World Thailand Chiang Rai

Our Family World Trip

Chiang Rai and Reflections on Thailand Feb 4, 2009

Randy

Chang Rai is a curious town far in the north of Thailand. The people are all nice and honest. The town is pretty quiet though there is plenty of traffic, especially motor scooters. The food is pretty basic but authentic. Lots of soup kitchens big and small. It’s a good beginning transition into what I expect to be even more basic environments of Chiang Kong and then into Laos.

On our bus ride here from Chiang Mai, Kathy used a hand sanitizing cloth on her face that was given out during the ride. The chemical on the wipe appears to be the cause of massive swelling of her eyes, cheeks, and chin. She was obviously very concerned. She decided to pay a visit to the hospital yesterday morning at 6:00! That was our third hospital visit this trip (Corfu for John, Chiang Mai for hepatitis shots, and now this).

The visit went very well. Amazingly, we could walk to the hospital from our hotel and when we arrived nurses and a doctor were there and no other patients were around. We were treated and walking home within an hour. Two injections and three medications later, we were disappointed that the swelling wasn’t much changed. Kathy stayed inside our room for most of the day waiting for the medication to take effect.

Meanwhile, I took the kids to the bus station to catch a local bus to a fantastic white Wat called Wat Rong Khun. It was 20 minutes out of town and a beautiful, modern piece of work. We had a very pleasant time.

The family is voicing some concerns about the upcoming two-day slow boat trip down the Mekong River to Luang Prabang, Laos. I’m curious how we’ll do in the very small border town of Chiang Kong which is where the boat starts. As it is, Chiang Rai is small with not much to do.

I am enjoying this part of the trip a lot since it is very relaxing and comfortable for me. I look forward, very forward to the boat trip to and stay in Luang Prabang, Laos. I expect things to be very, very basic for a while.

Kathy

Chiang Rai wasn’t a good experience for me, but it could have been much worse, I guess. A few minutes after using a bus hand wipe on my face (yes, I know it is a hand wipe, but it feels so refreshing), Sharon noticed hives breaking out under my chin.

That evening as we walked around town, I felt the skin on my face burning and itching. We stopped for iced coffee and I put some of the ice on my face, slathered on Hydrocortisone cream that I carry in my backpack in case the kids get a bug bite, and stopped at a pharmacy to buy and take pills recommended by the pharmacist (who didn’t understand the word “Benadryl” but seemed to understand the word “antihistamine”).

The next morning at 5 a.m., I awoke to check my stinging face and was horrified to discover a reflection of balloon women with eyes swollen near shut. My tongue felt swollen as well and I worried it would enlarge enough to cut off my air passage.

Trying to keep calm, I shook Randy and said “Honey, don’t freak out when you see my face. I’m going to go to the hospital. I think there is one nearby.” Randy, bless him, did not scream when he saw my disfigured visage and got up right away to accompany me. We told the kids to keep sleeping and set out in the dark. After 20 minutes and a few wrong turns, we found a pedicab driver who took us just two more blocks to the emergency room.

I was seen by a teenage doctor (at least that's what he looked like – a Southeast Asian version of Doogie Houser) who immediately ordered for me two shots of 1) a strong antihistamine, and 2) a strong steroid (Prednisone) as well as a week’s worth of Prednisone and antihistamine tablets. Randy attempted to take a picture of me in the ER, but I was too worried, scared, and vain to let him, so no photos from this trip experience.

My cheeks and jaw line still look swollen to me, but that could be from all the salt and MSG in the food here or just the cumulative effects of gravity and time (sometimes it's hell getting old). Randy and the kids say I look back to “normal” whatever that is. I’m just glad it’s over. And the total bill? $17! Unbelievable.

Reflections on Thailand

John

Thailand is a big, hot, poor, dirty, green, place. I like it. The religion is weird. The wats are all the same. Definitely not as good as the Christian churches as I have mentioned in my previous entrees. Not as colorful. But I definitely recommend going to Thailand and to a wat. Also to eat their food. They have really good fruit. I mean, you cannot understand how good their fruit is. It is like the fruit of the century. Also their Phad Thai. I think everyone should go on at least a month trip in their life so they can find out what the world is like, because a lot of people have their eyes basically closed to the world.

Sharon

Bangkok – It’s a fun, busy city and I will definitely be coming back. Bangkok has everything from delicious food, to warm comfortable weather, to millions of things to buy, and great prices, to plenty of nice people, and the most beautiful wats. Bangkok is definitely tourist friendly.

