Ayutthaya

Last Sunday I took a day-trip from Bangkok to Ayutthaya with three other Lertlah teachers.  Ayutthaya is the former capital of Thailand, and now features many ruins left over from the kingdom’s fall to Burma in 1767.  We branched out of our comfort zone by taking the bus the whole way there.  The day started early when we caught a cab from the apartments to the BTS (sky train).  Then we journeyed straight across Bangkok on the BTS to a station that let us off near the northern bus terminal.  The BTS really is great for these situations, because it saves you a lot of time and money over using a cab.  The bus was not expensive to take, and we happened to time it perfectly so that we arrived and purchased tickets just as a bus was leaving to Ayutthaya. 

Our tuk tuk.

The city itself was not far from Bangkok, and when we arrived in modern Ayutthaya we were confused by how developed it seemed to be.  It turns out that the ruins of the ancient capital are now largely intermingled with the new developments and current establishments.  As soon as we got off the bus at the last stop, eager tuk tuk drivers, who act somewhat as guides that drive you around the city, approached us.  A tuk tuk is a three-wheeled vehicle that seems somewhat like a mini truck.  The driver sits in a tiny cab in the front, and the passengers sit on benches that line the “box” of the vehicle in the back.  The tuk tuk we hired was very affordable, and a good investment considering we didn’t have the faintest idea where in the city we wanted to go to see ruins. 

Wat Yai Chaya Mongkol.

On the grounds of the Temple.

Our first stop on the tour was Wat Yai Chaya Mongkol (The Great Temple of Auspicious Victory).  Unfortunately, since our guide was mainly just a driver, and didn’t speak much English, we didn’t gain a very good understanding of the ruins that we visited.  That was okay however, for we enjoyed just taking in the sights and the awe of the ruins themselves.  I do know, though, that this temple was proclaimed by King U-thong to be the royal temple.  It was also “the seat of the Buddhist patriarchs and monks of the Forest Tradition (Aranyavasi School), which was noted for the practice of meditation and insight” (quoth my entry ticket).  The grounds of the temple were small but very lovely and interesting.  Also, the steps leading up to the temple were somewhat menacing as they have been eroded over many years and are now uneven. 

The back of Wat Yai Chaya Mongkol.

Our next stop was the Ayutthaya Historical Park (or at least that’s what my ticket says).  It was a large segment of ruins that seemed to show some ancient remnants of brick buildings.  You could climb onto some of the ruins and walk around, which was a neat experience.  Others were closed for repairs after the recent flooding that devastated Thailand.  I think that these were my favourite ruins to see because the architecture was quite astounding, and seems as though it would be very difficult to produce in the 1700’s or perhaps earlier. 

One of our stops was at an elephant facility, where many well-trained elephants were being shown to and fed by the crowd.  You could opt to ride the elephants, although my group did not (considering we had in Kanchanaburi and may also in Chiang Mai).  You could also pay a small fee to pose with an elephant for some pictures, which friends of mine chose to do.  The elephant was extremely photogenic, and it seems he had been trained to take a good picture because he even wrapped his trunk around his partner to up the cuteness factor. 

Ayutthaya Historical Park.

This structure was built by the Burmese when they
 conquered the city, but as renovations have been made to
 it in more recent years, it's construction has
been altered to become more Thai.

Our tuk tuk driver continued to take us to different ruins within the city.  He seemed to have a very familiar route, and stopped at what I assumed to be the most notable tourist stops.  I don’t know if he sensed my group’s annoyance with the continual entry fees, but towards the end of the tour he took us to some very amazing sites that had no admission costs as well.  I was very happy with the trip overall, and it was certainly worth the effort of so much travel.  I think that getting to see so much is one of the perks of being in a foreign country so long.  If I was only on vacation in Thailand for a few weeks, Ayutthaya might not have been on my list of things to see, but considering that I have plenty of time to see everything I want, I am certainly glad I got the opportunity to experience the ruins and history that I did.  

This was one of the most significant attractions at Ayutthaya Historical Park;
 a buddha statue that was grown over by a large tree.  The lower part of the tree is
 slightly discoloured due to the flooding in the area this past year,
 when the Buddha was covered by the water.  

A Saturday in Bangkok

The BTS.

