Thailand: as much pad thai as you can eat

After Singapore, we flew to spend the next few days in Thailand. We first landed in Phuket, Thailand's largest island situated off the western coast. It is quite touristy, but with good reason. The beaches and water are picturesque and postcard-worthy.












We stayed at a nice little hostel run by a South African guy. When we were first checking in, we noticed two other girls in the lobby, one of whom was holding a Fulbright Korea bag. We looked at each other and were like - no, what are the odds? Turns out they were Fulbright ETAs in Korea, also on break, touring Phuket and staying in the exact same hostel as us. I did not think too much of it, but later I remembered that another Wake student had won a Fulbright to Korea, and decided to ask the girls if they knew him when we met up with them for dinner that night. That evening when John and I were returning from the beach, I noticed a guy walking up the stairs in front of us and then turn into a room. Impossible, I thought. No way could that actually be Dave Wescott. I found Kaitlyn and Kristin in our room, and told them - how strange would it be if Dave was actually in the room below us right this moment?! We go downstairs to meet the Korea girls before going out to dinner, and who should be sitting with them, but Dave Wescott. We had a beautiful little Deacon reunion right there in Phuket, Thailand. Talk about coincidences. Tom Phillips would be so proud.


The next day we went out on a snorkeling day trip to Phi Phi Island (sounds like Pee Pee). It would have been much more enjoyable for me if I had not become hopelessly seasick on the hour and a half trip out. It was unavoidable, I suppose - I am my mother's daughter... Despite my woozy stomach, the snorkeling was still fun. Although we saw more fish snorkeling in Kenting, the coral around Phi Phi was beautiful. All of the colors of the different corals were just gorgeous. Our boat made a few stops along the way for us to get off and view some of the island. At one narrow strip of beach, we waded over to feed bananas and watermelon to monkeys. At another place, we jumped off the boat to swim to shore, crawl through a flooded tunnel and then hike across the island to a pristine beach on the other side. As John said, such a thing would never be legal in the States, but then again, that is why people love vacationing in Thailand. :)













(Above: monkey beach; tunnel we crawled through to cross the island - you can just make out the rope ladder going up and this shows the distance we swam to get there
Below: sunbathing on the boat)











The next afternoon, we left for Bangkok where we met up with Fonda's cousin, as well as several Yilan ETAs. The first evening, Fonda's cousin took us all out to dinner, chauffeured around by her "driver." Then we went shopping at a night market. With the cousin (who speaks fluent Thai) bargaining for us, we managed to not get scammed. However, in seeing what appropriate prices were, I had to face the depressing fact that I had probably been ripped off on everything I bought in Phuket. At least I know my money went to stimulate a needy economy. Anyways, the shopping in Bangkok was really fun, mitigated only by the surrounding shops flaunting their sex trade at us. That part of Thailand (and later Cambodia) was quite upsetting to see. The worst part was that it was not even tucked away on side alleys or hidden behind massage parlor signs. It was very loud and upfront, and it broke my heart to watch the girls. The other night, a CNN special came on about human trafficking in Cambodia, estimating that Cambodia has the largest sex slave trade in the world. It just makes me wonder, do the westerners who frequent these brothels (and we saw plenty), realize what they are supporting? Because if they are aware of what is really going on, then I think I might lose all faith in the human race.

The next day, we went to visit the Royal Grand Palace. Work on it began in 1782 by King Rama I, and continued for the next few decades as each new monarch built his own groupings of temples. Today it remains an impressive sight as the holiest of all temple sites in Thailand, ornate spires and columns bedecked in glittering gold and surrounded by immense demon guardians (called "yakshas"). The focal point of the outer court is the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Despite its name, this two-foot high Buddha is carved from a solid jade stone - not emerald. It has three different sets of gold clothing (made from solid gold), which are changed according to Thailand's season (hot, rainy or cool). As the temple is considered a private house of worship for the royal family and thus has no monks in attendance, the Thai king is the one responsible for changing the outfit of the Buddha with each new season. The Buddha has a fascinating history - created in India around 43 BC and then passed through Sri Lanka, Burma, Cambodia and Laos before finally being brought into Thailand, all the results of wars, insurrections and changing empire border lines. If anyone knows a good book detailing the history of the Emerald Buddha, let me know. Otherwise, I will make my sister change her PhD dissertation and write me a narrative (it would still semi-relate to India haha). It would also make an extremely exciting movie! :) Inside the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the walls are covered with beautiful murals depicting the life of Buddha and the steps to enlightenment. It reminded me of the Buddhist version of the Sistine Chapel. Outside of the temple, the surrounding walls are decorated with 178 scenes retelling the entire Thai version of the Ramayana. Joy, you will have to visit with me next time and explain all the images to me. I did find the scene, though, where Rama fights the evil king Ravana with the help of the monkeys to win back his wife Sita, so you should be proud. :)










Other than the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, there was also a huge scale model of Angkor Wat constructed by King Mongkut, meant as a reminder to the vassal state of Cambodia that they were still under Thai dominion. Littered across the portico are also many elephant statues. I later read that elephants are a symbol of power and independence. According to tradition, parents will walk their children around elephants three times to bring them strength, and one can also rub their heads for good luck. Now I know why King Rama IV offered to send President Lincoln elephants to aid in the Civil War. The final object of interest inside the Grand Palace grounds is the Grand Palace itself. The royal family no longer lives there, but it is still used for official ceremonies and treated as the king's private office.









(Above: Angkor Wat model, us posing as monkeys
Below: outside the Royal Palace, with the Royal Guards)





















Moving on from the Grand Palace, we set out to see the Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho. This is the largest Reclining Buddha in the world. The different postures of the Buddha - sitting, standing, reclining etc - all have a different significance. The Reclining Buddha is meant to represent enlightenment or Nirvana, perhaps because he looks so relaxed lying down with his head resting in his palm. The Wat Pho Reclining Buddha measures 46 meters long and 15 meters high, and is covered in gold plating with mother-of-pearl inlays on the soles of the feet. Besides housing the largest Reclining Buddha, Wat Pho also boasts to having the largest number of Buddha images in all of Thailand, with over 1000 stationed over the grounds.










(Above: mother-of-pearl design in Buddha's feet
Below: enjoying the surrounding temple gardens)













By this time, we were quite Buddha-ed out. We took a boat ride down the river, catching a glimpse of why Bangkok is considered the Venice of Southeast Asia (I do not agree, though - there are not that many canals, whereas Venice is nothing but canals). There is also a floating market on the outskirts of Bangkok which I would love to go to if I ever visit again. We did not have time as it was a day-long trip (plus you had to leave at 6am!).