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Posted by Jeff
I.
After the Second World War, this country changed its name from Siam, meaning ‘land of riches,’ to Thailand, meaning ‘land of freedom.’ This was a pragmatic branding move.
The minimum daily wage in Thailand is around 175B or $7 per day (the NZ minimum wage is $100 per eight-hour day). Many backpackers will spend at least 175B on beer. For this $7 most Thais seem to work hugely hard with street vendors and shop assistants working 12-hour shifts as a matter of course. Due to the low cost of labour many jobs are not exactly good quality. There seems to be an entire occupational class in Thailand whose sole role involves sitting in a small booth (like a parking attendant) outside buildings of significance that are closed for the night.
Much of being a tourist in Thailand is about unearned luxury. Every meal is eaten out (admittedly often out = out on the road). Your laundry is done for you. When something wears out you can buy a new one. Massages are about $16 per hour after your weary trekking around the sights and the malls. It is cosmically unfair that by accident of birth we westerners are exponentially privileged against those no less deserving.
This is a troubling issue, and I’m not really sure of the solution. For now, we’re trying to remain culturally appropriate (long pants and shoes when visiting culturally significant sites even in 35’ heat), not to participate in exploitation of Thais (e.g. the sex shows) and not being too tight with our money (I’m reigning in my brutal negotiation skills). This all feels pretty inadequate and we’re thinking about ways to be more responsible tourists.
Thus far we’ve managed to avoid being scammed completely (and food poisoning also touch wood). We’ve caught metered cabs everywhere (including from the airport), we didn’t buy anything at the fake tourist information office we were ‘helpfully’ directed to on the first day and even our tuk-tuk driver didn’t manage to get us into any shops or charge overmuch. While we’re not taken in by the scams I don’t blame the scammers. We’re generally not talking big bucks here in each case and the money means a lot more to them than us. As a utilitarian, I feel almost obliged to play the sucker every now and then. Fortunately Sara is basically Paul Newman in the Sting in such instances and reigns in my shillish tendencies.
On a related self-flagellating note, a study reported in Newsweek has recently concluded that religious conservatives tend to be considerably happier than progressive liberals (the study was American so I’ll use their shorthand). 47% of conservatives described themselves as ‘very happy’ versus 27% of liberals. These findings have been replicated overseas. One of the explanations given for this by the authors was that conservatism’s emphasis on individual choice and responsibility means that they tend to be less affected by the suffering of others (seeing it as a consequence of poor choices). This reminds me of the old saying that a liberal is a conservative who has spent a night in jail. To this I would add, or travelled abroad.
II.
Despite my overactive conscience we’re still managing to have a great time amid all the that dashed luxury. We’re in a small city called Phitsanalok on the main trunk line and leave for Chiang Mai this afternoon.
Yesterday we bussed out to the ruins of the old Thai capital at Sukhothai. Sukhothai was the capital in the late 14th and 15th centuries and is regarded by many Thais as the birthplace of Thai art and culture. Certainly it was integral to the spread of Buddhism in Thailand. We were impressed by the calm and stately air of Sukhothai. The various wats (temples) are in very good nick although we did notice a suspicious number of new bricks lying around on pallets: it may be that the restoration efforts are quite hands-on. Here’s an example of the awesomeness:
Also we got to ride cool bikes. Here’s Sara’s sweet ride
And mine:
III.
I recommend travelling for a while in a country where you do not speak the language. It’s a humbling experience. We’ve been travelling quite a bit recently on public buses and our train car from Bangkok to Phitsanalok was second class no air con: in these instances and in Phitsanalok we were just about the only farangs and almost no one spoke English.
Sadly the unscrupulous passport thieves also stole my trusty point-it book so we’ve had to resort to mime largely. We’ve been reading up on our Thai but are pretty intimidated- Thai is a tonal language so different intonations of the same word mean completely different things. As a result, we’re not far past sawadee. ON the bright side we don’t stick out quite as much as these guys (spotted at MBK in Bangkok and yes they are twins):
Not much to report on the crazy food front I’m afraid. I had a papaya salad that just about levitated me with pure spice but otherwise much of the food so far has been relatively staid. Don’t delete us from your bookmarks yet however- in about 4 days we go to Laos and I’m planning to eat everything that crawls on the earth, flies in the skies or swims in the waters there.
IV.
Our first Wellington experience after about an hour off the train in Chiang Mai. We were sitting outside a sweet little restaurant on a wee side-Soi when Sadie Preval (the sister of a couple of my best friends) walked past. We had no idea that she was even in town and she left at 5.30 the next morning. It was lovely to see a familiar face and Sadie helped us with her Thai pronunciation.
Goodnight and good luck
Jeff and Sara xx
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As part of the perils of coming to South East Asia in hot season, the air in Bangkok is clogged with humidity, and we have had to spend much of our time flopped like cats under the fan in our room. There have also been thunderstorms that last for hours and rain for even longer. The storms can interrupt sightseeing plans, but they do cool things down and also add to the atmosphere of the city.
Not that Bangkok is light on atmosphere. Everywhere you look in this city something is happening. Stray dogs chase tuk tuks down the street like maniacs; food stalls and makeshift restaurants spill onto the roads, the gourmet chefs shouting out what’s on offer; and every back alley you look down leads onto more excitement—more food stalls, more people, more dogs, cats, and chickens, or maybe 50 gold seated Buddhas piled in a corner. Tonight at dinner a small elephant was led past the window of the restaurant. On a long walk back to the guesthouse from Siam we saw an aerobics class taking place on the sidewalk. Five minutes later we passed a food stall that was on a traffic island between two lanes of infamously crazy Bangkok traffic; the two proprietors were taking a break to watch a small television that was squashed in beside the stove.
