Next stop on the voyage was Thailand, a favorite port for us. The country was beautiful, the people were charming and relaxed, and the ambience was excellent. As you know Thailand was called Siam until 1939. It is the only country in Southeast Asia that was never a colony. The population is 64.3 million. We used yet another currency in Thailand, the baht; 33.5 baht is the equivalent of $1USD. Thailand is led by a king. His pictures are everywhere and people are very proud of him. The second leader is the Prime Minister. There have been 4 PMs in the last three years. One was a billionaire who is still very popular with rural people. Though he was ousted by a coup in 2006 the country is still divided into groups of his supporters and detractors. He is on the run now, perhaps in London. The next PM was in office for 8 months and put out for taking money for appearing on a Thai cooking program! The next was in office for 3 months and removed due to election fraud. The next was impeached 4 days before we arrived. Debate will follow and possibly a new constitution. Thailand has had 3 new constitutions in the past 10 years.
Wherever we went we found evidence of the 26/12/04 Tsunami and people willing to talk about where they were on the day of the event. You may remember that the tides were low and large fish could be found close to the shore line. Then the tsunami hit and flooding was quick and massive. People ran for higher land and tried to help each other through it. Roads were destroyed and over 130,000 were killed. Escape routes for future tsunamis are now marked on the streets.
AIDS and commercial sex workers are prevalent in Thailand as they are in India. One significant difference is that Thailand worked to reduce the AIDS spread on multiple fronts with good results. Medications were made readily available as were condoms. Results were good until financial support for the programs was withdrawn. Under the new government in 2006 the funding was restored and positive results returned. You cannot travel in Thailand without being aware of the sex trade. Girls as young as 10 but more often late teens take up the work, often to support their families. Some are sold into it. The risks for this illegal activity are great, including abuse, medical complications as well as mental health and addictions issues.
We signed up for an excursion that took up our whole time in Thailand. When we arrived at port we bussed to Bangkok and then flew to Phuket. Phuket is the largest island of Thailand and is one of its 76 provinces. Phuket is known for its great beaches, rocky capes mountains, forests and farmlands. We stayed at the very nice Duangjitt Resort and Spa for 3 nights. Dinners each night were on our own so we tried the fabulous Thai food in three different restaurants. On one day we traveled through Phang-Nga province to Khao Sok. There we rode elephants (again!), trekked through woods to see rubber trees, and took in the natural scenery as we were paddled down a river in an inflatable canoe. On another day we had a great adventure, discovering the sea caves, Hongs and tunnels. A Hong is an open-air, cliff-lined, cylindrical tidal lagoon connected to the outside world only through stalactite-filled caves. This was a wonderful experience. We did not even know that such places existed. At high tide you would not be able to get into the Hongs as the entrances would be filled with water. We went when the tide was close to high and often had to lie down in the canoe in order to fit through the openings. Some of the larger caves were filled with hundreds of bats. A wonderful and full lunch was prepared and served on our boat. In the afternoon we took in Lawa Island. Many of us (including me!) jumped off of the top deck on our boat and swam to shore for some sun and relaxation.
The last night in Phuket was St. Patrick’s Day. We had massages at one of the many massage shops. Hóg’s heavy set masseuse crawled on his back with her knees and elbows pressing into him. After another wonderful dinner, that included satay with peanut sauce, crab relleno and mussels with lemon grass, we headed for Molly Malone’s Irish pub. As this was our second late evening there we knew what to expect. Entertainment was provided by a Thai band, featuring two singers wearing pleated plaid skirts and singing all of your favorite Irish tunes. They did very well with Tina Turner and the Cranberries. We were hysterical and it was a great time. About 100 SAS kids must have come through that night, drinking kamikazes and car bombs. Some things do not change. Several students had suits made at the superb tailoring shops. One had a Kelly green suit made for that night. I think it paid for itself in free drinks. (I still can’t understand why we didn’t go to the ping pong ball show the Super Pussy club.)
The next day our hung over crowd traveled back to Bangkok. We had dinner with several faculty couples at a seafood restaurant where we were the only Westerners. Fabulous squid in chili paste was our favorite. We walked through the night market which was bordered on both sides by the red light district. Some students described the shows they saw and at least two girls revealed their new tattoos to us. The last day included a trip to the Grand Palace which I thought was as spectacular as the Taj Mahal. It was built beginning in 1782 under order of King Rama I to be his home and the center of his administration. It holds the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Wat Phra Kaew. The Buddha was carved from a single piece of jade in the 15th century. It sits on a Thai-style throne made of gilded-carved wood. Many interior walls are decorated with mural paintings. The coronation and diplomatic receptions are held in the Grand Palace. I think we took 200 pictures in the walled complex and look forward to sharing them when we get home. After I had a manicure, pedicure and massage for only 550 baht we headed back to the ship.
