Boyfriend (was) in Bangkok

A few days ago I was in happy mode because Mr. CT Lawyer was here with me, exploring Thailand and making me laugh, like he normally does. But he’s gone now, and all I have are our memories and the future time I will get to see him again.

We stayed in fancy hotels while he visited me on my SE Asia jaunt. I arrived in Bangkok before him, so I checked-in to our first hotel alone with my backpacker’s luggage, earthy fisherman pants, and messy ponytail. I got some looks, but the concierge was sweet and sent me up to the room without asking me about my dirty traveler look.

Let us safely say I am not used to that kind of caliber in accommodations anymore (what with my hostel hopping and student budget), and I felt overwhelmed with the fanciness of our room. I sat around for hours, waiting for him while feeling unsure about how to manage the incredibly plushness of the bed. Then finally, late in the night, he walked into the room and I bounced up and down like an eager child on Christmas (which was only a few days before).

In Bangkok we met up with Belgian Elkana for a pleasant coffee chat in the morning. We then left Elkana for his flight home and ended up on what seemed to be a straightforward trip to a reputable tailor for The Boyfriend to get some suits made. Unfortunately, Apple Maps inaccurately plunked the shop pin far away in southern Bangkok at a warehouse that was not there anymore, and the tuktuk driver failed in his desperate attempts to persuade us to go elsewhere. We ended up aimlessly wandering through what looked like a low-income housing area for about an hour, confused and baking in the sun (just like a table of raw pork we saw as we meandered back to the road). Many of the people living in the area came up to us to ask us sweetly why exactly were we there, indicating we clearly were in the wrong place. After a long time waiting for a passing cab (because we were not in a tourist area), we finally drove all the way back to the tailor (hilariously) a few streets away from our hotel. Once we got to our destination, Mr. CT Lawyer bought me a lovely Christmas present of a pretty green dress made for my funky curves.

Afterwards, we got stuck in some thick traffic for an hour to get to the Reclining Buddha on the other end of town. The traffic, we found out, was because of a big festival that was happening – according to our driver – for something about independence from an ancient kingdom (though I could be wrong about that). We ended up at the Wat Pho in time to admire the Golden Hour and appreciate some of the sunset prayer preparations by the monks, with some white strings in their hands and a buzz in the air. Boyfriend was impressed by the large intricacies of the temple, like me, but his jetlag took charge and we rushed back for an early sleep.

The next day we got to the airport for our flight to Krabiin southern Thailand, the beachy region. Really, we were staying about 30 minutes out in a resort town called Ao Nang, which was crowded with more falang tourists than Thai people, much to our dismay. The beaches, however, were gorgeous with spikes of limestone rocks jutting out by the shore, and we were able to overlook the strange ratio of locals to foreigners.

In Ao Nang, we discovered that in order to see the more secluded and pretty spots, we had to literally climb into the wooden long boats on the beach. The first day we went to Railay Beach, which was beautiful and intimate enough to let us relax for a few hours without getting stepped on, yet had some food boats with full meals should we all get stranded without access to a boat for getting back to our hotel quickly. We lazed in the water and sun until I was sufficiently burned, and we patiently bargained with a boatman to bring us back in time for a nap and dinner. We ate a lot of amazing seafood while we visited the area, and went to a dumpy looking Isan restaurant that turned out to be some of the most scrumptious food I've had all month in Thailand.

On New Year’s Eve we felt bold and went to the famously attractive Koh Phi Phi for a fun day in some beautiful sightseeing. After a 2-hour boat ride to the island, we discovered that a few hours was not enough time to secure a tour of the island’s gems and that our only option was loitering on the beach or in the intensely packed tourist town at the port. By tourist town, I mean the small streets were lined with tourist shops and tour packages in a way that felt to me like being in Disney World’s tight alleyways. There were tourists walking around in revealing swimwear, which alarmed us a bit as the region is pretty conservative and modest (though in the tourist areas they tend to turn the other way). Feeling overwhelmed and confused, we ended up on the beach and sat around for an hour or two until our boat back to Ao Nang.

This is when the Boyfriend and I discovered our profound difference in beach appreciation. For him, he likes beaches just fine and enjoys doing nothing on the beach for a few hours, floating in the water perhaps for a little while before lounging and relaxing. Personally, I don’t actually like beaches that much. I love ports and harbors, but finding sticky sand in surprise crevices after a beach visit is absolutely dreadful. Also, I do not like flopping down on the beach for a while – I get bored easily. All of this is to say he floated around and relaxed on the beach at Koh Phi Phi while I pouted and huffed on the beach, fully clothed and wiping sand off of me constantly.

