Thailand in the eyes of a 20-something..: March 2011

SO MANY PEOPLE

The months and weeks leading up to this trip were filled with difficulties, deadlines, stress and anxiety like I've never experienced. I told myself that once everything was booked and paid for, I could relax and just enjoy my vacation. I should have known better.

My flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong was scheduled to leave at 4:30pm Sunday night, March 6th. However, for some reason, I thought that it was later(6 or 7pm), and upon arriving at 4pm at Suvarnabhumi Airport was told that it was too late for me to check in, and I would have to wait until the following morning to fly out. Kicking myself for not being more attentive to my itinerary, I waited in line at the AirAsia desk, and was able to get a seat on the next morning's flight at 6:30am. This is when most would got back home, get some sleep, then head back early in the AM. Why didn't I, you ask? Well that's one of the great things about having a work visa; see, every 90 days I am required to report my current address to my local immigration office, or leave the country. March 6th marked exactly 90 days from the day I returned from Paris in December, meaning my passport had to be stamped for a departure no later than the 6th. So off I trudged to go through airport immigration. Met a cute Brit(who's living in Australia) while in line who was only wearing one shoe; upon inquiry I learned that he'd been on Koh Phangan(Thai island) and had an incident on a motorbike, leaving his left foot, and his leg and arms, a bit scraped up, and it was too painful to wear a shoe. I laughed, offered him some antiseptic and a bandaid(which he gladly accepted), and walked him to his gate. He offered me a Valium for my long night in the airport as a thank you. What a sweetie.

Monday morning, bright and early, I boarded my flight for HK. It wasn't a full flight, and I was able to catch a few winks before we landed. Getting off the plane I met a Turkish man who showed me which bus to take into town and then where to catch the subway to the train station.

I had several hours to kill before my train, so he suggested I take the tram to the "Peak," which had a fantastic view of Hong Kong below.

Picked up my train ticket at the station, and was the first one to board the train. I found my room, dropped my bags on my bed, and collapsed. I was exhausted.

My bunkmate was a lovely young Chinese woman named Tian Bei, and she spoke English very well, which proved quite helpful when it came to ordering dinner

and breakfast

on the train. She also wrote out my Beijing hostel's address for me in Chinese characters so I would have an easier time with the taxi. I was beyond grateful.

When I arrived in Beijing Tuesday afternoon, I headed over to the "foreigner" line to go through passport check and immigration. There were only 3 people in front of me, and I thought, "Sweet! I'll be out of here in no time." Nope. It took longer for 4 people to get through that line than for all 500+ Chinese to get through their lines. Ugh. While I was waiting, a Chinese official came up to the guy behind me, asked to see his passport, and scoured every page of it. They don't mess around in China.

Exited the train station, found a taxi downstairs, and got to my hostel around 5pm.

Checked in, wandered the streets nearby to familiarize myself with the area, and then had dinner with an American named Justin from Texas at a little restaurant down the street.

Wednesday morning I allowed myself to sleep in(as much as one can, sharing a room with 6 other people). I headed out to see the Temple of Heaven, which turned out to be much bigger than I realized(4x the size of the Forbidden City).

I got an English audio guide to listen to, and wandered around until I'd seen as much as I could.

Stopped at a little French cafe on the way back to grab some pastries to munch on for lunch, then headed to the Lama Temple, conveniently located right down the street from my hostel.

Explored the temple, watched the Chinese lighting incense(3) for homage to Buddha, and paid way too much for a beautiful pair of silver and turquoise earrings that I just had to have.

Attended a Peking Opera early in the evening(which was..interesting),

then in search of food I climbed the narrow steps up to the "Fun Bar", the restaurant at the hostel. There I met Phillip and Peter, two handsome Polish architects, and their friend(whose name was not as easy to remember, and unfortunately still escapes me). They were delightful and amusing to talk with, and they shared their peanuts with me as we lounged on the couches and watched Chinese soap operas on the flat screen with the Chinese staff girls.

