SE Asia Travel | Hole In The Donut Cultural Travel

Wai Goodbye

Published May 16, 2007 | By Barbara Weibel

It’s my last full day in Thailand and I did what any good Thai would do – I went shopping! Everyone knows that I am not much of a shopper, so it will really shock to learn that I spent eight hours at activity that I normally detest. At 11 AM my friend, Joan, and I hopped on the subway (the MRT) and headed two stops north to the IT Mall. Malls are an interesting concept in Bangkok. Everything is connected to something else, which is connected to another something else, all of which is connected to the subway and/or the Sky Train. In the case of the IT Mall, it was a tall, narrow building containing five floors of stores that specialize in everything technological. To the left of the IT Mall is the Fortune Hotel, which is accessed by walking through the Fortune Shopping Mall. To the right of the IT Mall is another mall (the name of which I never did find out). All three of these malls are interconnected and go on for blocks. Shopping here is rather like living on the Outer Banks and driving down the main highway – because all the towns run together the visitors never know whether they are in Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills, or Kitty Hawk. It took a couple of hours before I could tell which of the three malls I was in at any given moment.

Traffic and sky train rails at Siam Station in central Bangkok

But there’s more. At the far end, these three malls are connected to a Tesco Supermarket. Now, supermarkets in Bangkok are not like anything you’ve ever seen before. Tesco (like Big C, or any of the other major grocery chains) is a multi-story affair with escalators to transport you from floor to floor. In addition to food and sundries they carry most everything that a normal department store would carry – sort of a ‘Super WalMart meets JCPenney’ affair. Fortunately, we did NOT go into the Tesco. I did however, get a lot accomplished at the IT Mall. I picked up some 4 Gig flash drives for extra photo storage and an extra storage card for my camera. I’ve also been on the lookout for a good telephoto lens for my camera – this I’ll definitely need for my African Safari – so I priced them here as well.
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Posted in SE Asia travel |

Tagged Around The World, Bangkok, Free Spirit, goodbye, McDonalds, photos, Ronald McDonald, Thailand, Travel, wai |

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Two Month Mark

Published May 14, 2007 | By Barbara Weibel

I hit the two-month mark of this trip a couple of days ago and that anniversary has been on my mind. I’ve been thinking a lot about how things have changed for me in the past two months. Perhaps the most glaring example is that things that initially astounded are now commonplace. I don’t even blink now when I see a family of four on a motorbike, I am no longer intimidated by the thought of speaking with a monk, and it seems natural to find gilt-covered temples on every corner. Without having to think about it, I now throw my used toilet paper into the wastebasket rather than into the toilet (the septic systems in SE Asia cannot handle paper) and look first to the right when crossing a street rather than to the left.

I look a little better than when I left on this journey….

I am most grateful that my health continues to improve. I’ve lost quite a bit of weight and have had to buy smaller size clothes twice already. And carrying my heavy backpack around has given me back my strength. Three years ago I was so sick that I could not even pick up ten pounds, much less carry it up the stairs of my house. Now I am carrying a 25-pound pack up hundreds of stairs, lugging camera equipment to the top of temples or to scenic overviews so I can capture that ‘perfect’ photo. Best of all, the pain in my shoulder, neck and jaw is going away, little by little. I can’t tell you how much of a relief it is not to be living every day in pain. Here I am, sitting at the restaurant at the Quarter Hotel in Pai, Thailand, waiting for the bus to arrive to take me back to Bangkok. I look much different from the day I started this trip – more relaxed, happy, content.
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Posted in SE Asia travel |

Tagged Around The World, Free Spirit, meaningful life, Travel |

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Thailand Photos

Published May 12, 2007 | By Barbara Weibel

I’ve finally finished the Thailand photo gallery, so if you would like to view them just click on the button labeled “Photo Library” on the upper right-hand side under the green menu bar and then on the links for Thailand. Enjoy!

