Crossing borders: My experience in Thailand

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I booked my ticket to Thailand for two reasons: I wanted to see my friend Justin, and almost all of the international students at my University had traveled there and loved it. So when I found a really cheap ticket, I jumped at the opportunity, not really knowing what to expect. Before I left, I had a few small, and mostly inaccurate,  impressions of Thailand: what my friends had told me about the great beaches and shopping, the minimal online searching I had done of things to do in Thailand, parts of a book I read about wandering Buddhist monks in northern Thailand (the fact that the country is Buddhist is probably the most accurate impression I had before coming) and a scene from Bridget Jones' Diary II (which convinced me not to go near illegal drugs). I had no idea what kind of experience I was in for, but I couldn't have even prepared myself for what I found.

Before I dive into a description of my trip, however, I would like to do a bit of free advertising for my friend. As the friend I visited, Justin Eppley, is also an IUP student, and the founder of Edgewise Magazine (www.edgewise-magazine .com) and this travel blog, you can find out more information about Thailand in his journal, "The land of contradictions: Dispatches from Thailand."

I flew Gulf Air to Thailand, and I had a great experience on the flight. Gulf Air is a Middle Eastern airline, thus everything was in Arabic, and the flight attendants all wore beautiful headwear with cute hats and scarves. I was so impressed by the hats that on my way off the plane, I asked one of the flight attendants if I could take a picture of her. She told me that instead, I could wear the hat, and she would take a picture of me. I think I would make a very good Gulf Air flight attendant; I looked pretty good in the hat. I arrived in the new Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok, the largest in Asia now, and it reminded me a lot of the Hong Kong airport. After I met Justin, the first thing that hit me was the extremely hot weather. The heat and humidity in Hong Kong has mostly subsided (besides the large rainstorm we had last week) and I was not particularly looking forward to hot weather again. We almost immediately(to my relief) jumped into an air conditioned taxi and sat in traffic for nearly an hour and a half to Justin's apartment. On the way there, he gave me a crash course about Thailand, everything from how to count to 10 in Thai (I think I only remember three of the numbers) to the current political situation. I was especially anxious to hear about my friend's perceptions of the recent military coup that had made such big news in Hong Kong. He explained to me that for the most part, the people of Thailand were satisfied with the military coup. They were frustrated with the current ruler, and welcomed a change. Although Thailand had been free from military coups in the last 15 years, the people wanted a change. Justin showed me pictures of the coup, including military surrounding the grand palace with monks near their tanks showing their support for the new government. He told me he was slightly frustrated with the American media's portrayal of the coup (he told me one headline he heard was "Bangkok in chaos") and that although it was initially a frightening experience, it seemed to be a smooth transition.

On our ride to the airport, one thing I noticed, which Justin pointed out to me as well, was the ubiquitous portraits of the King. There were enormous billboards everywhere, showing the king in extremely flattering pictures. I was briefly reminded of Orwell's 1984. Justin told me that there was a certain taboo against talking about the King, and although the government had changed, their love for the monarchy had not faltered.

We went from the airport to Justin's  apartment, and I was in shock at how big it was, much bigger than some of the most expensive apartments in Hong Kong. He also lived right on a river, and on the other side of the river was his university, Thammasat University, and the Grand Palace, the traditional place where the king used to reside, now it is open to the public. We went strait to dinner, and had a meal on the street. According to Justin, 50% of Thailand's economy is based on the street, which is a problem for development, as they are not taxed. Nevertheless, I could certainly see what he meant, as every street was covered with salespeople selling everything from alarm clocks to lottery tickets. The meal began with sticky rice, which, as the name suggests, is rice stuck together, and you can eat it with your hands. We also ordered some meat dishes and vegetable dishes, all of which I actually tried. We went with his Thai friend, Rong, and his French friend Pauline. After the meal I was quite full, and we walked back to his apartment, stopping by the waterfront, where many people were relaxing and chatting, and crossing a large bridge. We then went back to sleep, as Justin had to get up early the next day for class.

