10 day vacation

Next week is the Thai University Games. That means there are no classes. And THAT means we are traveling for ten days, AND THAT means that my connectivity with America might be a bit spotty. So dont expect much from me for the next week.

Adventure to the Monkey Jungle Part 2: The Monkey Jungle

Our boat and room were ready at about the same time, so we elected to drop our stuff off in our room. We weren't expecting much and we got much more. We were lead across the river to a bungalow that was situated right on the river, with stairs that lead down into the water. Inside it had a large sleeping area, a refrigerator, with bottled water already supplied (water is an annoyingly constant cost, so this was a very nice perk), and 2 toilets and 3 showers. One shower/toilet combination was in an indoor bathroom, and the others were accessed by going around the corner of the bungalow.
We set down our bags and changed and got ready to hope in the boat, which was pulled up right in front of our room.

We put on our life jackets (I hope all parents reading this take note of that) and headed on our way. As we went down the river towards the Bay of Thailand we saw people living in houses on the river all on stilts, all with boat docks. As the river widened, the boat picked up speed, causing the brackish water to spray into my mouth. In the distance we could see tiny huts dotting the horizon. The skyline was covered by them, like a town on a flat plain. We drove past a couple of them, which we knew to be fisherman huts. I couldnt see any evidence of habitation at the moment, so I figured they must not use them extensively during this season. Our boat turned to its port side towards a tributary cutting through a mangrove forest.

At this point I was certain that we were about to see some monkeys, but other than that I wasnt sure what to expect. In the air anticipation mingled with the smell of the salty water. Suddenly off of our starboard side I spotted a macaque monkey sitting on branches and pointed it out to everyone. This was it, this was what we had come to see, this was OUR monkey! I wasnt sure how many more there would be (Although I was hoping for a good dozen) but now at least there was one monkey, regally perched on a branch, in his natural environment, and I thought that it was worth the trip.

As i was adjusting to the excitement of seeing a monkey in the wild for the first time in my life, I saw more and more monkeys emerging from the trees. The forest in this area, wasnt exceedingly dense, but many branches were hanging low, and it took a moment for me to realize how many monkeys were appearing.
A group of birds is called a flock, fish a school, wolves a pack and monkeys a troop. I had always thought that troop was a dumb one (well, school is equally dumb, but I care less about fish). I know understand the term. The monkeys were like soldiers deciding to allow us to see them as they came out of thier hiding places, and we were flanked from both sides. Sure, we had superior speed, but they had greater numbers. And by that i mean hundreds. At any one time i could see maybe 30-40 monkeys at any one time, and they had reinforcements in the forest. The banks were lined with the troops, some of them would follow us along river as we cruised along, while others would sit and stair. They were on the ground and in the trees, ready to jump down onto the boat if they so choose. The situation looked dire, luckily we had brought a peace offering. We threw a plantain into the river and waited to see what would happen. The monkeys broke rank and went for it, into the water they plunged, each vying to be the champion of that fruit. They clamored for more, and we happily obliged.

The plantains were tossed into the water, and the monkeys went bananas for them. They raced for the fruits like Olympians, sprinting diving into the water and desperately out-swimming their kin. Some of the more enterprising amongst them waited in branches that overhung the river to dive bomb onto the floating targets. they reached their tasty reward they grabbed it and put it into their mouth and swam back to shore. A monkey can eat a banana more efficiently than i would have thought possible. Holding it lenthwise they bite into the peel and use their teeth to rip it open, they then shove the entire yummy part of the banana into their mouth and toss the peel.
Sometimes two monkeys would reach a banana at the same time. If in water this resulted in a dunkfest, and on land a primitive match of thai boxing.
After what seemed like equal parts instant and eternity feeding the monkeys we ran out of plantains to feed them. We thought this would bring our time in the Monkey forest to an end and then the boat driver started to drive the boat right up onto shore.
I was much confused by what was going on as the boat hit shore mere feet from creatures who i was certain could kill me if they so desired. Being that the boat driver didnt speak english i couldnt say anything like "ill give you money if you dont let me die here". He then got out of the boat and tied it to a tree. This was of comfort since the monkeys didnt seem to want to draw and quarter him as i had expected. He then pulled a handful of young mangrove trees from the back of the boat. It was tree planting time.


