Count Down Party on Koh Phangan

The main reason we stayed on Koh Samui was its proximity to Koh Phangan, the site of the monthly Full Moon Parties and the annual Count Down Party for New Years. We sort of knew what to expect from the whole experience, since our friend had gone the previous year. His advice was to avoid the fire jump ropes and keep an eye on our drinks. His night ended when he had to bring his roofied friend to the hospital in bare feet. 

Fully warned by our friend's story and by the hostel owner insisting that "20% of our customers get pickpocketed every year," we boarded the speedboat which took us over to Koh Phangan. Upon our arrival, we noticed many shops selling accessories for the party. We outfitted ourselves in flower headbands, purchased the requisite neon body paint, and spent the next hour painting ourselves for the party and sipping booze from one of the buckets being sold on the street. 

Sufficiently tipsy, we headed down the road to the beach, where the real party was happening. There were masses of bodies (50,000 people!) swaying to house music and lines of men relieving themselves in the sea.

With the new year came fireworks, which exploded in the air above us. They were set off so close, I could feel the debris from the explosions raining down on my shoulders and face as I watched. I covered my eyes to avoid getting still-heated bits of firework in my eyes. Way to go Thailand! Safety first!

Not long after midnight, we were ready to go home. We joined the obnoxiously long queue to board the speedboats back to our own island, and hoped for the best. Two and a half hours later, after dealing with pushy, grumpy drunk people and after hopping a fence or two, we were able to board our speedboat. We got to our hostel at around 5:30am and collapsed into bed as the sun rose. 

 

Post-party hamburger. Not delicious.

Cooking in Chiang Mai

On our first day in the Northern city of Chiang Mai, we took a Thai cooking class at the Asia Scenic cooking school. It was recommended through our hostel, so we were a bit skeptical about its quality, but it turned into one of my most memorable experiences on the trip. This was made possible due to a fun, young instructor, and a great group of classmates from around the world.

We were shuttled over to the school for the morning class, and right after meeting everyone, taking tea, and deciding our menu, we made the short walk to a small tourist market. There, our teacher taught us about different types of Thai rice, tofu, and noodles. We also got a chance to wander around and try some of the food in the market. 

When we got back to the school, we had some traditional Thai hors d'oeuvres, and took a tour of the back garden, where we learned about Thai herbs including lemon grass and ginger. The school was set up so that everything was under a pavilion. There were a couple chopping stations with cutting boards and cleavers. There were also wok stations and Western- and Thai-style tables all set up beneath the tin roof.

Finally, we got down to cooking. The first thing on my menu was Pad Thai, which I chose because I'm hoping it'll be the easiest thing to duplicate back home in the States. We started out by chopping massive tons of ingredients, and then we all converged around the wok station to cook. It was fun to throw down oyster sauce and stir ingredients and pretend that I knew what I was doing.

Next, we made soup and curry. Our teacher told us to spice our dishes according to our own preferences and tolerance, but she said, "The spicier the dish, the sexier you are!" So of course some of the men wanted to show off their manliness by adding many chillies to their soup and curry. I chose to make tom yum soup and green curry with medium sexiness. The curry was the hardest because we made it from scratch, grinding up the ingredients with a mortar and pestle.

When it was curry time, our class split up into competing teams for each type of curry -- red, green, and massaman. My team, composed of Debbie, Chan, and me, came in last, and our teacher had to come over and help us finish up the operation. We are weak. BUT, we did have the excuse that green curry is the spiciest, and we had to cover the dish with a hand to keep green pepper paste from flying into our eyes.

We gathered once more around the cooking station, finished cooking the dishes, and finally converged around the table to gorge ourselves before we were rolled back to the hostel. We spent the rest of the day working off our food babies by walking around exploring temples within the Old City.

The finished product - Tom yum, green curry, and rice

Wat Arun

On Christmas, before flying to Chiang Mai, Debbie, Hannah, and I went to Wat Arun. It was the last big must-see temple in Bangkok left on my list.

The main event of the temple is basically a big structure that you climb up, and then admire the view from the top. We left Hannah at the bottom with our bags to make the trek up.

