Back from Thailand (2010)

[Death_at_Midnight]

Greetings all!

I'm back. Was a good trip. Went to Thailand and took a lot of pics. Brought some Joes and Cobra's with me, and my version of Cobra Commander on vacation. The Joes got some looks at customs when returning back to the US. And the mini tri-pod showed up in the x-ray machine. All in all it was interesting.

Wish I could share all the photos with everyone, but I did take a lot. Bought an external HD (500 gigs) there to offload the photos from the cameras. Finally got to ride in Bangkok in a "tuk tuk" in the rain. That was like riding a roller coaster without a safety belt. but I had a great time.

Up in the mountains it was nice in the shade, extremely hot/humid in the sun--I was drenched, and I'm from New Orleans where I am used to hot and humid! But anyway, lots of bugs, big ones--hornets, millipedes, lots of big red ants--snakes, wild boar, wooden bridges--some made nothing but logs. The scenery at times was very impressive, very Asian.

In Bangkok itself I did get a chance to visit other places I normally don't get to see. Now that Central World, Asia's second largest shopping mall was burned and is currently closed, other malls have an increase in customers now. There was one I rather liked, mostly because it had a nice bookstore. For those who don't know, a lot of the malls in Asia tend to go up, into multi-storied buildings. It's rather fun. But anyway, awesome bookstore with a computer section very up-to-date with even books on how to program my new Droid X. Lots of common American comics, books, etc, but a very nice section on Chinese and Japanese and other languages. I love books, so.. mmmm.. I wanna go back!

HSBC can be a pain. The main branch is located in Hong Kong and they like to say they are the world's local bank. Yet even to get a suppliment credit card a US passport is not good enough, nor is local Thai government docs. You need so much documents to prove you are you that I'm amazed they didn't demand my dental records and a pint of my blood. grrr

Food, excellent! Shopping, excellent! Except TRU in Esplanade. So bought some more gashappon (sp?) figures. You pay like $5 for a set of 3 tokens, put them into the machine and turn the knob. It's a gamble that you'll get anything you'll like.

Installed a hot water heater thing into the shower at the condo. In the US it's standard for a house or apartment to have a hot water heater, but not in Thailand. The place is hot most of the year that a cold shower is actually a cool shower. Only in winter do I feel the water too cold to really enjoy. So we got an electric one installed.

Not sure what else I can say about the trip. If anyone has questions about the country from an American perspective, please ask and I'll try to give some input. So now I'm back and I'm now planning my next trip there already. Probably it'll be around December again.

Anyway, I hope to organize some of these photos and post some more by the weekend.

--Death

[Beast from the east]

Welcome back.

Hope you had a great flight there and back wth alot of fun in between.

[Hammerfel]

Welcome back! Looking forward to your pics!

[seyms]

Sounds like a great trip. Looking forward to seeing photos.

[vader9900]

Thats awesome Andre, sounds like you had a great time. Can't wait to see some pics. See any real cobras? :eek:
SE Asia is definitley a place I would like to go someday. How are American's accepted there?

[Death_at_Midnight]

[QUOTE=vader9900]Thats awesome Andre, sounds like you had a great time. Can't wait to see some pics. See any real cobras? :eek:
SE Asia is definitley a place I would like to go someday. How are American's accepted there?[/QUOTE]

I had a blast over there. Outside in the country it was very different... okay... let's see if I can organize some thoughts....

I really enjoy this question, because I am eager to share with anyone a description of what I experienced, from an American perspective. I would like to post a second response, though, with more info. But for now, a brief summary.....

Had a great time there. Both in the city of Bangkok and outside. As a whole, Thailand is friendly towards Americans. I have never had a problem, however the first time using the subway I was advised that the route would pass through a particular section with a higher middle east population and it may not be a good idea to go there, epsecially if you look American. Now, with me, I look American, probably because how I dress. But I'm Native American and can blend more easily if I give it effort.

In BKK, always be street smart. Watch your wallet. Thai's are friendly.. Thailand is known as the country of smiles. This is true. They do like foriegners too, sometimes too much that the locals complain of preferential treatment. Taxi's might first stop at a group of Thai's but then see some Western foriegner and then skip the Thai group just to get the Westerner. Everyone notice things like this. And it's not uncommon for some merchants to raise a price of something when dealing with a foreigner. That has not happened to me.

