The best place to shop for T-shirts in Thailand is the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar. There is no other place in Thailand that has the variety that is offered here. The designs range from the sexually explicit (naughty) to the comically inane; in between, you can find a variety of very elegant and stylish T-shirts with some very aesthetically pleasing designs.

The most outrageous T-Shirts that I have seen in recent memory has to be a toss up between the T-shirt that lambasted our former President George W Bush and the x-rated “Blowjob is better than No Job” T-shirt. The Blowjob T-Shirt in particular was executed very well with very bold white lettering against a black background – very simple and to the point, elegant and classy in its own vulgar way.

I was walking through the Night Bazaar last year when I saw the Blowjob T-shirt. I did a double take as it was so outrageous and I had the sales clerk hold it up for me so I could take a picture. Walking away from the outdoor shop, I suddenly reversed directions and headed back to the shop. I had decided to to buy the T-shirt as a collector’s item.

Most Thai people cannot read or understand English very well; those that are well versed in English – like my ladyfriend, Khun Moongmink – do not know what the expression blow job means anyhow. Even the Thai people who understand the meaning of Blow Job might chuckle when looking at the T-Shirt or look the other way. You must understand that as a Buddhist country, Thailand is a very tolerant country. There is an expression in Thai, “Mai Pen Rai”. Literally it means Never Mind or Who Cares which really describes Thai mentality to a tee.

Back in the USA, I have to be very careful where and when I wear this Blowjob T-shirt as I would be inviting a lot of stares, and I can imagine that many ladies would be very disgusted. Who knows, some very prude lady might make a complaint to the local police!

Normally when I visit Chiang Mai, I stay at Tawan Court, a small budget hotel located a couple blocks away from Chiang Mai’s popular Night Bazaar. While there really isn’t anything really special about the hotel (the rooms are somewhat drab and need new carpeting), I feel comfortable staying there because the management is very friendly and the location is ideal. As the hotel rates go up every year, you would think that the owners would spend some extra monies on refurbishing the rooms.

On my last visit to Chiang Mai in December 2009, I decided to ignore my loyalties to Tawan Court and try something different. After considerable research online, I found the Banilah Hotel, a very stylish looking budget hotel located away from the tourist districts in a neighborhood popular with the University crowd.

The images on Banilah’s website are very flattering in an attempt to portray the hotel as a boutique property. While the office has a nice ambiance, the rooms were sort of dark and drab with very small and cramped bathroom facilities. When you take a shower, the toilet will get all wet. The hotel, which is over 3 years old, is beginning to show some signs of wear and tear. As with most local and budget hotels, there are no in-room safes or safe deposit boxes available at the front desk.

On the plus side, all the rooms have free Wifi and TV. In addition, the hotel offers complementary use of bicycles to all their guests.

Two of my biggest criticisms with Banilah are:

• The hotel management exercised very poor judgment by laying down a water hose across the narrow walkway to the guestrooms without putting up a caution sign. Somebody easily could have tripped and had an accident.
• The hotel staff doesn’t necessarily answer their phones during their normal business hours of 9:00AM – 6:00PM. That definitely created a problem for me. To give you some idea, I was near Taphae Gate in Chiang Mai (the opposite side of town) and was getting ready to return to Banilah by Tuk tuk about 4:30PM in the afternoon. As I was leaving on an early morning flight to Singapore, I had to retrieve my valuables from the hotel safe by 7:00PM (the hotel office closes at that time). As most of the tuk tuk drivers probably did not know of the hotel and where it was located, I tried calling the hotel numerous times to get directions but there was no answer. Fortunately the tuk tuk driver that I hired knew the way and I reached the hotel in less than 15 minutes.

Even though the hotel is a pretty good value, in light of my recent experience, I really cannot recommend Banilah Hotel at this time. Management needs to be more responsible to its guests, and most Western visitors might be not too pleased with its offbeat location. Then again, the hotel seems to cater mostly to a Thai clientele.

