Muay Thai, Fish Pan and Bangkok Farewell

Yup, headin' home in the morning.  Spent 4 days in Bangkok and enjoyed every minute of it this time.  Muz spent two days photographing the Muay Thai training gym just down some seedy alleys on the way to Kao San.  On the third he asked me to join him "for something to do".  Okay...off we went and I was pleasantly surprised to find a row of benches along on side of the alley just made for spectators like me.  And what a trip!  You can pay to train in traditional Thai boxing with real professionals.  It's quite a site.  While I was there the 10 time WORLD champ was working out...no pictures please as he glowered at Muzzy.  Muz put up his hands and retreated to the other side of the gym.  But I think he got some shots anyway.  I have to say, it was impressive and I did enjoy these guys.  It's almost like dancing, but a lot faster and much more lethal.

We spent our last day in pursuit of the fish pan.  If you are unfamiliar with my quest, I saw a young man in Chiang Mai at the Walking Market making small fun fish-shaped waffles filled with luscious things and have been searching for one of his cast iron waffle makers ever since.  Yesterday sitting in traffic, I looked out and there was a fish waffle maker...not the round one I wanted, but still...so today we retraced our steps in Chinatown at the edge of Pahurat, and found the store.  There it was.  It is a row of 5 fish shaped impressions to make waffles but it is attached to a box to which is attached a hose hook up for butane or whatever.  It's not heavy, but awkward.  Not expensive, and totally do-able...but...we are leaving tomorrow and I didn't want to spend today boxing it up and sending it to myself at great expense.  I have the card for the store, the price, the location and I am hoping that Sarah and Don will decide to come to Thailand SOON.  I will give them the money and they can send it to me...or is anyone else coming this way???  So near and yet so far...

Regretfully we left the fish pan and took a metered taxi to Wat Pho...41 baht...wandered my favorite wat, Mr. Muz took more photos, and we each had an hour and a half massage, 550 baht.  Heaven...and a great way to end the trip.  Took the river taxi back to the New Siam, Jok Pochana for dinner tonight...Leo beers, more duck, glass noodle salad with woodear mushrooms and minced pork, some pak boong and we're done...

Pahurat, Chinatown and the Chao Phraya

The Chao Phraya runs through Bangkok like a giant ribbon of not quite set jello.  We stepped onto a yellow flagged river express to get to Chinatown and the water bubbles and burps and laps in big sloppy waves all over the place.  The determined river ferries are like those flat water bugs that sort of sit on top of the water, moving back and forth and side to side with amazing speed.  They shoot up and down the river and dart from one side to the other rapidly taking on and discharging passengers, at this time of day, just before noon, lots of white farangs taking in the sites...Wat Po, The Royal Palace, and Chinatown.  Our mission was Pahurat, on the edge of Chinatown.  It is the Indian district complete with spiffy new Sikh temple and the India Emporium which contains "everything Indian" in air-conditioned luxury.  This is the cloth section of Bangkok and the wonders of Sanphan Lane...with various spellings.

Unfortunately the Express boat didn't stop at the Memorial Bridge pier and let us off at the official pier for Chinatown, whose name escapes me right at the moment.  It is quite a hike in the heat, confusion and uncertain street names from the pier to Pahurat, so we hired a convenient tuk tuk for a paltry fee and were dropped off right across the street from the India Emporium.  Hurrah!  We headed down the block for the walkover bridge and I was silently thanking god not to have to play dodgem' cars to get to the other side.  I had a Chinese frog button in my pocket, determined to find the Frog Mecca I remembered from lo those 20+ years ago.  After showing the frog to several stores full of Thai formal wear and dance accessories, they all seemed to be mumbling something that sounded vaguely familiar...samphaeng lane?  And they pointed in the direction of a vast covered alley between two tall buildings...yes, it was familiar.  We headed in, and I mean headed in, for it is an interminable warren of haphazardly covered stalls down an alley full of Valentine's merchandise, fabric, toys, more alleys leading off in spokes of stalls and I kept showing my frog and they kept pointing me further on  and we kept walking and it was hot and every once in a while we stood in front of a fan or a store would be air-conditioned and then vendors started setting up for lunch...mee krob with red bows, cherries from the US, strawberries in little cones and finally...a store so full of "notions" that I thought my eyes would explode.  A young woman led me to a center post around which were drawers and drawers of frogs every size, shape and most colors!  And trim!  Trim!  Trim!  Woo hooooooo!!!!  We even found a bank, icily air conditioned, and cashed the last of our money.  Only two days to go and we are counting down.

