Willie and Air Asia to Cambodia

Meeting William Yaryan (check his blogsite for the real deal... just google him) was good fun. It is always so nice to meet a "local"...even if a new local. We made our way to the end of the water taxi stops at Taxim Square and transferred to the always fantastic skytram. So modern and wonderful. Transfered to another skytram at Siam station and to the station where we agreed to meet Willie at (drum roll) ...Starbucks! No surprise as the skytram is a development magnet and the skyscrapers and modern cineplexes, shopping centers and the architecture in general are on par with any of the largest cities in the world... truly impressive and evidence of Thailand having just finished its latest economic quarter higher than the pundants predicted at a +5.7% ...compared to the weal .6% I just heard on CNN this morning for the U.S.

Willie studied theology, philosophy and was a jounralist for a newspaper in Pasadena back in the late 60's to mid 70's before moving to Santa Cruz. He now lives on his retirement from UC and is quite happy, it would seem, to be at this stage of his life in Bangkok... lots of other ex-pats for company... easy access to everything and no lack of activity and options. We discovered we knew several people in common and before we parted company after more than an hour, we agreed to meet again upon our return to Bangkok. He also turned us on to a Klong (canal) ride back to the district where we live. This was a treat as it is far less known by anyone other than locals and proof that the vast system of klongs that crisscross Bangkok are truly transportation arteries. Bangkok freeways put Los Angeles to shame... more modern and more extensive by far and very new... with more being constantly added.

The Klong ride is fast except for when we pass the mansion/grounds of one of the aged princesses where we slow way down for a minute or more while passing. As I said before, the Thai royalty are held in very high esteem.

The weather here has been hot but quite tolerable... not oppressive unless you are walking for an hour or more through town. A problem easily solved by heading down any number of soi (avenues) along cool breezeways and sitting oneself down at a table drinking the very large and delicious local, COLD, beers. We do this whenever needed.

Dinner is as good as any at the restaurant... we street grunt, something I have missed and want to indulge in more regularly. A great shrimp Pad Thai with the always available fresh fruit drinks or beer to wash it down. Street tables, the cool evening breeze, good food while the world walks by "ain't" a bad way to go. This ended with another good night of sleep.

Morning was a frustrating second round of trying to post photos to this website... something I had no trouble doing at home. I'll see if it is computer specific or a blog compatibility problem.
With no success, we took the 45 min cab ride out to the airport to grab an Asia Air flight (one hour) to Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. I have been here back in '04 but can't believe the amount of improvement to this very poor country. Perhaps just in this city, but life is clearly prospering for some... yet begging and homelessness are still obvious. I have a great room on the forth floor overlooking a park and the palace a block away. Traffic is like a mini Saigon... more cars than I remember and every known sort of transportation concocted by people-kind. We find a nice dinner place along the river (Lonely Planet got this one right) and after a bit of a walk around, back to the room for an early retreat.

Today is Friday the 29th... leap day (I think). I was up and showered by 6 am and out to find no internet cafes open. On my way back to the hotel, I see a young woman let out a startled shreak in front of her shop. I notice she is responding to a very large and dead rat by a planter in front of her store. I offer to grab her dustpan and broom and dispose of the rat. She is very grateful and her store turns out to be another "closed"internet cafe. She opens it for me and I have been on-line among a bank of 20 nice computer stations ...all by myself for the past hour. One good turn... ying-yang... you know the rest.

Thanks to Stewart and Steven for email suggestions. I'll try them later today after we come back

Bangkok Feb 27th

Hello from Bangkok:

Got in from an uneventful EVA air flight 13 hours from SF to Taipai with a row to myself and a solid six hours of sleep thanks to Ambien, a 2 plus hour layover in Taipai and then 3 more hours to Bangkok, 45 mins through customs and baggage and to the smiling faces of Bob and Vivian waiting for me in the airport. I negotiate a taxi for 150 Baht (31 Baht to the dollar) for a 40 mins trip to Lamphu House on Soi Rambutri ...a nice A/C place, clean with balcony and ready for our arrival... $25/night for the three of us.

We rest up a bit and then start to explore the old "hood" we know to see what has changed. Eventually we end of at Pier 13 along the Chao Priya River, the main water artery of Bangkok. This river is wide, deep and long and is truly a river of commerce more than anything else, though there are water lilies floating down its rather murky waters. Center water lane is for large 4 and 5 barge long flotillas passing every five or more minutes. Outside water lanes are for water taxis, tour and dinner boats. Massive old and new bridges span the river and this theme is continued in the architecture of modern skyscrapers along the banks juxtaposed with old rickety buildings and private mansions. A cacophony of economic boom and bust times. These are boom times for Thailand and their beloved King and Queen are celebrating their 60th year of ascension to power this year.