This is a continuation of my story about GEORGE KEMP,
a remarkable gentleman that I met in Nan, Thailand

Upon arriving at his sprawling house located just outside of the city, George showed me pictures of himself when he was younger. With his exotic good looks and the physique of a bodybuilder, George could have easily passed for a Hollywood star. Admittedly, George was somewhat of a butterfly (lady’s man) in his younger days and has been married four times.

Sometime in the mid 1960’s, George lived in Japan for 5 years, where he was married twice and earned to speak Japanese fluently, before returning to Thailand to resume his career with the police force.

Tragedy struck George in the prime of his life in late 1973 (at the time he was 35 years old). While on duty in his patrol car, a speeding car sideswiped the vehicle. At the time of the accident, George was taking a nap in the front passenger seat, while his colleague was driving the car. His colleague escaped with minor injuries but George wasn’t so fortunate.

The accident left George paralyzed from the waist down. After extensive physical therapy, George was unable to continue his duties as a traffic cop and resigned from the Bangkok police force. Confined to a wheelchair, George had to adjust to his new life and was forced to reinvent himself.

Shortly after his mom died, he married the Thai lady who was his mom’s caregiver. Not only did she become George’s wife, but she also became his caregiver. Sometime later George and his wife relocated to Nan, his wife’s hometown and settled down.

While George cannot walk because of his paralysis, he doesn’t let that slow him down as he drives both a customized car for the handicapped as well as a mini motorcar. Well known in the community of Nan, George promotes his wife’s dog grooming business and teaches both English and Japanese (he is fluent in both languages) from his home. Believe it or not, I think George’s classes are free!

In addition, George accommodates out-of-town visitors (mostly western tourists)at his house with “bed and breakfast”. There are five guestrooms available; most of the rooms are equipped with private bathroom and a TV ‘to boot’. I have seen the rooms and in my opinion, they are pretty decent (better than most guesthouses in the area). There is one catch however - George refuses to charge his guests any monies. Apparently George does not need the monies - meeting and interacting with people is more important to him!

I promised GEORGE that I would publicize his guesthouse to fellow travelers on the condition that he accepts a minimum donation of 150 baht (approximately $5.00USD) per night which he will donate to a charity of his choosing, He reluctantly agreed to this stipulation and indicated that he would donate any monies he received to medical research that helps other paralysis victims. If you’re interested in visiting Nan and staying with George, contact him by e-mail at g_kemp83@yahoo.com or call him at 0832932394

I always meet a lot of interesting people when I travel abroad – both fellow tourists and locals. Of all the people that I have met, there cannot be anyone more interesting than George Kemp, a remarkable 72-year-old Thai gentleman from Nan, a small city in Northern Thailand.

Actually George Kemp is not his real name but only a pseudonym that he uses when he is dealing with westerners. You’ll understand why he prefers to go by the name of George Kemp, when you discover that his real name in Thai is Akarintrara Adhidhebnarangkura – which is way too difficult for most us farangs to pronounce.

I met George as I was leaving Hot Bread Café in downtown Nan. He was sitting in his customized motor vehicle which looks like a cross between a motorized golf cart and a motorcycle. I had never really seen a vehicle like this before, but it serves George well as he is paralyzed from the waist down.

A big strapping fellow about 6 ft 2 inches tall, George does not look Thai nor does he look like a classical westerner. George’s bloodlines are mixed - his mother was Thai and his father was a white man from England. With Asian eyes, high cheekbones and otherwise Caucasian features, George has a very exotic look about him.

After shooting the breeze for about 10 minutes with George (he speaks excellent English by the way), he invited me to see his house just up the road. Now normally I don’t accept invitations from complete strangers but given the circumstances, I thought why not – I didn’t think a fellow like George had any bad intentions. So I hopped on my bicycle and followed him to his home, located only 2 kilometers from the cafe.

