Me Voy Por Ahi

my last day in Thailand

boricuaperdida — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 13:28:00 GMT

I am staying in Thailand's tallest hotel, the Baiyoke and enjoying some luxury. I have to check out by 1pm but my flight is not until almost midnight. So Im still trying to figure out my timing.Bangkok is such a crazy city and Im so exhausted that the thought of walking in the 90F heat and seeing more monuments and street carts is , well, exhausting. But I'll see what I can do. Anyways, thanks for all your comments and well wishes. This has been a fantastic vacation. And for my own future reference , ans for anyone interested , here are some travel tips I picked up:

1) If you have a sensitive stomach, like me, take an anti dhiarreal. It works like a charm.

2)I was once again reminded to never pack more than I can carry.

3)Keep your eyes open. Before you go, observe the people around. Always, always, follow your instincts.

4) The best beaches near Phuket are Kai Islands and Lasha Island.

5) Negotiate hotel rates.

6) Try to have small bills in hand for tips.

7) Stand your ground without losing your cool. People around these parts never stop smiling, even in bad situations. Having said that, make a scene if appropriate.

8) For super long flights, try to have a smaller bag that fits under the seat with things you need during the flight and dont forget lotion.If you forget, smear lip balm on your hands.

The Islands in the South of Thailand

boricuaperdida — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 14:20:00 GMT

These islands are so beautiful, it's hard to describe them. I'm enjoying my time on the beach and snorkling around the islands. But, like every over developed place, I have to contend with jerks with loud boom boxes playing hip hop in French!, sales people coming around with all kinds of merchandise, from bags to aloe massages, and other hustlers eyeing wallets and cameras left behind.

So far, I have found that this area is not a great place for female solo travellers. I am glad that I decided to stick around areas with a lot of people, which are generally safer for women travelling alone. As much as I would love to go to a quiet, deserted island and hear the sound of the waves, I suspect that I would be a great big target for hustlers. It's not that it's dangerous, and I certainly don't feel unsafe. It's just that it's not as relaxing or as enjoyable as other cities that I've visited by myself, where I even forget that I'm by myself, I'm so busy otherwise.

I've taken a few tours, where a shuttle picks me up at the hotel and a speedboat takes a group to an island, where they take us snorkling, swimming, lunch, etc. And I really enjoy them, but the tour guides don't know what to do with me -even seating is arranged by family, and the others are always asking where is my husband and is it true that I'm travelling alone. If I'm sitting at the beach, a man will come by and stare. And the toothless canoe guy at the sea caves visit tried to get frisky.

Still, the views are spectacular and I've taken lots of pics. And as this is my first visit to this part of Asia, I'm still surprised by many things. There is a huge culture of street vendors. Whereas in the U.S. we are used to big stores, with a food cart every now and then in the large cities, here, it's like the whole world lives on the sidewalks. You can buy anything off a vendor without ever entering a real store. All kinds of food, from fried fish or fresh fruit, to soup or rice, purses, jewelry, tours, and even massages. A woman will come around on a bicycle with a make-shift stand attached to the side of it, stop at a corner, ring a bell, and people will come over for cheap hot soup.

Tourists come to Phuket from all parts of the world and speaking every language imaginable. I have not seen hardly anybody from the United States, but have met a lot of Australians, Japanese, and Russians. Most communication is done in writing, exchanging numbers. The few words locals understand are 'how much' 'too much' 'ok'. They carry around a pocket calculator and when you ask 'how much', they type '200' (bhats). Then you say 'too much' and they hand you the calculator. And you type '100' and they say 'too much for me'. And type '150' and so on. Until you get your hat, or bandana, or coconut. I have always found it fun to barter. But there is a certain certainty about set prices that I miss. I have bargained for almost everything, from the hotel price to the tours, to the food, except that sometimes I remind myself that the diff is only 2 buks for me, while it's a whole day wages for them, so I don't. I also continue in the American tradition of tipping, even while the rest of the world doesn't.

