What the??!! Thailand Ed.

Transport in Thailand

There are many ways to get around in Thailand...

-bus (with natural air conditioning and sometimes not even a door that opens and shuts to let you on and off!)

-taxi (some with running meters and some with drivers that charge you a random amount, often way too high)

-tuk tuk (a vehicle similar to a 3 wheeled motorbike with a roof)

-car (remember, the lines on the roads are simply for decorational purposes! Drive wherever you want as long as you don't mind being cut off. BEWARE...the Bangkok traffic jam)

-motorbike (you don't have to wear a helmet and you can ever drive where ever you like including the footpath!)

-river taxi (a really old boat which has a roof, natural air conditioning and have 1/4 capacity of seating so you end up having to stand and hold on to the rails. I think these old boats pollute the atmosphere more than the cars).

-sky train (really easy and convenient. Stalls at the stations sell the best fresh juices)

-rickshaw (yep, they still had a few of these around)

-Walk...I think Thai people just don't understand that sometimes you just want to walk. So we were always telling "No thanks" to drivers of taxis and tuk tuks who would either call out "hello" or beep at us wanting our business. Our favourite line from our holiday..."We walk for FREE!"

Beautiful Temples

Thailand is home to thousands of Buddhist temples, as well as many Buddha statues. On our first day in Bangkok we visited many of the Buddhas and were amazed by the beauty of many temples we saw.

The first Buddha was probably the most spectacular. It is made out of solid gold. In WWI the Thai people covered their 3 solid gold Buddhas with cement to protect them from thieves who stole anything of value from the Thai people. Years and years later this Buddha was found accidentally when they tried to move the statue and the cement cracked to present a crack of gold. The other two Buddhas are still undiscovered to this day.

The other Buddhas we have seen are the reclining Buddha, the standing Buddha, praying Buddha and the Emerald Buddha. All spectacular and significant in their own right.

Here are some pictures of temples we saw that blew us away (mind you, the photos don't do them justice).

Back to School

So... One of the things that I (jono) was keen to do was catch some culinary tips off the Thai people, and so whilst in Chiang Mai we headed to celebrity chef Solomon (don't worry, I hadn't heard of him either) school to delight in the marvel of Thai food...

We were picked up from our hotel and driven to the office. Upon picking up people from 15 different countries we headed to the markets. AT the markets we were shown different vegetables, meats, fruits and rices. My favorite smell was the jasmine rice. It is really different to the stuff we have in Japan but it smells so good, especially when so fresh. Unfortunately for my palate and nose the smells of the drains (or lack of) surrounding the markets out stenched some of the other fresh goodness!

After the markets we headed out of Chiang Mai to the actual school... Here we were set up with our own aprons and work stations... We were given a cook book with the days work (and the rest of the week as well... some people do 5 days) and we went inside to watch the first demonstration. I think from memory it was a chicken in coconut milk soup, but I shan't be quoted on that... We did a few more stir fryish kind of things, some curries, a salad and a desert. We also learnt about garnishing food. Over here they say a meal isn't finished without some garnish (please note Jodi's rose she made for our salad. I shall be expecting that every night for the rest of my life... How lucky am I ... owww...). Overall it was about 6 courses one after the other.

The thing I liked most is how fresh the ingredients were, despite the obvious concern about where some of the stuff had probably come from... Although as westerners we were the but of many a Thai joke (ahaha... they can only do 2 chillies, I can do 15!), we had a lot of fun. The food turned out really well and it worked out really well for the school, as we were so full they didn't drive us back on the bus, we rolled back! We can't wait to cook some of this goodness for you all!

A Night Out in Chiang Mai

As part of what has become almost a daily ritual, we went for a meander through the night markets (more about those in another blog entry). This time we decided to turn left at the main street instead of right and explored some new areas of Chiang Mai. We didn't end up buying anything but stumbled across an entertainment area. It was a like a dead-end street lined with bars. We figured we may as well stop into one of the bars (when I say bar I mean there is a bar and about 4 seats at it!) called Piggy Bar.

We played a few games of pool (the longest ever) and were convinced that either the balls were slightly warped, the table was wonky or we are really clever and can put lots of spin on the ball!!! The bar lady was really friendly and we got to talking to her. She told us about her family and Thailand and then she started talking about lady boys. "They are prettier than us!". We thought, is she referring to what we think she is? Short answer=YES!