Upon reaching his sprawling country house, I was greeted by a chorus of barking dogs - mostly small Poodles, Shih-tzus, Lhasa Apsos. Most of the dogs were being housed in small cages in the back of the yard. George then introduced me to his wife and his extended family - a couple of young Thai girls (children of a good friend) who were living with him. As for the dogs, George’s wife is a professional dog groomer, and the caged dogs were waiting for their beauty treatment.

Talking about himself, I learned that George had a very distinguished career as a captain in the Thai police force in Bangkok during the 1960s - mid 1970’s where he worked primarily as a traffic cop. The highlight of his career came in the late 1960’s, when George made a special trip to Germany as an envoy of the Thai police force. This special mission led to the introduction of Traffic Lights to the busy streets of Bangkok.

Coming up - Learn how a tragic car accident completely changed the remarkable life of George Kemp

As a seasoned traveler, one of the first things I do when checking into a hotel is to ask if they have a safe deposit box in the room (in-room safe) or at the front desk. If they don’t have either one, I ask the manager if I can store my valuables in the hotel safe. Of course an in-room safe or safe deposit box is far more desirable as only you have the key or combination.

Typically smaller budget (and local) hotels and guesthouses do not have in-room safes or safe deposit boxes, in which case storing your valuables in the hotel safe is the only option. But entrusting the hotel with your monies/passports/credit cards etc can be a dicey proposition. The hotel safe may consist of just a desk drawer which can be opened with a key, and in many cases the ‘so called hotel safe’ - especially in many smaller hotels – can be accessed by all the employees.

During my many years of travel, I have never been victimized by a hotel when storing my valuables in the hotel safe. I guess the numbers game finally caught up with me however - on my last trip to Thailand in late 2009, I may have been a victim of hotel theft on two separate occasions. In both instances, small hotels in Northern Thailand were involved - the first instance involved local currency (value of $140USD) and in the 2nd instance, traveler’s checks were involved (I was later reimbursed by American Express).

I am not going to cry over spilled milk, but here are some tips if you decide store your valuables in the hotel safe.

• To make things easier to keep track of, keep your local currency, traveler’s checks and your home currency in separate bundles. By all means, double check your inventory every time your valuables are accessed from the hotel safe.
• Maintain a written log/running account of all your monies, travelers checks etc. Every time you retrieve something from the hotel safe, by all means log it in and keep a running balance as if it was your bank or checking account.
• If there is any discrepancy, possible theft may have occurred in which case you should bring the matter up with hotel manager/owner. If possible, you should also file a report with the tourist police or the local authorities.
• If traveler’s checks are missing (and you have diligently logged in your usage), you will usually get a prompt refund from the company that issued the checks after you have filed a report. After the matter is reported, the missing checks will be deemed void and cannot be cashed by the perpetrator.

If I followed my own advice, I probably would have been unable to prevent the actual embezzlement but at least I would have more conclusive proof that it actually happened. The next step would have been to confront the hotel manager/owner. Oh well, next time…

Thailand is definitely one of my favorite places - there are so many fascinating places to visit and the people are very friendly. After all they don’t call Thailand “ the Land of Smiles” for nothing. I don’t mean to make any broad sweeping generalizations but one thing that I find kind of disturbing is Thai people’s nonchalant “sometimes negligent” attitude towards public safety.

To give you an idea what I mean, on my recent most recent trip to Thailand, I stayed in Banilah, a small budget boutique hotel in Chiang Mai. There was a very narrow walkway to the rooms, and lying across the walkway was a rubber water hose that they were using to water the plants. This was a very dangerous situation as someone who is walking to their rooms (especially at night) could easily trip over the hose and have an accident. At the very least, you would think that the hotel management would have put up a yellow caution cone – as they do in the USA - to warn their guests.

This reminded me a situation, which I observed in Koh Chang a number of years ago, where a water pipe was laid across the middle of the long driveway to my bungalow hotel. At night, unless you had a flashlight, one could easily trip over the hose and fall down. I brought this up with the management, and they gave me a look of indifference and nothing was done about this hazard (even when I returned one year later). Well, two years later, the damn hose was finally removed – I guess one of their customers had an accident.

