Category: Thailand

While in Chang Mai I decided to buy another trip – to hill tribes. We visited one Hmong tribe on our way from Golden triangle and it was too short for me. The villages are very poor, but they had some good atmosphere that I liked to experience more. So this trip was as if to visit 5 hill tribes, the Chiang Dao cave and the Orchid farm. It was a short trip in comparison with the previous one (only 7h), the cost being the same -900bt. As always – the mini bus came to pick me from our guest house. So here we were taken to a back road, not far from Chang Mai, with a view of some separate hills or mountains that reminded me our Zion NP:

Except that those rocks or mountains were all covered with greens, unlike our dry desert Zion. By the way -during our 24 day stay – there was not a single rain…not a single overcast day, though there were occasional clouds and the skies are not very blue there because of pollution and humidity in the air.

So here we were driven to the end of that dirt road to the very last village of three. It was a White Karen tribe. The women traders from all those three villages saw our bus and just ran to the end stop, or asked their fellows to drive them on motorbikes- so that they could literally “attack” us with their goodies. Which were mostly hand made and embroidered purses, jewelry, hats. I was “the weakest link” in our group, so I couldn’t even follow the guide and group – they surrounded me like hens, little decorated women and were doing a pushy sale of their beautiful stuff:

Shortly I could catch a glimpse of their houses:

and their kitchen with some soup boiling:

The guide said that hill tribe people eat only black pigs, never the white ones…

Their fresh crop of beans:

More houses:

And they had monkeys, poor creatures, attached to chains for good luck…:

They were ready to put anything they had on me, just to make a sale…:

and when I ran out of money, they directed their attention towards the others from our group:

So we walked down that main street that was a home to three tribes: White Karen, Lisu and Akha. There is a big difference in their cloths, decorations, customs and even their houses. But we couldn’t notice much – those same women were all over begging for a sale. At the very end – I don’t even know which tribe they belong to – with their very distinct bells on their head boxes. There were some quiet ones sitting on their porches with their crafts, but they were almost unnoticeable because of the aggressive ones. But to be completely honest – they were selling rather nice crafts in those villages, except that the silver was not silver at all.

The next stop was at Chiang Dao cave, here is the entrance:

and once you enter – the cave itself is nothing special. I have seen several more impressive caves as for the stalactites. but this cave is sacred to natives and as usual – is full of Buddhas in different poses:

As usual sacred places there are surrounded with old and new temples:

We had a group lunch in one of the restaurants by the cave, it wasn’t as good as the previous buffet lunch but it was still good. Thais have a good taste for cooking.

The surrounding “jungle” where even tigers live – I wouldn’t call it a jungle… :-), looks more like a park:

The next stop was at a Long Neck – Karen village. The Long necks and Big ears are not Thailanders. They come from Burma (Myanmar) as refuges and are not legal in Thailand, have almost no rights, are even more poor than other tribes. This is how their village looks:

it is mostly stalls with scarfs and my guess is they live their simple lives in the back:

The little girls already have their rings on necks based on how old they are, poor babies…The rings press very hard on their collar bones and also on chins. I guess they loose their appetites so they are all slim:

Big Ears have rings only on their knees – to make it hard for them to run from their husbands, but they have things in their ear lobes:

And they sti there and weave. The things they weave didn’t impress me at all in comparison with what the other tribes had…Maybe their creativity is bounded by those terrible rings…

As you can see – I had no money in my pockets left. So I could spend my time admiring their beauty and taking pictures:

They are so soft and pleasant, that my heart was very saddened by their situation in this world:

The oldest one sang a song with her guitar:

So those were Long Neck Karens. By the side of their stalls another tribe had their stalls -a Palong tribe, a very colorful one:

So that was it, as if we saw 5 tribes, just very superficially. And it is enough, for they are people with their own traditions,own styles, what is the point of getting to a closer encounter – it makes you feel more weird about how unfair life is for their women…or at least it seems to us, westerners.

