Culture Shock :: Thailand :: Part 2

Warning :: We must apologize to the Living Spree addicts out there because we will be away from the internet for a while on a meditation retreat and won’t be able to update the site. During our leave feel free to revisit some of your favorite blog entries to get super pumped for our return post to find out how we managed the meditation boot camp.

:: Flavor Combinations ::

Salt and Pepper sitting alone on the dinner table is now considered amateur in my mind, because the Thai people seem to have perfected the art of spicing a meal. With most real Thai dishes we’ve noticed a standard set of spices that accompany a meal and can be combined to create all sorts of interesting flavor combinations. They have fish sauce (bitter), vinegar sauce (sour, usually a little spicy), crushed red pepper (full spicy), and sugar (sweet). With these four spices, it seems you can fit just about any personal taste preference, though the real fun comes from foods you eat/drink where you don’t personally control the flavors.

Chiang Mine

Chiang Mai, Thailand

We have arrived! So back when we had this crazy idea to run off across the ocean, the original goal was to shack up in Chiang Mai, Thailand and ride out the good life there. Of course two months after we put this plan into action, Thailand changed their visa laws so that you can only be in the country for 90 out of 180 days. So yeah, the plan changed just a tad, however we still had the goal of enjoying Chiang Mai. So now we’re here and the city is everything I thought it would be and more. Mainly, it’s very different from the rest of Thailand. First of all, it’s Thailand’s most diverse city, filled with both Eastern and Western races of every shape and kind. While it’s still Thailand (i.e. dizzyingly different) Chiang Mai is different because of all the Western business owners who strive to bring a little chunk of their home country to the city. Basically it’s like walking through NYC and going through all of the ethnic neighborhoods within 20 blocks. What this also means is that we get many of the comforts of home that we’ve missed like burritos, nachos, pizza, Tabasco, bagels, cookies, etc. In other words, it’s an oasis for those expats who need a little break from reality, but aren’t ready to go home.

Nachos from El Diablo

Laid Back in Lampang

Lampang, Thailand

There’s nothing more refreshing than landing in a city that has virtually no tourist attractions. Perhaps this is not a good policy to adopt when you’re traveling for a week or less because you may want something to do. However, when you’re life is travel, just like a good weekend off, a city devoid of action is sometimes what you need to regain your sanity. That was the goal when we pulled into Lampang. I felt like I had landed in a different country when I stepped down from the bus and didn’t run smack into 20 members of the local taxi mafia, all holding maps and yelling, “Where you go?” In fact, we were able to wander over to the information booth and ask for the best way to get to the city without once being accosted. I already felt more relaxed.

The Wang River, Lampang, Thailand

Ninja Sighting in Sukhothai

Sukhothai, Thailand

After the train ride to Lopburi in which we came close to melting into the seats, we decided that air-conditioned bus travel sounded pretty nice after all. So we go to the bus station and purchase two tickets for a 4.5 hour bus ride to the city of Phitsanoluk, where we will change buses and continue to Sukhothai. We confirmed with the ticket agent about eight times that we were buying a ticket for an A/C bus and she assured us that it was an air bus. Well, too bad we didn’t confirm that we would actually be able to sit. Once we got onto the bus it became quickly apparent that all of the seats were taken and that those people who were standing were going to remain standing for the rest of the trip. Gage jumped off the bus and politely pointed out to the ticket agent that we paid to sit on a bus, not stand and that we would like at least a partial refund. She assured him that she would find us a seat and after some brief words with the driver, we were offered accommodation on the driver’s bed, located behind the driver’s seat. That wasn’t going to fly either, so I was given the navigator’s seat and Gage was seated on the stairs. As bad as that may be, the fact that the bus continually broke down and our 4.5 hour bus ride turned into a 6.5 hour bus ride only made it comical. Welcome to Asia.

We paid extra for front row.

Gingerino Update :: 4-1/2 Months

At the time of this post, my bangs are half way down my nose and I still have a month and half left until the end of the challenge. And as you can guess my hair has gone through many different stages as it grows out, like my Beatles-do in Warsaw, and my Shaggy-do in Cyprus. The problem is that under the rules of the challenge, I cannot trim one hair on my head until December which makes it impossible to get my mop shaped into anything I would call flattering. My current style goes back and forth between what I call my Christian Slater look (while my hair is drying), to my laid-back look after the elements have had their way.

