Travel With Anjaly

Day 1: A simple matter of getting on to the flight, sitting still waiting for the smiling Thai air hostess to serve food and drinks, nap a bit, and finally hours after the flight has taken off from Dubai, land in another part of the world, some three hours ahead of my normal time. A place totally alien to me. Thailand, the Land of Smiles.

It was all simple, really. I mean, goin away is really simple. I went away to Thailand without a clue. I mean, I knew things about Thailand, as would every reader of google. But actually being there, alone, is another thing altogether.

I wasnt prepared for anything,. at the same time, prepared for everything. I cant explain that. When I got off the plane at Bangkok,(Suwarnabhumi pronounced Su-wana-poon) a singularly inspiring piece of engineering, I was faced with many different feelings. Euphoria, above everything. But all that had to wait till I actually got out of the airport. I needed my visa, needed a shower and change…rememebr I was going to backpack, had no time to waste, had to pack in as much as I could in five days and I wasnt going to check into a hotel to relax and change in leisure. A backpacker does not fancy hotels anyway, for them hotels are merely places to sleep the night if a railway station or a bus station is not in vicinity!! Oh alright, let me not get away from tracks.

A quick change at the airport, quicker steps to the visa counter, a thousand smiles, a thousand baht, one pic, and lo, my visa was stamped. I was officially in Thailand now. The airport itself is a mini-Budhist town and even before tourists in large groups exited the gates, their camera clicked and clicked, not missing anything. I had no time to lose.

First I need to eat. Well, I didnt know when my next meal would come from and what would be in store for me, so I decided to have breakfast at the airport. Google had suggested Magic Food Court as the cheapest option at the airport but a walk around the food courts threw up many surprises. There were far cheaper options, but I wasnt to know the comparison till I had eaten at the Magic Food Court. By the time I did, I was so full. The first ever meal in Thailand consited of rice noodles (the flat broad ones), with sweet and spicy sauce, tofu, pork, csprouts, herbs i had never seen or heard of (or tasted before). I never got the name of the dish but I cant say I particularly loved it…despite having made up my mind to enjoy the last grin of Thai rice in every meal.

Outside of the Magic Court is the exit. This is where you can get a bus to the City. Airport Express operates from ehre at regular intervals. The buses are named..AE 1, AE 2, AE3. My mind was fixed on getting out of the city as fast as I could and I knew (google) that a train left Thonburi station at 1.50 pm for Kanchanaburi, which is where I had wanted to go. However it was early. It was just about 8 am and I had plenty of time. I bought a ticket: 150 baht. Standar fare. There were options, of course, but taxis are very expensive and i saw no point in spending extra to go the same place I could go to in less.

The bus saw me off at Sanam Luang, its last stop, in close proximity to the TAT office, to the ferry that would take me across to Thonburi.

The ride from the airport was smooth, my first connection with the land. So totally different from my own familiar territory. The bus appeared to have been commisoned soley for the purpose of shuttling backpacker such as I. There wasnt any group of people, no tourists, no family-style visitors…just few backpackers, scattered over the bus, each with a map or a Lonely Planet guide book, looking as content as possible for the 75 minutes ride into the city. I enjoyed the feeling of not knowing where i was going, more than the Thai songs that played loudly, more than the Thainglish the driver spoke, eager to convey to me the suprises of his country. One curious backpacker with several tatoos (hence backpackers will be referred as BP. Baht as THB), asualted me with a barrage of questions, wanting to know why as a single Indian woman, I was on my own. Indians were many, holidaying of making money, but he had, he told me honestly, not come across a single Indian woman BP in Thailand….and he had been two months on the trails already. He came once in two years.

Well, hurrah to the new breed of Indian BP’s. Keep pattaya off your itenarary, he told me with a serious face. If you like the treks, you are in the ‘league of BPs that would not like the seedy beach.” I took his word for it.

He left before I could say goodbye at Sanam Luang.

Sanam Luang is a quiet, cool and shady area and shows the city in good light. An eager tuk-tuk wallah fell on me with much force.

I smiled. He smiled even wider. Thonburi, I told him, gesturing at the tuk-tuk and asking him how much it would cost.

