Part II - Riding High in Thailand
Trip Start
Aug 11, 2007
1
21
23
Trip End
Jul 30, 2008
Bangkok,
Thailand
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Now, I can honestly say that the inside of the Bangkok airport looked like something out of a sci-fi movie...a futuristic, sterile and immaculately clean man-made environment made out of metal, complete with high vaulted-arch ceilings supported by large metal pillars and crisscrossing beams. Of course, I'm aware that my perception of the airport was probably magnified by my being sleep deprived and by the fact that we were arriving at around 5am to an almost-completely-empty terminal. However, I still maintain that the Bangkok airport was the most modernistic, futuristic airport I've ever visited. Another highlight of the airport were the huge, brightly painted Thai sculptures of gods and other mythical figures that were placed at intervals along the terminal corridor.
Rafting to the Ashram, Thailand
We all cleared customs and went out to the baggage claim area where we were greeted by our guide, an extremely friendly young man (who I thought was about 20) who spoke good English, though with a thick Thai accent. When we'd all collected our bags, our guide led us outside where a luxury bus was waiting for us. I don't say "luxury" lightly...this bus was decked out, complete with a flat screen TV up front, spotless seats that reclined almost to beds, and tray tables in the seat-backs. During the 1 hour ride out of Bangkok to reach the Ashram where we'd be staying, I spent about half the time looking out to window and taking in all I could of my first glimpses of Thailand. The second half of the ride, I was finally overcome by tiredness and got a much-needed 30 minutes of rest. 1 hour outside of Bangkok. I woke up a few minutes before arrival at ashram and noticed that we were driving through an area that looked like one big nursery, with plant stores and small, wooden houses lining both sides of the road. We pulled over next to one of the nurseries, and I couldn't imagine where the ashram could be, unless it was a nursery-ashram sort of thing. It turns out that the ashram was quite tucked away behind one of the nurseries. In fact, we had to take a short wooden raft ride across a small river to just reach the ashram grounds.
The ashram was absolutely beautiful, peaceful, serene, etc. On arrival, we all gathered in the dining hall for breakfast, which consisted of a gorgeous display of noodles, rice, broth, vegetables, and lots of seasonings...not your typical American breakfast food.
Rafting to the Ashram, Thailand
Though I didn't really know what anything was or how to put it together to eat, I experimented. It was kind of like how I felt in India when I first arrived (ie. Do I eat the yoghurt for dessert, or do I mix it with my food? Do I use my bread to eat my vegetable dish, or do I eat them separately). There were some other longer-term guests in the dining hall, so I just watched what they did to get a sense of how to prepare my plate.After breakfast, almost everyone went back to the dorm and crashed before our sessions were to begin after lunch, thin, straw mat beds with tiny square pillows were surprisingly comfortable and had long draped mosquito nets. But I was too excited to be here at this beautiful ashram in Thailand....so I decided to walk around, explore, take pictures of water lillies, browse the books in the library, investigate the shop and play with the shopowner's cute, chubby baby.
Lunch was a repeat of the delicious breakfast...with the same dilemma...do I use a plate or a bowl? Once again, I went with both!
After lunch, we all meet for sessions on topics pertinent to our "midpoint retreat" (ie. How is everyone adjusting to their work/life in India, what are the shared frustrations, excitements, etc., what skills do we want to build during our remaining time in India, and the like).
I guess that the "change-from-Indian-food" meals were definitely a highlight of my first day in Thailand, because I recall that we had another delicious meal for dinner.
Beautiful nature surounding Ashram, Thailand
Afterwards, 2 of my friends led us in a rousing game of India trivia that was good fun and also showed me how little I still know about the diverse country I'm living in.Since I hadn't slept much on the plane and hadn't taken a nap that morning, I was hit by a wave of tiredness right as trivia was ending and so, I tucked myself into my cozy mosquito-netted cocoon and fell asleep.
Day 2 in Thailand
Anna had volunteered to lead yoga this morning for whoever wanted to join, so I woke up early and went to meet her outside the dorm. Me and SharON were the only ones who managed (or tried) to get up early for yoga, so Anna suggested that we go over to the covered landing neat the Ashram's office and lily pond for our yoga session. Although doing yoga on wooden slats was somewhat of a challenge, I couldn't thing of a more beautiful spot in which to spend my morning. We did about 30 minutes of yoga, and then met up with the rest of the group at breakfast.
