Thailand is a sprawling nation of 61 million people, most of whom are Buddhist.  It is a second tier economic power on a world wide basis, but in south east Asia, Thailand is a powerhouse. Thailand alone among its neighbors was never colonized by the British, French Dutch, or Portugese, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Malaysia were all fought over and controlled by various European nations for several centuries. Thailand played its cards well, and mostly escaped the bloodshed and destruction that plagued her neighbors during WWII. The various wars for independence continued all the way to 1981. During those decades, Thailand invested in infrastructure and educating her people, and is now considered a wealthy, developed, center of  trade and tourism in that part of the world.

We landed in Bangkok after a six hour hop from Tokyo aboard a Boeing 747 operated by Japan Air Lines. Our last night in Tokyo, we had received an e-mail that our friends that we were to meet in Bangkok and tour south east Asia with would be delayed for five days. What to do? After living and working in Japan for several months, we decided a few days at the beach would be luscious.

The airlines in Japan and Asia beat the pants off  U.S. airlines in terms of a customer friendly fare structure. We took six different flights with several different air carriers in Asia, and  none were booked in advance. In every case we went to the ticket window at the airport an hour or two before the flight , and bought one way tickets for $35-$75.  None of the last minute price gouging the U.S. carriers foist off on their customers.  The ticket cost the same whether it’s purchased one month in advance or the same day. Furthermore, one way tickets were only half the price of a round trip ticket, a situation where again, U.S. carriers gouge us for outrageous prices.  The Asian air carriers fly many of  the same Boeings and Airbuses we do in the U.S., have similar airports and security, and similar air traffic control system. They just don’t gouge their customers the way U.S. carriers do.

In the airport terminal building, we walked to the Bangkok Air ticket counter, and found there was a flight departing in one hour to Ko Samui, a beautiful resort island off the east coast of Thailand. The brochures at the counter showed blue ocean, and white sand beaches with coconut trees. Round trip tickets were $100. We booked without hesitation!  By sun down we were checked into a little bungalow by the sea in the little beach town of Lanai.  We could have stayed in a thatch roof hut complete with a private bath and mosquito net for $6 per night!  We opted for the luxury of air conditioning, a refrigerator, tile floors, and maid service for $25.

Songthaws are the dominant form of public transport on the island and elsewhere in Thailand. Take a mini pickup, install bench seats facing each other in the bed, put a bowed canvas roof over it, and you have a songthaw. (I tease my father that he could earn some retirement income if he took his Ford Ranger to Thailand!)  You can ride anywhere for one dollar, though frequent stops, and small detours occur as the driver picks up and drops off other passengers.

Restaurants on the island are mostly open air and casual, with shorts, t-shirt and sandals as the dress code. If you like seafood, your in paradise.  Seafood is in huge abundance and amazingly cheap. Dinner for two including fresh grilled swordfish, two types of jumbo shrimp, stir fried vegetables, rice, papaya salad, and two big bottles of beer cost about the same as lunch for two at Captain D’s at State Ave! Thai food is characterized by fresh ingredients, and high temperature! Fish and other seafood, fresh fruits and vegetables, curry powder, and coconut milk are common components. It’s somewhat comparable to Chinese food, but without so much breaded and deep fried food.

For $3, we rented our own scooter, a Honda 125, and spent a day touring Samui which is about the size of Wyandotte and Johnson County put together.  We generally followed the main paved road which makes a loop around the island, but explored down paved lanes and dirt roads and found remote fishing villages, temples, and other sites.  Everywhere were banana and coconut trees, both of which contribute heavily to the local diet and cuisine. After making a wrong turn down a dirt lane, we stumbled upon an old Buddhist temple complex. A few orange robed priests were lounging in the shade and invited us on a guided tour. Most of the buildings were 300-400 years old and showed it.  Their simple adobe and log construction combined with favorable year round weather had allowed the buildings to last the centuries with not much maintenance.  After the tour, we were offered chairs in the shade, cool water, bananas, and rambatans, a local fruit. Later, we stopped to fuel up the scooter. The “petrol station” consisted of tin roofed, thatch walled hut and a fifty five gallon drum.  Gas was pumped into plastic one liter bottles labeled “Coca Cola” and “Fanta” for the buyer to inspect before they were dumped into the tank.

Bangkok is the nation’s capital with over six million inhabitants.  Noise, smog, and crowds are a part of any walk about town.  Shops and restaurants flow out their front doors becoming one, continuous, year round sidewalk sale, complete with curbside dining.  All manner of foods are available from street vendors including fruit shakes which became our favorite.  Fresh fruit of your choice is cut before your eyes and tossed in a blender, along with crushed ice and yogurt.  The concoction is blended, then poured into a plastic sack with a straw sticking out.  A tasty, healthy, on-the-go breakfast or snack for 50 cents!  Public transport consists of thousands of noise and smog belching buses, a new monorail system, water taxis, and the ubiquitous tuk-tuk.  A tuk-tuk looks like an overgrown cushman three wheeled cart with a back seat for three, canvas top, and a noisy, smoky two-stroke gas engine under the back end.

Wood carving is both a traditional Thai art, and a modern industry.  Wood carving ranges from small elephant figures the size of a coffee mug, to wall hangings, five foot by ten foot of village scenes with trees, huts, people, animals, ect.  The intricate quality of some is worthy of the Nelson-Atkins Museum. Furniture from simple to elaborate is carved and assembled for export.  It is not uncommon for west coast Americans with a new home to decorate, to take a vacation to Thailand, buy a shipping container of furniture, art, and artifacts, and return home, the whole trip costing no more than buying the same amount of furnishings here in Kansas City!

Elephants are as much a symbol of Thai culture as the American eagle is to us.  Elephant statues stand at the gates of most temples, and are often found in artwork and on textiles.  Carved, wooden elephants are a favorite tourist buy.  We stopped at a tourist site to check out a waterfall, and tied up there was a baby elephant about five feet tall.  Upon seeing  tourists in the vicinity, the little guy would strain at his leash and reach out to us with his trunk.  A couple of locals nearby sold us a handful of bananas for 25cents.  Upon seeing this, the big baby became excited, held his trunk up, and opened his mouth wide.  We played “banana ball” and pitched bananas into his hungry mouth which gave new meaning to the phrase “big gulp.”

Thai people are among the friendliest, laid back people I have met.  In the mornings, guests are charmingly greeted with a smile, and a slight bow, hands clasped together. “Sa-wat-dee!”  “Hello!”  Thai people like to smile and they like to have a little fun (sanuk).They try to do it in almost every aspect of life, even work.  “Anything worth doing, is worth doing fun Buddhism has been the dominant religion in most of southeast Asia for 1000 years, and Thai people seem imbued with this religions passive belief that everything is pre-ordained gives them a, “don’t hurry, don’t worry” attitude. The Thai way of living life is to be pleasant and have fun, then you reach nirvana.