We finished the trip in an Orchid Farm:

Orchids everywhere in Thailand, not only in farms, grow hanging in the air. The little pots just hold the root bundles. So they are sprayed often with water and fertilizers constantly. Not so very healthy to walk around that farm…And for the last note – Ginger flowers:

(there will be more)

I have to admit – I didn’t walk enough in Chang Mai. It was hot, though not as hot as in Bangkok. But maybe the inconvenient streets for walking were the main reason. The sidewalks are not always there, but if they are- they are crowded with either stuff for sale, or motorcycles, or restaurant tables, in other words – none of Thai cities are walker friendly. And it is a hazard to cross the street – sometimes I would stand for a long time until I dare to just go straight into the stream of cars and expect them to slow down or stop to let me through. Those who live longer there- they get used to it and sometimes don’t even bother walking on the sidewalk – they pretend they are a car or a tuk -tuk 🙂 and walk on the street. It is at least more even than side walks -which have steps, holes, slush, whatever that can make you fall badly if you decide to look around instead of looking down while walking.

As I mentioned earlier – I would walk for 20 min almost every day we were there to the other side of the river to do Chi -gong with Chinese people. But on this side of the river very close to the pedestrian bridge there was a different temple – built in a very crowded with buildings and a dirty corner among several streets. Too beautiful to be stuck over there…

It seemed to be a Chinese temple, only the papers that I got there were telling me a strange story. Yes, it is adorned mostly by Chinese people, but the saint they are worshiping there was an Indian and he had a bad temper and character:

To tell the truth – in that heat my brain didn’t accept information so I mostly forgot what I read in those papers…Evidently Buddha story is not enough for people to worship, they need a variety.

As usual with Chinese – they had a beautiful tiger image on one of the walls:

The mountains or rocks that Chinese paint in their watercolors or in this panel – they are usually very specific, and I thought it is a creation of their imaginations. But no, we saw some 3 rocks that looked exactly the same sticking out of the plains of Thailand while crossing the country on a bus. But I didn’t take my camera in time to take a picture – in awe…

(to be continued…)

I think I have to show something else besides temples in Chang Mai. But it is not easy – we still get to them :-), on every step. But here how one of the main streets looked where the flower market is located on one evening supposed to be that street’s celebration evening (they have those celebrations or fairs on every bigger street in a sequence on every day of a week):

And here we come to the main point -bugs! It is commonly known that Thais eat bugs and they don’t deny it. But as a big walker as I am and as curious as I am -I saw a fried selection of bugs only twice: I could recognize grasshoppers, worms and cockroaches of different calibers…the travel book said you have to take off the wings of cockroaches before eating…As you can see – they are spiced with herbs, I bet they are tasty, but somehow – there were so many other things to eat…and also – I never saw anyone buying them.

Beside the Flower market, which is very crowded with counters with very scarce place for walkers to walk – there is the Ping river :

The shores don’t look anything but boring and full of trash, so you must be very bored and have no sensitivity in your nose to take a river boat trip…

And this canal is a disaster -but you have to see, for the full picture. It is in the middle of downtown and you have to clip your nostrils while passing one of the numerous bridges, decorated with lions of elephants on both sides of the canal:

But in between there are very modern buildings, much nicer that the ones I saw in BKK. Most of them are businesses, dental or just medical clinics, for obvious reasons. I didn’t check myself, but the Canadian girls said a regular filling costs 500bt. Next time I will save one for a trial. The price seems to be better than in Lithuania already.

And here we come back to temples. This chedi is the one you bump into once you enter a tempple garden just immediately on the other side of the river:

the Temple garden is very cozy, the meeting halls are elaborate, lots of flowers in pots, but one little thing was kind of different – there was a sign on the steps of this chedi, it said No women allowed further. Women there are considered too dirty to climb certain steps…

But luckily – women were allowed to enter the temple garden with freshly painted tiles and do chi-gong together with a bunch of Chinese people with such temple views around us:

The Chinese people had music and their movements were rather easy. So I could join them, no problem. If someone want to do chi-gong with them -it starts at 5 pm every day, in Wat gate temple immediately after you cross the pedestrian bridge across the Ping River.

(to be continued)

Here we are – in the city of temples! You come out of the hotel or guesthouse – and any street you walk in several yards there is a temple. Usually with an old chedi in its garden. And new elaborate ornamental several temples:

Temples have big territories with viharns – or monasteries, surrounded by nice gardens or ponds:

They always have several stray dogs who are brought there or came there from being unwanted:

and definitely roosters with some hens – to bring good luck:

Here is one of the most prominent temples of Old Town – Wat Chedi Luang:

The tower was built by the order of a king in 1411 – “as high as a dove can fly” and then knocked by an earthquake long ago…the big nagas – mythical snakes by the stairs are supposed to control the irrigation waters in rice fields:

Very often temple grounds have a big tree which is considered sacred and wrapped in colorful fabrics with lots of offering under it.

there are lots of shoes by the steps – everyone is supposed to take them off. I never heard of someone not finding his shoes after coming back.

