Wander with Me: Kanchanaburi

It was a trip of many firsts. Though my own country is rich in waterfalls, rivers, and mountains, I have never been inclined to visit them. As a serious beachcomber, I have always chosen the sea over the mountains, and it was a first for me to have agreed on this trip instead of going to Koh Samet, as what was originally planned. It’s the first time I’ve ever been to quite a historic place, as well. It was also the first (and hopefully not the last) trip with my man – the object of my affection, who shall be referred to from this point forward as The Object.

The Object and I left his apartment in Don Muang bright and early on Saturday morning, with the intention of getting settled in Kanchanaburi by lunch time. Unfortunately, we chose the wrong route and ended up being stuck on a bus along Phahon Yothin Road for almost 2 hours. It was almost 11 AM by the time we got to the bus terminal in Pinklao, and a further 3 hours before we finally made it to the River Kwai area in Kanchanaburi.

 

A very amiable songthaew driver recommended the Sugar Cane Guest House, and we were not disappointed at all. We were lucky enough to get a cottage on a raft right on the river. For 550 baht a night, it was absolute perfection. The resort was quite a long walk into the center of town but our floating accommodation more than made up for it. Personally, I was happy with the arrangement. I’ve been cooped up in my apartment for too long eating sugary buns. I totally needed the fresh air and the exercise.

 

But I digress. We intended to walk to the Bridge Over the River Kwai after lunch. Unfortunately, it was drizzling in what was supposed to be the second driest province in Thailand, so we headed back to the guest house and waited for the rain to stop on our lovely veranda. I amused myself by anxiously gazing into the dark green waters, hoping to catch a glimpse of any animal larger than me. I wasn’t so lucky.

Eventually, the rain subsided and we walked to the Bridge Over the River Kwai about a kilometer away. (If anybody’s wondering why I can’t just say the River Kwai Bridge or something, it’s because I can’t. Everybody calls it the Bridge Over the River Kwai, no doubt because of the movie, so I’m joining the bandwagon. Deal with it.) The Bridge, no, the entire railway, for that matter, was supposedly built by POWs back in the Second World War, The Object’s own grandfather being one of them. It’s a rather sad bit of history, actually, and I’m not about to go into a lengthy account of it in here. It’s much too depressing. The view was stunning, however, and the air was cool and pleasant.

A train came by while we were on the bridge and it was quite scary. I had a picture in my head of the bridge collapsing with the weight of the train and all the tourists and we will all plummet into the river and I’d come face to face with an animal larger than myself. Ahhh…to have such an imagination.

But once again, I digress. The Object and I made it to the other side of The Bridge (in one piece) and wandered away from all the tourists. We peered through cages of exotic birds, among them peacocks, and made our way to a grassy spot on the riverbank where we sat for a while and took in more calmness and fresh air. I honestly did not know how much more serenity I could take, but The Object seemed quite contented so I found myself relaxing little by little.

We were back on our little house boat before sunset. I showered, put on the ridiculously expensive dress I got conned into buying in Phuket, and settled on the veranda to watch the sunset. I was disappointed when I didn’t see a spectacular one. The Object was tired and wanted to rest for a bit. I did a bit of writing and amused myself by listening to our next-door neighbor going at it (you get the picture), watching the floating restaurants go past, and vainly hoping for a reptile to make an appearance. Eventually, the novelty wore off and I was bored out of my eyeballs. It was useless trying to talk to The Object because he was half-asleep and rather unresponsive, the way people who are between consciousness and unconsciousness are. The silence was deafening. I hated it because I found myself thinking of things that I did not want to think about, like where the relationship was going, how scared I was about falling, where my life was going, etc. My thoughts were too serious, too intense. I wanted to avoid that because when I think, the floodgates open and I start baring my soul, potentially humiliating myself. I think I must have, a little. I certainly know I asked a lot of questions. I can only hope that The Object really was half-asleep and therefore can’t remember much of the conversation that night. Finally, I was able to rouse him enough to convince him that he was hungry enough to walk to town with me for dinner. I found a used bookstore and the German owner gave me a discount because, according to him, I was the prettiest girl he’s seen for a long time. I didn’t know how true that was but I couldn’t complain. After dinner, we gave our next-door neighbors a run for their money. (Sorry, I couldn’t help squeezing that in.)