We board a water tax for pier 15 where we find a riverside restaurant to enjoy a mid day super spicy seafood with coconut soup, a very spicy noodle and green salad, rice and several rounds of ice cold beer. A fitting way to say hello once again to Bangkok and a happy birthday dinner for me. We are sweating as much from the gastronomic heat as from the humidity and I finally feel like I have arrived.

We take off exploring this neighborhood and find a beautiful wat (Wat Thewarat Kunchorn Worawiharn) and pay to enter and see a massive gold Buddha with fantastic wall paintings all about of demons being suppressed by the Buddha. See pix. Next we "wander" the klongs (canals) and open night market complete with rats and other exotic comestibles and finally return by water taxi to our neighborhood where we wander some more finally ending up in the impotent Sodom and Gomorrah wanna be district of Kaosan Rd. I remember the parts I don't miss of being in my early 20's as this buzz of economic and lustful anticipation is played out in this most inch for inch bang for the buck tourist black hole of a location. Don't get me wrong, this is not the sex trade area... just a place for westerners to "find" one another under the pretense of shopping every known commodity under the moon. Want a fake passport in the country of your choice? Plunk down 100 Baht and wait 30 minutes after your picture is taken... that's it! Though this is now illegal, it still goes on in the side shadows of the street ...amid the neon signs, the ethnic food from all points of the compass and the colorful products of every description for sale at pennies on the dollar. Speaking of which... the Baht is about 31 to the dollar. Back to the hotel and my first full night of sleep in three days!
Kaosan Rd is action packed and while one's senses are being assaulted by everything around you, I was aware of how blase one can be, myself included, of the occasional maimed beggars who literally are lying face down and barely clothed in the streets. It is just too much... and juxtaposed with this foreign meat market/carnival atmosphere... all the more Fellini-esque. It is more than the senses can properly process... for now. Perhaps a good night of sleep will help the perspective on that one.

In the morning we find an old favorite breakfast place and enjoy the more empty streets of the area as resemblant of what it once was and will never be again. Our only agenda today is to connect with Willie Yaryan, a retired UCSC professor and journalist who "packed it all up" for a life in Bangkok pursuing things philosophic and Buddhist (from what I can gather). I have not met Willie before but feel I know something about him because of his wonderful blog site where he has kept a fascinating journal and photo gallery for the past two plus years. Do a google search for Willie Yaryan if you'd like to peek into a thoughtful and reflective life... very, very worthwhile. The rain has just begun to pour down and I am mostly up to date so I will attempt to upload my first go-around of posting photos and hope you are the successful recipients. Josie, if you see this, would you please let Jackie and Arno know the blog site. They sent me a lovely newspaper article just as I was departing the country and I didn't have the time to express my appreciation to them. See you all down the road, Mark

Map overview of this '08 trip

We will start in Bangkok, then go to Phenom Penh, then go up to Siem Reap which is about where the "a" is in the word Cambodia on the map ...to spend at least three days at Ankor Wat (a phenomenal archealogical site) covering 100 square miles, then down the south west side of Cambodia to some islands, back to Bangkok and then south down to the bottom of Thailand, then into Malaysia for more islands off the northwest coast, down to Kuala Lumpur (the capitol) and then a flight to Bali for the last two weeks.  Here is a simple map to put these locations into context should you wish.   See you down the road,   Mark

I hope you can click on the icon and get the map

The Week Before...test

Hello Everyone:

This is a both a test entry into my blog and a list of my itinerary for the upcoming trip to South East Asia. All you do is log on as often (or not) as you like to see what we are up to.  I will also try to post photos as much as possible.  

One week from now I will be heading for SFO and beginning a six week trip throughout Southeast Asia.  This is a "best of" trip to places we have been before, hoping to visit old favorites and also to discover some new ones.  Bob and Vivian Vaughan, two of my best and oldest friends will beat me there by one day and meet me at the airport in Thailand.  

After a few days in Bangkok we will travel across land to Cambodia and visit Ankor Wat in Siem Riep, one of my all time favorite places, bar none. Then it's down to explore islands off the southwest coast of Cambodia for some snorkel and sun time.  Rested, we'll take our less white bodies to Bangkok, for an overnight train down the peninsula... again checking out some new islands away from the tourist crowds off the southwest coast of Thailand.  From here we will cross the border into Melaysia, again check out some islands off the west coast and then to Koala Lampur to take a flight to Bali.  Marlene will arrive in Bali one day before we do and meet us at the airport where we will all take off to Ubud and spend two weeks revisiting favorite sites and exploring new places in Bali and perhaps a side trip to Lombok, the island east of Bali.  Of course we will have to indulge ourselves with all the good food and massages along the way.  Perhaps you will derive some pleasure by checking in from time to time.  Some day I would love to lead a trip or two to these places with you, my friends.  That would be sweet.  You will notice once you check into the blog that there is also a way for you to respond ...or you can just use my usual email which I will continue to check as often as possible.  Until then...   Mark