Day 13: Last hours in Thailand, the return home

On our final day, we woke early and packed up our stuff. We asked the hotel to call a taxi for us and, after about 10 minutes, one finally agreed. The reason all of them were hesitant was for two reasons: 1) with the protests becoming increasingly chaotic it is a hassle for them to get through the traffic not to mention a very slight danger 2) they could easily charge a flat rate of over 200 baht instead of putting on the meter, which is what the nicer hotels make them do. If you are trying to hail a cab, make sure they meter (or if you're desperate at least haggle for a decent price) and don't fall for any excuses like "it is a national holiday". Unless it is actually a holiday, the driver is just using this as a way to drive up a flat rate offer. We were on our way and arrived soon after at the Grand Palace of Bangkok.

This magnificent palace is the symbolic seat of the monarchy and the site of many ceremonies. It is also the most visited tourist spot in Thailand. About 251 billion baht (over half the country's tourist revenue) is made in the capital of Bangkok with a large chunk of that coming from this palace alone. Even at the opening hour of 8 am the grounds were flooded, mostly with Chinese tourists, loudly clamoring for every photo opportunity they could get. As you approach the gate, you pass by a multitude of armed guards with bayonetted rifles. Then you are inspected for modesty. Nicole was fine, but I had to rent a pair of long pants to put over my shorts. I only had 1000 baht bills so I had to leave one as a deposit for my rented pair of khaki colored pants. They had no pockets which ironically made me do an indecent "reaching into the front of my pants" move every time I took out my phone for a picture! Whatever, we were at the ticket counter and after paying 1000 baht for the both of us, we were inside. Every bit of hype about this place is true. Whether it's the shimmering gold bell shaped turret which looks like smooth gold but is actually made of individual gold tiles, or the elaborately painted murals that stretch around the grounds of Wat Phra Kaew, the place is every bit as spectacular as you could imagine. I will let some of these pictures speak for themselves:

This is home to the Emerald Buddha, the symbol of Buddhist unification with the monarchy. Actually made of a type of jasper quartz or jade, it sits atop a massive altar in one of the temples. Also worth checking out is the scale model of Angkor Wat. One could easily spend half a day in Wat Phra Kaew alone, but after an hour or so, we pressed on towards the Grand Palace. This is the ceremonial grounds for some of the king's events. Also nearby is the mansion in which important guests and diplomats to the monarch are housed. The palace has an impressive throne room or two, an armory museum, and various other sights. It is a more relaxed part of the grounds as many of the tour groups spend their time milling about Wat Phra Kaew. Nicole found a friendly palace cat.

Satisfied with our morning and the multitude of pictures we had taken, we left and walked towards Khao San Road for a late breakfast before heading back to the hotel. Strolling the streets of Bangkok, I couldn't help but feel early twinges of sadness for having to leave such a marvelous place. Over breakfast we vowed to come back very soon. We even talked about ways we could live in Thailand! We snagged a couple last minute gifts for friends and family, then hailed a taxi. The driver laughed at how we were pronouncing the hotel (soo-ko-sol) with our flat, atonal American way and corrected us (soo-KO-son) with a rise on the "o". Rising and falling tone is exremely important in most Asian languages. We grabbed our stuff from the hotel, took a cab to Suvarnabhumi International Airport. Our flight wasn't for a few hours so we had a couple of beers and looked back at photos of the trip. Then I remembered there was supposed to be a large sculpture of a famous Hindu myth, the "Churning of the Ocean Milk" inside the airport. I asked where it was and we found it!

This is a similar depiction to the relief at Angkor Wat, with Vishnu in the center, the whole scene symbolizing the awakening of the kundalini, the serpent uncoiling from the spine. I am increasingly fascinated with Vishnu, Shiva, and Hindu mythologies related to the kundalini. With this, our Thailand adventure had come to a close. We had a short flight to Bayun International in Guangzhou. While standing in a frustratingly long line to get through passport control, we took pictures of the disease prevention and screening apparatuses including a heat-sensing fever detector.

 

Then it was back onto China Southern Airlines for the long flight home!

Until the next adventure...

 - C

Day 5: Angkor Wat

Chris and I awoke at 4:30 am in order to see the sunrise over the majestic ruins of Angkor Wat. We also woke up that early to give us enough time to ride rented bicycles to the ruins. We rented the bikes for two dollars each from a very tired hotel worker who also let us out of the gated-up guest house we were staying at. We rode in the darkness and through the jungles to get to the ruins. While I was initially skeptical, I quickly discoverd that this was best way to go. There is something very viseral and honest about riding bikes. We had to stop half way there to buy the tickets to the ruins. Once purchased, we headed up to Angkor Wat. We entered the Wat in almost total darkness but could plainly see the rising towers and the impressive moat. 