This past Saturday, I was able to experience some of the attractions of Bangkok on a weekend.  A group of foreign teachers and I set off early Saturday to experience the Chatuchak Weekend Market.  We took the BTS (sky train) for the majority of the trip, which was a bit of an experience in itself.  My first time of a sky train was last week, and I found that it was for the most part a much more convenient and reliable way to travel than by taxis (which can easily be caught in traffic).  It amazed me that we were able to cross the city as quickly as we did, considering that to me Bangkok seems never-ending.  When we arrived, we were shocked at the immense size of the market.  I spanned blocks upon blocks of space.  At one point, when I was wandering around stalls by myself, I was actually very scared that I would not be able to find the group meeting-place, or my way out for that matter.  That being said, the market really did have some interesting things and I was able to scoop up a lot of souvenirs for my family back home (which I will not go into detail about where they can easily read). 

The River Taxi.

Afterwards, the group of us took the BTS to another station, where we were able to catch a river taxi headed to the Grand Palace.  The river taxi looked kind of like a giant canoe with a bunch of decorations on it, and it was fairly neat to ride in.  The river itself looked pretty near the consistency of the Red in Winnipeg.  When we arrived, we ate a lunch of various pad thai and fried rice, and headed across the street.  Our first stop was the Wat Pho Temple of the reclining Buddha in Bangkok.  It was very interesting to see, because the giant Buddha statue was nearly the size of the temple that held it.  Since visiting that temple, I looked up the reclining Buddha on the internet and found out a bit more about it.  The statue itself is 15 meters high and 43 meters long.  The story is said to be that the giant Asurindarahu wanted to see the Buddha, but was reluctant to bow before him because he was proud of his great size. The Buddha then changed size, so that even while lying down he was much larger than the giant. He then showed him the realm of heaven with heavenly figures all larger than the giant. After all this, Asurindarahu, the giant, was humbled.

The Reclining Buddha.

While we were in the temple, you could hear a clinking sound that I thought was music playing in the background.  As we walked around, however, we saw that the sound was made from people dropping 1 baht coins into small metal bowls set all along the wall of the temple for good luck. 

The rest of the reclining Buddha enclosure was very beautiful and elaborate as well.  There were many walls of Buddha statues in various positions, and each statue was decorated in gold plate with tiny coloured shards of glass ornately placed along the base of the statue.  The architecture in the temple grounds was beautiful and unique, and we enjoyed walking around and seeing the sights for over an hour.  (By the end of it, however, I was beginning to regret all of my purchases at the Weekend Market!)

When we finally left the temple, we had the intention of visiting the Grand Palace.  Unfortunately, we did not know that the Grand Palace grounds close relatively early, so we missed our chance.  If circumstances arise that put me in Bangkok for another weekend, however, I will surely make an effort to see it.  

A smaller replica of the reclining Buddha, covered with gold leaf from temple visitors.

Some of the architecture within the reclining Buddha
 enclosure.  Everything was very ornate.

Buddhas lined almost every wall.  This seems to be a reoccurring
theme for the temples in Thailand.  Often, Buddhas are gold in colour,
 and the bases of each sculpture are very intricate.

Kanchanaburi

One of the waterfalls at Erawin National Park.

This past weekend, I went with a group of Lertlah teachers to the inland town of Kanchanaburi, not far from Bangkok.  We hired a van to take us there for a very reasonable rate (less than $20 each), and stayed in a hotel called Pong Pen.  A middle-aged Thai woman (who spoke English quite well) ran the hotel.  Although the rooms were nothing special, they were very affordable and of pretty standard quality.  I was very excited to go to Kanchanaburi because it boasted some pretty appealing tourist attractions.  When we arrived Friday night, we signed up for an all-day tour (about $36) for the next day.  The tour guides picked us up at our hotel and drove us first to Erawin National Park, where we hiked up a large hill, along the side of a seven-tier waterfall.  The water was very clear, and the falls were beautiful.  We were able to swim in the pools at the bottom of the waterfalls as we progressed, and had our feet nibbled on by the schools of fish crowding the water.  It was a weird sensation, and although it didn’t really hurt, it was fairly uncomfortable.  I was surprised that while we were hiking we didn’t feel the heat to a greater extent, but the paths were mostly shaded and we were able to cool down in the pools.  One of the waterfalls featured a natural slide, and we were able to climb up the side of the rocks and slide into the water below.  

The fish in the pools at the base of each of the falls.

A different set tier of the falls.

After our hike, we returned to the entrance of the park and had lunch at one of the restaurants there.  We had a typical meal of stir-fried veggies and chicken over rice, but as a twist, I ordered mine sweet and sour.  We then piled into the van to go to our next stop – rafting and elephant rides. 

A monkey at Erawin National Park.

Our rafting experience was pretty short and sweet.  The rafts were made of barrels covered by a bamboo pole floor, with canopies over top for shade.  We were towed up the river a little ways by a teenager driving a motorboat (by which I mean a metal craft with a large exhaust-blowing engine on the back).  We were then set loose to drift back down the river, as another young boy paddled us in the appropriate direction. 

