Cha-am, Thailand

Cha-am is a beach town, 30 km southeast of Phetchaburi.  The local bus, full of schoolchildren, took us there for $1.  The bus ride was very pleasant, feeling the breeze through the open windows, while listening to a soothing voice of a women singing in foreign language.  It was much nicer experience than riding in those minibuses with people sitting practically on top of each other.  The minibuses go faster, but they also cost more.  We have time. 

We found a guesthouse 5 minutes away from the beach for $10 per night with private bathroom and air-conditioning.  Dangis actually walked half way downstairs, before he remembered that we actually have a bathroom in our room (not used to such comforts anymore).  The air-conditioning in the room was also nice: we set the temperature for 26°C.  We spent a lot of time in the room.  It was too hot to be outside during the day.

Even the market only opened for dinner.  It was too hot for the locals to be cooking outside.  So, we ate lunch in the restaurants, and we ate dinner in the street.  We ate fried rice for lunch, but we tried different spicy meals for dinner, like fish wrapped in some leaf, chicken with ginger, and pork with vegetables.  The owner even brought us to try a piece of slowcooked pig in sweet sauce for free.  He wanted to see if we liked it.  Everything was delicious.  His family and him had a lot of different foods and were very popular with the locals for carryout.  The food was conveniently packed in plastic bags for them.   

The owner of P.S. guesthouse Dee Dee was a very nice woman, too.  She gave us the electric pot that we could make coffee in our room.  Also, she did our laundry for free (the machine was not automatic).  She said she liked it better.  The clothes come out cleaner, and she saves energy and water.  We talked a little bit.  She was interested in where we have been and where we were going.  She said that she has visited 4 countries herself: Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Figuring out how to get from Cha-am to Ko Samui Island was a challenge again.  Our guidebook and internet seemed to have more reliable information than information, provided by locals.  Everyone offers ether a taxi or a minibus.  Even standing in a bus stop, everybody said that there were no big buses going to there we needed to go.  The day before our trip, we went to Cha-am train station.  There was only one train in the evening to Surat Thani (the town a ferry ride away from Ko Samui Island) that stopped in Cha-am.  If we wanted to go earlier, we would have to go from Hua Hin (25 km south of Cha-am).  The buses also only went from Hua Hin (not Cha-am, but they went directly to the island (ferry ride included).  The bus ride was cheaper that a train ride, too.  The only problem I had on the bus was that the driver refused to stop and let me use the bathroom.  I had to wait for 40 minutes until we reached the station (he said we would reach the station in 20 minutes).  The bus ride itself from Hua Hin to Ko Samui was 10 hours.         

   

Phetchaburi, Thailand

We have just spent couple of days in Phetchaburi, a little town south of Bangkok.  For the first time we could feel that we were in the country of smiles.  The kids waved especially enthusiastically in greeting us.  Even the clothes in the store windows were good quality, not mass made for the tourists.  The beautiful blue-eyed Siamese cats were elegantly sunbathing on the store counters.  Thailand (formerly known as Siam) is their home country. 

The first day we walked 3km to one edge of the town to the only big store, called Big C.  We have been searching for lithium batteries for our water purifying pen.  Since our battery charger broke, our rechargeable batteries became useless.  In Big C, we had a choice between a battery charger and lithium batteries.  We bought a charger.  We can make our own drinking water again.   Until now, we found some drinking fountains in Bagkok, boiled water in Mae Rampung, and bought bottled water in Phetchaburi.  There is also drinking water available for purchase from coolers, but not everywhere. 

The second day we walked 3 km opposite direction to Khaoluang, a temple built in the cave in the 17^th century in the honor of the kings, Rama III and Rama IV.  On our way the rain started pouring.  The locals offered us to wait the worst of it out under the roof in their yard.  We are considering buying an umbrella, since it either rains here, or the sun is scorching. 

The entrance to the cave was surrounded by monkeys.  At the foothill there was a monk, feeding leftover rice to dogs and monkeys.  The monkeys waited for their turn to get rice and did not go close to the dogs.  The monk also brought some sweet drink for the monkeys.  One of the monkeys even drank it from the bottle, the others licked the drink of the ground. 