As usual, the bulk of the day was spent in sessions. In the afternoon, as an energizer before the last few sessions, I led the group in a West African dance activity. I have REALLY missed African dance since I've been in India, especially since last year in Boston I took at least a class or two each week. And as much as I am enjoying Kathak, there's no comparison with the energy I get when I do African dance. So, I was thrilled about the opportunity to teach my fellow fellows a few West African moves and to get back in the movement myself! We did some across-the-floor exercises, by the end of which half the group had collapsed on the cushions in the back of the room...too hot and tired to do more.
Dorm at Ashram, Thailand
I was pretty out of breath myself, since it was at least 85 degrees outside, and I hadn't done this kind of movement in over 6 months. However, a bunch of the other fellows were still into it, so I taught them a short dance and we did it a couple of times to the sound of Ghanaian drumming music that my friend had on her ipod. Then all of us who had stuck it out took a water break to cool down and catch our breath.Dinner that night was another scrumptious combination of rice, noodles, veggies and broth. After dinner, a bunch of us attended an optional session to share job search tools and resources. The session, in addition to providing me with some useful websites and names of organizations to check out, also got me thinking seriously about the big questions of what I'll be doing after the fellowship ends. Since I have a lot of future goals, and always do better at meeting those goals when I know that my next step will be, I don't do that well with uncertainty...always like to have a plan...if anyone knows of any good International Health/Human Rights-focused NGOs with offices in the U.S., or better yet, someone who works at one, please send info. my way...I'd love to talk to people working in these places about their experiences!!
Day 3 in Thailand
This morning after breakfast, we all got into 2 luxurious mini-buses for our trip into Bangkok. The drive into the city alone provided some culture shock, for the highway roads were smoothly paved and absolutely pristine, with no sign of garbage anywhere (which is a big change from India, where the side of the road is usually littered with debris).
The main office at the Ashram, Thailand
When we approached Bangkok, I was startled by the shininess of the sparkling high rises, and I almost gasped as we drove past a Starbucks and an Au Bon Pan.When we arrived in Bangkok, we headed to the office of a local NGO called Burma Issues for a informational meeting about their work and the issues they address. During the meeting, we learned about the horrific human rights abuses being committed by the Burmese government against its own people and got information on how we could help in the advocacy effort to stop such abuses. I'm glad that I got the chance to learn about an issue that I had very little prior knowledge of.............
After the meeting ended, we were all set free to explor Bangkok, at least until dinner time, that is. About half of us wanted to visit the Grand Palace and Wat Pho, the 2 most famous attractions in Bangkok. We hailed tuk tuks, used our well-honed Indian bargaining skills to try to not get ripped off, and hopped in for the ride to the Grand Palace.
Because the area where we were going was on the other side of the city, we were able to have a mini tour of Bangkok on our way there. One the way, I made a few first observations of Bangkok. For one thing, the Thais sure like their 7-Elevens, because there was one on practically every corner! I'd also been told that the Thai people love their king, but I didn't understand to what extent until our drive through Bangkok. The king and queen's pictures were everywhere: at intersections, on sides of buildings, oustide of the ancient Wats, etc.
Move over Monet - Ashram Lilly Pond, Thailand
I wonder, though, whether the pictures are put up by members of the royal party, or whether the Thai people actually choose to have the king's face staring at them from every direction!?The Grand Palace complex was quite an impressive sight, and it might be the most elaborately decorated piece of architecture that I have ever seen. Mosaics and tiny mirrors lined the walls of the buildings which were topped with golden roofs in the traditional style. Until the turn of the 20th century, the King of Thailand and the Thai government were located within this complex, and it sure looked like a place fit for a king. We first visited the temple building where the famous "Emerald Buddha" is located and watched as devotees burned incense and offered fruit and flowers. Since I wanted to explore as much of the complex as possible in the little time we had, I told my friends that I'd meet them back at the entrance and went off with my camera at the ready. After walking around and through all the intricately-decorated buildings and posing with some of the statues, I met back up with everyone and we left the Grand Palace to continue our sightseeing.
Next, we decided to head to Wat Po which housed the Reclining Buddha, a 45-meter long, gold-plated Buddha statue lying on its side. The Buddha was housed in the middle of a large traditional-style building and it was possible to walk around the inside of the building to examine the Buddha from all angles. I loved the huge Buddha and took tons of photos of it, from head, toes, and all.