The other half of our tour group on one of the rafts.

Alice and I riding an elephant.

After the rafting, we got to go on an elephant ride.  Each elephant was harnessed with a bench for us to sit in, and was guided by a trainer riding in the front.  Alice and I were paired together, and had a very funny guide, who mocked our high-pitched voices.  The elephants walked a circuit that was not very long, but which took us first to wade in the river.  After that, our guide graciously jumped off the elephant and let each of us ride up front by the elephant’s head in turn.  I gave him my camera, and he took about 50 pictures of us as we posed on the elephant, for which I was grateful.  The elephant was very tame, and content to follow the guide, while stopping wherever it could to pick up some food.  I enjoyed riding on the elephant a lot, and found it very different from a horse.  You could really tell the size of the animal by the way your body shifted as it took its large strides.  It’s skin was fairly tough, and covered in sparse, coarse hair.   Seeing elephants was something I really wanted to do while in Thailand, and I think that when our group visits Chang Mai in June that I will try to visit the elephant sanctuary there as well.

After our elephant rides, the tour moved on to a station along Death Railway.  Our guide told us that it is called Death Railway to honour all of the Thai people who died during its construction.  Beside the station, we had an opportunity to look in at a golden budda statue set in a small cave.  Ironically, the train we were supposed to board never came (it broke down), so we had to face some danger and walk to the next station along the railway.  It would not have been so monumental a walk, if the railway did not run along a high, narrow bridge the entire way.  At times I was scared I would trip, because the metal forming the path in between the rails was not securely bolted down at spots.  During the walk, I kept looking for places I could jump to for safety if the train showed up, but I think I would have been toast if that happened. 

The section of Death Railway we had to walk across.

Our final stop on the tour was at the bridge over the River Kwai.  I know that this bridge is famous for being in a movie, but I have never seen it.  Sections of the bridge were bombed during a war, and were replaced by the rectangular sections of metal.  I have also heard that the bridge we visited is not the real bridge over the River Kwai, but the one famous for being featured in the movie.  Unfortunately, I did not pick up on much of the history surrounding the bridge. 

The bridge.

That night, I was fortunate to accompany another U of M Lertlah teacher while she got a bamboo tattoo.  The experience was very different from what I understand to be the norm in Winnipeg.  She didn’t need to make an appointment for the tattoo, and the artist was even willing to start it at 8:00pm.  Also, the tattoo parlour consisted of only a room at the front of a bar, surrounded by glass windows.  As my friend was being tattooed many curious onlookers observed her.  The bamboo tattoo process was very interesting to see.  The artist held onto a thin hollow stick, with a needlepoint at the end.  He had to poke with the stick to make every individual dot of ink in the tattoo.  Also, the artist was incredibly accurate.  The tattoo had a lot of detail work, and required perfectly straight, thin lines to form a harp.  The artist was able to hold steady, and place each dot exactly where it needed to go.  Although I won’t be getting any tattoos any time soon, it was a very unique and interesting process!

The next day, I just took a day to relax.  In the morning, I had a wonderful American-style breakfast from the hotel, complete with iced caramel latte.  Thai coffee is generally much better than coffee in Canada, and I have started drinking it much more often.  I then explored the markets by the bridge over the River Kwai, just down the street from our hotel.  There were a lot of jewelry and clothing stalls to visit.  Afterwards, I relaxed by the pool, reading a novel, until we boarded the bus back to Bangkok. 

Overall, it was a very fun and relaxing weekend.  I would not hesitate to return to Kanchanaburi, and if I do, I will try to visit the Safari Park.  Kanchanaburi also has a Tiger Temple, where you can pet and sit with real tigers, but I have heard better things about a similar place in Chang Mai.  There are rumours (probably true rumours) that the tigers there are all drugged, which is really unfortunate.  That being said, however, Kanchanaburi is definitely worth a repeat visit!

Cultural Differences

One of the interesting features of Bangkok is that 7 Eleven stores can be found EVERYWHERE.  There is usually a 7 Eleven on every block we pass, and that store easily predominates those in the city.  Further, the 7 Elevens in Bangkok carry a lot more of the everyday necessities that people frequently purchase.  For instance, you can buy minutes for your cell phone, breakfast, or a cold beer at 7 Eleven.  I visit the stores near the apartment of the school at least once, if not many more times, a day.  In Bangkok, 7 Eleven really is the first name in convenience. 

