Well, back to Barcelona after our excitement in Venice. Three guys chartered for a couple of days. We sailed down to Sitges which is a little resort town just south of Barcelona. It is very gay, kind of like Provincetown. We anchored out at Playa de Morta which is the gay beach. it was late in the afternoon and some of the crowd had already started heading back to town. But the weather was still warm and the sun felt great. This cute 18 year old kid, John, swam out to the boat and we invited him on. He didn't speak much English and I am still working on my Spanish but we were able to understand most of the conversation. It turns out he is starting a career in modeling and wants to also do porn. He wondered how to get started. I told him he just had to look up the companies and audition. It is not the hardest job to get if you are cute, have a great body and a big dick. He assured us he did have a big dick and gave us his phone number. I wasn't really interested in doing anything with him but was glad to give him a direction at least. After he swam back into shore one of the guys swam in and tried to talk to him a little more. But the guy didn't speak any Spanish so he didn't get very far. John asked him who had all the pennies. I think he meant who owned the boat.
That evening we went into Sitges and wandered around the streets. There is a gay bar called Parrots that is on both sides of the street. Guys sit out there and watch the cute boys come up from the beach in their little speedos. Everyone kinda makes comments but it is all in fun. Afterwards we had dinner and went to a couple of the clubs in town.
The next morning two of the guys took the train back to Barcelona and one, Tom, stayed on the boat with me to sail back. There wasn't much wind so I turned on the engines. Things just didn't seem right so I dove down to check things out. Sure enough, the propellers were encrusted with barnacles from sitting so long in Barcelona. I got a metal spatula and began to knock them all off. They were really encrusted on there good and I ended up spending about an hour knocking them off. The water was a little chilly, but nothing like San Francisco bay. I wasn't that cold diving, but when I came back on deck I started to just shiver and couldn't stop. I think I got a little hypothermia. My temperature must have just been dropping from being down there so long. But with enough blankets and the warm sun I finally returned to normal. Tom was very helpful.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Back in Barcelona
It is good to be back in Barcelona after spending the last 6 months in the U.S. Everything looks the same and yet different. Stepping on to my boat once again felt like home. I really missed living on the water. Looks like everything survived just fine without me. That is pretty remarkable since while I was gone, Barcelona had two of the biggest storms in the last 30 years. I have heard from other people that were here during the destruction this storm caused. The big yacht that is moored next to me tore the cleats right out of the dock. They had to throw lines around the piers to keep the boat from crashing into things. The captain told me that I tied my boat up so good it barely moved. That is a nice compliment to hear from a guy that has spent his life at sea. He also told me that there was such destruction going on that everyone was looking for any extra lines they could find to tie their boats up better. Not all boats fared so well. One boat sank and out where the really huge yachts are, the pier totally broke apart and sunk. One of the big yachts headed out to weather the storm in the open sea. They figured there would be fewer things to bang in to. Around the marina there are covered areas for shade. The wind was so strong that it blew one of the heavy metal roofs off of the structure and it sheared two sailboat masts in half. I saw my friend Roland from C dock a couple days later. He told me he was keeping an eye on my boat and it looked like it fared better than most. A couple of days later they had a little welcome back party for me. His wife Mar fixed a bunch of Catalin dishes and some of the people around the marina joined us. We enjoyed catching up on things since I was gone. One of the fun things about living in a marina is people are from all over the place. There were people from Belgium Scotland, England, New Zealand, France and yeah, Spain.
Because of the width of my boat, yachts that are much bigger than me surround me. The one next to me is quite huge. I have gotten friends with Marsella who for the first couple of weeks back was by herself. We traded DVD’s and she gave me a huge bowl of shrimp. She had a famous Spanish pop singer and her boyfriend staying on the boat. Marcella planned a big dinner for them, but they changed their minds and went into town to eat. A couple of days later, I gave her back the bowl filled with chocolate yum yum’s I made for her. After about a week, the captain returned from England. He had been recertifying. Then a couple of days later, the rest of the crew returned. The boat has about 5 people on it most of the time, cleaning, cooking and maintaining the boat. That thing must cost a fortune to maintain. They told me it has a 25,000 liter fuel tank. The irony of it all is the crew enjoys the boat way more than the owner who is only on the boat a couple of weeks a year.