I can go on and on, and would like to. I don't have a problem communicating b/c my wife does the talking. She speaks the language fluently while I am still learning it.

If you want to go to Thailand, the tourist spots in the south.. the beach resorts.. are probably good choices because they cater more towards foreigners who do not speak the language. Where as Bangkok, it's more for business. You'll be amazed how many people can speak english.. it's the world's defacto international language.

I want to write a bigger post!

--Death

[Death_at_Midnight]

There are so many things I want to say about the trip to Thailand. I don't want to get bogged down with details, and yet some of those details feed the experience. I'll try to compare a little from an American perspective.

A little about me first: I travel a lot -- US, Central America, Asia, Carribean. Contrary to popular belief, I am not a millionare.. yet. I'm a software engineer, and my undergraduate degree is history with a focus on asian studies, and I can speak four languages. The thing I want to focus here is that I travel to countries like Japan or Thailand with a background that helps me adjust to those places.

The route I take when flying to Thailand is to use American Airlines (AA) and switch to Japan Airlines (JAL) or All Nippon Airlines (ANA). I do so because I like stopping over at Japan. But also the level of service in a Japanese airline is higher than an American airline. If I could go JAL the whole trip I would. Other Americans I know who live/work in Bangkok tend to use Thai Airlines the whole trip non-stop with similar quality service. But cost is a factor (Thai Air is more expensive than AA) and those Americans in BKK I know tend to be the bosses of a company and can afford a more expensive ticket. And it's the reason of cost that I go with AA as the primary carrier.

The trip takes me to Japan. Narita Airport is near Tokyo. It's a a large airport in two terminals of two buildings each. You will arrive at Terminal 2 and may have to go through security to enter the "main building" of Terminal 2. If you want to get to Terminal 1, you will need to officially enter Japan via customs and take bus 6 (yellow bus in a clearly marked section) which will take you around to the other airport. Everything is in Japanese with English being the second language. The terminal's arrival/departure screens are in both Japanese and English. Airport staff tends to be all dual language: Japanese/English. Even the cute girls at the information counter will have no trouble with English. When you arrive at Terminal 2 you will get to one area where you will see a large set of monitors with info for your next flight. If no gate is specified it's because none has been determined yet. Unless it's early in the morning, you will find several Japanese girls from the airport ready to assist you as soon as you get to those monitors.

The main building of terminal 2 has a lot of shops. You might also notice that in Japan they take personal higene (sp?) more intensely than in the states. It is not uncommon to find lots of ppl infront of the mirrors in the restroom brushing teeth, shaving, etc. Also pay attention to the icons on the stalls. There are traditional restroom stalls and westernized ones. The westernized ones you will be familiar with. The traditional ones you squat and do your business. Hey, this is crude info but when you gotta go it's important to know.

Cell phones.. US cell phone companies tend to use CDMA technology in the phones. It's good tech. The world tends to use GSM tech. Once you leave the US, you'll be entering the realm of GSM. My Droid X is CDMA and WiFi. Narita Airport does have WiFi and the Droid was able to pick up some sort of system and established a roaming connection. The connection established was weak, but it worked. The WiFi wasn't free, but I was not without communication. There are charging stations for laptops. And using a laptop to connect to a WiFi network will show something about having to use a credit card (i never used this). Contrast this with the airport in South Korea which offered free WiFi.

Starbucks is located in Terminal 1 (near the AA counter on the second floor), and several other good cafe's. But to get to terminal 1 you need to officially enter Japan through customs. Then to get back to Terminal 2 you'll need to go through security again, get into the tram which will take you around to Terminal 2.

Flight from the US (Dallas) to Narita will be around 12 hours. You cross the international date line and suddenly you lost a day.

Flight from Narita to Bangkok will be anywhere from 7 to 11 hours, depending on the time of year (winter months you'll be flying agains the Jet Stream which will slow the flight to about 350 mph instead of the approx 550 mph)

Get an aisle seat. In AA, the restrooms are small. In JAL, they can be twice as big, and way more clean. Get noise canceling headphones.. highly recommended. AA to Japan never charged for their ear buds, and JAL provides earphones. AA one time returning to the US was charging $2 for the earbuds. All the aircrafts have been 777's. All with an LCD screen. JAL and ANA both do not allow cameras to be used when taking off in Japan. They do have nose mounted cams so you can see what the plane sees. When departing, the Japanese aircrews at Narita will bow as your JAL flight is taxied out.

