Great Balls of Fire...

Koh Phi Phi Don, Thailand

August 10, 2007
N 07°44.128
E 098°46.795

Several of the bars on the island advertise nightly fire shows. We walked by a few, occasionally glancing, but never stopping to fully enjoy the artistic value until Friday night. We weren’t sure what all of the hype was about; however, we decided we couldn’t leave the island without seeing one of these performances.

Our favorite bar on the island is a place called Hippies. Each night they build a sand stage about 10 feet wide and 8 feet deep on the beach. The sand is packed and three pieces of plywood are set on top to provide a solid surface; creating a perfect raised area for the fire performers and inebriated 20’something tourists to dance on later in the evening.

Terraced steps lead down to the front of the stage; built out of sand bags, covered with straw mats, pillows and small wooden tables. Each table has a mini gas lantern to provide a little ambiance. White, plastic tables and chairs are scattered on the beach surrounding the stage; providing an excellent vantage point to watch the show as the cool tide rolls across the bare feet of the patrons.

A large bucket of fire sits on the stage, illuminating the sign announcing the nightly fire show at 11:00 PM. Tiki torches built out of bamboo and coconuts are strategically placed on the beach, marking the territory of Hippies bar. Inside the coconuts are bottles filled with gas and a gauze wick, kind of like a Molotov cocktail, providing a fire path to the main event. Luckily we haven’t seen any explode!

Driving music fills the air. Large speakers pump out 80’s rock, Bob Marley, as well as some of today’s current billboard hits. As the night grows old it seems the music gradually gets louder and louder until the bar reaches capacity. As it gets closer to show time, more and more people stumble into Hippies. The mats and the tables on the beach become prime real-estate, everyone looking for a place to sit so they can enjoy their beverages. The majority of the 20'somethings share Buckets (Vodka or Rum, Coke, Red Bull, and ice) with their friends. Feeling a little out of place we stuck with our trusty ice-cold Singha.

The show started with an amateur fire dancer. His coach sat on the side giving him tips as he threw the flaming baton high into the air. The crowd cheered for him even as the baton hit the ground and occasionally bounced into the crowd. There were a total of seven performers, including two women, who built on each other as they performed with batons and balls of fire on chains.

Each performer had a routine choreographed to their favorite song. As the driving beat of the music amplified, the pace of the baton twirling increased, occasionally catching the sweet smell of marijuana, fire flew through the air, orange trails creating patterns inciting the cheering crowd to order more Buckets. Marc found the women very sexy as they calmly twirled their balls of fire around the stage. Their calculated dance steps were flawless as the fire came within inches of their hair, legs and face.

At the end of the performance a hat was passed around for donations for the performers. We dropped 100 Baht in the hat for the artists who far exceeded our expectations. As we walked away, the crowd, with Buckets in hand, was spilling onto the stage, and we were happy to be moving away from the madness and into our swanky bungalow.

Yup, It's Paradise...

Koh Phi Phi Don, Thailand

August 8, 2007
N 07°44.128
E 098°46.795

Today is our fourth day on Koh Phi Phi Don and we’re literally enjoying every minute. That includes the running water, air conditioning, hot water, clean white sheets, ice-cold cheap beer, fine-grain white sand, the aqua blue Andaman Sea at an ideal temperature for swimming, a very relaxed vibe, and did I say ice-cold beer?

We’ve been relaxing a lot, enjoying beach time, and the beauty of the island. We wake up each morning, open our blinds and look out at the turquoise green water before making our way down to breakfast in the beach side restaurant. Our bungalow, with the excellent views, is definitely the nicest place we have stayed on our trip thus far.

Even though the beach in front of our place is very nice, there’s a small barge unloading gravel about 50 meters down shore (part of the tsunami reconstruction effort) that can get a little noisy. No big deal though… we’ve been simply hiking over the hill about 3 KM to the beautiful, white sand, Long Beach where we sit under a coconut tree to protect us from the sun—which has been shining every day!

The island is stunning. Covering the jagged sandstone mountains are lush green palms, hibiscus, and what appear to be giant ficus. Bungalows are terraced into the mountainside, giving every bungalow a nice view of the water. Koh Phi Phi, located in the middle of the Andaman Sea, was impacted by the tsunami that struck Thailand, Indonesia and other neighboring countries. Although, it appears the natural beauty of the island has made a full recovery, the man made structures have not fully recovered. Many of the bungalows have been re-built; however, many of the villages and non-tourist structures are still in disrepair.

