Lynn's Trip to Thailand part 5: Three for Phi Phi
As before, I will quote the material and comment on it:
Posted: March 10, 2010
Early yesterday morning, we packed and left Kata on our continuing journey towards enlightenment. We packed ourselves into one of the small tour vans and joined a long line of tourists and locals carrying kids and cargo en route to the island of Phi Phi. The ferry is fast and spacious. We were given a cup of strong coffee and a croissant. Again, the mix of languages is a symphony of sound.
At last Lynn eats food and drinks something other than beer. I had hoped Lynn would go to Phi Phi, pronounced “pee pee”, and would take the opportunity to make a good urination joke. Unfortunately the fricatives in the title tell me that at least in her mind Lynn is treating the name like she did with “Ah Phuket”. According to the Phi Phi tourism websites, there is a day tour to Phi Phi Island you can take from Phuket, and that appears to be what Lynn and company have done, since they are only on Phi Phi one day.
Phi Phi (pronounced P.P.) is a long bow-tie shaped island. The flat center has a white, sandy beach on either side and it's an easy walk from beach to beach. At either end, the land juts up out of the sea, forming vast cliffs which are all but impossible to scale- one would think! The "poker chip" shapes I said could be seen from the air are now massive walls and if I had to build this in miniature, I'd take dominoes, poker chips and cubes of wood, stand them on end and then push clay around them to keep them stable. I'd then cover the tops with a fine, crushed sphagnum moss and paint it a rich tropical green.
Lynn is referring to her line from Travelogue entry #2:
The flight to Phuket from Bangkok is only about an hour long, but there are many flights a day- mostly 747s and they're all full. From the air you can see the great wetlands change to hills and then craggy mountainous terrain. Islands pop out of the sea like poker chips on end, and countless bays cut into the shoreline making this part of the country look like a pirate's paradise.
As for mountain-climbing in Phi Phi, it is done. See this website.
This is a party place. Few people over 50 inhabit Phi Phi unless they work here. The rest are scuba guys, rock climbers, vacationing kids and young, global wanderers. Alleyways of clothing vendors, travel agents, massage shops and food stalls form a colorful grid as you make your way to your hotel. Ours is the "Palms" and it's new. Everything here is new. When the big wave hit, everything here was washed away. There was nothing here to stop it. The loss of life was significant and if you think about it, this is something of a shrine! The locals will tell you it's better here, now.
My guess is Lynn is talking about the P.P. Erawan Palms Resort. This is their website. Unfortunately Lynn doesn't take the time to describe the accommodations or the bathroom. As for the effect of the tsunami, this website has lots of pictures. This website describes some people’s experience during the tsunami. It’s a pretty impressive story. Lynn is not exaggerating in her description of the effect of the tsunami on Phi Phi Island.
It's an attractive, funky place to hang your hat and to do some underwater exploring. Still looking for the Thailand we've seen in the photos, we hired a young man to take us to the neighboring island of Koh Phi Phi where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. This again is a massively high piece of land- a marvel of twisting limestone formations, outcroppings, tiny bays and caves. Our "long tail" boat was old, wooden and interesting. The long, curved bow was ringed with colorful plastic wreaths, a plastic purple canopy kept us from the direct sun and the motor was a Chevrolet engine to which a long shaft was attached. The propeller at the end was able to skim above the coral and plunge into the channels, making it a very useful craft. Our driver," Ed," was a beautiful young man with the most amazing smile.
Funky? Did Lynn ever actually do underwater exploring. Not so far as I can tell. She is “still looking for the Thailand we've seen in the photos”. Well, at least she didn’t call it the mysterious East this time. I don’t know why she has the expectation when she already knows Phi Phi was rebuilt after the tsunami. Nevertheless, it’s fun to see Lynn’s more lascivious side come out with the appearance of Ed. The movie “The Beach” was filmed on Koh Phi Phi Leh. Lynn is so close in the name. See this website for details.
High up in the cliffs we could see what looked like sticks, just propped here and there. What they are is climbing poles and they are used by men who gather birds nests for birds nest soup! People risk life and limb, scaling these impossible cliff sides to collect nests- and on the mainland, we marvel at North Americans in safety gear who make it to the top of a hill! Ahh, cultural differences!
Cultural differences? Or cliff climbers working for minimum wage while improperly equiped? In any case, this website discusses bird’s nest soup, if you are unfamiliar with it:
Phi Phi Le lies just offshore, and is almost all sheer cliffs, with a few caves and a sea lake formed by a cleft between two cliffs that allows water to enter into a bowl-shaped canyon. It is uninhabited but has several nice beaches, but its major claim to fame is the caves that are the favorite nesting ground for the migratory Forktail Swift. The swifts who favor lofty limestone caves and cliffs as a nesting habitat. Between January and April each year, thousands of these birds descend on Phi Phi Le to spend about 2 weeks in the caves building nests held together by their saliva. These famous nests are prized by Chinese gourmets for bird’s nest soup.
