Same Same, But Different

...maybe that's how I'll find it in Cambodia tomorrow.

For some reason, Thai people will often say "same same" to describe two things. I think one of the reasons they like saying it twice is because it's a relatively easy(and fun) sound in English. Also, it seems to make sense. For instance, these two are the same but in different spots(who knows why?) so they are same same. I heard it a few times and realized I liked it so I began to work it in whenever appropriate and sometimes just for fun and for a little joke.

When I reached the south, I was on some trip when I first heard "same same but different".

We stopped breifly and had a quick chance to grab some food but the only item available was some sort fo bread bun filled with sweet black bean paste. A few of us, including one of the guides, bought some.

Tourist: Do you get a discount because you're Thai?
Guide: Same same, but different.

I fell in love with it and maybe a small part of me briefly thought it was first used right then. I soon came to realize that every foreigner, or 'farang', is in love with this expression. I saw a man in Ao Nang with a brown t-shirt with white lettering that siad SAME SAME, with the words one on top of the other. Foriegners used the expression and it always scored a little chuckle. What's nice is that it works very often. The next day I saw a girl with a teal t-shirt that said 'same same' on the front and 'but different' on the back. A couple days later, on Ko Lanta, I took a motorbike down to the national park at the southern tip of the island and on the way I passed Same Same But Different Resort. Oh well, if I haven't heard it, it's new to me!

I really love the Thai people. They're really terrific. Calm, friendly, laid back.



Blogmath #1 (to busy mom so she won't worry)
I'm riding the night-train from Krabi to Bangkok. If I urinate for 20 seconds on a train traveling 30 miles per hour, how long is my pee-trail on the ground? This is not a trick question, please answer in feet or miles.


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It was actually a night-bus last night, and it sucked pretty bad. About 6:15pm to 6:15am. We stopped at 1am for food. I'm not sure why. All the other travellers get off the bus and light up like it's the main event of the World Series of Cigarette Smoking. Hot Bangkok today. I don't do so well with the heat, so I'm really not sure how Cambodia will be. Maybe with a little time, I'll get used to it. Applied for my visa to India today. I went there last time but I didn't have what I needed so I had to go back today. Last time, I was headed to the embassy but a nice Thai man informed me that the visa application office for India was on the 15th floor of the Glass Haus, a 17-story building just around the corner. I go in(this is the first time) and head to the directory board. One of the security guys comes up and says, 'Indian Visa, 15th floor". The whole time, I'm wondering like a madman how he knew. I wasn't holding anything. The building was full of offices for different embassies and airline companies. On the way out, I asked him, but natuarally, he had no idea what I was saying. I suppose I will really never know. Either the old Thai guy from the street called, which seems very unlikely, or he simply guessed. He sounded very sure though. Oh well.

Breaking the rules

Wave (above)

Little bar/restaurant area at Lantas Lodge. It began to get stormy and windy. I was sitting at the left table with the two little girls from the pictures. Puy, the young lady in charge, came out, pointed to the sky and said 'coconut'. We moved, and less than 2 minutes later, the crap shown fell to the Earth, including those 2 large coconuts. I was sitting in that seat to the right. Some older ladies were at the other table, and they moved after us.

Rainy Beach Futbol
Today in BKK

Long trip starting at 7 tomorrow morning to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Nosdroviev! (sp?)

Q & A

Here's the answers to a few questions that I've received:

Am I used to the money?

Yes, it was quite easy. 35 baht to a US dollar. For you ma, 100 baht is about $3. Unlike Canada, bills come as low as 20 baht. Coins are 1,5, and 10 with a very rare 2 baht. 1,5, and 10 are easily distinguished.

Apparently in Cambodia, US dollars are used. For change smaller than a buck, you got Cambodian Riel. But you get a bad deal when you go back and spend those. I'll work it out.

Am I used to cars driving on the other side of the street?

Sure, it's fine for driving or being a passenger, but where it continues to be quite confusing is in crossing the street. Several times, while trying to figure who is coming from where, I've missed my chance. As well, to have a motorbike buzzing down the edge of the wrong side of the street is not unheard of. So generally if looks clear, I go for it, keeping my head on a high speed swivel. This was all hardest in Bangkok.

Did I really get zapped?

Yes. I don't know why this happens to me a lot in other countries. It happened in the shower in Costa Rica. You just sorta want to keep your hand away from the computer box as much as possible.

Any bites or injuries?

