Rob and Anna's travel adventure

Anna's entry:
Back to Bangkok, again…. Is this the 4th of 5th time?! We haven’t planned to come here that frequent, it just happened. We haven’t planned to extend our South East Asia adventure by another 5 months either, it also just happened due to some unforeseen circumstances. Nine months ago we only planned on exploring India and Thailand, however, during our course through Asia, we also ventured on to Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. With an exception of Mumbai-Bangkok connection, we explored South East Asia all by land – trains, buses, boats – not a single additional flight has been taken. And, that was a contributing factor of ending up in Bangkok more than once, twice, three times, four times, stopped counting… We planned on traveling only for five months, but we ended up living in Asia for nine months. There were good times, there were bad times, we loved it, we hated it, and we definitely lived it. We accepted all of it; we became part of Asia, and Asia became part of us.

I am writing this final entry well after our return back to San Francisco slowly adjusting to a reversed culture shock to a “normal” North American reality. I am relieved being back, and yet my mind can not stop wondering what could we have experienced if we went further South from the Malaysian peninsula? Will we ever return to that part of the world, or would a better question be ‘when’ will we return to that part of the world?

Phetchaburi is an unlikely stop on the tourists trail, which was the main reason we chose to go there. As you may have gathered from the previous entries, avoiding tourist trails has become an important part of our route, and that approach has definitely brought us closer to experiencing a more authentic culture and attitude. I loved Phetchaburi, as a matter of fact when I think "Thailand", one night in Phetchaburi has become one of the iconic images of our journey. We arrived in the middle of the traditional canoe racing festival, and a hotel owner put us in a room overlooking the central canal where the competition was taking place. So, right from the balcony we were able to observe all the colorfully dressed up boats, cheering crowds, and festivities taking place along side the canal - and I tell you, there were a lot of festivities going on for several days. Besides boat racing, there was a concert projected on the largest screen so the whole town could see it; the food festival with the phad thai made in the largest skillet you can imagine (about 10 people could easily stand around it), markets, etc. But, we were also able to find a place of solitude - after walking for many miles we finally found a cave temple - tunnels were developed by monks right inside of the mountain connecting numerous halls and corridors with dozens of Buddhist statues lit up by torches and candles. It was very unusual, and very mysterious, and the best part - Rob and I were the only visitors. We also climbed a steep hill, passing a monastery on the way, with a huge statue of sitting Buddha being constructed/repaired on the top of the hill. The statue could be seen miles and miles away from the city, which looked like a Lilliput settlement when seen from the hill top. We also had to somewhat push our way to and from the hilltop - numerous monkeys insisted following us both ways, so an opened umbrella was a good shield from those potentially unwanted hugs...

My favourite memory though (which has become one of my favourite images) took place at night. I will try to describe it... Imagine an ancient Buddhist city spread over the canal with thousands of lit up candles in coconut shells slowly floating in the water, a large bright moon reflecting in the canal waters, spicy incense in the air, soothing traditional Thai music carried by the wind from the shores, colorful fireworks illuminating the night sky, and us - standing right above it all surrounded by palm trees gently whispering right under our feet... We have come a long way, it has been almost nine months of traveling in South and South East Asia; there were good times, there were bad times. But, at that moment standing on the balcony in Phetchaburi I remembered only good experiences, it was peaceful and sad at the same time, we were very close to the end of our journey. In a few days we would be heading back to Bangkok, this would be our third and last time there, this was where we started our Thailand adventure back in April. We have come a whole circle, just like that Moon, still reflecting in the waters of Phetchaburi...

NAKHON PATHOM
Regarded as the oldest city in Thailand, Nakhon Pathom was conquered by Angkor in the early 11th century. The city has the tallest Buddhist monument in the world - gigantic Phra (temple) Pathom Chedi. We took a train from Bangkok to reach the city, and spent the entire day wondering around the temple grounds and monastery. The best part was to be surrounded by the ancient walls later in the afternoon when not a single tour group was in sight. Rob and I were not surprised how many people choose to over-pay and purchase the tour package to come here, instead of coming here like locals do - by train - and have all the flexibility of the day instead of being pushed around like a herd. Anyway, on the way back to Bangkok, a young local girl, sitting opposite of us on the train, wanted to converse with us in English. She was very sweet, and just before getting off the train, the girl presented me with a little gift - a bookmark with depicted Golden Buddha. She wished us a safe journey, and we continued on back to Bangkok.

CHA-AM
While killing some time before heading out back to Bangkok (and taking care of some practical matters), we came up with another daily outing. We wanted to go back to the ocean just one more time, before leaving the Asian continent. After diving around the Similan Islands in the Indian Ocean, and snorkeling with sharks in Palau Perhentian in Malaysia, going to Cha-am beach was like going to a pond. However, it was appealing to get away for a day before heading back to Bangkok's notorious traffic, and dip the toes in warm waters before saying final good-bye to the Gulf of Thailand. So, we did. We picked up a lunch from Phetchaburi - some tasty grilled chicken with spicy chili sauce, but we couldn't get the sticky rice - because our usual vendor family were closed for the day, and every other seller was trying to rip us off. So, on the way to the beach, we made a stop at a local market, and tried to find a Muslim family, who almost always gave us the local price without any shenanigans (thank you!). It worked again. Then, we picked up our favourite Thai Chai from a local 7-11 store, which seems to be on every Thai corner, and we were in business for a picnic on a beach. We found a spot under the tree, and soon after another local Thai family started picnicking next to us. Compared to our lunch selection, theirs was a lot "posher", but they seemed to enjoy watching us consume our food with a great appetite and speed; and soon after we were finished with our chicken-rice combos, they cordially sent us some local fruits along with sincere smiles. It was very sweet of them, and we sent them our 7-11 candies, which their little daughter seemed to thoroughly enjoy. After a few food exchanges and laughs, Rob and I went to take a dip in the ocean (I should probably add that we had only one pair of swim shorts to share, but we figured it out); and it was time for us to head back. After a semi-hard bargaining with a bus conductor, we finally were able to reduce a rip-off bus fare closer to a local one, and we were off on a busy freeway back to our place in Phetchaburi - one of the most memorable places in Thailand, which I will dedicate the next entry soon.