A 3rd incident was indeed even more disturbing. This past December as I was walking through Suvarnabhumi, the very sophisticated International airport near Bangkok, I noticed an electrical cord lying across the middle of the floor. There wasn’t any caution or warning sign or anything, but somebody who wasn’t looking straight ahead while walking could easily trip.

I am guessing that the prevailing attitude of nonchalance towards public safety in Thai Culture is rationalized follows - if you see broken glass or a puddle of water on the floor, just step over or walk around it. No big deal!

Now I realize that I maybe reading more into this than I should, as I have spent so much time in Thailand over the last 9 years – it could be that these situations present themselves in other countries in the same frequency as they do in Thailand, but I am just unaware of it.

There cannot be a more obscure city in Northern Thailand than Phrae (pronounced somewhat like Prey). Capital of the province of the same name, Phrae is a rather pleasant and friendly city with a population of over 100,000 people.
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What about Phrae? There is nothing really outstanding about the city – it lacks both the sleepy charm of Nan and the historical significance of Ayutthaya - but in all candor, I really cannot say that I know Phrae very well as I stayed there for only a brief two nights before continuing my journey. Like most cities in Thailand however, there are some very interesting places to see in the area.

When I asked the officer from The Regional Thai Tourist Office in Phrae, “Why do Thai Tourists come to Phrae?”, he answered me by saying “Phrae has some very interesting temples and it’s a stopover point for those journeying further north”

Upon recommendation of the Tourist Office, I visited Wat Phra That Choe Hae, considered the most important temple in Phrae. Located on a hill about 10 kilometers outside of the city, I renamed this important religious complex “The Tiger Temple” because of the many large tiger figurines scattered around the site. I guess you could say the place was crawling with tigers.

Located about 20 minute drive from the city is Phae Muang Phi (sounds like Pet Monkey), a park noted for its unusual earth pillars. As I have seen some more extensive earth pillar formations at more remote locations like Laluk in Sakaeo Province and at Sao Din in neighboring Nan Province, I have jokingly named Phae Muang Phi as “The Walk in Earth Pillar Park”, primarily because of its easy accessibility.

The highlight of my brief stay in Phrae was Ban Na Tong, a small rural village located about 30 kilometers outside the city (about a 45 minute drive). Surrounded by the lush greenery of the countryside, I am guessing Ban Na Tong – a community consisting of about 100 households – is at an elevation of 3000 feet above sea level.

Ban Na Tong is one of the areas where the Siamese Big Headed Turtle – an endangered species - can be found. In the village, they keep two of these turtles as pets in a small enclosure – I affectionately named them Pia and Nong. The community is experimenting with sustainable tourism by offering Homestay accommodations to visitors; prices are cheap – about 600 baht ($18USD) per night including meals for two people. Tour guide is for hire at 150 baht ($4.50USD) for the whole day.

Come to think it, Phrae is not too bad after all!

Check out my Phrae Photo Gallery

This past December, I revisited PHU LANG KA, one of my favorite places in Thailand. Not too much has changed at Phu Lang Ka since my initial visit in November 2008, however it seems that more & more Thai people have found out about this magical beauty spot in Northern Thailand, primarily through word of mouth. Many Thai visitors post their pictures online on different Thai forums; this no doubt has added to the buzz about such “off the beaten path” places as Phu Lang Ka.

Kevan, the delightful owner of Phu Lang Ka Lodge, has built some additional cottages to accommodate the increasing number of visitors - mostly Thai people – to Phu Lang Ka. However most of the Thai tourists only stay one night before moving on which is not the most ideal scenario for this small lodge.

According to Kevan, Phi Lang Ka only had 5-6 Farangs (Western tourists) during the past year. I find that a real shame as Phu Lang Ka is such a wonderful, high-energy place. Besides enjoying the serenity and the VIEW, there are any number of hikes, excursions and mini treks that can be taken from Phu Lang Ka. If you don’t have your own set of wheels, Kevan can set you up with a driver who can take you around the area.