Kanchanaburi – There is plenty to see in this small town. The Tiger Temple is well advertized and is worth the drive. Being up close and personal to those enormous tigers is exhilarating. Also taking a day off and just biking around the town is enjoyable. Old wats, fifteen feet high Buddha’s, cave sanctuaries, plenty of museums about the war, and you can even go to the River Kwai bridge where trains and people still move across.

Sukothai – It is like a big grave yard for old wats. The park they live in is so big most people rent bikes to see it all. Plus there is more outside the city walls. It was fun, but I have seen better.

Chiang Mai – Here is the place to come if you want some adventure. There are plenty of things to do here such as going on day long treks through the forest, zip lining through the tree tops, taking a day long cooking class to learn how to prepare all your favorite dishes, and much more. At first I didn’t like Chiang Mai because at my first glance is looked boring, but never judge a book by its cover.

Chiang Rai – It’s a little town with not many things to do. Luckily it neighbors the Rong Khun wat. Some people describe it as a ‘white icing cake on fire’, while others call it a ‘fairy castle.’ I think both are pretty good descriptions and it is one of the most amazing wats I have seen.

Chiang Khong – People only come to this town is to move to and from Laos and Thailand. The city is pretty normal so I wouldn’t come here unless you are moving between those two countries.

Randy

Occasionally I have discussions about Thailand with other travelers. There is universal agreement that this country is a wonderful place to visit. The thirty-day tourist visa goes by too fast for most visitors. None too few devise a way to leave and reenter the country to extend their visit. Others just overstay their visa deadline and pay the consequences when they leave: a fine of $15/day.

When I talk with someone who has been to this country before, the conversation invariably includes contrasts and comparisons with previous visits. The Thailand travel experience is changing dramatically with time. Even people who have been here just five years ago describe profound changes. I feel differences from twenty years ago every day I’m here.

Thailand today is an extremely popular travel destination. Nowhere in the world have I seen so many tourists. This country is all good for traveling. The transportation infrastructure is very adequate. Even between less touristed destinations the bus system works reliably; it’s just less comfortable. Generally there are three or more choices of transportation class where you pay more for more comfortable bus or train rides. The only transportation issue is that sometimes things get booked up a couple days in advance. I didn’t use air or boat transportation this trip.

Thailand is very safe. We never felt uncomfortable anywhere we traveled here and though it is advised to take reasonable caution against petty theft, I talked to no one who had any kind of problem during their visit.

The Thai people are very nice. This was a hallmark of Thailand years ago and even with the millions and millions of visitors that have passed through this country, the Thai people, every one, are still friendly, helpful and fair. Even the taxi drivers, the toughest bunch anywhere in the world, almost always bargain reasonably. Restaurant owners, hotel staff, police and people on the street go out of their way to please.

The food is curious to me. Thais eat extremely spicy food. However today this is hard for a tourist to get here. Like Thai restaurants abroad, here in Thailand dishes are served to foreigners with very little or no spice. Even when I ask for ‘normal spice’ on a dish, they are conservative. On occasion I come across an out-of-the-way soup kitchen and there I get soup that makes me break out in sweat. I find myself blowing on each spoonful as I would to cool the temperature but I’m unconsciously trying to dampen the spice. The kids chuckle at my behavior and draw faces in the perspiration on my forehead and nose.

Thailand is still relatively cheap compared to the U.S. and other countries we’ve visited this trip. It is close to one-third as expensive to travel here compared to Europe. Even only about 70% as expensive as Egypt! And Thailand has millions of fun things to spend money on. Because of the less stringent government controls, there are way more types of consumer goods available here than you can buy in the U.S. Thailand also has every activity you can imagine for sale, ranging from elephant riding to cooking schools to massages to bungee jumping.

I had hoped to feel some powerful religious currents here. But I didn’t. The Buddhism that nearly all Thais practice was largely invisible to me. I had to really look to find a small shrine in a shop. The bus driver’s area is no longer are filled with colorful religious symbols dangling about. The monks have been largely compartmentalized into their living quarters behind the wats. They do still move about the country in their colorful saffron robes and begging bowls, but when I look closely at them I see mostly young men doing a stint as a monk to get subsidized education. There’s no mystical aura around them.

Thailand is an easy country to visit and love. The huge number of visitors attests to that. But it’s not a particularly exotic place. Signs of Thailand’s eastern ancestry are few, and it’s easy to spend days, forgetting that you are in Thailand at all.

Kathy

We love all things Thai, except their hand wipes!