Wow!

So often in life, things don’t live up to the billing that they have been given. You know how it is, one of your friends may tell you that you have to see a certain movie, and then after you have seen it, you feel like you wasted precious time in your life that you can never get back. Well, that is an especially horrible way to feel after you have shelled out money for a trip to a tourist site, so we were hoping against hope that the floating market, elephant trekking, and cobra show was as advertised.
We were picked up at 0630 at a local hotel by a minivan for the hour and a half trip to the floating market. About half way thru the journey I realized that this must be a really popular tour because the padding on the seats on the minivan was totally worn out by all of the people who have gone before us. I have sat on concrete that was more comfortable. After we arrived at the market, the posterior pain gradually subsided. What really helped this was the fact that we were too busy gawking at the spectacular views to worry about residual discomfort. After getting out of the van, we boarded a fantailed boat to get to the floating market. As we were cruising along, we saw several big monitor lizards, and a few monkeys. What was amazing about this to me was that these are animals that I have only seen before on animal shows on TV, and we were seeing them right amidst homes in which people live. These people are as used to seeing these animals as we are to seeing cats and dogs. The river that holds wonder for us is as normal and commonplace as a street. Wow! They even wash the clothes and dishes right in the river. After a short trip in the fantailed boat, we finally arrived at the floating market. Once there we were presented with a choice. We could wander around the docks and look at the shops, or we could rent another boat and do it from the water. We opted for option number two. What fun would the floating market be from the ground?
What is a floating market? Just as the name implies, people load various goods onto canoes, and float down the river selling them. In times past, this was the main method of trading goods in this area. With the blossoming of tourism in Thailand, they began to replace the everyday goods with trinkets and do-dads that tourists around the world always crave. They could fetch a much better price for “authentic, hand crafted” Thai goods than for fruits and veggies. I guess we can call this applied capitalism abroad. Other than just knick-knacks, they also sold food from these boats. We ordered sticky rice and mango, which was absolutely delicious. We rented the boat for a half hour, and it was well worth it. Part one, lived up to the hype.
After leaving the market, we went to the elephant village. Since my close encounter with an elephant in China, I have wanted to have the opportunity to get up-close and personal with another one. For a small fee (about $20 US), we were able to ride one. The elephant we rode was a 35 year old female. She was also pregnant. She and our guide had been together for five years. Elephants and their handlers form a close bond, which is important if a man is going to control the largest land animal in the world. Even though we know that elephants are immense animals, when you are standing next to one, it makes you really understand how small man truly is. It was an amazing experience to ride her, if only for a half hour. Wow was how we felt afterwards. Part two also did not disappoint.
From the elephant village we took a short 10 minute journey to the cobra show. Melissa, Jeff, and Amanda all decided to pass on it, but I have always been fascinated with cobras, so I was drawn to the show like a moth to a flame. The snake handlers were all dressed like they were members of the “Cobra Kai” dojo. I kept expecting someone to say “sweep the leg, Johnny” (If you get that reference, please let me know in a comment). Anyway, I sat in the front row and watched those guys do the absolute stupidest things with the snakes. They were deliberately antagonizing the world’s most venomous snakes. One guy was almost died. He underestimated the snakes strike range, and the snake caught his shirt. The only thing separating him from feeling the pierce of the fangs was a thin layer of fabric. After that they put a mongoose and a cobra in the same cage. In the wild, these animals are mortal enemies. The mongoose usually ends up eating the cobra. They kept reassuring us that the animals would not be harmed. That was not 100% percent true. They did break the fight up, but only after the mongoose had the cobra’s head in its mouth. That had to hurt. This part of the trip I did not enjoy. I don’t know what I expected to see. I guess I should have taken a cue from the others who passed on it. They all knew what was going to happen. In fact, Amanda told Jeff and Meli that I would come out and say “I wish I hadn’t seen that”. She was almost right. I actually said “That was disturbing”. Close enough. So let’s recap. Parts 1 and 2 of the trip were wonderful. Leg three, not so much. Oh well. You know what they say. Two out of three ain’t bad. - Frank
Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.
Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it.
Stephen Leacock (1869 - 1944)