Very often temples have a row of bells – you ring them for good luck, or a row of pots to throw penies into – for good luck , or a row of stone balls to glue golden foil onto – for good luck…

And their Buddhas are usually not starving:

(to be continued)

So what would I advice – where to stay on the island – because it has several towns, several big beaches. No advice. Everyone has to find what fits their needs. Where they feel best. There are big expensive resorts, like big hotels and mostly Russians from the East side of Russia were hording them -they like being in crowds. There are remote areas on the sea with little huts with little or no amenities – those are fro solitude loving people. We live here in Utah in a small town, Lithuanians would call it a village. So we needed to be in more noise, in the center of events going, life booming. But those who want to hear only the sea sounds and have clean environment – there is plenty of that, too, in every town. But my main tip stays strong: never rent a room before you see it!

There are some more pics about the island. This flower is called The Passion of Christ :

It is very popular to have them on windowsills in my country Lithuania. My Mother loves it a lot. I wish they were so luscious on the windowsill slike the ones on the island and everywhere else in Thailand…

Here we ate most of our lunches – in the Warapura Resort:

with this table in front looking so romantic:

I would easily recommend to stay in that resort – it was neat, quiet , lots of flowers and plants, even pineapples growing among the beautiful huts:

Here we used to have a shake from some fruits in the Tree house:

And here we noticed a family of monkeys traveling on electric wires:

and asking for bananas:

Those were lucky monkeys – it was a pleasure to see them! They were not chained or closed in a small cage as we saw some others in North Thailand were…

And we saw beautiful palm fruits, non edible:

Visited Kai Bae – where we planned to stay initially had that sales woman not sent us to Lonely Beach:

saw how they sell gasoline:

and each evening would return home from sunset swimming on this rout (the tide is down):

Bye bye island, I miss you already…

(to be continued)

The next morning it was a very strange rooster that woke us up:

Yes, Thailand is about roosters, they have a lot of them, for luck , for hens, for looks and for fights…And there are always wandering dogs around – very rarely, but sometimes they bark early in the morning. Luckily over there you just don’t pay attention, it is vacation! You just get up and go swimming in the sea. The point is that everyone on the island is slow and late – so going downstairs to have breakfast is not a good idea -you have to wait at least till 9 am looking into the fish pond:

and then go into the dusty street and down the dusty road with trash on both sides and coconuts lying under palm trees with no one interested to pick them and eat, you go towards the sea, app. 10 min walk, find a hammock in the Tree House restaurant (which is not on a tree…) to spend the part of the day till lunch:

In the morning it was tide time – the water was under the deck, so you sit in a hammock and hear the waves under you, as if sitting on the sea. It would be nice to have breakfast there, but it is included in our room price in our hotel and it is not a bad breakfast, so we decide to have dinners at the Tree House and lunches in another nice place on the shore.

They have good menu, as well as others, and they have good cold cocktails, some mixed fruits with ginger, so that was a very nice feature. They are a very hippie place, pretty quiet, especially nice in the dark when the evening comes – you may get some little breezes from the sea which is a big relief in those very hot temperatures and high humidity. Whereas there are a lot of restaurants in town, but in the evenings they “stuffy”:

This one is made only of wood and nails. No stones were used, as they mention it on their name. There are usually very few tables fro sitting regularly on chairs – most of the tables are on higher platforms and very low – we are supposed to lie by them or sit in a lotus pose. there are usually some hammocks by the tables – some guests may choose to eat in hammocks.

The next one restaurant requires a mention – it is called Om and it denounced this word in my eyes. It was just as an insult to this wonderful word. If I lived there – i would have no choice but to explode that thing…Their “rhythms” which they maybe call music were the loudest in the area and on Tuesdays they lasted till 4 am. All the shops close to them were exposed to that terrible ground and wall shaking every evening and I felt really sorry for them. But being so tolerant Thais suffer silently…

Speaking about music at night – there were restaurant that had good live music, local groups playing island tunes, lots of European girls, dressed with taste in cocktail dresses dancing, it was real fun. But that Om…it was something wrong with its owners.