After visiting Wat Po, the group decided to break up and go in different directions.
Front view of the Ashram's Office, Thailand
A few of my friends went to take a ride on the river taxi...one of Bangkok's main modes of public transport, but also a nice way of sightseeing from the river. Jess, Becca and I decided to stick together and visit some other parts of the city, including the Flower Market and Chinatown/Pahurat (Little India). We also volunteered to go shopping for a gift for our program director that all the fellows had chipped in for.We were pretty hungry when we left Wat Po, so we walked for a while in search of a good place to eat. We passed a lot of "tourist" restaurants, but weren't thrilled with the menu nor the prices, so we kept walking. I'm glad we did, because we eventually came upon an outdoor food-stall market. While I would never eat food from a stall in India, these stalls looked very clean and tidy, so I decided to give it a try. I had pad thai, and it was delicious! In fact, all of our meals were really good!
Next we headed to the Flower Market which was one of the places I really wanted to see. The market consisted of stalls lining both sides of a wide street, with each stall bursting with beautiful colorful flowers in all sorts of arrangements. There were also several fruit stalls at the flower market, with every kind of fruit imaginable. And this is where Becca introduced me to the joys of the custard apple...it's an apple that looks like an artichoke on the outside, but tastes like apple pie on the inside. They had had them in India in the fall, but I never bought them because I thought they were artichokes, not fruit.
Lily pad close up, Thailand
We also got a dragon fruit, this pink spikey-looking thing that could be mistaken for a torture device. We sampled a bit of our fruit as we walked through the market, heading (we thought) towards some shopping area where we could buy a gift for Anna, our program director. Locating a shopping area wasn't as easy as we thought it would be, and we had to ask several different people for directions. Although I am a stickler for foreigners trying to learn and speak the local language, I find it strange that so few Thais speak English, given the fact that Thailand is such a big tourist mecca. Jess, Becca and I had to ask at least 6 different people before finding a woman who could even understand what we were asking. Luckily, this woman told us about a nearby shopping mall that had nice gift items and pointed us in the right direction.
The mall was located in the Pahurat, or Little India, part of Bangkok, not far from the flower market. It was kind of comforting to see all the familiar Indian clothes and fabrics, and even some Indians themselves. We located the mall and then spent the next 2 hours scouring the stores on every floor for a suitable gift. It did take lots of searching, but we eventually came up with a nice purse and some other little things to put inside.
By the time we had made our purchase, it was already past the time that we were told we needed to meet back at the Burma Issues building to get a ride to dinner. Anna had arranged dinner with a former AJWS volunteer who started her own organization in Thailand to work on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.
More lily pads, Thailand
We knew we might not make it to dinner in time, but we decided to try our luck and hailed a taxi to take us there. Jess sat up front and did a hell of a job using handsignals and pointing to the map to give directions to our non-English-speaking driver. The traffic was terrible, and it took us over an hour to get to the restaurant, by which time we thought the dinner would be finished. However, when we arrived, it seemed that half of the others had just arrived as well due our inexperience with timing journeys during Bangkok's rush hour. So, it luckily all worked out, and we got to enjoy a lovely, authentic Thai food meal and get to hear about the work that this woman was doing. On the bus ride back to the Ashram after dinner, we shared stories about our different adventures in Bangkok. It was a wonderful day, and I hoped I would be able to get back there sometime for a little bit longer.Day 4 in Thailand
The next day, and sadly our last day in Thailand, we enjoyed another yummy breakfast, this time a type of porridge with things to mix in, dragon fruit, sweet mini bananas and an old American favorite, toast. Breakfast was followed by a couple of short wrap-up sessions that I won't go into detail on. Then we all went back to the dorm to pack up before lunch, and a few of us went to "raid" the ashram's store in order to spend some of the Bhat we had left over. I had been eyeing several things in the shop since my first day at the ashram, and the prices were reasonable, so I decided to use my bhat here and purchased a beautiful old Thai-textile pursue for my mom (since she had one exactly like this that is currently in shreds from wear) and a pair of fisherman pants for myself.
