Lynn's Trip to Thailand part 1: Bangkok or Bust!
I noticed that unlike Lynn Johnston’s trip to Oaxaca, Mexico; her blog entries for this trip have ended up on http://www.fbofw.com/news/ instead of on http://www.fborfw.com/fun/blog/archives/cat_lynns_journal.php. The news section of the For Better or For Worse website only exists for a short period of time, as webmaster Stephanie has a tendency to delete off the old news. Perhaps that is the motivation for putting here. To that end, I will duplicate all the text (for my own reference purposes) and then comment on it.
Posted: March 1, 2010
We arrived in Bangkok after a night in Tokyo. It was a long flight and we were glad to have a bed to stretch out in. Bangkok is a huge, sprawling city, as smoggy as Beijing and not as beautiful. At least we haven't seen the attractive stuff yet! Long rows of tenements flow into the urban mix of hotels, glass office towers and the occasional temple. Everything looks grey, but the sky is clear and the people are friendly.
Looking at Travelocity, the likely sequence of events is that Lynn and company would have left North Bay, flown Air Canada about an hour to Toronto, where they would change planes and take the flight to Tokyo, which would have been about 13 hours arriving in the afternoon the next day. From there to Bangkok is about a 7 hour flight which would have been on Thai Airways Intl Ltd, All Nippon Airways, or United. Some people like to overnight in Tokyo to help with jet lag, and that is probably what Lynn did, although it is hard to say with her comment about “glad to have a bed to stretch out in”. Maybe she meant she stayed in the airport overnight.
Right away Lynn starts comparing Thailand to China with her comparison to Beijing. This will be a regular theme during the course of her writing. It appears Lynn prefers China.
Near our hotel, the streets are lined with vendors selling everything from sandals to steam irons. Every nationality is present. Mysterious women in black garments peer out from slits in their face coverings. Beautiful saris mix with the mode of the day. Pretty girls clatter along in the highest of heels past tough looking boys in jeans and T-shirts. Men in white caftans with white head scarves held in place by black, wrapped cords stare out from restaurants where hookah pipes sit on tables and tapestries hang from walls..
Saris – Indian. Black garments with slits in face coverings is probably Muslim. With the caftan, it is difficult to tell, since these are popular in Persian or African culture. According to one source, in Southeast Asia they favour the batik kaftans. However the hookah pipe tells us it is probably an Indian reference. These are interesting observations because Wikipedia tells me nearly 95% of Thailand's population is Buddhist, while in India the primary religion is Hindu. Also, you don’t see anything like this in any of Lynn’s pictures.
The streets clatter with cars of every size and color. Brilliant pink and purple taxis squeeze past trucks filled with commuters who hang from metal bars. Modern buses compete with tiny "tuk-tuks" and young people on scooters take chances at every corner. There are few bicycles here, unlike mainland China. Perhaps the short streets and many alleyways make it a dangerous place to ride.
This comment about mainland China with bicycles tells us how long it has been since Lynn has been there. I remember the 2008 Summer Olympics in China, where the television coverage made a big deal about how the old use of bicycles had been almost completely replaced by electric bikes. See this article for more exact statistics. The tuk-tuk is another way of saying auto rickshaw.
Outside the "Majestic Sky" hotel, girls line up and wait for business. They are young, pretty and well dressed. My guess is they make more than most vendors. Even the massage therapists get just a few bahts a day. Everything is for sale here, just steps from the hotel and if it's not evident, "trasvel agents" can arrange anything your heart desires.
I don’t see a “Majestic Sky” hotel listed in Bangkok, however, there is a Majestic Grande Hotel which is described as being conveniently located for the Sky Train. Perhaps that is what Lynn is talking about. Lynn addresses prostitution in Thailand, and once again exposes her ongoing personal issues with respect to physical beauty. The prostitutes are “young, pretty, well dressed and Lynn believes they make more than most vendors.” They are good-looking and they make lots of money. Oh, Lynn. According to this source, Thailand’s Health System Research Institute reports that children in prostitution make up 40% of prostitutes in Thailand, many of whom do it for reasons of poverty.
Yesterday, we took a tour of the floating market, saw snake charmers, alligator trainers and elephants. The food stalls along the river were too numerous to choose from and the variety of interesting fruits and veggies was amazing. Like most tropical countries, there is an abundance of interesting plant life. I wish I knew more about botany because I'm fascinated by it. Long canals criss- cross the land, flooding rice paddies and provide transportation.
Food makes an appearance. Fruits and veggies, and Lynn does not purchase any because they were too numerous. Food vendors, limit the choices you give Lynn or she will get confused!
Lynn wants to know more about botany because she is fascinated by it, but apparently not fascinated enough to learn about it. In fact, this is an odd entry because Lynn doesn’t mention buying anything, which is usually the hallmark of Lynn writing (i.e. the fantastic bargain she got shopping); but she also doesn't mention anything she learned, like the long discourse she did about chocolate in her Oaxaca blog entries. Aside from that, I would love to see an elephant in one of those floating market boats. I suspect Lynn is talking about one of the elephant tours you can take in Bangkok.
Here, the ancient ways blend in with the new. Everyone goes with the flow and the flow goes in all directions. Today we leave for Phuket and the sandy beaches you see in the photographs. The adventure has just begun! LJ
In Bangkok for one day and she is off to Phuket the next.
