Life's a Trip: Chapter Eleven - My Last Days in Bangkok

January 1, 2007

On New Year's Day I meet up with Joe and Thias for the last time. We spend the early afternoon kickin' around Siam Square one of the biggest/most expensive malls in Bangkok. Here are a few pictures:

Photo studio at Siam Square


The escalators at Siam Square




















While we're at the mall I buy tickets for a Thai theatrical show that I had really wanted to see. It's called Siam Niramit. The show itself is absolutely incredible and I highly recommend it to anyone who has the chance to see it.

Me at the entrance of Siam Niramit


A river surrounding the traditional Thai village on the grounds of Siam Niramit


Me with an elephant at Siam Niramit


Some performers at Siam Niramit




















January 2, 2007

I spend January 2nd, simply relaxing and packing my things. I have to check out and head to the airport at 4:30 am, so I need my rest. Not to mention, I've just completed the relaxing part of my vacation. Now I'm off to Cambodia for some adventure....

Life's a Trip: Chapter Ten - New Year's Eve in Bangkok

December 31, 2006

Happy New Years!!

During the daytime on the 31st, I switch hotels and spend the day relaxing. After all, during the past week and a half I haven't slept for more than four hours at a time. I'm living it up for every last second of this vacation.

Bangkok at sunset


During the evening I meet up with Joe and Thias at their hotel near Khao San. Our original plan is to head to a big outdoor party at Siam square, however by the time that we get our act together it's late and we probably won't make it in time, considering the insane traffic in downtown Bangkok. Instead we decide to stick around Khao San and enjoy a more relaxed party atmosphere. This turns out to be a very good decision...

As we enter Khao San we notice that the street is barracaded at either end by armed soldiers. It doesn't seem very out of the ordinary considering that there are soldiers crawling all over Bangkok, especially in highly trafficked tourist areas, so we proceed past the barracade and join the party. The night starts out pretty slow. As we hit the streets we grab a few beers and a bottle of whiskey and then mingle. Khao San is relatively quiet considering that it's New Year's Eve.

Here's what we didn't know at the time...

Between 6:00 and 7:30, six coordinated bombings occured across Bangkok, injuring 25 people and killing three. The New Year's festivities in locations were cancelled and the countdown at Siam square was held at 9:00 pm. With the city in relative chaos, everyone is scrambling to find a safe spot to ring in the New Year. Khao San is one of the only remaining parties in the city that hasn't been shut down. However, Joe, Thias and I have no idea that any of this is going on. It's amazing what you can miss if you don't flip on the news before heading out for the evening...

The party at Khao San gets jam packed at about 11 o'clock, as people from the cancelled parties pack into the street. The atmosphere is electric by the time that the countdown takes place. As you can see in the following video, everyone is extremely friendly. People are simply enjoying the company of those who surround them. It's an unforgettable experience. Despite the violence that occrued earlier in the evening, the melting pot party on Khao San goes off without any disruption.

Over the course of the evening, Joe, Thias and I meet a variety of people:

Two Italian sisters who are vacation together after being separated for a year because they attend school in different countries.

Two intense Austrian friends who love heavy metal and Heineken.

Russian twins who are absolutely bombed and struggle to keep track of one another.

Two Canadians who tell us all about their escapes in Southeast Asia.

A guy from India who has lived in Thailed for the past three years.

Two Thai guys who look like trouble but turn out to be really nice.

A guy from Paris who speaks very little English.

Two Americans from Minnesota, who stumble upon Khao San late in the night because they were at one of the cancelled parties.

Joe, one of the Italian girls, Thias and a Dutch guy


The Russian twins (front left), one of the Italian girls (between the Russian twins), the Americans (top left), the guy from India (middle), the Dutch guy (middle back), the Canadians (beside the Indian and Dutch guys), Me and Thias


It's great to meet all of these people. We drink and eat, we talk about our homes and our cultures, our travels, things that bother us and the things that we love. I take a minute to step back and watch the group as they interact and I see something truly incredible. Young people from all over the world speaking to each other in all sorts of different languages, laughing, getting along and having fun.