Two nights ago, I was sitting on the bungalow parch talking with a friend, and a beetle the size of a twinkie came out of the sky, hit me in the back and landed on the floor injured. That was a little nervy. I slipped on a hill of bamboo on the jungle trek and gashed my palm about an inch long through the upper vertical line. Cut my leg, too. Both healed fine. There are a lot of mosquitos, but they are almost completely unseen. Nothing, nothing, nothing, then you have a bug bite and no mozzie was ever detected. I just don't itch them and they go away. I'll start on Malaria pills for Cambodia in a couple days. Last night, I sleepily induced a really nasty cramp in my calf that stayed for way too long.

Was I kidnapped by pirates?

No I was not, but I have now, on this trip, hung out with or met people from 20 different countries. I don't have the list but here's what I remember. USA, Thailand, Korea, Japan, Canada, Ecuador, Brazil, El Salvador, Spain, England, Germany, France, Sweden, Netherlands, Czech, Estonia, Belgium, Italy, Australia.

How far is India?

My flights between Bangkok and India are 4-5 hours. April 11-19(I think) in a 5-star hotel in New Delhi for Pragya's wedding.

Did I get new flip=flops?

Yes, I got a pair that have been very servicable for 30 Baht, like 87 cents. Somewhat cheaper than the $45 pair of Rainbow brand flip flops I like to wear at home.

_____________________

Still relaxed on Ko Lanta. I got a motorbike for yesterday and today and it's been very nice. I had a brilliant fresh caught tuna last night.

Great photo shoot last night with a cool Rasta guy I met. There's a big culture of Thai Rastas. Shot my friend Quang, shown here. I wanted to recreate a noteworthy photo of Bob Marley and he obliged. We did a couple other ideas as well. He works at Chocolate Bar, which is the place to go on Ko Lanta.

Couple more nights here and then some heavy travel to reach Siem Reap in Cambodia.

Chilled Out on Ko Lanta

Quick post here from Ko Lanta.

Besides that it seems like mosquitoes here are actually attracted to DEET and all the creepy crawlies and flying things are 3 times as big as they should be, this place is terrific. I had heard it was a good place to relax but I didn't understand fully til I got here. One of the first people I met said he had all these plans to travel around but he stayed here instead for 4 weeks "doing nothing". Hotel on the beach. The water is impossibly warm. I forgot to mention that the other day. Water around 85 deg F at least.

Later all.

Stay tuned for Q&A next time.

You've Been ZAPPED!!

The free taxi from my hotel in Ao Nang, Thailand brought me to an internet place as I requested. Only one of the USB ports in front worked but I needed two. (One for the hard drive and one for the little card reader) With a dirty little smirk, he suggests that I try one in the back of the box and I already know what is about to happen. I rest my left hand on top of the box and an electric jolt goes through my hand and up to my wrist. Expletive that dude. I switch machines and the next next one tells me it's going to take 46 minutes to copy a volume of files that should take 6 minutes. I pack up my gear to take off to try another shop. He approaches me with a calculator and types in 15. I'm shocked and right away he says "OK, 10". I declined to pay and left, mostly pissed about getting shocked. It happened a couple times in Bangkok as well.

...And I was riding high from moments before when I was told by a gentleman staffer at the hotel that my pants were "beautiful". (Some navy Gap chinos I've had for a while)

Hey Cath, welcome to the weblog, thanks for the comments. I was hoping you might be following along because I had a note specifically for you. Here in Thailand, the appropriate way to drink beer is in a cup with ice. So if you liked Chang or Singha(Chang is better and cheaper and has more alcohol), you would fit right in and the Thai folks would love you. If you can do spicy as well, you will highly sought after.

So I'm Ao Nang, a tourist hole with a stark lack of street food quality, variety and volume. The real restaurants are far too expensive. As well, there are no Thai markets at all. The town of Krabi is fairly nearby, but I haven't spent any time there because I've been pretty busy out on a couple group trips. Yesterday we did a bit of kayaking where the highlight was going through a cave under a limestone mountian. I had never seen anything like it and it was quite breathtaking. The stalagmites, stalactites and other formations were amazing. As the only unattached dude there, I had the priveledge of paddling in the boat with the guide, and he switched between giving me the inside story on stuff, like all his girlfriends (2 Australians, 2 Finns, 2 Swedes, 1 Canadian(the list went on and on but I didn't have the means to write them down)) and sweetly singing Thai love songs(guess). He sang well, and as the guide we were in front and I was in front of the boat. So I paddled with nothing but the mangrove tree lined canal ahead of me and a sound sweeter than any radio around coming from behind. He also mentioned the challenge of learning the names of all species he would encounter on these trips and then finding the English names, to satisfy the guests. He also mentioned how he was distressed because next month, 3 of his girlfriends were visiting Thailand at the same time.