Posted: March 1, 2010
We arrived in Bangkok after a night in Tokyo. It was a long flight and we were glad to have a bed to stretch out in. Bangkok is a huge, sprawling city, as smoggy as Beijing and not as beautiful. At least we haven't seen the attractive stuff yet! Long rows of tenements flow into the urban mix of hotels, glass office towers and the occasional temple. Everything looks grey, but the sky is clear and the people are friendly.
Looking at Travelocity, the likely sequence of events is that Lynn and company would have left North Bay, flown Air Canada about an hour to Toronto, where they would change planes and take the flight to Tokyo, which would have been about 13 hours arriving in the afternoon the next day. From there to Bangkok is about a 7 hour flight which would have been on Thai Airways Intl Ltd, All Nippon Airways, or United. Some people like to overnight in Tokyo to help with jet lag, and that is probably what Lynn did, although it is hard to say with her comment about “glad to have a bed to stretch out in”. Maybe she meant she stayed in the airport overnight.
Right away Lynn starts comparing Thailand to China with her comparison to Beijing. This will be a regular theme during the course of her writing. It appears Lynn prefers China.
Near our hotel, the streets are lined with vendors selling everything from sandals to steam irons. Every nationality is present. Mysterious women in black garments peer out from slits in their face coverings. Beautiful saris mix with the mode of the day. Pretty girls clatter along in the highest of heels past tough looking boys in jeans and T-shirts. Men in white caftans with white head scarves held in place by black, wrapped cords stare out from restaurants where hookah pipes sit on tables and tapestries hang from walls..
Saris – Indian. Black garments with slits in face coverings is probably Muslim. With the caftan, it is difficult to tell, since these are popular in Persian or African culture. According to one source, in Southeast Asia they favour the batik kaftans. However the hookah pipe tells us it is probably an Indian reference. These are interesting observations because Wikipedia tells me nearly 95% of Thailand's population is Buddhist, while in India the primary religion is Hindu. Also, you don’t see anything like this in any of Lynn’s pictures.
The streets clatter with cars of every size and color. Brilliant pink and purple taxis squeeze past trucks filled with commuters who hang from metal bars. Modern buses compete with tiny "tuk-tuks" and young people on scooters take chances at every corner. There are few bicycles here, unlike mainland China. Perhaps the short streets and many alleyways make it a dangerous place to ride.
This comment about mainland China with bicycles tells us how long it has been since Lynn has been there. I remember the 2008 Summer Olympics in China, where the television coverage made a big deal about how the old use of bicycles had been almost completely replaced by electric bikes. See this article for more exact statistics. The tuk-tuk is another way of saying auto rickshaw.
Outside the "Majestic Sky" hotel, girls line up and wait for business. They are young, pretty and well dressed. My guess is they make more than most vendors. Even the massage therapists get just a few bahts a day. Everything is for sale here, just steps from the hotel and if it's not evident, "trasvel agents" can arrange anything your heart desires.
I don’t see a “Majestic Sky” hotel listed in Bangkok, however, there is a Majestic Grande Hotel which is described as being conveniently located for the Sky Train. Perhaps that is what Lynn is talking about. Lynn addresses prostitution in Thailand, and once again exposes her ongoing personal issues with respect to physical beauty. The prostitutes are “young, pretty, well dressed and Lynn believes they make more than most vendors.” They are good-looking and they make lots of money. Oh, Lynn. According to this source, Thailand’s Health System Research Institute reports that children in prostitution make up 40% of prostitutes in Thailand, many of whom do it for reasons of poverty.
Yesterday, we took a tour of the floating market, saw snake charmers, alligator trainers and elephants. The food stalls along the river were too numerous to choose from and the variety of interesting fruits and veggies was amazing. Like most tropical countries, there is an abundance of interesting plant life. I wish I knew more about botany because I'm fascinated by it. Long canals criss- cross the land, flooding rice paddies and provide transportation.
Food makes an appearance. Fruits and veggies, and Lynn does not purchase any because they were too numerous. Food vendors, limit the choices you give Lynn or she will get confused!
Lynn wants to know more about botany because she is fascinated by it, but apparently not fascinated enough to learn about it. In fact, this is an odd entry because Lynn doesn’t mention buying anything, which is usually the hallmark of Lynn writing (i.e. the fantastic bargain she got shopping); but she also doesn't mention anything she learned, like the long discourse she did about chocolate in her Oaxaca blog entries. Aside from that, I would love to see an elephant in one of those floating market boats. I suspect Lynn is talking about one of the elephant tours you can take in Bangkok.
Here, the ancient ways blend in with the new. Everyone goes with the flow and the flow goes in all directions. Today we leave for Phuket and the sandy beaches you see in the photographs. The adventure has just begun! LJ
In Bangkok for one day and she is off to Phuket the next.
posted by howard at 2:20 PM
4 Comments:
Yeah, my eyes really bugged out after reading her remarks on the prostitutes. Can she really be so flip and ignorant about an industry that cruelly exploits, abuses, and demeans the young and poor?
Oh, why am I even asking? Of course she can!
They are prettier, better dressed, and younger than she is. That appears to be all Lynn cares about when it comes to other women.
As I said on the Foobiverse Journal, it's astonishing how unaware of the world she is; that's what comes of spending one's vacation forted up in a hotel room gawking at the plumbing.
Judging from the Oaxaca trip, Lynn really depends on people going with her to do things. From a historical perspective, it was Rod dragging her off to South America for most of it. I would guess that up in the North Bay area, the locals rarely see her step outside her studio.
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