Because of the width of my boat, yachts that are much bigger than me surround me. The one next to me is quite huge. I have gotten friends with Marsella who for the first couple of weeks back was by herself. We traded DVD’s and she gave me a huge bowl of shrimp. She had a famous Spanish pop singer and her boyfriend staying on the boat. Marcella planned a big dinner for them, but they changed their minds and went into town to eat. A couple of days later, I gave her back the bowl filled with chocolate yum yum’s I made for her. After about a week, the captain returned from England. He had been recertifying. Then a couple of days later, the rest of the crew returned. The boat has about 5 people on it most of the time, cleaning, cooking and maintaining the boat. That thing must cost a fortune to maintain. They told me it has a 25,000 liter fuel tank. The irony of it all is the crew enjoys the boat way more than the owner who is only on the boat a couple of weeks a year.
Way Up North to Chiang Mai
After spending several days in Bangkok, we took an overnight bus north to the city of Chiang Mai. It is a very large city with about a million people. The roots of the city go back centuries when it used to be on the trade route that brought silver, handmade goods and jewelry. Remnants of the ancient city walls still wander through the city. Scattered throughout the city is over 300 Buddhist temples. The most famous is Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep. Perched up on the hill overlooking the city. It is another island of glittering gold. We rented scooters for the day and headed up there. Once there you have to climb another 309 steps to the top. On our way up, we took a little detour off the main path and came across our first elephant. It was chained at the foot but immediately started dancing back and forth. A big smile on his face and glint in his eye gave every impression that he was glad to see us. Just like a dog greeting a stranger, this elephant was reacting to us being there. If they weren’t so big, I would love to take one home.
In the afternoon, we rode to the other side of the town where they were having an umbrella festival. Thousands of handmade umbrellas were on display. We visited the factory where women were taking raw bamboo and literally carving each spoke in the umbrella. Each piece was amazingly exactly like the others. They were then all assembled together interlocking each piece with precision until the piece was finished. Then they were all hand painted and laid out to dry in the sun. This factory that produces thousands of umbrellas had absolutely no machinery. All were handcrafted by women who devote their life’s work to producing one part of the whole.
One of the amazing things about Thailand is how cheap everything is. You could get a hotel room for as little as $10 a night and a real nice one for $24. Our cheapest meal was Phat Thai for only 3 cents. And that included the paper plate and fork. Most of the tourist things were free. An hour massage was typically $6.00. You could rent a taxi for the afternoon for a dollar. The only problem is they want to take you to their “special shops” where they get vouchers for gas by bringing in customers. We were not really shopping so asked that they just charge us more.
While we were up north we went on a trek up into the mountains. There are hundreds of mountain tribes that have remained virtually the same for centuries. Some still don’t even have running water. Or trek began with an elephant ride through the jungle. It was really a fun experience riding these mammoth beasts. The one thing that we quickly learned about elephants is that they are constantly eating. They literally never stop, consuming about a quarter ton of food a day. Everywhere we went, they were reaching out with their trunks grabbing half of a bush. It is a good thing things grow quickly in the jungle. From there we hiked up hill for the rest of the afternoon. We finally arrived at a very isolated village that seemed to tolerate tourists like the elephant tolerated the flies that buzz around them, a little annoying, but nothing to get upset about. Our guides fixed us a nice Thai meal and then had us sleep in a one room thatched hut. We slept right on the wood floors with absolutely no padding. That was difficult but the hardest thing was to keep from freezing to death. The sleeping bags were so thin you could see through them. Temperatures dropped to around zero that night. I was curled up in fetal position under my sleeping bag just waiting for morning. Mike finally got up around 3 in the morning and spent the rest of the time waiting for the sun to rise next to the campfire. It was a far different climate from the 80-degree weather in Bangkok.
We took a plane down to Phuket, which is at the south end of Thailand. This town was clearly built for the American GI’s who had their R&R in Thailand during the Vietnam War. There was one bar right after another. And standing in front of each bar were beautiful Thai girls literally trying to drag you into the bar to buy them a drink. When you go to a bar in Thailand, you are customarily given a woman who is your companion for the night. Her job is to try and get you to drink as much as she can and to supply her with as many drinks as you will buy for her though I doubt her drinks have much alcohol. I felt like Pinocchio when he is on the Island of Lost Boys. So much alcohol and so much sex steaming through the streets. It all didn’t do much for me, but there were plenty of guys who loved the attention and who knows what else. We didn’t stay long in Phuket. Instead we headed to one of the hundreds of resort island, Phi Phi.