5 o'clock am rolls around and I decide that I should go back to my hotel and get some sleep. I'm starting to think about preparing myself mentally and physically for my trip to Cambodia now, so my previous vacation habits need to come to an end.

As I sit in the back of a cab, I catch the first sign of sunlight of the New Year. I don't recall ever having seen the first sunrise of the year. It's inspiring. Bangkok whizes by outside the taxi window and I think hard about how lucky I am to have the life that I have and to be doing everything that I want to do. Here's to another year...

Life's a Trip: Chapter Nine - Thailand, Old and New

December 30th, 2006

I spend the day of the 30th travelling North of Bangkok to Ayutthaya. Ayutthaya is a city that acted as the capital of the Ayutthaya kingdom, from 1350 to 1767. It is still home to many of the truly impressive structures that comprised the kingdom.

The train ride out of Bangkok is an experience in and of itself. I get onto a rickety old train which has no doors or windows. Even though the ride will take an hour and a half, I choose to stand so that I can easily film the Thai countryside as it rolls by. Here are a few glimpses of what I saw:



When I arrive in Ayutthaya I hire a tuktuk to bring me to some of the most visited attractions in the late kingdom.

The first stop is Wat Yai Chaimongkhon. The monastery was constructed in 1357 but the large chedi on the grounds was constructed in 1592 in celebration of King Naresuan's defeat of King Maha Upparacha in their famous elephant battle.

The main chedi of Wat Yai Chaimongkhon





















A line of lovely Buddhas sitting in a row


Chedi profile




















Wat Yai Chaimongkhon tour

The second stop of the day is Wat Mahathat, home to the famous and mysterious Buddha head in the roots of a fig tree. No one knows why the Buddha head is there or how it got there, but I find it quite interesting. It definitely draws your attention to the lifespan of the structures and statues that surround you while walking the grounds. The Wat itself was built between 1374 and 1390 and underwent subsequent periods of restoration. However, despite efforts to preserve the structures, they are now in ruins due to wars waged in the area and natural forces such as earthquakes and vast amounts of rainfall during the Thai rainy season.

Headless Buddhas at Wat Mahathat


More Wat Mahathat


Posing with the famous Buddha head in the fig roots




















As the day wears on I decide that it's time to head back to Bangkok to meet up with Joe and Thias in Khao San. On the way back to Bangkok, I meet a young Thai couple and pass the some time chatting while enjoying the breeze created by the train as it shambles it's way from the countryside to the sprawling cityscape.

The Thai couple that I chatted with




















Passenger train back to Bangkok


Here's a video of the ride back into the city


Joe, Thias and I meet in Khao San around 8:00 and begin a mission to scour the city for nightlife. Our search brings us from Khao San to Sukhumvit to Patpong and then back to Khao San when we finally realize that we're not going to get into any nightclubs wearing board shorts and sandals. Although we didn't find any nightlife per se, it was a great opportunity to get out and see the city at night while having interesting conversations with friends.

A new spin on drinking and driving.
A bar/truck in the Patpong area


While we're in Patpong we encounter the same bug vendor that Joe and I had met in front of on the previous day, however this time we decide to sample his wares. Joe and Thias bought me some sort of beetle for 60 baht (which is about two dollars Canadian). Here's what ensued:

The setup (featuring Thias)


The money-shot


The bug attempting to escape


Joe sampling some beetle


Putting on a show




















When we return to Khao San we grab a few drinks (including a martini...it had been months since I had a proper martini). By this time many of the bars on the street are closing up for the night, so Joe, Thias and I decide to move our little elsewhere. Joe persuades us to go off in search a wat that he had seen while we were riding around in a tuk tuk.

Joe and Thais temple hunting at night


We stop at a convenience store, pick up some redbull and beer and set off on an adventure. About an hour later we still haven't found the Wat and we're close to my Chinatown hotel, so we make plans for hitting a New Year's party and then I call it a night.