Across the Big Pond to Thailand

So, I’m sitting here typing this from the bedroom of my grandmother’s house in Bangkok. She passed away 3 years ago, and it feels like an eternity since I was last here. Casey survived 22 hours of flying like a stalwart international jetsetter, thanks to a lot of handheld movies on the iPhone and Palm! Really, he was a great traveler, and I’m convinced we are able to take him just about anywhere in the world now. We landed at Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi International Airport late Monday night Feb. 9th, flying in via Seattle and Narita/Tokyo. This was the scene of the anti-Thaksin Democratic party protesters several months ago that crippled the country’s economy and tourism, not just for the few days they occupied the terminal and roadways, but for many months to come — Thailand’s image has been tarnished as a destination because of it. Things are pretty quiet here now, and most people don’t want to think about what kind of turmoil will ensue when the revered King passes away. But that’s enough glum talk for this blog entry!

We spent the first day recovering from serious jetlag, hanging out around the house and trying to avoid the sweltering sun and humidity. But hey, we just left snow in Portland, so sun and heat is a good thing, right? It took us a few days, but we finally recovered as we always do. It was fun meeting my two nephews, Tuff and Ty,  for the first time, and introducing Casey to them. There is a definite language barrier, as Tuffy’s English is still developing and Casey can only count to ten. Plus, an age difference as well, as they kind of do the “nearby” play together. Nonetheless, one major reason for this trip was to introduce Casey to his extended Thai family (now that we figured he was old enough to survive the flight to the other side of the world).

On Tuesday, we packed up some belongings and drove about 2.5 hrs. north to stay at my parents’ house near Khao Yai National Park. It is a beautiful area with rocky mountains that reminds me of a cross between the Bay Area hills and Appalachia (photos yet to be posted, when I can access a card reader!). The weather was much cooler and breezier, although still somewhat warm by Khao Yai standards.

On Wednesday evening after it had cooled down, my dad, brother, Kirstin, Casey and I went to the Thai Elephant Conservation Center just outside the entrance to the park. Apparently, the elephants here were saved from the streets of Bangkok where they were subject to abuse. One of the largest wild herds of elephants resides in Khao Yai NP. After feeding bananas to a 3-year-old elephant, we split into pairs (me and Kirstin, Ray and Casey) with my dad staying behind to take photos, as we mounted our pachyderm guides (aged 19 and 45) for a 30-minute jaunt into the forest. Casey was hanging on for dear life, as was his uncle, but Casey said he had a great time. The highlight for me had to be fording the deep river with the elephants up to their eyeballs in water! Yikes! As we returned to the main center, we noticed the staff setting up for a show depicting the historical battle between Burma and Thailand when they used elephants for combat. Not sure how I felt about them being used for performance, but I suppose it’s a better life here than being beaten or chained up in a big city.

Later that evening, we went to a friend’s house at sunset to watch ribbons and waves of bats leaves their Khao Yai caves in search of dinner. It was cool to watch them fly out in black masses or formations like geese. Apparently we missed the peak season in December, and the bats were not nearly as dramatic in number. The rest of the time in Khao Yai was spent relaxing, reading, take walks, playing with Casey, and eating. Not too shabby.

Early this morning (Saturday), we packed up our stuff and drove back to Bangkok. At 10:30 AM, nine monks from the temple my grandmother and grandfather used to frequent came to the house and gave blessings for several concurrent occasions. My cousin’s family had just built a brand new house in the back of my grandmother’s house, and the monks performed a blessing for the new home. They also celebrated Kirstin’s and Tuffy’s birthdays during the same ceremony. After providing food to the monks, it was our turn to eat as well. And boy did we eat and eat and eat. I should have taken a photo before we dug in. It’s now 6:30 PM and I am only the faintest bit hungry! This also served as a mini-reunion to see my other aunts and cousins, and meet the newest little niece Pang Jee. We’ll get to spend more time with them next weekend when we go to the beach town of Hua Hin.

That’s about all I have to report so far. We are enjoying ourselves thoroughly and relaxing every bit we get. Khob khun for reading!

Sawasdee krub, Tom