Today I did a tour of some islands nearby around the coast. We're pretty close to the island from James Bond; The Man with the Golden Gun and they play that up pretty big here. Nice stuff. The highlight was another cave. This time we climbed through from one side to the other, via a series of ropes and ladders, largely in the total dark. It was really cool, but maybe not for everyone.

Every day is great. Let's look into a couple pictures.

This woman was chewing on something that made her whole mouth tried. I failed to get her to smile for the capture. I failed.
I found myself in one of the grease districts in Bangkok. This sort of pile was certainly not unique.

I devoured this beautiful catch yesterday. The fish, sticky rice and botle of water came to a total of 60 baht. Not bad for a tourist town. I met a couple nice Brazilian guys who had been in Australia for like 7 months where the fish was too expensive to get. So the night before this meal, we shared a much bigger fish. Without them, I may have never tried the grilled/fried street cart fish. Typical Day in Thailand
Chicken Island
I hung out with this awesome Spanish couple a bunch today. Donthalo and Chris. How to light this type of shot: find a cave, and use what pours in from the midday equatorial(?) Thai sun. Nice.


It's pouring here. It does every afternoon or evening. I'm kind of stuck here but I'd really love some spicy food.

Sad news. My night-train from Bangkok to Surat Thani struck and killed a man. The attendant made some motion I didn't understand then gestured for me to look out the door. I saw the body a short way up the next car and looked away quickly. Whatever motion he made he did with sickening nonchalance that suggested this happened all the time. I was hoping through the night that the victim had only lost a leg, because that's what the attendant's action suggested, but I found out in the morning that he was dead. Sorry for the bad news.

In a couple days I go to Ko Lanta, a nice island. It was devastated by the tsunami and I've heard their internet is weak. I'll be back sometime. Keep up the good work. The rain's abated, I'm gonna go seek out a fish.

Happy trails.

Evening at the Food Market

Chiang Mai, Thailand
Saturday Night

The old section of Chiang Mai is surrounded by a square moat. The moat is flanked on either side by an avenue with the outer road running clockwise and the inner road going the opposite way. There are plenty of places to go in or out. The night food market is situated along a stretch of the inner street on the southern moat lining both sides of the street. Careful, you must walk in the street to check out the stands but the way is still very much open to traffic. We went on a Saturday but I think this market rolls out every night.

Appetizer
-Chicken on a Stick, 5B
-Beef on a Stick, 5B

The process here is a common one for street food in Thailand. The vendor has a small grill, with charcoal, about 5 inches long and deep and 2 feet wide. On your side is a tray of partially-but-mostly cooked meats-on-sticks. You pick your skewer(s) of choice (here, picking up a skewer, examining it, and returning it to the tray is absolutely fair play), and place them on the grill. When ready, you receive the meat sticks, like everything, in a small plastic bag.

-Chicken on a Stick, 5B
Because it was so delicious. The beef was a bit strange.

Main Dish
-Noodle Soup with Pork, 25B
Quite standard, rice noodles, some pieces of pork and, of course, the mystery pork balls that I'm not yet used to. I ate 1 of 2. The fish balls are strange also.
-Bottled Water, 10B
This is a single, sealed bottle of water already on the table before you sit down. Take it or leave it, a bit sneaky because it works. The very trusting Thai people know you'll come back up to pay.

Dessert, Part I
-Hot Ovaltine, 12B
Quite delicious. Served very hot in rubber band-sealed small, plastic bag with straw punched through.
-Some Kind of Chinese Flour, 1B (sample)
That is a direct quote from the menu. A greasy sort of doughy thing with nothing inside.
-Sweetmeat, 1B (sample)
This item was neither sweet nor meat (discuss among yourselves) but was exactly the same as 'some kind of chinese flour', a small, weightless, fried, air-filled puff/poof, but in a different shape.

Asking, in English, what something is usually lead to one of the following events: they will tell you in Thai, leaving you just as kowledgable as were you were the moment prior; they will tell you simply what type of meat is involved with the item; or (I love this one) the seller will summon another to aid in the transaction. This is an English speaking(maybe) person who often tell you simply what type of meat is involved with the item.

I don't fault anyone for not being able to give their products a detailed description in a foreign language, I just ask anyway, because even knowing what meat was used gets you well on your way to a good decision. When in doubt, if it looks good, I usually get it, especially if it's fairly small. If it's no good, which has certainly happened, I'm only out a few Baht, but all the richer in experience (and stomach aches). Stay tuned another day for some of the things I've tried.

Dessert, Part II
-Egg Honey Cups?, 5B (2 pc.)
This one is a little tricky. It is a birght yellow substance that was a flat disk the size of a thin mint but crimped into sort of a flower and held in a little cup just bigger then a single serving half & half. It is sort of a very sweet gel. That's about the best I can do. I had had them the day before and I knew I liked it.

