[LEMONS] 10.30.2002
The King And I
Just about everywhere you go in Thailand, you see pictures of the King. I've heard from nearly every Thai with whom I've spent any time "King, very good; very good, King." And now, after hearing them talk about neighboring Myanmar (Burma) and Kampuchia (Cambodia), and Laos, I think I understand why they hold that conviction so true.Both Su and Chaiya have said to me at some point, haltingly, wide-eyed, and manifestly serious, "Kampuchia, kill women, kill children, kill bay-bee!" Both also stressed to me that Thailand is free, itsara.
"Navy no come here and make big," says Su about her restaurant. "I'm bigger than Navy here." She went on to tell me how this was not so in neighboring lands, how the military and police did whatever the hell they wanted to. The Thais are proud of their capitalism (or at least the ones I've talked to are), in that they're glad to own property and their own businesses. But moreover they're glad to have escaped the horrors of their neighbors.
The King is, and has been, revered in Thai culture anyway. But as Thailand has *so* avoided the misery of its neighbors (just as it avoided colonization while its neighbors did not, due to the sly political machinations of Rama IV and V. Likewise, it was largely because Thailand was never colonized that it did not end up another Laos, Cambodia, or Vietnam) that you can understand the reverence for the King.
I don't know if it's due to King, or culture, or politics (Thailand is a democracy), or some combination of the above, but this country has been amazingly fortunate compared to its immediate neighbors. And I guess when there's genocide next door, when cities are emptied and 2 million are sacrified to a maniacal vision of an agrarian utopia, when refugees flood your country, when Year Zero threatens to overwhelm your borders as well; it makes you appreciate your own house.
A few nights ago Chaiya and Chulong came by and told me that they (or a dog rather) had killed a 3-meter long poisonous snake, which they cooked and ate. Chiaya told me that if I come visit him at his house, we'll eat a cobra together and drink it's venom and blood. Rad!
We've left Ko Chang, although we'll return. If you visit Thailand, you have to come stay at Ko Chang. I highly reccomend Eden (where we stayed), Sunset, and Hornbill bungalows. Nid and Su run Eden, Lek and Mu own Sunset, and you'll find Oh and Jip down the trail at Hornbill. Bird-watchers may want to try Hornbill, as the trees fill with its namesake bird early in the mornings. Depending on whether you get a room with an attached bathroom, how many people you have, etc, you should expect to pay 80 - 150 Baht for a room. (43 Baht to the Dollar)
Remember, there's no electricity on the island. (No cars either.) No bank. No Internet (obviously). Phone calls are hard to make, and cost 80 Baht a minute to the USA. You may want to consider this before going and take care of your "business" in Ranong, which is what we're doing today before setting off for a neighboring island, Ko Phayam.
To get to Ko Chang, you take a bus to Ranong, the provincial capital and wettest city in Thailand. We took a minibus (minibus=minivan), which only set us back a few more Baht than an air-con government bus would have. Once in Ranong, you need to jump on a Songthaew to the Sapon Pla public pier. A Sonthaew is a converted pickup truck with the bed modified to hold two rows of seats. It should cost no more than 7 Baht, but you'll want to make sure of that with the driver before you hop on board.
At the pier, boats leave regularly for Ko Chang at 9AM and 2 PM every day. Some days there is also a 1 PM boat. If you're leaving for the island for the first time, you'll be asked which bungalow you're staying at and, more than likely, you're going to try to be talked into staying at one place or another. Most all of the bungalows on Ko Chang I saw were pretty nice, but a few were not. One of the three above should suit you fine.
You ride for about 45 minutes in the longtail boat--an open boat about 10-12 meters long--to get to Ko Chang. There's no pier, so the boat just pulls up to the beach and you have to jump out into the surf. This can be rather tricky with a 45 pound backpack, but it's great fun.
When we first arrived, the boatman wouldn't go to the beach because he thought the waves were too rough, or the tide was too low, or something. I didn't fully understand. In any case, we had to jump (literally) onto a different longtail sitting offshore, and then have our packs handed to us. The other boat took us in, and several of the Burmese guys who worked at Eden came out to get our packs. We then jumped off the boat into the surf, which was roughly thigh deep (unless a wave hit, in which case it was butt-deep) and waded in. It was quite a rush, and the best arrival I've ever had anywhere, anytime. Keep your limos. I'll take the longtail.
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