I keep trying to write a blog entry to capture my time in Amritsar, but it hasn't quite worked out. I'll give it another go, but in the meantime I'll tell you what I'm doing now.
I'm on vacation!! If India wasn't exotic enough to sound like a vacation--well it wasn't. I've come to Thailand for a bit of a break from the heat and a chance to fix my really bad farmers tan while reading on the beautiful beaches of Thailand.
I think two significant things have come to mind since I've come to Thailand. One, I have become a world traveler. Even though I have spent quite a bit of time outside the country I've never felt like a 'World Traveler." I'm not much into titles anyway, but that title in particular seems only appropriate for men who charter their own boats through the remote regions of the Amazon. But as I arrived in Bangkok, got Baht from the ATM, found a cheaper bus to the touristy Kao San Road, arrived to find my friend no where in sight, walked around a bit, checked my email, and met up with her at a designated spot. Shannon and I spent the next two days running around a city I didn't know--taking buses, talking with locals, trying new food. Even though Shannon had been in Thailand for the last 3 months, we were both new to the city and enjoyed figuring out the city together.
The significant thing to me is not that I'm in Thailand, but that I'm in Thailand and NOT paniced. Compared to India THIS IS EASY!! I'm rubbing elbows with Swedes, Auzzies, Dutch, Irish, and even some Americans. After Shannon left for home, I decided to travel for a couple of days with an Irish couple, Dave and Nicole. Even then I didn't feel like I was being chauffeured around--I felt like a contributing member tin getting us around.
The second thing, I have returned to the question "Why do I travel?" Why does anyone travel for that matter. I've run into several people who are on long term trips around the world. For those I run into here it's a given--no one asks you've spent (or is it wasted) all this money to come to another part of the world. But talking with Becky online about how her husband would prefer a bigger TV than travel made me suspect that we're maybe I'm more rare than I think.
I've been jovially (and to their credit, tactfully) hit on by some fat 40 year old Italian men in Phuket spending their vacation time at a beach front hotel looking to get laid. I've talked with those who came with the sole purpose of to scuba diving off the great beaches here in Koh Tao or rock climbing at the famous Railay Island. I've seen those who carry around huge cameras with and take photo after photo of the beautiful scenery. I've even run into the men with young Thai girls at their side (and in one case Thai boy) who may be here to take advantage of the sex tourism available in Thailand--the thought of it makes me sick to my stomach. I don't really relate to them. The closest I relate is to those who are traveling all around the world--in hopes of seeing it all, experiencing it all. They push themselves to try the food, learn some of the culture, and enjoy what the place has to offer.
I must admit that after doing India it has been hard to really enjoy touristy Thailand. I used to cringe when I heard some field studies participants say vehemently that they HATE being a tourist. I cringed because it's hard not to be a tourist when you are visiting a place you've never been. By definition you are "touring." In order to see Ko Phi Phi in one day we did a tour package--in involved being shuttled around in a speedboat with 20 other tourists to some of the main beaches, then to lunch, snorkeling, and then shuttled back to our hotel. I enjoyed seeing the beautiful place, but hated the constant pleas from the guide to "SIT DOWN," the semi decent sea food lunch, and the scheduled "be back at boat 5 by2:45." While I wasn't capable of chartering my own boat around this beautiful island. I did feel a difference from owning my experiences in India to being shuttled around in this paradise. I guess I don't feel great about being a tourist, but sometimes there's nothing you can do to escape it. I guess.
2 comments:
i have a book for you. can i mail it to you or should i just hold on to it till i see you?
Liann, you may not know it, but I have been reading your blog religiously because I love it! Can I just tell you that it's such a relief to go to your blog and see that I'm not alone after spending the whole day explaining why my ambitions are to travel and to be involved in international development? I'm jealous of Shannon for being able to meet up with you! Come travel again when I do, k?
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