I’ve noticed recently that I’ve been practicing what I’ve now coined as the “smack first, ask questions later” action… It really has nothing to do with the recent Muay Thai training I’ve been doing (just finished session 5 today and it’s a real rear-kicker!!). And when I think back I’ve been “smacking first and asking later” since arriving in Thailand last December.
So what am I referring to exactly? Well, you see, not every place has a mosquito net covering the beds. And even if they did, they don’t prevent 100% of whatever night critters decide to come out and join you bedside… And since I’m arachnophobic, I would rather not actually see what it is that’s crawling on me, because if I ever visually found it to be a spider I would absolutely lose my mind.
Enter the “smack first, ask questions later” motto. It’s a simple concept that I use more often than not. Whenever I feel something on my skin while in bed or hanging about, without looking to see what it is, I simply smack the area where I feel the unknown critter. Sometimes that’s the end of it. But sometimes I do feel a body beneath my hand in the area I’ve just smacked so just as quickly as I’ve hit the unknown creature I swiftly grab the body and chuck it as far away as possible from where I am. It’s become such a common movement that I don’t even notice I’ve done it sometimes. And yet I wonder where that bruise came from the next day, lol!!
Thankfully I’ve never come across the body of whatever I’ve hit and thrown off me the next day, which really means one of two things: either the creature was just stunned by the hit and limped away after recovering OR its body was eaten by another critter during the night. Neither of those scenarios are very comforting really, but that’s jungle living for ya! All part of the joys:)
I’ve been traveling in Thailand now for over 5 months now, so I thought perhaps now is the best time to break out with a few things I love or at least find the most interesting about Thailand:)
It will be a working list and isn’t in any particular order with the exception of the first one. 🙂
#1: NO SHOES!!!
I absolutely adore how before entering any building, home or place of work you must first remove your shoes! This goes for just about every place, with the exception of some grocery stores (though no one would squawk if you didn’t have your shoes on) and with some restaurants as well. But for the most part (including in the vet clinic where I volunteered) you have to kick off your shoes before entering. I will admit sometimes it’s a pain to do so (if you are wearing anything other than flip flops) but otherwise, the no shoe rule is my favorite cultural behavior and one that I will be using wherever I end up for good:) I love, love, LOVE it!!
No Shoes
#2: Nature
The diversity of the landscapes here are extraordinary! From the beaches to jungle to islands, mountains, rivers and lakes, Thailand seems to have just about every kind of terrain one would want to find.
#3: House Geckos
I just adore these creatures! They are simply a much larger version of regular geckos and they are quite beneficial to have in the home since they take care of the majority of other insects in the home (including spiders, yay!!). They also make the cutest and most interesting sound. They start off with a quick series of chitters, then make a series of staccato sounds in repetition. When I first heard their sound I thought I was crazy because it sounded like they were saying “F you” in slow repetition. However, I’ve come across many other travelers and very-well-spoken-in-English-locals who have also pointed this out, so I guess I wasn’t as crazy as I thought, LOL!
#4: Animals
I know I just wrote about the geckos, and they technically would qualify in the animal section as well, but I just love those little buggers so much that they got their own section. However, I do also adore the large variety of other kinds of animals here in Thailand. From elephants, street dogs and cats, variety of monkeys, flying squirrels, regular squirrels, lizards, birds, the diversity is so rich! You just never know what you are going to find! The sea life is also beautifully diverse and lush! From corals to sting rays, sharks, nudibranchs, sea cucumbers, and a huge variety of fish, it’s amazingly impressive!
#5: Kind & Honest People
The people are generous and kind, patient and welcoming. I have yet to run into a rude local here and though I’ve heard from other fellow travelers that it all depends on where you go, in my opinion and experience the people have been nothing but kind. In addition to the generous and kind nature of the people here, they are also very honest. In particular when it comes to money. I’ve been other places where I’ve handed over too much money (from being tired or just not thinking the correct exchange rate) and they’ve gone on their way with the extra money in hand. Here, there have been several occasions where I’ve handed over too much and they immediately return whatever over I’ve paid, even if it’s just a single baht! I’ve gotten so comfortable with their honesty that there have also been several times when my mind wasn’t working properly to understand how much I owed in Thai that I’ve simply held a bunch of bills and let them pick what they needed. I love that kind of honesty as it makes one feel more comfortable in their surroundings!! Now, that’s not to say some people won’t try to overcharge you for something (cab ride, etc) but if you ask upfront what something will cost, they stick by it.
