The Siam of Sarah

Sa-wa-dee-ka! (Hello) Ahhh, Thailand! The wonderful food and fresh fruit on a stick. The $6 massages on the beach, the never ending markets and bargains. The sunshine, clear-blue water, white sandy beaches, happy people, and carefree way of life. The ancient palaces, breathtaking temples, and the monks. With all these wonderful things does come the language barrier and miscommunication, grime and stinky smells, mosquitoes, cold showers, humidity and sweating all day, con artists who try to convince you major tourist attractions are closed only to try to get you to pay them for a tour, the traffic and the tuk tuk drivers that won’t leave you alone after you’ve told them 5 times you don’t need a ride. Such a unique place and now I see why it’s visited by millions of people every year.


Siam? The original name until it was changed to Thailand (“Land of the Free”) in 1939. Population - 64 million. It’s about the same size as France and if you take a look at a map, it’s in the shape of an elephant head (ironic given elephants are one of its major symbols). The two main influences are spirituality and the Royal Family. Their King has reigned since 1946 and it’s evident they like him because this guy’s portrait is EVERYWHERE. I mean EVERYWHERE. And most of the pictures look like they were taken 60 years ago too. And it’s evident they are loyal because at 6pm every day everyone literally stands still as their national anthem is played over loud speakers, which was quite interesting for Amber and I as we were bargaining at a market and realized everyone around us was standing still facing in the same direction and paying tribute to their country…Oopsy! Ok, enough with the history, it’s just I realized after being here two weeks that I didn’t know much about Thailand before arriving and realized it was all such a mystery, so I actually read the front of my travel book to learn about this amazing country and it slowly started coming together for me. So much different from Australia and New Zealand, which I ignorantly didn’t care to learn much about because they are both so Western, just like the states.

The fact I’m even here and Amber and I made it in/out alive is incredible. Kidding! But I am sort of embarrassed to say that we almost went to Bali instead… Long story short, 2 days before flying here, news broke there were protests in Bangkok. The Red Shirts (large group unhappy with the current Prime Minister) were flooding the streets, supposedly bombing government housing (gotta love sensationalism) and throwing buckets of blood at the gates (ok, that part is true). Needless to say it was a bit overdramatized, but of course our parents were paying attention to the news on Thailand all of a sudden and we all kind of panicked. I reached out to my friend, Stu, who I knew would have insight and he told me it was nothing to worry about, these protests happen all the time but are pretty peaceful and that we should just be cautious. Thanks to Stu, we changed our mind and after 2 days Amber was yelling “Woohoo!” out the taxi window when the Red Shirt parade drove by and our taxi driver started waving his little red flag. Yes, there were barricades on some of the streets and police and guards everywhere, but for the most part, it’s pretty peaceful and not much to worry about.

Bangkok. Gosh, where do I even begin? It’s the city that never sleeps. Stimulating, yet exhausting. Amber and I spent our first 2 days here and got quickly acquainted with this crazy place. Bangkok has thousands of Wats (temples), but after a while, a Wat is a Wat is a Wat. We decided to just visit the main ones, which was plenty, because there was so much more to see and do here. The Wats are absolutely stunning with their mosaic tiles and gold paint. There are Buddha figures everywhere and monks wondering about reflecting. My favorite part was when we sat in a temple and “gave gifts” to Buddha (flowers, burning incense, and flecks of gold) and in return we received a fortune. Mine said I will have an enjoyable life and my long journeys will be undertaken safe and sound and my desires will be fulfilled. Not too bad! I believe it. :)

The Buddhism religion fascinates me (while here I re-read a book I had read a few years ago on Buddhism to better understand and appreciate the culture). To sum it up, Buddha was an Indian Prince who was sheltered in his kingdom his whole life and wasn’t until he was older and realized there was pain, suffering, and death in the world. He didn’t like this, so he left to find a way to free himself of the sorrow he felt now knowing of this suffering. One day he experienced enlightenment. From then on he was known as Buddha, which means “the awakened one”. Buddhism is about being awake, self aware, in the here and now. Plain and simple as that. Forget the past; it’s impossible to plan the future, just live for today. Pretty much how I try to live these days anyway. And it all makes sense why the people here are so kind and peaceful. I have never seen so many people smile or say thank you. Hands in prayer position, close to the chin, a slight bow of the head, with a smile and the generous blink of the eyes repeating “Khap-koon-ka” (meaning “Thank you”).

Amber and I also took to the exhausting markets. They were hot and sweaty, mazes and mazes of food, clothes, jewelry, and trinkets. Bargain after bargain. “Special for you! How much you pay?” To be honest, I don’t enjoy the haggling. I actually sort of feel like I’m stealing from these people. To try to get them down a dollar or two when everything only costs a few dollars is hard for me. An extra dollar for me is nothing (I say that now until I’m broke come July...), but to them, it means the world. Many would disagree, but just my opinion… Most disturbing of all was the Patpong night market which is right off a row of go-go bars including strip clubs, prostitutes, and the infamous ping pong shows. Curious? For sure. Would I ever in a million years support such a thing? No way. Basically human trafficking at its best. Not my favorite part of Bangkok, to say the least.

We wouldn’t really see Bangkok unless we visited Khao San Road. One word – Insane! Street vendors selling everything from fruit to noodles to salads to meat on a stick. Bar after bar with music blaring, people sitting outside with buckets of beer, dancing. Super overwhelming, but oh so entertaining.

So happy we decided to come here (laughing at ourselves for doubting it for one second). Our lives were more in danger riding in the tuk tuks, as there are barely any stoplights, there are absolutely no rules of the road, and there are people everywhere. I found myself chuckling at how crazy it is, how no one gets mad when cut off, and how the motorbikes just squeeze right through with a half an inch between them and the next car. Nuts, I tell you!

To come full circle, it’s Wednesday night and I’m actually sitting in my hotel room, back in Bangkok for a night before I head to Cambodia tomorrow. Amber ended up having to leave a couple of days early on Monday because she couldn’t get a buddy pass to fly out as originally planned. I was so sad to see her leave, but I still have tons of stories to tell of our journey. The next stops for Amber and I were Chiang Mai in the North and the beaches in the South. Thought I could get caught up and squeeze them in here, but I have way too much to say. So I’m still about a week and a half behind my blogging. Hopefully with some Sarah time in the next few days, I can get caught up before Erika meets me in Laos on Monday!!