At this point, I'm somewhere between very full and hating myself. At my count, I have spent 69 Thai Baht. The going exhange rate is just over 35 Baht for a US dollar. So if you visit the Chiang Mai food market, you can eat (like an American) all night for less than $2.

Dok Chee(Cheers)

___________________

I'm back in BKK this morning after a nice night-train ride. In three hours I board another train headed for Krabi in the south of Thailand. I did some good street/alley walking today and now I'm hiding out in a heavily air-conned internet room with great chairs, Thai music from someone's machine, and the loud cracking of video game gunfire from another. 15 Baht for an hour of interweb here.

I know I've been light on photographs lately so maybe I can do something about it now.

Awesome animals, always huge and a;ways kinda sad.


Waterfall just a couple steps from where we slept for Trek night 2. I know there's not much for scale, it's pretty big, like 25 feet top to bottom. It was an nice massage. It was paradise minus a few degrees.


Shot in the Garden at the Four Seasons Chiang Mai


Train Station, Chiang Mai


Fresh Ink, right on the train station platform

On The Move Again

Heading off to the train station for the long ride back to Bangkok. I'll get another train from there and go toward the south of Thailand for further adventure, many including the ocean. The best way would be to grab a quick flight, but I'm doing it the economy way and I'll rest up and do some reading.

Yesterday and today I rode around with a good friend on a rented motorbike. We cruised north from Chiang Mai, had an awesome walk in the 20-acre garden/pond at the Four Seasons, then checked out the temple in some small town and had some good street food. The motorbike was a ton of fun to drive and ride. It's too bad I'm not writing more stories, but living the stories is really much better than sitting at the computer. I'll see what I can do though.

Before I took off on my bike trip cross country, I bought a little jar of Tiger Balm from an Asian store in New York City. The salesman told me: "This is for EVERYTHING!" This morning I shaved with one of the disposable razors I found in my parents' bathroom. It only has one blade, which is unreasonable. I'm used to taking one stroke and having the razor take three. Anyway, after the shave I was in need of some sort of aftershave, which I did not have. I used a small dose of Tiger Balm and, as promised, it worked. It also worked on my eyeballs a moment later when I put my contact lenses in.

See you in a couple days.

Steam Room, with Free Train Ride

Chiang Mai is in the northwest of Thailand, not too far from the Burmese border. It is described as "a cool mountain town", and that's true. A lot of tourists will come to Chiang Mai when ready to take a break from Bangkok. It's still hot here, but a much needed reprieve on the unreasonable swelter of Bangkok. (I heard Cambodia, specifically the Siem Reap area, is 'well hotter' than Bangkok, so you all can look forward to several straight posts on how how it is.) It is cloudy all the time here in Chiang Mai because of fires in the surrounding mountains. I think most of the fires are set intentionally for a number of different reasons.

I had a ticket for the 7:30pm train ride from Bangkok to Chiang Mai last Monday night. The train was scheduled to arrive at 9:30am the next morning but we got in 2 hours late. I was assigned to a bed in Car 5. Seats were converted into beds a couple hours en route, at the appointed bed time. Car 5 wasn't really working when I boarded. The lights were off and the fans were still. Moments after setting my bags down, I began to literally pour sweat. I had been wearing my long trousers that day because entering the Grand Palace with shorts on was prohibited. They were soon to be soaked through. I met a couple nice young people, an American girl traveling solo and a nice couple from England/Germany(him/her). I shared around the two big, cold bottles of Chang Beer(the one with the elephants)I had carried aboard and this worked nice against the heat. This was the first beer I tried in Thailand and it was well timed. I liked it just fine, but in truth you could've given me a three year old can of Keystone Light from a bad batch and as long as it was cold it still would've been the best beer I've ever tasted. I soon felt about to pass out from heat exhaustion and I slumped against the seat. Around this point the fans kicked on, and saved me. Luckily, more beer was on offer from a nice Thai woman on the train, and we had plenty.

The sleep was almost nonexistent for me, but most of the others seemed to do OK. I had an upper berth, which was fine, but a couple factors prevented any good sleep. The light just next by bed spilled generously through and over the top of my curtain and lighting the white, curved ceiling much too bright. I know what you're thinking because I thought the same thing. No, you can't cover your eyes with something. I'm not sure if mentioned, but it's pretty hot here. I tried to lay part of t-shirt over my eyes, but it's just too sweaty. In addition, the track was very bumpy. No big deal.

I must eat. I'll publish this and another continue in a few minutes if I decide to do the mass-upload to smugmug right now.

Cheers