New Horizons!

So I guess it’s time to blow the dust off this computer and make another post! I actually have something to write about again J

So last I spoke to y’all, we had just settled down in our cozy little kiwi town of Blenheim. I really liked it for the first month or so, before I had to face the truth: because of what happened with the theft of our possessions, we would have to be in this town working for quite some time in order to fully recover. Seeing as our jobs required us to be around the hostel at all times in case something should happen, our ability to use our free time to go exploring the town, or pursuing other activities was forfeit. This brought on realization number two: at least for the time being, our travelling days were truly over :S.

Although the aforementioned “quite some time” turned out to be a whole seven months, I can finally say that it’s over! We have now officially resumed our travels, and have begun to experience new and better things.

It starts with the airports, (this may fall into the “new”, but not “better” category). We began heading to new places with the cheapest flight(s) that we could find. This however meant that our trip started by waiting from 10 at night till our check in at 3am for our 6am flight, (who wants to pay for a nights accommodation when you have to be up at 2:00 anyways?). This time was spent trying to find some comfort, sleeping on floors and uneven terminal benches.  This was not exactly relaxing…     Now, I could go on a whole 1000-word rant about how the rest of the journey went, but I’ll leave it to say that this pattern of early mornings and little sleep continued throughout.  All 50+ hours and a Singaporean misunderstanding later, we’re at the end of our trip …completely exhausted.

--While I’m writing, suddenly there’s a downpour on my guests house that’s more sudden and strong than anything I’ve ever witnessed before. It actually took me a few moments to register the sound of that much water. I digress…--

But no matter, we’re finally in Bangkok! After going to an ATM to pull out $10,000THB each, (don’t worry, that amount of “Thai Baht” only comes to about $300 CAD) we got to try our hand at Thai public transit. We needed to go roughly 25km to our guesthouse, so we went to the skytrain terminal where fare payment machines dispense what look like poker chips rather than paper tickets. To ride the metro rail system from end to end cost us 45THB –or roughly $1.40CAD- each.  This turns out to be an indication of what pricing is going to be like throughout our time here. Finally, a destination that’s not going to break the bank! :D After grabbing a cab to take us another 15 or so km past the end of the skytrain, we were dropped off at a street corner, which is nearby, but decidedly not where we need to be; let the lost wanderings begin! I should mention at this point that the climate is unlike any place I’ve been before. While I’ve experienced heat, (it was roughly 35° this day) I’ve never had its effect compounded by a humidity that would make any north American instantly sticky. So normally, having to find my way around with a 60lb backpack would be a bit of work, but tolerable. Having to do it in these conditions, however, is enough to make almost anyone grumpy.

Our first accommodation

After wandering a few blocks and guessing at some street signs, we were finally able to tell where we were on a bus map that a customer service girl gave us at the airport. It turned out that we were only a few blocks from the guest house we wanted to try, and that we had already walked past it, haha. But we made it down a weird back alley to our accommodation, (which the front of was completely covered by light blue, prison-like bars) and checked into a double room with total cost of 270 baht (roughly $8).

Our guest house was at the end of this street

We spent the next few hours trying to learn to deal with the heat, and catch up with the rest that we had lost. After recovering a bit, we decided to leave our heavy bags behind and explore the city a little.

What we found was pretty staggering. The traffic of this city seemed ludicrous from the rear seat of our cab, with a “trained professional” at the wheel, so when we were on foot and trying to cross streets where traffic laws and patterns didn't seem to exist, it was another matter entirely. Try to picture a street simply packed with cars and trucks, with a hoard of moped drivers squeezing through every available gap, (even when it seems certain that both ends of their handlebars will wedge between their obstacles). While we walked along broken sidewalks that were littered with everything from construction debris to stray cats and dogs, it was tough to find a place where the tangled mess a tuk-tuks, cars and busses was thin enough for us to make our attempt. It should be mentioned that we did come upon a crosswalk with flashing amber lights, but its presence clearly made no difference to motorists.

Spicy Thai Food!

As we wanted to break ourselves into this new culture fairly slowly, we decided to find a more upscale restaurant that resembled what we were used to back home. Once we had a moment to look over the menu, I ordered a simple beef dip with salad at a cost of roughly $4. I knew that traditionally, Thai food was known to be fairly spicy, so I considered this to be a safe bet for my heat-hating taste buds. I was wrong.  The dip for this dish –while packed with amazing, sweet and fresh flavours – nearly destroyed my mouth. Courtney scoffed at me before diving into her own dish. Even as a lover of spice, she was taken back by its intensity.

After our lesson in Thai dining, we decided to slowly wander out way back to the guest house. En route, we happened across a small, but brightly lit alley that was lined with merchant stalls, and food vendor carts. The sights and smells of this night market were amazing. The aroma of freshly barbequed curry chicken, sweet chilli beef, and juicy watermelon filled the air while the light from brightly coloured bars and restaurants spilled out onto the street. Add to this the commotion of vendors hawking their goods, and scooter drivers blaring popular Thai music as they roll by. There are even vendors with backpacks of green laser pointers and glowing toy helicopters that they shine and fly in order to attract attention.

After this short evening out, we make our way back through the congestion to our room; our rock hard bed awaiting us. There are no blankets offered on this bed, but they’re completed unneeded. The temperature wouldn’t allow me to be even partially covered. As I go to sleep, I try not to focus on the plans of the day ahead, knowing that trying to sort the details out now will only keep me from my rest. But even so, it’s hard to not think of where we’ll end up tomorrow...

Random side thoughts:

You know that stereotype of the typical “grungy traveller”? Well I now know why many travelers end up that way. It seems that all of your precious, new clothing that you bring from home suddenly become superfluous and completely inappropriate when wandering through streets and residential areas with conditions that resemble those of the third world. This tells me why most end up dressing like hippies and wear earth-tone clothes. You have to be able to risk your clothes becoming filthy Another part of this stereotype is the hair; most seemed to have shaved heads or dreadlocks. So far as I can tell, this is because running water and shampoo can at times be very hard to find. You need something on your head that’s truly easy to manage in many conditions. I can tell you through second-hand experience that trying to live out of a backpack with a curling iron and hair dryer is less than ideal, haha.