Be like Buddha
My Thailand began with fears - I was afraid of snakes, diseases, heat, I thought on the eve of departure: why do I need this dysfunctional Asia, I would go quietly to Europe as usual. My husband-doctor and I responsibly filled our suitcases with two packages of medicines for the stomach (my husband and mother-non-doctor unanimously insisted that gastrointestinal infections flourish in hot countries, and I was afraid and bought up all the enterosgel and activated charcoal in the vicinity). But they brought everyone home and now they are terribly ashamed in front of Thailand for their thoughts and fears.
I can’t remember where else I felt so comfortable, sincerely and harmoniously, as in Tai. How to calmly and joyfully look at the positive Buddha, sit next to the monks, looking shyly at them (“I am “dirty” and stupid, and they are so smart and real”), smile at the Thais every second, folding their hands in front of their chest in a typical oriental gesture expressing friendliness and respect. People in Thailand deserve a separate discussion, they are charming and know what happiness is. We should learn from them positivity and calmness, although it is clear that they have all this from the Buddha....
First we went to Pattaya, one of the most popular resort cities in Thailand. The Thai driver was fast and cheerful - Thais do not pay much attention to the rules of the road and drive as they want, but we were not even scared! We were driving, and I cowardly peered into the landscapes outside the window: where are the snakes? The fact is that the last few months before the vacation, I spent nights on travel forums (I like to be fully armed on vacation) and I knew that there are snakes in Thailand, and you can meet them not only in the jungle. And Wikipedia sympathetically told me that there are about 175 different species and subspecies of snakes in the kingdom, 56 of which are deadly poisonous, but death from a snake bite is infrequent, because in hospitals there is a serum that is produced on a snake farm in Bangkok. Later, while relaxing on the island of Koh Samui, I found out that it was there that one deadly poisonous snake was found, for which there was no antidote in Thailand. But it was too late to flee the island.
Pattaya is a bustling, colorful city located in the province of Chonburi in the southeast of the country. She is like a big Asian bazaar, very different and polyphonic, it seems she does not sleep for a minute, although she still sleeps - at 10 o'clock in the morning the streets of Pattaya are empty and the air is sleepy. In Pattaya, we studied the dark side of Thailand, met transvestites, admired the miracles of Thai plastic surgery, the possibilities of the human body on an adult show.
But we went to Pattaya not only for all sorts of indecent impressions, there is an excellent excursion program. By the way, it is gorgeous everywhere, all over Thailand - temples, jungles, boat trips, zoos, nature reserves, ancient cities, uninhabited islands, waterfalls, river rafting, elephant riding. Therefore, going to Thailand only for the “sea and sun” is stupid and imprudent. If you are willing to pay between $700 and $1.100 for an air ticket to this beautiful country, then you should see the real Thailand!
So, about the excursion program. I advise you to visit the Khao Kheo Zoo (40 km from Pattaya). This is an open zoo: on a vast territory, where visitors can only move by car or a special tram, there are practically no depressive cages and bars. The role of fences is performed by artificial reservoirs, ditches and stone fences. The main zoo of Thailand is located in the jungle, and hills and rivers serve as natural decorations for it. Any animal in the zoo can be fed - for this, at the entrance to the zoo, you can buy a bunch of bananas, cucumbers and green beans. Almost everyone here can be touched while feeding (with the exception of predators and reptiles). One of the main attractions of Khao Kheo is a lake with hippos. Fat lazy people sit in the water with their huge mouths wide open, and tourists standing on top of the bridge aptly throw cucumbers and bananas into these mouths. Once every two or three minutes, the mouth closes, the contents are chewed and swallowed, and the mouth opens again....And so - the whole day! From such a hedonistic pastime, the hippos in the zoo are very fat and very lazy, and the tourists are happy to the point of impossibility.
Another of the cultural impressions of Pattaya is the Temple of Truth, which is located in the northern part of the city, almost on the seashore. It is very easy to get there by tuk-tuk. An amazingly atmospheric place, its architecture combines four cultures - Thai, Chinese, Indian and Cambodian. The temple, built of teak wood, impresses with its elegance and fine, jewelry work in detail. The Thais built it to show that all religions and cultures have something in common and that the Truth is the same for everyone. The place is special: either due to the romantic landscape from the windows, or, indeed, there is some kind of magic here - it is impossible to leave from there, you want to stay and sit among the sculptures and images of these eastern gods, deities and pagan creatures. Without meditation and yoga, you suddenly become clearly aware of yourself, your feelings and fears, inside everything is laid out on the shelves, it becomes good and calm. Miracles!
While in Thailand, one should not forget about gastronomic impressions - all the more, taste ecstasies here can be obtained in every eatery and for ridiculous money. Our most “expensive” dinner in Thailand cost us about $30 - crabs, lobsters, lobsters and oysters barely fit on our table, and we even had to use a miracle first aid kit - the festal helped us quickly digest what we had eaten and continue the seafood feast.
How I Feed Carrots to Monkey Island Monkeys
Near Pattaya in the Gulf of Thailand there is a wonderful place - Monkey Island or Koh Pet, if in Thai. You swim up to the island fully armed with knowledge - the guides conducting excursions to Koh Pet dedicate not only to the history of the island, but also talk about safety rules. The inhabitants of Koh Pet are macaques. Even if they are crabeaters (and just such monkeys live on the island), they are real wild animals, inhabitants of the real jungle! Do not take glasses to the island, do not wear hats, it is better to take off swimwear with strings on the boat right away, and, most importantly, do not tease the monkeys - an experienced guide warns! He warns, and we are already afraid - we step onto the island shaking with fear, already imagining this herd of wild, terrible and vicious monkeys. And we see wonderful babies, cute miniature monkeys, happily running towards us, their only breadwinners. Sixty years ago, this island was uninhabited, monkeys appeared here artificially. During the Vietnam War, an American military base was located on the neighboring island. For the sake of entertainment and to combat boredom on the island, which was subsequently named Monkey Island, the Americans built a restaurant, and later “settled” a dozen monkeys in it. After the war, the Americans handed over their military base to the Thai military. Today, about two thousand monkeys live on the island.