The next morning we went to Thammassat University, where Justin had to go to class. He first took me to a display on campus that I found extremely interesting. It was an exhibition of political cartoons that had run in Thai newspapers recently. I didn't understand some of them, as they dealt with Thai politics that I knew little about. I did, however, learn some things about what the Thai people think of their own government, and of America. There were many political cartoons that commenter on the previous leader of Thailand (the one replaced by the coup) and the way he bullied and censored the press, and was extremely financially corrupt. There were also various cartoons about American influence around the world, such as pictures of George Bush armed looking quite formidable and armed with weapons shaped like the statue of liberty. One particular cartoon I found quite amusing was George Bush trying to ram the Statue of Liberty into the Great Wall of China; he barely made a dent and was storming off frustrated as the Chinese president waved at him smiling from the top of the wall. According to Justin, there is a bit of a hostility against the American decision to invade Iraq, and there is an overwhelming stereotype of American arrogance. While we both agree with this to some extent, the negative stereotype seems to be quite strong, as it is in Hong Kong as well.

After Justin went to his class, we went to the Grand Palace, the former residence of the monarchy. Justin had warned me about a certain racism against foreigners which often manifested itself in extremely overpriced admissions and souvenirs only for foreigners. I saw it also within the walls of monasteries, as there were often separate shelves for foreign shoes and Thai shoes, and even separate lines and areas for foreign and Thai people. We met this at the Grand Palace, and had to pay quite a bit to enter, although it was completely worth it.

The Grand Palace is broken up into sections, the first of which had a very large and elaborately decorated Buddhist monastery. There is a large golden alter with the "Emerald Buddha" (although it is really made out of green jade) appropriately dressed for winter (his clothes are changed according to the seasons. In the winter he has what looks like a shall). The walls were covered with elaborate paintings of jatakas, pictures of the Buddhist enlightenment, and a large mandala on the back wall behind the Buddha.

Surrounding this area is a large mural painted on the wall that told stories of kings and their battles; many of the pictures were quite violent. After looking at the pictures, we went to the next section with the actuality Grand Palace itself. We couldn't go inside, but there was at the bottom section an exhibit of weapons which was actually even painful to look at. I saw some of the most gruesome and horrible weapons I had ever seen, including long tridents, spears, and swords. I asked Justin if Thailand had a militant history, and he told me from his experiences it seemed so. At the Grand Palace there were many guards posted around the building, and it reminded me of the guards I had seen pictures of at Buckingham Palace. Sure enough, I saw many American tourists taking their pictures with the guards. My friend told me that the Thai people found this kind of behavior quite disrespectful, and because of this, they had a bit of a discrimination against westerners. He also told me about a year ago, someone had been acting beyond obnoxious in the Grand Palace, and the guards shot him. All this convinced me not to take pictures of the guards.

After the Grand Palace we went to Wat Pho, a more famous Buddhist monastery. We didn't necessarily go to see the monastery, but we went there because they are known for having the best Thai massages in Bangkok. The Thai massage lasted for an hour, and was a full body massage. It began by them taking us to a darker room (which scared me a little bit, as I had heard stories about Thai "massage and bath houses"; luckily, though, this place was recommended by many students) and then we changed into comfortable cotton clothing. It was definitely a bit more rough than other massages I had received, but it was an interesting experience. The masseuse didn't just use her hands, but also used her feet, elbows, and legs to massage. She also forced me to stretch my legs, arms and back. Although at times it was slightly uncomfortable, it felt extremely good afterwards.

After the Wat Pho massage, we went to the Paragon, an upscale shopping center that reminded me of Hong Kong. It was incredible the change of scenery, from a day of traditional Thai architecture to a mall that rivaled American shopping centers. We walked around, and then went to look at the movie theater. According to Justin, going to the movies is a big deal in Thailand. They get dressed up and make a whole night of it, much like going to the traditional theater in America. Now, there are theaters with really comfortable cushioned seats that recline, which you can sit in for an extra cost. While we were there there was a concert going on with a traditional Thai artist, although I have to say it sounded a lot like American rock music.