 

Fruit has become a large part of my diet in Thailand.  I have been trying a lot of seemingly strange and exotic fruits, which can seem quite intimidating at first.  I was used to eating yellow mangoes in Winnipeg, and I have been eating a lot of fresh ones in the areas we visited outside of Bangkok.  They have been delicious so far, and the vendors will even cut and peel them for you as you buy them.  Usually, mangos cost between 10 and 20 baht (about 33-66 cents each).  In Bangkok, right outside of Lertlah, I have been buying green mangoes as an afternoon snack.  They have a texture that is much more near an apple, and are more sour than the yellow mangoes, but I like them as well.  The Thai people eat them with a mixture of salt and sugar, which I have yet to try.  Another new fruit I have tried are mangosteens, which are actually completely different from mangoes.  They are small, round fruit with a hard purple exterior.  Inside, the mangosteen has a layer of bright red flesh, surrounding a clear white fruit, similar to that of a litchi fruit.  They are very tasty, but also difficult to open.  Also, there is not much fruit on them, surrounding a pit.  The most foreign-looking fruit I have tried are called rambutans.  They are small, round, and red, with bright green “hairs” coming out of them.  You crack them open between your palms, and the inside is also very similar to the litchi, although very sweet.  I have yet to try a durian, which is a larger brown fruit with what appears to be spikes on the surface.  They are notorious for smelling terrible, and are said to be an “acquired” taste.  There are many other new fruits to try, that I will get around to at some point.  A lot of times, I will buy fruit smoothies on the Soi, which consist of only blended fruit, water, and ice.  They are very refreshing in the heat.  I have also tried a coconut, which is much more tasty here than the types you can buy from grocery stores in Winnipeg.  The liquid gives you energy, while the coconut meat is the consistency of jelly, and is not as potent as I think it is in Winnipeg.  Also in Thailand, you can frequently find watermelon (with seeds) and pineapple from street vendors.  Overall, fruit is easy to buy and snack on, for a much more reasonable price than in Winnipeg. 

 

Alice buying fruit from the vendor outside the school.

Roaming the streets of Bangkok (and everywhere else we have visited so far) are many scruffy dogs.  At first, I thought these dogs were content just to sit near their owners while they worked (outside the 7 Eleven, for instance).  I have recently learned, however, that these dogs do not have homes or owners, and live on the streets.  I have only ever seen the street dogs as docile, although Alice tells me that they often chase her while she is running.  All of the dogs are roughly of the same build, medium-sized and fairly thin, with short hair.  I have heard that people feed them scraps of food to supply their diet.  None of the dogs I have seen so far have been fixed, either.  It is interesting to see how these animals live, outside of the home, as opposed to most of the animals in Winnipeg. 

A wild dog outside of 7 Eleven.

Since coming to Thailand, I have been experiencing an interesting cultural phenomenon: Thai people everywhere I go have been telling me that I am pretty.  I am not trying to be conceited; at first I was quite weary about receiving these compliments.  I then thought that the Thai’s might just be being polite to a foreigner.  This escalated to a point when while during our trip to Kanchanaburi, some Thai boys asked to take their picture with me.  What I have learned, however, is that in Thai culture white skin is considered to be very beautiful, and is highly valued.  Thai people will wear long pants and full-length sleeves when going to the beach, for instance, to avoid contact with the sun that may make their skin darker.  They sit under beach umbrellas as well.  At Lertlah, the walkways are covered to protect from the sun.  7 Eleven even carries rows of different skin whitening products, in place of sunscreen.  This phenomenon seems strange at first, but I liken it to the western perception of tanned skin as beautiful. Many of my friends from Winnipeg will spend hours in the sun tanning, or go to tanning salons to bronze their skin.  Some people even apply tanning cream to darken their skin.  To me, the Thai focus on light skin mirrors the obsession with tanning in the West.  People are singling me out on the street because, as a foreigner who just went through a Winnipeg winter, my skin is still pasty white. 

These are just some of my observations of ways in which Thailand is unique, and vastly different than Winnipeg.  It took some getting used to, but I am starting to settle in to living this type of life.

Hua Hin Weekend

The night market.

After returning from Pattaya Saturday, the campus two crew headed off directly to Hua Hin, where the teachers from the other campuses were already staying. Hua Hin is another town located on the Gulf of Thailand, in the opposite direction from Bangkok as Pattaya. We didn’t stay in a resort this time, although the hotel was not bad and very reasonably priced (about $30 a night – split between two people). The back of our hotel actually faced onto a night market, which we explored both nights we were in town. 

While in Hua Hin, we really started to vacation! We began Sunday with a trip to the Hua Hin railway station. The station we visited was a new building, made to replace an earlier station. It featured some interesting Asian architecture, and there were many tourists taking pictures. We didn’t spend long there, because although it was neat to see, there was not much to do.

