Divided on Thailand

Alright- time for a real posting. I arrived in Bangkok on Wednesday and headed directly for the ridiculously touristy area of Koh Sam Road. I was thankful for having been warned by Melisa, Alex and Mike about feeling like a guichet (ATM) in Bangkok. The plane landed and before I made it out of the airport, a dozen or so taxi drivers had already made an effort at landing me in their cab. Instead I boarded the express bus for free and eventually wound up in tourist land. The first travel agent that ushered me in his door gave me pricing information and was quite distraught that I was writting everything down. I had not yet done enough research into the prices to know what was reasonable, but had been warned that prices varied greatly. The man bragged about his membership with the Thailand Tourism Board (again, I had been warned that this meant absolutely nothing) and I left his shop promising to return when I checked the prices elsewhere. He had quoted me 7000 baht (about 280 Canadian) for a package from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, inclusive of the bus and the guided treking trip. I quickly learned that in reality, the trip should cost me no more than 1500 baht (about 40 Canadian)- needless to say, I didn't go back. My initial reaction to Bangkok as a whole was fairly negative, although perhaps it's not really fair. I was really thrown by the abundance of tourists and the amount of English was overwhelming to my Korean-acclimatized ears. I crashed early at the hostel and went out the next day by tuk-tuk (taxi on three wheels) to see all the key sights. A tuk-tuk driver agreed to take me around everywhere for 40 baht (about 1$) . We stopped at a a couple temples and then he insisted on taking me to a jewelry store. Again, I had been warned. A bit of an argument insued and finally he revealed that if he took me to this store the government would pay for his gas for the day. He said all I needed to do was walk in and walk out. So that's what I did. We moved on to the next temple, but when I came out, he was gone. Not that I can blame him. He had driven me around for four hours already and was only going to get a dollar out of the deal in the end. I would have left too if someone offered me twice as much for a quick trip.

The next day, I boarded the bus and ever so slowly and casually rolled into Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand). In true Thai fashion, the bus arrived half an hour late and sat for about an hour before we left. Of course, those of us not familiar with the complete lack of regard for time were quite stressed, wondering if we had missed the bus or were waiting in the wrong place. At 7 am the bus pulled into a random gas station and we were herded into vans from different guest houses. Of course I realized full well that I was being given little choice in my accomodation, but was too tired to care. It only cost me 6$ for my private room anyway. I rented a bike the next day and breezed around Chiang Mai in an effort to see all the temples I possibly could. I barely made a dent, but what I saw was absolutely incredible. The next morning, I awoke disgustingly early to head off into the jungle. Again, the bus was late and when it arrived it was less a bus and more a pick-up truck with everyone stuffed in the back. I called shot gun. Our first stop was at a gorgeous waterfall where we ate lunch and went swimming before piling back into the truck and arriving at a montain top temple. Finally we weer dropped in the middle of nowhere and began to walk through rice fields, jungle, up and down mountains. A few hours later we arrived at a Karyn hill tribe village where we ate dinner and settled into our bamboo hut for the night. When we arrived, children greeted us and thrust bracelets and necklaces in our hands, hoping for some purchases. The women stood back for a bit and when the children had cleared away, they approached with sarongs, sheets and scarves. After dinner we sat around the camp fire, drinking Chang beer and talking with the Karyn men who had come down to drink with us. There were a few children, a couple of young men and a very old man among them. The old man kept us entertained for hours with magic tricks that he'd clearly taught of all the children as well, as they laughed when we couldn't duplicate them. I drank the British boys under the table in an effort to uphold the Canadian reputation . To be fair, it seems it's not much of a challenge to drink a young Englishman under the table- they know nothing of pacing and kept chugging beer after beer. Silly boys. The following day, we awoke early for a second hike to an absolutely stunning waterfall. If the guide hadn't been pushing us to hurry, I easily could have spent the day there. The hike continued until finally we arrived at the river for our brief bamboo rafting experience. Then onto the elephants before our trip back to Chiang Mai. Last night was day three of a four day festival - Loy Krathong (spelling??) - in celebration of the King of Thailand. Chiang Mai just happens to be the biggest party in the country. People lit small fires inside of large balloons and sent them floating up into the night sky. Fireworks of all kinds were seen and heard throughout the city. A parade snaked through the streets and people made their way to the river to launch their flower boats with candles and incence. It was beautiful. I was meant to meet up for a beer with one of the guys from the hiking trip, but it seems we missed each other and I was perfectly happy to spend the night wandering about by myself.

The events of the last few days have put me in a strange frame of mind. I look around me, and I'm astounded by how warm and welcoming the Thai people are. I had anticipated feeling some sort of resentment with the number of tourists passing through, but there doesn't seem to be any. I have been stopped in the street countless times by people just wanting to say hi and ask where I'm from, where I'm headed. They are happy to share tidbits about Thai culture and history. I witnessed a Muay Thai boxing match the other night where the boxers just kept smiling the whole way through. The Thai people are poor, for the most part- but there doesn't seem to be a trace of greed or jealousy at the amount of money that tourists are dropping without a thought. Though people may try to rip you off, there's the sense that it's not so much out of greed as it is a desire to take care of their family. They are perfectly happy living the way they do. They aren't envious of our fancy cameras, or international trips. They aren't waiting for validation from the west. The Thai people are well aware that they have a beautiful country. But I can't help but feel divided about being here. On the one hand, I'm glad to have experienced - although briefly, this very beautiful country. But on the other, I feel that Thai culture is being overrun by westerners and I would rather not be a part of it. I very much enjoyed my time up in the hills with the Karyn tribe- it was so refreshing to see people who were truly happy with what they had, and didn't want anymore. But I was disgusted when a couple of the people on our trip whipped out their cameras and marched into the centre of the village to take photos (we were put up just outside the village). The people seemed unbothered by it, but I was embarrased. Perhaps spending a year as a novelty has made me quite sensitive to it. Maybe it's just decency. AsI watched the parade snake through the streets of Chiang Mai and people stopped floats to take pictures, it just felt like too much. As the Thai people tried to celebrate their king, westerns paused their festivities for a few photos. As I walked by a temple, I saw people taking pictures of the monks- which to the Buddhist monks, as I recall is extremely offensive. They believe that it steals your soul. I remember reading an article for my Philosophy of Leisure class in which a Hawaiian woman begged tourists to stop coming because it was destroying Hawaiian culture. I can't help but wonder if this isn't also true of Thailand. I was warned about the beaches in South Thailand and glad that I opted out- I think it would have enraged me. So I leave Thailand stuck between really wanting to come back and experience more of this truly fascinating country, and feeling a little sick that it' s becoming an absolute playground for westerners.

Tomorrow I'm on to Laos-- very, very slowly. I board the slow boat down the Mekong River tomorrow morning and will arrive in Luang Prabang on Wenesday night. I might just go crazy.