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On the mountain of Koh Larn |
16 April
2016, around 9 AM, with the hands holding a thin passport and a big red
backpack, I was excitedly queuing among many people in the check- in point for a
trip to Thailand with my sister, Ranna. Immediately we passed by the border, a
stranger came and asked us whether we needed a van to where we are going to. We
told them our destination and followed them towards the van. We were going to
Pattaya and it cost 600 Barts (approximately 17 USD) for both of us. The van was
full of Khmer people who went back to work in Thailand after visiting their
families during Khmer New Year in Cambodia. We were fortunate to meet a man who
worked in Pattaya and kindly helped us to reach where we wanted to. Enjoyably,
the trip was spent for four days in different well-known places.
Day 1:
Koh Larn
After spending
nearly five hours on the van floating my mind with natural view of green farm,
long forest, colorful flowers and different kinds of buildings along the roads,
we finally arrived Pattaya Tai where the van stopped at 4 PM. We went on to the
seaport for rendezvous by a motor-taxi and waited for my friend, Porchhay, who
was traveling from the Northern Thailand to spend his vocation time with us to
Koh Larn (Million Island). He arrived at 5 and we together gave the crew 60
Barts to get on the boat. Remarkably, the place was crowded by tourists, mostly
Chinese. While we were on the boat taking photos, I was surprised by a call
from a boat worker who told us in Khmer to be careful when we tried to take
selfies at the edge of the boat. I knew exactly that they are originally Khmer
who come to work there for living. I suddenly thought of struggle lives many
Cambodian workers in the sea have. Strong wind and big waves which caused the
boat unstably shaking made hundreds of people on the boat completely quiet. I
was playing Facebook and reading news about Tsunami in Japan and Malaysia which
would possibly attack Thailand as the news warned. I felt a bit nervous and
hesitated to tell others about this unpredicted news. However, I eventually told
Porchhay about it and surprisingly he said he had already read it through Facebook
before he came to the boat, but he didn’t worry at all. Thus, I felt so relaxed
and tried to console myself by thinking that although the Tsunami came, it would
not affect us since we would be protected by a high rank of mountain there. Is
it funny? It’s possible anyway. It was my first time to travel on the sea with
big waves like that. While I was thinking with this and that, the boat was
approaching the island as I could see the mountain and houses around. After
spending approximately 30 minutes people started to remove the swimming coats
and excitedly moved out when the boat had safely launched. Everyone got off and
walked enthusiastically towards the houses.
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The entrance of Koh Larn |
The pelicans were liberally flying;
the wave was continuously breaking against the cliffs; fresh air was slightly
blowing and my eyes were sighting at beautiful houses along the beach and the
mountain. Recommended by Porchhay’s friend who once used to visit there, we
were finding a guesthouse named More`. We walked on a small road, passed
through a Buddhist temple, many marts and disorder small stores. We checked Google
map and asked a few people direction. We followed and finally found it but
unfortunately, there was no available room for us. Therefore, we walked back to
find another. As I was exhaustively walking with
my heavy backpack, a lady drove a motorbike towards us and told us she had a
good guesthouse with decent price. When we agreed, she called her brother driving
another motorbike to take us to her guesthouse. The room was good and it was
just 1500 Barts (Around 40 USD) per night with free breakfast. We also rented a motorbike
for 300 Barts for local traveling. After putting luggage in the room, we drove
the motorbike around the village and stopped at a sea-food store for dinner.
Porchhay was the driver since he knew how to drive in the left side which is opposite
from Cambodia’s driving side, but he sometimes unconsciously drove of the right
side as in Cambodia. Fortunately, it was just a small village and the traffic
was not dense to cause any accidents.