#6: No sleazy men
Traveling in Latin American countries, one thing I had to get used to that also really annoyed me at times, but just had to learn to ignore, was the cat calls, whistles, stares and hissing sounds (they literally sounded like snakes to be honest) men would constantly make toward any female as you walked by. Here, no such behavior exists! The men are much more respectful in that way and even to the point where I sometimes wondered why I wasn’t getting any looks from locals, and it simply is because their culture, unlike others, is to not display emotions of affection in any way in public. Hence, no cat calls, uncomfortable stares or hissing sounds!
#7: Packaging with plastic bags
This one I personally struggle with from the environmental perspective and really wish they would cut back on their use of plastic bags, but I do also find it interesting and entertaining how they package to-go food or drink items. Coffee, sodas, rice, soups, and more are packaged in a plastic bag tied off with a rubber band for take away. Other items like rice and pad thai are put in styrofoam containers, so it’s one evil for the environment versus the other… While I can understand the simplicity and ease of using plastic bags, I wish in general they would cut back because they insist in using a ton of bags for very few items. I’m always refusing bags (as I generally bring my own or just don’t need one) but you really have to be on the ball to say you don’t want a bag as they are very quick to snatch one out. The straws also drive me nuts (though technically from the hygienic perspective it’s better) as they will give you one for each can or bottle purchased (including for beers) so if I walked in and bought 2 bottles of water and a soda they would put in 3 straws!
#8: Built to last
Another thing that really impresses me about Thailand is the construction of their homes and buildings. Yes, there are several homes that are made entirely from bamboo and other wood (though bamboo is a very highly resilient wood to begin with!) but many homes, stores and general buildings are built to a very high quality standard and are built to last! It’s amazing watching them construct a home or other building because their scaffolding is simply rickety looking pieces of wood that you wouldn’t think would hold people walking or working around them, yet the finished product is brick and concrete with tile throughout.
#9: Muay Thai
Whether it’s enjoying an evening out watching fights or joining in training yourself, Muay Thai is entertaining, engaging and a real real-kicker! Granted not all fights are created equal as some are much more entertaining or gruesome than others, but all the fighters have a real sportsmanship about them that isn’t as easily found in countless other sports. What I love the most is the fights where it’s evident that the competitors are friends. They encourage each other between fighting rounds but when the bell goes off, all bets are off and “may the best fighter win” kicks in. Another thing I love about Muay Thai is the sense of tradition and culture. The fighters respect the ring, the judges, their opponent and their God. The more I train in Muay Thai, the more I understand the fights as I watch and questions I had before while watching fights are now answered because of my own training. I won’t go into that here, but will in a future post for sure!
The next day, having risen at the rear-crack of morning (also known as 11 am) we bounded out for something to eat before hitting up the beach. Now, again, we had been so very starved of food selection while living in Sangkhlaburi, so food or eating or snacking or anything to do with any food topic seriously took up most of our consideration! I also wanted some coffee, so we found a place down the street, on the way to the beach, called The Coffee Club. They also served food of course!
En Route to Beach
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En Route to Beach_3
En Route to Beach_4
Now, another thing about me… I never, I mean NEVER take pictures of my food. I’ve never understood it before… I understand plating can be quite well done and very picturesque, but in general have never understood why people take pictures of their food. However, on this occasion, after having looked at their menu and seeing that they had a grilled chicken sandwich that included AVOCADO (I seriously almost fainted when I saw that and then nearly cried!!!) I couldn’t help but take a picture of both the menu AND the food once it arrived. I mean, come on! It was even served on ciabatta bread!!! I again almost cried at seeing REAL bread again!! So yes, I’m now a photographer of food…
OMG!!!!!
