Random Thoughts: Motorbikes, Ruins, and Little Yellow Shirts

Since last post, I have traveled to Ayutthaya (old capital with temple ruins), to Sukhothai (oldest capital, when Thailand was Siam, with more ruins), and to Chiang Mai (sweet mountainous pub-town city). Besides seeing the sights, drinking the beer, and fraternizing with locals and other travelers, a few random thoughts have crossed my mind, so I’ll share them with you here.

Motorbikes are kick-ass. Almost as sweet as unicorns (for those who caught the reference). Until now, I’ve thought of them as quite an annoyance while trying to navigate obstacle-ridden streets – always shooting past you, going way too fast. In Sukhothai, however, there was a 12km road between hostel-town and ruins-town, and a motorbike rental wasn’t much more than a bicycle rental. I selected the black one. Holy crap could that thing move! I could get it up to 120km/hr in practically no time at all. I was scared I would get a speeding ticket until I noticed everyone else going just as fast. No wonder they love their motorbikes – they’re freakin awesome!

The ruins themselves, I must say, ranked a bit shy of the motorbike. They’re pretty cool looking, but a bit bland after a few days of exploring them. Mostly huge stone Buddhas, some have lost their heads, giant stone and brick temples, a bit on the crumbling side. Cool, but not much to keep the excitement going. The motorbike, however, showed no sign of excitement loss. Holy sweet Jesus that thing rules. Got to get one when I get back.

Something else that’s pretty interesting here is how everyone, seemingly all the locals, eat at food markets instead of going to grocery stores to cook at home. There are hardly any grocery stores, and the markets stay in business all day and all night. Food vendors generally group together, put out little plastic tables and chairs, and make essentially any Thai food you want for about 20 Baht (65 cents US). Pad Thai, rice with curry and vegetables and pork and fish, noodles with anything, just about any Thai food for cheap as can be. I’ve stopped going to restaurants, even cheap ones, because this is way better. Way to be, Thailand.

Alright, last few notes. I found this pretty cool: The standard work attire for all workers with any relation to the government or state is a yellow collared shirt with a little Thai Kingdom symbol on it. No suits, no ties, regardless of gender. Just a little yellow collared shirt. In Bangkok it was especially funny to see everyone outside of office buildings with little yellow shirts. But it’s still about half of all locals sporting them in other towns. It’s great – simple and a bit comical.

The people, generally speaking of course, are super friendly. They all know some English, though many are fluent, and are eager to practice. I remember thinking that the Japanese were friendly, but they’re also fairly reserved and wont talk to you unless prompted. Thai people are more outwardly friendly and enthusiastic in their cute little yellow shirts.

Right-o. Off to a trekking adventure in the mountains around Chiang Mai. I’ll post again in a week or so. Hope all is well with you kids.