White Bars and Other Books

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Krabi, Ko Phi Phi, Phuket Bounce

Krabi, Ko Phi Phi, Phuket Bounce

So I’m in the immigration office that has moved to an obscure location near Ao Nang instead of being easily available in Krabi Town so it’s a 100 baht in the rain both ways to get there and return in a truck taxi. It’s cheaper by motorbike taxi but it was torrential rain so I opted for a drier experience. The Immigration Office is closed between noon and 1pm. I got in at 1145 and dropped my passport and asked for a two week extension because my tourist visa was going to expire before my live aboard dive trip coming up was to end. If you over extend you visa it’s 5000 Baht/day. The lady officer went through the process and they gave me a month and then noticed I have a 2 month visa on the back side that I have in reserve but have to use before Jan 23^rd. So I told them I needed this to go dive and then I will sort out a language program for the next year under different visa. With eyes all on me, I told them it would be a education/student visa. The girl in front of me looked up and said calmly, “Yes, or I’ll have to arrest you.” I replied sarcastically, ‘Oh Thank you, that’s the nicest thing anyone has said to me all day. Cop khun cop.” They laughed and the manager came over and asked if I was working in Thailand and I responded, “I don’t want to work in this country. I promise.”  Smiles again.

I was picked up the following morning by van that took me to Ao Nang to board a ferryboat to Ko Phi Phi for a night before heading to Phuket to meet friends. With the high season approaching it was a good idea to get a place to stay before hand even though I knew there would be hotel employees with signs out all along the pier before actually getting into the labyrinth of diving centers, shops, bars and restaurants. The ferry is air conditioned and loaded with tourists heading to Phi Phi for a full moon and fun in the sun.

I asked a woman where Phi Phi Donchukit Resort was and she pointed on down the coastline away from the shop maze and new construction fences. I dropped my bag in my bungalow and headed for the beach and got there just in time because when the tide goes out it goes out a long way. Unfortunately my swim was short but still sweet and I didn’t really have time to join a snorkeling trip that would certainly take me to nicer spots but I am flexible and enjoyed the afternoon at a swimming pool party with great music that began to grow as the sea receded. It was a relaxing afternoon with great music and very hot. I expected rain but the clouds disappeared by sunset and local game of football broke out on the sand. As the sun set folks disappeared to shower and get ready for dinner and a big night out. At 10 pm the fireworks began sounding in the distance and flashing in the sky. I moved out into the night and could hear booming dance music off in the distance and walked towards it. Hundreds of people combed the beach and in the middle was a place called Slinky where the music cranked and a large group of folks danced in the heat and enjoyed cold beers, buckets of Samsong and Red Bull, other travelers and company of like mind.

I caught the morning ferry to the Phuket east side docks and took a van taxi to Rawai where a friend is slumming it in a high rise condo over looking Cholong Bay with Ko Lan and a stack of smaller islands seasonally interrupting the sunrise to the east. The seawater is different shades of turquoise blue and the boat harbor is selflessly sparse with sailboats, fishing boats, a few trawlers, party boats and ferries at bay. It’s Thanks Giving and it’s great to be with an old high school friend and his wife can cook anything. When they had their son I was fortunate to be at the hospital with them 19 months ago so I am ‘uncle’. It’s bee great to see the toddler. He’s a little delayed on language because they speak three in the house. 

We took part of a day to a smaller beach near Nai Han Beach at the edge of Rawai and had a swim in blue water. The visibility wasn’t the greatest but the sun was out and the family and I had lots of fun. We only stuck around for a few hours because the sun was brutal and you don’t need much time in it to get a burn.

My friends wife found a turkey and we had a combination Thanks Giving and a birthday party. Being back in Thailand is always a joy but the conversation turned to the ever-changing rules and regulations of tourist visas and staying longer. There are plenty of ways of staying you just have to pick your visa accordingly and stick with them. If you over stay your tourist visa it’s 500 Baht per day and the immigration love it with a smile.

The fish market is only good in the morning and it’s something to remember. That goes for anywhere in the world pretty much. Phuket is no different. Oysters, Tiger prawns, shrimp it’s all there and you can pick it out and they’ll take it across the street and cook it for you later in the day but morning time is to take home and do it yourself. It’s better that way. Heading off to a live aboard dive scuba dive trip for 6 nights/7 days and 18 dives coming up. Stay tuned.

www.davidcdagley.com

Surin Thailand Elephant Round Up

Surin Thailand Elephant Round Up

In Bangkok I was let off at the train station and had a quick bite to eat at a street restaurant burning a bit of time. My train from Bangkok wasn’t until 8:30 pm and would arrive in Surin at 4:30 in the morning. I had a sleeper so at least there would be a bit of comfort and there was. The night train is a great way to get from A to B. I didn’t have a reservation anywhere and was a little worried about arriving at such a lovely hour in the morning that all the doors would be locked.