This particular restaurant looked the shabbiest and one morning the owners brought the sign : Business for sale…

Our last morning there was Saturday and though they don’t acknowledge that Buddhists celebrate Saturdays more that any other day -all the houses and businesses were busy in the morning preparing an offering plate that they took to some temple:

This offering is by a tattoo parlor – tattoos are very popular there. And I can’t promise – being as against tattoos as I am if I had to live there a month or more – maybe I would end up getting one, at least a very little one…

This is another very strange store to my eyes – on this dust a fancy slab and glass walls for what…office suits and evening gowns…And it wasn’t only one store in the area…Lots of them. Which means – some business people don’t waste their time there, they buy clothes for work at home. I guess -the prices were so low, that it was worth making a small break in vacation. But those stores – I didn’t even cast a glance or check…I am out of that world for good.

(to be continued)

Koh – means “an island” in Thai. They have a lot of islands in their very warm seas…Hard to choose where to go. So we chose based on friend’s advice and the closest distance to BKK – we had to take a bus for a 6 h. trip. And the bus left by Khao San Road – very close to where we stayed. So that part of the trip was very nice. The best moment – we didn’t get into the bus. It filled up before us, so they gave us a mini van – they are more comfortable than their huge double decked buses and at least they go much faster than 40 mi/h, that is how buses go there… It took us almost 6 hours to make 300 km. Mainly because it stopped in the middle for a 1 h break – the stops are usually in special places with a cafeteria, free toilets, a lot of sinks to wash the travel dusts. Interesting thing about their toilets on the road (sorry delicate readers…) – they do have sewage of some kind, but no flushing mechanisms. Each cabin has a faucet on a low level directed to a little basin and a bowl in that basin – you have to scoop some water into the bowl and flush the toilet. And they all looked clean. So people behave well.

On the way we saw fields of rice, some palms and some kind of cacti that I later figured out were the Dragon fruit producers:

And here is how the fruits look on market counters:

I somehow spaced out and didn’t take their picture. Luckily we met a Lithuanian couple later in our trip and today Jurga sent me her picture of Dragons. As brightly pink as they are on the outside – their inside is white soft , crisp, very lightly sweet and sour mass with lots of black poppy seeds spread evenly.

Once we reached one of three ferry landings we got tickets to the ferry and marched down to it. But before that there was a short moment during which their catchy sales people try to get you to their trap. It is extremely hot and humid there, you are tired from the trip and they start telling you that it is hard to find an available hut or room on the island. You don’t know much about the accommodations, just assume that you will find. But for the first night – maybe it is smart to have one and at least to know which town in the island you are going…So you agree to pay them for the first night in some Siam Huts resort and of you take the ferry, an 45 min sail. Once there – there are lots of songthaews waiting, called taxis…Ya, right. They look to me like cattle wagons…The driver throws our backpacks onto the top, packs us into his wagon with one British guy left standing on the step and holding onto the rail…because Brits are used to it in their buses? Maybe. More because those taxi drivers are the greediest people of all we saw in Thailand. they belong to mafia, and it is not only my opinion. Their services are the most expensive and they don’t look well to do at all. They seem like they are under someone’s very hard arm. What can they do…

So they drive rather fast on very windy and hilly road for about 40 min and here we are thrown out by Siam Huts…right in the middle of a field of trash with terribly shabby huts sticking on stilts above the ground…Oh boy…We went to the office, took the key and were shown to a hut by the sea:

As much as the surroundings gave a a shock, the inside of the hut didn’t make us happy at all and leaving there our bags we went off in search for something better looking, something not so trashy… A tip: never ever pay for a room before you see how it looks! And don’t believe their pictures: there are never weeds and trash in pictures or are there?