Justin had told me that it seemed as though there was a double standard that overwhelmed Thailand, and at the mall, I could see what he meant. There was an emphasis on moral conduct; for example, adds for alcohol were banned (although still present) as was MTV because of moral integrity issues, but their famous star, Tat Young, rivaled Britney Spears as far as promiscuous music videos. There were monks everywhere, and the country is 95% Buddhist, but there was openly displayed sex paraphenalia, and we were asked to go see "ping pong shows" (since my little sister might read this, if you want to know what that is, ask me). The contradiction fascinated me.

After the mall we went to the exchange student local hangout, the "Gas Station," which literally is a gas station that is rented out at night; they put tables and chairs out where the pumps are, sell mixed drinks, and it suddenly becomes a bar. I met a fair number of exchange students, and watched them order buckets (literally) of kamikazes and pina coladas. There were young children selling gum and flowers, all of whom seemed to know the exchange students quite well. According to Justin, these children are under a lot of pressure to make certain quotas each night selling their products, about 3000 bhat a night (each pack of gum or flower goes for about 10 bhat). He told me that oftentimes, the children would get desperate, and they openly admitted to sometimes stealing from the customers of the bar. On the one hand, some students were angry because they were stolen from, but on the other hand, they are often the children's best customers because they feel sorry for these children.

The next day we got up bright and early to go the largest weekend market in Southeast Asia. This place literally had everything. I saw clothing, jewelry, souvenirs, backpacking supplies, lamps, furniture, statues, and hanging twinkle lights; I also saw illegal weapons, fluffy puppies, what seemed like endangered marsupials, and Justin said last time he was there he pet a baby tiger. I was only able to stay for a couple of hours, but I was literally overwhelmed. I managed to buy a backpack for my backpacking trip (look forward to another entry about Yunnan province in Southern China!) and a small souvenir for myself.

After that we took a train to Ayuttyah, an ancient capitol of the Thai kings in the 14-18th centuries. Ayuttyah is another contradiction on sight; as you ride into town, you see ancient ruins behind modern shops and 7-11s, as they are literally built on top of each other. The ruins are all from the Ayuttyah period, a period of prestige and wealth in Thailand that ended with the destructive invasion of the Burmese in the 1760s, which decimated many of the buildings and monasteries. Most of the grander things about the ruins have been lost, but they were still beautiful.

We went to the main ruins in town, and after that, hired a tuk tuk to drive us around the town to the other sights. A tuk tuk is like a mix between a pickup truck and a rickshaw, as the front is like a normal car, and the back is open for passengers. We went to 6 different ruins and temples, including a large reclining Buddha, a monastery with the largest Buddha statue in Thailand that was never abandoned even with the Burmese rebellion. All of them were all but decimated, but many of the buildings still stood, and you could imagine them in their grandeur. We climbed to the top of many of them, and looked down at the beautiful landscapes.

What did surprise me, though, is that even though many of the places were ancient ruins, the Buddhist monasteries and monuments were certainly still being used today. We saw many Buddhist monks, and almost every monument had incense burning and lotus flowers for sale. For every monument we went into, we had to remove our shoes, and although there were few tourists, there were many Thai people there worshipping, and they seemed slightly surprised to see us.

This demonstrated to me how very alive the Buddhist culture was in Thailand. I had read about this before I came, but it seemed that almost everyone bowed to the Buddha statues as they passed, be it the largest Buddha statue in Thailand, or a small metal statue built recently. This, combined with the paragon I saw the night before, struck me as a unique sort of contradiction, as I had never seen that kind of ubiquitous piety before.

On our way back from the ruins, we stopped at an elephant training camp. We had to convince the tuk tuk driver to take us, but luckily he was quite accommodating. My friend Justin was not as excited, he told me that elephants to him were like squirrels at IUP. I couldn't imagine that mindset, and I took many pictures. They had elephants just there to take pictures with people, even one who was kneeling so people could sit on his knee (although I didn't have time to do that, there was a line, and we were still paying our driver). As we left, I saw more people riding the elephants around the park.

That night after we got back we went to China town in Bangkok, which was certainly Hong Kong based, as most of the restaurants specialized in Shark fin soup (a Hong Kong speciality). I almost felt at home surrounded by Chinese characters and the smell of Hong Kong style seafood. I read once that Hong Kong has a distinct smell of seafood, hot cement, fresh fruit, and overused air conditioning. I realized this was correct, and Bangkok lacked the the Hong Kong smell (though it came close). My friend Justin and I walked the streets and practiced our Chinese. However, since it took us so long to find the place, and we had had such a long day, we left pretty quickly.

