Wings to Fly: December 2011

We landed in Bangkok which is a city of smells, flashing images, concrete and colour, of tuk tuks, traffic, and tastes, of spice and salesmen, old and new, of markets, massaman and monkeys, bartering, and alleyways, of temples, and treasure, and of faith. The predominant religions in Thailand are Buddhism and Hinduism and the men and women who follow these faiths, live them, breathe them, and are some of the most gentle, humble, graceful people I have ever met. What we did in Bangkok...

-shop as one does- predominantly for clothes and electronic goods (be careful of counterfeits)

-eat a lot of curry- massaman is a peanut, potato and meat mild curry which is amazing, panang chicken curry is divine- spicier than massaman but milder than red, but green curry is still my favourite- the lemongrass flavour and subtlety of this curry make it the winner in my book.

- explore the night life- I wasn't too keen on the red light district, although there is a night market there which has some nice clothes etc, but was overpriced. We went to a ladyboy show called Calypso which was fun, and very well done, although most of my enjoyment of the show came from watching Daz and Greg's shocked expressions :P

- The gold Buddha- weighing over 5 tons, pure gold and priceless in its importance to Buddhist faith, the gold Buddha is spectacular and has a rather interesting story. When it was found it was covered in plaster, so its finders were completely oblivious to its true worth, seeing its value only in its age. It was transported to another temple, and many many years later someone somehow chipped the plaster casing revealing the shiny substance beneath it, and when they removed all the plaster it was discovered to be made of pure gold.

- The grand palace and temples- the temples and palace are extremely ornate, covered in gems, gold leaf and beautiful patterns, they are truly a feast for the eye. The reclining Buddha is also not to be missed.

- the floating market- it wasn't quite what I expected it to be but still worth the visit. People have their goods displayed on boats and you hire a paddle boat and drift down the canals looking at and bartering endlessly for all sorts of things, from clothes, hats and fabric to meat and vegetables etc.

Phuket- the perfect seaside holiday destination- salty sea air, white soft sand to sink your toes into, blue clear water that is as warm as a bath, gorgeous hotels, elephants, monkeys and tigers, shops everywhere full of goods of rather questionable authenticity, with their owners keen to barter very dramatically, always exclaiming their losses with each special price they promise, coconut shakes and cocktails, exquisite affordable food, motorbikes and mountain views.

Highlights...

- The beaches are amazing, and when the sun sets over the soft sand and all the sky's colours are reflected in the surf, it takes your breath away, and you have no choice but to take off your shoes, feel your toes squidge in the sand as you run into the waves, full of joy and carelessness, as you try to catch the day's last sunbeams. During the day you wallow on a deckchair, feeling yourself bake until you can't take the heat anymore and you dash into the welcoming arms of the deliciously warm sea.

- food- I was honestly in heaven, I think we only had one disappointing meal the entire time we were there. The tiny makeshift restaurants on the roadside, may look dodgy but are often hidden gems, with dirt cheap food which tastes amazing. Chicken satays in peanut sauce, curries of every variety, chicken in pandarus leaves, stir- fries and mango with sticky rice- delicious.

- Shopping- let me give you an example of how the shopping works, I actually thought of myself as quite an expert by the time I left, and let me now pass this wisdom on... you walk into a shop and immediately you are pounced on by the owner or shop assistants, who trail you and say, "yes madame, lovely goods, madame, you look here now..." My tip- appear as nonchalant as possible, acknowledge them politely but do not display too much interest- this is fatal! If you find something you like, subtly eye it for a while, and decide how much you think you are prepared to pay for it. Ask for your size and immediately the shop assistant's eyes will light up with the prospect of a sale. Try on the item they bring to you, examine its condition and if you're happy let the games begin. Ask for a price, and the shop keeper will give you a broad grin and bring a calculator on which they will enter a figure, say 1000 baht. You then need to exclaim in horror and say "No, no that's far too much!" Prepare to dramatically walk out of the shop. The shop keeper will now look wounded and say, "ok, ok you give me best price hey," and thrust you the calculator. Now, here is the part which takes skill. Remember the figure you are prepared to pay, and enter a number much lower than that, say 200 baht. The shop keeper will look like he/ she is about to faint/ cry, and say, "No, no madame, cannot do! This is good material madame, quality, you feel. I cannot do. Here, I give you special price." The calculator will be retrieved from you, and another price entered- maybe 800 baht. Say no. Take back the calculator and enter another low price, and again the shop keeper will look wounded and enter a new figure. Eventually, stop at a certain figure, maybe 350 baht, and say that you cannot offer more than that, that this is your best price. The shop keeper will shake her/ his head sadly and pause to think. You may want to look like you're about to leave the shop, start walking away, and suddenly the shop keeper will spring back into action, running after you, still managing to look hard done by, but finally accepting your offer, and then you bow to each other, hand over the money and everyone's all smiles again. This becomes a familiar routine with time.

-Phuket Fantasea- a spectacular show, full of fire dancers, performing elephants, acrobats, dancers, elaborate costumes and sets. The show takes place within a carnival village, where you can ride elephants, and take photos with baby tigers- they rip you off, but its worth it, because the baby tigers are the cutest little animals ever.

- Big Buddha- huge and on top of a mountain, he watches over all Phuket and is worth a visit.

- Parasailing- four minutes of flying, you soar above the sea pulled by a boat, dunked in the waves, and its magic, pure, exhilarating magic.

- Orchid farm: absolutely beautiful- orchids stretching as far as the eye can see in every colour and variety you can think of.

-the baby elephant show- need I say more. Marina is a star and she knows it, I swear she was smiling the whole time she performed her tricks for us, and I was happy because I could see she was well looked after and loved. She did handstands for us, hoola hooped with her trunk, danced and kissed every member of the audience, and gave us all special trunk massages :)

Similan Islands:

- Seasickness was a huge problem, the first day I was so sick I could barely move

- crystal clear, turquoise water- you look over the side of the boat and you can see the fish swimming below

- Diving and snorkling- turtles and the crackle of munching parrot fish hiding in beautiful coral reefs. The unicorn fish is also quite special- white in colour with a horn on his head.

- White beaches, soft sand, beautiful rock formations, warm ocean. I was swimming one day and a whole shoal of white fish swam around me in the waves.

- Whales- we saw a pod of them playing by the boat on the way back to shore