Four Days in Thailand – Khmer New Year Trip

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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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! 

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.

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.

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.

Traditional Thai dancing