To Israeli or not to Israeli: The rest of our first week

The rest of week 1

Ayutthaya was a quick bus ride from Bangkok. The UNESCO World Heritage Site was built during the fourteen hundreds during the area's days of glory. These ruins are unlike any other Greek or Roman ruins that I have seen, and have a uniquely Thai aesthetic. The site is littered with red brick stupas and mostly decapitated Buddhas. While our stroll through the ruins was peaceful we got the idea and decided to have a banana pancake on our way out. I have to describe this delicacy. An extremely buttery piece of dough so thin you can see straight through it is stretched out and thrown on to a grill with some clarified butter. She peels and slices a banana and puts the pieces in the middle of the dough along with some beaten egg. She folds the dough over the banana mixture like an envelope and drops some yellow butter on top. The package is fried to a golden crisp, placed on a brown piece of paper, and served with a drizzle of condensed milk (ubiquitous in Thailand) and a sprinkle of sugar on top. The beauty of this simple but delectable desert is once again in the perfect balance of flavors. The only sweet element, except for the hint of gooey topping, is the fresh banana that fills it. Neither the dough nor the egg mixture are sweet. The result is a subtle but extraordinarily delicious mix of textures and flavors.

That evening, after we returned to Bangkok, we went to street vendor by the river for dinner. Bangkok has the most beautiful and fresh looking seafood I have ever seen. In front of his alleyway kitchen, the cook had some gorgeous pieces of red snapper laid out on ice. I ordered it with the red curry sauce. He sliced the fish into half inch think pieces and deep fried them before topping it with sliced long green beans (I don't have a name for them yet) and fresh baby corn. I have never had fresh baby corn before and I don't think I can go back to the canned stuff.

We left Bangkok at 9 in the morning accompanied by fifteen Israelis. We were unsure about joining an organized tour but Leeor and I decided to give it a go. Maybe we would meet some cool people? On the 2 hour minibus trip to our hotel in Kanchanaburi we got an idea of what kind of travelers we are not. While the Israelis were friendly and warm all they wanted to talk about was shopping (surprise!) and good American style restaurants in Israel. Eh. Not for us.

We arrived around noon time at the River Kwai Bridge Resort, where we were briefed by a Thai woman whose speech was punctuated with Israeli terms of endearment "OK, Kuparah?" We were all "Mamies" and "Chamudies". We were given a meal ticket with three options: schnitzel (yes, schnitzel) and French fries, spaghetti with chicken and tomato sauce, and chicken pad thai. At that moment I knew that I will never again sacrifice food for convenience. On the upside, the rooms were actually beautifully designed, much more posh than where we had been staying so far. The floor was stained cement which I am really into.

We left the hotel (late of course) and went to our first destination. The first activity planned for us was this horrible 'safari' place that made me want to join PETA. In the entrance they have beautiful tigers and baby leopards chained to wooded platforms so you can touch them and take pictures with them. The site made me feel sad and embarrassed. I don't know how these animals are treated at these places, but to see such impressive and wild creatures shackled and used for our amusement is disturbing. I couldn't really enjoy it. The rest of the experience was no different. We fed too tame lions, giraffes, deer, zebras, etc., through the windows of the van. Then we saw a crocodile 'wrestling' show which was as good awful as it sounds. I don't understand what is so great about training a vicious animal into submission and then pretending you are risking your life when you stick your head in it's mouth.The elephant show was even sadder. These poor creatures are forced to do stupid tricks, like stand on their front or hind legs and then bow so the audience can clap for them. It's mortifying. I can't imagine what the process of training these animals involves. I felt horrible for sitting there like a stupid tourist. I hated that place.Then we went to see the River Kwai Bridge, which was actually lovely. We returned to the fancy hotel from our dangerous encounter with wild beasts to a foot massage and a relaxing dip in the pool. How ridiculous is that? Dinner: schnitzel. I won't lie, it actually looked good.

The next day was an improvement. In the morning we left the hotel 45 minutes late and went to ride elephants. While I felt bad about the elephant slave labor, the ride was awesome. After it was over we were taken right on the elephant's back (no wussy seat), into the river where we bathed with them for a while. It was cool to be so close to such a powerful animal, touching its rough skin and gigantic ears. After a pointless stop at a dam, where the Israelis demanded 500 more pictures, we got to Erwan National Park (the destination that Leeor and I wanted to go to Kanchanaburi to see) where we had only two our left to explore. We made the most of it and hiked all the way up to the seventh waterfall. We took a rejuvenating dip in the pool under the falls, welcoming the cool water after working up a sweat in the afternoon heat. We expected the falls to be somewhat dried up in the dry season, but all seven waterfalls boasted an impressive amount of rushing water. Israel would do anything with such a 'dry season.' We left he park satisfied and tired and drove back to Bangkok. So ended our sixth day in Thailand.

We were planning to take the 12 hour night train to Chiang Mai, but we were tired and decided to spend another night at the Four Sons in crazy Bangkok. I am so glad we did because we ate a whole grilled snapper for dinner, I have no words to describe how succulent that fish was. I wish I could send some to all of you. The next day, we flew to Chiang Mai with half a plane-full of Israelis. Though I am somewhat comforted by the ever-presence of Israelis in Thailand, we can't travel with them, because all they want to do in Thailand is go on jeep tours and ATV rides with other Israelis, eat falafel, and get to the islands in time for the famous full moon parties. We just aren't into that sort of thing. Our first night in Chaing Mai, we stayed at Thana guest house, which caters to Israeli tourists. The signs are all in Hebrew, there are posters of Israel on every wall, and all the women that work there speak Hebrew. We got a free ride there from the airport, because all of the Israelis on our plane were staying there and doing the Thana jeepim tour. The room was 300 Baht ($10), so we figured what the hell.

Chiang Mai, we discovered, is glutted with crappy tourism offices that sell prepackaged 'adventure' tours like bungee jumping and white water rafting. I understand that these activities are fun and it's cheaper to do it here, I didn't come all the way to SE Asia to do things you can do anywhere. Yes, they throw in an hour of minority village viewing, but I'm not interested in seeing local crafts in exchange for photo opportunities and the false impression of a cultural experience. I know I am in danger of sounding like a real snob, but I can't help it. We want to immerse ourselves as much as we possibly can, whether it's in a city, a village, or in nature.