In any event, we spent the rest of that day lounging on the beach with some beers and I proceeded to get one of the worst burns I’ve had in a long time! Not just along my shoulders, but my stomach and high up on my thighs as well. It’s now been almost a week since that burn, and though I’ve been slathering myself with coconut oil and pure aloe vera, I’m still red and a bit itchy, lol! The day basically just passed on the beach (rough life I know) then we went off for a few happy hour cocktails on one of the beach bars along the pier. We sipped on several cocktails, talking away the hours when we were suddenly visited by some interesting guests on the roof of the next bar over.
Bar Guests
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Yes, three macaques decided to see what all the happy hour fuss was about! I wasn’t sure what to expect from them because they can be quite violent at times, but these three just seemed to keep to themselves, accepting bits of food they wanted from sharing people. Once dinner time came around, we opted for the Spanish Tapas restaurant It did not disappoint!! We ordered a liter of homemade sangria and had about 6 different dishes between us! It was quite a treat that neither of us had had in a long time. We were supposed to have left the next day but Jo heard that there was a Muay Thai fight the next night, so we decided to extend our stay for a night in order to catch it.
Hua Hin Beach
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Hua Hin Beach_3
Hua Hin Beach_4
When we rose that next day, it seemed to just be a comedy of errors. Of course, despite my burns we still had to go to the beach to hang out and swim for a bit. We didn’t last that long though as the heat of the day felt twice as hot on my skin and as there wasn’t any shade to sit under, I could only bear it so long. From the brief beach time, we went off to scout where the fighting was to take place but when we got there, we found out they only had fights 2 nights a week (Thursdays and Saturdays- and we were on a Friday). Dejected by that, our next thought was to go get some food (again with the food, I know!! ;)). Jo had seen something on TripAdvisor about a mexican food place that got great reviews along Dechanuchit Alley, near Prapokkiao (street?). So off we went in search of that…
Hua Hin Beach_5
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Hua Hin Beach_7
Another brick wall was hit as even though we were using the GPS app on TripAdvisor to find the place, it seemingly didn’t exist. However, the street where it was supposed to exist on was an absolute bustle of energy! There were restaurants lined one after another along this strip of road and though they were each already quite spacious, the street was being turned into an extension of the restaurants so people could sit in the street and other general shop owners were setting up for a street market!
Hua Hin Beach_8
Hua Hin Beach_9
Hua Hin Beach_10
At this point I was seriously kicking myself for not bringing my camera because it seriously was a sight to see! Hundreds of people walked about busily setting up their shops. I mean not a single person was simply hanging about (except us). Everyone had a job to do and there were even people who set up a little lemonade stand and walked up and down the road selling cups of lemonade to the workers. Jo and I got a coffee from a shop nearby Ko’s restaurant and simply watched the life around us.
Interestingly for us, a bar was even being set up on the street just next to where we sat! So of course, even though at this point neither of us had had any breakfast or lunch, we just HAD to get some cocktails once the bar opened up! As we sat on the street downing some beverages, a banner caught my eye several food stalls down. I went to get a closer look and (suspenseful music here) lo and behold it was an advertisement for a Muay Thai fighting match TONIGHT!! Yay!!! So essentially, had it not been for us wandering to find the non-existent Mexican food place, and for us to decide to hang out with coffee to watch the street wake up for nighttime activities, and for us to decide on having a few cocktails at the street bar, then I never would have seen the advert for the Muay Thai!! We took this as a very good sign that we were supposed to see a fight on this night!
