Thailand... the land of dinosaurs and pineapples

NOTE: We published two posts at the same time, one about Laos and one about Thailand (it was WAY too long with just one post). Please scroll to the previous post to keep reading in chronological order, and to understand the new method of blogging that we're trying out!

Both: We left the next morning for Thailand, heading to the Laotian border and then on across the Friendship Bridge to the sleepy river town of Nong Khai. We spent the night and the beginning of the next day in a quiet little guest house, surrounded by pretty gardens – a nice place to relax before heading to the city of Khon Kaen to meet up with Jess's college friend Alison. Alison was in her second year of living in Thailand, teaching English to Thai college students. She put us up in her one room apartment, introduced us to her wonderful friends, and let us do laundry! We stayed with her for 3 days, during which time we met her friends, ate delicious foods, visited her class to practice speaking English, went to an amazing dinosaur museum, bowled, and did Thai aerobics.

E: Khon Kaen was super fun. I really enjoyed Alison. She was extremely friendly and enthusiastic. Good energy to be around. She taught us so much about Thailand. For instance, apparently, the King thinks that people are too fat and so he implemented a national aerobic workout everyday at 6 pm. On our first day, we walked down to this lake near Alison's house and participated. The music was ridiculous and it was hard to follow the instructor, but so much fun. Felt good to work up a sweat too.

Visiting her class was great too. We answered all these random questions, like what has been our favorite country; what do we think of Thailand; what the hell Jess' major means; have we ever been in love. Random. Then they started having their regular class discussion about superstitions. Afterward they were supposed to break up into pairs and talk about superstitions in Thailand. The boy who was sitting next to me, however, begins talking to me about gay culture. We go back and forth comparing Thailand and the States. It was super interesting to hear about what it is like to be gay in Thailand. I would have liked to continue talking with him, but our time was up and he had to get to his next class.

Oh! The dinosaur museum! So freaking cool. There are a bunch of dinosaur statues (life sized) alongside the road as you are driving there. Even a whole herd, at one point. The museum itself was really well put together, especially for Thailand. I think of it more as an evolutionary museum than a dinosaur museum. It started with the Big Bang and the first life on the planet, then all the way up through dinosaurs to present day.

Lastly, I was so way super stoked on bowling. I could barely contain myself while we waited for everyone to show up. We had a big crew too, twelve of us in all. No turkeys, but I still had a ridiculously good time.

J: It was great to see Alison. A good friend from Bucknell, it was so interesting to get to visit her in Thailand, to be able to understand why she was here and what her life was like now. We spent a good amount of time talking about mutual Lewisburg gossip, but the most memorable conversation for me happened in a nearby coffee shop. We had stopped in for a quick snack but ended up staying for a few hours, engrossed in a winding conversation about gay/transsexual culture in Thailand, racism, Western ideals of equality and individuality, “development”, the journeys our lives had and would take us on. It was so good to be able to digest the world around us, to engage in thought-provoking discussion, to understand culture and experience in a new way.

Both: We left Khon Kaen on Wednesday morning, heading first to Bangkok and then to Koh Chang, a small island that we hoped to reach by nightfall. However, we ended up on the wrong bus, spent a few hours getting on the right bus, and spent the night at a guest house on the mainland before taking a ferry to Koh Chang on Thursday morning. We stayed on Koh Chang, taking in the beach, eating dinner and spending the late evenings on a balcony overlooking the bay, until Saturday morning.

J: I find it hard to write about what the ocean and the beach does to my state of mind, but the most prominent feelings are of deep relaxation and happiness. I guess it quiets the inner workings of my mind, almost like a state of meditation. At the ocean, my mind is clear and calm, and I am able to consciously examine individual ideas and thoughts, to focus on whatever my unconscious mind suggests gently is of importance. This examination is not hurried, or even very conscious at times, and there is no expectation of resolve or conclusion in my thoughts, just quiet attention given and then released. Nothing is hurried, and everything keeps easy time with the background heartbeat - rhythm of the waves. I suppose there are many explanations for my deep connection with the ocean – but they aren't required by my mind when I'm gazing out over an endless expanse of sea. It is one of the few places that I can really just be.

E: Koh Chang was nice. I mean how could hanging out on the beach all day not be nice? We ate a whole pineapple everyday. And, let me tell you, those babies were fa-resh. After tasting those, I'm not sure that I'll be able to eat pineapple in the States again.


Both: And now, finally, we get to where we currently are – at a resort in Pattaya, courtesy of Em's 'rents and an exchanged time-share property. We would not be here if it weren't for that time-share either. It is so touristy here, not at all like where we like to travel. But our room, or should we say suite, is spectacular! First off, we each have our own rooms, complete with separate bathrooms. Then, like we need more space, we have a living room/dining room/kitchen. Also two, that's right two, balconies! Lap of frigging luxury! We plan to be here until Thursday. After which, we fly to Kolkata from Bangkok and begin our journey through India.

E: I was so happy to hear that we had a kitchen. I hadn't got to cook anything since Beijing and I'd been jonesing. Really most of the time, I just don't know what to do with myself and all that space. The surrounding area is quite touristy, which to me means gross. So I haven't had the want to venture far from our resort, which suits me just fine. I will be sad to be leaving Southeast Asia, though. It's been so great here. I'm a bit apprehensive about going back to city life. But also excited to see India. I've heard so much about the culture shock and craziness there. I can't wait to experience it for myself.