Thailand day 7

Today we woke up and went to The Grand Palace. Our hostel was so close we could walk there. When we arrived we found out that they had a pretty strict dress code - no shorts or singlets. I had both so they hustled me into a change room and gave me a spare change of clothes. The entry fee was 500 Baht, and when you got in you could see why. It was filled with beautiful architecture and well preserved/reconstructed wall art. I personally loved the wall art because every wall told a different story. I tried to use the remnants of my high school education to predict what the message was before I read the brosure to find the actual answer. I was horribly wrong every time. One thing I didn't like about the palace though is how packed the entrance and exit were with tourists. It was kind of like a Ford Assembly line; there were speakers screeching instructions at you, guards everywhere, and at one point I'm pretty sure you actually had to stand on a conveyor belt.

In general, that's my one major critisism about what I've seen in Thailand. Its all been done before too many times.

When we got back we took a taxi to the floating markets. Sadley the driver must have misunderstood us because he dropped us off at Jatujak, which had markets! But none of them were floating. None the less the markets were amazing. You could buy almost anything for hardly any money. I overendulged in food and bracelets while Alonso bought a shit tonne of green tea.

When we arrived back at our hostel we walked around Khao San rd once more. I got a hole in my jeans repaired for $2 (which I still think is a rip off) and enjoyed some fantastic phad Thai. I had the time to see the whole place in full action and I've got to say there's a lot going on:
1. They sell scorpians you can eat
2. You can buy fake degrees and licenses
3. You can have hour long massages
4. You can eat large bags of fresh fruit (that are surprisingly outstandingly tasty) for 20b (80 cents).
5. Oh and there are locals who go up to individuals and inform you of a ping pong sex show by making a disgusting popping sound with their lips. At one point I was casually enjoying my phad Thai when an elderly woman leant up next to me and made the sound right by me left ear. That's just scary!

Pablo and Alonso left this evening to go back to Jakarta. I no longer have my Spanish mommy and daddy to look after me. But seriously it was awesome traveling with them! Thanks for the good times.

I immediately siffered without pablo or Alonso's guidance because I had forgotten to book a hostel for tonight. Whoops. After finding out that every hostel was booked in a 2km radius, I decided to call up Grace in desperation to give me a place to stay.

Her apartment is tiny but awesome. There is an especially good swimming pool at the top of the 80 floor building so I got some great opportunities to take some photos of the city.

Just like before, i was only talking to her for about 10 minutes before i did something culturally insensitive. I was pointing my feet at a pillow on my bed on the floor, and apparently that's rude. I think people must perceive me as a walking Satan around here.

Thailand day 6

I woke up at 8:30am to the sound of a parade marching right by our hostel. At first my hangover forbid me to enjoy the band playing, but that changed quickly once they started playing the mission impossible theme song (seriously). The parade was the 39th flower festival and it lasted all the way till midday.

After the music died down and the traffic replaced the parade carts we all decided to go somewhere to eat breakfast. Pablo and Alonso were pretty indecisive so I made them eat mango and sticky rice with me from a side cart. Apparently its a popular local dish for locals for breakfast. It was simple and delicious but I think I'm just too white to say its better than scrambled eggs on toast.

Afterwards we left to go to the airport to fly back to bangkok. An American trying to check into the same flight as us was getting extremely frustrated because his bags were 8kg over the limit and they were charging 400 baht/kg. We ended up sympathizing with him because the money he'd have to spend was the equivalent of an additional 2 flight tickets. I suggested to him that he take out 8kg worth of clothes from his luggage and simply wear it, and he was about to do it until Alonso offered to check in the Americans luggage under Alonso's ticket. It only hit Alonso afterwards that the American could potentially have drugs in his bag, and he was technically liable for it now. I honestly cannot begin to tell you the pure paranoia he went through. Needless to say, we got there fine. No Bangkok prison for us.

When we got to our hostel in bangkok we had enough time to settle in, wander around and eat dinner. We walked around Khao San Rd which is famous for being a backpackers hotspot. Everything is cheap and the energy of the place is enormous. We got invited out to a club by Grace but Pablo and Alonso wanted to watch a soccer game instead. I decided to suspend my hatred/fear of clubs for a night and meet Grace and her friends at Route66. The club was great at first because; there were seats everywhere (even in the dance floor), the music was quiet enough such that you could talk, you can buy full bottles of rum, and Grace's friends are really friendly. Sadly as it got later it turned into more of a club and my irrational phobia of dancing got the better of me. This was worsened once I realized two of Grace's male friends, who were Black and Mexican, (the greatest naturally gifted dance races of all time) were pulling dance moves that would have made Michael Jackson blush.