Yet another view of the Ashram's Office, Th
At lunchtime, I savored our "last meal" at the ashram, not wanting my experience here to end. However, we eventually had to leave when the mini-buses arrived.After dropping our bags at the mini-buses, my friend Leah and I visited one of the mom & pop snack shops/dhabas (I know that's NOT what they call them in Thai, but I'm not sure what the right term is) to see what goodies we could buy for the plane. To my sheer and utter amazement, the little mom & pop store had small bags of my favorite candy - gummy coke bottles. In India, gummy coke bottles are almost nonexistent, and in the U.S., you can usually only find them at stores with specialty candy sections. So, this was a special treat and I bought a couple of bags to take back to India with me.
Our luxury mini-buses drove us to the airport where we all "shopped til we dropped" to get rid of our extra Bhat. I didn't have that much left because I had spent most of my extra money at the Ashtram store. However, I did have enough to buy a mixed bag of dried fruit and a box of cookies for my colleagues at work.
Those fellows that were living/working closer to Mumbai took a different flight an hour earlier than the 6 of us who were flying to Delhi, so we said our goodbyes at the airport. The Thai airlines flight back to Delhi was nice and uneventful, and this time I managed not to spill my salad dressing all over myself.
Getting into the airport in Delhi gave me major dejavu from when I first arrived in August.
The "Lady Room" at the Ashram, Thailand
As I stood in the same customs line I stood in before, I thought about how in August, I had no idea what to expect when I exited the airport doors, and how I now felt like an old pro.When we got outside, we all said goodbye to Dan and Sammy, the 2 fellows who live in Delhi, and then the 4 of us remaining went to Anna, our program director's, apartment and crashed for the night.
The next morning, Friday, we raided Anna's cupboards for breakfast food, which there wasn't much of because we had all been away for over a week. Around 11, Dan and Sammy came over and we all took taxis out to Gurgaon to have lunch at Sunita's house. Sunita, our Indian program director, wasn't able to join us at retreat because of a family emergency at the last minute. However, she wanted to see those of us who were in Delhi and so invited us over to her house for lunch. Once again, she had prepared a FEAST for us, like the first time we all came over, with one of every dish imaginable, 3 kinds of desserts, 3 types of Roti, 6 different chutneys, etc. The food was delicious, and it was a nice "re-introduction" to Indian food after being away from it for about 4 days.
After lunch, we went back to Anna's for a bit of quality internet time (a luxury to not be sitting in an internet café or at work). That evening, my friend Leah and I decided to venture out to the Chabad that was located in the touristy backpacker area of Delhi...Paharganj. Now, I must say that I'm usually the last person to want to go to Chabad, since I'm against their discriminatory orthodox practices towards women.
Curious little figures on Ashram grounds
However, I decided to go at Leah's suggestion because I had heard that they had really good middle eastern food at their Shabbat dinners.It took us a bit of looking to find the Chabad, but we eventually found it tucked away in a small room on the 2nd floor of a backpackers' guest house (perfect location for all the Israeli Jews who come to India). When we arrived, they had already begun services (or so we thought), so we took a seat behind the "Mehitzah," a curtain that is hung to separate the men from the women but that doesn't allow the women to see anything going on during the service. An Israeli girl came in and joined us about 15 minutes later, and we chatted a bit about our travels, work, army service, etc. It seemed like almost an hour had passed and the service still had not concluded. Since we couldn't see what was going on behind the curtain, we didn't know that they had been waiting for a 10th man to come to make a "minyan" (In orthodox Judaism, 10 men are needed to have a service; women don't count). Finally a couple more guys came in and they began the service. Finally, about 1.5 to 2 hours later, the service was over and we could finally eat. The food better bet good after having sat through all that, I thought. Well, Leah and I weren't disappointed. The food was fantastic!! We had challah, hummus, babganoosh, chicken, vegetables, etc., all delicious and just what we had hoped for. After we finished eating, the rabbis started to lead another prayer, but Leah and I snuck out quietly, feeling a little guilty for eating and running, but also very full and satisfied.
The next day, I did some errands around Delhi (since there are things in Delhi that I just can't get in Lucknow, like Tahini sauce to make Hummus :), and then I boarded my train for the ride back to Lucknow. I slept most of the way back, and was happy when I finally reached home, if not a little disappointed that I wasn't in Thailand anymore...but I still have my memories, my dried fruit (which will be gone soon!) and my fisherman pants to remind me of my short but sweet glimpse of Thailand.
