Travel Tales from Asia

One aspect of Bangkok that never ceases to fascinate and intrigue me is the kaleidoscope of contrasts ever-present throughout the city. Indeed, the Thai capital is hardly alone in this regard. Extensive travel throughout Southeast Asia has brought me in close touch with simple, humble Buddhism on the one hand and raw, furious capitalism on the other. I have seen elegant reverence for ancient traditions one minute and total, all-in embraces of Western excess the next.

This is not to suggest that as a city, Bangkok has a patent on this kind of cultural dichotomy. Far from it. I can certainly name others that offer displays of venerable, quiet dignity by day and colourful flourishes of libertine, carnal gluttony by night. With Bangkok however, the flagrant contrasts are much, much more extreme. I think this is a key factor in the city’s vast allure.

One enclave of Bangkok where a lot of this comes together is Silom. Part corporate and financial district, the area is also the most notorious nightlife hub in Asia and arguably, the world. Silom after all, is home to Patpong.

The diminutive but infamous red light, entertainment and go-go bar district spans two parallel side streets between Surawong Road and Silom Road. Thought a fair number of locals frequent Patpong, the chaotic area is expat, backpacker and farang tourist central. Some come for the ridiculous spectacle that is Patpong, some for sheer curiosity’s sake and some for more nefarious reasons. The backdrop of Miss Saigon and The Deer Hunter is worth a look however, no matter how narrow.

High above the seamy veneer of Patpong’s go-go bars is Silom’s extraordinary skyline. You want to talk about contrasts, just stroll down this de facto “Wall Street of Thailand” which runs into the adjacent riverside district of Bang Rak. Luxury hotels, Fortune 500s, banks, shiny malls and upmarket shops all crowd for space in this Bangkok economic nerve centre. Though cultural points of interest are few and far between in Silom, visitors can always explore the oasis-like environs of Lumphini Park. The heritage home of former Thai Prime Minister M.R. Kukrit is a welcome respite from the skyscraper-red light contrast as well. Last but not least, I always recommend visitors in Silom district catch a Muay Thai event at Lumphini Stadium and check out Assumption Cathedral.

Nightlife, beyond the dense confines of Patpong, assumes other forms as well. Thanks to a plethora of phenomenal hotels in Silom district, the Bangkok ‘hood is chock full of superb bars, restaurants and even the occasional upscale rooftop lounge. If you want to get posh in the Thai capital, Silom is the place to do it. A number of reliable mid-range restaurants and bars in the district help keep the budget in line but many of Silom’s nobler digs are well worth a look-see. Splurge one night in Silom and slum it up the next – this is what makes Bangkok so spectacular.

I took a two week group tour of Thailand which took us all over the mainland as well as to beaches and a couple of islands. As it was my first trip to Asia, I thought traveling by tour was a great way to be introduced to the continent. I wasn’t quite brave enough to travel completely solo, so I decided to travel via group and have the added bonus of leaving all the planning to the tour company.

I flew into Bangkok solo, and arrived in the early afternoon Thai time. The tour didn’t officially start until later that night so I had a few hours to experience the city on my own after checking into the hotel. After wandering the streets for a bit, I had to meet up with the tour group and get acquainted with my fellow travelers. We all went out to eat together to get to know each other better. I had my first traditional Thai meal of Pad Thai which became my staple during the rest of my travels. After dinner, we headed out to see what Bangkok’s nightlife had to offer. We discovered a sidewalk beer garden which I had never even heard of before, and then went out to a proper night club. A night out proved to be the easiest and best way to bond with my new friends.

One of the first stops on my trip was to Bangkok’s incredible Royal Palace of Chiang Mai. It’s set on 61 acres and is full of beautiful buildings and multi-colored murals. I found the information on the Royal family and the Thai beliefs incredibly interesting. Next, we visited the Emerald Buddha Temple. It also had fantastic architecture and murals, and interesting history.

I enjoyed the klongs of Bangkok. The city has a series of canals that it is built around and we were able to take a tour of them on a typical Thai boat. It gave us a great view of the city from the water. The backwater canals also allowed me to see everyday Thai life as we went past many houses and buildings, and viewed locals going about their days. Also while in Bangkok, I was able to spend some quality time shopping for unique souvenirs. Siam Square was also great for shopping for higher-end clothing and other items. I ended up buying quite a lot of stuff.