On arrival the steward bid me a Thai good morning and I peeled the curtain back to let him know I was up. He said we would arrive in Surin in about ten minutes. Not many other travelers stirred except a few Buddhist monks in saffron robes popped out of their bunks.  We disembarked and I had forgotten that someone would be there for me but when I got out to the parking lot and man walked up to me and called my name. He led me to a tuk-tuk and off we went to the Petchkasem Hotel only a short ride away, I could have walked if I knew where it was. The hotel is massive, the rooms spacious and a pool is always a bonus. Since I was going to be here for a few days doing some writing and watching the elephant festival prepare itself for the weekend ahead I decided to stay a few days before making final hotel plans.

The day grew hot and humid as the sun rose in the east. I wanted get my bearings and find out where everything was going to take place so I took a walk and began sweating profusely as I moved through the day. Many shops were setting up and I could hear a recording of the events to come. I walked toward the noise and found an empty stadium where a group of men were preparing the field for the festival. Next to the stadium a music venue was being erected while a carnival of entertainment, food stalls, and vendors such as Honda with motorcycles, Samsung phones, and a few heavy equipment companies had back hoes, tractors etc. on display. Obviously I was a few days early but at least I knew where it was and began making my rounds through the shops that were open and found clothing extremely cheap. I bought a pair of shorts for less than $2.

I met a few ex-pats in Surin but there don’t seem to be many. Most of the expats seem to be motorbike enthusiasts and very mobile spending half the year in Thailand and the other six months in their homeland. There are few bar and restaurant streets such as in some of the other more popular cities in Thailand. I found a great little area developing near the bus station where the Oasis Restaurant faces the Farang Connection. Both have great food and seem to be a magnet for expats and tourists alike. Further on around the corner there is a beer garden, pizza place and the Sawadee Bar for great contemporary Thai and western music in the evening. A new club opened called the Monkey Bar but I haven’t been to it. It appears this will be a bar zone in the future.

My alarm went off at 6 am on Friday the 20^th and I popped up for a short walk before it got hot to see the Elephant breakfast. I had wandered through it the day before so I knew where it was and the locals were setting up for a big weekend event. Dancers encircled the round about and the music kicked up. Bands paraded around the corner and played songs as they walked the kilometer of tables loaded with 67 tons of fruit and vegetables for the elephants. The elephants turned the corner lead by a white elephant, just a painted symbol, not a true white elephant. Apparently white elephants do rarely occur but there isn’t one right now. The rest of the elephants were of all ages and sizes and they just kept coming. Warnings were offered over a loud speaker in numerous languages to not tease the elephants, not to feed them home cooked food, and to stay out of their way. I heard a story about a woman a few years ago teasing an elephant with a watermelon. Her husband didn’t get a good enough photo so she repeatedly pulled the melon back away from the elephant and the elephant got pissed off and smacked her with his trunk and broke the lady’s neck, she died instantly.

The elephants were ridden by a driver and offered rides by paying guests sitting on a bench strapped to the elephants back. Stairs to platforms were set up and spaced out along the road. Other men walked smaller elephants and asked for 20 baht for a handful of bamboo or sugarcane sticks that tourists get to feed the elephants. Most of the expats frown on this due to the arrangements sighting many of the elephants being owned by the Chinese and subsidized by the Thai government getting something like 8,000 baht/year for food/elephant. It turns out that many of the elephant handlers are Cambodian not Thai.

It was getting hot so I went to the pool at the hotel and cooled off for the afternoon. The elephant festival in the stadium began the following morning at 9 am. Again up early due to not having a ticket I grabbed a motorbike taxi and bought a ticket. The stadium filled up with people and then the music started and the elephants arrived en mass along with troops of wonderful dancers and musicians performing various traditional dances and songs. The whole festival or round up was originally for the king and a hunt but those times have passed and now it’s just a gathering and celebration for the elephants. Over the loud speaker the good care of the elephants is boasted and yet I witnessed a few moments where a driver used a sharp metal hook tugging forcefully on an elephants ear or hammered the blunt end of the hook forcefully on an elephants head with more power necessary to drop a nail. There were many times I wanted to yell out, ‘stop!’ but I didn’t. Later, I heard others tell similar elephant abuse stories witnessed at the festival as well. There are some animal rights groups here doing documentaries on this and some of them have it on film. Not to take wind out of their sails you are going to have to wait for the footage.

