Return from Thailand, a summary
I suck. I officially suck. I really, really did want to add frequent and entertaining updates from New Zealand and Thailand, honest, but somehow I never had the flow for it. I blame it on company. Travelling with company means you tend to be able to output the thoughts and observations on the fly and not have a big store of it all to frantically blog when opportunity allows, like er, a mental bowel movement.
So, in short! New Zealand was stunning, and unseasonably warm for winter. I trailed around after LV and his extended family, politely refusing cake and cookies often proffered and had a thoroughly pleasant, if family oriented time. LV's Dad took us sailing too, on Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown which was a highlight for me, and briefly made me consider buying a boat and becoming a wandering hermit on the seas. For a minute.
Thailand was excellent. Bangkok was dirty and seedy and fast paced and we had an abortive attempt to see a ping pong show. A tuk tuk driver instead dropped us off somewhere else for late night drinking which was mostly western men and Thai girls partying. Still fun, and we danced to bad pop, high on super strong Thai Redbull until the sun rose. Chiang Mai was like a nicer, more functional small city.. then off up to the mountains to a little town called Pai which is famous on the backpacker trail as a kind of Bohemian retreat. Unfortunately, the opium dens are apparently long gone from the tourist trail, and mention of them strikes fear into the hearts of the locals, as the police have cleaned up a lot (cleaned up, as in the more violent, execution style cleaning) of the visible drug trade. Which is a shame, as I'd had that particular picture in my head for years, all lounging around on cushions, in hazy, smoke filled rooms sucking on a shisha pipe. They still had shisha pipes in Pai, with fruity tobacco, but I declined on account of hygiene. ;-)
Absolutely would love to go back and see some more, this time of year is the low season due to humidity and temperatures that render you weak and incapable of much between about 11am and 6pm. Doesn't stop you eating excessively, which of course I did, and my travelling companions discovered that hiring small bikes were a cure too, as you're cool as long as you are in motion.
So, some things learned:
- Quantas are rubbish to fly with although the VOD service is quite reasonable when it works. Pre-ordering veggie meals has the pleasant benefit of you getting fed before everyone else in economy, and the food is piping hot (if still shit airline food). Others passengers' jealous glances sideways suggested "Why are they special?", which made me happy.
- Kiwis like pies (although I sampled one and would disagree), say "hello, howareya" as if it were one word, and their students have a tradition of burning couches on their porches.
- Don't do overnight bus trips, ever. Even if they pay you to.
- Check your Thai taxi driver isn't blind drunk before commencing an hour long ride to the airport.
- 97% of women in the Chiang Mai women's prison are there for possession of "Ya ba" or methamphetamine, a plague of addiction which has also been "cleaned up" with aplomb by the local police force.
- Chang beer, at approximately 6.9% (it's not regulated and is rumoured to vary wildy) is both your best friend and your worst enemy.
- Barter at markets for clothes and trinkets! Prices can often be talked down to about two thirds the first price, any lower than that, the seller reacts as if horribly insulted. I was too polite to find out if this was part of the ritual. I am English after all.
- Bring nothing but one set of clothes, buy everything there. Only electronics were disappointingly pricey there.
- Plan some time to get your teeth fixed! The dentists are really incredible in Thailand and a filling comes in at about 500 baht, or 7 pounds and 84 pence! A friend had a large amount of work to be done (he's Australian) so opted for it to be done in Thailand. Not only did the Thai dentist manage to save more teeth than considered possible by the Aussie dentist, but on his return the Aussie dentist was in awe over the work done, and called it "Art"!
Labels: travel
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twenty four hours and rising...
It might just be that I am flying to the city that is furthest away from London. The city. Furthest possible away from London. Charming Dunedin. 4 planes. Is that a record? Anyone more foolish than me? 'Though saying that, all you have to deal with is the irritation, cramped conditions and the possibility of DVT (which I avoid with a serious of comical exercises that I perform at the back of the plane, including squat thrusts and some thigh stretches that are vaguely similar to badly done yoga or, and I might be crossing a line, inelegant readers' wives' poses? Yup. Crossing a line). So yeah, It's not like I'm Scott of the.Antartic, but it's the longest journey by plane I have done in one fell swoop. Anyway, here is the lowdown on my inflight entertainment.
Movies
Notes on a Scandal
Judi Dench and Cate Blanchette are two teachers in a secondary school. Both women are lonely in different ways, and events spiral out of control when Cate's character becomes involved with a fifteen year old pupil. Liked this a lot. I used to only like genre movies, and somehow I have ended up with a more discerning taste, that might even be a bit adult. Heh. Yup, the narration of the diary from Judi's bitter but sharp-as-a-knife, self confessed "battleaxe" teacher, and the fae, lefty silliness of Cate's art teacher are a perfect combination. Cate's family became a bit too fictional when they danced like bohemians, a tradition in their family after a good lunch(?). But Judi Dench's awkwardness at the scene made it all ok again. I think it won a bunch of awards. Reminded me of a much more subtle and smart, English "Misery". That kind of tone.
The Dead Girl
As is endlessly popular at the moment, this film is four stories connected by a person or theme. The Dead Girl herself is our thread, Brittany Murphy, wild eyed and screaming like a younger Courtney Love. It's no ground breaker, but the stories are pleasently varied, and well acted. It's all grim in the end, but so it should be. Worth checking out.
For your consideration
American parody of low budget Hollywood filmmaking. I know that I would have seen all the in-jokes about actors, publicists, DP's and so on, had I spent any real time in this industry, but really I haven't. It looked promising with some really funny dialog, but couldn't hold my attention past the first half hour. Good effort. A bit too specific and LA centric 'though.
French Film - L'euipment ?? something about a lighthouse?
Aborted after half an hour. I am sure it was touching though, like the guide said.
Louis Theroux and the brothel
Love this man.. this was an excellent one hour BBC documentary where Louis spends nearly a month with a brand new, legal and luxuary brothel in Nevada. Not only does he capture fantastic impressions of some of the characters working at and running the brothel but also a couple of clients. Louis can be critisised for sometimes making cheap shots at his subjects, but despite playing up his stoic British awkwardness, I believe he had real fondness for the inhabitants of the brothel. Their stories were funny, sometimes shocking but also warm, and touching. Brilliant TV, and fascinating.