To fulfill our blank stomachs, we ordered
fried rice and many sea foods, including a big grilled Tilapia fish, crabs, shrimps
and octopuses, which cost us around 1000 Barts, a bit expense, but it was
really fresh and delicious. We also met many Khmer workers there as well. Unexpectedly
I was upset when the store owner said we were Vietnamese since she heard us
speak English and she said Khmer people cannot speak English like all of her
Khmer workers as evidence. Thus, we affirmed in opposite. After that big
dinner, we enjoyed the night with some short driving – to 7eleven Mart, to pier,
to the market, to the mountain and up to the beach behind the mountain. It was dark
and quiet, but it couldn’t resist us to enjoy the landscape at night. We drove
across to the hidden beach, parked the motor and walked on the white sand to
find a seat on the beach. We sat on the chairs in row, looked at the sea and
absorbed the air. After an hour, we went back to the guesthouse and promised to
come again in the early morning.
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The 150 stairs to the peak |
At 8:00 we got up, had breakfast and drove
motor to the mountain and the beach again. We first drove motor to the top of
the mountain and to a Buddhist temple where we could see the whole village and
the bird-eye view. At the temple, we were introduced by a friendly nun who was
amazingly originally Khmer who came to live there for many years. She told us a lot about the places, holy
things for visitors to purchase, what she did every day there and even her
background. We climbed up to the sacred place at the peak of the mountain by
stepping on 150 stairs height. It made us disgusted to reach the peak and to
find the sacred well in the jungle. We lit incenses, took photos and finally
went back. Then we moved on to the beach. Completely different from the night,
this time, we couldn’t park our motor along the beach; we were instructed by
the security guard to keep our motor in the parking lane far from the beach
since the place was crowded by tourists. As we walked along, a group of Thais publicly
celebrated their Sangkran along the road. They danced, watered Buddha statue
and blessed waters to others. It wasn’t strange to me since this tradition is
also annually practiced during Khmer New Year in Cambodia. At there, Porchhay
could buy a fresh coconut with low price since the seller is Khmer. We spent a
full morning there. After that we went back to the market for lunch and at noon,
we embarked the boat back to Pattaya Tai.
Day 2:
Pattaya
We got off
the boat, rode on a three- wheel motor and asked the driver for a good
guesthouse near the walking street. He was a very friendly and kind old man. He
admired my sister who could speak Thai well. He took us to Sawasdi guesthouse which
offered us with low price, 1200 Barts per night. Around 2 PM, we were preparing
ourselves to visit Noong Nooch garden as planned, but it was far, and cost us
much, so we changed to other tourist places. After asking people and finding
many taximeters, we were advised by a minibus driver to go to 3D Park with 300
Barts for traveling and another 300 Barts each person for entry. We got on
that minibus. Since people were celebrating Sangkran and they were legally
permitted to play water along the street, we were unexpectedly splashed water
on. We were partly wet, but it was fun too. When we arrived the park, it seemed
nothing interesting for us, so we decided to go to the Sanctuary of Truth
temple.
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The Sanctuary of Truth |
Not far from the 3D Park, the Sanctuary of Truth or Wooden temple is so
different and attractive. We walked under a beautiful white gate towards the
front office. We spent 500 Barts for each to enter and my sister was required
to cover her legs with the scarf since the place is sacred, which doesn’t allow
visitors to wear sexy clothes. It was fortunate for her that she took the scarf
with her that afternoon. Every visitor was also given a helmet since the temple
was under construction. The weather was hot, but we could feel cool vapor since
the temple locates next to the sea. The temple looks amazing and more wonderful
than what I used to see in Facebook. I couldn’t it was real, but there it is
and always. How could we control ourselves not to take pictures? We walked
around the magnificent carving wooden temple incorporated by different civilizations,
including Angkorean, Chinese, Thai, Hindu and Cham.