The Hua Hin train station.

After a quick stop at the station, our group migrated to the beach, which was actually a lot nicer than the one at Pattaya because it seemed a lot cleaner. All around the shore were tiny little crabs living in holes in the sand, which you had to be careful not to step on. Along the beach there were some horses that you could hire, although we chose not to. This was my first time swimming in an ocean, and it was a beautiful day for it. Also, I can now attest to the saltiness of the water first hand.

The beach at Hua Hin.

While in Hua Hin, I also experienced a true Thai massage. Although the massage places can be kind of sketchy, I went with a group of three other people and we were all fine. The massage was my first ever, and it was different than I expected. The massage incorporated a lot of stretching, and the masseuse used different parts of her body (her legs and feet, etc.) to stretch mine. At first it was kind of intimidating and uncomfortable, but as I relaxed I got used to it. Also, the massage was focused on all the parts of your body, including your legs, arms, head, feet, and back. Overall, it was very relaxing, and I think that if I go again I will enjoy it even more.

The Monkey Temple.

Another attraction we visited while in Hua Hin was the monkey temple. I was a little bit intimidated before we left, for we had been told that monkeys could be vicious, especially around food. We took extra care to take bags that zipped close, and left all unnecessary valuables at the hotel. We hired a truck in town to take us to the temple, and sat on the benches in the back that lined the box. To reach the temple, we drove through a small fishing village along the side of the “mountain”. The temple itself was at the very top of the hill, and we climbed a large staircase to reach it. The temple was quite small, and on the inside there were two monks and places to leave donations. I have heard that the monks retreat into solitude during a certain point of the year, and that they rely on various donations during this time. Surrounding the temple were many rows of bells, and some burning incense. Because of its location, the temple afforded us some terrific views of the Gulf of Thailand and Hua Hin. The monkeys all congregated around the base of the temple, and were actually quite docile. It was apparent that they were used to humans, but they didn’t surround us while we didn’t have food. It was a very unique opportunity for us to get close to monkeys in the wild.

A monkey explored the truck while we were at the temple.

Some of the monkeys at the base of the temple.

On our last morning in the town, I went for a pedicure with a group of English Lertlah teachers. This was also an experience, because with the language barrier it is hard to explain what you would like the beautician to do. Overall though, it was not a bad experience and my feet look a lot better for it. Hua Hin was a great place to get away from Bangkok. I enjoyed the activities and the beach, and overall the town provided lots of things for us to do. Further, we had some great meals at sit-down restaurants, and there were plenty of places to hang out afterwards and have a drink. I am glad I got to experience the town during my stay in Thailand.

I believe that this type of monkey is called a brown macaque.

Pattaya Team-Building Retreat

The front entrance of the resort.

I was very fortunate to attend a team-building getaway with campus two of the school this past weekend.  We had beautiful accommodations (paid for by the school) at a beach resort on the Gulf of Thailand.  I was taken aback by how impressive the pool area of the resort appeared.  Although our rooms were nothing special, the location of the hotel, right on the beach, was breathtaking and relaxing.  This weekend really made me glad I chose to come to Thailand.  Also, this was my first time staying at a resort-like hotel, and I felt very privileged to be able to do so.

Leanne, Aisha, Alice, and I dressed in our Lertlah t-shirts

The staff of campus two (including both foreign and Thai teachers) left in the morning on Friday the 4^th of May, and returned the following Saturday at around noon.  The day was packed with activities for us to do, so we didn’t really have a lot of free time.  We started the day by separating into teams, and packing into our vans for a rally.  We had to take a lot of pictures and cover certain checkpoints given to us as clues.  We stopped at the mall and ate in the food court (courtesy of the school).  We had to eat the same thing as a snack, and my group had KFC (which is actually better in Thailand than it is in Canada).  When we arrived later, we were treated to a seafood lunch at the resort.  I tried a lot of spicy and exotic-looking dishes, and am proud to say I even tried squid and octopus! 

Alice and one of the Thai teachers at lunch.

A view of the beach, surrounded by palm trees.

After lunch, we gathered as a group and reviewed the photos everyone had taken during the rally.  We then split into new groups, and did a series of team-building activities, including telephone Pictionary, sandwich-making, coin-tossing, and tower-building.  Overall, it was a lot of fun, and I was able to learn a bit more about the foreign teachers.  They are very helpful and fun people, who are very good at karaoke!  That didn’t stop me from jumping into the pool and strolling on the beach the first opportunity I got, however!

The hotel patio in the evening.