By this time in our trip, we had seen enough temples and done enough shopping. We were ready to kick back and enjoy a nice week of resort living. Our bungalow was just steps from the beach. We ate our meals with the sound of the surf slapping against the white sand. During the day we would lay around the pool reading books and soaking in the sun. In the evenings there were plenty of fire dances and disco dances to entertain us. It was really just a very relaxing part of the trip. We took day trips on long tail boats, which mean they were regular boats with a car engine mounted on the back. Where the drive shaft is was a very long pole that attached to a propeller. They were fast and cheap and took us to some of the other islands where we fed the monkeys and dove into the crystal clear water. This was one of the islands that got wiped out by the tsunami a couple of years ago. It was a bit unnerving to see tsunami signs scattered throughout the island keeping you always aware of where the highest point of refuge would be in the event of an emergency.
Spending time in the kingdom of Thailand only made me want to come back and spend even more time. I want to explore the surrounding countries of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. It is an amazing part of the world that has a history and culture going back for centuries.
In the afternoon, we rode to the other side of the town where they were having an umbrella festival. Thousands of handmade umbrellas were on display. We visited the factory where women were taking raw bamboo and literally carving each spoke in the umbrella. Each piece was amazingly exactly like the others. They were then all assembled together interlocking each piece with precision until the piece was finished. Then they were all hand painted and laid out to dry in the sun. This factory that produces thousands of umbrellas had absolutely no machinery. All were handcrafted by women who devote their life’s work to producing one part of the whole.
One of the amazing things about Thailand is how cheap everything is. You could get a hotel room for as little as $10 a night and a real nice one for $24. Our cheapest meal was Phat Thai for only 3 cents. And that included the paper plate and fork. Most of the tourist things were free. An hour massage was typically $6.00. You could rent a taxi for the afternoon for a dollar. The only problem is they want to take you to their “special shops” where they get vouchers for gas by bringing in customers. We were not really shopping so asked that they just charge us more.
While we were up north we went on a trek up into the mountains. There are hundreds of mountain tribes that have remained virtually the same for centuries. Some still don’t even have running water. Or trek began with an elephant ride through the jungle. It was really a fun experience riding these mammoth beasts. The one thing that we quickly learned about elephants is that they are constantly eating. They literally never stop, consuming about a quarter ton of food a day. Everywhere we went, they were reaching out with their trunks grabbing half of a bush. It is a good thing things grow quickly in the jungle. From there we hiked up hill for the rest of the afternoon. We finally arrived at a very isolated village that seemed to tolerate tourists like the elephant tolerated the flies that buzz around them, a little annoying, but nothing to get upset about. Our guides fixed us a nice Thai meal and then had us sleep in a one room thatched hut. We slept right on the wood floors with absolutely no padding. That was difficult but the hardest thing was to keep from freezing to death. The sleeping bags were so thin you could see through them. Temperatures dropped to around zero that night. I was curled up in fetal position under my sleeping bag just waiting for morning. Mike finally got up around 3 in the morning and spent the rest of the time waiting for the sun to rise next to the campfire. It was a far different climate from the 80-degree weather in Bangkok.
We took a plane down to Phuket, which is at the south end of Thailand. This town was clearly built for the American GI’s who had their R&R in Thailand during the Vietnam War. There was one bar right after another. And standing in front of each bar were beautiful Thai girls literally trying to drag you into the bar to buy them a drink. When you go to a bar in Thailand, you are customarily given a woman who is your companion for the night. Her job is to try and get you to drink as much as she can and to supply her with as many drinks as you will buy for her though I doubt her drinks have much alcohol. I felt like Pinocchio when he is on the Island of Lost Boys. So much alcohol and so much sex steaming through the streets. It all didn’t do much for me, but there were plenty of guys who loved the attention and who knows what else. We didn’t stay long in Phuket. Instead we headed to one of the hundreds of resort island, Phi Phi.
By this time in our trip, we had seen enough temples and done enough shopping. We were ready to kick back and enjoy a nice week of resort living. Our bungalow was just steps from the beach. We ate our meals with the sound of the surf slapping against the white sand. During the day we would lay around the pool reading books and soaking in the sun. In the evenings there were plenty of fire dances and disco dances to entertain us. It was really just a very relaxing part of the trip. We took day trips on long tail boats, which mean they were regular boats with a car engine mounted on the back. Where the drive shaft is was a very long pole that attached to a propeller. They were fast and cheap and took us to some of the other islands where we fed the monkeys and dove into the crystal clear water. This was one of the islands that got wiped out by the tsunami a couple of years ago. It was a bit unnerving to see tsunami signs scattered throughout the island keeping you always aware of where the highest point of refuge would be in the event of an emergency.
