After writing and re-reading my last blog, I felt the need to add some of the lasting impressions Thailand has blessed me with. I may feel a slight disconnect from my trip and my experiences out there, but there are a few sentiments I have brought home with me and I want to share them with you... and I think it will help to bring a sense of closure to the journey that I made.
THAILAND. I had envisioned an exotic and exciting adventure, one that would challenge me to escape the box that I had molded myself to fit after crawling into it a couple years ago. My life had become one rigid routine, and I was convinced that living according to this fixed schedule would bring a sense of order and control to my "chaotic" and stressful life - something that gives my mind a feeling of comfort. I learned, however, that though my life might have been more manageable and productive, I had lost a sense of who I really was. I started to live my life on auto-pilot, void of pure emotion and passion for things that had once brought such joy to my life. I didn't realize how far I had drifted away from my true identity, until I arrived in Thailand. Removing myself from the daily "To Do Lists" and endless planning for the future allowed me to regain the perspective that I had lost sight of. I was surrounded by gracious and selfless people, eager to serve and share with us their cultural and national pride, and it touched a part of my heart that I had neglected since I left Africa 2 years ago. This trip gave me so much more in return than I could have ever paid for in Baht, and for that I am grateful. I have a renewed spirit and am now in a place where I feel confident in myself to accomplish that which I am destined for. I know that traveling will forever be a part of my life, as I grow and learn and gain appreciation for the diversity of the world that we live in. So many places to see and people to meet and wounds to heal, whatever and wherever that may be! I hope that one day I will return to Thailand, and to the surrounding southeast Asian countries, as I really have fallen in love with the culture and the people (and the food!). Until that day though, I will carry with me the fondest memories of a enchanting, far-away land....
Thursday, April 30, 2009
was it just a dream?
I am relaxing in my ever-so-comfortable queen-sized feather bed, wondering how I made it back here.. or if I ever really left! Did my 5-week adventure really end? ALREADY? Hard to believe... but looking through the pictures remind me that I was there, that it did happen, and that I had the experience of a lifetime. But, reality has set in and I am happy to be home. Yes, a bit overwhelmed with the next challenge -- moving to Baltimore and starting school at Johns Hopkins -- but it's nice to feel connected to reality again. Before I really shift my mentality back to this life, though, I wanted to bring a little closure to my travel blog, so let me bring you back to Thailand and my last few days in paradise...
Our last days in Krabi were ever-so busy. After our day of rock climbing, we made plans to go kayaking and snorkeling with another expedition group to the island of Koh Hong. It was quite windy, so the trip out on our longtail boat took quite a while, but it was worth the trip. The beach at Koh Hong was by far my favorite beach, out of all the beaches we had traveled too. Exquisite. Kayaking proved to be a bit challenging, as we were forced to paddle into the wind, but it was a welcome workout. We made our way to the Hong Lagoon, a serene emerald-green cove that fills the center of the island. It was beautiful, of course. After returning to the beach, we were able to relax and enjoy a couple more hours on the sand before heading to another island for a bit of snorkeling. All in all, a long and exhausting but enjoyable day trip. That night, our last in Krabi, we made our routine trip to the night market for delectable (and cheap) food, and treated ourselves to some home-made ice cream -- coconut and chocolate. Incredible.
Our last day in Krabi, we decided to visit the Tiger Cave Temple, the main temple in the city of Krabi. We read a bit about the temple, and learned that there was a hike to the top of the mountain, where they had built a buddha shrine. We thought it would be fun to get away from the beach for a day and explore this temple, but had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We reached the temple and explored the cave (not anything what we were expecting) and had the opportunity to be blessed by a female monk, which was pretty unique. We appreciated that experience. We then made our way to the stairs at the bottom of the mountain... and were greeted by a sign that read: "1237 steps to top of mountain" -- what had we signed up for? haha. But we were not going to turn back, so we made our way up the endless flights of stairs... ENDLESS. There was a stair count the entire way up, and I can remember looking out about half-way and thinking that we were already up pretty high. The hike up was well worth the efforts though-- the views of the surrounding area were breathtaking. We took some time to take in the sights and the images (and let our feet recooperate) before heading back down, and felt quite honored to be there.
After returning to our guesthouse, we collected our things and then it was on to the ferry to Koh Phi Phi, our final destination for the trip. We were excited to continue on, but knew that this would be our last place to explore in Thailand... hard to fathom that our trip was coming to an end. We landed on Koh Phi Phi and intended on walking around to find one of the cheapest guesthouses, but we were exhausted and our bags were heavy, so we opted to stay at a more convenient and slightly more expensive place. The lady, Miss Lee, was so sweet and the place was clean, so we couldn't argue.
Koh Phi Phi was hit pretty hard by the tsunami 4 years ago, and they are still rebuilding many areas of the small town, but it has bounced back and the tourism is thriving. We found a small restaurant run by a man (Mr. Samee) who was rescued from underneath 4m of rubble, and who has found a passion for cooking and serving those guests he feels priveleged to have in his shop. The food was amazing, and we went there a couple times, making sure to tip him (not common in Thailand) and were warmly thanked by a gracious smile and bow. It was so sweet. Our time on Koh Phi Phi was spent trying to soak up as much sun as we could, but unfortunately the sun felt like hiding behind the clouds... we were determined to enjoy the beach though, so we layed out and read our books for hours. Aside from beach trips, we loved the backpacking community that we were again surrounded by (reminded us of Koh Tao) and enjoyed walking around and shopping in the various boutiques that bordered the narrow streets. We also treated ourselves to one last Thai massage (much needed after our 1237-stair climb) and another hike to the island viewpoint, which overlooks the narrow strip of sand where the town resides. We had planned on walking up there to watch our last sunset, but as I mentioned before, the sun decided to stay hidden behind clouds so no sunset for us. I was a tad bit disappointed. Not so much to ask for, right? haha. I guess I can't really complain though :) We did love our time on Koh Phi Phi, just relaxing and enjoying our last precious days in Thailand.