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Porchhay and a Thai lady on the throne |
As we entered inside, we were
really astonished by this wonderful man-made masterpiece. Inside was naturally
fragrant and cool without air-con. It made me feel like I was in a beautiful
royal palace in the heaven. While we were looking quietly and happily at every
statue, we were welcomed by a beautiful lady with traditional Thai costume, who
was there for visitor to take photos with. She smiled warmly and told us that
at 3:00 PM, there would be performances for visitors and everyone could enjoy. She
looked lovely and lovelier when she spoke Khmer. She was Cambodian Thai. Porchhay
without barrier paid 100 Barts for dressing up to look like a Thai king and excitedly
took photos with her. He looked a bit shy, but suitably powerful with the
costume. He looked so gorgeous with the dress on the throne. Later we went out
and moved on to see the performances and take photos with them. Not different
from the beautiful lady and many people we met, the performers are all Khmer
who came to work there for living.
It was 5 PM; we left the place, rid motor-taxi
back to the guesthouse. In the evening, we went to the market along the
seaside. We tasted famous pancake, fried corn and bought some souvenirs. At
night we walked through the Walking Street crowded by visitors and night
workers. The most important thing we had to remember was to be careful with our
belongings since we were warned about the pickpocket by the driver. Honestly, it
was my first time to see the reality and popularity of sexual tourism in Thailand.
There were attractive bars and taxi girls along the street. They dressed up in
different styles, including classic, sexy, and country. There was mix of loud
music, such as Indian, Chines, Western and Thai. There were also small
performances which visitors could enjoy and donate. My sister was busying herself
taking video and making herself look cute. Many male visitors, including me
were showed and asked to offer a sex service. It was like I was in the market.
I of course ignored. It looked awkward to see that in public, but it is normal
in Thailand since sexual tourism is legal. As Cambodian guys, Porchhay and I
also made joke about it. As we walked a lot for the full day, our legs were unconditionally
hurt. We were extremely exhausted and my sister insisted to go back to the guesthouse
without experiencing entering any bars. What a drag!
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Walking Street at Night |
Day 3:
Bangkok
Today we got
up early to find a bus to Bangkok. We had breakfast in a small shop along the
road and we asked the shop owner the way to the bus station. She kindly told us
and even found a minibus and explained the driver where we wanted to go to. She
urged us to hurry up since the road would be blocked in the very few hours for
Sangkran celebration and we would not be able to find any car or taxi to go to
the bus station. Since the minibus ran only one way straight and we had to
change the street to reach our destination, we got off and found a new one. It
was very hard to find the minibus on that way. A minibus told us to wait for 15
minutes, but we didn’t want to, so we walked further to find others. As we
walked further and further and there were still no buses, my sister and Porchhay
went back to that minibus and left me waited them along the road since the
luggage was heavy. Five minutes later, they came to take me and we went on to
the station. We wished to go by van since it is faster, but there were no vans;
thus, we instead bought bus tickets and waited for an hour for departure. We
spent almost 3 hours. The bus stopped at Morchhit/Chaktuchak station. Since it
was Monday and Porchhay had to work, we separated our way. He carried my
luggage to his residence in Rangsit, and my sister
and I took a taxi to Royal Palace. We spoke a lot with the taxi driver since he
is Khmer. Along the way he showed us a huge area consisted of modern buildings
hidden by big tree, surrounded by a high white well-designed fence, stagnant
stream, big tree and flowers with a few security guards at every corner. It is
the new Royal Palace where the King and his relatives are currently living in. Passing
through busy traffic, he took us to the entry gate and pointed out where to buy
tickets. Compared to the Royal Palace we just see, the Grand Palace is completely