I can’t get far through this post without mention of the food. Many of you have been here and know how great and cheap it is. In particular I am loving the 30 baht fruit shakes from road-side stalls and of course the ubiquitous pad thai, which you can pick up at a stall for a mere 25 baht (about $1 NZ). I love watching the ingeniousness of the cooking that goes on at these stalls, with maybe one wok or one little gas-powered BBQ.
As well as food, religion is never far away in Bangkok. Red Fanta seems to be a popular choice as an offering at shrines around the city. We also get to hear the worship; from somewhere close to our guesthouse we are treated to prayerful wailing about eight times a day, including at sunrise. I have become quite fond of one of the tunes.
We have been trawling through some of the tourist standards—impressive Wat Pho temple with the enormous Reclining Buddha, the National Museum, Dusit Palace Park. Some of the museums have been disappointing, with fascinating and often clearly very old treasures stuffed into dusty cases in dingy, un-air-conditioned rooms with only the most cursory of English labelling.
On one of our sightseeing missions we stumbled upon the local zoo. Like most things in Bangkok, the zoo used to belong privately to the king. As this zoo doesn’t even rate a mention in the Lonely Planet we didn’t expect much, but it cost only 100 baht ($4 NZ) so we thought we’d give it a go. It was a little shabby, and the cages were less than generous, but there was a surprisingly great range of animals, including white Bengal tigers and snakes of all levels of deadliness. Perhaps because of more lax safety restrictions we could get really close to the animals. We spent a long time watching a 1-month old monkey, shaky on his legs, stuck in a corner of branches and trying to learn how to get around. The adult monkeys took it in turns to sit close and make sure it didn’t fall and even the momma monkey got to go off and eat some fruit while other adults babysat.
We also have been learning a bit about Thai royalty at an exhibition of recent treasures acquired by the king and queen. They have set up a scheme to get farmers and villagers skilled in traditional arts. Farmers are given lessons and materials and create crafts to supplement their income. The fruits of this scheme include a lot of rather obscenely decadent treasures for the king and queen. Tonnes of gold dotted with hundreds of diamonds have been crafted over months and years to create model replicas of carriages, boats, howdahs (throne-like seats for sitting on an elephant), and thrones. These are primarily replicas of bling that the king and queen already own, so it all seems rather excessive, but the treasures are amazing to see. Although I have mixed feelings about the beloved Thai royalty, the current king and queen do seem to be genuinely doing some good work for the people, be that as it may be from atop a $5 million howdah.
Some pics:
A Buddha being transported in the back of a truck. We have heard mixed information on the meaning of Buddha hand signals. This one is either giving blessing or stopping a tsunami.
Jeff at dinner at an outside restaurant. The whole delicious meal, including beer, cost us about $10 NZ.
Marco Polo makes a surprise appearance at Wat Pho temple.
Lots of love to you all. Keep in touch—we’re always keen for news from home or wherever else you may be.
Sara and Jeff
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A man on Nathan Road walks past wearing a t-shirt that says “give me five every moment” in block black letters. This more or less sums up Hong Kong.
Hong Kong radiates capitalism like Adam Smith’s fever dream. Every alley hides three shopping malls. Seemingly everything is for sale in endless variety- from the sidestreet tat at the Night Market to the glittering obscene genuine articles at the designer stores. Restaurant menus present dozens (sometimes hundreds) of choices. The magazines are obsessed with the finest gradations of status and consumption (an entire article on the best personalised numberplates?). It feels like you can be whatever you want in Hong Kong so long as you have the money to back it up.
The superstructure of this gilt edifice is made up (mildly paradoxically) of thrift, industry and civic pride. Everywhere you go (at least in the touristed parts) there is someone sweeping the streets- even the construction workers periodically down tools up brooms and push their dust into the gutters.
There is a sense of obsessive orderliness throughout. Each slope and ramp in Kowloon Park has its own prominent individual serial number: I imagine a rapid regrading response team dispatched with klaxons and sirens in case of any loose paving or deviance from the mandated 25′.
There’s not much opportunity to get lonely, either. Everywhere you go the teeming masses of humanity poke , jostle, elbow and nudge you. I have realised the real real purpose of umbrellas is to provide a bubble of personal space using the sharp spokes. At Ocean World we learned some hard lessons about getting between chinese and panda viewing. At one a man egregiously pushed in front of us wearing a t-shirt that said “after you.”
We’ve had some amazing food here, including the whole dim sum experience, and some sublime Xiao Long Bao (dumplings filled with stew). A regular feature of this blog will be my adventures in unusual cuisines. By this standard Hong Kong was pretty tame although I did have whole deep-fried baby pigeon (with head still attached and a slightly quizzical expression on its face) at the dim sum restaurant and stir-fried frog at the night market. Frog is surprisingly delicious- yes it tastes like tender chicken- although a bit fiddly with the wee bones and tiny spine. In a similar vein, Hello Kitty icecreams are also pretty good.
In less exciting news, I’ve been inadvertently lessening my attachment to the material world. Thus far I had my UK passport, my cell phone and some money stolen (at Auckland airport no less) and broken my camera. Thank goodness for insurance, eh?
Here’s a random experience:
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Occupational Safety & Health World:
This exhibit is part of the HK Science Museum. In a masterly display of cutting-edge 80s animatronics Dr Safe (who only has about three moving parts and consequently pops and locks like Mr Freeze) introduces us to the hazards around the workplace including Uncle Explosive, Auntie Irritant and Harmful Jr (a good MC name I reckon). Just between us, I think that Uncle Flammable and Auntie Oxidising have a bit of a thing going on.
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Anyhow, we’re off to Thailand this evening so we’ll see you in Bangkok. We’re planning on alternating posts at this stage so Sara’s up next.
Ka kite and much love
Jeff and Sara