Bird’s Nest Soup
Whatever the origins, the culinary use of bird’s nests became a Chinese passion. One much misunderstood in the West, where nests are thought of in terms of twigs, feathers, and other unpalatable ingredients. The nests produced by the by the tiny brown and charcoal colored swift known as 'Collocalia esculenta' and consumed by the Chinese are a far cry from the western conception. The material from which the nests are constructed is a gluey secretion discharged from two glands under the bird’s lower jaw; this comes out in long strands that soon dry into a strong, resilient substance after exposure to air.
Collecting bird’s nests is a big and profitable business with small good quality nests selling for over $2,200 per kilo. Hong Kong alone purchases over 25 million dollars worth of nests each year.
You can see the monetary motivation for people to risk their lives for bird's nests.
Speaking of cultural differences, the Thai people tell us that Canadians are among their favorite visitors, which makes us feel great. Kate and Lane have gone to check out of our hotel so we can prepare for the next adventure. In search of even more natural phenomenon... and air conditioning, we'll write again, tomorrow!
LJ
I can only imagine one reason Kate and Lane would go back to the hotel without Lynn and it isn’t for checkout, although they may do that afterwards. As for the Thai people and the Canadians, my guess is that the Thai people say that to all the tourists. Is that really a cultural difference? Maybe it is for Lynn. As near as I can tell, this the first day of her trip that Lynn has actually enjoyed.
Posted: March 10, 2010
Early yesterday morning, we packed and left Kata on our continuing journey towards enlightenment. We packed ourselves into one of the small tour vans and joined a long line of tourists and locals carrying kids and cargo en route to the island of Phi Phi. The ferry is fast and spacious. We were given a cup of strong coffee and a croissant. Again, the mix of languages is a symphony of sound.
At last Lynn eats food and drinks something other than beer. I had hoped Lynn would go to Phi Phi, pronounced “pee pee”, and would take the opportunity to make a good urination joke. Unfortunately the fricatives in the title tell me that at least in her mind Lynn is treating the name like she did with “Ah Phuket”. According to the Phi Phi tourism websites, there is a day tour to Phi Phi Island you can take from Phuket, and that appears to be what Lynn and company have done, since they are only on Phi Phi one day.
Phi Phi (pronounced P.P.) is a long bow-tie shaped island. The flat center has a white, sandy beach on either side and it's an easy walk from beach to beach. At either end, the land juts up out of the sea, forming vast cliffs which are all but impossible to scale- one would think! The "poker chip" shapes I said could be seen from the air are now massive walls and if I had to build this in miniature, I'd take dominoes, poker chips and cubes of wood, stand them on end and then push clay around them to keep them stable. I'd then cover the tops with a fine, crushed sphagnum moss and paint it a rich tropical green.
Lynn is referring to her line from Travelogue entry #2:
The flight to Phuket from Bangkok is only about an hour long, but there are many flights a day- mostly 747s and they're all full. From the air you can see the great wetlands change to hills and then craggy mountainous terrain. Islands pop out of the sea like poker chips on end, and countless bays cut into the shoreline making this part of the country look like a pirate's paradise.
As for mountain-climbing in Phi Phi, it is done. See this website.
This is a party place. Few people over 50 inhabit Phi Phi unless they work here. The rest are scuba guys, rock climbers, vacationing kids and young, global wanderers. Alleyways of clothing vendors, travel agents, massage shops and food stalls form a colorful grid as you make your way to your hotel. Ours is the "Palms" and it's new. Everything here is new. When the big wave hit, everything here was washed away. There was nothing here to stop it. The loss of life was significant and if you think about it, this is something of a shrine! The locals will tell you it's better here, now.
My guess is Lynn is talking about the P.P. Erawan Palms Resort. This is their website. Unfortunately Lynn doesn't take the time to describe the accommodations or the bathroom. As for the effect of the tsunami, this website has lots of pictures. This website describes some people’s experience during the tsunami. It’s a pretty impressive story. Lynn is not exaggerating in her description of the effect of the tsunami on Phi Phi Island.
It's an attractive, funky place to hang your hat and to do some underwater exploring. Still looking for the Thailand we've seen in the photos, we hired a young man to take us to the neighboring island of Koh Phi Phi where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. This again is a massively high piece of land- a marvel of twisting limestone formations, outcroppings, tiny bays and caves. Our "long tail" boat was old, wooden and interesting. The long, curved bow was ringed with colorful plastic wreaths, a plastic purple canopy kept us from the direct sun and the motor was a Chevrolet engine to which a long shaft was attached. The propeller at the end was able to skim above the coral and plunge into the channels, making it a very useful craft. Our driver," Ed," was a beautiful young man with the most amazing smile.
Funky? Did Lynn ever actually do underwater exploring. Not so far as I can tell. She is “still looking for the Thailand we've seen in the photos”. Well, at least she didn’t call it the mysterious East this time. I don’t know why she has the expectation when she already knows Phi Phi was rebuilt after the tsunami. Nevertheless, it’s fun to see Lynn’s more lascivious side come out with the appearance of Ed. The movie “The Beach” was filmed on Koh Phi Phi Leh. Lynn is so close in the name. See this website for details.