With the festival coming to an end today it’s time to get to the beach and go for a swim and do some scuba diving. I’m on my way.

www.davidcdagley.com

Thailand and The Bucket List

Thailand

I pulled into Bangkok for three days just to regain some language control and begin my month of holiday before things change. I had acquired a 2 month visa for Thailand in Malaysia but didn’t mention it when I got there so they’d give me a month visa to get the ball rolling. I lost track of my African running friend because my Thailand SIM card hadn’t been topped up in over six months so it expired. So as it was and off I went into the true city that doesn’t sleep. I had called ahead so I had a loose hotel reservation and said I’d be in by 6 pm. When I got to the entrance they knew whom I was because I’ve been using the same hotel for 20 years or so. I still have to show my passport like everyone else.

I had a few errands to run while in Bangkok and the following morning went straight to Bumrungrad International Hospital to have a quick skin check and get a new identification card made up because the last one swam way too much. The reason I get this card is because if I’m going to be in Thailand or South East Asia for any length of time this is the best hospital you can go to and having the identification card already just makes the ride in an emergency that much smoother having your vitals, allergies if any etc. Even my insurance company has them on file so it works both ways and the path is clear for assistance and acceptance. It’s merely a precaution but with things as they are it’s not a bad idea.

The English woman I met on Tioman Island, Malaysia told me about an Elephant Festival, ‘Round-up’, that happens on the 3^rdweekend of November. So I was a little early and when I questioned a travel agent about it she insisted I go do something else for a few days because Surin town isn’t that big and elephants will be arriving all week. There were a few things on my to-do list that I hadn’t done before and thought I could use the time to get some of them taken care of. I explained I hadn’t been to Kanchanaburi or the River Kwai. I remember the movie ‘Bridge Over The River Kwai’ with William Holden who’s acting career ran from 1939 to 1981 and Alec Guinness of Star Wars, Obi-wan Kenobi’ fame among so many others. The gal told me she would put a package together that would burn three days of things I may have done before but not in Kanchanaburi area. It’s not like me but I did need to see it before I gave it a bad name again. I told her the other option was going to Pattaya but I was against it and she nodded then shook her head, you don’t need to go there, I’ll set you up and get you get a train ticket with a sleeper to Surin where the elephant festival is and you can go from there. You’ll arrive at 0430 and there will be someone there to take you to a hotel. She sorted out an all-inclusive, meals, boats, tiger camp, floating market, rafting, elephants, and hotels with AC if you turn it on etc. All you have to pay for is extras like beer and food for the elephants if you wish.

I couldn’t leave for a few days so I had some extra wandering to do and motorbike taxied back from somewhere and ran into a kid from Winnipeg, Canada. I could tell because it was tattooed on the back of his leg. He also had a Polish insignia on his shoulder. We had a few laughs, I taught him some key words in Thai and off I went to Kanchanaburi in a mini van at 0715 am. First stop was a floating market I had been to before and knew the ins and outs so I just took pictures of the chaos and swamping waves, had a cup of tea and waited for the second attraction.

The second attraction was the River Kwai and the Death Museum. All of my memories were of the films I had seen. The second film that came to mind was ‘Unbroken’, a more recent attempt to expose the hardships and comrade groups that hung together and helped each other in a time of need. The stories on the walls and the left over Japanese equipment were impressive but it still didn’t sink in like it should. I walked the bridge that has been rebuilt and has two grades of track on it, one of old and one that is still in use today. It still didn’t sink in what had happened here except that I knew it was a major point of death for Australians, British and American soldiers. There were too many people wandering about to be depressed.

Last of the first day was a quick run through the Tiger camp where there are a stack of people waiting to get into Tiger Canyon to take a picture next to a big tiger, either on your own or in a group. I decided I had done enough of that in the past and could for go the line. The tigers were said to be tired in the heat but I’m pretty sure they are drugged and lethargic for a reason. I moved on to the juvenile cats and had a laugh because they were not sleepy splashing around in the water and curious as they should be. The grounds have been eaten bear by pigs and assorted deer. Even the water buffalo can be grabbed by the horns and don’t seem to care much. I pulled out early and was sent off to another group that was staying the two nights verses heading back to Bangkok that night.