Hua Hin Beach_11
Hua Hin Beach_12
Hua Hin Beach_13
After our several cocktails (and a free whisky shot) we stumbled our way to the site of the fight (the name escapes me now, go figure!) bought our tickets (800 baht each!!) and finally had some food at the Italian place next door. Though all the events of the day seemed to just line up in random ways so that we could see a Muay Thai fight, after having seen the 7 fights, I still call the day a comedy of errors. I say that because only about 3 of the 7 fights were actually worth watching. It was a disappointment and honestly we saw better fights over New Year’s in Sangkhlaburi than what we watched there. Oh well! And we weren’t the only ones who felt cheated as there was another couple in 7-11 (where we went after for more booze) who were talking about how lack-luster the fights were and how disappointed they were. I mean, come on, for 800 baht we were expecting some really good fights! Not seemingly mismatched, gloves on, not highly ranked matches! Oh well. Just goes to show not everything turns out as you’d like. 🙂
Simply more pictures from Muay Thai boxing matches January 2nd 2558 (that’s the year that Thailand is currently in:)) Enjoy!
Corner BowsHonor in the RingHonor in the Ring_2Honor in the Ring_3Prayer before MatchFight BeginsKick OffFight OnFight On_2Fight On_3Fight On_4Fight On_5Red Going Down
New Year’s Eve day started as it normally does as a volunteer at the Thai Animal Sanctuary: feed dogs, clean enclosures, medicate/change bandages, walks, play time, shuffle dogs around, lunch, finish whatever daily project that was scheduled, night feeding, workout, shower, dinner time!
Instead of having to prepare our own meal for dinner however, we were invited to Sai and Charlie’s place to dine for New Year’s. Sai and Charlie, a Thai-British couple, are one of the many gems in Sangkhlaburi. Just about every morning they drop off a dish of rice and chicken, with bits of egg in a chicken broth so we can mix a bit into the morning bowls for each dog. For Christmas they made a huge vat of a similar soup with the added bonus of veggies for all 60 dogs in the shelter. They made so much that each dog had their own large bowl of Christmas breakfast, instead of just a bit mixed in with their normal kibble.
Dinner With Sai and Charlie
We were all looking forward to the dinner and even planned to eat less during the day to save room for what we knew would be a feast. But as we all know, getting there is half the battle! In our defense, there were 7 of us and only one bathroom in the volunteer house, so needless to say trying to organize that part alone became a bit of a task. We arrived about a half hour late with all 4 porch dogs (Noodles, Nipper, Balua and Piglet) who weren’t actually invited but just thought they were. 😉 The dinner spread was a delicious and impressive display of Thai cuisine. From the soup, fresh baked WHEAT bread (if you’ve been to Thailand you know how hard it is to find anything other than plain white bread, especially in small towns!!) fried egg with veggies, and a spicy pork on rice dish to dessert. We dined like Kings and Queens over great conversation and lots and lots of laughter. We even learned how to say Happy New Year in Thai (Suk San Wan Be Man Ka) after about a hundred failed attempts, but finally got it down:)
We stayed a couple hours then headed into town to the school soccer stadium for the muay thai kickboxing competition. All I had anticipated was just that: a ring set up for Muay Thai. What we walked into was so much more! It was seriously like a full on carnival or circus (minus the animals)! Neon lights lit up the stadium in every direction along with tent after tent selling food, clothing, fried insects, flip-flops, underwear… You name it, they just about had it!
Field from Above
Market
Field Decorations
As we had arrived a bit late for the start of the muay thai kickboxing we were only able to see a couple of fight rounds. The competition was going on for 5 nights (New Year’s Eve being the second night) and each night featured a different age group. New Year’s Eve night was for the youngsters (they looked only about 6 years old!!) to the teens. I can’t tell you how impressive the fights were! First were the teen boys who wailed and kicked and punched eachother until a brow was split open and after only 2 rounds the fight was called. Next up were the little kids whose heads didn’t even make it up to the top portion of the ring!!
In the Ring
Face Off
A Walk Around the Ring
“Dance” Time
Before each fight the competitors walk around the ring with a little hop in their step, kinda like a little dance, to each corner and bow. Next they go to their corner and have their headdress removed and are rubbed down with deep heat oil, which is sort of a liniment oil to slick their skin making it harder for their opponent to get a good grip. Then the fight is on! Those little kids wailed and kicked and fought their little hearts out! When the bell rang to signify the end of the round, their coaches would come in and sweep them up into a bear hug and gently shake them up and down. It seriously looked like they were getting a nice cuddle after each round, but really what the “hug” was all about was to help stretch their spines. Then they got a very thourough rub down with cold water, had their arms and legs stretched out a bit, then off again to fight. The boys lasted through 5 full rounds until a winner was called. So impressive!
