Bangkok, Shanghai (Again) and back to Raleigh

So through 3 cities in Asia, I was very impressed with the Chinese and Korean people.  They were some of the nicest people I have ever had the privilege of being around and their cities were perfectly safe at any time of day.  Fast forward through a 5 hour flight to Bangkok, Thailand.  Much like the Chinese and Koreans, everyone in Bangkok was nice..... in their own special way.  Who is everyone in Bangkok you ask?  Everyone in Bangkok would consist of the children, the street vendors, normal men and women, people just trying to get by, businessmen, homeless people, cab drivers, tailors, and prostitutes.  All of these groups of people seem like normal classifications of people in the United States except for the prostitutes, right?  Well, in Bangkok, prostitution is legal (Well it is illegal actually pay a prostitute for sex, hence the convenience of a "Pimp") and deserves its own classification. 

Anyone reading this is probably wondering "Why the hell are you mentioning prostitutes in the first paragraph of your blog post from Bangkok and ummmm.... You better explain yourself here Jimmy."  Well, the first thing I saw when we got into our neighborhood was prostitutes, plenty of them.  They could see in the bus our group was on and waved to us.  We all got a nice chuckle out of it and someone shouted "everyone wave to the nice ladies on the street."  First time- really funny.  That night, a few of us went out to wander on the street and stop by a bar or two, where many prostitutes were out.  Second time- still kinda funny.  The next day, our group walked out on the streets to eat and get suits made.  The prostitutes were still out, even at noon outside the bars.  Third time- A little funny.  (One of the bars nearby had happy hour from 10 am- 6 pm, no lie) Every other time on the streets regardless of the time of day, yep they were there.  Fourth time on- not funny anymore- creepy, scary, annoying, weird, did I say creepy?  It was a joke to our group, but then we came to the realization that this is okay in Bangkok.  I like to compare it to someone who normally isn't funny telling a joke that makes everyone laugh.  They try to keep their funny streak going.... by telling that same joke 25 times in a row.  This is what a part of Bangkok is like, you know, if that friend telling the joke was a prostitute, and instead of telling jokes, they were soliciting you for sex.  I understand that this is a part of their culture and many girls support themselves this way, but it got old really fast.  Okay, so at this point, Bangkok sounds awful.  Not the case at all, Bangkok was an awesome place and the people were great, I just like telling stories in chronological order.

So I mentioned the tailor earlier because there are plenty of them in Thailand, and they have very good deals on suits.  They are about a third of the cost in Thailand.  (Supposedly it was about half the cost a year ago before the economy tanked)  My professor and I went to a recommended tailor nearby and got fitted for two suits apiece.  They take every measurement needed to make pants, shirts and a jacket and then make all 3 pieces in a 36 hour period.  I was able to choose from about 150 different fabrics for both the suit and the shirt.  Is it basically a fabric to begin with and then they tailor it exactly to your measurements.  The tailors took the first measurements during the initial visit, and then we came back for the fitting of the suit jacket.  The next day, I came back and tried on the pants and shirt, which both needed minor alterations, but they were easy fixes. (They asked me why I wanted to wear my pants so low.... My professor responded for me "because he's young")  All in all, the suits were pretty sweet, and for the material they were made of, a great deal.

Thailand was once ruled by the British, and because of this, they drive on the left side of the road.  And like the Chinese, stoplights and stop signs are really just recommendations on the road, not really laws.  They drive pretty crazy, and there are bikes all over the place.  Bangkok also has Tut Tuts- 3 wheeled vehicles that serve as taxis.  They can navigate through traffic a little easier and it sure is interesting to ride on one.  From what I could tell, not counting prostitutes, the Thai are great people.  They are easy-going and seem to be a happy group of people.  In my opinion, they are better looking than the Chinese but below the South Koreans (But then again, almost every somewhat attractive female I saw was a prostitute, so it's hard to say.)  As far as clothing and style goes, they were above the Chinese, but heck who isn't, but still below the South Koreans, who were fairly well-dressed.  I wasn't able to get out and explore the city as much as I would have liked because Bangkok didn't seem quite as safe as South Korea or China.  As far as food is concerned, Thai food is usually considered one of the more spicy foods in the world, but I'm not much of a spicy guy so I strayed away from it.  The curry dishes were delicious, while some of the foods were somewhat similar to regular Chinese dishes.

Tut Tut Anyone

So on the second full day in Bangkok, our group took a full day tour of the city and the main attractions.  First up was a tour of the Emperor’s Palace.  Much like the Forbidden City in China, it was a former home to the leader of the country and was immaculate.  The palace took near 100 years to fully complete and the detail there was unreal.  Each wall had tiny colorful stones on it and the rooftops were made very steep (which is much harder to build) and with great precision.  It is hard to put these kind of buildings in perspective because of the amount of time spent constructing it and the detail involved.

The Entrance to the Palace

If you want in, you have to get by this guy

Next up on the tour was a boat ride of the river that runs through the city.  Along the river are plenty of houses, (some are shacks, and others are nice 3 and 4 story houses) and there were all kinds of people along the shores going about their daily lives.  Riding down the river right through the city was unlike anything I had ever done, to go from traffic packed roads to the water within 5 minutes.  I stood on the back of the boat with 2 friends and we waved to all the people on the banks of the river, who genuinely seemed happy to see us there having a good time.  The river happened to be pretty dirty with a lot of things floating around, but nevertheless, an awesome place to be.  There were plenty of other boats around in certain areas but in some areas we were by ourselves.  We stopped on a small island where the “Purple Sunrise Temple” was located, along with some shops and a couple small places to eat.  I climbed to the top and got a great view of the river along with the skyscrapers in the background.  We had 30 minutes to wander on the island, but I spent 25 of them standing on top of the temple, taking in the moment.  Like the view from the observation deck of Shanghai and the Great Wall, I can’t put into words what it felt like being up there and looking out over a place I had only heard of and seen pictures.  Top all that off with lunch at a restaurant looking out over the river, and that is a hard afternoon to beat.