Well, I'm off to the beach. I have only a couple of days left of my adventure. Yesterday I went to Raya Bay -locally known as Lasha Bay- and I think I may go again tomorrow for my farewell tour. It is one of the most beautiful places I've seen, with white sand, mountains around, and really amazing snorkling. Phi Phi Island, where they filmed The Beach, was also very beautiful, but more crowded. Today I decided to stay around in Phuket, because I have sea legs and need to make the world stop rocking for a day before I get back on a boat. Thank God for dramamine. Yesterday, three people got sick on the boat, and luckily, I wasn't one of them. Cheers, and I'll see you all soon.

Worlds Apart - More on the Kingdom of Bhutan

boricuaperdida — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 13:37:00 GMT

The more I travel, the more I realize two things: cultures are so different and people are so similar. I marvel thinking that a few days ago I was on top of the mountains in Bhutan and now I'm seeing mountains come out straight from the ocean in Thailand. Both cultures are so different, yet at the end, people are all the same.

Before writing any more about Thailand, I wanted to share some more experiences about Bhutan, since I was unable to write for most of the trip. As you all know, one of my main reasons for visiting Bhutan was to see the bhuddist monasteries and observe for myself a little bit of the bhuddist lifestyle and temples. I have to tell you, that I was, not only fascinated by what I saw, but surprised as well.

We visited the Punakha Dzong (fortress), which is now used as government offices, and as a major bhuddist monastery. This is where the dratshang (heads of the religion) spend the Winter, since it's warmer than Paro. The spot was originally chosen around 1300, as it sits on a hill that looks like the trunk of an elephant. The actual dzong was built around 1600 and it is a huge, elaborate, gorgeous building with a gold dome and brass roof. We went a few days after a terrible tragedy, when 18 bhutanese died in a plane crash in nearby Nepal. The lonpons (master) was in Paro attending the ceremony. Which meant that the young students had the day off. Oh, what a treat that was for us! The young monks, all dressed in their beautiful red garment, were out playing hackey sack and soccer, practicing archery, or playing games on their cell phones. Yes, they all have cell phones. And they were quick with a smile and to pose for pictures. One gave us a fruit that is bitter when you chew it, but then you drink water, and the water is sweet. A family who was watching an impromptu archery tournament invited me to join them for traditional bhutanese tea, with salt and butter. They washed their plastics cups with vodka. I confess, I've never been happier to be taking anti-diarrheal meds, because we all know how sensitive my stomach is. I was so happy to be able to say yes to all invitations!

The Punakha valley is seriously beautiful and I visited a rice patty for the first time, although it was already harvested, and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out where rice comes from. All I know is that they eat red rice in Bhutan and it was delicious. Then we went to the monastery of the Divine Mad Man. He's one of Bhutan's favorite saints and dare I say, one of the smartest men I've ever heard of. Born in Tibet, from what I can gather, he performed a lot of what we would call miracles, curing a lot of people from illnesses and chasing their evil spirits away. He was also a drunk and slept around with all women in town. For this, he is revered and many homes have painted flying phalluses on them, in honor of the Divine Mad Man! Everywhere you go, the phallus is revered. Stupas, which are many times built next to a river and have a little fountain running through them, sometimes have the fountain in the shape of a penis. Bhutanese are, in general, quite open about sex and couples routinely live together before getting married.

Our visit to the Monastery of the Divine Mad Man coincided with an annual bhuddist ceremony. Inside, several monks were chanting and playing instruments (long trumpets and cymballs). I once was lucky enough to attend a singing ritual by Gregorian Monks in a cave cellar under a monastery in Florence, Italy, and the music was so beautiful it made my want to cry. This was not it. This reminded me more of a form of experimental jazz musicians call "dissonance". It was really hard to hear! After a while, I did detect some form of rythm, but it was wild!

From Phunakha we went to Paro, and visited the Museum and the Dzong, which were also beautiful places to visit. But the crown jewel of Paro is the Taktshang Goemba (Tigers Nest). It is perched on a cliff, over 10,000 ft above sea level. It's called Tigers Nest because that's were Guru Rimpoche (who brought the bhuddist religion to Bhutan) flew on the back of a tigres to subdue a demon. He meditated there for 3 mos. It is a holy place and a place of pilgrimage for the bhutanese. Unfortunately, I didn't have a flying tiger to take me there, so I put on my hiking boots and set out walking the pretty grueling hike. This is the point where I can either lie to you, and tell you I made it all the way up, or tell you the truth and say I didn't. I couldn't.

