June 3
Bangkok is a real mix of first world and third world. I am now at a cybercafe in an enormous modern mall. Rock music is blaring from various sources so loudly that it is almost impossible to think. In many ways it is about the most modern mall I have seen. On the other hand, on my walk over here I was dodging tuk-tuks, mopeds and scavanging rats. The noise level on the streets is pretty extraordinary. Bangkok does not have enough roads so that they have built freeways, and then second freeways directly over them - 8 lanes both top and bottom. These elevated freeways are one of the few features that really stand out since the city is completely flat. The other features are the skyscrapers - from some perspectives you can see dozens of 30 story buildings in every direction (not just concentrated in a central location). The most beautiful feature of the city is the hundreds of Buddhist wats which are oases of serenity in the midst of chaos. There are plenty of monks on the street and it is great to see how much respect is given to them.
It does not feel particularly hot (not like Israel or Turkey did). However, I have found that it takes about a liter of water to just walk a couple of kilometers. The sweat just flows out of you. It will be interesting to see what happens when I hit the road tomorrow. I intend to take it easy for the first few days and ease back into cycling condition.
June 4 – Ayathaya
I am at an internet cafe in Ayathaya, about 60 miles north of Bangkok. I had to take my shoes off before I came in (in fact shoes seem to be forbidden in most interior spaces - the maid got visibly upset when I absentmindedly walked into my hotel room without taking my shoes off). I finally got in some biking – I didn’t have a detailed map, so I simply rode straight north from the airport and took whatever roads I could find that looked as though they would lead me out of the urban area. The roads I took had nice wide shoulders most of the way but the traffic was very heavy, so it wasn't exactly pleasant riding. The land is completely flat, and generally (once I got beyond the Bangkok urban area) alongside rice paddies. I was drinking continuously but still got a bit of a headache from dehydration. It seems like around 11:00 a.m. someone switches on a heatlamp and it begins to feel like you are being cooked. I think my riding is going to have to cease every day around that time. Anyway, I ended up finding a comfortable hotel room for $10 with air conditioning and a television with some cable stations.
It rained most of the night until about 10 so I decided to stay an extra day in Ayathaya. The city has about 60,000 people now, but at one time was the capitol of Thailand and had a population of more than a million. It was invaded by the Burmese in 1767 and destroyed - that's when the capitol was moved to Bangkok. There are a lot of impressive ruins here but much more exciting was the market where I went looking for some knee length shorts. Hundreds of stalls and an incredible maze - more types of meat than you would have thought possible. Apparently everyone eats meat here, even the monks, although it is forbidden for Buddhists to kill animals. I understand that the butchers who do the actual killing are non-Buddhists.
The people I’ve encountered have been great, even though there is an formidable language barrier. The Thais don't hassle tourist by trying to aggressively hawk their wares like they do in some of the other third world countries we’ve been in. They smile a lot, and the women look you right in the eye - it could be very flattering except that I read in my guidebook that Thais tend to stare at blue eyes and beards (and they think beards are disgusting because few Thai men can grow them). I really like the fact that women seem to participate in all activities as much as men - all the men aren't hanging out together like in Turkey, eastern Europe or the Latin countries. Also, women ride around on the mopeds and motorcycles almost as much as the men.
Actually, for "hello" the Thais say "sweat dee crap". I learned the phrase for thank you but later found out that they don't really use it unless they really mean it - i.e., when you buy something from a clerk you don't say thank you (a smile will suffice). I bought a book on Thai culture and it is quite fascinating. You have to be very careful what you do with your feet (the book says if you step on a coin you might get punched because the king's picture is on the coin). There have been a number of tourists who have been imprisoned for climbing on one of the huge Buddhas. Putting your feet above the Buddha is considered more than a faux pas, in fact it’s a crime. Also you need to be careful not to unintentionally disrespect a monk. They have incredibly high status here and everyone is considered lower than a monk. Women can't touch a monk, even indirectly. If they do the monk has to go through a purification ritual. This can get tricky sometimes because monks ride the buses just like everybody else. They board at the rear and sit in the last row (women never sit in this row). It's sort of like the religious Jews except that it only applies to the monks who have taken vows of poverty and chastity. I am extremely impressed with the monks and their status in the society. It says something about a culture that gives its highest level of respect to people who own nothing and have taken a vow of chastity. They are so respected that, during the revolution in 1973 when there was a gun battle across a street, a group of monks walked down the center of the road and the battle stopped. The worst thing that a Thai could do would be to kill a monk, even accidentally.
I've seen several elephants already. Some of them were being ridden down the street here in Ayathaya. I also saw a three foot lizard which ran right in front of my bike. On the less exotic side, I've never seen so many dogs. They are everywhere, but like in Turkey, are generally passive.
June 5 Sind Bari
Thanks for the quick e-mail. It looks like I might be able to find an internet cafe most days so I can probably write pretty regularly. This is particularly so since I pretty much have to call it quits for my cycling around noon. I am in a town about 80 kilometers north of Ayathaya - I can't remember the name (it's something like Sind Bari) but it's small enough that it is probably not on your map. Nice flat cycling today with at least 20 Buddhist wats along the road. The wats are really special places. Not only do the monks live there but they are sort of a combination community center, school, orphanage, humane society and old folks home. Nobody hassles you when you go into them (they are usually in walled compounds but there is no gate so you are never denied access). I especially enjoy them because I need to take a break every five miles or so because of the heat and humidity.
The only problem I am having is that my sweat glands open like spigots within a couple of minutes once I go out and I am totally slimed from head to foot. Doesn't make me feel so great when I am interacting with people. I've been thinking of shaving my head - that will deal with the slime hair. What do you think? I finally found a pair of knee length shorts in one of the markets. The biking shorts that I wear are really a bit inappropriate when I am off my bike. Anyway I asked what the price was and she told me "thirty baht" (75 cents). I sort of gave her a shocked look because I didn't think it would be so cheap. She immediately dropped the price to twenty five baht. Last night I ate in a restaurant and ordered (for $1) a stir fried noodles and rice. It was delicious and contained at least a dozen different types of spices and seasonings. I hope to get a little more daring on the food since there is such an enormous variety. There are restaurants or food vendors about every mile or so on the road so I don't think I'll be starving.
I haven't met any Thais to talk to (beyond pleasantries) yet. I suspect I might have trouble communicating in the rural areas - maybe I’ll meet some English speaking Thais in Chiang Mai. My experience so far is that the Thais, despite the fact they all apparently study some English in school, are rarely proficient in it. They seem to speak it like an American who had taken one year of high school Spanish might speak Spanish. Telephones are probably going to be a bit of a problem as I haven't seen many of the international phones in these smaller cities. If I run into one in the morning I'll try to give you a call (that would be the evening for you). You'd be proud of my hotel for tonight. I paid an extra $2.50 for a cable television ($12.50 instead of $10). I ain't cheap. I think I got the classiest digs in town.