Posted in SE Asia travel |

Tagged Around The World, photos, Thailand, Travel |

The Story Of Ron And Nicky

Published May 11, 2007 | By Barbara Weibel

Suffering from a sinus infection and a head cold, made worse by dreary, rainy weather, I’d been shut up in my hotel room in Pai, Thailand for the past few days. Finally, disgusted and bored, I decided that I had to explore the area, come rain or shine.

The hotel manager told me that a very famous temple was located just two kilometers west of town – all I had to do was turn left at the hotel entrance and follow the road until I ran into it. I walked along, enjoying the green and misty countryside around Pai, with its rice terraces and blooming purple and magenta Bougainvillea. About a kilometer beyond the hotel, the road turned to dirt and I came to a large crossroad, also dirt. The manager had made no mention of this so I pulled out my map of Pai – no crossroad was shown on the map either. I was looking quizzically from the map to the crossroad and back again, when a man pulled up beside me on a bright red motorbike. He was dressed in crisply creased dark gray trousers, a loose fitting light gray tunic top, and plastic sandals, with salt and pepper hair that was neatly cut and combed back from his forehead. He flashed me a wide smile, his brilliant white teeth a stark contrast to his deeply tanned, rugged face. I liked him instantly.

Walking through the countryside around Pai

Terraced rice fields

“Are you lost, luv?” he inquired in the most delightful British accent.
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Posted in Authentic lives, SE Asia travel |

Tagged Around The World, Authentic lives, Free Spirit, meaningful life, Pai, Ron and Nicky Wilcox, Thailand, Travel |

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Too Many Titles

Published May 9, 2007 | By Barbara Weibel

I’ve been struggling with what to title this particular post. Since I am in the Thai town of Pai (sounds like pie) I thought maybe the title should be: “Hi, Hi Hi, I’m In Pai.” Nah! Too cutesy. I had just about decided on “Pie-Eyed In Pai” because of the eye-popping beauty of the area but then thought better of that title as well, worried someone might think I’d gone on a drinking binge. Maybe something to do with the Pied Piper – a takeoff on the fact that so many expats have flocked to this area? Again, it wasn’t quite right. I finally gave up (been doing a lot of that lately) and just started writing, figuring that the title would reveal itself along the way.

Rural mountain town of Pai in NE Thailand

Main shopping district in center of Pai

More street scenes in Pai, Thailand

Yesterday I tore myself away from the resort long enough to walk around the village. It didn’t take long – it’s not a big town. I walked the two blocks to the main street and turned right toward the highway, drinking in the views of the scenic mountains that ring the town. Continue reading →

Posted in SE Asia travel |

Tagged Around The World, Buddhism, Buddhist monks, Free Spirit, Pai, photos, Spirituality, Thailand, Travel |

5 Comments

Where To Go From Here

Published May 7, 2007 | By Barbara Weibel

I’ve known since the day I arrived in Chiang Mai that I would be leaving on the 8th of May. What I didn’t know is where I would go from here. I considered Burma but then had second thoughts. I just couldn’t bring myself to donate any more money to the corrupt communist regime that has held the rightful leader of that peaceful nation under house arrest for so many years, while they plunder the country, destroy the monasteries, and oppress the people.

I thought about going back to the south of Thailand – perhaps the island of Koh Samui this time to soak up a bit more sun. But the weather forecast all over the south was dismal. The monsoons out of China had dumped so much rain on the south that the ferries were not running and people had even lost their lives in the resultant flooding, so that was not an option. I even thought about staying put in Chiang Mai but I was getting restless here and needed a change of venue.

The pool at the Quarter Hotel, Pai

I had always planned to go to Vientiane, the capitol of Laos, but by now I had ony four days before I needed to be back in Bangkok. During my travels, someone had told me about Luang Prabang, Laos – how beautiful it was and how much better than Vientiane, so I had pretty much decided to go overland by bus from Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong, Thailand, then cross over into Laos and take the two day boat trip down the Mekong River to Luang Prabang. At least that WAS my plan until I read an article about the boat trip – how hot, crowded and uncomfortable it is, etc. Nope – not up for that at the moment.
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Posted in SE Asia travel |

Tagged Around The World, Chiang Mai, Free Spirit, Laos, Pai, Thailand, Travel, Yoga |