Beth’s Bangkok Blast-off: Introducing the Filipina to Backpacking & Thailand

I first met my spike-heel wearing, heat-packing friend Beth in the Philippines at a benefit concert for Bob, a man who has since passed away. I was enamored immediately. I make a habit of collecting blunt, passionate friends who tell me what to do. And don’t mind when I refuse. We had so much fun together in her home country, that meeting up in mainland SE Asia was a natural next step. Well, kind of.

Like I said before, this petite powerhouse of a woman generally totters around in heels, and you can make assumptions from there. I’m not terribly sure she even owns a backpack appropriate for cheap travel in places with uneven, crowded sidewalks. But no matter! She would confess later that she almost backed out of the trip — too much work to do at home and too many unknowns out in the great beyond. I’m so glad she didn’t. We had a blast!

She was off the plane and into my arms at a station in Bangkok’s public transport network. Together we made our way to the enormous Chao Praya river and ferried up to Banglamphu — home to the famous “backpacker ghetto” known as Khao San Road. Resting was the priority for all of us, Pat and I having just finished a harrowing journey in Laos and Beth taking a break from her hectic life as overseer, et. al. in her family’s business.

We visited Wat Pho, a sprawling modern temple complex home to an enormous reclining Buddha covered in gold leaf. Also home to hundreds of treasures, Wat Pho made for several hours worth of ambling in the heat between architectural and artistic marvels. We strolled the streets of Banglamphu, examining the wares of hundreds of street vendors — most of whom cater to tourists. We snacked at street food carts. I found replacements for two worn t-shirts in my small arsenal of tops (prompting Beth to inform me that my other clothes make me look fat). We wandered up Khao San Road at night. It’s like being in Times Square on New Year’s Eve — chaotic, cram-packed,, bright lights everywhere, beer flowing, jubilation in the air. It’s no wonder the Gap Year kids tend to adore this place — or at least adore the opportunity to soak in the pulsating energy while erasing their memories one drink at a time.

The next day we started our journey to Ko Chang. Ko = island, chang = elephant. Our laid-back pace meant checking out of our hotel late morning, crossing Bangkok on lumbering public transport, and being on a bus before 2 p.m. We’d hoped to make it all the way to “Elephant Island.” Instead we accepted Trat as a waypoint, ate at the night market, and got up for the 6 a.m. ferry. Upon landing, we rented a motor bike to shuttle ourselves around and hurried to beat all the Russians to an affordable beach hut.

Pat and Beth’s first elephant ride happened that afternoon. Said activity is more for education than thrill, as elephants walk about as slowly as you would if you weighed five or six tons. Our geriatric maidens fascinated me. Watching them use their trunks to suss out things in the forest, seeing them carefully choose their steps around mud puddles and poo piles, clutching and peering over the edge as the enormous creature got nearly vertical ascending a rock shelf. Amazing.

Afterward, Pat and I suited up and crossed the white sands into the ocean. Forested islands and mountains rose up all around – pretty amazing. He endured my experiments involving how much of his body weight I could support in my arms at different water depths. Later, we all walked down the beach to a five-star resort — the kind with the jaw-dropping pool/restaurant-overlooking-the-beach. We bought one and got one free. We ate tomatoes and mozzarella drizzled in vinaigrette — a rare treat here. We watched the red sun slowing sink into the sea.

Next we found an affordable dinner spot. Pat was already buzzing from his happy-hour whisky, so I bought him two more after Beth talked me out of the cheap-but-guaranteed-hangover-option of buying the whole bottle. Suffice to say that my wallet would have preferred the latter. In the morning, Pat was a trooper given that his night ended with ten empty whisky glasses. He had lots of time to rest on our journey to Cambodia! ♣

Bangkok photos include the enormous golden buddha, massages in the street, and gorgeous temples.

Ko Chang photos include elephant antics, swank hotel, and beach shots.