We stepped out of the boat and into this forest and squished into the mud. With every step we made a delightful sound similar to what one would imagine someone with a sharting problem and an overdose of laxatives would sound like. And despite the disgusting auditory picture that I just painted by that statement, it was magical, because above and around us were trees, and we heard only the sounds of nature and far away boats in the bay. The monkeys did not launch an offensive and when the watery muck we were standing on gave way to about shin height we created the perfect holes to place the mangroves in. Navigating the terrain that our own feet were Turing into a pockmarked landscape was a bit of an issue which caused many balance issues. We eventually had all the trees planted and laboriously made our way back into the boat. It is quite challenging to clean mud off of ourselves when the water was muddy, but we somehow were able to do with some success.

At this point I thought our excursion was over, but I was pleasantly wrong. We left the mangrove forest and the monkeys as we talked about the fact that the trees that we just planted will someday be the homes for the grandchildren of the monkeys that we just feed. We then motored back to close to where the river meets the bay, and we saw a beautiful flock of white cranes. We approached them and they nonchalantly flew about 75 yards away from us. Our driver took out what looked like a rudimentary surfboard and showed us how to skimm along the mudflat with it.
Steve was the first of us to try it out, and he set the bar fairly low. After a few yards he got stuck and didnt seem to be able to get back into the rhythm of it.

Johnny went next and was quite a bit more successful. I went after Johnny and attempted to go visit the cranes. After about 20 yards I realized that it was not going to happen, but by stopping I also proceeded to get stuck for awhile. Jennifer showed us all up, but i will attribute that to her being the lightest of the 4 of us.

Upon her reentry of the boat (which was not something she did very well, lots of getting muddier while trying to get clean), Steve goaded me and Jennifer into a small mud-based altercation (which is the politically correct way to say mudfight). Steve and I wiped mud all over her head and back, and being that I was the only one not holding a camera she retaliated all over my face. I took the opportunity to open a complimentary waterbottle to be as helpful as possible and poured it over her head--to help get the mud off OF COURSE.


After this excitement it was time to return to our room and we were dropped off at the stairs that lead up onto our deck. As the boat was leaving another one pulled up and delivered our kayaks. I was not in any way expecting a kayak delivery and nor was any of the other 3. However once we were clean we took the kayaks on a small tour of our area of the river. getting into the kayaks was not very easy for me, as i slipped on the algae covered bottom step and cut my big toe, although not much. However the salty water did not make it feel very well, but the fun must go on and we finished with the kayaks before i dealt with it.

For dinner we ate a small buffet that the resort put out. The food here was country Thai food, and by that i mean it was not toned down the way it is in bangkok for the city slickers and tourists. Steve and Johnny made the mistake of adding the amount of spice that we were used to adding to the dishes back in bangkok and were red, sweating, crying and spitting by the end of the meal. Seeing their mistake I opted for a different dish and didnt add any extra spice. Despite this I endured the same fate.
After dinner darkness had settled on the river. We retired to our porch and shared drinks and chatted and bonded late into the evening. Periodically a boat would shatter the silence as it speed by us on the darkened river like a noisy ghost, leaving only a reverb and a wake behind it.
Eventually our glasses were dry and our eyelides were heavy and we finally turned in for the night, endeavoring, in vain, to really comprehend everything we had done during that day.

Adventure to the Monkey Jungle Part 1: The Journey

Monkeys have for a long time been a favorite animal of mine. So when I discovered the possibility of being able to see monkeys in their natural habitat, I of course had to get there. It might have taken a taxi, a train, a ferry, another train, a tuktuk and a longtail boat to get us there, but eventually Steve, Jennifer, Johnny and I were in a river through a mangrove forest, surrounded on both sides by hordes of monkeys as we tossed them bananas.