My favorite part of the Thailand trip was Chiang-Mai. Chiang-Mai’s old quarter is surrounded by a moat and ancient walls and is so pretty and old-world. I loved just wandering around the city. We also got to experience the night bazaar which was huge and incredibly busy. The Wat Phra That temple was my favorite part of Chiang-Mai. The temple itself is situated atop the tallest mountain overlooking the city. As part of the tour, we got to listen to the pilgrims ringing the bells, and even got to take part in Buddhist rituals. It was a very unique experience.

The beaches of Thailand provided a completely different aspect to the trip as I was able to relax and lie on the gorgeous beaches and soak in the beautiful surroundings. My Thailand experience was incredible and I can’t wait to go back.

Editor’s Note: My friend Lilly is writing this because I am too busy and she loves the idea of blogging!

There is the joke that when a man suffers a midlife crisis he buys a sports car. Following my divorce I decided to go ahead and indulge my own near midlife crisis by packing it all up and traveling. Inspired by something I read in book club about traveling women, I figured why not? If they could do something different, I could too. (In fact if enough women start expressing their midlife crisis via travel maybe we can develop our own cultural stereotype).

However, being a middle-aged, American woman and not a young free-spirit backpacker type I knew I would need some structure in my daily life. I did a lot of reading and a lot of research before deciding on Thailand as my destination. It was far away, would be a fairly drastic culture change but wouldn’t be too far off the beaten path. Since I am a city person I figured I would start in Bangkok, the capital and most famous city in the country. I was a little overly ambitious and via the web I signed up for cooking classes, language classes and Thai boxing classes before I even boarded the plane. I even prebooked all my hotels. Normally, I am not so nuerotic and I just book the first few nights but I was so excited by the trip, that I booked my whole trip right away. I need it. I spent four nights in Bangkok and then three nights in Phuket. I finish my trip with a beautiful Ko Samui hotel right now the beach. I was amazed at how cheap the hotels were. In fact everything from the hotel to the cooking class was really affordable!

Upon arrival I found that I had underestimated just how exhausting adjusting to normal life in a foreign country would be. I struggled through two days of Thai boxing before giving that up. I stayed in my language classes longer but was by no means a star pupil. However, my cooking classes became my real love and obsession.

There are now over 40 different cooking schools in Bangkok. Most of them are reputable but do your research before choosing one. Most schools teach in English but dishes, styles and prices vary. I chose a school with an informal environment that was near where I was staying and ended up loving it. Probably due to my Southern childhood some of my favorite dishes included fried chicken in Pandan leaves and deep-fried fish cakes with seasonings. My best friend laughed when she heard wondering why I had to go all the way to Thailand just to deep-fry chicken and fish. To my credit I also learned to both prepare and enjoy hot n’ sour prawn soup and coconut rice with mangoes. At first I was fairly wary of the prawns and had my doubts about mango as a desert but grew to love both of these dishes.

One great thing about learning to cook in another country is that it forces you to learn to shop in another country. I didn’t just hop in the car and go to Wal-Mart like I would at home. In order to prepare these dishes with fresh ingredients I had to learn to figure out the world unto itself that is the Thai market. Thai markets for the uninitiated are a truly amazing experience. My first time there I experienced sensory overload from the overwhelming number of stalls, colors, smells and people. But after a month of cooking school, I was weaving my way to my favorite produce stall right along with the locals.

My trip was a success; it certainly broke me out of my routine and helped me build my confidence. It wasn’t specifically where I went or what I learned but just the act of doing something- that was important for me.

Mainland Thailand is a popular tourist destination that’s home to historic sites, modern cities and cultural variety. But a trip to Thailand doesn’t have to stop at the mainland. Thailand is also a nation rich in tropical islands that add variety to any vacation in one of the most popular Southeast Asian countries.

The second most popular island in Thailand is a tropical island called Ko Samui. Known simply as Samui to the island’s inhabitants, it’s defined by the white sands and coral reefs we most often associate with the Caribbean. Most importantly, the rainy season in Samui lasts for only one month (November) and the rest of the year is relatively dry. If you’re looking for a secluded island getaway, this isn’t the destination for you. The island has a population of 50,000 but while this may be a problem for some travelers, the population can be an asset to any vacation.

