Calaidescope World

Before Blogger, There Was Email: Amazing Thailand Part 1

Before Cynthia and Gabby turned me on to blogging, I would keep in touch with my friends and family around the world through a monthly mass email with the heading "World Update". I was cleaning up my email and found this from when I was based in Thailand in 2001 (posted in all its unedited glory. This is the WW and friends of WW version). I don't know, someone out there might want to know what Thailand is like....

-----Original Message-----
From: Carla S. Vargas
Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2001 7:11 PM
To: Anna Liza Flores; Harry Velasco; Cynthia Ortiz; Joey Mapa; Jolyn Suarez; Alexandra Olivares; Sheila Marie Fleta; Sidney Catipon; Misha Canas; Eduardo Miguel Juliano; Rey Laguda; Malou Abada; Grace Nava; Tanya Reyes; Sobee Duenas; Ricky Pagdanganan; Nanette Dumol; Krissie Millan; Fred Tan; Ariel Dominguez; Dondi Grande; Yeyette Raymundo; Marge Hukom; Mon Espago; Cha Estomata; Joy Silva; Liza Alba; M Moncada
Cc: John Eric Ramos; Jerome Arcebal
Subject: World Update - March/April 2001 (4WW)

READ ONLY WHEN YOU HAVE *LOTS* OF NON-BILLABLE TIME ON YOUR HANDS!!!

DISCOVERY CHANNEL PRESENTS LONELY PLANET - THAILAND
Actually, we ought to change that title to "Travellers." & this week, we will take you on a journey through Amazing Thailand.

WEATHER REPORT
My officemate Joe (my non-English speaking version of Harry) told me there are only 3 seasons in Thailand: hot, hotter & hottest. When I first arrived last November, it was just HOT (30 degrees Celsius. Hot lang pala yan. & they call it "winter"). It got HOTTER sometime in late February. It is now HOTTEST (today's high is 37 degrees & I've been told it can reach 40). It will be HOTTEST until August. Then the rain comes in & temperature is HOTTER, then it will be HOT again in October. Baka pag-uwi ko sa Pinas, giginawin ako.

SURVIVOR SERIES
EPISODE 1:
Car #1: Rene & Eliene Villafuerte with their 11 month old daughter Angelica & yaya Barba. Rene is a geologist for Shell. Eliene is a happy housewife. Car#2: Mike Marquez (Financial Controller for Daimler-Benz), Cheena dela Cruz (Regional Brand Manager of Walls Ice Cream), myself & an inflated plastic turtle. We drove 3 hours south of Bangkok (like going to Batangas without traffic & with much better roads) to a beach town popular among the Thais called Cha-Am. We also visited the next beach town, Hua Hin (more popular among tourists).

There was hardly anyone at Cha-Am (off-season?). Pangit ng beach, dumi ng tubig (kaya pala walang tao), tapos may konting nangangabayo (think White Castle whisky) . Tingin ko, parang siyang maduming Matuod (mas maganda ang beach sa Matuod). Napaka-unromantic ng experience ko -- I decided to lie down on the sand & soak in the morning sun & I was starting to fall asleep when a horse decided to stop behind me & take a crap. But Cha-Am is a good place to hide out in when you want to escape the city, & seriously, it was such a relief to get away! It's very quiet, isolated, & the condo we stayed in (beach house ng Shell) had a nice pool & good facilities. Tapos nag-ihaw pa si Rene ng liempo (super sarap!). Joey, that's where I was when you called me about your regularization (part one of my "Congratulations!" to you. Yeehee!).

Hua Hin is very touristy & it reeks of horse shit bec. of the horse rentals on the beach - like Wright Park by the Sea. Daming tao (medyo nakaka-clausterphobic). We visited the Hotel Sofitel & it's absolutely gorgeous- grand Victorian style, manicured gardens, nice set-up (one of Thailand's first hotels). An expensive, yet highly recommended resort. Will show you pictures when I go home in May (papasok ako sa 7 para guluhin kayo. I actually miss the office).

SWIMMING LESSONS
Armed with a professional mahjong set & a copy of Lonely Planet - China (to distinguish the Chinese numbers on the cards), our Cha-Am travellers swam the hours away on a coffee table. All of us were beginners except Cheena (if we catch the gambling bug, we all know who to blame) & if you give us a few more weeks, singko-singko na ang laro. Harry, Joey, Cynthia, by the time my Bangkok assignment ends, I'll probably be able to join you at Cherry's.

