Sunday was a sad day. Getting up, packing, collecting my suit, and heading for the airport to return to Europe, leaving so many things still to do, still to visit in Thailand.
When we arrived the first time, we took a taxi from the airport. This time I took a local train, with Thai people and a few brave tourists going to Ayutthaya and Chiang May. So much of me has changed in this journey.
After buying some Thai Whiskey at the airport as a last souvenir (purchase not allowed if your destination was the UK or the US), my flight to Bahrain was announced. In Bahrain I also did some shopping, a beautiful piece of technology and design, product of a Finish mobile brand, manufactured in Germany, but not released in Europe yet. At the Airport in Bahrain I also saw some other items that I still find surprising that are available in a strict muslim country like Bahrain while they are not in free-thinker and open-minded France.
I slept most of both flights, waking up only to have the various meals and drinks onboard, and watch half a travel documentary about Indonesia. At 7h15 in the morning of Monday, local time, we had already landed in Paris and were taxiing to the terminal, right on time as scheduled. Unfortunately, no one was at the passport control desks, so about three planeful of tired passengers had to wait till three passport control officers decided to show up. In any case, lines were not set, and the signs stating which desk was for EU citizens and which for overseas citizens were far too small to be read from the end of the (mob) lines. This ment that many overseas travelers queued to the front of the line only to be told that they had to queue again elsewhere, which didn't make them any happy (or that they could just jump the next queue, which didn't make much happier all the people already queuing there either).
After waiting for some extra half an hour for our luggage, the sleepy mob of travelers headed to the exit, blocking eachother with their luggage trolleys, and trying to sort out all the arquitectural obstacles like columns, half walls, stairs, etc cleverly set there to avoid walking travellers from overspeeding.
Finally we get out of the security area of the airport. Obviously, the signs for the commuter train into Paris, are not only well hidden and small (and only in French), but they direct you in exactly the oposite direction, leading you to the hotel-bus stop. The shuttle bus to Terminal 3 (where the commuter train station is), is the number 2, the shuttle bus to Terminal 1 is number 3. Again, very clever.
At the conmuter train station (of the main international French airport, mind you), only two automatic ticket machines work, and only three ticket desks are open, attended by people who only speak French, and seem to be very upset to have to be working at this early hour.
After this arrival, I cannot say that I've felt warmly welcome back to the "developed" world. But may be it was just my impression. I must have felt tired after such a long journey.
In any case, I manage to get to my train, straight to my place, and to start opening my suitcases, sleep a bit, and get back to my normal life again.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
SEA06: Last days in Bangkok
Unfortunately, all good things have an end, and even this journey in this wonderful country has to end and we have to go back to the dull life of living in de-developing western countries, the routine of work, and the longing for next holidays.
But not for that we have allowed ourselves to settle in despair, and we have tried to make the most of the last days in Thailand. First thing after arriving to our usual guesthouse in Bangkok, we headed to what will surely become our usual tailor, to have our measures taken in order to have some suits and shirts tailor-made, in the best English or Italian wool, linen and Thai silk. Going to the tailor here is not the superficial and impersonal experience that is in western countries. People here go a long way to pamper you and to get to know your tastes and needs to be able to advise you better. In fact, they become more like your friends, and the experience of buying a new suit (or several), a pleasant social event instead of a cold commercial transaction. We are specially grateful with Kenny and his colleagues for their professional and friendly advice.
After spending the afternoon at the tailor, we headed for the night-market around Sukhumvit Soi 34 or 38 to have a nice Thai dinner. Pad thai noodle and duck soup were great, as were Dim sum, chicken and satai. On the way back we still met Kenny on his way home after work. They really work hard and long hours in his country...
Next day, we continued our exploration of the most amazing temples in South East Asia, but this time, it was not Buddhism, or any other spiritual enlightening what we were looking for. Instead, we headed for some of the most amazing temples of world consumerism. Bangkok sports some of the largest and most luxurious department stores and shopping malls in South East Asia (and probably in the world). One World Center, which is just opening now, and will be fully staffed in a few months, is the largest shopping mall in South East Asia (including Hong Kong!!). Not far from there we can find Siam and Siam Paragorn, which represent some of the ritziest shopping opportunities in the world (you would never expect to be able to buy a Masserati or a Jaguar right out from the shop in the third flood of Harrod's, for instance, right?).
But it's not only shopping. The largest Aquarium in South East Asia is also in Bangkok, offering some exciting extra activities like a glass boat trip in one of the tanks or diving with the sharks.