He had ideas…and he spoke a bit of English. He suggested going to the TAT office nearby, get myself an itenarary or probably even a ticket, and the correct information. He kindly hailed another tuk-tuk and spoke rapidly in Thai. In the end, it was agreed that I would pay the tuk-tuk wallah 10THB for a ride to the TAT office and if I didnt like their plans, I would be shown three sights nearby (all Budha of course) for an additional 10THB.

I suppose it was a good deal and tuk-tuks were the best way to see the city. They make a noise that can beat their Indian counterparts hands down, but it was more exciting to ride on a open tuk-tuk. The young driver put in all his energy, drove rapidly through the clean roads to the office, stopping enroute at 7/11 (the convenience stores all over Thailand) for coffee (bought him one too. The cost of coffee at 7/11 is 10 THB), and shot off to the office.

I drew a blank there. I didnt want their itenarary, didnt want to be stuck with their brood of boring family tourists. Refusing to visit the Sleeping Budha, i asked him to drive me to Tha Phra Chand where I could catch a ferry to Thonburi on the other side of the river. It was the most sensible thing to do anyway.

Tha Phra Chand is in close proximity to the Grand Palace, the university, the Supreme Court and the office of the attorney general, but has its own presence as the point of ferry-boarding. It is busy.

While looking for a washroom, I met Mrs Supawadee Maspong. I sought her out of the hundred of other people milling about, because she looked like she knew English. I had to make myself understood that I needed a loo.

Yes, She knew English. She was nice and friendly, in a deep maroon skirt and blouse, Thai style with a single strand of pearl necklace. She knew where to find a loo. We walked backwards, towards the pier and we got talking.

She was heading to Ayuthya, the former capital of Thailand, a temple town, and asked if i would like to come along. I hated to miss the train to kanchanaburi and ayuthya did not feature on my plans but heck, why not? I didnt have a destination, and here was a free ride (and back too maybe). I could always take the early morning train.

So to Ayutya I went with her. Mrs Supawadee Maspong (I called her Pari) happened to be the Chief Provincial Public Prosecutor of Ayuthya Province!

Meandering through the heavy traffic, we reached Ayuthya through the expressway after paying tolls at four different booths (total about 90THB). Thats how I reached Ayuthya.

 

Ayuthaya

Thailand’s ancient capital city, now more or less like a remnant of its glorious past. When I drove into the city with Pari, it felt like I was going back in time…ignoring the modern building, the fast developments. A look at the countryside was a better way to see into its past…that and the temples rising out of cane fields and distant cluster of trees. Anyone having visited Ayuthaya may have felt this sense of glory. There were temples everywhere (Temples or Wats), each more grand and more beautiful than the other and taking pictures did not seem like a good idea. For one, it was distracting, second, I wanted to drink in all the beauty with naked eyes. Pari had a lot of information to offer.

We went around the crumbling city to the site of the Sleeping Budha, The Budha head in the tree and few other wats around…I think I have them all on video…so much easier than writing down the confusing names…come to think of it, I photographed most of the names too….and have postcards to look up names…just in case.

Elephants are fairly common here…probably comes from the jungles further north. Elephant rides are hot favourite among the tourists especially from the Eurpoean countries but for someone such as I coming from the Southern part of India bordering the Bandipur National Forest, elephants are but a common sight…and any such idea of riding one is ridiculed by everyone around….Actully when I saw people jump in glee to ride the beast, I felt that way too…however it did not stop me from riding one in Kanchanaburi two days later…but I will get to that.

I dont suppose I would have taken in Ayuthaya as a part of my travel plan had it not been for her. And thank God for the 7/11 convenience stores, I had my supply of coffee which, but which, I must add, was nearly 80% less than my usual consumption.

I cant say I didnt like the ruins of the ancient temples, its was sort of different and Pari was a well informed guide too…I particularly liked the Budha head in a tree and the hundreds of headless statues seated around the execution table!

Otherwise, the countryside is in itself a treat. Then there are the souvenier stores. Well, Thailand is a fairly artistic sort of country, and you can find some finely crafted peices to buy…some are of course a little hard to stomach, like the huge black penis, but otherwise you can find some decent stuff (The Budha, of course) to take home to your folks!