Thursday morning I got up at 7:30, had breakfast and headed off to the North Train Station to catch the 9:30 train to Badaling and the Great Wall. Two hours later I was riding the gondola up to the wall with three men from Shanghai who were very impressed that I was traveling through China on my own. It was very windy on the wall, but the view of the mountains and the cities in the distance were marvelous. Endless steps and ridiculous slopes and lots of people. Took tons of pictures(probably too many) and hiked along the wall for almost an hour.

Now, I had seen on the news during the 2008 Olympics, and looked up online, the Starbucks at Badaling/Great Wall. I trapsed all over this stupid little town, walked up and down Main Street(the only street) three times, and even wandered down the hill to a different area trying to find it. I looked EV.ERY.WHERE. It doesn't exist. That whore of a reporter lied through her teeth and got my hopes up for nothing. I can't even put into words how disappointed I was(and still am). I finally gave up and got some spicy chicken before getting back on the train to Beijing.

Despite the chicken, by the time I returned to my hostel I was starving. I went out in search of food, chose a little restaurant on the main road, and had the most amazing sweet and sour pork I've ever eaten.

I scarfed down the entire plateful, and thanked them very, very much for their delicious food. Joined the Polish upstairs again for an evening of chatter, laughter, Chinese soap operas and a few awkward moments of misunderstood English among all.

Friday morning I was up and out the door by 10, and explored Tian'anman Square

and the Forbidden City(the west section of which was closed) in the morning

and the Summer Palace in the afternoon.

While I did enjoy the Forbidden City, I'd have to say that the Grand Palace in Bangkok is much more interesting, and much more impressive than the Forbidden City, at least in my opinion. The Summer Palace is spread out over a huge piece of land, and after walking around inside the grounds for close to three hours, my stomach reminded me that I hadn't fed it since breakfast, and my feet joined in to protest for a rest, so I found my way back out, rode the subway back to Yonghegong, ate at the same delicious restaurant as the night before, and once more grabbed my War and Peace and climbed up to the bar to socialize. The Poles were once again present, but there was also someone new - and this one was Nicolas, from France. Bingo. So I settled myself down next to him and proceeded to butcher every French phrase I could think of, to which he would critique, correct, or laugh and try to explain it to me better in English. It was a good evening.

Saturday morning after breakfast, I finished packing up my backpack, then met up with Nicolas to go wander the streets of Beijing before taking the train to Guangzhou.

The sun was out, the weather was beautiful, and we even made a stop at Starbucks! I insisted.

But my perfect day turned into my worst fear when I missed my train by 7 minutes. SEVEN MINUTES. Thanks, Beijing traffic. I stood there, at the gate, on the verge of tears, trying to figure out what to do next, when this tall young Chinese boy came up to me and started talking about my ticket. He only knew about 3 words in English, but motioned for me to follow him. A few of his friends started trying to talk to me as well, but all in Chinese. They finally took me to an information desk where someone spoke(a little) English, and she directed me to a window where I could get a refund for my ticket. I asked if there were any more trains leaving that night that I could possibly catch, and she replied that all that was left was tickets for the next day, standing room only. Having heard enough horror stories about standing on trains in China, I declined and decided my only option was to find a flight out for Sunday afternoon. I walked to the nearest subway station, cold, hungry, and irritated, and made my way back to the hostel. They were sympathetic, and happy to book me a bed for another night. I ended up in the same room and my roommates all looked quite surprised to see me, as did Nicolas and the Poles. I got online and booked a domestic flight for the following afternoon, then went to bed.

Sunday morning I gathered my things, chatted a bit more with Nicolas, said my farewells, and headed to Nanyuan airport, a small military airport south of downtown Beijing that also flies civilian flights a few times a day.

The plane left a half an hour late, and it was the most turbulent flight I think I've ever experienced.

They did feed me though, and I was quite grateful for that.