I made it over 8,000 ft (in about 1 hr) to a wooden tea house smartly perched on a mountain right across the monastery. I still had almost 3,000 ft and about 2 hrs to go and had already the beginnings of an asthma attach (persistent cough). I knew I was in trouble when, after getting ahead of my guide (who was, by the way, wearing dress shoes, the traditional skirt-like garmet, and talking on his cell phone) and losing track of him, suddenly I saw him walk up the mountain like a mountain goat and quickly reach me in a few strides. "short cut" he said. The short cut was so steep, I couldn't take it. Yet, he reached me while still talking on his phone!

So hiking tall mountains is not my thing. Hey, I gave it a shot. Still, the view from 8,000 ft above was not bad! It was magnificent. And I had a lot of fun meeting the rest of the tourists who couldn't make it up and were getting over it over several cups of very hot tea and biscuits. I met a Japanese film maker, a solo English female traveler, a very nice couple from Texas, and some others. Generally, there were very few tourists in Bhutan. But I did meet some from Australia, another solo female traveler from Singapore, and a very obnoxious couple from New Jersey. Well, that's all I can remember from Bhutan right now, except that I hope that beautiful morning smell of sandalwood and juniper stays with me for a while longer.

Patong is super tacky! But the islands are fantastic.

boricuaperdida — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 10:59:00 GMT

I'm afraid I picked up the wrong brochure. What the heck. I couldn't have chosen a more jarring awakening from the slumber of the Himalayas mountains if I had tried. I almost took a plane back (anywhere) when I arrived here at midnight and saw the neon signs for massages, drinks, cheap everything. But after a good night sleep, and booking several visits to nearby islands (which is the real reason I'm here), I got in a very good mood of exploring this bizarre city and even got a foot massage last night (for $7USD). And it was nice to have a western salad after so much rice, vegetables, and chicken in sauce. Imagine if the tackiest areas of Atlantic City and Cancun had a baby, throw in the sweet smell of duck sauce, and a few buildings with Thai architecture...that's the city of Patong in the island of Phuket. It's insane. But take a 1 hr drive to James Bond island, and you're in paradise. Huge mountains coming out of the water, a floating market, caves with prehistoric drawings and a giant gold bhuda. It's gorgeous.

Too much to tell

boricuaperdida — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:25:00 GMT

Hola! I know I've been perdida for a few days, but I had no access to the internet. I'm going to the airport in a few mnts, after a fantastic 7 day vacation in Bhutan. It has been wonderful. The views are so spectacular, that pictures don't do it justice, but still, I managed to take a few hundreds. I still feel the altitude, even when I speak, I get a bit short of breath. But everyone has been taking wonderful care of me and I have been drinking more tea than anybody can bear. I will miss the smiling faces and gorgeous mountains of Bhutan. I will be able to write a lot more from Phuket, so I will save my stories for then. Hugs, everyone, and Merry Christmas!

I almost met the King

boricuaperdida — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 18:54:00 GMT

Ok, so he was about 100 meters away and the Bhutan King Police asked me to put away my camera, but still. He's soooo handsome, like a movie star. Today is National Day and the big celebration is here in Timphu. I will try to share some pics, if I can figure out how to do it. It was out of this world. Well, out of my world, that is. The stadium (normally a soccer stadium) is in the middle of the mountains, so the backdrop to the stage is beautiful mountains. Beyond the colored flags that flank the stadium, many miles away, I could see the Golden Buddha, a massive, gigantic statue that is almost finished, on top of a mountain, surrounded by fog. (I will go there tomorrow morning and take pics to share). All of Bhutan seemed to be at the stadium. Men and women dressed in traditional garments, children wearing uniforms (today, happily, was their last day before a long Winter recess). The three forms of military/police were represented in the procession to receive the King, with beautiful, colorful uniforms. And they had several traditional dances, monks chanting, and Bhutanese music. The King was announced by Bhuddist monks playing the cymballs and the long horns (trumpets longer than anything I had ever seen before). The music was the type that I had only ever heard in Asian movies. It was fantastic. And the entire place smelled like sandalwood and other spices, which they burn across all the streets every morning. That type of incense is very diff from the incense that I personally don't like, the type they use in some meditation or yoga studios that makes me feel like running away. This is a subtle, beautiful fragrance that permiates the entire town.

