Schell of a Man

...and the world's your oyster, or so I am told. I'm not sure how true it is though. I recently returned for two weeks of traveling around Thailand with my 哥哥("gege" - older brother) Peter, and his girlfriend, Christina. It was an amazing journey taking us from polluted city streets to deserted, pristine beaches (and back).

I arrived in the Bangkok airport at 6 pm, January 17, following a four-hour flight from Shanghai. I was armed with little more than my backpack, a ten-year old travel book with fifty pages on all of Thailand, and a hand-drawn map of how to get to my guesthouse (the printers in both the internet bar and my hotel in Shanghai were on the fritz). Fortunately, I was able to find a bus that would take me to the right district. I've always found the first bus or taxi rides through a new city at night reveals an aspect of the city that you may not have seen or noticed afterwards. This was true for my hour-long trip from the airport through the center of Bangkok to the wealthier Banglamphu district. The city is a fascinating mix of East and West, with sidewalk noodle shops and street vendors with carts of fruit and grilled meat standing in front of 7-Eleven stores and Shell gas stations. And all of this mixed together with a healthy dollop of tropical insouciance.

The bus dropped me off very close to the hostel, but it took a good half hour of walking up and down the same street until I actually found it, New Siam I. My room was comfortable with a ceiling fan and a king-size bed with one pillow and no sheets or blankets. (I ended up using my jacket as a blanket; it didn't occur to me until later in the trip that my towel would make a much better blanket).

I met up with Peter and Christina later that night (around 12:30) when they arrived from the airport. They had been traveling for nearly 24 hours but were looking quite good regardless. They headed to bed pretty soon after, but not before giving me a whole backpack of goodies they prepared, along with the help of my mom. It was Christmas in January. The bag had new clothes and shoes (since both are nearly impossible to find in my size in China), as well as my 35mm camera and lots of candy and dried goods. The Twizzler's alone were worth their weight (3 lbs.) in gold, even if I did have to lug them around for the next two weeks.

The next day we set out to see a bit of Bangkok. In less than an hour we had fallen for what could be called a tourist scam, though it was very helpful. We had stopped to look at a map when we were approached by two friendly Thai girls who gave us the scoop on what tourist attractions were free to visit that day because of the upcoming Chinese New Year. They took our map, marked it up, stuck us in a tuk-tuk (a small, motorized, three-wheeled, open taxi) and sent us on our way. Now I had read about scams where people offer to take you sightseeing and you wind up at a shop where they get a commission on everything you buy. But there were three of us and it was broad daylight so we were feeling fairly safe. So if this was a scam, it was a harmless one. We were first taken to the T.A.T. office which is a government run travel agency, which means they don't charge a commission. There we were able to book a flight to Phuket island, all our hotels until we got back to Bangkok, and all the necessary buses and boats—all of it legit.

We were next ferried around the city to see some of the temples, (only one of which was fully open). The ride only included one side trip to a tailor shop where we walked in looked around and left. The most impressive site we visited that day was the Golden Mount, a Buddhist temple situated on the top of the only small hill in Bangkok, so it offered a scenic view of the city. However, apart from the random pointed-domes of temples, the Bangkok skyline is rather unremarkable. It does have the distinct privilege, though, of being the best smelling major city I've ever been in. When the air is not thick with incense, then it is filled with smells of citrus and spice. (That is of course, when you are not by any major road ways, in which case the exhaust quickly burns all sense of smell right out of your nose).

When we emerged from the Golden Mount, we found that our tuk-tuk driver had disappeared without ever being paid, so like I said, I'm not exactly sure where the scam was in all of that. We were very easily able to find another tuk-tuk to take us home. The next day we flew to Phuket island in southern Thailand. A random tour guide helped us make the 40-minute trip to our hotel, all free of charge. I am not exactly sure how the whole tourist industry is set up there, but as best I can tell there is a national commission system in place where all types of businesses pay a small fee to anyone who helps to bring tourist to them. It works out really great if you are a tourist and have a specific place you need to go, because it's all free for you.

We spent one day on the beach in Phuket, where I burnt myself silly and looked like a cherry tomato for the rest of the trip. The next day we took a trip to Phi Phi where we went snorkeling just of the island where the movie "The Beach" was set. It was my first time snorkeling and I was amazed by what I saw, neon fish and cavernous rocks all in clear blue water. The cliffs around the island were spectacular as well.

The next day we traveled from Phuket, which is in the Andaman Sea in the west, to Koh Phagan, an island in the Gulf of Thailand, in the east. This is where we spent the largest chunk of our trip, four nights. We stayed in a couple of bungalows on the beach, swimming in the gulf and the pool, and passing the evenings in the open restaurant just off the beach. One day we rented a couple of mopeds (Silver Betty and The Mio Grande) and took off to explore the island. We found a few amazing vistas, a waterfall, and wonderful restaurant for lunch.

Since we stayed in Koh Phagan a bit longer, we got a chance to meet a few people. There is something incredibly beautiful about the Thai people, and I think most of is centered around their smile. I have never seen so many beautifully, sincere smiles in all my life. It seems to beam through their whole face; it's breath-taking.

From there we went to Koh Samui, another island just to the south. Again we stayed in bungalows (which were a bit nicer than the previous ones, but the beach was not so secluded and the island seemed to be a bit more over-run with tourists). Again we spent our time on the beach and exploring the small shops lining it. There we also made a good friend, a pug named Buddy who lived at the resort.

Unfortunately, we spent the Chinese's New Year's Eve (January 28) on an overnight bus to Bangkok, which dropped us off on a random street corner at four in the morning. The next night we made our way to Chinatown to get a little taste of China, Bangkok-style. It was closer to the original than I've seen elsewhere, but still a far cry. After nearly drowning in the sea of people, all dressed in red, we had to call it a night. Our last full day in Thailand was spent wandering the streets near our hostel, making last minute purchases, and trying just a bit more of our favorite foods.

The highlights of the trip were spending time with Peter and Christina, relaxing in the sun, and, of course, the food. I could have written a whole post just on what we ate. Authentic Thai food has such an amazing combination of flavors, often simultaneously mixing in the same dish; spicy yet sweet, thick soups that are surprisingly light, hot and cool all at the same time. We got some of the best food from street vendors: sticky rice with mango, fresh squeezed juice, and all types of meat on a stick (which calls to the Minnesotan in me). Coming from a place where the local specialties are "smelly tofu" (to do fu) and all-things-pickled, the Thai cuisine was almost overwhelming. But, as Peter and Christina can attest to, I did have my fair share of sandwiches and burgers as well, which are also nearly impossible to find in China.

All in all, my time in paradise was wonderful but much too short. There is something addictive about Thailand that is stronger than all the MSG in China. It may be a combination of the people, the food, and the climate, but I have a feeling that this will not be my last trip to this exotic land.

P.S. If you would like to see more photos from this trip I have put more on my family's blog (www.schellgame.com). Feel free to check 'em out if you get a chance.