Again, we were up bright and early the next day. We had booked ourselves into an all-day tour (990 baht each) and we were both pretty excited. I had the best breakfast ever, the best since I moved to Thailand, and it was the perfect way to start what was to become a fantastic day. We were picked up by a mini bus with the rest of our tour group for the day. First stop, Erawan Falls, some 65 kilometers away. It was a rather scenic drive all the way to the park where the waterfalls were. Erawan Falls had 7 waterfalls, 3 or 4 of them you can swim in. We separated ourselves from the rest of the group and explored on our own. The Object is quite a nature buff and we were always stopping every so often to look for wildlife. It’s amazing how much he knows about birds, lizards, snakes, etc. It was like being in National Geographic or something.

On the 4th tier, people were sliding on huge boulders into the water and it looked like so much fun. An unbelievably fat Western woman in an unbelievably skimpy bikini was about to slide. She changed her mind halfway through and tried to climb back up the rock while her bikini slipped and exposed half of her huge ass. She was thrashing and screaming and by the time she plummeted into the water, locals and tourists alike were in hysterics. That was one of the tackiest and most pathetic things I’ve ever seen.

I finally convinced The Object to take a dip with me. The water was cool and it felt so good. I think the fish felt quite good too. They were certainly having the time of their lives eating (or should I say, sucking) the dead skin on my ankles, toes, and, umm, butt. Both of us weren’t very good swimmers, so we had to stay close to the rocks where the fishes congregated. Indeed, The Object and I made our contribution to the environment by being fish food.

After we’ve had our fill of the water, we attempted to climb further into the 5th tier. We never made it, though. It was much too muddy and I was sensibly wearing flip flops. The Object and I decided to make our way back into the park to rendezvous with the rest of the group for lunch. In an effort to dry myself out, I didn’t put my shirt back on and was walking around in my bikini top. It was a miracle I didn’t get stoned to death. Apparently, Thai women don’t wear bikinis, even in beaches. I never knew that until then and when I thought about it, I realized that I was the only Asian woman shamelessly walking around half-naked in Phuket, Phi Phi, and Ao Nang. That explained the dirty looks I’ve been getting. After all, nobody can ever tell I wasn’t Thai until I opened my mouth. I wasn’t about to be deterred by that revelation, however, and I carried on like normal, impervious to the dagger looks I was getting. Why? Because I’m shameless that way, that’s why.

After lunch, we drove on to our next destination. We cruised on a wooden raft along the river Kwai Noi and it was quite pleasant. It ended too soon, though. I felt that if we carried on a bit longer, we might have seen something exciting, like maybe a crocodile swimming alongside the raft or something.

My disappointment didn’t last long, however. We were going on the elephant trek next, and I was looking forward to that more than anything. I’ve seen quite a few elephants in the area where I live in, but they’ve always looked so sad that they just break my heart each time I see them. This time however, I was going to see elephants that, though captive, were in their own natural habitat. I was quite sad to see wounds on one of them but all in all, they looked quite happy. The elephant The Object and I were on was quite special. She was a massive and healthy-looking female. I was quite apprehensive when her handler left us on her while he took our photographs, but I need not have worried. She was very obedient and she actually posed once or twice. It started drizzling again and I was handed an umbrella. I was on an elephant with an Englishman and what could pass for a parasol. All I needed was a gown. I felt so colonial, indeed.

We left the Wang Pho Elephant Camp shortly thereafter and we were driven to Krasae Cave and the Death Railway. The Cave was used as a medical barracks of sorts back in the war but it was now a Buddhist Temple. We took a walk on the rather precarious railway. It was uneventful. Nobody fell off or anything, but The Object did refer to me as his “lady” on a phone call with his friend. There I was precariously dangling 50 feet above a river on a rickety railroad track with the most depressing history imaginable and I was ridiculously happy. We then rode the train over the same rickety track, got picked up by the mini bus a couple of stations away, and were driven to the Bridge Over the River Kwai, where The Object and I had a leisurely cup of coffee.

Dusk found us on our veranda once again waiting for a sunset. There was one, but it was mostly obscured by thick clouds, so, once again, I was disappointed. We passed the time talking and this time, I wasn’t the only one opening up. It’s amazing what silence could do. I didn’t have all of my questions answered, but I found out enough to know that The Object and I were on the same wavelength all along. There really might be something good here, something that only time will really tell.