Spending time in the kingdom of Thailand only made me want to come back and spend even more time. I want to explore the surrounding countries of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. It is an amazing part of the world that has a history and culture going back for centuries.
The Magical Kingdom Here On Earth
We went to visit the royal palace and center of religion for the country. Now I have been to some pretty spectacular royal settings: The commanding grounds and palace of Versailles, the royal palaces of Vienna, the Vatican, temples of Bali, the forbidden city of China etc. But nothing is like the magic of Thailand. Its royal grounds literally glitter in the sunlight. Everything is gold and silver. Buildings are covered in mosaic mirrors and porcelain tiles. The wealth is displayed in 24 karat gold leafing. The statues are monumental. The architecture is fanciful and beautifully carved in detail. It is like a movie set for Shangri-La. An image of heaven could not be much different from what was created. To be the king of Thailand meant to be surrounded with opulence and luxury. I almost expected this section of the city to be lifted up to the heavens. It is a site to behold,
There are hundreds if not thousands of statues of Buddha all over the city: the reclining Buddha, the standing Buddha, the emerald Buddha the sitting Buddha. But maybe one of the most amazing is the solid gold Buddha cast in the 13 century. When the Burmese were threatening to invade, they covered it in plaster and there it remained forgotten for centuries. It was thought to be old but of little value. Then in 1957 this statue was moved to a new temple. When they were lowering it in place, one of the ropes broke and as it crashed to the floor, part of the plaster fell off revealing what was hidden for all this time, a solid gold statue of the sitting Buddah. It is the single most valuable piece of religious art in the world at least price on its actual raw worth.
There are hundreds if not thousands of statues of Buddha all over the city: the reclining Buddha, the standing Buddha, the emerald Buddha the sitting Buddha. But maybe one of the most amazing is the solid gold Buddha cast in the 13 century. When the Burmese were threatening to invade, they covered it in plaster and there it remained forgotten for centuries. It was thought to be old but of little value. Then in 1957 this statue was moved to a new temple. When they were lowering it in place, one of the ropes broke and as it crashed to the floor, part of the plaster fell off revealing what was hidden for all this time, a solid gold statue of the sitting Buddah. It is the single most valuable piece of religious art in the world at least price on its actual raw worth.
Bangkok
It is a big city choked with traffic and pollution. Cars buses scooters and tutus all crowding the city streets. There is a crescendo of horns honking and police yelling out directions. The people on the streets trip over the constant street vendors selling everything from live eels to temple offerings. It is hard to separate the saturation of color and noise from the waffling of smells that permeate this beautiful city. The fragrances are like individual links of a chain that come one right after another. There is no part of the city that does not have a smell. Frying fish, fragrant flowers, barbeque chicken pungent smells from who knows what are all linked together and mixed with whiffs of incense. Temples dot the city and you first come across them from the smell of incense before you lay eyes on their golden roofs of delicately carved wood. Buddhism is the predominate religion with a sprinkling of Hinduism and just a smidgen of Christianity. The dominance of Buddhism makes the city glimmer in gold. Every temple shimmers in the sunlight. The attendants of these ancient shrines are young boys with shaved heads and wrapped in saffron robes. Every young man is expected to serve the church for a period of time. Most serve 18 months. But if you have a good job and are supporting your family, that time can be cut down to 7 days. Offerings are made with carefully arranged flowers and fruit. Devout worshipers carefully take off their shoes and enter with reverence and bow before the huge golden Buddha statues that dominate each temple. The priest blesses the people with holy water and ties a string on their wrist to bring them luck. It is a very inclusive religion. I was standing back watching the priest bless the followers when he looks at me and motions for me to come over to him. I too receive the holy water and the string around my wrist. The parallels with Christianity are not lost on me. They too have commandments that include no lying, no murder, and no adultery, honor your parents and no alcohol. The last commandment seems to be routinely ignored by at least part of the believers. While they don’t have weekly services they go to temple when they feel the need to connect with Buddha. Scripture study is more an individual thing.
The Kingdom of Thailand
My friend Mike calls me up and tells me he wants to go to Thailand in a week. I guess I was the one friend he knew that would always be up for a little adventure. And he was right. We booked our flight and off we went, to explore another part of the world.
Dinner with Elton John in Venice
We had about a week left before everyone had to fly back home. So we went on to ClickAir to see what cheap flights we could find. After checking out flights to Prague, Canary Islands, Milan, the winner for the cheapest fares was Venice. And what a winner it was.