We watched the sky lighten and decided to start looking around. While waiting for the sun to rise I also bought a few silk scarves for some of my friends! 

After Angkor Wat, we decided to bike to Ta Prohm. We got mixed directions and ended up taking the wrong road. It wasn't really a problem as the detour we took led us to this beautiful little village with beautiful scenery. We got to ride past rice paddies, water buffalo, and people working the fields. Chris eventually asked directions and we turned back and found the right place. I'll let the beauty of the ruins speak for themselves. 

After Ta Prohm, we went to forage for food. Unfortunately, Chris' bike got a flat tire. He was able to refill the tire enough to get to a little restaurant off the side of the road. I was feeling adventurous and picked something random off of the menu, which turned out to be a delicious soup. Chris got a noodle dish and we also ordered a coconut to drink. Everything was amazing! 

As we headed out Chris had to refill his tire again, which was a little worrisome. The air lasted only about half way to Angor Thom, the next ruin on our trip. At this point we were about 3km away. He ended up having to walk the bike for a bit. When nearing one of the gates to the ancient city of Angkor Thom a little girl selling post cards said she could help Chris fix his bike. We figured this was doubtful, but decided to follow her. She led us to her family's little hut slightly off of the road. She called out to her grandfather who then proceeded to patch the wheel and fix the hole. It was really cool and interesting. He involved all four of the small children who were very interested in the process and in us. On a side note, the children of Cambodia are ridiculously cute. It was hard not to take them home with us! We were so grateful and tried to give them all the money we had, which was in three currencies. As we were leaving the smallest child, who was around 4, gave me a big grin and said, "good luck to you in your life." We didn't take any photos of this exchange, but it was a really nice memory and a good anecdote to the level of kindness we were shown in Cambodia. 

We then went over to Angkor Thom, which also housed the ruins of Bayon, my favorite of all the ruins. Angkor Thom is a sprawling campus as it used to hold an entire city of royalty, religious leaders, and others who lived in the kingdom. Again, I'll let ruins speak for themselves. 

After we finished climbing around the ruins we started our biking treck back to the guest house. On way out of the gates of Angkor Thom, we sang the Indiana Jones theme song. It was really fun and silly. Almost immediately after, we ran into some elephants quickly followed by monkeys playing on the side of the road. I was beside myself with giddiness. It was just so cool! 

Once we got back into Siem Reap the roads were much more crowed than they were at 5 am. You would think that it would be scary to ride around with the motorbikes and the tuk tuks, but honestly it was really fun. I also felt really connected to the city and to the people while riding in Siem Reap. There is a pulse in the streets that is hard to feel unless you are in it. 

When we got back to the guest house, my legs and my behind were very tired and bruised from riding over 20 miles! We rested for a bit before heading out for dinner and buying some gifts to bring home. Overall, this was one of the most exciting and fun days of my life. I feel so privileged to be able to experience such beauty. I really fell in love with Cambodia and would very much like to come back for an extended period of time. I half thought of quitting grad school and moving to Siem Reap!

- N

Day 1: Bangkok!

We arrived in Bangkok in the afternoon and grabbed a taxi. The international airport is new and very nice. Here is a sign we saw:

Our hotel is called Roof View Place and is just a short walk from old Bangkok and Khao San Rd.

Khao San by night is the most dizzying array of sights, sounds, and smells we had ever experienced. A cornucopia of tourist markets, tattoo shops, massage parlors, food carts, fried scorpions being offered up on trays, and of course, the drunk tourists reveling in it all. A visceral experience. We headed one street over to grab a bite to eat: some pad Thai and spicy basil chicken with rice. Also, some local beer for dirt cheap. The hanging lanterns gave us a sweet ambience.

We crashed early and woke up early, deciding to head over to the Royal Palace and temples. Glistening with sweat in the 85• weather at 8 in the morning, we approached the temples and the government buildings where there were mass protests only days before.

Wat Pho is a breathtakingly elaborate temple consisting of several buildings. One of which housed the famous reclining Buddha.

Enormous and ornately inlaid mother of pearl at his feet.

Also, the walls were hand-painted in exquisite detail.

Some more pictures of the temple area including monks chanting during prayer.

We headed to the Royal Palace and Wat Phra Kaew but decided to come back when it is less crowded. These little fish tanks are for cleaning debris off your feet. Have a seat with your feet in the tank and the sucker fish will nom your feet.

On the way back to the hotel, Nicole was kicked in the shin by a local woman. I bought some little donuts from a food cart and as we ate them wondered, "what was that about?". We're now preparing for our flight to Phnom Penh. We'll see you again shortly, Bangkok!

- C