EPISODE 2:
6 April 2001, past midnight: Jeric & Jerome arrive. I have friends! YAHOO!!!!

Sometime around 7 AM: Cheena, meet my boys. Boys, meet Cheena. You have no idea how happy I was to be able to spend time with REAL FRIENDS (ask Tanya nalang about the peer pressure I'm under here. Ibang klase, nakakatawa. Me? Prayer meeting? Stop laughing!). Together we discovered why it was going to take 11 hours to get from Bangkok to the northern city of Chiang Mai: ang bagal ng train! Kailangan pa yatang itulak. Tumigil pa ang driver, bumamba at may kinausap. Hindi kami naka-pigil sa train station 'nun. Nawawala yata. Siyempre, reading material ko sa train job descriptions. Haha! At least naka-tulog ako :-)

Base camp was the Rama Guesthouse in Chiang Mai. It's not a first class hotel, but highly recommended for budget travellers & everyone there was very nice, very helpful. We met a guy from McKinsey (cute sana pero mukhang hindi naliligo) who was wearing a Human Capital Group shirt (not Watson Wyatt's). Pagkatapos mag-check-in, siyempre, shopping agad sa night market. Tried a northern Thai beer called Chang (I think Singha is better). The next day, Jame, the Managing Director of the Rama Guesthouse & owner of Jame & John (?) Tours (most popular tour operator in Chiang Mai), took us further north to Chiang Rai & we made it as far as the Burmese border (we've got pictures under a sign that says "The Northernmost Point of Thailand" to prove it). I can't remember the names of the other cities we visited, but we went to an Opium Museum & we stopped at the Golden Triangle where we looked over the borders of Thailand, Myanmar & Laos. We also went to a jewelry factory, the type kung saan magwawala si Cherry. Then we visited the long neck village (or what Jerome calls the Land of Audrey Hepburn) where women of this particular Burmese tribe start wearing heavy gold chokers at age 6 & they can wear up to 32 chokers! They can only take them off for 2 hours in a year to clean them (their necks are so stretched, they need the chokers to support their heads). If I'm not mistaken, Jeric & Jerome have copies of these pictures.

The last day of our very short trip to Chiang Mai (parang the train rides were longer) was spent in a national park where we took an elephant ride (the elephant that Jerome & I were on wanted to go his own way, si "Master of Me". Kung saan-saan siya dumadaan), sat around a beautiful waterfall, then got on a bamboo raft. We also visited some sort of factory outlet where hand-painted umbrellas & fans are made. We were victimized by early Songkran revelers (Songkran being the Thai New Year & is celebrated like the Fiesta ni San Juan) who eagerly threw water into the back of the pick up where we sat. 3 monks threw buckets full or water at us & we were drenched! Pati nung nag-rafting kami, tinatapunan kami ng tubig.

14 hours on an overnight train to Bangkok. A visit to the Bangkok office. Mirienda with Corinne (Chuck had pneumonia!). & instead of spending the day exploring Bangkok's temples, we visited the gods of shopping. It is so rare to see men shop the way Jeric & Jerome did. & Nike must be very happy with their earnings on our purchases. Well, Jeric's purchases :-) Joey, Jolyn, Migs, Tans, Sobs -- laugh trip yung shirt ko, it says "Goddess."

EPISODE 3:
Holy Week. Krabi, Southern Thailand. Jump station to limestone cliffs & islands scattered on the sea. Ok siya. Instead of Visita Iglesia, we went on Visita Isla.

Railay Beach. Forget the east coast, the west coast of the island is cleaner & has more action. Especially for boys on the lookout for topless women: it's the place to be. The water? Warm & full of jellyfish. Stings & allergies galore. Plus a couple shagging not too far away from us (our entertainment for the day).

Second day: the Phi Phi Islands tour. We were on a boat filled mostly with white people (are we in Europe?). Stopped over at Koh Phi Phi Don for lunch, walked around a bit, then off to beautiful Koh Phi Phi Ley. & a few minutes later, there it was: Maya Bay. Also known as Leonardo di Caprio's "The Beach." We saw it. We took a picture. Our boat docked off the coast. We snorkeled in its waters with a hundred other people (a bottle green sea filled with orange life jackets & rented neon green snorkel sets). I attempted to swim 700 meters to the shore. Never got close enough to even set foot on it. Allergy Central. Apart from the algae, we were stung by something we couldn't see, like hundreds of baby jellyfish. It would've been the best Thai beach we went to if only we were actually on it. Bitin. In the evening, we had dinner near the pier & had the best fried oysters.