Venice is everything you expect it to be. After a short bus ride from the Airport, we caught the water bus down the grand cannel to get to our hotel. Yeah that is right, instead of busses using roads, they really do use the cannels of Venice. You can buy a 3 day unlimited pass for 20 euro’s. Venice is such a small city that I recognized a lot of the grand palaces built right on the cannel from movies that have used this magical city for its setting. Really there is just one big cannel cutting through the center of Venice with a lot of side cannels feeding off of it. So it is pretty easy to not get too lost. We arrived at our hotel which was just steps from the Rialto Bridge one of only 2 over the main cannel. It proved to be an ideal location. We spent the day taking in the sites and exploring St Mark’s square. This is the big square that is framed by impressive government offices and a spectacular basilica at the far end. It is also the square that frequently floods when the sea is pushed up the gulf by strong winds and raging storms. Fortunately for us, this time of year it stays dry. Towards the far end of the square, they were setting up a huge stage and seating for about 2000 people. The rumors going around was that Elton John would be giving a concert there that evening. So around 7pm we headed back to the plaza and found a nice restaurant to have dinner out on the square. We took our time to eat and were treated to Elton John appearing at about 8:00 on stage at the other end of the plaza. We could hear perfectly and could even see him when we stood up. He sang through his signature songs for the next 2 hours. Wow what a treat and what a way to see this legend in concert. Much better than some stadium event with him just a dot on the stage from the nose bleed seats. No one hurries you through dinner in Europe and a 3-hour meal is the norm. So the waiters were very nice making sure we were taken care of the whole time the concert was going on. Thanks Elton for a wonderful magical evening under the stars of Venice.
And the magic did not end there. The next day we visited the Basilica and governors palace. Beautiful marble structures filled with all the bounty and treasures of a couple of centuries ago when Venice was the richest trading city in Europe.
We also did a “Secret walking tour of Venice”. It was fascinating to hear how this sleepy village was able to transform itself into a powerhouse of Europe. Starting with a simple market and expanding to include trade in spices, fabrics, and exotic handcrafted treasures from all over the western world.
That night we went to our second concert. Held in one of the large palaces we were treated to classical pieces that brought back the sophistication of Venice’s glory days of fine composers performing their works with all the brocade and silk fabrics of the day.
Venice is everything you expect it to be. After a short bus ride from the Airport, we caught the water bus down the grand cannel to get to our hotel. Yeah that is right, instead of busses using roads, they really do use the cannels of Venice. You can buy a 3 day unlimited pass for 20 euro’s. Venice is such a small city that I recognized a lot of the grand palaces built right on the cannel from movies that have used this magical city for its setting. Really there is just one big cannel cutting through the center of Venice with a lot of side cannels feeding off of it. So it is pretty easy to not get too lost. We arrived at our hotel which was just steps from the Rialto Bridge one of only 2 over the main cannel. It proved to be an ideal location. We spent the day taking in the sites and exploring St Mark’s square. This is the big square that is framed by impressive government offices and a spectacular basilica at the far end. It is also the square that frequently floods when the sea is pushed up the gulf by strong winds and raging storms. Fortunately for us, this time of year it stays dry. Towards the far end of the square, they were setting up a huge stage and seating for about 2000 people. The rumors going around was that Elton John would be giving a concert there that evening. So around 7pm we headed back to the plaza and found a nice restaurant to have dinner out on the square. We took our time to eat and were treated to Elton John appearing at about 8:00 on stage at the other end of the plaza. We could hear perfectly and could even see him when we stood up. He sang through his signature songs for the next 2 hours. Wow what a treat and what a way to see this legend in concert. Much better than some stadium event with him just a dot on the stage from the nose bleed seats. No one hurries you through dinner in Europe and a 3-hour meal is the norm. So the waiters were very nice making sure we were taken care of the whole time the concert was going on. Thanks Elton for a wonderful magical evening under the stars of Venice.
And the magic did not end there. The next day we visited the Basilica and governors palace. Beautiful marble structures filled with all the bounty and treasures of a couple of centuries ago when Venice was the richest trading city in Europe.
We also did a “Secret walking tour of Venice”. It was fascinating to hear how this sleepy village was able to transform itself into a powerhouse of Europe. Starting with a simple market and expanding to include trade in spices, fabrics, and exotic handcrafted treasures from all over the western world.
That night we went to our second concert. Held in one of the large palaces we were treated to classical pieces that brought back the sophistication of Venice’s glory days of fine composers performing their works with all the brocade and silk fabrics of the day.
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