Up the hill, there were more monkeys.  Some of them were sitting in pairs in the trees, looking for lice in each other.  The younger ones were playing- sliding down the roof of the building, swinging down the tress and jumping from one tree to another.  Others were swimming in the pool.   Some were fighting for food.  They were definitely not afraid of people, even tried to scare me from taking a picture of them.  The monkeys came very close to people to ask for food.  There were moments I felt surrounded by them.  Of course, there were locals selling bananas and corn to tourists for feeding the monkeys.  I saw one monkey grab a couple of pieces of corn from the seller’s plate, while she turned away for a moment.  Another monkey hit the plate on the bottom, while the tourist was carrying it in her hand.  The corn came out flying of the plate.

The entrance to this temple was free.  Going down the stairs into the cave, dew covered our faces instantly.  It was pleasantly cool down there.  One big Buddha was sitting close to the entrance, catching the sunlight through the hole in the cave.  The hole was surrounded by trees.  The whole atmosphere was mystic and romantic at the same time.  It was the most beautiful temple, I have seen so far.  Another big Buddha, covered in yellow fabric, was reclining against a wall in the same hall further away from the entrance.  There were smaller Buddhas everywhere around us.  Another hall was a cemetery for some monks.  There was another exit from the cave into the jungle, which was closed.  The stone heads of snakes in front of the exit were warning people that snakes await them upstairs. 

  

Mae Rampung Beach, Rayong, Thailand

We spent a week on Mae Rampung beach, not far from Rayong.  We found this guesthouse online Roots that had great reviews.  Once we arrived, it was closed.  The guesthouse was located just across the street from the beach.  We liked the idea of staying so close to the beach.  We picked a different guesthouse next door- Gee’s Kitchen.  All these guesthouses are old townhouses built under British rule.  The restaurant was on the first floor of each guesthouse with the guest rooms upstairs. 

Our room was on the third floor with a sea view.  We were the only guests in Gee’s Kitchen.  It was still low season; it sometimes rained.  We enjoyed the emptiness, peace and quiet.  We could hear the waves while in our room.  The only problem we had was that we could not swim in the sea.  Every time we tried, we were itchy all over afterwards and had to take a shower right away.  First, we thought the salt could be the reason.  Then we thought maybe it was mosquitoes biting us just before and after swimming.  Finally, we did some research online to find out that the sea lice were biting us, which are invisible to a human eye.  After that, we only went for a walk on the beach. 

 

Later we learned that the owner of Roots, who was a foreigner, disappeared about a year ago.  We talked about the area and Thailand with the retired foreigners who moved there to live.  They also told us that if a foreigner got into an accident in Thailand, he should not stop and just go straight to the airport.  The foreigners would always be considered guilty.  The police is corrupt. 

The locals see the foreigners as bags of money.  I guess they think they should lighten them.  I believe we get special prices for everything.  In some restaurants even menus do not have prices.  The seafood meal cost more than one night in a guesthouse (about 10% of the average Thai salary).  We saw some locals having a feast in those beach restaurants. 

Also, we learned that those restaurants located directly on the beach are illegal.  The beach is a park, and it belongs to the government.  At least, they are keeping a beach clean: collecting garbage and raking pine needles. 

Another observation was that only women live on that beach.  Where did all the men go?  Do they just keep moving from town to town, leaving their children behind?  Every morning the women, who worked in those guesthouses and restaurants, were getting dolled up (putting white powder on their faces, painting their nails, etc.).  At first, we were not sure why, but later we learned that some of them were also prostitutes.  The prostitution in Thailand is officially illegal, but as I mentioned the police officers could be bribed. 

The daughters of the women did work in the guesthouses, too.  They were cleaning and serving meals.  Those foreign retirees were treated like kings.  Most of them had bellies from sitting and drinking beer.  We also saw some younger white men with the local wives and their children walking around and eating in the restaurants.  There were probably more mixed families there with the husband actually present. 

To travel to Phetchaburi (2 hours south of Bangkok), we needed to return to Bangkok first.  In the official information of the Rayong bus station, we asked about the big buses to Bangkok.  We were told a week ago that there was the only one that leaves every morning at 11:30AM.  That day we were told that the big bus would go only at 3PM the next day.  We should take a minibus instead.  Another person told us that the big bus had an accident and the next one would go only at 4PM the next day.  We should take a minibus instead.  Then the same woman told us that there was a big bus standing in the station ready to leave right then.  It seemed as if she told the driver how much to charge us.  It appears that these people get kickbacks from the bus drivers, even the official information straight out lied to us.  So far, getting the information about the bus schedules was the hardest to get.  We probably saw more fancy tour buses everywhere, anyways.