Third day: the most touristy experience in our lives. WARNING: If you ever visit Southern Thailand, do NOT, under any circumstance, even think about taking the James Bond Island Tour. Napaka-walang kwenta. I never even saw Roger Moore in "The Man with the Golden Gun." It's a small smelly island filled with tourists. We were also taken to see various limestone formations & caves with "vewy byoooteefool istalactahyt & istalagmhayt." Unfortunately, we could only see so much limestone islands & caves. If you want to see breath-taking stalactite & stalagmite formations & gorgeous limestone mountains, visit St. Andrew's National Park in Palawan & go to the Underground River (lahat nasa Pilipinas, mas maganda pa!). We also visited some national park with waterfalls, but the water was muddy. Sabi nga ni Jerome, sana man lang may scientific explanation kung bakit ganoon ang itsura ng tubig pero wala. The trees & some of the pools were nice, though. Pero parang wala kaming ginawa nung araw na yun kundi manlait :-) The highlight of the tour was a stopover for lunch at a Muslim fishing village & Jerome being blessed by a Buddhist monk at a cave temple.

13 April 2001. To Catholics, it's Good Friday. For the superstitious, Friday the 13th. But for the Thais, it's the official start of the Songkran Festival. It's a water-fight on a national scale & celebrated with unparalleled enthusiasm. It's supposed to symbolize the cleansing of the soul. Siguro madudumi talaga ang mga budhi ng tao dito dahil walang awa sila magtapon o magbuhos ng tubig- pati mga naka-motor binabasa (600+ accidents were reported in Bangkok alone at the end of the festival last Monday). & there were pick-up trucks with buckets of water & people throwing it everywhere. Our 30 minute walk around the city center turned into a futile attempt to keep dry. We hung out at the Eighty-nine Cafe (don't know why it's called that. Like why is that club Orange called seventy-eight orange?) & joined locals & foreigners chasing every dry person with buckets of ice water. As one writer said, afficionados of the wet t-shirt contest will have a field day.

When we got back to Bangkok & the guys left for Manila (nung biglang lumaki ang apartment ko at tumahimik. Sniff, drama), I had to carefully walk around Bangkok to avoid getting wet. People strategically stationed themselves at the steps leading to the Skytrain throwing water at passengers. Even at the mall, people would throw water as one would walk through the entrance. Wild.

ANIMAL PLANET
Ikamamatay ko ang mga unggoy ng Asya! We went to some golden temple by a mountain & it was filled with monkeys! & the jellyfish here are the biggest I've ever seen. The little ones (medyo clear kaya hindi kita agad) sting as well, but are not poisonous. Gave us a hell of an allergy, though.

WHAT HAVE YOU DISCOVERED TODAY?
When translated to English, "Bangkok" means "City of Angels." WP-1800 has greater mobile phone coverage than AIS-GSM at a cheaper rate (20% less). Banana Boat Sunblock is better than Coppertone (Tanya, what's Avon Sun-So-Soft?). & it is a NOT SO LONELY PLANET after all. My Mom was right when she said the beaches we had in the Philippines were the best. Thailand's beaches are over-rated, but the shopping is great :-) They are worth visiting for the fun, for the experience, but not for the beach itself. Wala pa ring tatalo sa Bohol (there's no turning back after Balicasag). Meanwhile, Songkran is loads of fun & if I could afford it, I'd like to spend every Holy Week in Thailand :-) If any of you have the chance, go for it! Hanggang Agosto nalang ako dito, so take advantage of free accomodations in Bangkok :-) Para sa mga single guys, yung isang kabarkada ko dito 23 years old na Atenistang taga-Unilever ay "open for dating" at kahawig ni Zhang Ziyi (girl from "Crouching Tiger"). Set up ko kayo (sabay kami uuwi). Sorry girls, no boys for us -- puede ba, dalawang klase lang ang Thai na lalake: ang pangit at ang sinusuwerte. Kaya gimmick nalang.

And that is all this month from sunny Thailand, the Land of Smiles. Alam niyo naman, basta huwag lang natin pag-usapan ang trabaho kong character-building, ANG SARAP DITO! :-)

Ciao! (or as our associates in Jakarta spell it, CHAO!)


Carly/CW

posted by Calai @ 12:04 PM