High up in the cliffs we could see what looked like sticks, just propped here and there. What they are is climbing poles and they are used by men who gather birds nests for birds nest soup! People risk life and limb, scaling these impossible cliff sides to collect nests- and on the mainland, we marvel at North Americans in safety gear who make it to the top of a hill! Ahh, cultural differences!
Cultural differences? Or cliff climbers working for minimum wage while improperly equiped? In any case, this website discusses bird’s nest soup, if you are unfamiliar with it:
Phi Phi Le lies just offshore, and is almost all sheer cliffs, with a few caves and a sea lake formed by a cleft between two cliffs that allows water to enter into a bowl-shaped canyon. It is uninhabited but has several nice beaches, but its major claim to fame is the caves that are the favorite nesting ground for the migratory Forktail Swift. The swifts who favor lofty limestone caves and cliffs as a nesting habitat. Between January and April each year, thousands of these birds descend on Phi Phi Le to spend about 2 weeks in the caves building nests held together by their saliva. These famous nests are prized by Chinese gourmets for bird’s nest soup.
Bird’s Nest Soup
Whatever the origins, the culinary use of bird’s nests became a Chinese passion. One much misunderstood in the West, where nests are thought of in terms of twigs, feathers, and other unpalatable ingredients. The nests produced by the by the tiny brown and charcoal colored swift known as 'Collocalia esculenta' and consumed by the Chinese are a far cry from the western conception. The material from which the nests are constructed is a gluey secretion discharged from two glands under the bird’s lower jaw; this comes out in long strands that soon dry into a strong, resilient substance after exposure to air.
Collecting bird’s nests is a big and profitable business with small good quality nests selling for over $2,200 per kilo. Hong Kong alone purchases over 25 million dollars worth of nests each year.
You can see the monetary motivation for people to risk their lives for bird's nests.
Speaking of cultural differences, the Thai people tell us that Canadians are among their favorite visitors, which makes us feel great. Kate and Lane have gone to check out of our hotel so we can prepare for the next adventure. In search of even more natural phenomenon... and air conditioning, we'll write again, tomorrow!
LJ
I can only imagine one reason Kate and Lane would go back to the hotel without Lynn and it isn’t for checkout, although they may do that afterwards. As for the Thai people and the Canadians, my guess is that the Thai people say that to all the tourists. Is that really a cultural difference? Maybe it is for Lynn. As near as I can tell, this the first day of her trip that Lynn has actually enjoyed.
posted by howard at 6:05 AM
6 Comments:
Aw, poor birds. They go through all that labor to build their homes, only to have them stolen for soup. I hate when that happens to me! Oh, and ew!
As near as I can tell, this the first day of her trip that Lynn has actually enjoyed.
And it shows in her writing; this isn't as nearly as condescending and negative as the first four entries so she must be in better spirits. Come to think of it, the Pattersons didn't act like the nasty collection of people they did during the Declining Years when Lynn felt good about the strip so it must be a thing with her.
aprilp_katje,
Aw, poor birds. They go through all that labor to build their homes, only to have them stolen for soup. I hate when that happens to me! Oh, and ew!
I can just see it. “They stole my nest!” “That’s why I always save up a good spit for after they leave at night.”
DreadedCandiru2,
And it shows in her writing; this isn't as nearly as condescending and negative as the first four entries so she must be in better spirits.
I think part of the issue is the attention she gets from Katie and Lane. At Phuket, they seemed to have abandoned Lynn, who appears to be incapable of doing things on her own aside from taking walks.
Come to think of it, the Pattersons didn't act like the nasty collection of people they did during the Declining Years when Lynn felt good about the strip so it must be a thing with her.
That is her whole thing. When she was in Lynn Lake and miserable, the first couple of years of the strip seem to be not much more than her lashing out at her husband and her son. After Charles Schulz died, she lost interest in the doing the strip and it changed the Pattersons into nasty, condescending, self-righteous characters. The time when people liked the strip the most is the time when Lynn liked herself the most.
I think part of the issue is the attention she gets from Katie and Lane. At Phuket, they seemed to have abandoned Lynn, who appears to be incapable of doing things on her own aside from taking walks.
Maybe she really is incapable. Maybe she came along on what seems like a honeymoon trip because she needs somebody to keep an eye on her. Simple instructions: "You can take walks. Just don't buy stuff, since your house is already filled with stuff you don't need."
Some of have noted that she seems not as sharp as she once was.
--Maggie_Tx
Maggie_Tx,
Maybe she really is incapable. Maybe she came along on what seems like a honeymoon trip because she needs somebody to keep an eye on her.
That’s entirely possible. Her business was run out of her house, even back when she had a staff. She had no need to go anywhere for the bulk of her activities. If you spend a long enough time not doing the basic essentials, then you don’t know how to do them. My grandfather was like that when he was in his 80s, and maybe Lynn Johnston is like that in her 60s. I would hate to think that was the case, however, we are talking about a woman who confessed to the Peterborough Examiner that her husband treated her like a child when it came to money.
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