Monkeying Around in Lopburi
October 26th 2009 06:13
:
Relaxing in a central Thai province
Category: No Category
Greetings,
Well, I'm sitting in a pink internet cafe whih has a lovely tiled ceiling and beautiful-looking dangling lights, each in a different colour. My internet connection costs 15 baht per hour, or about 50 cents (US). A few buildings away, I'm washing my darks without detergent... I probably would have realised I needed detergent for best results if I had been given more time to figure out how the machine worked, but the Thai girls that were helping me get change simply pressed 'go' before I had time to do much thinking. I hope the laundry turns out alright, despite the conditions not being ideal...
I finally spotted the (in)famous monkeys of Lopburi today as I was taking home a packet of sweet yellow muffin-like desserts with coconut strips for taste - they were all over a shop front and the surrounding street, including the electric wires on the streets, a van, a motorycle and the balcony above the shopfront! One even ascended to the third floor of the building and ran across it... they were tackling and playing with each other, though I didn't see them approach a person for food. Luckily I was across the road, and managed to snap five or so pictures.
I was grinning like mad - people barely noticed their presence. One of my fellow Noom Guest House residents claimed that they had run across our roofs earlier this morning.
Yesterday I saw King Narai's Palace and the museum in the restored building, home to some really fabulous statues, fans and pieces of furniture. The style of the art was Khmer-influenced, and transfixed me to the spot. Looking for further ruins to spice up which was an uncommonly hot day for the region, I found some even more visibly Khmer-influenced ruins in the middle of a wide road, with shops mere metres away on all sides.
I have one more night in Lopburi, and then I'm heading back to Bangkok... there I will get an Indian Visa, and perhaps finally see those art galleries I'd been meaning to.
My decision to leave Bangkok when I did (and I must say Lopburi is the perfect break away from the crowds and hassle of this city) was partly influenced by the inappropriate behaviour of my guesthouse owner-cum-tour-guide Charlee, who tried to kiss me shortly after the interview and singing at the radio station. Not only that, he had been putting his hand on my thigh... in a mixture of genuine naivete and my tendency to sometimes ignore things I don't want to see in the hope that they'll eventually go away, I had rationalised this as a subconsciously sexualised touch, not a conscious decision to 'cop a feel'.
Thankfully I knew a good hotel closeby, and, even though I ended up spending more than twice the amount I was paying at Charlee's, I had a wonderful night's sleep on what felt like a soft mattress after the thin, flat cushion-type thing I had been sleeping on the night before.
My experience with the people continue to be pleasant (except for that taxi driver who killed one of the wheels on my suitcase - boo), and I think I met a kathoey today! She was selling me the desserts, and, like everyone else, tried to charge me twice the amount she would the locals.
My guesthouse owners are very friendly and helpful, and I am hoping to go to the travel agent in the new town today, and purchase a return ticket from Bangkok to Kolkata with Jet Airways! I was going to settle for the Kazakhstani Irtysh, but I realised that Jet was actually offering a cheaper rate on Mondays, so woohoo!
Now, let's just hope my parents don't read this blog...
I saw a really funny Thai advertisement for a "flexi" home loan... it shows a fully naked man spread out on the sofa, nether bits blurred out (you know the box effect?), obviously enjoying his newfound 'freedom'!
I've also been noticing bits of Engrish, like 'herbel' tea and 'dubble espresso'. Thailand is a relaxing place to be, and although it lacks an overwhelming feeling of surprise (I'm on my fourth visit to The Land of Smiles), there are still plenty of discoveries to make, when I am prepared to find them.
Yesterday I took a photo of a giant fish which looked like its head had swelled up, and had black markings over its white body that looked like someone had painted Chinese characters over its body. We gaped at each other. It's a bit embarassing to realise you're partially mimicking a fish.
But at least I'm not running on top of rooves and stealing other people's food, right?
Well, I'm sitting in a pink internet cafe whih has a lovely tiled ceiling and beautiful-looking dangling lights, each in a different colour. My internet connection costs 15 baht per hour, or about 50 cents (US). A few buildings away, I'm washing my darks without detergent... I probably would have realised I needed detergent for best results if I had been given more time to figure out how the machine worked, but the Thai girls that were helping me get change simply pressed 'go' before I had time to do much thinking. I hope the laundry turns out alright, despite the conditions not being ideal...
I finally spotted the (in)famous monkeys of Lopburi today as I was taking home a packet of sweet yellow muffin-like desserts with coconut strips for taste - they were all over a shop front and the surrounding street, including the electric wires on the streets, a van, a motorycle and the balcony above the shopfront! One even ascended to the third floor of the building and ran across it... they were tackling and playing with each other, though I didn't see them approach a person for food. Luckily I was across the road, and managed to snap five or so pictures.
I was grinning like mad - people barely noticed their presence. One of my fellow Noom Guest House residents claimed that they had run across our roofs earlier this morning.
Yesterday I saw King Narai's Palace and the museum in the restored building, home to some really fabulous statues, fans and pieces of furniture. The style of the art was Khmer-influenced, and transfixed me to the spot. Looking for further ruins to spice up which was an uncommonly hot day for the region, I found some even more visibly Khmer-influenced ruins in the middle of a wide road, with shops mere metres away on all sides.
I have one more night in Lopburi, and then I'm heading back to Bangkok... there I will get an Indian Visa, and perhaps finally see those art galleries I'd been meaning to.
My decision to leave Bangkok when I did (and I must say Lopburi is the perfect break away from the crowds and hassle of this city) was partly influenced by the inappropriate behaviour of my guesthouse owner-cum-tour-guide Charlee, who tried to kiss me shortly after the interview and singing at the radio station. Not only that, he had been putting his hand on my thigh... in a mixture of genuine naivete and my tendency to sometimes ignore things I don't want to see in the hope that they'll eventually go away, I had rationalised this as a subconsciously sexualised touch, not a conscious decision to 'cop a feel'.
Thankfully I knew a good hotel closeby, and, even though I ended up spending more than twice the amount I was paying at Charlee's, I had a wonderful night's sleep on what felt like a soft mattress after the thin, flat cushion-type thing I had been sleeping on the night before.
My experience with the people continue to be pleasant (except for that taxi driver who killed one of the wheels on my suitcase - boo), and I think I met a kathoey today! She was selling me the desserts, and, like everyone else, tried to charge me twice the amount she would the locals.
My guesthouse owners are very friendly and helpful, and I am hoping to go to the travel agent in the new town today, and purchase a return ticket from Bangkok to Kolkata with Jet Airways! I was going to settle for the Kazakhstani Irtysh, but I realised that Jet was actually offering a cheaper rate on Mondays, so woohoo!
Now, let's just hope my parents don't read this blog...
I saw a really funny Thai advertisement for a "flexi" home loan... it shows a fully naked man spread out on the sofa, nether bits blurred out (you know the box effect?), obviously enjoying his newfound 'freedom'!
I've also been noticing bits of Engrish, like 'herbel' tea and 'dubble espresso'. Thailand is a relaxing place to be, and although it lacks an overwhelming feeling of surprise (I'm on my fourth visit to The Land of Smiles), there are still plenty of discoveries to make, when I am prepared to find them.
Yesterday I took a photo of a giant fish which looked like its head had swelled up, and had black markings over its white body that looked like someone had painted Chinese characters over its body. We gaped at each other. It's a bit embarassing to realise you're partially mimicking a fish.
But at least I'm not running on top of rooves and stealing other people's food, right?
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