When we were arriving in Guangzhou, the plane started to land, had a few rough bumps on the runway, then TOOK OFF AGAIN. I don't know if anyone knew what was going on, but if they did, I certainly couldn't understand what they were saying, so I had to just sit and wait. Eventually we circled around and landed again, this time for good. When I asked one of the flight attendants on the way out, she said it was because of weather...not sure if I believe that one or not. Guangzhou airport is officially my least favorite airport(even beating out Heathrow, in my book); I had to ask around to find the check-in, then when I did find it, there weren't any postings of which counters were serving which airlines. I looked on the screen that was supposed to list them, and couldn't find my flight number. I asked at the "Inquiry" desk, and she told me H17 ; I waited 20 minutes, nobody showed up. I asked her again, she told me the same thing, and that they would open in 5 minutes. So I returned, only to have a worker from another counter inform me that my flight number had changed(something "inquiry" forgot to mention), and that I needed to go to H24(which by this time had a good line). Of course. Went through immigration, then got an intense frisking at security because there was a splotch on their screen and they thought there was something 'prohibited' in one of my bags. Good grief. Found my gate - my flight time had apparently changed with the flight number, so we left at 12:30am instead of 11:00pm, which landed me in Bangkok at 2:30am instead of the 1am I was anticipating.

I've never been so glad to step out into the humid goodness of Thailand. Then the first taxi driver I talked to had to ruin it for me but trying to charge me 400B to go to my apt. I was like, look, I live here, and it doesn't take 400B to get to my apt. He kept arguing with me and complaining about "late, no customers;" I told him in Thai to piss off and find another foreigner to steal money from. At this, another taxi driver promptly trotted over, took me to his cab, and happily drove me to my apt, with the meter. Smart guy - I tipped him.

CHINA vs. THAILAND

Food

As I've probably mentioned before, I'm not the biggest fan of Thai food, as I can only handle so much spice, and vegetables aren't really my thing; luckily, Thailand has a vast plethera of international food to go along with the mainstream Thai food everywhere.

In China, or at least in Beijing, there's Chinese, Chinese, or Chinese. So I had Chinese. Fortunately Chinese food appeals to my pallate much more than Thai food, so this was not a problem.

In Thailand most dishes are eaten with a fork and a spoon - the fork shovels the food into the spoon, and the spoon shovels the food into your mouth. Easy, straight forward.

In China, they use chopsticks. If you don't know how to use chopsticks, you go hungry. End of story.

In Thailand every cold drink comes with a straw, regardless of what it is, and regardless of whether it comes in a glass, a can, a bottle, or a carton(with the sole exception of beer). It was annoying at first, but I've gotten so used to it that every time I ordered something to drink in China and they just handed me a can or bottle, I just looked at it for a few minutes, trying to figure out how to drink it, thinking, 'where's my straw?' LOL

Weather

In Thailand, as you all know, the weather is always warm. The humidity level varies throughout the year, but it is never cold.

In China, although just about all the snow had disappeared, and they said it was warmer last week than it had been the week before, it was still a brisk 48(F) or so each morning, which honestly isn't terrible, but add in the wind and it was downright chilly.

LOL THIS IS HOW COLD IT GETS! Built in handlebar gloves.

*I realize that those of you living in "cold" parts of the States, such as Duluth, MN, have absolutely no sympathy for me on this topic, and that's fine with me. I still love you and value your readership. :)

People

While Thais are a very proud people, and for the most part have a tolerable fashion sense and a very hospitable attitude most of the time, it goes without saying that it is also kind of an "anything goes" society too. Ladyboys strut proudly down the sidewalks, creepy old westerners trot along with young Thai hookers, venders sell sex toys and pornography on streetside stands, and nobody bats an eyelash. Mai pen rai.

In China, whether due to the weather or otherwise, people are a bit more modest. Genders are unquestionably distinguishable, the women are more soft-spoken and shy, and the shops along the street carry mostly clothes or incense(and other Buddhist meditation items).

HOWEVER..

In Thailand, while it may be limited, there is definitely a higher percentage of people who can understand some English, as well as speak several key phrases and questions.