We had a late dinner in a bar called No Name and I was introduced to proper English food. I had a steak and mushroom pie and the most amazing mashed potatoes I’ve ever had in my entire life. A proper English meal with a real Englishman – what more could I ask for? The food was fantastic, the company even more so. I was quite sad that we were leaving the next day.

The next morning, I ordered the same breakfast because God only knows when I will ever have eggs, bacon, and toast again. We have since decided to take the train back to Bangkok because we’ve both never done it before. To do that, we had to catch the train from the River Kwai station to Nam Tok near the Burmese border, wait for about 10 minutes, and take the same train back to Bangkok. The train was late, and after a grueling 8-hour journey, we finally pulled into Thonburi station. Though it was pleasant at times, none of us is going to try that again in a hurry.

It was one of the best weekends I’ve ever spent for as long as I could remember and I wish it could have lasted even just one day more. Once again, my eyes were opened to how beautiful the world really is and how glad I am to be alive. I needed that, considering that I was seriously thinking of finally going home. Indeed, there are still so many things and so many places I want to see in Thailand. And if that isn’t reason enough, well, you can guess what other reasons there might be.

Wander with Me: Phi Phi Islands and Ao Nang

Since we were already in the area, the plan was to take the ferry to the Phi Phi Islands, wander around a bit, and take the only ferry to Ao Nang in Krabi in the afternoon, where we could spend the night before leaving for Bangkok the next day.

 

We were picked up by a mini bus from Game Mansion bright and early on Monday morning and taken to the Phuket dock (the name of which escapes me), where we got on the ferry to Phi Phi Don. The trip took about an hour and a half. We spent the first part of it inside the boat because again it was drizzling. I tried to get some writing done but I felt kind of sick in the ferry’s cramped cabin. The rain eventually stopped pouring and we decided to stay outside to get some air and take lots of pictures.

 

We were pretty much unsure about what we were going to do in Phi Phi. We had about 5 hours to kill before we had to leave for Ao Nang and the best plan we had was to eat and swim. I suppose he overheard us because Joe, a Thai man who works with the ferry company, approached us and offered to take us along on a snorkeling and sightseeing tour of the Phi Phi islands with the rest of the tour group on board for only 200 baht. It sounded like a good idea, especially since the alternative was much too boring.

 

As instructed, we didn’t get off the boat in Phi Phi Don with the rest of the one-way ticket passengers. We then proceeded to Phi Phi Ley and snorkeled for about an hour. It was quite an experience. I’ve snorkeled a lot before but most of the fishes I’ve met were rather timid. The fishes of Phi Phi Ley were complete show offs. It was cute, except when some of them mistook me for a piece of watermelon and started biting my backside. My snorkel wasn’t working right, my life vest kept trying to float up over my head, and I was gulping in a lot of seawater so I was kind of struggling for a bit. D wasn’t much help because he kept laughing at me. I suppose I must have looked funny with my hair all over the place and I started laughing hysterically too. We probably spent half the time just giggling like mad until we had to get back on the boat.

 

After snorkeling, we were then taken on a sightseeing tour of the islands, which pretty much meant going past it on the boat while the guide gave background information over the loudspeakers. D and I found a perch at the front of the boat where we could get some sun and lots of air. We saw more beaches, some caves, and Maya Bay, the beach where they shot the film, The Beach. It looked so beautiful and I was so disappointed that we weren’t going in to swim. I was very much looking forward to it.

 

Back in Phi Phi Don, we got off the boat, thanked Joe, and parted with the rest of the tour group. We found a seaside restaurant with a fantastic view and were just about to order when they told us they didn’t have food. It was unbelievable. D and I both were getting quite cranky because we were so hungry. We eventually found another restaurant on a side street. The food was passable but nothing special. There were several used bookstores in the vicinity and I took a look but they were ridiculously overpriced for used books. There were some very, very good selections, though, and I wished I could’ve bought some but money was dwindling fast so I had to pass.

We had a couple more hours to kill before heading to Ao Nang so we decided on more swimming. The beach was calm and the view was fantastic. The sand wasn’t powdery but it didn’t hurt my feet so it was all good. What I hated about it was the number of speed boats parked close to the shore. I think they were there for banana boating. There were just too many of them and it made swimming difficult because they sort of float up behind you when you’re not looking. It was totally annoying, but it was good fun watching people fall off the banana boats.

