Three weeks in Training Part II

The weekdays were full of classes, but we did manage to get to some nearby market places at Future Park and Zeer. Future Park was quite close, just about 10Km from AIT.

Zeer is further 5Km from Future Park. We took a trip to Big C hypermarket and bought some stuff – garden equipments, chocolates etc. Zeer is more technology oriented. My friend got couple of stuff – some mobiles, camera stand etc. I chose not to buy anything there, as I bought most of the stuff in Bangkok. And we could go to the cinema in Future Park – The Da Vinci Code. It was quite enjoyable, particularly because I had enjoyed the book, and seeing the stuff described in the book felt – um – for the lack of better word – great!!

Weekends were a different thing. On the first Saturday, we were taken to Grand Palace in Bangkok city. A great palace with lots of decorations, it encloses three parts: the residential palace for the kings, ministries and temples. Of course the king does not live there anymore, and consequently many ministries have moved out of the premises, but the temples and monasteries are still great.

We could not do a lot of shopping though. Primarily because we were so focused in buying a laptop that we did not look for anything else.

On second Saturday, we were taken to Pattaya. I don’t know if you have heard about Pattaya, and what it is famous for. I am sure, however, that you must have heard that one of the major income sources for Thailand is sex-tourism. Well you could say Pattaya is capital of sex-tourism in Thailand. It is one of the new cities, and was built for recreating foreign military, mostly Americans serving in Vietnam. That explains booming sex-trade in the city. There isn’t much in the downtown markets that suggest the scale of the industry. Super markets, hyper markets, departmental stores, groceries etc. fill most of the market. And yes, bars. Lots of bars, with lots of women – bartenders and customers. To someone naive like me, it simply suggests the level of drinking that goes on in that city. To someone more experienced, it shows the full extent of the sex-industry. I was told that those women were waiting for their customers.

The others in the group did describe the extent of the industry. I was told about the famous walking street – a street about 2 km in length just by the beach in the south of the city. This street is supposed to be closed to all vehicles after 1600 hours, and is filled with either tourist or the “bar-girls”. I did think it was a bit too exaggerated that I was told those bar-girls would stay fully or semi nude. All this stays a story for me, as I did not see that street, nor the night-life of the city, due to the heavy rains on that evening. (But I found this picture on the Internet. Its a night shot, with 1 second exposure, so people are not very clear. And I don't have permission to post it here.) Much later, about a week after I got home, I found out that, though fully covered, those girls would approach you and politely ask “Do you want sex sir?” and respectfully return if you answered negatively. I did, however, see the Alcazar show. It is one of the famous cabaret shows that feature Pattaya’s famous “Ladyboys”, the male-to-female transsexuals.

The show was amazing. With shows ranging from classical Thai to Chinese comical to modern dance numbers, the hour spent there was one of the most breathtaking. If you ever go to Pattaya, don’t miss this show. There are many such shows, but this one, along with Tiffany, is the most famous. After the show, you can get pictures taken with those ladyboys, just be prepared to spend 40 bhat per photo. I wasn’t ready to spend that much money, so I didn’t. Others felt they could.

I didn't have consent to publish anybody's picture, so I had to blur this guy's face. I don't know how to contact him, so his face will remain blurred for a long time.

The other place that we went to was the Nong Nooch Tropical Garden. The garden is spreads to about 600 acres of land and is beautifully landscaped. I especially liked the French Garden, which is just amazing. I can’t even begin to describe it. So here’s a picture of a part of it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a complete picture. The entire structure that you can see, apart from rocks, are plants, differently colored plants. Just imagine the effort that went into creating it. And before you conclude that I, somehow, misplaced the picture, no, that stonehenge is not from United Kingdom, it’s a replica there in the French garden. Now don’t ask me what a British piece of archaeological history is sitting near French garden, I don’t know.

And that cultural dance? Well... I don't have words to explain it. The hours spent in there was next to nothing. Completely knocked the hell out of me. The beautiful women, the extravagant dress-ups, the rythemic dance, one of which incedentally, is called Charya, and I suspect its very similar to our own charya dance. Anyway, I know I have not done any justice to that dance by not writing more about it, but I simply can't find enough words to describe it. Anyway there are much better and much richer references to Ramayan than in India, I was told. I wish I could write a very long piece about that hour sometime. May be when I get enough time....

In the adjoining picture, the Buddha that you see is not painted, its pure gold that is stuck to mountain-side. Obviously it is protected by the army and nobody is allowed to walk on the grass. If you get on the grass, they come and arrest you. Simple as that. It’s very easy to get arrested in Thailand, I was told, especially the tourist. Crime is moderate and lonely places are not safe at all. And police don’t speak English, so they will arrest you just to keep things simple for them. And if you are caught without passport and valid immigration documents, you are doomed. Get ready to spend rest of your life in jail.

The second Sunday was memorable, in its own weird way. We went to the airport, expecting Sahdev to return from Seoul, and waited for the whole afternoon. Our plan was to pick him up and get to Bangkok for a spot of more shopping. But he did not come that day. He changed his plans and forgot to inform us. Man… that was difficult. Somehow we managed to get some free time on the following Tuesday and went to Bangkok. We bought some more garments, but I had plans to buy this telescope. It was not exactly cheap, but it does what it is expected to do. On reaching home, the first thing I did was unpack and assemble that contraption. The night was, thankfully, clear and I pointed that thing to Jupiter. WOW – that was something, Jupiter with its four of the brightest moons: Europa, Io, Callisto and Ganymede. About a week later, when I pointed it to Saturn, I could see the rings and everything. I wish I could take a snap. At any rate, those images are something to remember for a long time. My NPR13000 is well spent!