Pattaya, Thailand

Pattaya is a beach town, located by the Gulf of Thailand 130 km southeast of Bangkok.  The hotel rooms cost twice as much as in Bangkok.  A lot of other merchandise is overpriced also.  The Russians are moving in and driving the prices up.  The town is growing fast.  There are more condominiums there than hotels.  We stayed in the motel that was also rented by the hour.  Our room was big with a private bathroom, hot water, air conditioning and a mirror in the ceiling.  

Pattaya is well known for its sex industry.  The Walking Street was filled with bars full of girls.  We were shown some pictures of the girls and the drawings with poses, offering us the girls and to watch a sex show, respectively.  Even in the beach some girls were wearing high heels, applying more make up.  The old white guys were approaching the girls asking to sit next to them.  I guess it is more profitable for the men and the girls to find each other independently without the intermediaries.  The Pattaya beach itself was narrow, but the water was very warm like tea.  It was nice to swim in the evening.  During the day the beach is crowded.  There is not much space on the sand if you do not want to rent an umbrella.  It is too hot to be outside during the daytime anyways. 

The whole town seems to be designed to cater to Russians.  The billboards and menus were in Russian.  The locals communicated with us in Russian.  There were quite a few TV programs in Russian, they even had there own TV programs from Pattaya.  There were a lot of advertising offering to buy property.  We even saw a store selling leather and fur in this tropical town.  The whole town is about sex and posh.

Bangkok, Thailand

The first day in a new country is always challenging.  We have chosen a hostel from our guidebook while flying to Bangkok.  We took a train from airport to the city.  Then we were told to take bus number 503 to Banglampoo, the touristy area.  We have waited for an hour for the bus.  It was getting dark.  The traffic started.  Locals were catching taxis.  By the time we decided to take a taxi, it took us about 15 minutes.  All were full.  It costs over the dollar just for sitting.  The meter keeps turning while the car is stopped at the intersection.  I am not sure if the fare is based just on time, or combination of time and distance.  By the way, we later learned that bus number 503 does not go to Banglamboo. The tourist area was busy (more tourists than locals).  We found a cheap hostel for $9 just before the rainfall.  We have moved from one hostel to another a few times in the area.  Some rooms smelled like smoke or had loud neighbors.  The towels, blankets and internet were extra in most rooms.  In one room the internet (which we paid for) was working, but no power supply.  The other issue we had that a fan had only high setting.  We have not been able to get rid of runny noses, since we arrived.  I was not able to get away from the extremely low air conditioned stores,buses and trains, just like in US.  

It seems to be a trend: the cheaper the country, the more we spend.  We allow ourselves to do more things.  I have received more massages in 10 days we spent in Bangkok than in all my life.  The oil massage is my favorite so far.  It costs $10 per hour.  We also went for teeth cleaning and yearly physical health check up in the local hospital.  We got the blood results in 2 hours.  The equipment in the hospital seemed older, but everything was very clean.  The overall experience was very pleasant.  No long waits anywhere.  It was nice to communicate with local people outside of the touristic area, even if it was in the hospital.  No country should be judged by the taxi drivers.  They seemed to be very interested in where we were going.  Some people acted like they knew where we wanted to go.  They would tell us to turn around and go to some tourist attraction. 

A lot of things are cheap in Bangkok, but not tourist attractions.  The entrance to King’s Palace costs twice as much for one person as our hostel room.  In comparison, I would not pay $100 to go to a museum in US, so we did not go to the King’s Palace.  Instead we went to see the Reclining Buda.  We also heard that the prices are different on different days based on the number of tourists.  Instead we went to see the Reclining Buda.  The Buda was inside a small temple, which made it difficult to see the whole Buda at once.  The donation boxes were inside the temple every few steps.  The entrance to the temple was not free.

Also, we noticed that almost all the stalls with food and merchandise were closed on Monday.  The 2 that were open were confiscated by the police.  Apparently, it is illegal to be selling anything on the streets on Mondays in that area.  The vendors have to pay a fine before they can retrieve their belongings.  Two hours later the confiscated stalls were back up with the rest of the stalls on the street.  The police do not bother to come and check twice a day. 