Vacationers can enjoy the many festivals hosted by the island including a regatta, a tennis open and a five-day Fisherman’s Village Festival. Many of the festivals involve Samui’s unique cuisine based on a fusion of Malaysian, Indian and Indonesian influences.This food is renowned for being extremely spicy and should be an important part of anyone’s trip to the island. Located in Surat Thani Province, Samui has an international airport that makes going to and from the island fairly easy.

The Phi Phi Islands are slightly closer to the mainland and much of their ecology is protected by National Park Status. This protection has preserved the beauty of their beaches as well as the availability of wildlife that has made the two islands perfect destinations for bird watching.

The Phi Phi Islands have a slightly longer rainy season than does Samui but the fact that they’re far less populated is an attraction for many tourists. Like Samui, the Phi Phi Islands host a number of festivals of interest to tourists including the Krabi Boek Fa Andaman Festival that features water games at the beginning of the tourist season. Tourists should know that the islands haven’t totally recovered from the 2004 Tsunami but most public services are functioning again and the ecology that was such a draw to tourists before the Tsunami is still thriving in the islands’ national park.

Tourists interested in Thailand’s tropical islands should also consider Ko Samet and Ko Phangan which are both less popular than Samui and offer resort style accommodations. Being less populated, they’re also ideal sites for scuba diving and snorkeling.

Thailand’s tropical islands offer the same amenities and activities that can be found in the Caribbean but do so as part of a Thai vacation package. Some of the Thai tropical islands are even connected to the mainland by bridges so that there is really no excuse to avoid visiting them. You can visit them for typical tropical activities but at the end of the day it’s their unique Thai culture and cuisine that sets them apart from tropical islands the world over.

I travel to Thailand and visited Bangkok back in February and although most of what I’d heard about Thai tourism before dealt with its seedy underbelly, I found Bangkok to be a beautiful city. Part of the purpose of my trip was to visit the city’s temple complexes of Wat Pho and Wat Arun the architecture of which I had admired for years.

Similar in architecture to the Cambodian Angkor Wat, these temple complexes were some of the highlights of my trip. I visited Wat Pho on the second day of my trip. It’s located in the central district (Phra Nakhon district) of Bangkok where I planned a fully day of sight seeing. The complex is divided into two walled compounds. One of these holds the Reclining Buddha and the other is a working Buddhist monastery.

The Reclining Buddha that I just mentioned is one of the largest Buddha images in the world and I can honestly say that I’d never seen anything like it. The body is covered in gold plate and the soles of its feet are covered in mother of pearl on which is etched 108 Buddhist scenes. The rest of the temple is home to more than a thousand smaller images of Buddha.

Overall, it was fairly overwhelming to my Western sensibilities but I really enjoyed seeing it in person. If you’re going to visit the temple you should be aware that there is a dress code (no shorts for example) and a small admission fee. Strangely, the temple complex is also home to a school of massage and traditional medicine. The school’s hours are similar to the temple’s and it’s possible to purchase massages while there.

I spent a good 90 minutes at Wat Pho and the rest of my day was spent touring adjacent sites in the Phra Nakhon district. The next day, I toured Wat Arun on the bank of the Chao Phraya. It’s located one district over from Wat Pho in Bangkok Yai and if there hadn’t been so much to do and see around Wat Pho I could have seen both in the same day.

Of the two temples, Wat Arun was far more impressive. It’s dominated by an ornate central tower and incorporates a lot of Hindu and Chinese figures in its design. It was very different from Wat Pho (except in the fact that it too charged a small admissions fee) and while I found the Buddha at Wat Pho to be interesting, the architecture at Wat Arun was visually stunning.

I toured it by myself but there were clearly organized tours of Bangkok that stopped there. Of course, there’s more to see than just the tower because, like Wat Pho, Wat Arun is a functional monastery with a collection of ponds and small buildings scattered throughout the complex.

I enjoyed Bangkok but the trip wouldn’t have been nearly as memorable without the temples. I’d recommend them to anyone visiting Thailand.