London Blog: Come for the Sights, Leave for the Food

Two weeks after arriving in Europe, and I’m finally sitting down to start up this blog again. Yes, I’ve been more than busy, a little lazy, but mostly I’ve really enjoyed not spending every waking moment with my MacBook. But I’ll make a quick exception during today’s siesta to let you know I’m still alive…

I spent about a week in London, meandering through Central while staying with a friend in Kingston, southwest of the city center. Central was just a short train ride an overpriced ticket away, so we spent all of our days exploring the city and often running into landmarks rather than pinpointing them on a map. Intentionally or not, London is a fantastic (and fantastically easy) city to get lost in: there are endless alleyways that always seem to lead to somewhere more interesting than the previous one, and the people aren’t very nice so you might as well spend your time walking rather than sitting in a pub with them. Which is seemingly all the Bristish do, anyway.

Sad to say (actually, quite happy), but I didn’t eat any fish nor chips while in the UK–the novelty didn’t outweigh my disgust with their awful cuisine. I didn’t see an unfrozen, unpackaged vegetable in this deep fried oasis, and we won’t even talk about their mincemeat obsession. Unfortunately, great foreign food is British-ized with more butter, more salt, and less flavor–never has McDonald’s looked so acceptable. Acceptable, not appetizing!

But in all, it was an amazing city to experience, from the gargantuan Tate Modern to the redneck (UK style) greyhound races we attended in Wimbledon. Dogs, a pint, and some gambling…a classy British tradition.

Not so many spectacular pictures, because it’s hard to avoid being cliche about anything in London, but here are some of the more decent photos:

And the customary culturally absurd photos…even though these don’t even begin to capture the absurdity of the Brits:

Southern Thailand: Krabi, Ao Nang, Railay, Phuket, and Ko Phi Phi

As of 48 hours ago, I’m back at UCLA and already finding “alternatives” to studying. Namely, updating this blog even though I’m not in Asia anymore! The best parts of my trip were while I was traveling, though, so here are some of the highlights from my month of backpacking…

After a month of living and volunteering in Bangkok, I had become familiar enough with the city, and curious about more of the culture, to want to explore more of Thailand firsthand. I started off flying down to Krabi to spend a week on the idyllic Andaman Coast in Southern Thailand. While it was maybe not the best place to experience authentic Thai culture, (much of it is overrun with European tourists, but escape the resorts/cities and everything is pristine), but the islands were the best escape from city life and a great intro to the backpacking lifestyle. Which means no schedule, no showers, and lots of crepes.

Although the beaches were amazing and it would have been great to just lay around all day, there was too much to explore to laze around in the perfect sand: swimming to caves, rock climbing, kayaking, snorkeling, scuba diving, yoga, boating, hiking, and having 3 hour meals on the beach were all parts of the daily routine. I think I could have stayed here for a bit longer than a week…

On the ferry from Krabi to Phi Phi...everyone has the same game plan

Wow, James Bond vacations here!? Oh, wait, that's just Jame Bond. The misspellings nevur stop.

Head honcho.

Ouchie?

The caves where sparrow's nest are harvested for an Asian delicacy: bird's nest soup. Apparently the spit-up from the birds is delicious? And very expensive. Just like anything else that has luxury stamped on it, Asians will buy it.

On a snorkel/kayak/swim trip to Ko Phi Phi Leh, an uninhabited protected island right next to Ko Phi Phi Don, and the most beautiful beaches I think I'll even see!

Maya Bay on Ko Phi Phi Leh. And where Leo DiCaprio's movie The Beach was filmed, as tour guides will not let you forget.

A view of the north side of Phi Phi from the highest lookout. On the way up there, I saw there was still a decent amount of tsunami wreckage and countless grave-sites outside of the main village

No more backpack…

Now instead of just living out of my backpack and staying in guesthouses, I now have my my backpack AND little suitcase and can stay in a real hotel in Bangkok before I head to Hong Kong. So it’s a step up, I suppose. The past month has definitely been an adventure, from the not so good (a stolen wallet to getting split up with my friends for a few days in Laos) to the amazing (long dinners on the beach/river, scuba diving, ziplining, kayaking, just laying in the sand!). We met new friends everyday, some of which we ended up traveling with or seeing days later in another obscure city. Many groups were traveling for  at least 3 months, and some for a year or indefinitely! This Southeast-Asia travel plan, or lack thereof, made me pretty jealous buuuut I guess I’m ready to go back to skool in a week. Well, after Hong Kong and Rugby 7s!

I’ll attempt to post some photos and blurbs about my trip later, but for now, I’ve compiled my personal favorites of my new best-est friends made throughout my travels. We all really bonded over our shared interests and aspirations, like our love for classy fashion and our dream to spread the joys and enlightenment of Western culture with the Thai and Laotian locals. Maybe a little too much joy…The eligible bachelors are:

1. Politically savvy intellectual

2. Rebellious body-paint artist / rugged outdoorsman (whose back read: "I think I'm Jesus...maybe?)

3. Travel enthusiast/ fashion slave

Bye!

