Reflections of Thailand

Bangkok is by far one of the biggest cities (geographically and in terms of population) that I have ever been too. It took awhile to get to pretty much anywhere you wanted to go. I was very impressed by how developed the city was though for how big it was. The city had a beautiful and massive skyline; but I also noticed for the first time, a lot of foreign business happening as well. Improvements such as side walk, street, and building repairs were noticeable anywhere we went, but the city as a whole was very well kept – much cleaner than many of the other major urban areas I have visited on this voyage. Thai food was incredible as well – eating street side food was definitely one of my favorite experiences of the trip. In addition, the people were great; everyone we met was very helpful if we needed directions. The Sriracha Tiger Zoo was pretty weird but I guess you have those sort of experiences every once and awhile. No plans for Vietnam as of now and I only have a couple days to put a plan together, let’s see what happens!

Thailand Day 4 & 5 (March 18 - 19, 2009)

Our final full day in Bangkok, the trip itself has seemed like a blur. In the morning Dean and I picked up our suits at the tailor – fit great! Dean had to have a few more adjustments done with his, so we decided to pick them up later that evening. We decided that day to head to the Grand Palace, still located in Bangkok but far away from our hotel. Initially taking a cab to its general location we soon realized that we would have to take a water taxi the rest of the way down the river. The water taxi was reasonably fast and packed as well – one of the main forms of transportation in Bangkok for the locals. We arrived at the Grand Palace, but weren’t exactly sure what entrance to go to. Luckily, we ran into a New Zealand couple on their honeymoon that was in our same situation. It was really neat to talk to them about our travels and hear about their stories as well. We chatted about rugby for awhile – they were big fans, we had just been in South Africa so we all knew a little bit about the game. After walking around what seemed to be the entire palace we finally found the correct entrance. Walking into the gate, I was absolutely amazed how large the palace grounds were! The architecture was amazing, it seemed like the entire palace was made out of gold. The Grand Palace itself served as the official residence of the Kings of Thailand since the 18th century onwards. Even though I heard that the current King resides elsewhere, many of the modern looking structures were off limits, leading me to believe that some of the grounds are still used by the government. After the Palace, we headed back to the hotel to eat and pick up Dean’s suits. The last thing we wanted to accomplish in Bangkok was to go to a Muay Thai fight (not to be confused Mai Thai, even though they sound similar). It is a form of martial arts using kicks and punches – they do wear gloves though so it is somewhat similar to modern day boxing. Tickets for the fights are fairly expensive but we found out that there was a free fight that night, located in another part of Bangkok, far away from our hotel. We desperately wanted to see at least one fight though, so we headed to the mall where it the matches were being held. Thankfully, we were able to catch the last fight of the night -- an American woman versus a Thai woman. People all over the world move to Thailand and train Muay Thai. It was great that we were able to see a fighter from our own country. Even better, the American pummeled the Thai woman in about 10 seconds! Chalk one up for the good guys! I was absolutely blown away with the power behind the some of the punches but especially the kicks. It was a lot of fun. We went up to the ring after the match and discretely but effectively yelled “U.S.A!” in the direction of the American fighter. She looked at us, smiled and raised her gloves – it was awesome.

Unfortunately, our last day in Thailand was spent traveling back to the ship. It was about two hour drive back to the port. Right after we checked out of the hotel, we caught a cab and headed back to the ship – saw some of the country side though.

Thailand Day 3 (March 17, 2009)

St. Patty’s day in Thailand! I actually forgot to bring any green with me on the trip to Bangkok, oh well. A lot of today was spent walking the streets of Bangkok, I still can’t believe how big this city is; we’ve still only touched a small portion of it. For lunch, we decided on going to an Irish pub – appropriate given what day it was. I had a great steak and a Kilkenny (my new favorite beer), only one though. I was amazed at how cluttered the streets were with food and shopping stands. In Thailand, you can get a lot of great deals on bootleg goods too, even though I didn’t buy many. All my spending money was really going towards the suits. We headed back to the tailor for Dean to pick his suits up and for me to pick my fabric out. The suit of Dean’s that was done looked great, so I decided to get two of my own. We headed back to the hotel to get a quick nap and then went to dinner. This time we decided to go to an actual restaurant that served Thai food - great once again, but I still favor the street side atmosphere of yesterday’s meal. That night we headed to a different Irish pub and celebrated the holiday!

Thailand Day 2 (March 16, 2009)

Today, Jaclyn, Dean and I headed to meet Matt and Jack in Bangkok (they had gone the previous day to spend some time with Matt’s buddy who was staying there). We took a cab along with some other SAS kids. On arrival in Bangkok, we didn’t really know where to go. So we looked for some help in finding a hotel – sort of winging it. Luckily, Jaclyn lives in New York and is an expert at taking trains around cities. Following her lead, we got to the side of Bangkok we needed to be at and searched for the hotel. I couldn’t believe how many people there were; much like India, except all of the streets are much bigger. We ended up checking into the hotel around dinner time. After we were all settled in we decided to hit the streets again in search for some authentic Thailand food. We found a street side joint which literally had their kitchen and dining tables on the street. The food was amazing – noodles, seafood, spring rolls, etc. Definitely hit the spot. On our walk back to the hotel we stopped by a suit tailor and checked out what he had to offer. The prices were great, about $80 for a tailored suit, fabric of your choice. Dean got measured and his fabric cut, but I waited to make a decision on fabric. He took my measurements and I told him that I would stop by tomorrow. The guy was very reasonable about not being too pushy or urgent to get a deal done. We planned on being in Bangkok for the reminder of our time in Thailand, so I had some time to decide. I also wanted to see how Dean’s suits came out. After the fitting, we headed back to the hotel and met Matt and Jack in the hotel bar. That night we experienced some of Bangkok’s night life…Thai people stay up late…I’ll leave it at that.