My jet lag is getting a bit better, but still waking up at 3am. Also, I'm over 7,000 miles above sea level, so I'm out of breath a lot. I really hope I get acclimatized so that I can climb the Tigers Nest in Paro on my last day. Meanwhile, I'm meeting wonderful people, enjoying the moment, and doing nothing. Well, I did do yoga at 4am with an Indian yogi on tv. He's skinny and has long black hair, a bushy and unkept beard, and hairy chest. He wears a short white sarong only and leads hundreds of people on gentle yoga. And it looks like he makes jokes, but I can't understand a word he says. Just seeing it is one of the most amusing things I've ever seen, but at the same time, it's really good yoga. Awesome.

Thanks for your comments, it's so nice to hear from you guys. Mia, I'll say hi to Tenzim, a.k.a. Thunder the Flirt for you. He'll be flattered. He's already announced himself to be an eligible bachelor and keeps asking me when I'm moving to Bhutan. Everyone is really friendly here, it's wonderful. Hugs, boricua perdida.

Shangri-La

boricuaperdida — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 21:12:00 GMT

Bangkok was an assault to the senses. Loud, the streets full of people, the sidewalks full of vendors, trinkets everywhere, the sweet smell of food intermingling with the smell of sweaty people making a tough living. Bhutan is the opposite. The entrance into this Kingdom is magnificent. The runway is flanked by high mountains, and the Himalayas are just behind them. The buildings are under five stories and in the traditional Bhutanese architecture. The men and women wear the traditional robes. The ride from Paro to Timphu, which took a bit over an hour, was spectacular. Rocky cliffs with a house or temple perched here and there, farms surrounded by rice patties, and the beautiful shiny river underneath. I'm still suffering from pretty bad jet lag and the sick drunk-like feeling comes in waves. I took a bit of a nap and a lunch of red rice with chicken, which felt really good. My guide, Thunder, is very nice, polite, and big time flirt. Our driver, Jango, is very young and doesn't speak English, but is always in a good mood. This is going to be fun. We visited a stuppa, an old farm house turned into a museum, and an exhibit of bhuddist art from as far back as the 10th century. But now it's 4:30pm and my biological clock says it's 4:30am, so I'm struggling. Good night, everyone, I'll try to check in tomorrow.

Don’t order kosher on a Japanese airline

boricuaperdida — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:40:00 GMT

Why would you, right? I did, and I'm not even Jewish. I'm not even sure what kosher is. But I think they answer to a higher authority (as claimed by the hot dogs) so I thought 'why not'. Well now I know why not. Because it's horrible!

Besides the food , which was totally my fault, I had a very good trip and made the connection in Tokyo on time even though we left Chicago an hour late. All Nippon is the most civilized airline Ive ever experienced. Even the toilets were kept clean.

Viengtai Hotel rocks. Cheap, clean, and quiet even though its in the middle of a ver busy street close to the Grand Palace. Thanks, Mike.

I went to the Grand Palace and the Wat Pho this morning. They are truly spectacular and photos dont do it justice. But I had to leave around noon bc I was melting. It feels like a 110 degree wet sauna. And my feet were so swollen that the sandals barely fit. i actually welcomed having to remove my shoes inside the temples. Although here I have to comment, sorry, but the stench of stinky feet was so brutal that the reclining Budah would gladly stand up to take a deep breath if he could.

On the way back I took a tuk tuk and it was a fun, hair raising experience. I'll post pics soon. That's all for now. Hugs, Boricua Perdida.

Ok, I'm ready!

boricuaperdida — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 12:59:00 GMT

Wow, packing for 3 weeks of travelling in two diff climates is hard! But I stuck to my tested methods: roll all the clothes, wear only matching things, and above all, keep it light. The smaller airlines have very strict weight limits, so we'll see how I did. Wish me luck, everyone, I'll be thinking of you. Hugs, boricua perdida.