So wee found this Ploy Inn in the center of the town we were in – the Lonely Beach, on the main street which looked like this, going down:

There is the fruit market behind those cars and motorbikes, and clothes and other beach item markets all over, as well as many internet cafes, travel agencies and massage parlors. Only the internet cafes and a pharmacy have AC. Others have the air from the street. And here is our street going up:

Our hotel had AC, it was very much needed and appreciated. It was clean, had good interior colors, a couple of ponds with fish for good luck and a little piglet in the yard who squeaked when I petted him:

This was our corridor on the second floor and a detail of our room to show that the drapes were well color matched with walls which I wouldn’t expect from a lodging in that price range and especially after we saw the hut…:

So it was nice to stay there for 5 nights, except on Tuesday…There is like a curse on Tuesdays – a bar not far away has a part every Tuesday. So never ever stay in that hotel on Tue. A party means – a super loud music, though it is hard to cal it music- they are basically computer generated super loud “bums”… You can’t cover your ears – the sound comes through grounds, through vibrating your body and it lasts till 4 am. But that was only one night :-). The other night sit wasn’t as loud and it would end at 12 am. So there are always pros and cons…We liked the room, the hotel, it had character versus even better huts that we saw later, but it had also the noisiness of the bars around. Thought other bars had island music or something softer, that you can call music. Very often even live music. And so few visitors…yes. there were very few tourists. considering how many places to stay and eat and to have fun there were. Our hotel had a very nice seafood restaurant – and it very often stayed empty…what a waste. I guess it is the worldwide crisis…

After settling we went to immerse into the never even before experienced such a warm sea -like a hot tub:

The water so warm – you can stay as long as you want almost not moving – and no feeling of cold or shivers…

the sun was setting rather fast, as it is usual in the South:

(to be continued)

On the third day in BKK we went to Grand Palace. Its magnificent roofs were seen already from the river once we were sailing towards our second stay area in BKK. It was so convenient to walk from there through the University of Bangkok grounds, through a long street of Thai markets – meaning stuff sold all over on tables and just scarfs on the sidewalk… The University, as every other respectable institution, had its own altar for offerings (I bet they are overflowing with flowers and foods during an exam session):

And then you see the fence – all of the temple grounds are fenced there, so why not the Palace:

That day was some Buddhist celebration, so we had to wait for a couple of hours wondering around until they decided to let people in. There is a dress code to enter the temples, which is understandable. No mini skirts, no shorts, no naked shoulders or toes. I knew that and I think I was dressed properly. Somehow one of the men by the gates didn’t like my socks in the slippers… I understand they weren’t very elegant or beautiful, but in that heat, humidity, with my feet all in blisters…He said: – no no, pointing to my feet. I said: -oh yes, yes, and went in :-). I guess – it wasn’t a serious thing. But the ones who were with skimpy clothes – had to enter a building where they could rent some scarfs to cover up.

And so we went into the compound grounds with a crowd, it was overwhelming…

This is the most sacred Temple in Palace compound and in Thailand – Wat Phra Kaew. It houses the Emerald Buddha, which was brought from the north of Thailand during history. It is of one piece of Emerald. It has three golden outfits that only the King or Queen can change during the change of the season – Rainy, Dry or Hot. And it is placed so high that lately the king being so old – can’t do it any more, so his son got the privilege. Nobody else, even senior monks can’t touch the Emerald Buddha…

But before entering this really very sacred space – there are so many distractions, so many wonderful forms, colors, ornaments, sculptures, my eyes were running here and there and at the end I figured out I will never remember it and never can enjoy this beauty fully – too much, at least for me…Too much for that day, too much for that space…

There was even a small version of Angkor Wat which is now in Cambodia and was the biggest Wat of Khmer empire:

That was pleasant to me, because before the trip I read quite a lot about Angkor, and planned to visit it, but once we experienced the Asian “winter” – no way, it was impossible to travel much in that heat. It is in the jungle which almost took over it, but now it is getting restored, cleaned from the evading trees and witnessing to the world about the grand Khmer Empire of the 8-12the centuries.

Those paintings are all over the walls on the covered gallery by the Wat, very many of them and all beautiful…

Lions – devils are guarding the entrance to the Temple – where you have to take off shoes – as to all temples, but the stairs here are much more elaborate:

And then there was a bowl with water and lotus buds- I heard a Russian speaking Thai guide telling everyone to use the lotus and get some drops of sacred water on your friends and yourself – good guidance! I would have missed the opportunity:

And then you get out of the Temple grounds and into the Palace world with its throne halls, etc, – very ornamental, very decorative, but no space left in my mind or imagination to “store” it. I am looking now at my pictures – and it is almost I am looking at them for the first time. Have a look and see for yourselves, who in the world, how many of those “who” and in how many ages could they build and create this phantasmagoria?:

and all this – in this unbearable, sweating, pounding heat…

(to be continued)