Houses along the River

So the tour of the city was the last day in Bangkok, and the group flight left to go back to Shanghai for one day before the long haul to the United States.  The bus left for the airport at 4:30 am, so I had to choose whether to sleep for a few hours and wake up really tired or sling it around and stay up all night.  Hey, you live once, let’s sling it around.  A few of us went out to eat with our professor at a nice Thai restaurant to start the night.  My professor and I split a bottle of wine to get things going and then I had fish cakes for an appetizer and lamb curry for my meal. (Oh and I did wear the new pants from the tailor to dinner.)  

What's left from Dinner

After a great meal, I had decided to meet up with 2 friends who didn’t go to dinner but went to a happening spot on the other side of town.  The spot was happening, but I sure didn’t find them.  I couldn’t let my night end so early, so I decided to go in the first place I saw.  I made up my mind to walk around until someone talked to me, because there were no westerners there and I wasn’t sure who spoke English.  (I was from Canada that night)  10 minutes into, a couple guys from Hong Kong accepted me as one of their own and insisted that I pose for about 20 pictures with them and their friends, right down my alley.  This place had 3 or 4 different sections to it, and they had a table right near where a dj was playing music.  I had a few drinks with the group until it was time to get back and pack before the bus left.  I packed in plenty of time and the first 5 minutes of the bus ride, I had so much energy.  From minute 6 until I landed in Shanghai, I was dead.

So the last full day and the morning before the flight was spent doing many of the same things I did during the original trip to Shanghai.  I had a good lunch once I got to Shanghai, went to the same market where the pictures with Chinese people began, and then had dinner near the market place.  The last dinner was spent at a local Chinese food court like place where my friend Casey and I got 6 dishes between the two of us.  The last night in Asia, I had to get into something mischievous, so I made it onto the roof of the hotel with 2 friends.  A great view of the city and some serious reminiscing of the trip was a great way to spend the last night.  The night morning, I woke up, had breakfast, and then decided to take a cab out to an observation deck, much like one the group went to on the first trip to Shanghai.  I couldn’t convince anyone to come with me, plus it was raining, but I spent about 45 minutes on the world’s tallest observation deck to cap off the trip.  The rain prevented a great view, but a good way to go out.

The last flight home

The rest isn’t very exciting, a 45 minute ride to the airport, a 2 hour wait in the Shanghai airport, a 13 hour flight to Toronto, a 2 hour layover (Where I ate a huge burger) and then an hour flight to Raleigh.  A little sleep and 3 or 4 movies later, I’m sitting back at my house in Raleigh.  The trip lasted 2 weeks, but it seemed more like a month.  Hell, try not sleeping a night or two and when you do, only 5 hours at a time and see how long your days seem to last.  Oh and some words of advice that I sure didn't listen to.... leave your computer at home when traveling to Asia.  I plugged my computer in the wall at my hotel in Shanghai.... that computer now lives in shack in Guam, not by choice.  It completely wrecked my hard drive, maybe they didn't like my blog or something. But hey, as long as the pictures are recovered, it won't be a tragedy.  But for now, all the pictures on here are my pictures Shanghai and the rest from friends on the trip.  If I can recover anything from the computer, I will post a video or two from Bangkok.  As always, Dad thanks for making all of this possible, happy belated Father's Day to you.  You probably laughed and shook your head more than a few times looking down at me wandering around Asia.

This trip was unlike any I had ever been on before.  Asia is so different from the United States but I couldn’t have asked for a better trip.  Dr. Parker was awesome and so was every person on the trip.  I would highly recommend visiting China no matter what the circumstances, you will be blown away by the amount of people in one area and the Great Wall is a must.  Go to South Korea to experience another culture, the DMZ and a great group of people.... and visit Thailand if you want a different experience, but don't go on a family vacation.   

The Highlights

·         The Great Wall

·         Shanghai Observation Deck

·         The DMZ

·         Bangkok River Tour and Temple

 

The Numbers

·         Countries Visited- 3

·         Flights- 8 (2 that were 13+ hours)

·         Miles Traveled- 20,000

·         Bridges Burned- 1

·         Gambling Winnings- $500


 

I can’t say enough about the people in China, South Korea, and Thailand.  They are some of the nicest people in the world and I think we could all learn a thing or two from them.  Is it Buddhism, the government, the culture, or something else, I’m not sure, but whatever it is, it seems to work there.  When you travel overseas, especially places where you interact with people who don’t speak your language, it can be difficult to get around and you can definitely be taken out of your comfort zone.  A few people in the group were shell-shocked in Thailand, and some may have felt the same way in China and South Korea.  In instances where communication is difficult and you rely on other people for so many things, you have to hope that things will work themselves out.  For example, in a Thai market, I tried to give a guy 3 times the amount a souvenir cost because I didn't quite understand what he was saying.  He looked at me and pointed to the right amount I needed to give him.  When I would leave the hotel to go out at night, I would take a card from the reception desk that had the name of the hotel written in the native language.  This was my lifeline.  I had no way of communicating with a cab driver to tell him where to go other than handing him that card.  In these instances and many others, I trusted a complete stranger and it worked out for me every time with no mix-ups whatsoever.  I will remember the Great Wall and some of the views of the cities in Asia the rest of my life and man, what a start to my travels.  But if someone were to ask what stood out the most for me on this trip, without question, it was the people.