Thursday August 14 we all left the hotel before sunrise at 6:30am. Before we had even gone a block Dr. Perumal told me to come with him to the bus station and I hurriedly said my goodbyes and gave awkward back pack hugs. I have to admit, It was hard to say goodbye and I started to tear up. I was grateful for the darkness. I was going to miss the whole group, especially my partners in crime, Jenna and Zoë. Don't get me wrong, I was very excited to go to Thailand. I have always wanted to go, but I'm not a solitary type of person and the thought of traveling alone was intimidating. That was one of the reasons I wanted to go, to get past that fear and mature a little. Side note, I'm a planner and the fact that I didn't know every detail of what would happen once I arrived added to the nerves. There was so much swimming around in my head and all I was certain about was that I was going to have to put my trust in God.
Dr. Perumal bought my bus ticket and asked the man to tell me which bus to take when it came. I waited from 6:30am to 7:20 with all the locals at the bus stop. The worker who Dr. Perumal asked to inform me which bus to load instructed the bus driver to help me know when to get off. Or that's what I gathered from the hands signs and grunts, no one really spoke English. I was so tired but I didn't want to fall asleep on the bus in case I missed the stop. I noticed everyone else knocked out so I figured it might be a little while and allowed myself to nod off every now and then. I had no idea KL was so big! It took an hour to get to the airport. The bus level was not where I was supposed to check in so I asked a worker for help. He was an older man who was very kind and asked me if I was alone. I chose the longest line to check in but got thankfully I didn't have an hang ups. I picked up a Chai Time iced coffee to try and shake off the stupor of exhaustion I was in. As I looked for food I was so excited to find a veggie wrap because I was craving something light and fresh, the breakfasts here tend to be quite heavy. It was a good wrap but the veggies were cooked like stir fry. Afterwards I headed for my gate even though it was early and I'm glad I did because it took a while to get there. First I had to pass through immigration where the man asked if I was alone, I think it was part of his job though. I responded yes and then he asked if I was going to meet anyone in Thailand and I said family friends. He asked if I had been alone this whole time in Malaysia and I said I was with a class. It's the most questions any immigration officers have asked the entire time we've been traveling here.
It was probably all in my head but I felt like everyone could tell I was a nube at this traveling internationally alone business. It was almost like I was wearing a sign that said, "hi, I'm a foreigner and I'm traveling alone for the first time". It didn't help I was extremely tired and had a hard time understanding anyone, even when they spoke English. I had to repeat what they said and ask them to repeat themselves at least twice.
I waited attentively at my gate and double checked my ticket at least three times. As I boarded the plane a whole group of flamboyant, transgender men flounced on to the plane. Oh man, I thought. I'm not even to Bangkok yet!
The girl sitting next to me was Chinese Malaysian and was vacationing in Bangkok with her boyfriend for the first time. We talked a little and when she heard I was twenty she said, "oh my, very brave travel alone." When I told her how I liked all the water in Malaysia she couldn't believe it didn't rain in California .
When I landed in Bangkok I was super excited but all I could think about was how on earth I would find the Palacios without a phone. I'm so dependent on my phone at home that the thought of traveling without any means of calling anyone in case of an emergency was unnerving. At immigration they almost gave me a hard time because I didn't know the address I was staying at so I put the Seventh Day Adventist school which seemed to satisfy them.
As soon as I walked out of baggage claim Alicia Palacios was the first person I saw! It was a God thing for sure!! Her husband, Ricardo, and two boys, Gabriel and Daniel, greeted me with their Ecuador jerseys which made me so happy. The whole family was so sweet and friendly that I didn't feel shy at all. They explained how they came to Thailand almost three years ago and how they like the adventist frontiers, or AFM, style of mission because it focuses on learning the culture first and then empowering the locals to take over the church. They have picked up a remarkable amount of Thai, and the language isn't easy at all! We parked at the adventist school, Ekamai, and walked to a Chinese-Thai restaurant. As we jay walked Alicia told me to be careful because some foreigners just got hit and died recently. That was the first hint I had that I would be flying solo that week in Bangkok. As we ate they told me I would be staying in the guest room behind the church and gave me the key. They had to leave the next day back to Khon Kaen for cultural meetings but would leave me in the kind care of Dr. Ruth.