Another adventure was getting a visa to enter Myanmar.  The country opened its borders to tourists only recently.  The information is scarcely available about the visa requirements, entering the country or travelling in the country.  It looks that the rules are continuously changing.  The land borders with Thailand opened only on the 29^th of August 2013.  It is still impossible to legally enter Laos from Myanmar by land, which was our original plan.  We may need to get back to Thailand for that. It took us 3 days to get a visa for Myanmar.  We went to the embassy on Monday morning.  There was a line starting outside (around 40 people).  While Dangis was standing in line, I have filled my application.  It was pretty simple: personal information and employment history.  We just had to bring 2 passport photos each and copies of our passports.  By the time Dangis filled his application, it was our turn to receive a number.  After our number was called, we submitted our visa applications and paid $28 per person.  It took us 2 hours.  We left happy and sweaty.  On Wednesday we arrived 15 minutes early.  The line was already formed.  After embassy doors were open a little late, it took us about 10 minutes to pick up our passports with visas. 

So far, we are enjoying Thai food.  The choices are endless.  Just yesterday we tried steamed fish in curry paste, fried calamari and vegetables, coconut juice and ice cream in the world’s biggest weekend market Chatuchak.  The shopping also was an enjoyable experience, although not as exciting as eating.  I got to buy a blouse and a dress for myself.

Taipei, Taiwan

We are flying from Taipei to Bangkok now.  The first time in our lives we barely made our flight.  As usual we arrived at the airport 2 hours before the departure time, but to the wrong airport.  By the time we realized that, we had about 1.5 hours left and 1 hour bus ride to the right airport.  What happened next, sums up perfectly the type of people Taiwanese are.  At the check-in window, the service personnel called the gate to ask them to wait for us.  Then he closed the window to take us to the gate personally.  We skipped all lines.  We passed security check together with pilots and stewardesses.  Then we passed the immigration line with disabled and children.  We made it to the gate in 15 minutes.  As soon as we boarded, the plane left the gate.  We started our trip exactly as scheduled.

We are flying Eva Air (Chinese airlines).  We were served our meals first because we ordered vegetarian, since the meat never tastes good on the flights.  We also were lucky to have one empty seat in between us.  I almost feel like flying first class.  The service is much better that flying any American airlines.
We only had one week in Taipei, Taiwan.  Originally, we planned to start our trip with Thailand.  Since the cheapest flight was through Taiwan, we decided to explore its capital at least.  We did not do much research about the country before starting our trip.  So, we were a little surprised to learn that the prices were comparable to US prices.  We decided to spend our first night in the airport.  Since we were tired after the 13-hour flight, we did not want to pay for a taxi into the city and search for a place to stay in the middle of the night.  We took the first bus the next morning to the center of Taipei.  It took us about 3 hours to find a hostel for $30 (the cheapest we could find).  Finding a place to stay was much more difficult than in South America.  In Taipei, everyone seems to follow the rules.  Nobody wanted to let us in the room until the official check-in time of 2PM or 3PM, without paying for the previous night.
We went to sleep right away.  We slept for 12 hours straight to wake up at 10PM.  The bed was a little short for us, but the room was very clean as the hostel itself.  It took us 4 days to get used to a time change of 13 hours between Chicago and Taipei.

The cleanliness and order of the city reminded me of London.  The clean streets, floors and sheets and neatly arranged lines in the stores, escalators and bathrooms make me happy.  The Taiwanese culture is opposite to South American culture.  Also, we have never felt safer on the streets, even in the middle of the night.  The Taiwanese people are very friendly, helpful and hospitable.

China and Taiwan split up only after the Second World War, but their culture already differs a lot, as we were told.  The Taiwanese culture was not influenced by the Soviet regime and follows the traditions more diligently.  We learned a lot about the history, politics and culture of Taiwan from our new couchsurfing friend Sherry.  After staying in the hostel for 5 nights, we decided to give couchsurfing.com a try.  We found out about the website during our travels in South America.  We send only 5 requests and got 2 positive responses.   Just for comparison, we have sent 50 requests to stay in San Diego and got only 1 positive response.  We were introduced to the everyday life, staying in the residential area.  The night market was not crowded with tourists.  The locals went to see an opera performance in the yard of the temple every night.  There were flowers growing in the balconies, since space is an issue.  The design is always about the function.  Everything is thought through.  Even the bathrooms have the SOS buttons in public spaces.  People are cautious of their health.  The parks are filled with people, practicing tai chi or just stretching.