Leaving Samphaeng Lane, we headed to the India Emporium where we had an unusual dim sum lunch and numerous glasses of iced weak tea, perfect for the heat...then grabbed the nearest tuk tuk back to the pier.  it was while sitting in the tuk tuk trying not to inhale the exhaust of the delivery truck in front of us and listening to Rod Stewart in concert on the blown tuk tuk speakers that I happened to glance over at the side walk, noting the shiny new kanom krok pan in front of a shop that was selling waffle irons and other industrial cookware and .... THERE IT WAS!  THE FISH PAN!  Now, it's not EXACTLY the fish pan I was looking for, but....IT WILL DO!  So, now we have to figure out a way to get this fish pan back to the US....and tomorrow is our last day here...

The Overnight Bus

The only way to get to the island of Koh Phayam is to take the overnight bus from Bangkok to Ranong, a funky little place perched at the point where Myanmar and Thailand meet.  We took the deluxe 24 passenger VIP overnight down and the deluxe 36 passenger VIP back.  These were both booked BEFORE we realized there is now a plane that flies to Ranong...why is this a surprise?  It was only a matter of time. 
Let me tell you about the VIP buses, if you don't already know.  These are massive, double decker behemoth road sailing vehicles complete with toilet, attendant and goodies when you get on board.  The seats (when they are working) recline to nearly horizontal and are equipped with footrests (when working), blankets of assorted fabrics and pillows.  It seems to be a rule in Thailand that when something breaks, it stays broken...except for motorbikes...so the glamour of the bus is somewhat of an illusion.  From the outside, the buses are quite festive in the evening.  Fuchsia and lime lights twinkle gaily, festoons of curtains line the windows, green and pink scallops with little balls bouncing from the edges, and the headliners seem to have stepped straight from the 1970s...sort of disco meets psychedelic.  The overall effect is a rolling party, or the Cash Cab on steroids.  It is rather disconcerting to be herded in a large group of farangs, mini-vanned to the Northern or Southern bus station, and then try to figure out which of these giant vehicles will be your home for the night.  The stations are massive and the buses loom over you like automated elephants, slowly lumbering back and forth in a comfortable swaying motion.  Inside the air conditioning never stops and your only hope is to close off as much of it as possible with the little adjustable vent over your head (when it works).  My first attempt at this was met with some rough German guttural swearing from the passenger in front of me and the statement "zat is too much!".  It was okay, I had my blanket, and I just did like the Thais do, I tossed it over my head and made the best of it.  As we embarked, the attendant, clad in a snappy little uniform, pointed out our seats and handed us bottles of water and juice, as well as a small brightly colored package of something very puffy...perhaps an extra pillow?  No...a treat...something spongy rolled up.  I had come supplied with my own snacks from the 7 Eleven at the bus station; chips, oreos, and rolled up coconut things that come in two flavors, coconut and a snazzy garlic chili.  7 Eleven is everywhere in Thailand now and sells appropriately Thai snacks that look like the snacks in the 7 Elevens at home. 
Once you are under way, there is at least an hour of adjustments to your seat, the air conditioning, your blanket, your neighbors, and then all the lights and the TV go out and its time to sleep.  That is, unless the old man and young woman in the back seat decide to take a couple of cell phone calls.  The woman politely covers her mouth and then speaks louder, but the old man makes no attempt to exclude you from his call and they go on and on and on...cell phones are annoying in any language.  On the bus going down, the handle that made my seat recline was broken and if I moved just right, it dug relentlessly into my thigh until I woke up and readjusted.  Fortunately on the way back it was only the cell phone capers that interrupted my sleep.  By the trip back to Bangkok I was an old hand and knew what to expect. 

There is a stop 3 hours in to the trip to change drivers, no matter which direction you go. These way stations are quite a wonder.  You have a chance to use a larger, less odoriferous bathroom with actual sinks, and stock up on more snacks.  On the way back from Ranong the stop is in Champhoun...it is a southern transportation hub...trains, planes, buses...and the bus rest stop is worth a visit all on its own.  It was sort of a cross between a rest stop and an amusement park.  There were lines of facilities, a restaurant, fried snacks of every kind in puffy bags, and long rows of colorful Muslim women at carts making roti...all kinds of roti...savory, sweet, breakfast, dinner, whatever you wanted.  Even though the price list stated 20, 25 and 30 baht, Muzzy's savory curry roti was an aggressive "40 baht!"  Oh well, I consider the buck and a half the price of admission.