We went to a waterfall and hung out for a spell before being picked up and off we went. This is where I met a pair of Germans from Berlin who turned out to be wonderful company. Our dialog started off slow but with time and the aid of the son and father’s translations we had a great deal of laughs and smiles. There was also a French pair that slowly warmed up to us and we five had a wonderful evening. It turned out that after dinner we all headed up river by long boat to where we were staying. The long boat wasn’t up for the task so we basically floated back down stream to the dock and we welcomed them heartily. Laughs broke out from all ends. After switching boats we made it to our destination, a floating hotel with wonderful rooms and a Burmese family running it. I saw the daughter with a traditional paste on her checks and instantly thought of Burma and said, ‘Minglaba’ to her. She looked at me with a very odd face but smiling non-the-less. She went off and I waited for her father who turned the corner with a massive smile and I said again ‘Minglaba’ and he smiled as deep as possible knowing I knew the difference. I told him in English many of the places I had been and added details about the recent election of the NLD and the connection to Aung San Suu Kyi. We smiled, teeth and all and he knew I knew, say no more.

After a shower I joined the father and son German pair from Berlin and as the beer flowed our tongues wagged and the French couple joined us for a lovely evening. This was the evening of the Paris bombings and attacks. We didn’t know it yet because we didn’t have Internet, it was just us and it was just fine. We emptied the fridge of beer and sent the family to bed well before we decided to follow the Geckos into hiding. What a peaceful night. The only thing I didn’t care for was that all hotels on the river release anything you do in a bathroom directly into the water below you and off it goes down stream. This is unacceptable considering there are hundreds of people on the river daily not including the locals and this is also where they get a lot of water, not for drinking but for everything else. This goes on year after year and there should be a solution to this issue or no one should go.

I slept peacefully and woke up too early because breakfast was ready the moment I stepped foot in the area. The wife was a crack up funny and she said breakfast would be in a few minutes while I poured a cup of tea and I responded, ‘Case-a-ma-she-ba-bu’, no problem, and she laughed all the way back into the kitchen with a massive grin and a cheroot hanging out of her mouth. I liked her.

A slow start for the elephant camp lead to more disappointments because the elephants, no matter how well cared for, don’t give you much of a ride. We walked a short ways and ended up making hats out of leaves while the animals ate and gardened. I’ve experienced much better up north. When we finally returned to the elephant camp there was an elephant show where they played soccer, shot basketballs and did a hip-hop dance to the guests, don’t mind the male elephants, they get excited and it drops to the deck. Also not my cup of tea but the elephants have no job in the jungle because we don’t want them to work for bad people tearing down the forest so they are caught between the dwindling forest and no where to go because we haven’t given them one. We could but it would take a lot of us to jointly add funds and buy a reserve, fund the guardians of that reserve and a lot of other payments as well. It is possible.

We went back to the floating hotel and had some down time for an hour or two. The river is beautiful, the river Kwai with limestone eruptions teething green against the blue skyline. We boarded a bamboo raft and floated tranquilly down river back to the restaurant for lunch and an afternoon at Hells Fire Pass where 200,000 people cut a mountain in half 20-30 meters deep by hand and pick and wide enough for a support train. 100,000 prisoners of war and conscripts died in the process. It was ghostly just to know what happened here. Now I got it; the feeling was deep and what really turned my guts were the black and white paintings and photocopies on the walls that a man named Jack Chalker depicted. The utter Dante’s Inferno type hell these people of many nations went through equals any holocaust and yet no one says such things. The pictures tell more than just a moment in time, disease, malnutrition, heat exhaustion and so on.

I walked the walk to the actual cutting only a few kilometers away. I wasn’t allowed to walk the whole walk but if I had time I would have with a down heart and a dark mind. Trees had grown in the time past and yet the ghosts, whether imaginary or real, run rampant though you with images of emaciated men struting in nothing but a loin cloth, also known in the day as a  ‘Happy-Jappy’ or viseverse. Again the movie ‘Unbroken’ came to mind. Take a look at the movie; it’ll break your heart, not that that is the point but that we do incredibly terrible things to each other then and now, today, and regretfully tomorrow. Fasten your seat belt and listen to what is about you.

We were joined by a group of folks from all over the world for dinner including a lovely pair of Kiwi’s who had been recently been to the outback in Australia with stories and hick-ups of their own. Then there were the four folks from ‘Lost Wages, aka Las Vegas’; good group with linguistic options, we all grew into Portuguese, Polish, the list went on. We all never mentioned religion but we did keep each other up to date now that we knew France had taken a hit and I’m not quiet when it comes to awareness, just let it flow, let everyone know as soon as you do so we can work together.

www.davidcdagley.com