Without a vehical, the small resort town of Klong Khone is a bit of a challenge to get to, since no public transportation goes directly to it. For someone who doesnt speak nor read thai it is even harder, since the resorts cater to Thai, not foreign, tourists so nearly all of the information is in Thai.
I found that the closet large city was the town of Samut Songkram, and endeavored to get there. That meant taking a small railway line, called the Mahachai Railway. This line, now owned by the State Railway of Thailand, was originally a private rail line for transporting fish, and never got connected to the main line. Not being able to find a train schedule, and wanting to budget time for getting lost on this trip, we decided to all meet in the lobby of the apartment at 6am.

At 6:15am Steve and I received a knock on our door. As i woke up to answer it I 1) realized that the alarm i had set did not work for some reason, and 2) had a horrible flashback to the time that I was late for a directing scene my freshman yeah and had to be woken up by my co-actors (sorry about that, Kelly). Steve later told me that he had a similar flashback.
15 minutes later we were downstairs hailing a cab. Telling the driver where to go was no small issue, given that the train station, an unlikely destination for us, had the same name as a much more popular skytrain station. Our security guard helped us explain to him where we wanted to go.

The taxi stopped at a seemingly random curb, and there was no train in sight. He pointed towards a market and we went there. Out of nowhere the tracks and train appeared. We located the ticket window and ordered tickets to the end of the tracks. The train was leaving soonly, so we boarded and got comfortable. The first leg of the journey was an hour long. Upon leaving the city limits, we entered a jungle area, the ferns were huge, and every so often we would pass through small provincial towns. The towns seemed quite nice, and i had half a mind to get off the train and explore. However, we had far to go.

The tracks ended when the train could go no further, due to a large river being in the way, and no bridge having even been built. We asked some locals where the boat was, which seemed straightforward enough. They didnt speak any english, but we knew the thai word...however in thai knowing a word and pronouncing and toning it correctly are two very different things, but eventually we were sent in the right direction. On our way to the ferry we got a handful of "hellos", and stares from people and it became quickly evident that people of our skin tone were fairly uncommon in this town. Jennifer and I both bought spring rolls from a street vendor who seemed very pleased to be serving us.

We got to the ferry and paid our fee of a few baht and were handed a ticket. Standing almost directly next to the ticket both was the ticket taker, who immediately took our tickets after we had got them. It was an odd system, seeing as everyone could see if we had paid or not. Shareing the ferry with us was many motorcycles, as the ferry was the only way they could get across the river.
When we had arrived on the other side, we disembarked from the boat onto the pier, but waited for the cycles to drive out of the boat and up the gangplank.

As we wandered into town, we were unsure of where to go, so we started walking. It was quite pleasant. As we walked by houses the townspeople they would smile and wave at us, and it was quite peaceful. A Japanese man riding a bike, who spoke fairly good English came up to us and asked us where we were going. He started leading us to the train station where we ran into a monk named Wegeta (at first it sounded like Vegeta, which would have been awesome).

We were informed that the train didnt leave for another 3 hours (on this side of the tracks the train only runs 4 times a day) and invited us on a tour of his temple. He showed us the festival grounds where the village had had their new year celebration, and explained to us a bit about Buddhism as he showed us the Wat. The Wat was smaller than most that we had been in, but this was the smallest town we had visited thus far. It had an outdoor area, were there were some statues set up, and a large pictures of astrological animals. He then took us into their ordination hall with the principle Buddha image. Wegeta invited us to take a picture posing in front of Buddha, which I had understood as something that should be avoided out of respect for Buddha, but we figured if the Monk says its fine, then it must be.


After we finished the tour we headed over to the train station to wait. Two young thai children joined us, and just kinda hung out around us and played with us while we waited there. I found them to be a nice diversion.

After much waiting (and, for jennifer, sleeping) the train was ready to go and we hopped on board. On this leg of the journey we passed by many salt fields, and debated among ourselves if they were salt fields or not (they were). Durring most of this time Steve slept, and provided us with much amusement, as the ride was very bumpy and his head would bounce with every bump of the train. He also sleeps with his mouth hanging wide open like a cavern, which was just funny.

