The First Ko Stop

After a week in Bangkok, it’s time to head down south and cool off on the tropical islands that await us. Thirteen-hour train ride, two-hour bus ride, and two-hour boat ride later, we make it to Ko Samui, the largest island in the Gulf of Thailand.



To get an idea of the train ride, imagine a 1st class German train silently speeding through the Bavarian Alps on a perfectly engineered gradient track…now replace 1st class with 3rd, a smooth track with one from when Thailand was Siam, Alps with rice paddies and you’re halfway there!

Just kidding...it was a pretty awesome ride :-)


Off the boat with fellow backpackers, we’re greeted by the usual hawkers pushing brochures in our face and taxi rides to the nearest beach, but decide to hop on a sawngtaew instead. Sawngtaew ride: picture a pickup truck with a high-raised roof where luggage is thrown atop, and inside the back of the truck are two long wooden benches where 12 of us squeeze in for a rickety 45-minute ride to our beach on the eastern side of the island; two more people were hanging off the back holding onto rails water-ski style, and two others on the roof, laying across our backpacks. Seat belts, air bags…I think not.

We arrive safely, and soon find ourselves at the ubiquitous food vendor.

Satiated on deep-fried crabsticks, we wander along the beach in search of a bungalow and settle on something very basic - it’s 25 meters from the beach, so who cares!


Beach at last…I am home and not going anywhere!


Paul with his ladyboy cocktail :-)


Behind is a mini hot-air balloon type of cylindrical thing that is lit on the beach and slowly flies up into the air, lighting the night away, before it goes out once it reaches a low-oxygen altitude.



Morning delight!

Bangkok: The Old and the New (Part 2)

Modern Bangkok, city of the future, has allured us with overwhelming delights we couldn’t imagine existed – most of these inside air-conditioned structures, and away from the stink and congestion that is Bangkok at street-level. Adjacent ultra-modern mega malls, connected by open-air skywalks, all have at least seven stories, umpteen wings, and are a shopaholic’s dream come true.



Aside from the posh shopping scene, they boast everything from five-star food courts and restaurants, furniture design exhibits, and cello concertos to Japanese businessmen centers, arts and crafts (or more like origami-pro workshops) and, our favorite, mega-cinemas fully equipped with the seat of your choice. Feel like stretching out? Then go ahead and go for that lazyboy, couch, or…pushing the limits, a bed. There’s even a VIP movie lounge where members-only take pleasure in a butler-serviced movie screening…ahh, the high life. We opted for the reclining couch and thoroughly enjoyed Iron Man. Thinking back now, the so-called “modern” reclining seats in U.S. theaters easily compare to hardwood public school auditorium seats.

But shopping in this city isn’t limited to the clothes and shoes we all love. Later in the week we made our way to Pantip, a geek’s electronic and gadget heaven.


This place is no joke – vendors selling pirated software, movies, fake and real iPods, computer parts, cases, cables, and any other piece of technology and wire you can imagine dominate the six bustling floors.


The day we arrived, a student robotics competition was taking place. Keep any eye out for the sneaky robot all the way on the left.


To wind down the day we finished the night off at Sofitel’s V9 lounge on the 38th floor, which featured floor to ceiling windows overlooking the lighted city skyline.

Bangkok: The Old and the New (Part 1)

It doesn't take long to realize that Bangkok is a city of contrasts. Some parts still appear like an 18th century trading port, with the early morning fishy smells and loud street vendors hawking things you didn't even know existed. Other parts look like a 23rd century city of the future, connected by silent Skytrains, giant glass shopping centers and theaters, and hulking skyscrapers. Of course, sometimes these worlds collide. Wandering in Patpong (not too far from where we are currently staying) amidst the bustling night market, go-go bars, garbage, migrant night workers in flip flops sawing pipes at 1:00 in the morning, and tons of kathoeys (ladyboys and transvestites) and their international suitors, transported us to a post-apocalyptic, sci-fi world.

Since we are still adjusting our sleep, we were able to get up super early Thursday morning and make it to Wat Phra Kaew before the crowds and tour groups set in. We took the Chao Phraya Express, Bangkok's convenient system of commuter ferries going up and down the river. New York could definitely learn something from this, and implement better public transport on its waterways.

Taking off the Pier.

Wat Phra Kaew is considered to be the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand, built by King Rama I when he moved the capital to Bangkok in 1785. One building houses the sacred Emerald Buddha; though it is actually made of jade and only 45 cm tall, it is considered the most important Buddha image in Thailand. All Buddhist monks are expected to make a pilgrimage here at least once. Neither pictures nor words can come close to describing these magical grounds, but here are a few photos anyway (more photos can be seen at our Picasa album):


Giant, half-elephant, half-demon guards the entrance.



I was asked to borrow pants before entering the complex.



Kinaree, mythological half bird, half woman.



After Wat Phra Kaew, we blazed the heat and headed to another nearby temple, Wat Pho. There we were greeted by a 46 meter long, 15 meter high reclining Buddha, plated with gold and partially studded with mother-of-pearl.



Wat Pho is also known to be the birthplace of traditional Thai massage. To this day it is the largest Thai massage school, sending graduates all over the world to twist, turn, and press in the very specific Thai sequence. Of course, after a long morning of temple hopping, we had to sample :-).

The first blurry days...

Great way to start our budget adventure through Asia is at glitzy terminal 7 in JFK. Anyone need a last-minute iPod?



28 hours later, post Hong Kong layover, we land in Bangkok and get dropped off at Banglamphu, the ghetto backpacker hood. First sight: Chabad house. We already feel at home!
After wandering through Th Khao San, the main thoroughfare jam-packed with vendors selling everything from pad thai, fresh fruit (many of which we could not even classify) and clothing for every part of the body, we find a place to crash for the night...



Finally, the view from our room....

Welcome!

Hey all!

We're finally up and running, and are ready to share some highlights from the journey and first few days in Bangkok. About our blog: we'll mostly let the photos do all the talking, but of course we'll supplement with stories along the way. We promise updates but can't guarantee the frequency :)

Wats, Kos, and Haats??? YES. In Thai: wat = temple, ko = island, and haat = beach.

Looking forward to comments from all of you!