In China, English is almost non-existent. I never realized how much Thai I know(which still is quite limited, mind you), until I got to China and could only remember how to say thank you. I was left to my own devices and sense of direction, as I couldn't ask "where," or "how much," or ask for no veggies, or say "excuse me," or even tell someone I didn't understand(and try as I might, none of the Chinese seemed to speak Thai, hahaha). Thankfully though, most signs were in Chinese and English.

Also, if bargaining in Thailand has taught me anything, it's that if you can walk away from something, you get get it cheap. Except, in Thailand when you shop, they follow you around, but they don't usually say anything other than hello and asking if you need any help. Chinese, on the other hand, not only follow you around, but they pick things up and hold them in front of your face saying, "here, this" or "one of these;" it was very irritating. When I did see something I was interested in, they would quote me a ridiculous price, for example: At the Great Wall, I was in one shop and liked the fans. The lady said 120Y(yuan). I 'bout died laughing, set the fan down quickly, told her I didn't need a fan, and walked out. She gave it to me for 20Y. At another shop, same deal, only for slippers, and she wanted 85Y; I said "nope!" and walked out of the store. I got them for 20Y. Bahaha.

Transportation

In Thailand, as I mentioned in my Paris post, there is 1 subway line and 2 skytrain lines in Bangkok, and every other mode of transportation imagineable on the street level. Motorbikes ride on the streets and the sidewalks, with and against traffic, which drives opposite of the States, and are my favorite mode of transport for short destinations.

In China, it gets complicated. In Hong Kong, they drive on the left, same as Thailand, but in mainland China, they drive on the right, like in the States.

Just like in Paris, I became aware once again of how much I'd gotten used to cars being on the left side of the street, and just hopping in the back seat. In China, I rode in the front seat of the cab, and it felt very strange. There are more subway lines in Beijing than in Bangkok, but fewer than in Paris, but the tickets work the same as in France - one price for a single ride ticket, regardless of distance. In Bangkok, it's by distance, and the cheapest distance costs 15B; a single ride ticket in Beijing is 2Y, x6=12B. Hm. I thought Thailand was supposed to be cheap! But!-I thought the skytrain in Bangkok was crowded..there were so many people taking the subway in Beijing, and they're pushy!

Haha, the trains come practically every 30 seconds, more frequently than Paris or Bangkok, but they cram themselves in there like sardines like it's the last train of the day.

And motorbikes? I think I saw fewer than 20 all week. Bicycles? Everywhere. Bicycles in China are like motorbikes in Thailand.

If you ask me, motorbikes are way more fun, though.

City Atmosphere

In Thailand, well in Bangkok, the streets are overflowing with people, cars, taxis, motorbikes, street vendors, stray dogs and food stands, 24 hours a day. The city is lit up, the sights and sounds and smells come from every which way and never seem to rest.

In Beijing(and even more so in Hong Kong), I stood outside and it felt...silent. There were people out walking, yes, and cars driving by, yes, but no stray dogs, no street vendors lining the sidewalks, no blocks of markets, no food sizzling in skillets and woks. It was almost eerie; I had to stop and take it in, and although it still felt like a city, it felt more formal, more unfriendly, and more..intentional.

Don't get me wrong, the clean(er) streets of Beijing were a refreshing sight from Bangkok, but I also felt a little more closed off from the whole meat of it, so to speak. Sometimes the bustle and chaos of Bangkok is what makes it so exciting and entertaining. You also get to feel like you're really living in the midst of the people, not just seeing them through a window as you pass by.

Children

The only reason this section is separate from the People section is because I think it deserves a spot of its own. Tiny children don't have a care in the world, and man, I thought Thai kids were adorable, but these Chinese tots'll give the tiny Thais a run for their money.

Thailand in the eyes of a 20-something..

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Thailand's Got Talent

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

When Bangkok freezes over..

Sunday, March 20, 2011

What do you make?

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Ah..Youth

Thursday, March 17, 2011

New Couch!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

China

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