We boarded the ferry to Ao Nang around 3 PM. I was really looking forward to a nap. Unfortunately, D was still halfway through his new Harry Potter book and kept waking me up every time something good happened. I gave up trying to sleep. By this time, I started feeling the tightness of my face and I realized with horror that I was rather horribly burnt. I didn’t even think about sunblock until that very moment and it was obviously too late. I suppose I was too complacent. The sun was hidden behind the clouds the whole time, after all. Apparently, I was being stealthily roasted. Sneaky. Very sneaky.

We arrived in Ao Nang late in the afternoon. Once again, we looked for a cheap guest house to stay in, preferably with wireless Internet. We weren’t so lucky this time. Most of the guest houses we went to had rates of at least 500 baht per night and didn’t offer Internet access. We finally settled on Nongeed Guest House because the owner agreed to give us a room for 400 baht instead of their usual 550 baht. We also bought our bus tickets to Bangkok for late the next day at 500 baht apiece. I took a shower and tried to get some writing done but I was too tired. D and I decided to get dinner and just call it a night.

I was planning to wake up extra early because I haven’t written a single article, but I must have been really tired because I woke up rather late. We didn’t have to leave for Bangkok until 4 PM but we did need to check out by 11 AM. That didn’t leave a lot of time for swimming because we obviously wanted to shower before the trip to Bangkok. Still, we wouldn’t pass up the chance to frolic in the water even just for a while. The current and the undertow were quite strong and the waves were pretty big. I stayed close to shore. After we posed for the necessary photographs and had our fill of Ao Nang’s beach, we went back to the guest house, showered, packed, and checked out.

I spent the next few hours writing frantically. I was finally able to send my articles to my editor around mid-afternoon. Internet cafés in Ao Nang were ridiculously expensive at 1 baht per minute. Still, I couldn’t complain. It rained for quite awhile and I was stuck in the café. When it let up, I took a little walk near the beach and watched the town for a bit. I then headed back to the guest house where we were waiting to be picked up for the final trip to Bangkok. D was napping on the guest house’s reception area, so I ended up watching a really bad Thai soap opera.

We were picked up by a mini bus around 3 PM and driven to yet another travel agency in Krabi, where we stayed for over an hour. We actually thought in horror that we would be on the same mini bus all the way to Bangkok. We were looking forward to being on a comfortable VIP bus. The mini bus drove us all the way to Suratthani where we finally boarded a VIP bus with blankets, reclining seats, and all that jazz. I was asleep within minutes and didn’t wake up until we arrived in Bangkok at 6 AM. They dropped us off on Khao San Road. I didn’t really have any idea how to get home from there. D took a cab home but I couldn’t. I sort of wandered around for over an hour before I finally took a bus to Mo Chit and another bus home. I had spent about 1,500 baht on the Phi Phi Islands – Ao Nang leg of the trip.

It was a hell of a trip. I’ve never felt so alive and so free. And though I enjoyed it with all my heart and would do it again in the blink of an eye, it still feels good to be home. Well, at least, until I start burning to wander again.

Of Cilantro and Homesickness

I’ve been feeling quite blah today so this post is going to be completely random. Bear with me.

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Probably my least favorite spice (or vegetable) is cilantro or coriander. Unfortunately, it seems that it’s also the favorite spice (or vegetable) among Thai people. I’ve had cilantro on my food since the day I arrived in Bangkok. Usually, I just set the pesky leaves aside. It doesn’t really have any effect on the dish’s general taste as long as you’re not chewing it.

Anyway, I decided to treat myself to a different lunch today, one that didn’t involve street food. I went to the mall nearest my office, Future Park. I decided I wanted chicken so I went to KFC with the idea of ordering my favorite Zinger meal. While I was on queue, however, I happened to glance at the colorful menu behind the counter and I saw it – the spicy chicken meal. It looked good, owing to the fact that it had a lot of onions. For the record, I love, love, love onions. I eat ‘em raw, fried, baked, chopped, un-chopped, whole, you name it. But I digress. I decided right there and then to get the spicy chicken meal.

After much pointing and gesturing with the food server, I finally got my exciting new dish. With tray in hand, I headed to the nearest corner table, eagerly started eating, and promptly gagged. The whole thing was crawling with cilantro. The worst thing was I could barely see the evil leaves so I couldn’t set them aside. They were chopped so fine that you’d need a microscope to see them.

