MissHarmony

Busy-ness of Harmony's Jinan
2004-03-25 08:14:49 (UTC)

1/24-1/26/4 Thailand Round 2 Part 2

1/24/4 Saturday: Bangkok touring

How we got up early, I don?t know, but we did. Guess it was
the rush of being in lovely warm Thailand. We had to find
another hotel since the one we were in was booked up. But
that was okay, after some phone calls we found a nice place
right near the river and the BTS (light rail), so we didn?t
have to take taxis. After we checked in, we walked over to
the river and caught the riverboat. It was great. Just like
the bus only with better views and probably cheaper.

We toured the Palace with the masses. Took pictures of the
Emerald Buddha from afar and some other demons hankering
about decorating the extremely ornate buildings. I love the
variance in architectural styles within the palace, though
it?s all rawther phallic ?n? sparkly. Adorning the tops of
the roofs were the most beautiful gold trims that gleamed
in the sunlight. I tried to capture their glistening
reflections on film but failed miserably. Oh well, guess
you?ll have to go and see for yourself.

We then hopped into one of the infamous ?tuk tuks? (3
wheeled open cabs). Though we could have walked, it?s an
experience and worth being slightly overcharged for a short
ride to Koh San Road. We shopped with all of the other
hordes of foreigners and arranged our bus/boat ride to Kho
Phangan for the next day. Later that evening we met up with
Putt for dinner at a swank restaurant in town. Putt and
Augie ended up chatting the whole time while I sat silently
feeling a bit silly. It?s a strange thing to meet someone
you?ve known for a year but never met face to face or even
spoken to. We?ve shared all sorts of thoughts from the
metaphysically philosophical to the absurdly inane to the
outright raunchy. As much as I love and value the internet
for keeping me ?connected? my first phone call and meeting
with Putt reminded me that there is all sorts of non-verbal
communication happening with person to person interactions
that we never notice until it?s absent. See?students?I was
right! Language is nothing if you think it is just a
translation of words or grouping of sounds or symbols. Body
language is just as essential to effective communication.

1/25/04 Sunday: Bangkok shoppin?

Amazingly enough we got up early again. Putt suggested we
check out the massive weekend market, since neither of us
had been. Oh-mi-gawd! Talk about your shopping till you?re
dropping. Good thing neither of us wanted to carry anything
more than we had, otherwise we?d?ve spent all of our money
before we made it to the island. If I lived in Thailand I?d
be there all the time and my apartment would be so swank,
it?d be silly. Okay, maybe not, but they really did have
everything that was positively splendiferous and cheap,
from lovely linens, to pets and pet accessories, to do-it-
yourself-anything supplies, to outdoor art galleries and
precious stone sculptures. We managed to only buy a few
light gifty things and headed over to Koh San Road to wait
for our bus to Surrathani.

1/26/04 Monday: On the road again

Although our time was limited I thought it only proper for
Augie to get the full Thailand experience and that meant
taking the overnight 11-hour bus ride to Surrathani, where
we?d then catch the 3-4 hour ferry to Koh Phangan. Of
course things never go as planned even when you?ve run the
same route before. First, we were packed into little mini-
vans with bunches of other travelers and taken to a hotel
lobby two blocks away to wait for the big bus. Once on, we
noticed the foul urine smell that accompanied the high
powered AC and broken vents. Fortunately, we were able to
huddle together under the blankets provided which dampened
some of the stench. In Surrathani we were dropped off at a
caf?waiting area, where we stayed for a good 4 hours.
Finally we were carted off to the ferry only to find that
we had missed the morning ferry by 10 minutes and would
have to wait for the afternoon one that wouldn?t be leaving
for another 4 hours. Ugh! Fearful of the canteen style food
we settled for ice cream cones for lunch along with some
other snacky things we?d bought at our midnight stop. It
wasn?t until around 5:30pm that we arrived at my favorite
bungalow from last year, Mae Haad View. Unfortunately I
wasn?t as on the ball as I should have been. We were
greeted with recognition but no room until the next day. So
we trudged next door and crashed at Mae Haad Bay Resort for
the night. Thankfully while we were waiting to depart
Bangkok, we?d booked our return trip via air, so we could
look back on the last 24 hours of shlepping as an
experience that was had and not to be had again anytime
soon.




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