(to be continued, with Jim Thompson house and museum, and the largest weekend market in Bangkok)
But not for that we have allowed ourselves to settle in despair, and we have tried to make the most of the last days in Thailand. First thing after arriving to our usual guesthouse in Bangkok, we headed to what will surely become our usual tailor, to have our measures taken in order to have some suits and shirts tailor-made, in the best English or Italian wool, linen and Thai silk. Going to the tailor here is not the superficial and impersonal experience that is in western countries. People here go a long way to pamper you and to get to know your tastes and needs to be able to advise you better. In fact, they become more like your friends, and the experience of buying a new suit (or several), a pleasant social event instead of a cold commercial transaction. We are specially grateful with Kenny and his colleagues for their professional and friendly advice.
After spending the afternoon at the tailor, we headed for the night-market around Sukhumvit Soi 34 or 38 to have a nice Thai dinner. Pad thai noodle and duck soup were great, as were Dim sum, chicken and satai. On the way back we still met Kenny on his way home after work. They really work hard and long hours in his country...
Next day, we continued our exploration of the most amazing temples in South East Asia, but this time, it was not Buddhism, or any other spiritual enlightening what we were looking for. Instead, we headed for some of the most amazing temples of world consumerism. Bangkok sports some of the largest and most luxurious department stores and shopping malls in South East Asia (and probably in the world). One World Center, which is just opening now, and will be fully staffed in a few months, is the largest shopping mall in South East Asia (including Hong Kong!!). Not far from there we can find Siam and Siam Paragorn, which represent some of the ritziest shopping opportunities in the world (you would never expect to be able to buy a Masserati or a Jaguar right out from the shop in the third flood of Harrod's, for instance, right?).
But it's not only shopping. The largest Aquarium in South East Asia is also in Bangkok, offering some exciting extra activities like a glass boat trip in one of the tanks or diving with the sharks.
(to be continued, with Jim Thompson house and museum, and the largest weekend market in Bangkok)
Friday, August 18, 2006
SEA06: Kanchanaburi
"Why going to Kanchanaburi?" some people might ask. It has never been a capital of Siam, Thailand or any of the other great kingdoms in the region. It is more of a border town, with the usual share of temples and a peaceful riverside atmosphere. Does that give you a clue already? No? Well, think of a bridge... the first bridge that comes to your mind... Not yet? well, I'm sure that if I whistle you one last clue, you'll immediately know what I mean.
:-)
Apart of *that* bridge, there are a range of other atractions in Kanchanaburi. There is an excellent museum on the construction of *that* bridge, and other exhibitions on related subjects. You can go to a monastery, where the monks have created a wild life reserve, a very special zoo.
Alien tried as well (unfortunatelly, unsuccessfully) to locate a misterious monastery on the outskirts of town, and the Dragon Cave, while Nuvolgris was taking some intensive course in Thai cooking, given by the very friendly Micki from Apple GuestHouse.
Alien tried as well (unfortunatelly, unsuccessfully) to locate a misterious monastery on the outskirts of town, and the Dragon Cave, while Nuvolgris was taking some intensive course in Thai cooking, given by the very friendly Micki from Apple GuestHouse.
Many more activities can be arranged from Kanchanaburi, but unfortunately we had to leave them for next journey into the region, as that was our last stop before going back to Bangkok.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
SEA06: After Ko Chang, or The Marathon
There are lots of things to explain after the last blog entry, and that is partly because we have not stayed much iddle since we left our resort on the beaches of paradise.
Let's start from the beginning: From the resort we took the usual truck-converted in bus to the ferry harbour (fortunatelly, this time we were sitting inside, and not perched outside, like when we arrived to the island). From there we took the ferry, obviously, and the coach to Bangkok (having to suffer two more horribly bad films). Once in Bangkok, the SkyTrain and a local bus - small, painted bright green, wooden floor, the driver of which didn't bother to stop completely or get closer to the pavement when we arrived to the Northern Bus Station in the middle of the traffic jam, so everyone had to, literally, jump off.
From there we took a night bus to Sukhothai, to where we arrived at about 5am. Sukhothai also known as Rising of Happiness, and it was the first capital of Siam in the 13th century, lasting for some 200 years (the Golden Age of Siam), and where the Thai script was developed. During which period the country expanded to cover approximately the actual territory of Thailand.
Without much sleep (but who needs to sleep much during holidays? ;-)) we start visiting the Historical Park, covering some 70sq Km. Obviously we didn't visit *everything*, but we had a fair sampling of the best sights (as it will be shown when we upload some pictures). Fortunately we could rent some bikes to do all the moving around.
Sukhothai lost its position as capital of Siam when the realm weas absorved by Ayutthaya, in a periode of the Siamese history in which the realm expanded well into present day Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar (Burma). This glorious period lasted for some 400 years, till the invasion by the Burmese.
So, again we hit the road to Phitsanulok, where we visit an excellent Ethnologic Museum (Sergeant Major Thawee Folk Museum) and a Buddha casting foundry. After that cultural break, we hit the rails this time to Ayutthaya, to arrive in the evening, settle for the night and to go to have dinner at a restaurant in a classic teak house in front of the Historical Park, with the view of the temples.