My stay coincided with the tail end of the Thai Holidays (Kings Birthday Week). With so many Thai tourists on the weekend, Phu Lang Ka was an especially busy place. A group of Thais (about 15 in all) from Phuket as well as a contingent from a digital camera club based in Bangkok occupied most of the rooms while I was there, albeit both groups stayed only one night before moving on.

Displaying the fascinating pictorial scroll on the history of the Yao people, Kevan gave each group of tourists an impromptu education about the YAO. By enlightening strangers – both Thai people and westerners – about the history and culture of the Yao people, he helps keep the YAO flame burning.

Of course, the primary attraction here is The VIEW. Shortly before dawn, Phu Lang Ka buzzes with activity, as most of the guests and daytrippers – with cameras and tripods in hand - assemble outside waiting for the spectacular sunrise to come. On most mornings (during the predawn hours), a thick mist blankets the valley below, and when the sun finally rises above the distant mountains, the view is unforgettable – it is like being in heaven.

See my Phu Lang Ka Photo Gallery
and my review of Phu Lang Ka from November 2008

Planning to visit Phu Lang Ka? I recommend that you stay a minimum of 3-4 nights in order to appreciate the beauty and spirituality of this special place.

Traveling around Northern Thailand - in places like Uttaradit, Phrae, Nan and Phu Lang Ka - I encountered far more Thai than Western tourists. I found them to be very friendly and inquisitive, and I had a chance to talk with many of them. I guess many vacationing Thais wanted an opportunity to practice their English, and they were just curious about me as I was about them.

Usually the conversation would start with “Where are you from?” which is the Thai equivalent of saying Hello, and then like most travelers, we would talk about our travel itineraries and the different places that we would be visiting.

From my many conversations, I learned a lot about the Travel Habits of Thai People. It seems that Thais take very frequent and short vacations of 2-3 nights during the course of the year - many travel over the weekend leaving on a Friday and returning on a Sunday or Monday. Furthermore, I learned that in Thailand, unlike most Western countries, there is no such thing as a paid vacation for most Thai people.

Because most Thai people have such a limited amount of time to travel during the course of the year, they will often stay at one destination for only one night, before moving on to their next destination. As an example, on a long holiday weekend of 3 nights, a group of Thai people will often rent a van complete with driver and stay overnight at three different destinations in three nights - i.e. Bo Klua in Nan Province, Phu Lang Ka in Phayao Province and Sirikit Dam in Uttardit Province - before returning home.

While staying at Phu Lang Ka Lodge – one of my favorite places in Northern Thailand – I met a group of tourists (about 15 in all) – mostly professional people - from Phuket Island. They had rented two minivans along with driver, and their plan was to stay at 14 different places in 14 consecutive nights. Talk about a busy itinerary – made my 42 night Odyssey to Southeast Asia including 15 changes of hotel appear lightweight in comparison.

Another thing that I learned about Thai people – especially with the younger set (35 and under) - whenever possible, they would often pitch a tent and camp out. At Phu Lang Ka, the owner charges campers 100 baht per night per tent.

VERY INTERESTING!

I’m sure you’ve heard of the famous proverb of the Three Wise Monkeys – “Hear no evil, Speak no evil, See no evil.”

With a little choreography, I recreated the Three Wise Monkeys famous pose in Ban Na Tong, a small rural village located about 30 KM from Phrae in Northern Thailand. I chose three kids from the local school there, had them place some Bua Tong - Wild Mexican Sunflower – on top of their heads and placed the children in front of a monkey shrine.

I’m sure they had no clue, what the significance of this pose – but then again, I could be wrong. Westerners probably are not aware of the origins of “The Three Monkeys” proverb as well – it is based on a 17th century carving over a door of a famous shrine in Japan, but apparently the philosophy has deeper roots – from a Buddhist legend in 8th century China.

All I know, it makes for a classical – somewhat hilarious picture.