Our Bag Lady

Honestly, the climb was a bit scary, as the stairs were long and steep. Once we got to the top, there was a fabulous view of the river and the city. 

Ladyboy Show Calypso

As a Christmas Eve treat, Debbie and I bought tickets to see Calypso, one of the top rated ladyboy shows in Bangkok. All of the actors performing in the show were male, but some were ladyboys and dressed as females, while the backup dancers were male.

The show was great. The choreography and costumes were expertly planned and the ladyboys were stunning -- they looked exactly like real ladies. Some of the acts required the ladyboys to dress in swimwear or very revealing clothing. I have never seen men with such curves. They had breast implants, but I think some of them had naturally curvy hips. I'm not sure. Regardless, it was convincing and I found myself envying some of their legs...

Post show photo shoot. They look more feminine than me :(

Jim Thompson's House

One of the few things that was really recommended for me to do in Thailand was to visit Jim Thompson's house in Bangkok. The house, located in the middle of the city, is like an oasis of green. Stepping out of the cab and into the walled enclosure we found ourselves surrounded by western-inspired Thai architecture and a beautifully tended garden. 

My favorite part about the experience is that rather than just blundering our way around the house, we were given a free guided tour through the premises. Our tour guide was funny and informative, explaining the different artifacts, art collection, and architectural points of interest. 

Another highlight of the day is that we were able to explore the house with Kirsten! A California native, Kirsten is currently on a three month exploration of Asia. We met for the first time way back in October when we stayed at the same hostel in Seoul. Just by coincidence we were in Bangkok at the same time, so we decided to meet up.

I really recommend a visit to Jim Thompson's House if you ever find yourself in Bangkok. The house itself, and the story behind it, are really cool. Jim Thompson was an American who singlehandedly made Thailand famous for silk goods. He took the already established Thai silk cottage industry and expanded it into global markets. He set up his house in Thailand before disappearing forever into the Cambodian jungle. He was never found and his body was never recovered. Some think that since he was in the CIA, his enemies finally caught up to him. Others say he probably just fell down a ditch. 

Ayutthaya

Finally Debbie joined me in Bangkok! And on our second day together we took a day trip out of the city to Ayutthaya, the old capital. The train ride there was long and hot, but eventually we made it to the station at Ayutthaya, rented bikes, and dragged them down to the river to ferry over to the main part of the city. At the bike rental shop, they gave us a map of the old city's ruins, which are scattered throughout the suburbs of modern-day Ayutthaya. 

Our first stop was the closest ruin to the train station - Wat Mahathat - which was full of people taking pictures, but still empty enough to wander around and get a feel for the place.

Next, we cycled to Wat Phra Ram, which is a bit off the beaten path since it is farther from the train station and too distant for most people to easily walk. Its distance and the fact that it was later in the day resulted in the temple being virtually deserted. We explored the ruins, and then having seen our fair share of brick piles, made our way to Wihan Mongkon Bophit, which we read housed one of Thailand's largest bronze Buddha statues....

....Unfortunately we were never able to see one of Thailand's largest bronze Buddha statues because the doors were shut and locked right in front of us as we approached the hall. At this point it was already 5pm, and our train back to Bangkok was set to leave at 7. Debbie and I decided we would take a leisurely ride back to the station and perhaps have some dinner and drinks before boarding the train.

We figured it would be nice to bike across the bridge, instead of taking the ferry back. That way, we could see more of the city and we wouldn't have to drag our heavy bikes down the many stairs to the river and ferry boat. The bridge ride would be easier and leisurely, right? RIGHT????

Wrong.

We followed our map up and across the river bridge, continued along what we thought was the right road, and then ended up smack dab in the middle of the Thai countryside. Kids were racing us on bikes, nobody knew English, and the signs were all written in Thai. We had no idea how to get back to the ferry terminal and the train station.

With the sun slowly setting and the last train's departure time creeping closer, we started to get a bit worried, but breathed a sigh of relief when we reached a sign pointing towards the ferry terminal. This quickly turned into almost panicked gasps as we discovered that this was in fact the wrong ferry crossing, and we had inexplicably crossed back over the river, or crossed some tributary and were once again on the opposite side of the river. It made no sense! Somehow we had entered some magical Thailand Harry Potter world where maps and directions and gravity no longer apply.