After about an hour, we reached our final train destination: Samut Songkram. Upon getting off the train, we walked into the local market, which was situated on the tracks. The costumers, walked along the rails and the shopkeepers pushed their wares all the way to the tracks.

After a little bit we heard a train whistle, and the shop keepers started pulling back all the goods and closing the awnings of their stands. Some of the larger vendors (like the butchers) had carts on wheels so as to be able to move them more quickly. Some of the items, such as fruits, were left by the track if they were low enough to be cleared by the train. I was ushered into a shop and waited for the train to pass. I must say i dont think i have ever been so close to a moving train before, but all of the people at the market were very chill about it, as this was old news for them.

When the train had past, everything immediately sprung back to its previous state as though opening a pop-up book. Awnings swung down, people walked onto the track, fruits were moved back into position, and the slowly fading sound of the train was all that remained of any hint that a huge machine had just driven directly through the area.
By this time we were all feeling a bit 'heuw' (hungry) and ventured to find a food vendor. We stumbled upon a small resturant in another part of the market, and ordered chicken and rice (which was the only thing we were able to given the language barrier). It turned out to be quite enjoyable. After eating we went to find a way to Klong Khone. We were directed towards a tuktuk driver, and using my phrase book i asked him how much it was to go to Klong Khone. He said some things in Thai that i didnt understand, and pointed in another direction. Jennifer then interceded and started to communicate the idea of a swimming monkey by both saying "ling nam" (water monkey) and by acting it out, switching between jumping and scratching like a monkey and swimming. The tuktuk driver, greatly amused agreed to take us there.

I am no stranger to the tuktuks, they are my favorite form of transportation around bangkok, but i cant say i was prepared for this ride. He drove us out of the city and onto a highway. He proceeded to reach speeds that i did not think tuktuks could reach (ill estimate 50-60 mph) and was even passing cars by driving on the shoulder. I think he may have ruined rollercoasters for me, because there is no way that any amusement ride can beat the exhilaration of riding, in a 3 wheeled vehicular, open to the air, with no seatbelts at that speed.
After a while, when we were just starting to get used to flying down the highway, he slowed down and pulled off on an unassuming side road and started driving down it. He drove us deeper and deeper into this area, making a turn every few minutes. We passed lakes, and houses and stores every few minutes, and saw acres of forests in the distance.

Eventually, when we thought we were going to never stop riding this tuktuk into the bush, he pulled into a very nice resort looking place. We got out and paid the tuktuk; he gave us his number to call when we needed to be picked up and we went to see if there was a room available.
The man at the resort who seemed to be in charge was the only one who spoke english, but other than his accent, he spoke it very well. He told us that they had only one room left, an 8 person bungalow, and that it would cost us 4000 baht. Being that there were only 4 of us, that was a bit steep of a price. Eventually we got him to agree to a 2000 baht price. I inquired about the boat ride to see the monkeys and he said that one could be ready in a half hour. We signed the papers, handed over the money and relaxed after all the traveling while we waited in great anticipation for the boat to arrive.

Bug eating

I promised a few days ago that i would post videos of bug mastication and deglutition and here it is:

Day to Day at Thammasat

I am now ending my 2nd week at School here in Thailand, and have started to somewhat fall into a routine.
Wake up time depends on what day of the week it is, since some days have earlier classes than others. (Please note that our week is Wednesday-Friday right now, and will be Tuesday-Friday next month). Steve and I take turns in the shower, possibly skype with parents, and then head out the door. We live on the 6th floor, so we take the elevator down, and head out through the lobby, saying 'Sawatdee Khrap' to the people working at the desk, and our security guard. We walk about 3 minutes to the river, passing a handful of street vendors on the way. At the river, we climb up the stairs to the pedestrian sidewalk, and cross the bridge. On the other side there is another handful of vendors. To avoid traffic we cut through the parking lot of a Wat, and then through a construction zone next to the hospital (i think they might be expanding the hospital) (this hospital is where the King is currently at) and then to the ferry. There are, of course, more vendors outside of the pier.
The ferry costs 3 baht. And the ride takes about 2 minutes. The ferry takes us to a market that is literally right next to Thammasat. This is where I usually buy my breakfast, often some kind of meat on a stick and a fresh watermellon slice. Then it is up to the 8th floor for class.