For the evening, we went to a fancy beach-side restaurant and had some outrageously delicious crustaceans for dinner – he had a spicy crab, and I had my favorite thing, lobster – while we admired the sun set on the water. We then strolled around the bustling town until it got closer to midnight, when we sat on the wide staircase to the beach and watched people in party hats celebrate the coming of 2016 by sending candlelit lanterns into the sky. The lanterns floating into the sky and away from land was one of the most beautiful things I have seen in a while, with a spiritually-charged feeling, and I was grateful that we watched it together for an hour before the fireworks at midnight.

On New Year’s Day, after a mishap that left our bags laundry-less for three hours after check-out (I don’t want to talk about it, and it wasn’t our fault), we took an evening flight to Northern Thailand – the ancient city of Chiang Mai. I loved Chiang Mai (especially after our beach trip), and we both agreed that it’s more laid-back atmosphere enchanted us. We stayed at a spa just out of the city where we slept in silence and woke up to the sound of roosters in the distance.

In Chiang Mai there’s an old city area where tourists tend to stay, that is surrounded by a river/moat of some sort in a box shape – we called this area the box, and we explored it on our first day. There are walls and gates around the old city that look like waves of bricks and crumbling or rustic wats (“temples”) lightly spot the box area. There were a lot of wats. The tourists, like us, love wats, and we were again surrounded by a slew of tourists; unlike in the beachy areas, though, the congestion of people didn’t bother me so much there. The wats there do such a great job maintaining their spiritual practices, and we felt peaceful while we visited. I felt spiritually uplifted and recharged while looking at the complex art on the walls. In particular, the crumbled Wat Chedi Luang really moved me – bells hanging on the temples twinkled in the calm wind while we enjoyed the beauty of the old architecture.

While I made sure we ate a lot (a LOT) of traditional local food (curries, papaya salads, spicy foods, etc.), I was craving western food badly while we were in Chiang Mai. After all, I had been faithfully eating local food for months. At the time, a (gluten free) sandwich sounded like the best thing in the world. Praise the gods, we found a western diner that had gluten free bread, and Mr. CT Lawyer was gracious and supportive in my cravings as I buried my face in a grilled cheese sandwich. It was amazing. Afterwards, we snacked on street food to compensate for my Americanness.

We also went to the Saturday Night Market, south to the box, for a little bit. I say a little bit because it was so insanely busy (bodies pressed up against each other slowly creeping down the long streets) and I got overwhelmed early on. We sped through a lot of the stalls to escape the craze of the market (but not before supporting some local artisans with really creative gear). We ended up escaping into the wat where the temple made of silver was lit in the evening with bright colors. Like some of the other religious buildings in the town, however, women were not permitted in the temple, so Mr. CT Lawyer recommended us leave without him exploring a place I couldn’t enjoy with him.

The next day was a big day because we ended up going to Elephant Nature Park, where we fed and bathed elephants for a day. It was an incredible experience to be with such massive and wise animals. It was also terrifying, because elephants are frighteningly strong – especially if you’re holding food for them. Their trunks feel like superpowers that curl and twist surprisingly quickly, and I almost lost my hand a few times while feeding them bananas. It also became very clear while walking around with the elephants how little they need our help and assistance – unlike puppies (and I love puppies) – and that they only really need us to help protect them from other humans with mal-intent. The Boyfriend and I had a lot of fun and laughed a lot while standing in awe around these creatures.

We later roamed around the box some more and shopped around before we got back to Bangkok.

In Bangkok Mr. CT Lawyer pointed out the funny observation that a lot of businesses that have closed up in the US thrive (perhaps even boom) in other countries like Thailand and Australia. Sizzler is a big example – Mister Donut is another. I never realized this until he mentioned it, and come to think of it, 7-11 is a shockingly successful business over here (there are a couple shops on every street it seems).

Throughout our travels we also had to deal with how my small Thai vocabulary impresses and delights so many people here. With my white village blessing bracelets dangling from my wrists still, and my attempts to put together simple questions and requests for locals to help us, we were stopped and delayed in many of our adventures. I would apparently verbalize some semblance of a sentence and I would have several people standing around us trying to speak to me in more fluent Thai than I was able to stomach. Mr. CT Lawyer says he was very impressed with my skills in the language – and the locals all thought I had lived in the area for a few years – but we still would end up getting incorrect details or wrong directions with my sparse understanding.

The last place we stayed in Bangkok was a palace. Not an actual palace, of course, but it was such a luxurious 2-room hotel room that it felt like we were in some kind of royal residence. Everything smelled nice. We were treated like VIP by the staff (which was wonderful). And the food was phenomenal. We enjoyed our room so much that we stayed in to be with each other for our final days together. Our parting at the airport was very sad and lined with tears, but I am so glad we got to spend some more time together before I brave my way towards my final semester.