The next day Justin and I went with many of his Thai friends to the Ancient City. It is a museum-like place set up like a small map of Thailand, and within it is many of the most famous monuments from around Thailand. We took a two hour bus to get there, and then a minibus which reminded me of a large tuk tuk. When we got to the entrance gate, I was shocked at the price: 300 bhat entry, higher than the Grand Palace! I also looked at the price list in Thai, and I was certain it did not say 300 dollars. Our Thai friends spoke for awhile, and told us it was only 100 dollar entry fee. I was a bit confused at the time, but apparently by telling them we were students in Thailand, it dropped the price. Justin and I were pretty sure that entry for them was free.

We then hopped on bicycles and started touring around the area. We stopped to take pictures of many of the large ones, and go inside others. One of the most incredible ones was a palace during the Ayuttyah period that was destroyed in the Burmese invasion in the 18th century. However, using historical archives and records, they rebuilt a model of an original building that held grandeur and prestige, but was no longer standing. The inside was even richly decorated according to the Ayuttyah style at the time. I was extremely amazed by central Thailand architecture, because it was so unique and different than anything I had studied before. It was defined to me by pointy structures on many of the buildings, stupas, and even the heads of the Buddhas themselves. This was seen in this building as well.

There were also life sized accurate models of many ruins in northern Thailand, which I really enjoyed. Justin explained to me that Northern Thailand had many Chinese people, and in the section of the Ancient City that represented North Thailand, I saw many structures that reminded me of Chinese architecture, and Chinese subject matter, as they stressed Mahayana Buddhism (the kind practiced in China). There were also traditional huts in Eastern Thailand,and  statues representing Hindu Gods, a popular subject matter in parts of central Thailand. I especially enjoyed many of the folklore that was told through the statues, as Hindu folklore is extremely humorous and fantastic. There was also a model of a traditional  floating market, where we had lunch. It was completely floating on water, as the name suggests, and there were many fish that floated around that we fed.

There were also many animals in the park as well. I saw some very strange looking cow like animals (I think they were water buffalo, but I'm not sure. Everyone can look at the picture and tell me). There were also wild deer, which were surprisingly friendly as far as deer go, as we could actually get relatively close to them. It was a long day, and nearly 100 degrees fahrenheit, but it was completely worth it. 

At night, Justin and I went to dinner at Kalsan, a street known as the "backpackers street" in Thailand, and I could see why. Pad Thai was sold on the street everywhere, along with many different kinds of souvenirs. After a nice dinner of Thai chicken and American waffles (with chocolate ice cream and fresh bananas) we walked along the street. We stopped at a cozy internet cafe full of exchange students studying for finals, and then stopped along the street and grazed the small shops. It was a nice relaxing end to a full weekend.

Being in Thailand made me realize how incredibly modern and different Hong Kong is from other parts of Asia. I couldn't believe how slow paced it was, and as my friend told me, the Thai smile is both famous and contagious. The people are definitely friendly, but much less used to seeing foreigners than Hong Kong people were. While they looked at us with awe, they were very embarrassed when we looked at them. At one of the ruins in Ayuttyah, we asked a few school children to take our picture. The entire class of about 30 students giggled and smiled, and they all stood together as one child took our picture. It came out quite poorly, but I think we made their day, and it certainly brightened mine. However, I couldn't help but feel a bit misplaced when I saw signs like "foreigners not allowed" or "foreign price." I had never encountered this in Hong Kong, or even mainland China. Also, the constant reminders of the king, and the military presence, made me a bit estranged, yet also curious about Thailand's long and turbulent history.

However, what really impacted me more than anything is how I left feeling like I knew nothing about Thailand, more so than when I came, ironically. I realized that Thailand was a fascinating country with a rich history, and in my short weekend I didn't even start to scratch the surface. Furthermore, it made me think about all the other Southeast Asian countries I had yet to explore. However, I think it is good that I discover this now, so I can return someday to discover, as my friend put it, "what is behind the Thai smile"?