We are little behind in our posts, so here is a little catch-up. And it is a 2-for-1, Poland and Bangkok in the same post!
Poland
Poland was not on our list of destinations when we left the United States, but we met some fellow travelers who convinced us that it was worthwhile. Some travelers are always looking for that next undiscovered place that is inexpensive and not yet overrun with (American) tourists. As I mentioned before, Budapest and Prague used to be those places. I think the secret may be out already, but Poland seems to be that place now. Like Croatia, it is a beautiful, former communist country, now welcoming tourists and their money. We only had 4 days before our Schengen visas were to expire, so we spent 3 days in Krakow and 1 in Warsaw.
In Krakow we stayed in the nicest Airbnb apartment yet, in a great area, for less than $60 per night. Among many claims to fame, Krakow has the largest medieval square in Europe, was the home of Pope John Paul II, and was the site of Oskar Schindler's factory made famous by the movie Schindler's List. Fortunately, the Nazis left the town fairly undamaged since they saw the town as being historically (and once again in the future) German. We did two walking tours, a general one, and a Jewish ghetto tour. Like many places in Europe, during the WWII Nazi occupation, Krakow was not a good place to be Jewish. There were over 60,000 Jews in Krakow before the war, and fewer than 6,000 after. Most were either murdered there or shipped off to Auschwitz. OK, enough of the gloomy stuff. We thoroughly enjoyed Krakow and highly recommend it.
We really only went to Warsaw because that is from where we could get the cheapest international flight, but we are glad it worked out that way. The less than 2 and a half hour train ride between the two cities was one of the nicest we've been on during this trip and cost less than $12. We spent our short amount of time in the Old City. The buildings aren't actually all that old because unlike Krakow, the Nazis completely destroyed the city after suppressing the Warsaw uprising and fleeing the approaching Soviets. There is a lot more to that story than I can do justice here, so I will refrain. Sorry, I said enough of the gloomy stuff. OK, no more for real. After the war the city was carefully rebuilt to look just like it did before it was demolished. Actually, it wasn’t rebuilt to look exactly like it did just before the war, but earlier when the city was even more beautiful. There was no sense in rebuilding the ugly structures. They even rebuilt some of the old city wall and barbican. That’s a new word for me too. It’s the fortified gateway into the old city.
The food and drink in Poland were great. We ate pierogies and potato pancakes covered with goulash. I know I have complained about a lack of beer options in some places, and I am aware of the hypocrisy in what I about to say. I thought it was cool that in a bar or restaurant, you can simply order "a beer" with no further clarification needed. That means is a half liter glass of the standard beer they have on tap. Just as much as I like variety, I also like simplicity. Some places in the US go overboard with their selections, forcing you to pour over dozens of obscure options before making a decision (how fresh can those beers be anyway?). I suppose the other reason why I like this in new foreign cities is that it usually means local beer which I haven't had before. If I went somewhere in the US and they only had Coors Light, it probably wouldn’t be so great.
Bangkok
Wow. Our world changed drastically after one plane ride. The first obvious difference is the weather; 40 degrees and dry to 90 degrees and humid. Bangkok is enormous and feels that way. The metro area has 14 million people which accounts for 22% of Thailand's population. Actually, it is difficult to compare Bangkok to the other places we’ve been because it has large and obvious contrasts within itself. The sky train and subway are very modern, easy to use, and punctual. The bus we took on the other hand appeared to be from the 1960's. It sounded and felt like it was going to fall apart at any moment. It had a wooden floor. We waited a long time for it, and when it arrived, it took a hot and crowded hour to go 5 miles because of the traffic. But, it only cost about 20 cents to ride on one trip and free for the second one. Like the sky train and subway, our hotel was very modern and clean, but the street it was on was not. Just around the corner was a canal with foul smelling water littered with trash. One thing that I can’t get over are the utility cables running above ground all over the city. It is an absolute mess of dozens of cables all intertwined and jumbled up. We saw a utility worker sitting on a narrow board atop a pole with no harness. He got up there with a bamboo ladder. After worrying about his safety, I wondered how he could make heads or tails of the nest of wires.
There are many, many malls, some with brands like Prada, Hermes, and Gucci. Across the street from our hotel was a very nice mall with a lot of restaurants. The restaurants were moderately priced, but the merchandise in the stores was expensive even by Western standards. I looked at a pair of Keen shoes which cost $150 USD. By contrast, we went to an enormous market where you can buy just about anything and it is all very cheap. There were a lot of name brands, much of which I suspect are counterfeit, but if it was, I couldn't tell the difference. Jesslyn bought some pants for $5.
Another contrast is that part of the culture is conservative, polite, and formal, and then there are the raucous night clubs, prostitution, and sex shows. I realize these are not all exact opposites (I am sure there are plenty of polite prostitutes), but typically not things that one thinks of in the same place. The Thai people we have interacted with have mostly been very friendly and polite. One thing they do, which I like, is to put both hands together in front (just like one might do to pray) and do quick bow when they say hello, bye, thank you, or you're welcome. The majority of Thai people are Buddhists, and Buddhism, from our experience, is very peaceful and respectful. But, exactly what Buddhist scripture says about women shooting ping pong balls from their genitalia, I am not sure. It is a reminder that cities, countries, people, cultures are diverse and we shouldn't think of them in generalizations. Another nice thing about Bangkok is the acceptance GLBT. Seeing a transvestite in a major city wasn't too shocking, but it was a surprise to see a man with bright red lipstick in the third class car of the train in rural Thailand, so it must not be just limited to the big city.
After politely bowing, the Thai people might beat the crap out of each other or me. We went to see Thai kick boxing and I got my first Thai massage. I think I would have rathered been in the ring, because at least I would have been beaten up by a 115 pound man instead of a 85 pound woman and it would have saved me 12 bucks.