Since this is the low season on the island (the summer is the rainy season) the place is a furry of activity. Barges with heavy construction equipment and materials float along the shore as trucks and bulldozers carry the goods to the actual construction sites. The islanders steadily re-build schools, tourist bungalows, villager’s homes, and restaurants before the tourists arrive in droves October-January.

As we walked through the main village there are entire streets that are still in shambles from the 30 foot wall of water that crashed on the shore. With that being said, it appears everyone is working together and the locals are doing well—the worst is hopefully behind them, with good times to come!

Notes: Marc got a shave from the local barber since the shower and faucet only dispense salt water (only drawback)… as Marc explained, shaving with salt water and no shaving cream is a recipe for a dermal disaster.

After three days of walking by the same little barber shop and the owner, a 20-something Thai kid, asking Marc if wanted a shave he finally succumbed. Marc was expecting a good ol’ straight razor shave, but instead the shave was like a facial hair style.

The air-conditioned shop reeked of beer and alcohol, but was otherwise clean. Marc sat down in a chair for his shave; what we thought would we be a short, efficient process began.

The 45 minute event started with Kid Barber preparing four brand new razor blades for his straight razor. Next he mixed a concoction of shaving cream, covered his face with a surgical mask, and began to apply the cream in striped sections on Marc’s beard. Kid Barber then asked Marc, “You like, OK, good?” Marc unsure what the hell Kid Barber was talking about just sat there looking confused. I expected to hear Marc say “no gracias”, but before he had a chance Kid Barber unfolded a page from a magazine. There was a picture of a very handsome, surfer-looking, man with a beard that had been sculpted into waves. Marc now understood, he chuckled, smiled and said no thanks. Initially Marc thought Kid Barber may have been joking. However, after a few minutes you could tell he was actually a little disappointed that he wasn’t going to be able to apply his artistry.

The meticulous shave continued and after several minutes it became clear Kid Barber was not going let the thick beard of this Westerner escape his blade without some artistic sculpting. Kid Barber shaved Marc’s ear hair, nose hair, neck line, clipped his eye brows, side burns and then finished off Marc’s beard. After finishing, he proudly smiled and called to his assistant in Thai. A young boy raced in from outside, gave Marc a big goofy smile, almost chuckling at Kid Barber’s new masterpiece, and then began applying the facial cream, after shave and ice-cold towels to Marc’s face. The assistant then gave Marc a brief shoulder, neck, arm, hand and face massage.

Kid Barber walked back inside after finishing his cigarette, carefully took Marc’s head and quickly snapped it to the right and then the left. The sound of Marc’s cervical vertebrae cracking filled the room.

“150 baht, thank you, please.” Marc paid Kid Barber, smiled, thanked him, shook his hand and just laughed all the way home.

Check Marc out modeling his new face-hair on our balcony!

Is This Paradise?

Koh Phi Phi Don, Thailand

August 5, 2007
N 07ฐ44.128
E 098ฐ46.795

The Star Guesthouse in Krabi was possibly the seediest place we’ve stayed during our trip. After wandering around the town for several hours, just wasting time to stay out of our room, we finally decided to call it an evening. We pulled out our sleep sheets, tossed them over what appeared to be blood stains and cigarette burns on the spongy mattress and took advantage of the free night—you get what you pay for, right? I didn’t sleep much… I couldn’t stop thinking about rats and cockroaches nibbling on my toes. Although we never saw any such vermin, I’m sure they were out there… lurking.

The hour and a half ferry ride to Ko Phi Phi was tough. The hyper air-conditioned cabin was felt like a meat locker, the sea was rough, and the chronic smell of diesel exhaust gave me a horrible headache. We were very happy when we saw the island in the distance, knowing we were close to fresh air and, most importantly, beach time

After jumping across the stern of two adjacent boats and onto the pier, we were welcomed with the typical chaos. However, to our surprise there was actually someone from the Bay View Hotel waiting for us. We grabbed our gear waded through the water and boarded a longboat to the hotel. The brochure described the deluxe bungalow with a view, but we weren’t expecting too much after reviewing several places on the internet. However, when we walked into our bungalow on the hill we were pleasantly surprised. The hardwood floors led us to the sliding wood and glass doors, opening to a beautiful veranda overlooking the bay. It was clean, had hot water, AC, TV and a clean bathroom. Luxury… perfect.

