Once Upon a Time in Thailand...

Hello Everyone!
We found our way to Cambodia and our time in Laos is done. It was a great country, one of my favorites in many ways, and now our trip is really winding down! I will be back in the good ol' USA before you know it.
Even though I haven't posted a blog in a while that doesn't mean I've been falling behind on writing them. I am going to post three - yes, three - blogs today all of which have to do with Thailand.
For those of you still reading these increasingly long winded tales I hope you enjoy the next few blogs. I'm approaching these a little different as you will soon see. Spice it up a bit right?

So here we go...

Thailand – the land of smiles, of beautiful beaches and backpacker legends, of dainty lady boys and enormous elephants. It was the first of the Southeast Asian countries to embrace the backpacker subculture and the tourism trade and therefore it was the first to show the signs of misuse and abuse. There is something forced and fake about parts of Thailand as if they wear a mask of ‘culture’ to meet the expectations of the farang (foreigner) that crowd their streets and beaches. But I don’t want to get off on the wrong foot here. Thailand had an immense amount of things to offer. A month there barely scraped the edge of the iceberg but that scrape was memorable and amazing.
As with all the countries we have visited it is impossible to summarize our time in Thailand without writing pages and pages but the best I can do is to say that my time in Thailand was a tantalizing taste that left me wanting more.
You see, Thailand has a tourist trail worn so smooth and flat that it is becoming increasingly difficult to depart from that route. There are obvious reasons for this: A. Transportation to and from the most popular areas is easy, simple and cheap – three words that every backpacker lives by. B. These popular places are amazing and beautiful and no amount of tourism can completely erase their charm. And for these reasons many an intrepid traveler has stumbled into Thailand with all the intents and purposes of stepping off the beaten track but eventually they plod down the same trail as their peers, Thailand’s very own path of least resistance. And we did the same.
Our time in Thailand could have been straight out of the Lonely Planet itinerary. We hit many of the best known highlights with a steadfast commitment. While our inability to depart from that tourist trail is disappointing at first glance, I must admit that I really did enjoy my time in Thailand and if that makes me an unimaginative traveler then so be it.
Take a look at Thailand on the map and the trail is not hard to find. We crossed over from Malaysia in the south and stopped in the non-descript city of Hot Yai before making a beeline for Krabi.
Krabi is an area comprised of multiple beaches. We stayed on Railay Beach in Krabi which is located on the tail end of the small archipelago on the west coast of Thailand that draws sun worshippers and cliff hangers in equal amounts. Only accessible by boat, this sunny beach-bound strip of land has such an island atmosphere that it is easy to forget that you aren’t in the middle of the ocean. By day a rabid sun scorches the white sands of the shoreline. The only reprieve is the cool blues of the warm tropical waters. The landscape is dramatic. Limestone cliffs and pinnacles jut above the horizon or rise spectacularly from the jaded blue of the ocean’s surface. The outstanding rock climbing of the area draws its usual charismatic and adventuresome types who inhabit the rasta bars and restaurants by night, their muscles taunt and sore from the days efforts. It was an island paradise attached to land.
From there we headed to Phuket on Thailand’s tsunami ravaged west coast. Devastation still scars the land in ways both visible and invisible. There are oddly clear areas where the tree line was forced upward by the shear furry of nature’s force. There is a silent echo of despair that still reverberates on some of Phuket’s street. “We were here. We saw it all,” it seems to whisper. One has to pause here on the side of tourist trail and wander at the horror that occurred. Testimonies of human resilience and nature’s power stand side by side.
From east to west – we went from Phuket to Koh Tao, the world renown scuba training island which, like much of Thailand, absolutely lived up to the hype. Advertised as a picturesque island surrounded by clear calm waters that make it ideal for scuba diving. Diving centers on Koh Tao certify more divers than anywhere else in the world with the exception of Cairns, Australia, quite an impressive figure for an island so small.
We traveled by boat and then bus to Bangkok, the center of the backpacking universe. A city so embedded in Southeast Asian lore that one cannot avoid its sights, streets and markets. There is overwhelming and then there is sense-shocking overload. Bangkok definitely falls into the latter with its prominent sexuality, crowded streets, and vendors selling everything from knock-off t-shirts to grilled grasshoppers. And amidst all this craziness you are likely to find elaborate and highly decorated wats (Buddhist temples). From the famous Koh San Road’s “Las Vegas gone dingy” neon to Wat ?? enormous reclining Buddha, Bangkok is a maze of winding streets and contradictions.
Bangkok was Desirae’s departure point and we were sad to see her go but happy to have shared our time traveling with her. She provided invaluable experience and ‘know-how’ in this land which was so new and so foreign to Lisa and I.
And we never left the trail. From Bangkok it was one long train to Phitsanulok. It was here that we were able to visit the beautiful temple gardens of Sukhothai, a World Heritage Site. Ancient and elegant, those gardens reflected the pride of a kingdom past. In its well preserved chetis and Buddha images one can still see that proud heritage.
Our road led on to charming Chiang Mai, a city both old and new with personality bubbling out of the ex-pat cafes and shining in the light of the night market stalls. We found much to do around Chiang Mai indulging in a local cooking course and paying a visit to one of Thailand’s famed elephant parks. Chiang Mai’s refreshing cool nights and deep-seeded culture boosted our spirits for the final week in Thailand.
Our port of exit was the characterless town of Chiang Rai which had little of its neighboring Chiang Mai’s charm. It was our last layover on our route to Laos.
And those are the places we saw. An in-depth description of each town might help to define my outlook on Thailand but I doubt it. You see, Thailand’s appeal is in the details – in the transportation, in the variation of activities, in the exotic and exciting markets, and in the historic and elaborate wats and temples. These are Thailand in my mind, not names on a map or roads or railways. Thailand is something you do and experience – not just some place you visit. And in the spirit of that I would like to share those experiences with you.

And this is only the beginning...

Love from the road.