March 13 was the halfway point of the trip for us. We are still enjoying it all and can see that the end of the voyage will be a sad and emotional time for us all. Last night was the Crew Talent Show, a regular event that raises funds to improve crew life and accommodations on ship. The singing, dancing, and comedy acts were great. Next port, tomorrow, is Vietnam. The lectures, movies and music presented now are largely focused on the war that changed so many things in our lives. More on that next week. Thanks for reading. We love emails from home.
Wherever we went we found evidence of the 26/12/04 Tsunami and people willing to talk about where they were on the day of the event. You may remember that the tides were low and large fish could be found close to the shore line. Then the tsunami hit and flooding was quick and massive. People ran for higher land and tried to help each other through it. Roads were destroyed and over 130,000 were killed. Escape routes for future tsunamis are now marked on the streets.
AIDS and commercial sex workers are prevalent in Thailand as they are in India. One significant difference is that Thailand worked to reduce the AIDS spread on multiple fronts with good results. Medications were made readily available as were condoms. Results were good until financial support for the programs was withdrawn. Under the new government in 2006 the funding was restored and positive results returned. You cannot travel in Thailand without being aware of the sex trade. Girls as young as 10 but more often late teens take up the work, often to support their families. Some are sold into it. The risks for this illegal activity are great, including abuse, medical complications as well as mental health and addictions issues.
We signed up for an excursion that took up our whole time in Thailand. When we arrived at port we bussed to Bangkok and then flew to Phuket. Phuket is the largest island of Thailand and is one of its 76 provinces. Phuket is known for its great beaches, rocky capes mountains, forests and farmlands. We stayed at the very nice Duangjitt Resort and Spa for 3 nights. Dinners each night were on our own so we tried the fabulous Thai food in three different restaurants. On one day we traveled through Phang-Nga province to Khao Sok. There we rode elephants (again!), trekked through woods to see rubber trees, and took in the natural scenery as we were paddled down a river in an inflatable canoe. On another day we had a great adventure, discovering the sea caves, Hongs and tunnels. A Hong is an open-air, cliff-lined, cylindrical tidal lagoon connected to the outside world only through stalactite-filled caves. This was a wonderful experience. We did not even know that such places existed. At high tide you would not be able to get into the Hongs as the entrances would be filled with water. We went when the tide was close to high and often had to lie down in the canoe in order to fit through the openings. Some of the larger caves were filled with hundreds of bats. A wonderful and full lunch was prepared and served on our boat. In the afternoon we took in Lawa Island. Many of us (including me!) jumped off of the top deck on our boat and swam to shore for some sun and relaxation.
The last night in Phuket was St. Patrick’s Day. We had massages at one of the many massage shops. Hóg’s heavy set masseuse crawled on his back with her knees and elbows pressing into him. After another wonderful dinner, that included satay with peanut sauce, crab relleno and mussels with lemon grass, we headed for Molly Malone’s Irish pub. As this was our second late evening there we knew what to expect. Entertainment was provided by a Thai band, featuring two singers wearing pleated plaid skirts and singing all of your favorite Irish tunes. They did very well with Tina Turner and the Cranberries. We were hysterical and it was a great time. About 100 SAS kids must have come through that night, drinking kamikazes and car bombs. Some things do not change. Several students had suits made at the superb tailoring shops. One had a Kelly green suit made for that night. I think it paid for itself in free drinks. (I still can’t understand why we didn’t go to the ping pong ball show the Super Pussy club.)
The next day our hung over crowd traveled back to Bangkok. We had dinner with several faculty couples at a seafood restaurant where we were the only Westerners. Fabulous squid in chili paste was our favorite. We walked through the night market which was bordered on both sides by the red light district. Some students described the shows they saw and at least two girls revealed their new tattoos to us. The last day included a trip to the Grand Palace which I thought was as spectacular as the Taj Mahal. It was built beginning in 1782 under order of King Rama I to be his home and the center of his administration. It holds the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Wat Phra Kaew. The Buddha was carved from a single piece of jade in the 15th century. It sits on a Thai-style throne made of gilded-carved wood. Many interior walls are decorated with mural paintings. The coronation and diplomatic receptions are held in the Grand Palace. I think we took 200 pictures in the walled complex and look forward to sharing them when we get home. After I had a manicure, pedicure and massage for only 550 baht we headed back to the ship.
March 13 was the halfway point of the trip for us. We are still enjoying it all and can see that the end of the voyage will be a sad and emotional time for us all. Last night was the Crew Talent Show, a regular event that raises funds to improve crew life and accommodations on ship. The singing, dancing, and comedy acts were great. Next port, tomorrow, is Vietnam. The lectures, movies and music presented now are largely focused on the war that changed so many things in our lives. More on that next week. Thanks for reading. We love emails from home.
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