I always thought, mornings were best begun early. There is much charecter about the place that is seen and felt in the absence of man and traffic. The night is making a great deal abotu going away and the light is just showing of its power of the dark and slips in with as much grace as it can muster, despite the stiff resistence from the dark.

This is how Tha Phra Chand looked first thing in the morning. There was life here, near the pier. The pier itself excerised its importance because of its place among the traveling public. Anyone attempting to reach the “wrong side of the river” (note, this is where the famous Wat Arun is situated too) must pass through its sacred corridors.

I was shooting the river when the ferry whistled and set sail. Thank God for my experiences in India and elsewhere I had learnt the art of jumping on to moving trains and buses and had no difficulty in leaping from the pier on to the ferry moving away rapidly. I saw the dark river between me the board of the ferry and without a thought jumped over. The few early morning passengers whooped in delight. Thai’s are mild and friendly and not given to sudden leaps and anything that distracts them form their customary sedantry pose or shakes their concentration them from their food packets, is for them a “shock”.
(Ticket cost…3THB)

I left the shores of the city for the slightly more old fashioned and business-like areas of Thonburi. If Thonburi could be described in one word, I should call it the “Market.” For spread in front of me with the biggest fruit-veg-meat market I have seen…looked like the whole of Bangkok came here for their supplies. I noticed several things at once…

The number of women vendors was more than men, I didnt have to swat a single fly, I could hardly believe I was in the market (it didnt smell like one…no sotting meat or veg matter, no yucky piles of left over meat or fruit, no dogs scavenging for their morsel, no cats fighting over fish bones)…and it was right opposite the Thonburi railway station too!

It was when I reached the station past the market that I realised I was too early. No wonder I hadnt met any other BP on the ferry. I had managed to forget the correct time the train left for Kanchanaburi. I had an hour and a half to kill. I cant imagine how I thought 7.45 to be 6.30 but that gave me time to wander around the market. I got a ticket. 100 THB.

That was the standard fare for the tourists. But a local wanting to travel the same route to an even farther distance (Nam Tok which is past Kanchanaburi) is 39THB. Well, one cant argue over this, can one?

Had I been late, I should ave missed much of the early morning Thai ritual. Thais love dogs and many women can be found walking one. I cant recall the breed, but they got smaller and more colourful with each passing minutes. The Thai dogs, like their owners, were mild and they only fierce when their long curly hair fell over one of their eys and they bared their little white teeth at another more elegant dog. The station suddenly seemed too full, there was another train to another destiantion and the wave of people that appreaed suddenly, vanished with the train just as suddenly. It was quiet. Thonburi is a cute little station. Functional. Old. Has seen decades of tourists and locals alike, makes no bones about its importance. Its also clean. There are no papers on the tracks, no waste food, plastic as one is apt to find in some other developing countries. In fact the loo’s (2THB) are also well kept. I had been told by someone before I left, that in Thailand I needed to carry a roll of or two of toilet paper, spread them in several layers over the toilet seat before use and do nothing short of sterlising myself after. All this was probably the imagination of someone who hadnt stepped into Thailand.

The first comparison was with India, for it is there that I have travelled far and wide on trains. That, I should say, is nightmarish. I can say that, because there is rarely any running water, loos are never washed, the carriage walls are lined with betel juice, beggars and fakirs travel ticketless, raise a stinking hell, food is sold uncovered, and there are fiar chances of losing your baggage if you are not too careful.

In Thailand, you could leave your BP unattended and come abck to find it sitting where you left it…even on trains…and these trains have no grills on the window either!!

When I was in Thailand, the nation was celebrating the 80th birthday of their beloved King Bhumibol and there was some election campaign going on. Neatly dressed men and women shouted into the mikes as their cars cruised past the market and the railway station, but luckily it wasnt followed by fire crackers or police men. Thais’ were peaceful people. Even in their electoral campaigns, there was order.

The train left at 8 am. A little behind schedule, no doubt, but heck, this was mostly a “tourist” train and you would harld find any BP sticking the railway with complaints for not sending their trains off on time.

Posted by Anjy’s World at 9:27 AM 0 comments Links to this post

Labels: Bangkok, ferry, Tha Phra Chand, thonburi, tuk-tuk