Onwards
February 19th, 2008 at 7:41 am (thailand, travel)
Bangkok today, India tomorrow. (!!!)
Bangkok has been a surprising oasis for Trix and I. I hadn’t realized how much of a challenge Laos and Cambodia were turning out to be. I wouldn’t trade these experiences for the world, with the amount of perspective I’ve gained from them, but eventually, crazy tuktuk drivers, insane roads, scammers, hagglers, trash and garbage, mediocre food and cold water showers get under your skin. Add on top of that the heavy weight of learning more about the Khmer Rouge and then some lovely food poisoning to top off your already difficult headspace, and the challenges are even weightier. It’s been a very good trip so far, and this breather is making it better.
We arrived in Bangkok via bus and I realized that we were going to have a decadent day and a half. We filled up on sushi and fast internet and public parks (Uh, you’ve got to check out the daily aerobics class that goes on in the park. Think hundreds of Thai people jazzercizing on the lawn to jpop techno. It’s incredible. Trix and I joined in on the sidelines) and cab drivers (yes! cabs! with meters! not tuktuks!). Saw some of the sites - quite frankly though, my favorite part of the famous wat (with the 47 meter Buddha) was the cat with her three very baby kittens hanging out near one of the stupas. I’m such a sucker for baby animals.
So I’m not exaggerating when I say oasis.
I’m unsure what to expect with India, so leaving expectations at the door is probably my best bet. I am curious to see how I deal with the extreme poverty that I’ve been told I’ll be faced with. There’s great poverty here in Southeast Asia, but I expect that one doesn’t see it at the levels and immensity that it reaches in India. It’s hard enough out here with the land mine victims. I can’t really imagine the scale to which I’ve been told it exists just a five hour plane ride away. Expectations at the door, and I’ll keep you posted.