Because I couldn’t possibly waste 77 baht on a meal I took only one bite of, I forced myself to eat the rest of it, taking big gulps of my Pepsi in between bites. I managed to finish almost three quarters of it. The sad thing was it would’ve been a very good meal. It was a tad too spicy but hey, this is Thailand. And unfortunately, because this is Thailand, I’m in cilantro hell. Indeed, it was the best of times, and it was the worst of times.

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Unable to successfully get the nasty taste of cilantro out of my mouth with a large Pepsi, I decided I deserved an ice cream. I walked around the mall, looking for Hawell’s, my favorite ice cream stall with their excellent 15-baht vanilla ice cream cone dipped in amazing chocolate fudge. I never did get to find Hawell’s.

There it was, it’s pretty pink sign a beacon for cilantro victims everywhere – Baskin and Robbins! It shouldn’t be a big deal, I know, but I come from a city where there isn’t a single Baskin and Robbins. I remember there was one when I was about 12 but for some reason, they closed it down, and I never saw a Baskin and Robbins again. I’m not even sure if they have Baskin and Robbins in Manila. I’ve never seen any on my frequent trips to the capital.

But once again, I digress. I eagerly perused the divine display of ice cream, obviously chock full of calories. But I was in ice cream heaven and, like all addicts, I wasn’t thinking straight. I was confronted with one of the hardest decisions of my life – what flavor should I go for. After about 10 minutes of walking up and down the aisle and peering rather seriously into every cooler, I finally decided on a double scoop of Jamocha Almond Fudge and Chocolate Escape.

Being Baskin and Robbins, it was rather pricey, but I suppose 69 baht for a double scoop of ice cream is a pretty good deal. I’m sure it’s at least double the price in other countries. It was worth every baht. The rich flavor and sublime creaminess tickled me all the way to my toes. It was an almost orgasmic experience that got me thinking: who needs a boyfriend when you have Baskin and Robbins?

After the sugar rush, however, I decided that a girl can’t live on Baskin and Robbins alone. She would definitely need a boyfriend…to buy her Baskin and Robbins. It makes perfect sense.

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I love the rain. The rain is a beautiful thing. I love walking in the soft drizzle and just feeling the tiny droplets on my face. I love listening to the rain pouring outside my window, especially while I sleep.

In Thailand, however, one can easily hate the rain. It could be perfectly sunny one moment and pouring the next. The rain in Thailand comes down without warning. And not only does it come down, it comes down in torrents. Buckets. You’re guaranteed to get drenched in less than a minute, which is exactly what happened to me as I was heading home. I keep forgetting to buy an umbrella, and I’m definitely getting a good, sturdy one tomorrow. That is, if this rain is ever going to stop.

If that isn’t bad enough, dig this: my area floods. If you’re unfortunate enough to be caught outside in a downpour, expect to wade in water at least 5 inches deep and pray there aren’t any potholes. It’s one of those rare moments when I’m thankful that I’m living on the 5th floor of an elevator-less building.

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I love corn. No, it’s not a typo, I do mean corn and not porn. (See, I love it so much that I can be corny too!)

Anyway, on my way home, I often pass through a market that always smells of that thing we leave in the toilet periodically. They sell some really interesting cuisine in this market, such as some mysterious animal’s tongue and fish heads the size of my own head. I was hurrying through the market when I saw this little old lady selling bags of huge yellow sweet corn. She was only selling them for 10 baht a bag, with 3 juicy ears of corn in each bag. I immediately bought one. I ate all three of them within minutes! And here you were, thinking I was buying them for another purpose. Nope, fresh produce is not my style.

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I don’t know if it was the rain, the ice cream, the cilantro-infested dish, the corn overload, or the fact that I just spent the last hour and a half hand washing my clothes, but I found myself crying. This is the first time I’ve cried since I got here. I always thought that I’d be crying everyday out of homesickness but I haven’t – until now.

I suppose it’s a good thing. It proves that I’m not such a bad person for not missing home more because I do, albeit slightly delayed. I just finished watching slideshows of pictures of my family and friends. I have also just finished crying hysterically. I miss my mum. I miss my sister. I miss my best friend. I miss all my friends, especially the ones at work. I miss my dogs. I miss lechon, adobo, sinigang, pochero, mum’s mango float that she told me she was making today, and Larsian. I miss having my own broadband Internet at home. I miss my bed. I miss having a helper to wash my clothes. I miss IT Park. Hell, I even miss my call center with its centralized air conditioning.

Yes, I miss a lot of things. And with that said, nope, I’m not coming home. I am home.