Along with some commuters and motorbikes, we boarded the ferry, as per the directions of the ticket collector, and crossed back over the river. The whole time Debbie and I sent each other crazed mental messages. Our faces fraught with confusion and primal angst, I sensed a telepathic freak-out from Debbie, "WTF. Why do we need to cross the river again!?" I read from her wide-eyed gaze. Eyes equally saucer-like, I slowly turned towards Debbie and responded with my own telepathic, "F*************************K...We're screwed."

Then our savior appeared. She came in the form of a lady on a bike wearing a bright green t-shirt. A baby was propped before her on the motorbike. Perhaps sensing the drift of our telepathic communication, she turned to us and, in perfect English, recited directions to the train station. Unable to believe our luck but still confused, we stared at her blankly. Seeing that the stupid foreigners were unable to comprehend her perfectly described directions she stated, "It's alright. I'll take you there."

And so there we were, following The Lady in Green on our bikes as she scooted ahead on her motorbike. By this time the sun had set and we were going down major roads on our bikes, praying that we wouldn't get bumped by crazy Thai drivers and hoping that somehow, O God, somehow we would make it back in time to catch the last train. By this time it was after six, and we had less than an hour to get to the station.

Looking back on the whole experience, I can laugh. It was incredibly stupid, and we must've looked like idiots. My bike had no manipulatable gears, but for some reason the gear was set so low that I had to pedal extremely fast just to go at a normal pace. My legs were flying around in circles just to keep up with Debbie and The Lady in Green.

Eventually we made it to the station, under our savior's guidance. We thanked her, returned our bikes, and collapsed into chairs at a restaurant. With a half hour to go before our train departed, we indulged in a much needed beer and promised not to talk about the experience for at least twenty-four hours.

Golden Buddha, Chinatown, and the Weekend Market

Another major tourist site in Bangkok is the Golden Buddha. This was my least favorite touristy thing we did in Bangkok because by this point I had seen about five billion golden Buddhas and this was just another one, albeit sitting on a pedestal on the top level of a big temple, but still....a golden Buddha. 

Having been sufficiently templed-out, we made our way to Chinatown for the market. Little did we know, one does not simply walk into Chinatown. One must physically push her way and wade through oceans of people to enter Chinatown. Before we even reached the area, we were accosted by street vendors hawking wares and tourists buying all kinds of cheap goods. We shopped for a while, and then utterly exhausted, tried our best to find food, finally settling on dim sum. 

Dim sum in Chinatown !

In the afternoon we went north to the weekend market, which was hugely packed with people but not as overwhelming as Chinatown. We did some shopping, and then chilled out with a beer before heading back.

Wat Pho - The Reclining Buddha

Following our adventures at the Grand Palace, we got slightly turned around looking for Wat Pho and ended up practically starving to death in our quest for the temple. Thankfully we were saved by a conveniently located McDonald's, and so I enjoyed a number 2 with a smoothie and side of corn pie. 

Finally, we reached Wat Pho, donned our modesty robes, and examined the large, golden reclining Buddha. It was very cool. As we walked around the front of the Buddha we could hear this curious sound, like small hollow popping sounds.

When we rounded the feet of the Buddha, we discovered the source of the noise. People were making their way down a line of metal receptacles, dropping in one bhat coins as they went.

Once again outfitted in modesty clothes -- fluorescent green robes!

Besides the Buddha, there was a lot to see, and we spent some time wandering around the complex. I have never seen so many golden Buddhas in my life. Wat Pho was gaudy, but not as decorated as the Grand Palace. Despite being a touristy place, there were relatively few people around.

Following Wat Pho, we spent some time relaxing on the front deck of the water taxi, just cruising down the river, watching the sun set. Eventually we made our way back to the hostel and ate out at a local restaurant called Jok. The owner was a fun and friendly man in his 50s who kept trying to get us to drink a lot of beer. We obliged and followed this up with more drinks and hookah.

Tom Yum Seafood