Being that most classes only meet once or twice a week, they are 4 hours long. This is a bit of a struggle, although we do have a 10-15 minute break midway through. Breaks seem to last to at least 20 minutes, and most everyone takes this time to head downstairs to get more food.

When class is over its either adventure time, or back to the Appartment to plan adventure. Thammasat is in the middle of a historical district so many places, are within easy walking distance. Today we went to the Royal Palace, which houses many intresting things, most of which you cannot photograph. The most famous is the Emerald Buddha, which is the most holy Buddha image in Thailand.


Tickets to a Muy Thai match at the stadium are 1000 baht for cheap seats, however, there are free matches every Wednesday at MBK (the huge shopping center)

Matches start with a traditional dance to pay respects to spirits, the other fighter, and the coach.


Then things start happening. from what i can tell, no groin shots, no hitting your opponent when they are down, but everything else seems legal.

Of the six matches that were on Wednesday, 4 of them were won by judges decision. The two that were won by knockout (it wasnt actually a knockout, the other fighter was just hurting too much or became incapable of fighting, but was still conscious) were awesome. The first one was won when Red shorts, was able to get control of Blue shorts in the clinch, and slammed his knee into Blue shorts guts twice. Blue was down.
The last match was decided in the first round. Red shorts delivered a brutal kick to the back of the head of Blue shorts. Blue was down.

As for dinner options, We usually either eat at a restaurant or street vendor if we are out and about, or if we are back at the apartment we go downstairs to the nearby restaurant, Khun Kai Kitchen. (Khun is a polite term close to meaning mr or mrs or ms) She serves up a selection of Thai and american food. The american food costs a premium, so i will only buy that when im haveing a bad bout of homesickness or culture shock. Her specialty is the ever popular Pad Thai.

I have made a pact with Jennifer and Steve to only eat McDonalds once a month here. However, when we do eat it, we dont go through the drive-thru (because they dont have those here), we order McDelivery! Yes, McDelivery. Food delivered to our door by motorbike.



We went to the bottom of the atrium and had a picnic. Our stomachs got quite confused by the American food combining with the Thai.

Speaking of stomach issues, both Steve and Jennifer are starting to have the stomach problems that have been plaguing me. Hopefully our stomachs will adjust and this will let up soon.

After dinner, we usually see if there is anything going on. Sometimes there is a party on the roof (wonderful views of the city) other times people go out on the town, and often there is a movie in the lobby.

Ayuttaya

Walking up the staircase wasnt exactly hard, it just took more concentration than your average staircase. To start with, these stairs were definitely not to code, they were much to skinny and steep. Also, they were very uneven, the bricks having been worn down so that there were concave dips between the mortar, and lastly, it was hard not to be distracted by the fact that we were climbing ruins that were built before Jesus was born. We were in the ancient city of Ayuttaya.

Steve, Jennifer, and I started the day by taking the ferry to the train-station. Unfortunately, we got kind of a late start and had to wait an hour for the train, since someones digestive problems were slowing the group down, and we missed the first one.
The train ride took 2 hours to get to Ayuttaya. The bus would have been quicker, but that cost over 100 baht per person, and the train was 15 baht per person. It was not an air conditioned train, but luckily we were able to open the windows and it was rather nice. During the ride people selling food and drinks would wander up and down the cars with their products.
When we got to Ayuttaya and exited the train station we saw bunches of tuktuks, and minibuses calling out prices for people. Assuming that this was not the best deal we could find we just started walking the the direction that all the tuktuks were heading. We stopped by a fancy hotel that I would never be able to afford to pick up a tourist map, and then crossed the bridge into the city.
When we were in the city we were approached by a tuktuk driver who offered us a 4 hour tour for 800 baht. He promised us no shopping stops (like bangkok tuktuk tours like to do) and had a book of customer testimonials. He brought out his little book and showed us a entry dated 1999 that showed that he still charged the same rate back then. We talked him down to 700 baht and hopped in.