Koh Samui, coconut palms
The air on Koh Samui (an island in the Gulf of Thailand in the Pacific Ocean) is sweet, sweet, you can’t breathe, and in general it’s almost a paradise there. I am very pleased with our choice (among the hundreds of islands in Thailand, I chose the very one), Koh Samui is a harmonious place where, in principle, everyone will find something of their own. It is moderately civilized, with developed infrastructure, but at the same time really green, and outside the zone of hotels and restaurants it is even wild, such a real island, like in movies and pictures (the central part of the island is impenetrable jungle). On the one hand, the ocean, on the other - the jungle, and somewhere in the middle of all this natural miracle, you are drinking cocktails in restaurants and enjoying a Thai massage!
The most impressive excursion on Koh Samui is to the Angthong National Marine Reserve. This archipelago of 42 islands in the Gulf of Thailand is one of the most famous places in Thailand. An hour of very fast, almost extreme ride on a speedboat, surrounded by tourists from all over the world (Americans, French, Portuguese, Italians) and under the watchful eye of the Thai "team" providing an excursion - and suddenly you feel yourself in the middle of the ocean, in the center of wildlife, from which you yourself don’t know what to expect, and all around you are only the incredible beauty and shape of the island... And my second biggest fear (after snakes), by the way, is water! But there is no way back, and I, wearing an orange life jacket, jump somewhere into the emerald depths and even look a little at the beautiful fish through the mask... During this excursion, we were caught by a real tropical downpour - a wall of rain and a wild wind, we wet and happy. The downpour, by the way, suits this archipelago very much - such beauty that you can’t believe your eyes!
Whoever wants to party, I rent passwords and appearances, our favorite place on Koh Samui is the Arkbar lounge bar right on the seashore, on Chaweng Beach. Instead of chairs there are sun loungers, instead of a DJ - unobtrusive live music, instead of pathos - a cozy, friendly atmosphere and chic air with the aroma of a hookah.
Bangkok that doesn't sleep
Amazing city. A city of contrasts, a noisy city, a beehive city, a dirty city, a city warm and sincere, despite all its fuss. I heard many different opinions about Bangkok - from “you don’t even need to go there” to “a dream city”. My personal opinion is that it is a city with character. The official name of Bangkok in Thai sounds amazing and consists of 42 words. This is the longest city name in the world. The first words say "the city of angels, the great city, the city is an eternal treasure" - and it's true!
On the first day, having arrived from the island, we did not rest at all - there were many plans, well, we remembered, from the last "Bachelor Party", that Bangkok does not sleep. But he still does not sleep: traffic jams on the streets of the city at 00.00 - for us, residents of quiet Odessa, have become a discovery. Traffic jams, traffic jams, dust and dirt, thick air enveloping you and not giving you a chance to exhale, masked parking attendants smiling with their eyes, funny tuk-tuks maneuvering through traffic, cheerful multi-colored taxis - this is the reality of Bangkok.
One of the must-see spots on the Bangkok map is the legendary Chatuchak Weekend Market. One of the largest bazaars in the world covers an area of .35 acres and consists of more than 15 thousand (! ) Different stalls. And do not believe those who say that Chatuchak is our 7 km. Lie! A colorful Asian market, bubbling and rumbling with smells, people, smiles, invitations. They say that everything is made in Thailand - indeed, there are insanely interesting gizmos. Floor-length skirts, tunics, dresses and sundresses for 8-10 dollars, bags for 9, jewelry, Buddha images, Thai artisans, religious items, animals. At home, it turned out that purchases from Chatuchak were almost the most successful in my life, and where did that fashionable Italy, in which in the summer of 2010 I did not buy a single pair of beautiful shoes, go to Thailand?!
About the city of temples
In general, in Bangkok we visited the standard tourist points, but this did not prevent them from hitting us inexperienced with Asia. First there was the holy of all saints - the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and the Royal Palace. Jokes are jokes, but for Thais these places are really holy. Our Thai guide in broken Russian to my indiscreet journalistic question “is it true that all Thais love their king very much” answered smiling: “yes, it’s true, we love the king, he is like a god to us. ” And the king in Thailand is interesting - he has not left Thailand for many years (he made such a promise during the civil revolution in the country), he is fond of photography and plays jazz. And he looks very intelligent, by the way.
The Royal Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha are sumptuous, bright, gleaming monuments that make a very different impression on me personally from European shrines. Thai architecture is festive and cheerful, filled with light and smiles. The territory of the Royal Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha is simply inhabited by fantastic creatures - half-humans, half-monkeys, evil demons protecting the temples. There comes a slight culture shock when you realize that the Thais built all this in the 18th century! That is, in 17... some year, when Europe was already in full swing along the path of strict religion, Thailand lived by its own rules - and this is wonderful, perhaps that is why, thanks to such an eclecticism of beliefs and views, this country is so good and calmly.
You don’t just want to return to Thailand, you understand that you leave a part of yourself there and, if it gets bad, you will go not just anywhere, but there. For harmony, peace, tolerance and absolute understanding of everything and everyone. It is happiness to know that now you have your place in the vast world! In my opinion, this is the very truth that people in orange clothes are looking for.