Luang Prabang to Chiang Rai

In our ever changing travel plans, we tried to cancel our flight from Laos to Bangkok on the 5th and opted to take the luxury liner UP the Mekong to Houayxai and across the border back into Thailand.  The flight cancellation process was a little dodgy, language being what it is, but we did our best and were told by the Lao Air representative to take it up with the original booking agent in Chiang Mai.  He assured us we could get our money back, so on the strength of that, we booked passage on the Luang Say, a two day journey including one night in Pak Beng at the Luang Say Lodge.  It was half the cost of taking the trip the other direction so we considered ourselves lucky.  It was indeed, a lovely trip and the lodge quite magnificent, even if the hike from the river to the steps leading to the reception area was quite a hike.  You see, the river rises and falls quite dramatically throughout the year and it is useless to try to build a permanent docking area.  At certain times of the year, I'm sure you disembark right at the bottom of the steps...but not this time of year.  Now we have done the Mekong, at least that stretch of it up and down and in pieces.  Suffice it to say, this was a really luxurious treat.

We arrived in Houayxai the afternoon of the second day.  What a change from our last crossing!  There are two piers, one for large boats and one for small, no organization to speak of, boats and loads of freight and trucks and tuk tuks and cars all competing for space on the steep ramp.  We had greased the wheels with the guide on the boat, a young Hmong man who was patience and perseverance itself, and he somehow got us through all of the horrendous confusion, into a songthaew, through town to the other dock and Lao immigration, back down another ramp and into a tiny boat full of our luggage (including two giant rice bowls we decided to buy...wooden, hand-hewn...only a little heavy) and off we went across the Mekong and into Thailand...at the beginning of Chinese New Year, into the chaos of the que for passport control, up another ramp and into a car which sped us into Chiang Rai and a newish hotel with incredible water pressure...though it was decidedly lacking in charm...and there we were.  Of course there is more to this...but maybe later.

So we ended up in Chiang Rai after all.  And since we ended up with 2 days in Chiang Rai...

3 countries, 3 border crossings, 3 lengthy river passages, countless kilometers, several Lao anti-massages and a handful of Thai REAL massages, river boomtown boat landings, intestinal fortitude breakdowns, Chinese New Year celebrations with artillery-sized fire crackers rendering us deaf for half a day, we found ourselves at the doorstep to the Pie Lady's pie case on the Mae Suai river about an hour southwest of Chiang Rai...and voila! We ate pie!!! One for Shelley, one for our French American ex-pat friend Denny, one for Sun, the hired driver and one for me. Mmmmmmmm....nothin' like a piece of $6000 pie to brighten our day. We found her, photographed her, spoke with her..."No photo!" She was kind of like the Pie Nazi at first...Muzzy said, "I traveled a long way to have your pie..." "What pie you have???" "Uhhh...I had the Choco-mud, Madam had the mulberry, our driver had the mulberry and our friend had the choco-mud..."No photo for you!" "But, I read about you!" "What magazine?" "Sauveur..." "Oh?" "Please, I traveled all the way from America." "Oh, okay."  She's a toothless 88 year old spirited woman well in charge of her pie domain and keenly aware of her pie-rock-star status.  Her gray-haired son works the counter with her, she has an army of pie-cutters and servers and she oversees the whole operation with an iron fist. It is an extremely popular place filled that day with 2 tour buses full of Chinese and Thai tourists because of the long weekend, Lunar New Year (of the Rabbit)...so...mission accomplished!

We returned to Bangkok yesterday and ate at the delicious Jok Pochana, spent the night listening to revelers downstairs because we got the bad room over the deck.  It was like siting above a soccer match.  Today was our second assault on Chatuchak, and a successful one it was!  We got out of there before the temperature climbed too far above 89...the humidity had wilted us to mere replicas of our former selves...I know, poor us.  Now we sit awaiting the all-night bus to Ranong followed by the 2 hour boat out into the Andaman Sea to Koh Phayam.