Thursday, February 12, 2009

Last Night in Bangkok

Sounds like the title of a bad movie. Yes, I’m in the big city now. It was really, really hard to leave Ton Sai. My second to last day was a beach day. All I wanted to do was play volleyball so I headed to Rai Lei beach. The net was down however and no one was playing. I wasn’t about to spend a nights lodging on a ball so I just swam and worked on my tan. It was low tide when I walked back and I saw an older woman beating at the exposed rock. She showed me she was breaking the mussel shells to get at the flesh.


Crabs make these beautiful spirals all over the beach:When I got back to Ton Sai I went for a massage. Dha was recommended and she was incredible! It was the best massage of my trip and not only felt like a massage but also a yoga class and a trip to the chiropractor. She could tell I was sore from climbing and she hit spots I had no idea were sore. I only wish I’d known about her earlier. That night I had a cheap dinner at the chicken lady. There are two street food stands that they call the chicken ladies. Apparently they make the best chicken, but I love the som tom- papaya salad.

My last day was amazing. In the morning I met Canadian Phil, American Scott and Agnes from Cypress to go climbing. We took a boat over to Eagle rock for some great climbs. I did four routes. The last one was a challenge, but everyone gave me words of encouragement and I eventually made it up. It was great to end with my best day of climbing.
Time flew by and we had to get back to the beach for a yoga class. It was low tide so we just walked. It was also full moon and I’d never seen the tide so low. The one channel the boats usually use to get to shore in was dried up.

We made it in time for the acrobatic yoga class taught by a couple Americans. I’d never heard of it before. Two people pair up and do a combination of therapeutic stretching and acrobatic moves. It was awesome! One of the instructors “flew” me (check out photo) and it was incredible. I can’t wait to check it out back in Seattle.

So after stretching on the beach at sunset, we showered up for dinner. I wanted a certain dish for my last meal- panang curry fish. Yum. And a mango shake. Dinner conversation was of course about climbing routes around the world. Agnes and I lamented the fact that the group hadn’t formed earlier. After dinner Ton Sai threw me a party. That and it was full moon ;). We headed to Sawadee bar. The slack line was hopping and everyone was out. Tha from the bar spun fire sticks on the slack line and blew everyone away. The water was blue from the bright, bright moon. It was a great night. The next morning I got on the long tail boat one last time. I haven't wanted to leave a lot of my destinations, but this time was particularly hard. I will definitely return to Ton Sai.

The trip to Bangkok was made easy because two Canadians were on my flight. We shared taxis and I landed right on Khao San Road- the famous backpacker street. Bangkok is huge and noisy, but I like it.

So great:Famous Khao San Road:
The next day I had the privilege of being shown around town by a local. The sister of my friend Yok from high school was very kind to meet me for the day. We met at the Royal Palace and Wat Phra Kaew. Lha looks just like Yok and has a beautiful smile. The palace is huge and very impressive. We saw the emerald Buddha and the many golden stupas. The weapons museum was amazing.

After wondering the grounds for a few hours we took a taxi to her family’s house and restaurant. It was great to meet Yok’s family and they fed me delicious shrimp fried rice and soup. Yok called from Vermont to make sure we’d met up.
After lunch Lha and I went to Wat Po with the huge gold reclining Buddha. It was very impressive. I asked to go to a market and we certainly did. It was never-ending and packed with people. Fabrics, beads, clothes, food etc lined the small alleyway. It was fun. View of market from above:
We also hit up the mall before heading back to her house. They fed me peanuts and water and I got to meet Yok’s adorable 7 year-old sister. Lha walked me to the bus through the flower market and didn’t leave until I was on the right bus. They were all so sweet and it was really nice to have their hospitality in this big city. Thanks Yok!
This evening I did some more shopping, got some street food and will shortly head for a massage. I can’t believe I get back on a plane tomorrow. Back to reality. Thanks for tagging along.

5 comments:

  1. Wow, you sure did a lot in just a little over a month! Chok dee!

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  2. ACROBATIC YOGA!? You look so graceful and the backdrop is beautiful. Your blog continues to amaze and entertain me...

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  3. Ah, thanks Matt. Sorry I never made it to Koh Lanta. Got stuck in Ton Sai ;).

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