Thailand day 4

I woke up earlier than the others so I had a long stroll around the neighborhood. Its beautiful. Unlike Indonesia you can walk easily on the pedestrian walkways and walk into small side shops. I really like the Thai people too, they're very friendly. One thing I don't like about Chiang Mai though is how its become such a tourist hotspot. There are quite a few McDonald's, Starbucks and burger king franchises scattered around the place. Strangely, one thing I do like are the small French crepe carts that rest on the side of the road. I think France colonized Vietnam before the war but I don't know if they had any influence over Thailand. Either way, Thai people have really perfected French food.

Later pablo Alonso and I toured about a dozen temples. They were beautiful and well preserved. By the 3rd temple I had transformed into a typical tourist. I was carrying a phone and map in both hands while juggling a coconut I was sipping on which i purchased for $40 Baht. By the 12th temple I was starting to suffer from temple fatigue. Pablo and Alonso went on to check out a final temple 2 hours away while I went back to the hostel and started socializing with Dave and a guy from the Netherlands called Peiter. They showed me this amazing place which gives you twice the quantity of food for half the price. I tried kao soi gai which is a traditional meal known only to Chiang Mai-eans.

After pablo and alonso got back we went to the night bazaar to watch a dancing show performed by lady boys. Sadly at this point I was starting to suffer from food poisoning again so I just toured the markets, bought 2 bracelets and went back to the hostel.

Pablo advised that I take it easy and not eat spicy Thai food for a day. There's no way that's happening.

Thailand day 3

I woke up early and walked around the neighborhood while pablo and Alonso were still asleep. I got to get a good feel of the place by seeing; cafes, food shops and massage parlors open up. Right now my impression of Thailand is that its a beautiful mix between Indonesia and Japan. Its like Indonesia in the sense that; povery is quite provailant and you can find small pockets of agriculture everywhere. Its similar to Japan in the snese that; the infrastructure is very good, people abide by road rules and small gimmicky items are sold at corner shops.

One of the Scottish girls joined us to tour the 'white temple' down south (that's not a sexual reference, I promise).  We caught a songthaew (a large tuktuk) for just 300 baht. It was really cool. It was unlike any temple I've seen before, it was extremely modern and fancy. Everything was so pointy and the paint had no signs of decay or aging. Once you got inside you could see a monk praying and artists along the walls painting. To my surprise the artists were decorating the inside with paintings of modern western commic book figures and events. There was a picture of batman reaching for a mobile phone, Neo holding a gun and the twin towers being destroyed by a snake made out of a petrol pump. Im no english major, but if i were to hazzard a guess id say that the main message was to communicate the evils of human greed and consumerism. Connected to this was a giant gold building that was beautifully decorated with clay heads. It turns out that the building was actually a bathroom. I'm happy to inform you that I have now pissed on a beautiful and sacred temple.

When we got back we said goodbye to the Scottish girls because they were traveling to some rainforest somewhere. We then took a tuktuk up north to the black temple. Sadly there were once again no brochures or sign posts around so you couldn't learn anything about the temple.

We had two hours to burn afterwards so we decided to get a massage. God it was painful. The poor girl tried to overcompensate for the fact I was 3 times her size by twisting me in ways I can't be twisted with brute force. Anyone watching the massage from afar would have thought it was a wrestling match between a petite Asian woman and an inflated corpse.

When we arrived we met a friendly American from Colorado called Dave. We started drinking in the hostel and I found out he's in his late 30's and traveling around the world. Apparently he's been on the road without any money for the last couple of years traveling everywhere in between Alaska and Brazil to Ireland and Malaysia. He talked about the joys and wonders of leaving your job and hitting road without looking back. I'm still trying to decide whether I find it an inspiring story or not.

Thailand day 2

I woke up abruptly at 3:30am and sprinted to the bathroom. For the next half hour I proceeded to vomit up blood into the toilet. I expected to get food poisoning at least once while touring around Asia, but I was really hoping it wouldn't be so soon into my trip. #3rdworldproblems. Fortunately the day ahead of us wasn't too physically intense so I had some time to relax and regain my strength.

We began by going to a Thai temple. All the information signs were in Thai so sadly I couldn't learn anything. None the less it was kinda nice to wander around and take some cool photos. After this Pablo, Alanzo and I said goodbye to Grace and Andres and cought a 6 hour bus up north to Chiang Rai.