different. The gate was crowded by visitors both foreigners and Thais. By
looking from the outside, we could see manifest golden topes, dazzling ancient
buildings and historical landmarks. Every visitor was required to buy ticket,
500 Barts per person.
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Grand Royal Palace of Thailand |
Since we thought it was not much different from Cambodian
Royal Palace and we wanted to save money, we decided not to enter and walked
around to find the place to have lunch. We walked through a big park and asked
a Tuk Tuk to take us to the nearest mart. He took us to a Lotus Mart. We
ordered fried rice with Salmon fish and walked around to buy some stuffs for
household use. We walked on the sky bridge to find a van station to Future Park
where I could find Porchhay’s residence. We waited for the van about an hour
and reached the Future Park. We continued our journey by taxi to Wat Dhammakaya
near Porchhay’s working place and where he used to enter monkhood for a month
at. When we arrived, Porchhay drove a motor of his friend and took us to his
renting room. He lived in a quiet place, behind Wat, far from the market. There
was nothing in his room besides his clothes and sleeping stuffs. My sister and
I slept there for a night before we went back Cambodia tomorrow.
Day 4:
Wat Dhammakaya
Located 16
kilometers north of Bangkok, Wat Dhammakaya is the world’s largest Buddhist
temple. It was renowned for the meditation and wonderful constructions. In the
morning, Porchhay took his bicycle to carry my luggage and we walked to have
breakfast in a small food store across a river. After that we went straight to
the temple. We were welcome by the guards. We entered the place which was
beautifully designed. There was garden which consisted of forest and some
animals. It looked peaceful and fresh. Porchhay was my guide since he has been
living and working nearby more than a year. He introduced me where he used to
stay when he was a monk and what he used to do every day. He took us to a quiet
building. We took off our shoes. We were welcomed by two friendly nuns who wore
white uniform. We showed respect to the golden Buddha statue and made wishes. My
sister talked a lot with the nuns in Thai. I was the one who was so quiet since
I couldn’t speak Thai and the nuns couldn’t speak English. They willingly showed
us a photo album which informed us the history of the temple, area, and the
founder, as well as gave us a tiny book of Buddha.
After that Porchhay showed
me the pyramid-shape memorial hall built to dedicate a woman who first established the temple
with only 1 dollar. We moved on to other buildings. We walked the bike to the temple’s
cafeteria. We saw a number of Buddhist followers with white clothes there, who
were working and visiting there. Interestingly, there were a big statue of
peacock and many peacock symbols around as it was a symbol of the woman who
founded the temple (Porchhay told me). Since some buildings were under
construction, people could share their donation. We donated some amount to the temple
and we were requested to take a picture as evidence and we were given a
certificate of gratitude. Leaving there, we went to see meditation buildings which
could contain maximum 1 million people. The area was wide and immense. The
lotus was daily prepared in that opened-space building. We again paid respect
and put lotuses into the round pots. There were two big banners hanging on the
wall illustrating two beautiful angels.
Everything in the temple and the environment were absolutely different
from other Buddhist temples anywhere else. Porchhay told me that the shape of
Buddha statues, the design of buildings, and the pictures of angels were designed
by the people who saw them through high level of meditation. It was not
imagination, but belief, he emphasized. Then we continued to
1-million-gold-Buddha-statue building. The building looked more like a UFO
rather than a traditional Thai temple. Since the place is sacred, not everyone
could enter inside to see the 1 million statues. We could only stand outside
the fence surrounded by water stream. From one building to another, I listened
to the history and ritual ceremonies described by Porchhay.
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1-million-gold-Buddha-statue building |
We slowly walked in
that immense area and finally decided to go to the front gate where I waited
Porchhay last evening to find a taxi to the nearest van station at Future Park.
Porchhay accompanied me and my sister to the front gate and we said good bye to
each other when a taxi came in. We soon arrived the Future Park and found the
van station to Longkleur Market where we can pass over to Cambodia. We arrived the border at
4:45 PM and 40 kilometers away from the border, it is my home.
We arrived
home safe and sound. Even though the trip was short, it was such a wonderful adventure. Special thanks to Porchhay for hosting and accompanying me and my sister. Thanks to the man who helped us unconditionally
along the way. Thanks to the driver and the store owner for instructing us. I hope to visit Thailand again soon.
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Traditional Thai dancing |
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