Greetings from Thailand!
By Mike and Linda

Location: Thailand
Date: June 13, 2000

Sewat-dii khrap! Greetings from Thailand! We have been here for about 10 days now and are due to depart to Myanmar (Burma) on Thurs. morning. Myanmar you say? Yes, Linda talked to a few people and got really excited about it. We found out here in Bangkok that you can get a visa and plane tix for really cheap ( US each). So away we go!!!

Thailand, or Siam as it was called until 1939, has never been colonized by a foreign country, unlike its southeast Asian neighbors. Because of this and the attitude of its citizens it remains a unique and individual country. Lots of Thai culture. The cuisine is delicious and the streets colorful and chaotic, yet efficient. It is a wonderful country and soooo easy to get around, maybe too easy, there are lots of backpackers and tourists groups here. Today we visited the Grand Palace, and Wat Phra Kaew-home of the famous Emerald Buddha. Beautiful and the buildings ornate, and covered in gold, gems and colored mosaics. It is quite a compound, and well worth a look.

Thailand is very different religiously from Malaysia, Buddha is king. Every Thai male is expected to become a monk at one point in their lives, usually after high school, yet Mike thinks that most of the men on Khao San Road never have, nor never will. It is quite the scene here, 24 hour party.

We left Malaysia for the tropical islands of the Samui archapelago-Koh Pha Ngan and Koh Tao. Aaaaah the island life!!! We spent 4 days on Koh Pha Ngan, famous for its full moon parties. It was nice to relax since we were about 2 weeks past the last party. We had a great view from our bungalow out over Haad Yao beach. Great people, wonderful food and the snorkeling weren't bad either. Koh Tao was another story because it was amazing! Great white sand beaches and four days of pristine scuba diving conditions. If anyone out there is interested in diving this is the place to go in Thailand to get certified for really cheap or for fun dives (about each including equipment). The backpacker scene on the islands is big. Most people have one injury or another, lots of exhaust pipe burns from mopeds, coral cuts from the sea and burns from the sun. Lots of people come for a couple of days and stay for months or years.

The last night on the island we experienced the crazy sport of Muay Thai or Thai kickboxing. Let's just say that we left from that night feeling a little shook up. Linda took a little while to get used to the violence. A bit of history: This sport was so deadly that it was banned in the 1920's. They changed the rules and brought it back to make it more "civilized". All surfaces of the body are considered fair game and you can use any part of the you body to inflict blows (elbows and knees are the favorite weapons). We saw 7 bouts that started with 13 year olds and worked its way up to the big guys. The last fight was a knockout with a haymaker kick to the chin. I could feel it from the stands!

Bangkok is crazy!!!!!!! We arrived on the infamous Khao San Road to see drunk backpackers and Thais enjoying the end of the first Euro 2000 matches. Finding a decent place to stay was an adventure in itself. One of the places was so bad that the rats were running downstairs to get out. They ran right into Linda who was on her way up to look at a room. We didn't ever see that room. Other than that, Bangkok is a nice city and the dirt is no worse than San Francisco. It helps that we have acclimatized to the heat by now. It's hot here! We have been running around crazy getting visas and plane tix for the rest of our trip. Here's our updated schedule for the rest of the trip:

Myanmar: 6/15 (our one year travel anniversary!) until 7/5 (we have open ended tix) Northern Thailand: about two weeks Laos: up to 30 days Vietnam: up to 30 days Cambodia: the remainder until our 9/18 flight to Taipei, Taiwan for 3 days then home to SFO on 9/21

We are excited to explore the untramped country of Myanmar. The pro military government changed the country's name as well as those of many cities in 1988. After democratic elections that weren't accepted by the military government, the country has been little visited by foreigners. There are only certain areas we can visit and citizens are not allowed to discuss politics with tourists. It should be very interesting. Many people do not visit because of the government's denial of basic human rights. The country does not have internet, nor any real contact with the outside world in the form of media. We will report back upon our return.

Goodbye for now, we miss everyone and appreciate your updates.
Love,
Linda and Mike

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