Seeing the Sights

If this were a cheap paperback adventure novel, the opening line would probably be; "Bangkok was hot and sultry…”. This is just a free blog, but I will still begin this post “Bangkok is hot and sultry…” because it is. When we arrived it was 1:45 am, but when we stepped out of the airport, it was like stepping into a sauna. I was warned about how hot Thailand would be, but I didn’t take it seriously. After all, I had spent quite a few years in South Carolina, so I thought I had a handle on what humidity meant. Well, it seems that there is actually a difference. This is the tropics. It seems like there is a different sun here because its rays seem to cook you. Being in the tropics also brings a whole new meaning to sultry. So while checking out this city, I took the advice of a friend, and wore sunblock. Normally, I don’t use the stuff but I heard it said once that discretion is the better part of valor. I figured I would be discreet and not find out the hard way that people with my complexion actually can get sunburn.

A few of the “must see” sights of Bangkok are the Royal Palace, the reclining Buddha (or chillin Buddha as I like to call it), and the giant Buddha. In fact, for those who practice the Buddhist faith, there are hundreds of “must see” sights here because there are hundreds of Wats throughout the city. We were going to visit the Royal Palace which also has the reclining Buddha in the same complex, to try to kill two birds with one stone. However, upon arriving to the palace, we were informed that you could not visit the sites with shorts or short sleeve shirts on. Can you imagine, in this temperature, not being able to wear shorts or short sleeve shirts? They would however loan appropriate clothing to you once you arrived at the premises. So we qeued up with everyone else but wouldn’t you know it, there was a 380 Bat (Thai dollar) charge for entrance even though we were told it would be free. So it turned out that for Westerners, this was not really a must see. We skipped it because he is not my king, nor is Buddha my god, so I was not about to offer up sacrifices to either one. We did see one of these sights though. We saw the “big” Buddha. Hidden off the main road is a gigantic statue of Buddha that stands 120 feet tall. Much to our surprise there was also a baby "chillin" Buddha at this site. Since this more of a religious than historical site, we found it interesting, but it was not a highlight of our trip.
Something that we always find interesting is seeing different places from the water. Since Bangkok is known as the Venice of the East, this was definitely something we had to do. If you ever visit Bangkok, we recommend what I have dubbed the poor man’s river cruise. This package includes the river, a boat, and a view of the city, which is basically the same thing you get with any of the other packages that you will be offered as a foreigner at the docks. The great thing about the poor man’s river cruise is that it cost a fraction of the cost of the others (26 Bat compared to 400 to 500 Bat). How do you get this package? It is known as the river taxi. All you have to do is get on one of those boats, and then you pay your fare of 13 Bat once you are on board. It is a cheap way to get to different places in the city, and you get a relaxing cruise with a great view to boot!
One of the things that I was most looking forward to about Thailand was going elephant trekking. So we booked an excursion to a place outside of Bangkok that offered elephant trekking, an outing to a floating market, and a cobra show. That was trip was definitely worth the price of admission. I will write more on that later. - Frank
The camera makes everyone a tourist in other people's reality, and eventually in one's own.
Susan Sontag

Late Flight to Bangkok

Our friends Beau, Sara, Brittney, and Anna have gone. It was great to have friends from home visit (thanks for visiting guys), and it was even better to do a little sightseeing with them. But now they should be back in the US, and we are about to 出国(chu1 guo1), or leave the country ourselves. Because we need to leave China every three months to have our visa stamped, we are headed to Bangkok. The couple we are going to be staying with in Bangkok, are friends of friends. We have never actually met them before, but we have read their blog and they seem pretty cool. We know we are going to love them!

Thailand should prove to be an interesting place. Bangkok is the capital, and has a population of over eight million. It is 95 percent Buddhist, and has numerous Wats, or temple. One of which contains the largest statue of the Buddha in the world. The interesting thing about this statue is that it is laying down. Another intresting thing about Bangkok is that it has the river made famous by the destruction of its bridge in WWII, the river Kwai, which is a big tourist attraction. Bangkok is known as the Venice of the East becuase of an elaborate system of canals that run throughout the city. There are many animals that you can see there. They have elephants, tigers, and cobras on display in many places. I am looking forward to seeing the elephants and maybe doing some elephant trekking. Amanda is most looking forwad to getting out of the city and soaking up some rays on the beach. All in all, we are looking forward to our visa run to Thailand. We will keep you posted. - Frank