Got my shiny new fake North Face backpack packed! (Fake= about $25.)  I’ll be backpacking around the following places over the next three weeks, starting in the south on the Andaman coast: Krabi, Railay, Phi Phi Island, Phuket Island, then mountainous Chiang Mai in the north, then train+bus+boat to Luang Prabang, Lao, then meander south via buses+boats to Vientiane, Laos. Then back to Bangkok for 36 hours, then onto Hong Kong, which will be quite a change from the trail. Sawatee ka!

chang = elephant

Playing with the babies at the Elephant Kraal in Ayutthya. No guidelines or rules, you can just run around and play with the little guys! They loved grabbing our legs, throwing around corn, and running and kicking around baskets…I think Gracie needs a new playmate at home…

And now riding elephants in Kanchanaburi…one of the guides may have been 12. Completely safe.

Ayutthya

Becca and I went on a last-minute dash to Ayutthya on Sunday. It’s about 75 km north of Bangkok, and has approximately 1 gagillion temple and palace ruins. We were sore from the bus ride, melting in the heat, bombarded by tourists (Buddhist holiday, Makabucha Day= lots of pilgrimages) and kept getting ripped off by drivers…BUT we toured around on $1.50/day bicycles (i.e., piles of rust) and played with baby elephants. So that cancels out the “badness.”

Rather than stop and examine every temple, we had a great time pedaling around the city and watching the air-con buses full of tourists zoom past. No sarcasm; the bikes were awesome! It was a great way to quickly see countless, and equally spectacular, ruins. Ayutthya is an ancient capital and was destroyed by the Burmese, which was terrible then but makes for beautiful piles of stone now. And that’s about all I learned other than even baby elephants are heavy, and it hurts when they stomp on your toes!

The New Thai National Symbol: 7-11

One of the very first things that I noticed about Bangkok, and then Thailand is general, is that there are 7-11’s everywhere. Not just a common store like in the US, but on every corner and with a few in-between on every block in Bangkok. But the city isn’t the only place inundated with these little havens of AC and Asian interpretations of gas-station food: 7-11 is abundant on all the puny islands, every city and town in Thailand, and in the middle of nowhere next to elephants and monkeys.

Out of curiosity and my relentless quest for useless knowledge, I looked up the stats:

• 5,250 total 7-11’s in Thailand
• Thailand has the 3rd largest number of stores after the US (5,900) and Japan (12,349)
• And 7-11 is the largest chain store in the world. Ahead of Ronald! McD’s is “classy” here; they look like Starbucks cafes and everyone gathers under the golden arches to study.
• 1,500 7-11’s in Bangkok (that’s a lot to cram into one city. A LOT)

So, Thailand is smaller than Texas, but bigger than California. But it has almost as many 7-11 stores as the entire US! Is this impressive or disturbing? For me, it’s just convenient because I know I can get delicious snacks, like a rice burger or some shrimp Pringles, whenever my heart desires! Which is never.

I wonder how they get that little shrimpy's flavor into those pink chips?

The epitome of Asian-American fusion... for the discerning BBQ lover. Maybe too much emphasis on the American part.

Banana Pancakes

Banana-pancake man on our block's 7-11 (every block has one or two of those, too).

…more accurately, banana crepes. With coconut milk. And chocolate. And sometimes mango. Anyway, a standard amongst the infinite food-carts lining every street in Bangkok are the banana crepe stands. In our neighborhood of Bang Sue and where there are more local Thais, the banana-pancake-making angels only come out at night to feed our cravings. But in the more toursity/ backpacker areas (like the infamous Khao San Road here in BKK, and about every backpacker outpost throughout Thailand), the crepe stands are open all day, everywhere. Namely, 6 feet from the water on Ko Samet, or outside of every bar and massage studio (studio= hole in the wall) in Kanchanaburi.

This seemingly endless string of banana pancake stands throughout Thailand links to form the ubiquitous “Banana Pancake Trail.” It’s less a trail than a well-traveled journey by backpackers. Guesthouses, bars, craft vendors, and more amazing food stands are also frequently sighted along the BPT, which makes for a conveniently light backpack and full stomach. And a full wallet, as I haven’t yet paid more than $3 for a meal or $10 for a night in a hotel.

Presentation isn't a strong point for street vendors, but it's the best food EVER. Screw chairs and tables and waiters.

Yesterday, my friends and I spent a few hours at a travel agency (definitely the way to go here! Boats, buses, trains, and planes are difficult to coordinate with no language skillz) on Khao San Road, plotting out our backpacking trip for the 3 weeks after our volunteer program in Bangkok ends.  We’ll start down on the islands of the Andaman Coast (Krabi, Railay, Phi Phi, and Phuket), head up to mountainous Chiang Mai, then take a 24 hour trek via slow-boat and train over to Luangprabang, Laos, where our ultimate goal of tubing the Nam Song river will be accomplished! Which is pretty much the only event planned. Other than snorkel, scuba, rock climbing, kayaking, more elephant rides, hiking, yoga, and of course, cuisine research.

Mango sticky rice is also addicting, and beyond delicious. Khao San Road is inundated with sticky rice & pad thai, both < $1. What else could you need?