After organizing our room and grabbing a bite to eat we headed down to the beach. Our place has a private section on the beach with comfy lounge chairs. The weather was warm and overcast with a sun break every now and then. We relaxed, read our books, and waded into the water to cool off. However, since we are only seven degrees north of the equator, the water felt more like a lukewarm bath than a refreshing cool-down—it was still fabulous.

After a night in the worst, I think we ended up in one of the best. The gorgeous views, the beach, and the relaxed atmosphere make it a place I look forward to calling home for the next eight nights.

Oh Bangkok, Time Has Changed You...

Krabi, Thailand
August 4, 2007
N 08ฐ03.753
E 098ฐ55.091

Two steamy nights in Bangkok, two freezing hours at the over-air-conditioned Indian Embassy applying for visas, and two more glorious hours making changes to our Around the World ticket with a United Airlines ticket agent, we finally boarded a plane bound for the beach.

We’ve been land-locked for a couple months and looking forward to beach days for quite awhile… now we just need the weather to cooperate. Our intent was to take a boat directly to Ko Phi Phi Don as soon as we arrived. However, since we missed the last boat to the island by 45 minutes we found a cheap (and I mean cheap) place to stay the night. No need to go into graphic detail about the flophouse, but Marc was able to negotiate a deal with the woman "managing" the dwelling for a free night since we booked tomorrow’s boat to the island and accommodations on the island through her. Even though it’s a free night’s lodging, I feel like we should be getting paid to stay here… anyway, we’ll be off to Ko Phi Phi tomorrow.

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While we were on the plane today we discussed our time in Bangkok and how much the city has changed since our last visit in 2001. The city is still a madhouse, of heat, humidity, smog and 9 million people (thank goodness their small). However, it appears everyone driving a scooter or tuk-tuk back in 2001 traded them in for a brand new car. The days of scooters and tuk-tuks swarming through the streets like insane schools of fish are gone (they must have moved to Saigon!). The scooters that remain sometimes use the sidewalk to get out of the mess of cars clogging the streets, terrorizing the pedestrians who actually use the sidewalks to walk!

All the cars on the road are new and there are a lot of them! The traffic moving through downtown is some of the worse we have ever seen—complete and total gridlock. People sit in the luxury of their new air-conditioned automobiles… and sit and sit and sit. For example, when we arrived in Bangkok our bus from the airport sat through three light cycles without moving… it did not move an inch! We finally got out and walked the remaining 4 KM to our hotel. About 40 minutes later, as we walked through the front door of our hotel, we looked over our shoulders and our bus was only meters behind us.

No one seems to be smiling as their sit in their new cars; they just look forward or talk on their phones, not honking their horns or pounding their steering wheels in frustration, just sitting, staring – almost catatonic. We wondered if this is what they imagined their lives to be like when they bought their new cars. Are they happier now sitting in the solitude of their $25,000.00 cocoons? If so, it sure doesn’t look like it.

The increase in traffic might have been a negative, but Marc was pleased we could enjoy an icy cold Singha in near silence. It’s strange, since scooters are now an endangered species, the honking and beeping of horns is almost non-existent… almost eerily quiet as compared to our last visit.

Another added bonus is the sex trade seems to have simmered down. There are still young Thai women walking the streets and gathering in bars looking for work. However, their numbers have decreased and the remaining girls are not nearly as aggressive as in 2001. I can actually go to the restroom and leave Marc alone without him feeling like he’s going to be accosted by a team of women all promising him the best time of his life. This is probably the result of better financial times for all of Bangkok.

Bangkok has really grown up since our last visit. A huge construction and technology boom has brought large, high-end shopping malls (equipped with water slides and IMAX Theatres), office buildings, several swanky hotels, and restaurants touting top-end international cuisine. However, intermingled with every high-rise and shopping mall you still find shantytowns, and extreme poverty. For many it appears to be a better, brighter Bangkok, but for those who never caught the tail of this roaring tiger it remains the Bangkok of old and most likely a bleak future.