[Death_at_Midnight]

Avoid the fruit called "durian".

Arriving in Bangkok.. airport is huge. Jets from all over, the most foreigners you will see. Every time I arrive there we always have to board a bus to the airport building. There is a long walk and you have to get to the second floor. The passport area tends to be slow and they pretty much ask you in English if you are there in BKK on business and where will you be staying. Then you get your baggage. You need to see where your baggage will be on a board with your flight arrival info. Customs itself is quick. If you want a quick bite, the bottom floor of the airport has the stores and food places. I recommend S&P. They have many branches around Thailand, always good food. The coffee is really good. They do latte art too. I do recommend the "cookies and cream frost" which is similar to a frappucino but with ice cream.

Avoid the fruit called "durian".

Lots of taxi's. I take a taxi to my condo in the center of Bangkok. Traffic drives on the left. Traffic is aggressive, especially the taxi's. Long drive.

Traffic jams are common in BKK. There is a subway and skytrain. The Skytrain from the city center to the airport is still under construction.

You will notice too that there are many more street lights, many have countdowns (how many seconds remaining for green light, for red light). Blue street signs tend to lead to a toll. You'll see a lot of modern buildings with a lot of older buildings. A lot of rust, grime. Lots of things have the color of wet cement. It rains a lot, that's has a lot to do with it. Street vendors will sell things on the pavement/sidewalks which tend to be brick to resemble cobbles or are cracked up and uneven. Lots of vegitation and the powerlines, get a look at them. Massive knots of cables on concrete columns. Massive transformers too. You do not want to mess with them.

Do not take the fruit durian to your hotel room.

Department stores are very modern with polish floors, glass, lights. I like them. Esplanade has several coffee shops, including Coffee World, Starbucks, and Black Canyon. The coffee at Coffee World isn't bad. I kinda think Starbucks is a bit better, and I am not a Starbucks fan. However the best frappucino I ever had anywhere was in Bangkok. Since then my opinion of Starbucks has risen a bit. Black Canyon coffee's I have yet to try, but they look like they have their act together. Very nice stores.

Esplanade has a small TRU.

The thing about Bangkok is that it might not look like a great city as you drive around. But the thing is the stores and restaurants tend to be really nice and comphy when you enter them. I went to one this past trip called Greyhound Cafe. It was nice, really nice. Outdoor fountain, seating areas, large oak-like tree, and the cafe itself is behind glass windows. I can see myself there often. A movie actress came and ate some pastry at a bakery across from the cafe.

A few thoughts....

In many Asian cultures the women do things for their men. In Japan, for instance, if the girl likes you/loves you.. she will be the one to order for you, etc. Likewise it is safe to assume in other Asian cultures it is similar, where the woman does things for the man especially around food. Of course things depend on the woman you're with.

Met some friends at the Greyhound Cafe and went down the street to a grill. It was a Chinese grill. First time I'm in a place like that. It's like a buffet (sp?) You get the raw meat and things from the freezers and put them onto a hot grill in the center of the table. You'll see this kind of setup often, where there is a round hole in the center of a table.. that's where a waiter comes and puts hot coals and lights them up for you to cook your own food.

You'll find street merchants selling things on the sidewalks. Food usually, but other things too. They tend to put some sort of tarp over to keep the sun out or rain. Often to get to a store you need to walk past these sidewalk merchants. Keep your wallet safe. I put mine in the front pocket.

Avoid the fruit called "durian".

Always with a taxi, ask them if they will take you to your destination before you enter the cab. Lots of various cab colors. Some taxi's won't allow you to get in if you have durian.

However, I have not had durian. They say women tend to like durian more than men. The thing is not the taste. Ppl describe the taste very highly. It's the after smell. The thing can stink. The smell can linger in your hotel room for days.

Eggs are not kept in the freezer area even in a super market.

Other little things I noticed... a lot of the products we buy in the US can be bought there. A lot of other products you can not find in the US are there too. English is usually on the label.

[Death_at_Midnight]

Once you leave the city the highway system is a real highway with black asphalt, very smooth. Can do over 120 kph and not feel a single bump. The ride outside the city is nice with a mixture of farm fields, rice paddies, open air shopping malls, neighborhoods, high tech business, and occasional single home. Looks like there's a waiting area every ? some meters for public transportation or maybe transportation provided by a local company for their workers--not sure. Very enjoyable.

