We got up really early because we're still not completely used to the time difference or rock hard beds. I woke at 5:30, but we didn't get up until a little later.
At breakfast, we met a nice Seattlite named Jerry who is a seasoned traveller in Asia, and he had a lot of interesting things to say about Thailand versus India. (Carrie: It was comical how much he and Eric looked alike. Same shaved head, wire rim rectangular glasses, tattooed forarms. They talked politics and computers.) Jerry liberally handed out travel pointers, and we recommended an island, Ko Kut, that had come to us highly regarded. Fellow wanderers, unite! It was nice to have some hang out time before the heat set in.
After that, we meandered and ate street cart food. Yes, one is warned against this, but really its much better to see the food prepared than have it emerge from the back room and unknown conditions. It's neat to walk stand to stand choosing out what looks best.
I (Eric) had fresh fruit and yogurt for 20 baht (1 dollar is roughly 32 baht), which included mango, banana, papaya, dragonfruit, guava, pineapple, and something else that I couldn't identify. With a little granola sprinkled on top, it is certainly the most popular tourist breakfast.
We wandered around the markets a bit more, and I got a t-shirt and traveling pants (which I have since lost; I think we left them in Bangkok) for a few dollars. We also spent a bit of time taking in the sights from less touristy roads, trying to get a feel for the city. (Carrie: I'm quickly noticing that Eric and I are no good at relaxing. We wander up and down the roads as others sit sipping drinks and watching us. We will work on this!)
The highlight of our day was eating Pad Thai from a little alley food stand. Food carts on the street are just that; portable carts. There are also more established places in alleys that do the same stuff, but they also have a few tables set up for you to relax with your food.
Carrie had eaten elsewhere, so it was just me. The vendor didn't know that, though, and assumed we were sharing. So when he brought out the plate, he put two forks on the plate, one facing each of us, and called it "honeymoon style." Very funny, especially for a guy who seemed to know little English. Anyway, when he noticed Carrie wasn't eating, he asked why and she mimed out that it was because I liked my food too spicy and had added a spoonful of chili peppers. I gestured that she was too wimpy. All three of us were laughing and pantimiming to get our points across.
So next, he went to a nieghboring vender and put 3 small Thai green chilis on my plate. I started to barely nibble the tip of one (and it was HOT!), and he said "no no no," grabbed one, and popped the whole thing in his mouth. Throuhgout this entire process, all of the other customers were watching and laughing at the farang trying to cope with Thai food.
Once he could see that I couldn't handle it, he brought 2 red chilis over, which aren't as hot. He gestured and said "halfway," so I bit off half, chewed it a few times and realized it wasn't too bad, and then threw the other half in my mouth. He yelled a sort of mock-congratulatory yell, and everyone around started laughing.
At this point, it's noon in Bangkok and hot (95 degrees and probably 90% humidity or more), and now I'm eating hot Pad Thai and have just eating a red chili in one mouthful. Needless to say, I'm sweating. I start dabbing my face with my bandana, which sends the Thais into peals of laughter. It was a lot of fun.
The rest of the day was less fun; Carrie got sick to her stomach and we stayed at our hotel waiting for 6:00 so we could pick up our train tickets to Chiang Mai. One of the travel tips for those in Thailand is to avoid drinking the water, even drinks with ice. I had already had a smoothie with ice and was OK, but Carrie didn't fare so well. She was even trying to be safe.
Carrie: Earlier in the day I'd gotten juice, but it came in a glass with ice, so I couldn't drink it, so this time I'd gotten smart and specifically ordered a coconut juice without ice and chocolate ice cream. They brought me a fantastic rough hewn coconut shell with a straw in the top, and a lukewarm glass of chocolate milk. The ch. milk was kinda gross, and halfway through, I realized that it was probably only chocolate powder in water. Too late. Turns out that in Thailand the definition of "ice cream" is a bit variable. After about 6 hours of feeling queasy, throwing up, and trying to sleep on Eric's lap on a wood bench in 95 degree weather in a hotel lobby, I felt better.
Eric: When we left the hotel to catch a cab, we tried to make sure the cabbie would run "on the meter." He quoted us a flat rate of 150 baht, and when we argued he assured us that the meter and flat rate were equal. We didn't believe him, but because 60 is what our hotel said it would cost, we started putting our bags in his trunk. We were halfway through putting our bags in the trunk when I smelled alcohol on the cabbie's breath. We asked him if he had been drinking, and he giggled out a "just one sip." We pulled the bags out, and hailed a taxi who used the meter. It was 63 baht.
Carrie: The train station was more waiting, as our train didn't go until after 10. It's quite crazy when you don't know the language, but need to have some important bits right, such as leaving times etc. You've got to be somewhat independent, because absolutely everyone will offer you help --help over to a travel agency where they get commission if you walk in the door. You become savvy quickly.
Any vendor or Tuk Tuk driver will walk up to you and say, "Hello there! Where are you from? Where are you going? I will take you there! I am from that place too, let me give you information." And then right to the bus tour or palace tour they will lead you. Poor Eric is still so polite. And will answer their questions. I'm the quickly jaded one who refuses to be taken advantage of, avoiding eye contact. It's a bad way to be. We are anxious to leave the city and get to some smaller towns.
The train station is like an airplane hangar, tall broad arch of a ceiling. And so stifling, with air still hot as we're nearing ten o'clock. There are shops in two stories along the sides, and rows for sitting. In the center there is tile where most people and their bags sprawl out enjoying the cool floor. That's where we unceremoniously dropped and tried to nap with our bags for pillows.
We got our first real dose of Thai TV on a enormous screen. Such blaring noises and colors. It was hard to see what audience they were trying to reach. Music videos and campy commercials nearly all featuring either a bouncy smiley face cartoon or someone thrusting a bottle of soda or baby powder at the screen, for the 3-D effect.
My favorite, only because it highlighted differences in our cultures, was of a son coming home from Engineering education with parts for making solar panals to light the docks near his family village at night. Yeah! Drink Brand X Whiskey! There was another where a son came home with a bruised face and his father shouted at him, but later that night went to the son's appartment to hang a bag of KFC from the door handle. I wish I could have known what the fight was about. It was entertaing for a while just because the products were so novel. But much much too demanding to have going for the three hours that we waited for the train.
They also have showers at the train station. I guess that makes sense with so many sweaty bodies passing through. Eric tried them out and came back much refreshed. One must provide their own towel however. Finally, the train.