Today we have visited the main temples in the Historical Park in Ayutthaya, and tomorrow we leave again for Kanchanaburi....
Let's start from the beginning: From the resort we took the usual truck-converted in bus to the ferry harbour (fortunatelly, this time we were sitting inside, and not perched outside, like when we arrived to the island). From there we took the ferry, obviously, and the coach to Bangkok (having to suffer two more horribly bad films). Once in Bangkok, the SkyTrain and a local bus - small, painted bright green, wooden floor, the driver of which didn't bother to stop completely or get closer to the pavement when we arrived to the Northern Bus Station in the middle of the traffic jam, so everyone had to, literally, jump off.
From there we took a night bus to Sukhothai, to where we arrived at about 5am. Sukhothai also known as Rising of Happiness, and it was the first capital of Siam in the 13th century, lasting for some 200 years (the Golden Age of Siam), and where the Thai script was developed. During which period the country expanded to cover approximately the actual territory of Thailand.
Without much sleep (but who needs to sleep much during holidays? ;-)) we start visiting the Historical Park, covering some 70sq Km. Obviously we didn't visit *everything*, but we had a fair sampling of the best sights (as it will be shown when we upload some pictures). Fortunately we could rent some bikes to do all the moving around.
Sukhothai lost its position as capital of Siam when the realm weas absorved by Ayutthaya, in a periode of the Siamese history in which the realm expanded well into present day Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar (Burma). This glorious period lasted for some 400 years, till the invasion by the Burmese.
So, again we hit the road to Phitsanulok, where we visit an excellent Ethnologic Museum (Sergeant Major Thawee Folk Museum) and a Buddha casting foundry. After that cultural break, we hit the rails this time to Ayutthaya, to arrive in the evening, settle for the night and to go to have dinner at a restaurant in a classic teak house in front of the Historical Park, with the view of the temples.
Today we have visited the main temples in the Historical Park in Ayutthaya, and tomorrow we leave again for Kanchanaburi....
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
SEA06: Decisions after a long train trip
In my last entry to the blog, we were about to leave Chiang Mai, with the intention to go to Angkor afterwards.
One of our main concerns for a trip like this one was about the security of our belongings during the night, as second class compartments comprise all the carriage. Fortunatelly, security is also a main concern of the Thai railway company, as we saw. On board of the train there were several 'Railway Police' Officers, who advised everyone about keeping valuables under control at all times and surveilled the tran at night. During the night hours, some staff of the train were also vigilant at all times, and the doors between carriages locked (as in "chain & padlock on the door") during the hours when most people where sleeping, to avoid people roaming to other carriages than their own.
During the afternoon hours we could enjoy the changing landscape from the train. Afterwards we had dinner, and around midnight we tried to get to sleep. Our bunk beds were set by the railway staff and we 'retired' ourselves to sleep. Or to try to sleep, it would be more accurate. The movement of the train, the noise and the light made almost impossible to catch any sleep.
At the time we arrived to Bangkok, it was too late to cach a convenient connexion to the border with Cambodia, and in any case we had learned about various problems and possible scams that could occur on that road to Angkor. On the other hand we realised that a site like Angkor deserves more than just a couple of hurried days to explore it. Finaly we decided that after all the travelling had done in the first days we decided than we deserved a small break and that the best thing was to head to the beach!! :-)
At the time we arrived to Bangkok, it was too late to cach a convenient connexion to the border with Cambodia, and in any case we had learned about various problems and possible scams that could occur on that road to Angkor. On the other hand we realised that a site like Angkor deserves more than just a couple of hurried days to explore it. Finaly we decided that after all the travelling had done in the first days we decided than we deserved a small break and that the best thing was to head to the beach!! :-)
So we took the metro, then the skytrain, a coach, then a ferry, and finally a hike hanging from the back of a truck an here we are, in Kai Bae Beach (Lonely Beach) in Ko Chang, one of the islands of the paradise... but that will be the story of another entry of this blog...
Saturday, August 05, 2006
SEA06: Leaving Chiang Mai
After four hectic days in the northern capital of the kingdom of a milion rice fields, we hit the road again. Well, to be precise, this time we'll hit the rails, as we are taking the "afternoon-night train" train to bangkok, to try to make a connection to Angkor in Cambodia.
During the last four days we have enjoyed a completely diferent city to Bangkok. Chiang Mai has a quiet and relaxed Old Quarters, the city "intra-muros" where is possible to stroll without as much risk of being run over by various means of transport as in Bangkok. Multiple buddist temples add to the tranquility and relaxing athmosphere of the city, while many markets, night markets, bazaars, food stands and ultra modern comercial malls make for the ancient trade tradition of this city.
We have not only been in the city, we have also enjoyed one of the most beautiful mountail natural parks in the country, with the highest mountain (Doi Ithanon 2590m), and multiple waterfalls, etc.
OK, time to rush to the station!!
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