Ignore the beautiful girl to my right (your left) and admire my hair.

So far, Jen hasn’t had to wrestle scissors out of my hands while I’m crying about wanting to beautiful again but, it hasn’t exactly been easy not having control over my hair – especially since I have no control of the clothes I wear while we’re traveling either. Hopefully this will end up in a meaningful lesson on not worrying so much about my outward appearance and concentrating more on who I am inside (yeah right… hehe).

Monkeying Around in Lopburi

Lopburi, Thailand

After a short train ride from Ayutthaya, during which we were able to fully grasp the value of air conditioning, we arrived in Lopburi. Though it does have a small amount of ancient temples, most tourists visit Lopburi for the monkeys. We were some of those tourists. Now I have no idea how several thousand monkeys came to live in a small section of Lopburi but they have completely taken over about three city blocks and the ancient Phra Prang Sam Yot. They have also made themselves at home at the Phra Kan Shrine where worshippers make food offerings to Buddha and the monkeys help themselves to the offerings. Now when I say these monkeys have taken over, I’m not kidding. Our first time walking into the monkey district I was looking at the top of a building and marvelling at how big the birds were. Only after we got a little closer did I realize that those were monkeys.

Those aren't birds on that rooftop.

Culture Shock :: Thailand

So we’ve finally arrived in the country that inspired our grand adventure, and yes, it is all that we hoped for. When we left the comforts of our home we went out searching for something different, something shocking. Starting in Eastern Europe was like dipping our toes into the pool of culture shock, and once we felt how pleasant the water was, we decided to jump in and get our hair wet. We’re quite thankful for the slow initiation into this completely different way of life. For now we can no longer blend in with the locals, we can’t squint at our surroundings and imagine we’re still at home, but now, finally, we no longer feel the need to do so. A different way of life is all around us and not only are we not scared, but we’re dunking each other in the water and splashing about like children playing in a Holiday Inn swimming pool. We’re finally ready for something this dramatic. The culture shock is everywhere, it’s everything, and we can only hope to skim the surface with the following obsevations.

Melting in Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya, Thailand

When you read about Ayutthaya in guide books or tourist pamphlets, you often hear about the remains of ruined temples that are scattered about the city. It is an extremely historic city due to these preserved sites because it not only marks the different architectural styles of ancient Thailand, but the ruins still hold the scars of wars in which invaders attempted to break the spirit of the Thai people by smashing the heads of every Buddha statue they came across. In fact, one now famous Buddha head toppled from it’s statue and rested next to a tree whose vines slowly grew around it. We saw incredible stupas and chedis from the 12^th century which tested our ability to grasp history. In fact there are so many ancient wats in the city that we soon became overwhelmed. Much like a church tour of Europe, there are only so many temples one can see before you stop being able to tell the difference.

Yeah, I Said Bangkok

Bangkok, Thailand

I apologize in advance for letting everyone down. You may have looked at the slide show in advance and noticed that we didn’t take many pictures of Bangkok. It’s not that we were lazy. In fact we would have loved to have captured many images. We didn’t take many pictures because, well, we were pretty much stunned. You see, many moons ago Gage and I hatched this crazy plan to quit our jobs, sell all we own, and troop off to Thailand. Well a few natural catastrophes derailed our plans and we found ourselves in Europe for several months. While running around Europe was fun, arriving in Thailand was absolutely surreal. For more than a year we have been dreaming of this country. That dream was realized the moment we touched down in Bangkok. It didn’t matter to us that we didn’t have reservations at a hotel, a guide book, or even a map of the city. No, all that mattered was that we had arrived.

Non-stop grins in the BKK Airport

Budget Wise :: Cyprus

During our Cyprus adventure we had the pleasure of staying with a friend, which brought our expenses down of course but, we made up for it with all the money we spent on food, day cruises, car rentals, etc. We were based in Nicosia, so our budget is focused mostly in that area, but we did take trips to other areas and will note any major price differences that we noticed. So, here is Cyprus, budget wise: