New Year's Eve in India

Entry 37:
We arrived at the Bangkok International Airport with only 100 Thai Baht to our name. We already had our final meal in Thailand, but figured we could probably buy something sweet before our flight. Since we had more than 2 hours to kill, we walked around all the shops looking for a good place to depart with our money. We settled on ice cream blizzards from Dairy Queen. Aaaahhh - globalization. Isn't it great?

As we sat in the waiting area near the gate for our flight, we quickly realized our adventure was about to take a huge change in direction. Dozens of brightly dressed Indian women and their families nervously waited for the airline staff to announce the departure of Thai Airways' nonstop flight to Calcutta.

Our observations of Indian customs and behaviors began in no time. On the plane, we noticed how as soon as the seatbelt sign went off, all the Indians simultaneously unbuckled. Similarly, as soon as we landed, everyone seemed to jump up to get their bags from the overhead. If nothing else, this behavior reminded us a bit of Israelis. But the similarities ended there.

As soon as we got to the airport in Calcutta, we searched for an ATM. It turns out no ATM exists in the international terminal. Instead, there is only an ATM at the domestic terminal. So here we were after an international flight, lugging our bags to another terminal just to take some money out. Luckily, it was only a 4-minute walk over, but that did not stop one of the taxi drivers from offering us a ride, insisting it's a long way's away.

After securing our first fistful of rupees, we walked over to the prepaid taxis, a line of yellow cabs with many male drivers hanging around and chatting. It seemed odd that so many of them were available, but we had to wait for one driver to come pick us up, especially since he was the only one who didn't speak English or know how to get to the hotel. After getting directions from the other drivers, we were on our way.

The drive was mostly uneventful. However, we did not miss the billboard advertising Penorub (pain reliever), which kept us entertained for a bit.

We reached the main area where our hotel was supposed to be (near Sudder Street), but the driver could not locate the exact address. Finally, he gave up, got out of the vehicle and said, "you go with rickshaw man." We insisted he continue trying as we did not feel safe getting out in the middle of the night with all our bags to be carried on the back of a wooden cart by a barefoot man. Luckily, the driver finally found the hotel and we were on our way to a good night's sleep. Or so we thought.

The hotel keeper was nice enough. He presented us with a glass of water and told us we can relax before seeing the room. It turned out the room we requested was taken; they planned to put us in a small room across the street. Once the front door was opened, we found two men sleeping on the floor by the door. They may have been securing the place, or maybe just workers who did not have a room to sleep in. The room he showed us was small and not what we reserved, so we decided to go somewhere else despite the darkness, the luggage, etc.

Luckily, we found Hotel Pushpak nearby which seemed more pleasant. The shower had hot water, so we were happy. That is, we were happy until we had to take a shower and then realized you have to fill a bucket with hot water and then splash it on your body as there wasn't enough water pressure. Needless to say, we found a better hotel (Tourist Inn) the following day where we remained for the next few nights.

The next morning, we saw how the local Indian men shower. We didn't have to peek into their bathrooms because they were right there on the street by the water pump. They covered their bodies with a cloth from the waist down and used the water and some soap to get cleaned off. As far as cleanliness goes, there was more for us to learn. We knew that Indians tend to eat with their right hands only. The reason for this is that they traditionally use the left hand to wipe after going to the toilet. However, what we didn't know was that after eating in a restaurant, they only wash the right hand, as it is the one used during the meal!

We started the morning off by visiting the West Bengal Tourist office near a street called BBD Bag. While waiting for our number to be called, we watched a man cleaning the entire office. That seemed great, except the rag he used was blacker than black. It is anyone's guess whether his efforts made the office cleaner or dirtier. We booked a city tour for the next day. We then headed for the Hogg Market where we were followed by men offering to be our personal shoppers (that's how they get commission).

That evening, we headed to a neighborhood called Shakespeare Sarani for New Years Eve. Many of the places mentioned in the guidebook were packed with young Indians, so we ate at a nondescript Indian restaurant. When we returned to our room, we found out that "dance party India" was outside our hotel bathroom. That is, the locals had set up speakers and played music at full volume on the street, which was just on the other side of the wall to our bathroom. That night we welcomed the new year in by sleeping with ear plugs.

The next day we set off to see Calcutta on a city tour. Because it was New Years Day, crowds of locals were found everywhere. This was particularly the case at Dakshineshwar Kali, a temple outside the city limits we did not get to see due to the heavy crowding.

We managed to see the Writer's building, a Jain temple, the Police Museum, the Kolkata Panorama Museum, and the Netaji Museum. The specifics we may have forgotten, but the architecture we will not forget:

And the slums are hard to forget as well:

On our last day, we saw Marble Palace. It is an old home that was converted to a museum. It was a very strange experience indeed. Photography was forbidden even from the outside. Once we got inside the gates, we couldn't figure out where to go to get a guide. There were a couple of guys hanging around. Finally, one of them told us we can sign the guest book and he will show us around. His English was not very good, but after giving us a short tour (and without turning on any lights), he demanded a tip for his services.

We spent the remainder of the day visiting Calcutta University and the Indian Museum. At night we saw a fountain show at the Maidan, a popular park destination in the center of town. Because of the crowds, we did not manage to see the famous Victoria Memorial (named after Queen Victoria).

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When travelling around the globe, we always find it interesting to ride public transportation. Calcutta was no exception. In the 1970s, the government built a subway that traverses the length of the city. Even though there is only one line, it does manage to go to quite a few places throughout the city. For roughly 10 cents per person, you can pass through the metal detector and cram onto an already crowded train without A/C. The subway would prove to be quite convenient for us on our last day in Calcutta.

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On the morning of our departure, we noticed quite a few taxis without drivers inside parked near our hotel. We walked down the street and after several inquiries, discovered there was a taxi strike that day. After questioning a hotel concierge, we determined our best bet was to ride the subway as far as possible before transferring to an airport-bound bus. After arriving at the last station, we climbed the stairs to street level and looked for the bus stop. As with most activities in India, we had a hard time finding it and none of the locals seemed to know either. As we were waiting, a man in a private car drove by and asked us if we were going to the airport. We haggled over a price and finally jumped in for a ride. Within just a minute or two, he turned his head around and started to again haggle with us over the price. He finally agreed to our original price and we "relaxed" as we sat in bumper to bumper traffic with him honking the entire way to the airport.

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Flying in and out of an Indian airport is an experience that should be avoided if possible. Security is the highest we have ever seen (even more than Israel) and the staff takes unreasonable measures to check and recheck your person and luggage. After being "felt up" by the security staff and waiting for a couple of hours in the lounge, we finally boarded our flight to Kathmandu.

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Loyal Paris

Entry 36:

Bangkok is probably the most talked about city amongst the backpackers. We had spoken with so many people about where to stay for our few nights in Bangkok. While most young people go to the Kao San Road for its cheap beer, cheap food, and exciting nightlife, we thought we'd be a little more sophisticated and stay near Sukhumvit Road. We also thought it would be a better location because of its proximited to the elevated Skytrain and the underground metro. When we arrived at the Bangkok Airport, we jumped on a bus to Sukhumvit Road.

While it was true that this location was convenient to public transit, it was nothing more than a crowded, noisy business district interwoven with a multilane thoroughfare. The area is frequented by business travelers and the guest houses had much higher nightly rates. We only stayed two nights and then made our way to a mellow neighborhood close to Kao San called Rambutri. This was a good choice as it was away from the craziness of Kao San (where you can get a fake ID among other things):

This would be as good a time as any to backtrack for a moment. You may have noticed that we did not post photos for Ranong or Khao Lak. While we were on the beach in Phuket, our waterproof water wallet wasn't so waterproof. Our beloved Olympus Stylus 1010 camera was no more than a fancy paperweight. On our first day in Bangkok, we headed for the malls to replace our camera. By coincidence, we purchased another Olympus camera and when we returned to the guesthouse, our hearts were filled with joy when we realized that while the original camera may have been lost, the memory card was spared.

So without further adieu, here are our photos. Let's start out with a shoutout to our friend Tang:

Before we had departed the United States, we tried gathering contact information for contacts in S.E. Asia. Our friend Jeff put us in touch with a former roommate who is a native Thai living in Bangkok. Chat and his partner Dave met us for dinner and then took us to the rooftop deck of one of the tallest hotels in Bangkok, the Banyan Tree Hotel. The change in temperature from street level to the rooftop was noticable and quite chilly.

We spent the next couple of days exploring the weekend market (Chatuchak) and stocking up on gifts for the family back home as well as memorabilia for ourselves. We passed on purchasing crickets, beetles, snakes, and other creepy crawlers, although we did want to purchase the amazing teak bedroom furniture set, but could not fit it into our backpacks. This market had it all.
Animals:

Art:

Massage:

Our guided tour of the Royal Palace (also pronounced by some as Loyal Paris) was interesting and we spared no photos there.

We continued on to Wat Po to see the reclining Buddha:

We also had a tour of the Vimanmek Teak Mansion. We learned that the different styles of buddhas represent various ideas, including an attempt to calm the ocean (when the hands are pressed outwards to indicate stop), forbidding relatives to fight one-another, teaching, and invoking victory.

Of all the touristy things we saw, the one we enjoyed the most was the Jim Thompson House. This house was once the home of an American who fell in love with Thai culture. He built a silk business, which is still going strong as evidenced by the expensive silk ties sold at the airport. However, during an expedition to Malaysia, he disappeared and his remains were never found.

This ended our stay not only in Thailand, but in S.E. Asia as well. After depositing our shopping items at the post office to be sent back home, we boarded a minibus to the airport. We spent our remaining Baht on ice cream at the airport and felt excited about the upcoming trip to India.

For more Bangkok photos, go to: grossmintblog.shutterfly.com

Thank You, American Express

Entry 35:

Khao Lak is not as well known as some of the other beach towns in Thailand. It's true - the beach in Khao Lak is not as pristine as other beaches, but it has a neat little town and it quite isolated from other towns, unlike many of the other islands. Because it is less popular, it is also much less crowded.

In 2004, the Andaman Sea side of Thailand was struck by a tsunami that wiped out the town of Khao Lak. This was the same massive tsunami that killed hundeds of thousands of people throughout S.E. Asia. Here's evidence of the damage: http://www.drgeorgepc.com/tsu2004IndoThaiKhaoLakBeach.jpg

Luckily, the town was completely rebuilt. We spent two nights in town, trying out the local restaurants and walking up and down the strip of stores. Our absolute favorite gastronomic experience was at Khao Lak Seafood. The pad thai and curry dishes were so good, we returned to this restaurant several times.

Because the town had to be completely rebuilt, brand new resorts went up. The main resort to go up is Le Meridian, a Starwood resort. As holders of the Starwood American Express card, we were able to collect enough points to redeem a five night stay for free.

Truth be told, the real reason we ended up in Khao Lak is because of our friends Dani and Silvia who were getting married that December in Mexico. Because we were in S.E. Asia and could not attend the wedding, we thought we'd surprise them on their honeymoon. Dani mentioned they would be honeymooning in Khao Lak. We knew that Dani, the quintessential Starwood Amex user, would be staying at a Starwood resort. We did some research and found that Le Meridian is the only Starwood property in Khao Lak. However, we still weren't sure when the newly-weds would show up. We tried to time it several days after the nuptuals. They finally arrived on our last night at the resort. It happened to be Christmas Eve, so the four Jews "celebrated" with an Italian dinner outdoors by the pool. It was a memorable evening.

The musical staff (three Philipinos dressed in Santa Clause outfits) that evening walked from table to table taking requests. We specifically asked for a song unrelated to Xmas. We were serenaded by a rousing rendition of "Besame Mucho."

Our stay at the hotel was really a good time. From the moment we got there, we were treated like royalty. We received beautifully with orchid necklaces placed around our necks. This for a couple of schmucks that showed up with scruffy backpacks in the back of a pickup truck. Our room may have been the bottom category of rooms, but it was truly luxurious with hardwood floors, bath robes and slippers, and a patio. Words cannot do it justice. You'll have to see for yourselves: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/lemeridien/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1847

The resort boasted numerous amenities, including two massive swimming pools, beachside bar, a gym, tennis courts, and five different restaurants. In sticking with our frugal backpacking ways, we did sneak out a couple of times to eat at the roadside stands just outside the pearly gates of the resort. In truth, the food cooked by the locals was often tastier than that served at the posh restaurants inside the hotel. We found this surprising!

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. After 5 days, it was back to the airport for our flight up to Bangkok.

Run For The Border

Entry 34:
While we were in Thailand, the government decided to revise the rules on tourist visas. It was no longer possible to purchase additional time for your visa at a reasonable price. In addition, upon entry of a landcrossing, tourists who once received a 30-day visa could now only get a 15-day visa. This had all the backpackers scrambling to extend their visas economically. The solution: a visa run. The closest international border for us was the Ranong crossing with Burma.
After a long bus ride from Phuket town, we finally arrived in Ranong and made it to the Kiwi Guesthouse across the road from where the bus dropped us off. We set our bags down and headed off for the only attraction. The hotsprings were located about 1 mile from the guesthouse, tucked away at the edge of town. It felt good to stretch our legs on this walk to the hotsprings after sitting on a bus for so long.

The hotsprings are a regular attraction for locals who use the natural source of water to do anything from bathing to soaking. There are three different pools. The first is where the locals hang out. The temperature of the water there is luke warm. Nearby we found additional pools, one of which held the remaining foreigners. The third pool was too hot for the touch. We dipped our toes into the water, but it was again too hot for lingering. These pools are considered sacred places; women are not allowed to remove their tops.
You can see a photo of the hotsprings by clicking here.

The most important reason for coming to this town of Ranong was that we needed to take a quick trip across the river to the border with Burma to renew our visa. We booked round-trip transportation with our guest house. The next morning we got shuttled to the boat dock where we boarded a longtail boat with other Western tourists and made our way to the border. Along the way, a teenage boy handed out slips of paper with menus of various illegal substances for sale in Burma. As tempted as we were to pick up some Viagra, we decided to skip it.

We read in the guidebook that it was important to have U.S. currency, especially crisp, unfolded $20 bills, as the Burmese authorities are notorious for not accepting anything less than perfection. When we got to the passport control office, we presented our crisp bills. However, these were still not good enough because they had red ink on them. Luckily, we had some other bills with us that were acceptable. Otherwise, we'd have been stuck paying three times the equivalent in Thai Baht. After having our photo taken, we were given our visas and were on our way via the boat.

We made it back to Thailand and booked passage back to the beach at Khao Lak, our next destination.

Almost Paradise

Entry 33:

Even though we knew that Phuket had a slightly tainted reputation with backpackers, we really wanted to just sit and relax on a white sand beach. We figured that Phuket must have the sought after beaches since it is such a popular tourist destination. After some careful reading of the guidebook, we settled on Hat Karen because it seemed like a less touristy option.

We boarded a minivan and headed to Phuket town. Phuket is a large island, but without a car, the only was to get from beach to beach is by taxi. The cab drivers know this and jack up the prices astronomically and still fill up with about 10 people! As a result, we stayed on Hat Karen and only explored the nearby Hat Kata by foot.

The white sandy beach was very wide and lined from end to end with hundreds of empty lounge chairs and parasols. The blue waters were refreshing after hours of baking in the tropical sun. To capture the sights and sound of this almost paradise, we videotaped a segment of our stay. It kinds of sounds like a Corona Beer television commercial:

The afternoons were capped off by a dip in the hotel's swimming pool.

We dined on grilled fish (smothered with butter and garlic), traditional Thai noodles, and curry dishes. That's when we weren't eating Indian!

The streets were filled with pale overweight Europeans and the shops stocked with overpriced garbage. Needless to say, we spent most of our quality time lying on the beach, strolling on foot, and dipping in the waters.

The following photo is self-explanatory:

For more photos, go to: grossmint.blogspot.com

Where's the beach?

Entry 32:

For those of you who were following the international headlines, you will recall that there was a huge protest at the Bangkok International Airport for a couple of weeks in the beginning of December, 2008. As a result, we had to find a direct flight to the beaches that did not stop over in Bangkok. We flew to Phuket (pronounced Pooket) with the idea of taking a bus over to visit Krabi. We were ready to leave the cool weather of the north and enjoy some sunshine on the beach.

From the time we made it to Krabi, we realized that the south is much different than the north. While we were in Chiang Mai, we paid less than $10 for a room with A/C, satelite TV, and a private bathroom. Here in the south we paid more than $10 for a room with a mattress on the floor and a shared bath in the hallway. At least the Mr. Clean guesthouse lived up to its name. We also realized that Krabi, despite its fame, does not have a beach, and therefore could not keep us entertained for long.

We were convinced both by our guidebook and other travelers we'd encountered that a beach called Hat Raley off the coast of Krabi was worth visiting. We took a longtail boat over and were enchanted by the scenery, which resembled Vietnam's Ha Long Bay...

...However, when we got off the boat and started walking around to inquire about guesthouses, we noticed that this miniscule island had very high-end resorts that were charging astronomical sums. All the backpackers seemed to be staying in a town nearby which we were warned to stay away from because of its pollution and noise. To add insult to injury, the beach was very small and roped off after only a few feet. That meant all the tourists paying top Baht were crammed into a tiny area or avoiding the beach altogether by going to their resort's pool. We were not impressed.

We gathered up our bags and hopped back into a longtail boat headed to Krabi. We decided to spend the night there rather than take a bus elsewhere. That night we found an internet cafe and booked a room at a resort in Phuket for four nights. Although we had been trying to avoid Phuket, we gave up trying to find the perfect beach and figured since so many tourists head there, Phuket must have some nice beaches. We considered working our way to the Gulf of Thailand to visit the islands of Ko Samui or Ko Phangan, but it was monsoon season and each ferry ride between the islands can be costly. We did some research on Phuket and avoided the most touristy of the beaches in favor of Hat Karen.

For more photos, visit: grossmintblog.shutterfly.com

Pai in the Sky

Entry 31:
Early on, we had read about the town of Pai in our guidebook. It was described as a hippy haven located in the Thai Highlands. Even though it seemed far off the beaten path, we were drawn to it like a moth to a flame. But getting there was quite an adventure. As with most minibus rides in S.E. Asia, the driver seemed content to exceed the speed limit whenever possible. This combined with the twisting narrow road contributed to extreme nausea. Somehow we made it to town without using the motion sickness bags.

If you'll recall, when we were in Vientienne we visited the tree house sauna. It was there we met Manny from Canada who told us about TaComePai, an organic farm whose friendly owner rents out rooms in authentic native hilltribe houses on stilts. Check out this funny You Tube video from a former guest. Unfortunately, it was too cold to go swimming and jump into the pond.

Since the farm is located about 5km outside of town, we needed to hitchhike to Pai. We thought no one would ever stop, but finally a pickup truck pulled over. The truck was packed with family members in the cab and all their luggage and camping supplies in the back. They told us to simply hop onto their belongings and off we went at a dizzying speed. We had to hold on to our hats.

When we got to town, we found something to eat and decided to rent a motor scooter. We flipped a coin and Sharon was designated as the driver. The only problem was, Sharon had never driven a scooter before. The guy renting it out took Sharon to a back street to practice. No pressure, though. Did we forget to mention that Thais drive on the opposite side of the road? Still, no pressure. OK - so the lesson was over and we were on our way.

Night was falling. The Mercury was following close behind, so we cruised back to Tacomepai. There we found the local farm hands and some Western volunteers gathered around a campfire eating veggie fare off plates carved out of bamboo. Later that night, the spirits began to flow and happy water was passed around. One local Thai girl named Kaew became intoxicated with happy water and let the rest of us know from a distance as we could hear her yelling all the way from our beds.

That night was rough on us, not so much because of Kaew, but because of the cold temperatures (mid-30s F) and the thin mattresses and blankets on the floor of our hut. The concept was cute, but cute didn't cut it from more than one night. We decided to find a more suitable option and bid farewell to our brethren in the morning.

After finding a new guesthouse, we hopped on the motor scooter and headed to a camping resort where we were told you could soak in the sulfur hotspring pools for only $0.50 per person. We sped off to find lunch and visit a few more scenic spots including a beautiful waterfall. That night we dined at Mama Falafel, a locally owned restaurant whose chef was taught the fine art of Israeli cuisine.

On our final day in Pai, we wanted to make good use of our motor scooter. We rode to the Chinese Village, and returned it after lunch at a riverside oasis called "The Sanctuary." Since we hadn't spent much time in town, we walked around for the rest of the day. On our walk, we bumped into Clark and Megan, two Kiwis we met previously in Lao. They were hanging out with two Brits they had met in Vietnam. The six of us spend the evening walking around town, sampling street food, and having beers at the Curry House known for its Reggae music.

Pai is truly unique as it attracts both Western and Asian hippies. It is not unusual to see its narrow streets packed with Thai tourists on long weekends, some of them even sporting dreadlocks. There are countless numbers of advertisements for yoga, meditation, and other new age practices. In addition, the town is known for adventure sports such as rafting, tubing, and rock climbing. It's a place we'd consider coming back to when the weather is warmer.

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