“Dance” Time_2
Prayer before Fight
Game on!
Swinging Away
Ouch!
Bear “Hug”
Rub Down Between Round
The kids fight was the last for the night, so we wandered the rest of the field checking out the various tents and their goods for sale, then headed to the other stage set up on the field. We hung out watching traditional lanterns light up and float into the sky, decorating the night with extra stars, and the various traditional Thai dancers up on stage. The hours passed with drinks in hand, the company of good friends and the entertainment all around. Then about 10 minutes to midnight the Mayor of the town got on stage to give a speech. Of course it was lost on all of us, but it sounded like it could have been interesting.
Market_2
Stage
Lantern Lighting
Lantern Stars
About 7 minutes to midnight a bottle rocket from the stage shot straight over our heads directly to another stage area where it struck and lit up a huge firework display! I’m not going to lie, I was kinda freaked out by the bottle rocket launching above us because at first I thought it was rogue. But once I realized it was actually a planned launch, all was well. The first firework display went on and on showering the earth with white sparks. In the center glittered what I assume to be “Happy New Year” in Thai.
Show Begins
Happy New Year!
Fireworks
Once the first display started to peter out, the next display was shot off. Hundreds of brilliant fireworks shot into the sky with every color possible! I was mesmorized by the show of lights and the glitter of the lanterns still dotting the night sky behind them. We were so close to where the action was that the ash from the fireworks rained down on us, sometimes even getting in our eyes and gawking mouths, lol!! I was just in absolute awe. It was one of the most impressive New Years displays I’ve seen in a while. Especially considering how small this town really is, it was just awesome!
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Knowing we had 60 dogs to feed the next day, I opted to head home to sleep (after a brief impromptu game of football using a balled up jacket as a football much to the amusement of the Thais) while the rest of the gang (minus one volunteer) proceeded to get hammered once we got back to the volunteer house. Needless to say myself and the volunteer who didn’t drink were up bright and early while the other 5 volunteers weren’t even able to get out of bed until about 3pm New Year’s Day, and even then were useless because of their hangovers, lol!! For once I was actually glad I wasn’t the one who was drinking, lol!!
I arrived in Ayutthaya by train from Bangkok. Though it said it would only be just over an hour, as I’ve read from other travelers, travel times should never be trusted as it always takes much longer than stated. The train was very basic. No air conditioning, only windows and honestly reminded me of a school bus on train tracks. People at each stop would hop aboard to sell water, bits of food, rice, etc for the journey. Leaving Bangkok it was amazing to see how many people live and set up work directly on the edge of the train tracks.
Train Ride
Along the Tracks
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Along the way a very friendly Thai woman started chatting with me and as it turned out she lived in Ayutthaya and volunteered to make sure I got off at the right place :). Though they do have an intercom system on the train that tells you what stop is next, I was still very grateful I had someone to tell me for sure since my ears are not yet trained to hear Thai words correctly.
Just across the street and almost down to the end I found my hostel for the next several nights: Baan Are Gong GuestHouse. Originally I planned to stay 3 nights, but extended to 4 as I just got so comfortable there!! The people are very friendly, the accommodations are clean and the location couldn’t be better and easier as the train station is just down the road and the boat to get across the river is right next door! I stayed in a private room on the second floor (fan only) and adored that everyone has to take off their shoes before going upstairs.