Thailand Day 1 (March 15, 2009)

The ship took awhile to get cleared in Thailand, so Dean, Jaclyn and I decided to stay at the port due to the fact that our FDP to the Sriracha Tiger Zoo village was leaving in just a little under two hours. Once the buses arrived we headed to the Tiger Zoo. It wasn’t that long of a ride to the Zoo. Apparently, Thailand is known for animal training among other things (kind of random but I’ll roll with it). When we arrived to the Zoo, my first thoughts were “Wow, looks a little run down.” And that is exactly what the inside looked like too. The place was huge though. We had a little time before the “Tiger Show”, so we continued to explore the Zoo and ended up running into a trainer with an elephant that was picking tourists up with his trunk. So, for a little under five dollars, we each took turns getting picked up by an elephant with his trunk. The trunk felt…weird. The elephant looked miserable too…I’m sure I’d be miserable if I had that job. After that venture, it was time for the “Tiger Show!” As we entered what looked like a run down outdoor auditorium, we saw about nine tigers being kept in an underground cage. The show started with a pig running out and biting a rolled up flag which fell down and read something along the lines of “Welcome to the Tiger Show”. The tigers then did tricks ranging from standing on podiums to jumping through rings of fire, pretty impressive. Next, we were directed to the “Crocodile Show”. Crocodiles (which looked to be drugged out) sat and opened their mouths while the trainers did tricks around them. After the crocodile show, we headed to the “Elephant Show”. Elephants, of all sizes, did tricks ranging from basketball shooting to dart throwing. Let’s just say it was an interesting experience. Other attractions at the zoo included baby tiger feeding, orangutan picture taking, etc. To cap the “interesting” experience off, as we were heading to the exit gate, we came across a circular cage with windows all around it. The sign next to the cage read “The Happy Family”; and inside was a tiger running around ripping apart what looked like to be some sort of meat, a pig running from what looked to be a trainer with some sort of stick, and two dogs nervously shaking. All in all, the Tiger Zoo was one of the most unusual places I have ever visited…but it is Thailand. Next the buses took us to a world full of miniature sculptures and buildings ranging from the Eifel Tower to the Leaning Tower of Pisa…but there was a McDonald’s – we did a quick lap of the “miniature world” then grubbed. The McDonald’s had a Double Big Mac as well, so of course I took one down. It felt good to get back to the boat, due to the fact that it was probably one of the most random days I have had on the voyage…but I did get an FDP out of the way. That night we headed to Pattaya, and experienced some of the night life on “Walking Street.”

Reflections of India

Where do I start…India was the most eye-opening place I have ever been in my entire life – complete CULTURE SHOCK! It was the most difficult journal entries yet – you just can’t accurately portray and write every sight and every experience on a sheet of paper. Seeing the poverty, the historical monuments and architecture, the magnificent Taj Mahal, unforgettable experiences with the Indian people…I can’t get it all out. But, I guess I would be worried if I could get it all out. The more and more I see of the world, the more and more I realize that maybe all of these experiences are not supposed to come out clearly on a sheet of paper. I’ve met a lot of kids on the boat who did not enjoy India, and everybody’s experiences are different I guess. But, I am so thankful that I have been able to see these sights and live these experiences, even though it is hard at times. I will never forget the boys at the YMCA and their overall happiness in such a hard living situation. I will never forget the beauty of the Taj Mahal; as if it had been created and placed on earth by God. I will never forget how a group of port workers could so graciously invite three privileged Americans to join them in a pick-up match of their nation’s game. Those sights and experiences are now memories.

India Day 5 (March 9, 2009)

My last day in India was spent traveling around Chennai with the same crew. We stopped by a few more shopping areas, got hassled to buy pretty much anything you can think of, and simply explored more of the city. I ended up buying an India cricket jersey, to help symbolize the memories I have of India’s main sport. Honestly, cricket is everywhere here. Many of the open areas in the cities parks are filled with pick-up games and at least one cricket game is being played on the television at pretty much any time of the day. As we headed back to the port it was near the end of the work day. Spencer and I were carrying cricket bats which we had purchased earlier that day at a local sports shop. We saw that some of workers at the port were playing cricket. They saw that we had our bats and signaled over to us to come and play with them – what a great opportunity! So we crossed the tracks and got in the match. Two groups of people, from completely different backgrounds, playing the nation’s game. We all took turns batting (protecting the wickets) pitching (or bowling as it is called in cricket), it was an amazing experience. We had to be back on the ship at six, we didn’t notice what time it was, it was the last of our worries (it was about 5:30 though, I think). One of the guys motioned to us and told us we should better take off, we didn’t understand. Then he motioned over to the right and the three of us could see a train heading in our direction off in the distance. So, we exchanged handshakes and final goodbyes with all of the workers, and ran across the tracks to the port side. It had to have been an interesting sight for the train conductor and any bystander who could see us, but we made it back safely and on time.