Phil-San In Thailan(d) – Part 3

Wat or What?

Another early 6am start. A full day trip this time to Ayutthaya, the very old capital of Thailand, about an hour North of Bangkok. It was a really good group, about ten people all my age and mentality. They seemed pretty impressed with my reasons for being in Asia as most were doing a few months travelling but living in England. And they were very impressed with me holding conversations in Japanese with Japanese tourists along the way.

Our tour guide was a really nice woman but it was difficult to understand her, so every time she said ‘Wat/What’ I had no idea whether she was talking about a temple or asking us a question.

We visited so many Wats that I can’t honestly remember which was which, and by the end I was pretty watted out, but some names include “Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon”, “Wat Phukhao Thong”, “Wat Phra Si Sanphet”, Wat Lokayasutha”, “Wat Pkra Mahthat”, and “Wat Chaiwatthanaram”.

Sanskrit for ‘undefeatable’, the city was located on an island formed in the confluence of three rivers. The place that really grabbed my interest was (one of the above, umm…) ancient ruins spread out over quite an area. It was incredible walking around these one all-powerful buildings trying to imagine them in full swing. Unfortunately I didn’t catch the reason but I think that due to a war, all the statues were vandalised, and to this day they are missing their heads and an arm or two. This area was also home to a large Buddha, made from gold.






There were elephant rides but I found it a bit cruel – many were missing one or two tusks and the owners has sticks with sharp knives at the end to control them. The elephants were, nonetheless, cute, especially this little baby who was kept separate – maybe he was being cheeky.





More ruins, wats, and a reclining Buddha dressed in orange:






A fantastic sight was this Buddha head around which tree roots have grown. It’s made me want to visit Angkor Wat in Cambodia next (if you remember Tomb Raider 1, this area).



The last place we visited was great. These lions were the strangest illusion – are their heads all there, or is it the wall behind? It was the end of the day, we sat in an old courtyard and the tour guide opened up to us about religion in Thailand. She had recently converted to Christianity, fundamentally believing that ever since this change she has turned her life around. Her main point was that she liked a religion in which she could talk to God at any point she wished. She said that more and more people are turning from Buddhism to Christianity; about 10% of the nation now call themselves Christian. Funny that the reverse seems to be happening in the West. I wonder why this shift happens for so many people wherever you are and whatever you believe in.



It’s A Small World

Two of the girls on my tour lived in Leamington Spa! We worked out that we’d been in the same clubs on the same night (Mirage, which they say is now called Evolve) and they filled me in on all the soap and reality TV gossip. They were nice, but one sat next to me on the minibus back to Bangkok, and she talked and talked. And talked. Everyone else was sleeping, but I didn’t want to be rude. About as annoying as the Disney song, after all.

Me Love You Long Time

My flight wasn’t until 6am the next morning, and I needed to be at the airport for 4am so it wasn’t worth sleeping.

I explored a new area of Bangkok, where the nicer hotels were but it was raining and although there were markets, it was nothing different to Khao San. Near Siam, I went back to the movie theatre; a cheap way to pass the time. Traditionally, films come out on Fridays but not in Thailand. Pirates 2 was released on Thursday, the day before America. I was half-expecting a pirated (no pun intended) copy to be playing, with people standing up to go to the toilet on screen. But it was the real deal.

Opposite to Superman, I was really excited about the movie as Pirates 1 is a great action adventure. But the truth is, the film sucked big time. And strangely, for pretty much the same reasons as Superman: nothing happened, it was all stupid sequences that had no continuity, the main three characters had separate adventures yet they were all pretty much the same and Orlando Bloom was as wet as Kraken (so fitting that him and Kate Bosworth are together). However, the biggest disappointment was that Johnny Depp died a terrible death on screen – he was not funny at all. Where I don’t deny his Oscar nomination for the first film, this one was painful. It made me question whether his performance was a fluke in the first place. For this, I’d say Superman was a better movie. Just.

Back on Khao San, I did a bit of shopping: chocolate for my colleagues and the people in my Japanese class, a frog toy thingy for Jody and a skirt for Rebekah. I bought myself a necklace with a shark tooth on it but that was all. Earlier that night, a man was trying to convert everyone on Khao San; his prerogative but seems like a strange place to look for new believers.

Back at the Grand Guest House, where my bags were stored in a locker, I found a big gate across the front of the bar. I suddenly thought that I could be locked out and either miss my flight or my bags, but then I realised that if I was sleeping in there, someone would have to be around to open the place if I wanted to leave. One of the Thai girls that worked there opened the place for me when I banged. She told me that after 2am, everywhere has to shut (there’s only 2 places in Bangkok which have a later licence) but I could join in on the lock-in.

It was pretty fun, about ten people chilling, but I was pretty tired and forcing myself awake until I left in a taxi at 3am. I forgot – about 2am and I was saying how hot the rooms were and one of the Thai girls asked why I hadn’t used the pool then? What? All that time, they had a swimming pool behind the bar and I’d never noticed. D’oh.

And one of the girls actually said to me “Me love you long time”. I thought it was one of those stereotyped phrases that no-one actually says, like “Time for a spot of croquet, old chap” or “May I use the gentleman’s lavatory?” or “Pass the HP sauce, please”. But she said it.

Suspicion

Bangkok Airport was the most depressing place I’ve ever seen. Dark, dirty and looked like the guest house room but on a bigger scale. My flight was a connecting flight through to San Francisco, and the problem I faced was that all the Japanese flyers were stopping in Tokyo and everyone else carrying on to America. The staff couldn’t appreciate that my final destination was Japan. I was searched three times and questioned twice. Four staff looked at my Alien Registration Card. One asked for the receipt of the guest house on Khao San for proof I stayed there. Without thinking, I laughed; as if that place would give receipts. It didn’t go down too well.

Semi-Gaijin

It’s pretty well known among the NOVA teachers that no matter what you do, how respectful you are to the culture, how strong your language skills are, or even if you marry a Japanese person, you will always be an outsider. A gaijin.

However, as I have a re-entry permit visa, when I arrived back at Tokyo I left all the gaijin and headed to the passport control area with the Japanese. It was very strange; I was the only Westerner in the queues, but it was quite cool. And all the staff treated me as a Japanese citizen – everyone spoke to me in Japanese and didn’t consider using English. I could get by, just about.

The train home took about two hours, and although I was knackered, it was nice to see everyone and go out for sushi. Work the next morning nearly killed me!

Epilogue

Thailand was a fascinating place, and I would love to see the trekking areas of Chiang Mai in the North and the turquoise beaches in the South but, as for Bangkok, I feel that I’m finished with it. The Thai language was a no-go as it was near impossible to make out sounds or tonal differences and, from what I saw, the culture wasn’t as fascinating as in Japan.

Japan is a strange and often backwards country, but I feel that I have a lot more to see and do here. It’s often depressing coming home from holidays and dreading going back to work, but I was so excited on the way back to Tokyo. The holiday was a lovely break from work but it made me realise how attached to Japan I already am.