Jim wrote this in December 1997, his first visit to Thailand while I was still years away from retirement. This was before traveling with any electronic devices or digital cameras; these are his first impressions of the country which changed over time as he began to appreciate the country and the wonderful Thai people more and more.
12/05/97
Great to finally get online and read notes from Gig back in Maine. I have my 60-day tourist visa for Thailand, malaria and water purification tablets, along with instructions for getting in and out of various countries. Endless details and it was a relief to finally be on the plane. The trip over here went like clockwork but was tortuous -- about 24 hours from Boston to Bangkok (BKK). Really enjoyed brief stopover in Vancouver -- it has to be the most beautiful city in North America; we need to plan a visit there. Am staying at the WeTrain Guest House (see below) near Bangkok airport.
12/07/97
Stayed in the city last night - interesting place with everything quite inexpensive. My room was 80 baht ($1.60); meals cost about 30 or 40 baht. Film is developed for about 80b. They have everything imaginable for sale in the shops and on the sidewalks. Will be heading east soon.
12/15/97
As I haven't been online lately, it was good to read all the news from Gig. Just spent the past week in the Eastern provinces - Trat, the island of Koh Chang, etc. George Theobold had highly recommended that island and now I know why. It's quiet, inexpensive, friendly, and very much the tropical island we all dream of. However, three days was enough for me although I would have stayed longer if Gig were with me. The weather has ranged between too hot (like DC or Tokyo in the summer) and hot as we like to see in Maine for a few days in July and August. No hint of rain. My thatched hut on the beach was 80 baht per day. Did some snorkeling and hiked to some beautiful waterfalls that were very refreshing in the heat!
16 Dec 1997
. . . After taking the ferry to Koh Chang, came upon a friendly street vendor with sidecar hitched to her motorbike filled with stacks of eggs, carton of open butter, bag of sugar; other types of food and condiments plus a gas tank, and large wok. License plate could have read "Have Wok, Will Travel." She and her daughter were heading across the island and offered me a ride. So there were three of us on the bike, plus the overloaded sidecar with canopy. We came to a stream we had to cross. [There were no bridges on Koh Chang.]
The daughter and I got off and helped push the motorbike with cargo through the water and rocks. And nothing fell off! She dropped me off on a beach and I started walking in opposite direction from the ferry landing. My guidebook said that if I walked far enough, there would be simple thatch huts right on the beach for very little money. I found this to be true. After checking in, had a refreshing swim in the clear, clean water right in front of my hut.
12/19/97
Returned to BKK and will head north in a day or two where it's cooler. BKK has to be one of the grungiest cities in the world. It's noisy, crowded, polluted (air, water and earth) and hot and sticky all the time. It has two redeeming qualities -- the people are great and it's very safe and you can buy ANYthing. Oh, that's three things.
12/24/97
I come out of the bush mostly to be able to communicate with Gig. Since getting back to BKK on the 18th, I've slowly been heading north. First, Ayuthaya, an ancient capital that happened to have their version of the Fryeburg Fair in full swing. Only stayed there one night. Next, Lopburi, another city with old temples, etc. Bizarre little town -- monkeys have taken over the city center. They roam wild everywhere, all over -- swinging from telephone and power lines, running along rooftops, sifting through garbage, looking for food. Locals worship them, but not me! I couldn't wait to leave town!
Then, I went northwest to Mae Sot on the Burmese border. Hitched a hair-raising ride through a mountain range with lunatic van driver - screeching tires on hairpin turns, passing cars on curves! The other passengers were young adult monks, unfazed as they played loud pop music and drank coca-cola. I was very relieved when the ride was over. Weather at sleepy small town of Mae Sot was much more comfortable due to higher elevations. There were several Muslim bakeries. A lot of precious gems come across the border here, some illegally.
Walked to Burmese border but foreigners were not allowed across due to military action. An interesting little town - reminded me of Creel in Mexico - really out there. Today, rode a bus over and up to Chiang Mai - the major city of northern Thailand. Plan to stay at least two or three days. Good access to the internet here. Will try to call Gig in Orrington on Christmas Day. I miss her a lot but not sure she'd be happy on a trip like this. Too much heat, humidity, and too many gross things to see, but I will debrief her on Southeast Asia when I get back.
My trip is going ok. Thailand is a hot, sticky, noisy, polluted country but the people are friendly and everything is cheap. And, it is so different from our country - always something interesting to see. Thailand is about the size of Texas. Buddhist temples everywhere. In general, the northern region has better climate and less pollution, fewer people, several mountain ranges, many national parks, more jungle, monkeys, elephants, snakes, etc.
Met a guy with arm in cast due to an injury from jumping off an elephant. He was on a trek through the jungle riding an elephant when it was startled by something and went berserk out of control, plowing through the bush and off the trail. The guy decided to take his chances jumping off and broke his arm in the fall.
12/25
Trip is going well -- just spent time up north in various places including Mae Sai, the Golden Triangle, and Chiang Saen. Currently in Phayao on the way to Eastern border to Laos. Thailand can be the "good, bad, and ugly" but it's so different from any country I've been to and the price is right. After touring the north, I plan to visit Laos, Burma, and fly to Singapore, not necessarily in that order.
I don't recommend SE Asia for the faint of heart. The economic situation is working in favor of the tourist right now but these countries are in real trouble -- it's not clear to me that the common man realizes it yet. The Thai people have a severe economic problem to solve.
Have been hitch-hiking in the north country with good results. Got a ride with a family on the day of NYE and was invited to their home for the night. We had the traditional New Year's Eve dinner sitting on the floor, with the family taking many pictures of the "farang" (foreigner.) Have been in the back of trucks, on top of trucks, in cars (one in a new Volvo air-conditioned sedan), and on the back of various motorbikes. Even got one guy to let me do the driving!
1/1/98
While in the north, I went to the resort town of Doi Angkhang, high in the mountains on the Burmese border. I was riding with a young Thai couple who were going there, so I decided to check it out. The villagers looked more like Tibetans than Thais. In fact, the area looked very much like Tibet from photos I have seen. This is a town that few farangs get to. Extremely scenic area - took a few pictures.
I spent Christmas Eve and Day in Chiang Mai. Did some celebrating with Germans. Christmas day was uneventful.
While in Chiang Khong, shared a room with Ryan, a young man from New Brunswick, just across the border from Houlton, Maine. May see him again in Laos. Chiang Khong was very pleasant - it sits right on the Mekong River, one of the twelve great rivers of the world. He and others were planning to enter Laos from there. (The Mekong River in Chiang Khong)
More later.