Baan Are Gong Guesthouse
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Baan Are Gong Guesthouse_3
Baan Are Gong Guesthouse_4
The only perhaps, let’s call it ‘culture shock’ that I hadn’t encountered yet was the bathrooms… They were shared bathrooms and there were several sets of flip-flops in front of the bathrooms to slip on before going in. Inside the bathroom was a regular toilet, sink and mounted on the wall was a shower head and knobs. But no shower curtain… So when showering it’s literally like going into a standard single bathroom stall (except larger) and showering. Water of course goes everywhere and there’s just no way to avoid that! So it sprays all over the toilet, the sink and all over the floor. There is a drain behind the toilet to drain shower water away, but if it gets clogged with hair, well you then have a mini-flood going on… Definitely was a first for me and I kept having to remind myself that all the water on the toilet seat was from the shower, not from people peeing on it… I hope anyway, lol!!
But all in all, I adored this hostel!! They also have a little puppy that is just too darn cute for words and I just couldn’t help but play with him every second I got! The woman who owns the place is very nice to talk to and she gave me some great information on places to visit in the country.
Puppy!
Mama Dog 12 years!
Mama’s Son
My stay in Ayutthaya included going into town the first night to watch the street festival in honor of the King’s Birthday. One of the main streets was shut to traffic and they had stage after stage set up with live music, traditional Thai dancing, a muay thai boxing ring, and tons upon tons of street vendors selling everything from live fish (as pets), shoes, food, desserts, and my personal favorite to see: fried crickets and worms! No… I wasn’t brave enough to try any, but it was awesome to see!! A couple hours later once the sun set and the full moon rose high in the sky, fireworks started shooting off. It was such a fantastic time!!
King’s Birthday Celebrations
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Other activities included spending the whole day wandering the streets of Ayutthaya visiting the tons upon tons of temples and temple ruins they have available. From Wat Lokayasutharam (Buddha reclining) to the Phra Ram Park where several little Temples could be found, to Wat Maha That, site of an ancient Temple ruins, the Ancient Palace, Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit where one of the largest bronze Buddha images in Thailand can be found and so many more! Though some of the Temples have been given the status of being World Heritage Sites, they do charge admission (50 baht) for foreigners. Some people I came across took issue with that, but it’s such a teeny amount, I really wasn’t that bothered by it.
Wat Mahathat
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Sandstone Buddha Image
Sandstone Buddha Image_2
Wat Mahathat_3
Wat Mahathat_4
One funny here: as I was wandering through the park, walking through the grass in my flip-fops, I was thinking to myself whether there were any animals in Thailand to be worried about. Before going to Costa Rica EVERYONE and their brother (mine included) warned about the fer-de-lance snake (highly poisonous and can kill you within a half hour!!) but I hadn’t heard a thing from any fellow traveler to Thailand of critters to beware of. Just as I was thinking this, up ahead on the side walk was… Is that??… What IS that?!?!?… No…. Is that a komodo dragon??? Do they have those here??? Of course, my instinct toward animals not always being on point, I stealthily rushed toward it so not to scare it off, but yes I wanted a picture!! Later I looked it up and it’s not a komodo dragon, but rather what they call a ‘water monitor’. Interesting stuff!
Water Monitor
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I came across a local fishing for shrimp in the river, which was fun to watch for a bit 🙂
Shrimp Traps
Caught Shrimp
They also have an Elephant Village in Ayutthaya in the center of town where people could ride them down and back on the street. I opted NOT to do this, but did buy a basket of food that I fed directly to the elephants hanging out at the ticket area. I have so much more to say on this topic, but will save it for another post as it’s too long for this one…
Elephant Ride
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Reclining Buddha
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Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit
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Wat Phra Si Samphet
My last activity in Ayutthaya was of a boat tour. For 200 baht, the two-hour tour included a visit to Wat Phanan Choeng near the Japanese settlement that featured a bronze Buddha that looked larger than the one at Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit, then over to Wat Phutthai Sawan followed by the ever so beautiful and my favorite (especially at sunset!!) Wat Chaiwatthanaram. The tour ended by continuing along the river until we made a full circle back to our Guesthouse:)
Heading out of Australia to escape this Aussie winter. First stop Japan, then UK/Ireland and if work doesn't call me back, onto Chicago. I will make it up as I go along
Ramblintraveler 