Getting into the smaller, more rural areas you can begin to see a change in living conditions. You will always see small homes.. some in traditional Thai style which impresses me nicely (and I'm a Japanese buff) others are more .. lacking.. to put it nicely. Out in the country the roads become two lane, often shared with the local traffic which do not acknowledge traffic rules--i.e. they might just pull out infront of you without looking. Ppl in the country tend to use motorbikes.. kinda small cc engine.. scooter-like, almost like a dirt-bike, but smaller. And various tractors.. especially tractor choppers... modified mini-tractors that pull a wagon. The controls of the tractor have been extended so that the driver can sit in the wagon part. Not very fast and they tend to be the most popular.

In most places the paved road ends and you are on dirt road. Thailand gets a lot of rain. You want 4WD. If you come from the country in the US, do not expect the same overall environment in terms of living conditions. You will be roughing it.

Btw, a traditional Thai house looks pretty good.

Up in the mountains I had a great time. Lots of waterfalls in Thailand. But you want to protect yourself. Get some mosquito repellant, and anti-malarial pills. The pills you need to get them at least 3 days before the trip b/c you're supposed to take them 2 days before you depart, everyday, then like 7 days after you return, and with food. You do not want to get malaria.. i had it, it's not fun. If you start getting sick like 48 hours later, then it stops and returns every other day.. you probably got it. There are several forms of it. Deal with it asap. One form is very deadly. All the forms have a point where the parasite goes into a hibernation and can emerge from that years later, more embedded into your system than ever before. So declare war on it before you even leave for Thailand. Also, there are many other parasites.

Snakes and things are out there in country and a lot of them. Lots of ants. Flying things with stingers, long stingers. Giant centipedes, and millipedes... check your shoes before getting into them. They like shoes. The bite is painful, poisonous. Big red ants.. they move quickly. Big black ants too, also move quickly. Lots of little red and black ants like we have in the US. Large gecko's. Large spiders. Check your shoes before getting into them. Hornets and wasps too, in large nests. Careful when walking through the bush. Also, often times treat it like walking through a rainforest. You don't have to be hacking/slashing your way through. Natural trails everywhere. Snakes like the trees, and there are a number of them, green pit viper types. A few can climb walls, even better than a lizard. There are cobras in the the Thailand area too. They like holes, and there are a lot of holes in the ground.

[vader9900]

Very interesting stuff!

[pinoyronin]

Great account, Death_at_midnight! :) Looks like you really had fun here in Thailand.
Speaking of Durian, Southeast Asians have always described it as "smells like hell but tastes like heaven". :D (Try the dried Durian chips next time--available too in supermarkets--tasty but without that smell, hehe!)

[Death_at_Midnight]

[QUOTE=pinoyronin]Great account, Death_at_midnight! :) Looks like you really had fun here in Thailand.
Speaking of Durian, Southeast Asians have always described it as "smells like hell but tastes like heaven". :D (Try the dried Durian chips next time--available too in supermarkets--tasty but without that smell, hehe!)[/QUOTE]


Greetings!

The dried durian sounds interesting. I was tempted to buy a mooncake at S&P that had durian in it, but ended up getting another. One of the taxi cabs had sticker on a window that had little warning images.. like a silhouette of a person or object with a line through. Something like "no smoking, no eating, ..." etc, and "no durian".

I need to start watching the prices for another trip there. Would like to go for a December/ January trip... something around New Years.

[pinoyronin]

[QUOTE=Death_at_Midnight]Greetings!

The dried durian sounds interesting. I was tempted to buy a mooncake at S&P that had durian in it, but ended up getting another. One of the taxi cabs had sticker on a window that had little warning images.. like a silhouette of a person or object with a line through. Something like "no smoking, no eating, ..." etc, and "no durian".

I need to start watching the prices for another trip there. Would like to go for a December/ January trip... something around New Years.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, that one from S&P is tasty (and not smelly). Try it next time. :)
And believe it or not, there's also a durian-flavored ice cream here. :eek:

[Death_at_Midnight]

Is there a Greyhound Cafe at Siam Paragon?

[pinoyronin]

[QUOTE=Death_at_Midnight]Is there a Greyhound Cafe at Siam Paragon?[/QUOTE]

Not sure. Will check out the next time I'm there.