I tried exchanging money at the bank after lunch and the man wouldn't take it because it was torn. It had been roughed up in my wallet the past three weeks. The man didn't speak English and I wasn't in the mood to be given a hard time. I almost teared up I was so disappointed. Thank goodness I didn't really show how I felt and the Palacios exchanged their own money with mine! It was so nice!
As we walked back I asked Alicia if there were any cultural taboos I should know about and should told me a few. In the Thai culture the head is considered holy and as you go down it gets worse. As a result the sole of your foot is really bad. Pointing with your foot or raising it is the equivalent of giving the one finger salute. Therefore it isn't polite to sit with your legs straight out. In fact women never sit indian style, which is what I had been accustomed to in Malaysia. Instead women sit with their feet tucked under their legs. Another thing is it isn't considered appropriate for women to show their shoulders or breasts but shorter skirts and shorts seems to be fine. And, from what i've gathered, jewelry seems to be a big part of their culture for both men and women. A couple other things are that you should never do are touch or pat children on the head. Everyone greets with their hands in a prayer position below the chin for equals and in front of their mouth for superiors. Women say "sawadee ka" and men say "sawadee kap". When motioning to someone it is important to keep the palm of the hand down towards the ground and motion towards yourself instead of what we do with our palms up ( in Thailand that is asking for a different kind of service).Lastly, there is a lot of non verbal communication. The Thai people are peaceful and will never say no or show you they are upset. For them, it is worse to get hot headed than have an affair.
The Palacios and I met with two moms from the church who took us to a music store in the mall to buy violins for their children. They wanted us to try them out. It was really fun and for $160 the shop had some good instruments from China.
We rushed back to meet Ajan (which means teacher) Udom who is good friends with Dr Perumal (small world) for a cultural dinner and show at Siam Nirimat. Because we were in a rush to meet her we each grabbed a motor-taxi. I sat on the back, thankfully not side saddle because I was wearing pants, and held on to the back of the motorcycle for dear life. As my driver weaved, sped around and slammed on the brakes I kept thinking "if worst comes to worst I will grab this driver with the iron grip of death".
When we got back to the school I grabbed my bag and Gabriel dropped me off at my room. I quickly changed into a skirt, not taking the time to even see where the bathroom was in the room I would be staying in for the next week. During the drive to Siam Nirimat I got to experience infamous Bangkotraffic and enjoyed some World Cup talk with the Palacios.
Siam Nirimat was beautiful! It was quite touristy, but gave me a good overview of Thailand for my first day. As we walked in they had live elephants and traditionally dressed attendants.
The buffet dinner had the best coconut ice cream in the world! They also had coconut milk with cooked pumpkin. I knew I was going to love Thailand already when I saw all the coconut.
During dinner a lady started screaming and it sounded diabolical. Everyone in the eating area freaked out. Even the waiters were having a hard time masking their terror as she screamed and convulsed on the floor. We said a prayer for the woman and concluded it must have been a seizure. It was so unnerving! Now that I have heard more about the spirit worship in Thailand it scares me even more to think back on it and I'm glad everything ended well.
Our hostess for the evening, Ajan Udom, fit the stereotype of Asians and pictures perfectly. She constantly posed with peace signs and every five seconds had us stop and strike a pose ourselves as we toured different villages that represented the different regions of Thailand. She was very welcoming and eager to show off her beautiful country. Before the night was half over she wanted tour me around Thailand.
The show was quite a big production and exhibited the different styles of music, dance and costumes from southern, northern and northeastern Thailand. They also acted out Thai mythology including their Buddhist interpretation of heaven and he'll. it was fascinating and involved rain storms, flying people and creatures amidst the dances and "mock battles".
By the time we got back to the Ekamai church where I was staying it was well past 10pm and I was feeling the affects of being an hour ahead on Malaysian time and waking up at 5am. But before I headed to my room I was thankful to borrow Chris', the Palacios missionary friend, computer to let everyone know I had arrived safely. I wished them all a goodnight and headed up to my room on the third floor behind the church. It was my first time staying or sleeping alone and I hesitantly opened the door. I was extremely grateful to see an AC unit but I couldn't find the bathroom. Eventually I realized I had to go through the back and it was right outside next to the room. For the first time in my life I felt very homesick as I went to bed that night. I have travelled without my family before but this time it felt so different. Two weeks seemed like an eternity stretching before me. Thankfully I was so exhausted that I didn't have time to dwell on how homesick I felt and fell asleep within seconds. It had been a great day and it was time to rest up for the adventures that waited for me the next day!
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