rafts. On the few quiet stretches, I learnt the Thai numbers up to 100. I can still count up to ten. Nuong, song, sam, see, hah, hok, jet, baet, gao, sip.

Ko Samet

This island, three hours bus ride from Bangkok, was my home-from-home for some years.

The island is a nature reserve and is always short of water. This means there are no big tourist traps, and the island is mainly visited by backpackers. The beaches on Ko Samet are fantastic with white sand that squeaks when you walk on it.

I used to stay at Naga, a resort run by a mad Englishwoman, Sue, who is now one of my dearest friends. The bungalows were basic and the place rustic, but the place is always being modernised - the bungalows even have electricity now!

The pace of life there is leisurely, with long chatty breakfasts of wholemeal loaves and tea followed by elevenses, then lunch of fried prawns and rice, then afternoon tea, followed of course by showers and dinner. Oh yes, all of these activities were interspersed with frequent swims, chats, and experiences. Sue is the Basil Fawlty of Thailand; you never know what will happen, you just know something will!

I have many stories about my experiences there, but haven't time to recount them all now.

Let me just tell you about 'Herman the German'. He was a great laugh and always played up to the stereotype of a precise and pedantic German. He used to go into the bar in the late afternoon, and order a water, saying, "It is four tventy-five, so I vill hav a bottle of vasser, I vill dvink it by four tventy-seven, zen I vill hav my shower".

One afternoon, Sue turned off the water halfway through Herman's shower. Unfazed, Herman strode naked out of the shower and onto the neighbouring cubicle, saying, "I vill not be embarrassed".

The next day, she turned off all the showers, whereupon he walked out of the shower buck-naked, down the steps, through the (crowded) restaurant, up to the bar, where he said, "I vill have tventy-seven bottles of vasser please!"

Thus, he finally got his shower!

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: : © Mike Bliss 2011