Archives for "Thailand"
A rocky road to Siem Reap
In the morning we leave Bangkok in two minibuses. Some people stayed out late the night before, so only me and driver stay awake, when we are driving the wide Thailand motorways towards Cambodia. The minibus has a unique interior decoration somewhere in between a pinball machine and Rio Grande from DS9 (NCC-72452, for all you nerds). A set of buttons above the driver’s head makes me feel confident in case we ever need Turbo Boost.
The motorways, concrete constructions, massive roadside adverts, power cables and the yellow-gray sunlight are a huge contrast to Australia. I would replace the blue and red stripes of the Thailand Flag with gray and yellow instead.
The Thai writing style is decorative and friendly – even the Stop signs don’t look like an order. The curves, circles and dots are feminine and so beautiful that I think that even the worst insult written in thai alphabet would not look bad. The countless photos of the Thai king Bhumibol Adulyadej, publicly acclaimed “the Great”, repeat on the bridges, massive road signs, paintings, walls – everywhere. He seems to get around a lot. According to Wikipedia he is also a billionaire, well done. In the photos he transforms smoothly from religious pope-lookalike to loving father a baby in his arms, a respected leader in an army outfit, a post-modern man surrounded by technology. His PR campaigners are keeping busy.
The weather is getting hotter, but some people travelling in the pickup trucks are wearing woolly hats. Or it could simply be another fashion statement.
We pass palaces and coloured temples with steep roofs. The decorations head boldly upwards, looks almost like they were in flames burning and reaching for the sky. They are a massive contrast to the Finnish architecture, which is above all about modesty and box shapes.
Cambodian visa is quick and easy to get – I fill in an application in the petrol station, give 1000 Baht (about 30 USD), a photo and my passport to a clerk and in two hours we get the visas from the Cambodian consulate in the border. The inefficient Russian consulate (“…depends on how much you pay the Embassy…any length of time between an hour and two weeks”) might want to take some notes from these people.
Last preparations
My brand new rucksack looks constipated. I pile some clothes and toiletries on the bed and force the zipper up. I haven’t even started the tour and my rucksack is already giving up.
99.9% of the people would say carrying a laptop and scanner around the Asian continent proves I am an idiot. And they do have a point. Still, I rather get rid of clothes and cosmetics rather than leave my precious laptop home. About a year ago I was returning to London from a holiday in Finland I had the same situation not being able to close the suitcase. My mum couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw me sadly pulling out the big power drill I had to leave behind.
Bangkok traffic is alive: a never ending smoking stream, where everyone has a plan, a vehicle and a mission. My survival instinct says that the only way to cross the road is when other people cross it. I always make sure that there is at least one Thai between the cars and me to soften the impact in case the traffic doesn’t stop. With my 157 cm (5’3’’) height, I tower over most people and I can mostly see where I am going all the time, even in the busy chaotic markets where walking is restricted to tiny geisha steps. The markets is a mixture of postmodern city of Blade Runner and the randomness of the Mos Eisley cantina “wretched hive of scum and villainy.” 
It is all colours, exotic smells and loud noise. The markets are everywhere, and in the narrow corridors I mostly have no idea what my direction is. Everything is making noise.
I stop to a food cart. The locals are queuing with their own plates and the thai noodle soup smells great. A plate of noodles costs 30 Baht, around one USD. Just when I am thinking how well I am following the doctor’s orders, I see the chef putting the noodles on my plate using his bare hands. The doctor might not approve with my lunch, but hey, the noodles taste great.
The twelve group members meet for the first time on the hotel roof terrace. We are a good mix of international people, mostly single travelers. The group leader is a native Cambodian and over the next nine days she will guide us from Bangkok through Cambodia all the way to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. I get to meet my new roommate, a nurse from Melbourne. If I keep on ignoring the doctor’s orders on a daily basis, a nurse roommate might turn handy. Common knowledge is that doctors and nurses have the access to the best drugs.
Bye bye Sydney – Hello Bangkok!
The flight from Sydney to Bangkok takes nine hours, which is more than enough to read Bill Bryson’s travel book Down Under. It is an inspiring travel journal about the country I have spent my last six months in, given to me by my friend Bohdan when I left Sydney. The furthest I ever got in Australia was about two hours from Sydney and I realise I might have missed out quite a bit.
Over the next two months I will participate in three separate Intrepid tours. They will take me around South East Asia and parts of China. This is my personal travel pilgrimage to the places I have never visited, familiar from films, photos and people’s travel stories. Australia has to wait for the next time.
I will meet the tour group tomorrow in Hotel Grande Ville, Bangkok. Grande Ville is not the trendiest place to stay in Bangkok – it seems – because the cab driver has never heard about it. He pulls over to the kerb of the motorway to call for directions. Whilst he is talking on the mobile, I watch the motorcycle police appear and give him a parking ticket. Boy, does the cab driver look happy.
The hotel does exist after all, it is located right in the middle of the city about half an hour from the catchy-named Suvarnabhum Airport. A lounge that smells of dust and life lived long time ago, portiers in red jackets, my room in the 22nd floor with a fabulous view over the darkening Bangkok. Perfect.
Sydney is far behind, new adventures ahead. I watch the BBC World News about the Sichuan earthquake in Wenchuan County, China. The aftershocks are still shaking the country, 80 000 peope are presumed dead, some people have already spent five days trapped under the ruins of the collapsed buildings. I will be heading to China in less than three weeks time.
I brush my teeth with the tap water and only afterwards remember what the doctor taught me. Oops.
I fall asleep at 7pm and sleep dreamlessly the next 14 hours. How wild was my first holiday night in Bangkok. Being 33 is so cool.
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