When we arrived at the bus stop we took a tuktuk to our hostel called 'big butter hostel'. We tried to haggle with the tuktuk driver but it didn't work. Alas we had to pay 150 baht ($6).

We got there close to 10pm so there wasn't much going on. We went to a local noodle place but I didn't eat much because my stomach was still upsetting me. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be feeling a bit better because we plan to ride motorbikes to 'white temple' and I need to be in top shape for that - after all, I don't have a license.

We met two really cool Scottish girls in the lounge area of our hostel just before we went to bed. They have been traveling for quite a while around Thailand and were very knowledgeable. They might travel around with us tomorrow hopefully.

Thailand day 1

Pablo and Grace met me at the arrivals hall in Bangkok airport. They were with two friends who I hadn't met before; Alonzo and Andres. Even though I was hopelessly sleep deprived I found enough energy to maintain a rudimentary form of communication. Our first stop was Mochit; a bus stop which featured great Thai food and an ATM which I could withdraw cash from. We booked a bus to Grace's house in Mueng Phitsanulok which is midway between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. The bus was great; they gave you free food, free water and a blanket. I was sitting at the front of the double decker bus which was perfect because I had more leg room and had a perfect view of Bangkok. My first impression of Thailand is that its like a cleaner and more spread out version of Jakarta.

About 1 hour in I placed my feet on the rail in front of me so I could go to sleep. Shortly afterwards I was awoken by an attendant who was slapping my leg. I couldnt understand what she was saying but she looked furious and signalled for me to take my feet down. Later I asked Grace why it was so offensive for me to place my feet on the railing above considering so many other people were doing it. Apparently in Thai culture its extremely rude to place your feet above your head. Well done, Matt - you've only been in Thailand for 1 hour and you've already done something cultrally insensitive.

When we got back to Grace's place we put our bags down and immediately headed to a small bar in Maimueng. It was great. There was live Thai music and nothing but Thai food on the menu - not a cheesebeger to be found. We ordered the food which was hardest to pronounce and 3 Leo beers. My expectations for Thai food was very high, and I'm sad to say that they were not met. The food had a punch to it, but it was not tasty. The beer was interesting though. They gave us 3 small glasses and two large ice cubes in each. The beer was nice, but quite watered down - I'm sure the ice didn't help. None the less, the atmosphere of the place and the great Thai service made the whole experience really enjoyable.

Afterwards we went to a supermarket to buy beers so that we could party on when we got back to Grace's place. Sadly though, staying awake for close to 48 hours straight had taken its toll on me and I had to go to bed early.

Indonesia day 9

Our flight back to Jakarta was at 2:00pm so we arranged the receptionist to drive us to the airport at 12:30. The car was just like any other on the road except it had 2 huge speakers installed inside of it. As soon as we all got in the car; the driver put sunglasses on, slammed his foot down on the accelerator, and played the loudest and filthiest dubstep music I've heard. The ride was meant to take 1 hour but we got there in 20 minutes. I found watching the driver zoom around every motorcyclist pretty terrifying so after the first 5 minutes I learned that it would be easiest if I just stared at my feet and let the bellowing sounds of dubstep soothe me.

Once we arrived in Jakarta I said my goodbyes to brad and Matt and found a bluebird taxi to drive me to pondok indah. I was welcomed with open arms by Dennise. She had been kind enough to stock the fridge with bintang beer and prepare an amazing meal consisting of potatoes, roast beef, steamed veggies and some delicious creamy combination of brocolli and colliflour (is that how you spell it? I don't know). Dennise's son, Kiran, was also there!  The 3 of us sat around the dinner table for a while drinking beer, eating great food, and retelling stories. It was very enjoyable.

My flight to Bangkok was leaving at 6:15am the next morning which meant i had to leave at 3:30am. I had organized my finances perfectly such that I had just enough rupiah to pay for a taxi to the airport and the international departure tax. Kiran ruined this plan though by suggesting we should go to a roof top bar in Kemang and drink until I needed to leave for my flight. I thought that was a great idea so I begged Dennise with puppy dog eyes to give me drinking money.

The rooftop bar was dead (as expected for a Sunday night) but we had fun anyway powering through some beers and chatting with kirans Canadian friend.

We got back at 2am ish both pretty drunk and very tired. Just before leaving I found that Dennise had woken up in the middle of the night and prepared a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast for me. Above and beyond, Dennise. Thank you :)