Soon some loud music started blaring from the stage next to the bar and she pulled us outside and said "Look, lady boys". And there we saw some very glamorous "ladies" on stage doing a choreographed dance while one mimed into a microphone. But something just didn't look right. The bar lady told us that most of them have had the full operation! Ai Karumba. But I did agree with her, they were very pretty. I don't know many Aussie blokes who could pull it off as well as these Thai dudes. After about 15 minutes of costume changes and singing and dancing, the "ladies" started to wander through the crowds. One "lady" said to Jono in a very deep voice, "Would you like a photo?". He had to try and control his natural reaction to giggle and said yes. So, we "made a picture with them", (as the Thai would say). It was hilarious.

The show continued on after the short interval but we had seen enough and broke into the games that were on one of the tables outside the bar. First we played Connect 4, and Jono won every time. Then we played Jenga, that was a lot of fun. Last of all the lady brought out a tangram puzzle. By this stage we had had a few drinks and did not quite have the focus to solve any of the shapes!

Next we started heading home when Jono noticed a wine tent of the University of Chiang Mai selling a variety of wine by the glass. The strawberry wine especially caught his attention, so we stopped for a drink. There were 3 customers there already, sitting on small stools, who recommended their favourite flavours. We pulled up some stalls next to them and started chatting (and drinking) away. We met Nathan from Australia, Melissa from Canada and her fiance Ronald from France. We were happily sitting and drinking until the lady informed us that the wine was all gone and she started to pack up her stall. We were all buzzing quite nicely so we moved on to another bar.

At our new resting place we were soon being hassled by little kids trying to sell us flower necklaces and roses. Closely behind them was a woman who had a basket of her own nick knacks to flog off. We had already bought some earlier and were not going to buy any more. Soon the kids lost interest ans just started having fun! They were really cute kids, but I felt for them having to be out at all hours of the night working.

We crept into the hotel at 2:30 am. A great time was had by all.

Jim Thompson House Museum

The Jim Thompson House Museum was fascinating. We joined a guided tour which took us around the westernised Thai style house that Jim Thompson designed himself. He was an American businessman who helped revitalise Thailand's silk and textile industry in the 1950s and 1960s. He took the ideas of Traditional Thai houses and put his westernised touches on them.

Traditionally Thai houses are made up of different rooms that are all built separately from each other. Jim had them built close to each other and joined them with verandas. The outside of the walls were usually patterned, as were the window sills to represent wealth, but Jim had the walls reversed so that the pattern and architecture could be enjoyed from the inside. He was also sure about installing a western toilet inside the house. The house was decorated beautifully with many pieces of furniture, ceramics and art from places all over the world including a crystal chandelier and french doors from China. Many Buddha statues adorned the garden area which was also filled with lush greenery. It would have been a spectacular mansion in it's day. Jim Thompson was born in the year of the horse and the Thai people say that people born in that year have to be careful of their health when they are 61. It turns out that when Jim was 61 he went to Malaysia for a holiday, went for a walk and never returned. To this day his disappearance remains a mystery.

Nice Little Puddy Cat

We got up close and personal with a few tigers and a cub at the Tiger Temple, Bangkok, another thing high on our list of places to visit.

It was a really hot day, but we braved the heat and headed on a one day tour which included a visit to the tiger canyon where there were about 6 tigers sleeping peacefully at the bottom of a canyon. When we climbed down the steep hill we saw many industrial fans and umbrellas to keep the tourists comfortable. We had been told not to wear the colours red, orange and pink because tigers don't like those colours and the ticket officer wouldn't let you through the gate. Unfortunately one of our tour members wasn't aware of this because he was wearing a nice red and white striped t-shirt. Our guide told him to swap his t-shirt with the driver (Yummy) to save him having to buy a souvenir t-shirt.

When we got to the little partition we were each taken by the arm, one at a time, and lead around to the different tigers. We gave our leader our camera and they snapped quite a few pictures for us with the tigers. I was a bit nervous at first but they kept saying, "pat the tiger, pat the tiger", so I did. Their fur was quite course and I was only game enough to touch their rump. They were all happily sleeping, which in turn made us happy! One guy in our tour group jumped a metre in the air when the tiger flinched, and his camera clicked just at the right time to catch his reaction! Once he was back behind the partition he thought it was all very amusing! The tigers were all positioned in the shade of small trees and drenched in water from time to time to keep them cool. What a life! We could have paid $40 to have a picture taken with the tiger's head on our lap, but we were happy with the pictures we already had.

Before we knew it, it was all over and we were told to go behind the partition again. It was an amazing experience. Next we went to find the baby tiger who was at the nursery with the monks. He was so cute and cuddly, and sleeping too. Jono got to hold his head and I got to hold up his paw. It's not everyday you can do this and it was amazing.