I'm melting!
Trip Start
Jan 06, 2005
1
20
Trip End
Apr 13, 2005
Ayutthaya,
Thailand
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
part of my reason for being here and typing out this entry is because i have nothing to do right now (aside from eat and then head to the airport several hours early) and partly because this air-conditioned and fanned internet cafe offers relief from the ridiculous heat and humidity outside (note that it says it feels like 50 degrees due to the humidity).
i'm in ayutthaya now after hopping on an evening train from bangkok. it was a horrible ride because i had unknowingly purchased a standing ticket (at least it only cost 20 baht - about $0.67 CAD) so i stood for the 2 hours it took to get here. the car of the train was packed solid with people standing (and sweating) shoulder-to-shoulder and all the seats were full. i got in around 9pm and went straight to a cheap guesthouse. i spent the morning/afternoon biking around the city and checking out some of the old temples. i have to admit i was not really that impressed since i'm now fully spoiled after visiting the magnificent temples of angkor in cambodia. nothing compares anymore!
the bad thing about my leaving now is that i miss what might possibly be the most fun-sounding holiday in the whole wide world tomorrow: songkran! it's the beginning of the thai new year and one of the traditions is to sprinkle water on monks and elders to show respect.. but it has turned into what sounds like one big water fight all over the country! people stock up on big water guns, buckets, etc. and shower everyone who passes by. though songkran officially begins tomorrow, i've noticed a few people here and in bangkok already starting with the water. while biking just now, i got sprayed by a water gun as a pick-up truck full of people armed with water guns (and some people with painted faces) drove by. in bangkok's chatuchak market on sunday, we (jess, gabriel and i) got sprayed a few times with water guns, and on train from bangkok last night, some people were throwing water into windows of passing trains as we pulled out of the train station. good fun. people apparently appreciate getting soaked in water now because it helps them to cool off during the hottest month of the year.
i also forgot to mention last entry that jess and i met up with gabriel (our parisian ex-pat friend whom we had met upon first landing in bangkok in january) and wandered around chatuchak weekend market. it's the biggest market in the city and is HUGE.. and you can find everything under the sun here from clothes to handicrafts to food to household goods to pets to whatever else. that night, jess and i finally attempted to go out briefly in town. believe it or not, during the trip, we hardly went out to bars/clubs at all. i think i drank maybe 5 beers (if that) the whole 3 months. we normally wandered around all day so by the time night rolled around, we never usually felt like going back out. we decided we should at least try to go out once in bangkok so got dressed and ventured out to bed supper club where jamie ('octo' from the ninja tune forum where i'm a nerdy 'regular') was spinning in the lounge/restaurant side. before entering this place, we tried to go to nearby qbar for their hip hop night but it cost 600 baht cover ($20 CAD!) though it included 2 drinks. we were very surprised to find out how much going out to bars and clubs costs in this city. needless to say, they are probably full of foreigners (ex-pats and tourists), rich thais, or not-so-rich thais dating rich thais or foreigners. a manhattan set me back 220 baht (about $7.50 CAD), though jamie was kind enough to give us some free drink tickets after we finished our first drink. after hearing all manner of bad t-pop, v-pop, l-pop and c-pop (and karaoke) this whole trip, it was nice to hear some good music. the only other time i heard good music was in koh lanta where the guys at our bungalow's bar were playing the likes of nuyorican soul and nightmares on wax! i'm really looking forward to listening to my records once i get home. i'm going to do that all day and night to make up for the missed music.
(sidenote: lily and liza, you guys are going to kill me but i was unable to bring my MD player on this trip. last minute packing made it impossible to fit in recording my music onto MDs in time. stupid me.)
oh, i forgot to mention in my last entry that despite the few times i've noticed being treated differently from jessica, people in this part of the world have been very friendly for the most part.. much friendlier than torontonians, that's for sure!
okay, i'm off to go eat some late lunch, then head out to catch a bus to the airport.
sawadee-kha for real this time!
