Well, we have made it back to Bangkok. The journey today was relatively uneventful, except for the toilet on the bus. I guess we should be glad they even had one, since it was a 7+ hour ride...and it sure beat the shit-soaked one on the ferry ride, but it was nasty nonetheless. So, aside from that, we made it to Bangkok safely.
We did make a pitstop for lunch and had to order blindly as no one spoke English and the menu was all in Thai. That was quite an adventure. Kerry ended up with some mystery processed meat shapes in curry over rice. Adrian had spicy bits. It was weird and kind of good and kind of scary.
We had many ruminations on the ride about traveling and being foreigners. Nothing conclusive to report at this time, except that it is both rewarding and hella difficult.
It really comes down to culture clash. In our case, we're travelling on our own (as opposed to with a group). We have no tour guide, and have little preexisting knowledge of Thai culture. So, we're pretty much on a learn-as-you-go basis. (Or, sometimes a not-knowing-what-the-heck-is-going-on basis.)
Here are some examples of cultural differences we have run across (keep in mind that these are our observations, not necessarily the full truth per se):
Pooping. It's handled differently here. There are a mix of eastern-style squat toilets (as we have discussed in earlier posts) and western "throne" toilets, depending where you are. Often, there is no toilet paper. That is because usually, when you go #2, you use your left hand to clean up. Then, there is a handy kitchen sink-type spray nozzle next to the toilet to wash your hand (and maybe your butt too?...see, perfect example of not-knowing-what-the-heck-is-going-on). Then, as an extension of this, it is considered rude to hand money to someone with your left hand or touch someone with your left hand. Something we don't think about too much, because we don't wipe with either of our hands in the first place.
Then, there is safety. In the U.S., things seem pretty highly regulated. There are lots of laws, permits, tickets, etc. that are in place to try to keep things safe. Sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. What we have observed in Thailand is that things seem to run a bit looser. People drive crazy. Building and construction projects often look haphazard. And food safety is...well, different.
The struggle with culture clash, as we see it, is to not fall blindly into thinking, "We do it right. They do it wrong." It's just not that simple. However, sometimes when you're feeling frustrated with things, that can be the feeling that takes over. So it goes.
So, to conclude, we will be staying in Bangkok for the rest of our trip. We might decide to take a day trip somewhere to get out of this crazy city (it's huge with a lot of traffic and smog), but while we're here we anticipate having many more adventures.
One thing is for certain, we are becoming seasoned at handling the touts (the people who scout for innocent-looking foreigners and their money--offering rides, the inside scoop on where to buy suits, jewels, etc.). So hopefully we'll stave off the cons and the swindles for the next 4 days before we fly home.