Not-so-Grand Palace

One of the hyped-up, “must see” places in Bangkok is the Royal Grand Palace, where the royal residence, many government offices, the Temple of the Grand Buddha are located. We’ve been admiring the massive, yet delicate, golden towers of the Palace and surrounding temples illuminated each night from a cab as we go downtown. But up-close and in-person? Not so glorious.

Apparently, the recent Chinese New Year attracted thousands of Chinese and Japanese tourists to Bangkok for the largest New Years celebration outside of China. On top of that, there’s an upcoming Buddhist holiday, and the anniversary of something important. Regardless, there were astronomically absurd numbers of pushy tourists on our tour day at the Grand Palace. The buildings were beautiful, but the rudeness and the smells were terrible. I’d much rather experience Bangkok by wandering around local markets, eating sticky rice and mangoes from street vendors, and being carted around the city in circles by tuk tuks. The tourist spots may be impressive spectacles, but the crowds are just frustrating. Our farang-free neighborhood is much better!

That said, the architecture was amazing, to say the least. And the Reclining Buddha in a nearby Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm Rajwaramahaviharn was HUGE, just like the temple’s full name. It is better known as Wat Pho, and it the birthplace of traditional Thai massage. Amen to that! Also, Wat Pho is one of the largest and oldest temples in Bangkok. Considering it is home to one of the world’s largest buddhas, it better be big! the Reclining Buddha is 46 meters long, 15 meters high, and covered in gold foil with mother of pearl on his eyes and giant feet. After a day of frustrating crowds, I enjoyed seeing this giant buddha, just hanging out with his giant head resting on his giant palm, and seemed to be trying to squeeze into a too-small golden doll-house of sorts. Ok, some tourist spots can be worthwhile. The big, shiny ones at least.

Kanchanaburi Whirlwind

This past weekend, we went on another escape from the Bangkok bubble of pollution. Started off not so good: a torrential downpour, then stifling heat= SAUNA in Bangkok while we did an outdoor tour of the Grand Palace for 4 hours (not. fun.). But it ended quite well, as we accomplished many activities and avoided disaster; other then hastily buying coach class bus tickets at the station from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi. My butt was numb and my brains were mush by the time we arrived at the Kanchanaburi Station 2 hours to the northwest. We were on a main highway, but sitting in the back row for the entire bus ride felt like a jungle safari trek. Or like the “rocket car” ride in Rat Race, complete with the “special” bus post-brain-scramble.

Anyway, after the usual terrors of public transportation, we arrived at our surprisingly cute little floating bungalows. Yes, floating bungalows with private porch for $7 a night. And toilet paper was included! The storm reached Kanchanaburi that night, and we had a great night exploring the backpacker street in town and just chillin on the river. The Mae Nam Khwae Yai River, that is.

View from the veranda of the Sugarcane Guesthouses...at least the river didn't flood while we were sleeping on it!

On Saturday, we decided to spring for a tour package and just do the dang thang. I was adamantly opposed to paying to be escorted around with a group of strangers, but I ended up being SO happy with our tour. It was cheaper and more efficient than figuring out each activity on our own, and we met some hilarious Brits and dumb Canadians in our group. And our Thai tour guides were equally amusing, as they were just asking about everyone’s boyfriends and suggesting night clubs in town. As well as valuable historical tidbits, that is. So basically, they drove us all around the area and handled all the logistics. Awesome. Missions accomplished: Erawan Waterfalls (7 tiers of swimmable, beautiful waterfalls, and a great hike. I was craving some exercise! Complete with backpack-stealing monkeys and feet-nibbling fish), elephant rides (fun for the novelty of it), a bamboo raft ride down the river (literally riding on sticks), a train ride (crazy mountain scenery), then visited “the” bridge over the River Kwai (I was more concerned with the coconut icey drinks by then). What would have cost around $100+headaches+ 2 days only cost $30 for a great toursity day! When you don’t speak the language and when getting ripped off is ambiguous (should it be cheap? or even cheaper?), tours seem to be the way to go.

The central city of Kanchanaburi seemed pretty dingy around the bus stop, but along the river there was the customary strip of backpacker bars, delicious eateries, sexy lady-boys, and fabulously inexpensive massage studios. Yes, another Thai massage. When in Thailand!

The 7th and final waterfall. It was actually a decent hike! Or maybe I can attribute the difficulty to my recent lack of exercise...

Turquoise waters filled with dead skin-eating fish. It's cute until the foot-long fishies suck on your toes!

Thai Buddhists believe that there are spirits in all living beings; there are often clothes, treasures, and rainbows of silks wrapped around trees as offerings to the spirits.

A legitimate warning. We saw a mischievous monkey snag a backpack from a Speedo-clad Russian guy and steal his lunch. It's ok, he deserved it for his offensive attire.

The elephant rides were relaxing, slow, and nicely uneventful. Minus the massive pooping.

Squirrel for sale at the Kanchanaburi Night Market. I don't believe that it's humane to capture rodents from wildlife and sell them next to bootleg DVDs..."You should have bought a squirrel!!"