We first asked him to take us to a restaurant for some food. Either he has a deal with that restaurant, or hes just never eaten there before. The food was bland and overpriced. The resturant had a chance to redeem itself, for it served mangosteen liquors. Mangosteen juice is both mine and steves favorite fruit juice so we both ordered one.
Utterly disappointing. It just tasted like grain alcohol. I didnt take more than a sip.

Well, after that it was time to go to our first ruin, which did not disappoint.
The ruins had hundreds of Buddha images, the most popular being the Reclining Buddha. This one is about 1/4 the size of the one i saw at Wat Pho. We spent about 15 minutes at this ruin, but it was an active temple so it was in decent shape and kind of busy so we went to our next stop: Wat Mahathat.

The temples of Ayuttaya were reduced to ruin when the Burmese invaded. Despite the disrepair that the temples and Buddha images are in, they are still sacred and the Buddhas are shown the greatest respect. (even the headless ones)

I really am finding it hard to describe the epic and ethereal feeling that being at these ruins had. Many times there was no one else in our direct vicinity, making us feel like we were the lone people experiencing the ruins.


Ayutthaya is also an area known for its elephants, so our driver took us to see some elephants. The cost to ride the elephant was a bit steep, but we had enough fun petting and feeding them.


The next site that we went to had some very tall chedis and prangs. A prang is a tall structure with a stairs and a small area for prayer at the top. A chedi is mostly just a spire. Needless to say I prefer prangs because you can climb up them. These ruins were actually the remains of an ancient palace, and the prangs provided wonderful vantage points to look at the former groundplans (not to mention places to sit that were most definitely not mother approved).


We spent a while hiking through these ruins, as they were quite atmospheric and beautiful.



There was an definite air of peacefulness to the area. Part of that was being outside of Bangkok, and part of it was just these hand man monoliths that stand after years, wars, and weather.


We went to another ruin that was a small working monastery. For some reason there were many statues of rooters. I tried asking the monks, but none of them spoke English. We didnt spend much time at this ruin as there wasnt all that much to see. We next went to another reclining Buddha. This one was almost as big as the one in Wat Pho.

While we were here a lady keep encouraging us to pray to Buddha and tried to sell us incense and flowers as offerings. When we declined she brought out a selection of Buddhist amulets that bring the owner luck. Remembering that our professor, Parker, had asked us to see if we could bring something Buddist back for him we inquired as to the price. She started with an asking price of 200 baht, but we were able to bargain her down to 80. Buying an amulet in front of a Buddha image is, im sure, considered even more auspicious and lucky.

We again hoped into the tuktuk and our driver surely saved the best for last. He took us to a temple, that was modeled on Angkor Wat in cambodia. The ruins seemed to have avoided much harm throughout their existence. We got there at just before sunset, so the light was hitting it at the most perfect angle.

We could see and hear hundreds of birds coming to nest in the homes that they had made in the ruins.



Jennifer and I climbed up the river side of a Prang to admire the river veiw,

While we were up there a dog started to climb the steep steps up towards us. (Stray dogs are everywhere in Thailand, especially the temples, but temple climbing dogs were new to me). As he climbed he seemed to stop every now and then to admire the view.

Upon making it to the top he sat on a ledge next to Jennifer.

We were worried about his ability to climb down, but he seemed to be a veteran of the stairs as he nimbly hopped down them when he was done. The dog walked towards the river and steve followed him. The dog looked back, and up at one point and steve went to catch this dogs eye veiw of what he looked at:


As the sun dipped behind the temple, it was time for us to return to the trainstation.
At the train station we went to grab some Pad Thai from a vendor across the street. At the stand we meet Dwight Worker, a professor of history at University of Indiana Bloomington, who explained to us that he was biking from Bangkok to Saigon. You just never know the interesting people you meet in Thailand.
The day was exhausting, but definitely amazing