Delay not; swift the flight of fortune's greatest favours.
Seneca (5 BC - 65 AD)

A Ride in the Rain

It has rained everyday so far since we have begun our holiday. But once again, we are determined not to let that stop us. Today we rented bike and went for a ride. All of us made sure that we had ponchos so that we could stay as dry as possible. We set out with the hopes of seeing a few famous landmarks; moon hill, black Buddha cave, and the water cave. We did ride past the moon hill, but I was unable to get any good shots of it other than one with Amanda holding it in her hand. We couldn't find Black Buddha cave and we decided to pass on the water cave. I figured that taking my laptop in there would not be the wisest decision (we checked out of our hotel so I had it in my backpack). But the day was not a waste, we were able to see some spectacular sights. On the ride, we decided to take a side road an see the sights. It was well worth the diversion, becuase we seemed to be riding right beneath the hulking hills. On the way back however, we got caught in the rain. There is nothing worse than being in cold, clinging denim. - Frank
“And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.”
G. K. Chesterton

Above the Clouds - Longji

Once again, we awoke to a cold and rainy day. But that was not going to dampen my spirits because we were going to go to the world famous rice terraces at Longji. We had to take a three hour jaunt to get there, which was well worth it despite the day being overcast. Up until thirteen years ago, this area was not open to tourist, so until then, this village was living its life the same way that generations of their people had been before them. This generation though, has fully gotten into the tourism spirit. As soon as we got off of the bus, we were accosted by local women in the “native” garb, hocking knick-knacks, patty whacks, and other such junk. Everywhere you turned there was someone saying “hello, kan yi xia (take a look)” or "yao bu yao (do you want or not want)". They have a way of making you feel bad. It is as if they are saying just throw me a bone. They have even found a way to cash in on their fame. What are they famous for you might ask? Hair. They are in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the village with the longest hair. So, they put on a show that they charge 60 RMB for so that tourist can see their hair. We did not spend the extra money. I know it is surprising, but paying to see hair for some reason just didn’t interest me.
What did interest me though was the breath taking scenery that awaited us. Even on a foggy day like today, we were treated to spectacular views. I use the word breath taking on purpose, because to see the best views we had to hike up the mountain, and that hike could literally take your breath away. It truly felt like we were above the clouds. For those who are not up for the hike, there were “taxis” for hire. The taxis consisted of what looked like a bamboo rocking chair, strapped to two bamboo poles, carried by two local men. Because of the soreness of my knee, I was tempted to make use this native transport. Pride however, won out in the end.
At the midway point of our ascent, we stopped and ate lunch. One famous local cuisine is bamboo rice. They take a piece of bamboo, stuff it with rice, and cook it over an open flame. It is pretty good, but has a glutinous texture. We also had braised pumpkin (excellent), fired celery and pork, beef and mushrooms, and stir fried eggplant. After that hearty meal, we were ready for the rest of the climb.
Upon reaching the summit, the payoff for our efforts was well worth it. Words fail me when I try to think of a way to describe it. It is not just the view that is awe inspiring. It is also the knowledge that people have slowly over the centuries, etched their mark on the landscape that does nothing to detract, and only enhances the natural beauty. Knowing that it is upon hills such as these, that a third of the rice produced for the world is grown. It was such an amazing sight. What it must look like on a clear day. I thoroughly enjoyed our day above the clouds. - Frank

Mountains are earth's undecaying monuments.
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 - 1864)

Slow Boat in China: Xing Ping Part 2

The first part of our river adventure was nice, but now for the rest of the story. Soon after we re-boarded our raft, our raft was broadsided by another raft. Our skiff was struck portside, aft end. It was kind of a surreal experience. One minute we were smiling and waving to passenger on another boat, the next moment we see a man wearing a three piece suit, standing at the tiller like Nelson at Trafalgar, aiming right for us. We could not believe he didn’t even try to turn. What did we do to him? Does he have a vendetta against waigouren? After the collision, he didn’t even check on us. He just restarted his engine and began to move on. Thanks to his ineptitude though, our engine cowling was caved in, and one of our PVC pontoons began taking on water. The captain of our boat called across the water to the guy in the suit and made him give us a tow back. If we thought before that we were on a slow boat before, we now really know what a slow boat is. - Frank