From Georgetown in Malaysia, some 400 miles later we arrived in Phuket, Thailand, where I met my mother and brother who came to see us after 5 months when we last saw each other.
We chose Rawai, one of the least touristy areas and spent a week together with our family in Phuket just chilling and not doing much. That, in fact turned out to be just what we needed after so much travelling that had stressed our heads with information overload.
Some pictures from around Phuket (click to enlarge pics and panoramas):
Manually operated gas station.
Abandoned boat.
And after saying goodbye again to my mum and brother, we headed to capital - Bangkok. Took the road that followed Myanmar border and met some decent village folk - both Thais and Myanmar people.
The river that separates Thailand from Myanmar which is visible on the other side (click to enlarge panorama and pictures):
Boats on the river.
Thai man.
With natural sun-screen.
Myanmar man.
Thailand has its own different take on Buddhist temples:
They had some celebrations coming and monks were preparing for it.
We arrived in Bangkok, a city that has a somewhat dangerous reputation. Instead, we found this city of six million to be pretty nice. Maybe it is because it has a river, Chao Praya flowing through it, and also numerous canals. So it is justifiedly called Venice of Asia.
Luckily they have been wise enough to use the transport options the waterways provide to dilute the otherwise congested traffic - both goods and people are being transported on the river, with river taxis plying the way every five minutes or so. Clearly, it is not just for the tourists, although cruising the river does have some picturesque appeal. We happened to be around one pier during the evening rush hour, when both office workers and monks alike were waiting for the river express. The sun was setting and the pier was making squeaking sounds as it went up and down on the waves created by the passing traffic.
And the sound it makes floating on waves.
.::LISTEN::.
But one mode of transport is being kept alive by the tourism - the world famous tuk-tuks that are both fun and annoying. Since currently it is the high season here in Thailand, the guys are really busy, but we decided to explore the city on foot instead - to see and hear more.
For example we got to hear a children's music lesson from a random house on a quiet side street:
.::LISTEN::.
And one night we accidentally walked into some aerobics class taking place in a public park by the river. It was a funny experience, with dance music playing loud, and a tiny male trainer jumping in front of the crowd of a little oversize ladies:
.::LISTEN::.
But once in Bangkok one cannot just go past some important religious monuments. One of the best examples of Thai Buddhist architecture is perhaps Bangkok's oldest and largest temple, Wat Pho. This temple, built in the 16th century, houses the largest reclining Buddha in Thailand, measuring 46 meters in length. It is so big that the temple must have been built around it!
(who still doesn't know - you can click to enlarge pics and panoramas)
From the outside, the temple complex is pretty nice, too, with many colourful stupas symbolizing the five elements - earth, water, fire, wind and the void.
Chilis are offered for the Gods in front of the temple.
Considered most of the temples in Thailand are in bright colours that almost hurt the eye on a sunny day, we found Wat Arun, a temple dedicated to the Indian god of the dawn, to be really special. You could tell from far away that its colour is indeed that of a misty, pre-dawn Earth. But the closer inspection reveals that tonnes of Chinese porcelain have been used to decorate its surface:
Our presence in Bangkok coincided with the coming of the Chinese New Year, and as the city has a huge Chinese community we decided to see the world famous celebrations for ourself. When we arrived in Chinatown, we noticed that the streets were empty and the businesses closed, so we concluded that there must be some action elsewhere. By chance we arrived on some major street had had red Chinese lanterns torn over it, and lots of people apparently in a festive mood. The police were trying to look important by organizing the masses on two sides of the road, suggesting that there would be a procession coming. We waited for a while, but the crowds grew bigger and bigger, and we decided we had had enough of wrestling with the people.
We slipped into some side street to escape the oncoming madness, and found the regular (but nevertheless very interesting) Chinatown ambience there. We spotted a seafood restaurant with water tanks filled with species unknown to us right on the street, and wondered what would the animal rights activists think about a one-meter fish in a one-meter aquarium. We really felt for them, and hoped that their sufferings would end that night.
It is in Chinatown that we tried out some weird-looking sweets made of coconut milk and wrapped in a banana leaf. The taste was good!
Some more culinary experiences were acquired with the help of a local motographer, Nikkasit, who invited us to a local restaurant. He and his buddies proved to be quite the opposite of the impression that the people of Thailand had left on us. So far we had thought that quite contrary to the apellation of the "land of smiles", the inhabitants of this country were pretty seriuos and even melancholic, but this crew was positive and enthusiastic. They even gave us a signed photo album and T-shirts!
But back to the culinary stuff. The table was already full of nice Thai food when a covered bowl was brought to the table. We were told there were shrimps inside. Kariina loves shrimps, so she asked to pass the bowl to her, but once she got to lift the cover and see what was inside, she screamed. Half of the restaurant was looking towards us, and even our new mates did not seem to be amused - maybe it was not ment to be a joke afterall, although what would you expect of a Westerner when you show it a bowl full of tiny LIVE shrimps that are trying to jump out of it? Once we got over the initial shock we dared to try the poo creatures, which in fact did not taste too bad. The Thais call them the dancing shrimps:
Some more shots from the so-called City of Angels:
Eating snacks in the park and drinking Coca-Cola in Thai style - with ice in plastic bag.
Ta, M+K
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