And then it finally happened... our trip had to come to an end.... and so, at 2pm on Sunday afternoon (after spending the entire morning at the beach), we left for the Phuket airport. Our flight did not leave Phuket until 10 that night, but we had to catch the last ferry from Phi Phi, so we were forced to sit at the airport for 4 hours. Thank goodness for iPods! haha. Then on to Bangkok, for a 5-hr flight to Seoul, S.Korea. We arrived in Seoul at 8:30 am, and had a 12-hr layover, so we decided to go out and explore the city. We took the subway in, and immediately felt out of place... we were dressed like backpackers in Thailand, not like the professionals of Seoul -- not to mention the fact that it was 50 degrees! and raining at one point... it was not a comfortable day. We did enjoy seeing a small side of another Asian country though. Then it was back to the airport... our flight left Seoul at 8:30 pm on Monday night, and we arrived in Los Angeles at 3:30 pm -- explain that one to me! We are a bit turned around on that one. haha. But it was a relatively painless flight, and then it was back to Salt Lake! We made it home at about 10 pm.... so, if my calculations are correct, that was about 45 hours of travel? Somewhere around there. So it's been a rough couple days... the jet lag is killing me! Hence why it is 1:30 am and I am still awake... argh. Hopefully this will correct itself in the next couple days! So much to do... I probably should try to get to bed so that I can get up tomorrow and be somewhat productive :)
With all that said, I guess this brings me to the end of this travel blog! So for those who were following along, I hope you enjoyed reading about my adventures :) I'll be back to continue in a few weeks, when my next adventure begins in the city of Baltimore! So, until then, korp khun kha!
Our last days in Krabi were ever-so busy. After our day of rock climbing, we made plans to go kayaking and snorkeling with another expedition group to the island of Koh Hong. It was quite windy, so the trip out on our longtail boat took quite a while, but it was worth the trip. The beach at Koh Hong was by far my favorite beach, out of all the beaches we had traveled too. Exquisite. Kayaking proved to be a bit challenging, as we were forced to paddle into the wind, but it was a welcome workout. We made our way to the Hong Lagoon, a serene emerald-green cove that fills the center of the island. It was beautiful, of course. After returning to the beach, we were able to relax and enjoy a couple more hours on the sand before heading to another island for a bit of snorkeling. All in all, a long and exhausting but enjoyable day trip. That night, our last in Krabi, we made our routine trip to the night market for delectable (and cheap) food, and treated ourselves to some home-made ice cream -- coconut and chocolate. Incredible.
Our last day in Krabi, we decided to visit the Tiger Cave Temple, the main temple in the city of Krabi. We read a bit about the temple, and learned that there was a hike to the top of the mountain, where they had built a buddha shrine. We thought it would be fun to get away from the beach for a day and explore this temple, but had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We reached the temple and explored the cave (not anything what we were expecting) and had the opportunity to be blessed by a female monk, which was pretty unique. We appreciated that experience. We then made our way to the stairs at the bottom of the mountain... and were greeted by a sign that read: "1237 steps to top of mountain" -- what had we signed up for? haha. But we were not going to turn back, so we made our way up the endless flights of stairs... ENDLESS. There was a stair count the entire way up, and I can remember looking out about half-way and thinking that we were already up pretty high. The hike up was well worth the efforts though-- the views of the surrounding area were breathtaking. We took some time to take in the sights and the images (and let our feet recooperate) before heading back down, and felt quite honored to be there.
After returning to our guesthouse, we collected our things and then it was on to the ferry to Koh Phi Phi, our final destination for the trip. We were excited to continue on, but knew that this would be our last place to explore in Thailand... hard to fathom that our trip was coming to an end. We landed on Koh Phi Phi and intended on walking around to find one of the cheapest guesthouses, but we were exhausted and our bags were heavy, so we opted to stay at a more convenient and slightly more expensive place. The lady, Miss Lee, was so sweet and the place was clean, so we couldn't argue.
Koh Phi Phi was hit pretty hard by the tsunami 4 years ago, and they are still rebuilding many areas of the small town, but it has bounced back and the tourism is thriving. We found a small restaurant run by a man (Mr. Samee) who was rescued from underneath 4m of rubble, and who has found a passion for cooking and serving those guests he feels priveleged to have in his shop. The food was amazing, and we went there a couple times, making sure to tip him (not common in Thailand) and were warmly thanked by a gracious smile and bow. It was so sweet. Our time on Koh Phi Phi was spent trying to soak up as much sun as we could, but unfortunately the sun felt like hiding behind the clouds... we were determined to enjoy the beach though, so we layed out and read our books for hours. Aside from beach trips, we loved the backpacking community that we were again surrounded by (reminded us of Koh Tao) and enjoyed walking around and shopping in the various boutiques that bordered the narrow streets. We also treated ourselves to one last Thai massage (much needed after our 1237-stair climb) and another hike to the island viewpoint, which overlooks the narrow strip of sand where the town resides. We had planned on walking up there to watch our last sunset, but as I mentioned before, the sun decided to stay hidden behind clouds so no sunset for us. I was a tad bit disappointed. Not so much to ask for, right? haha. I guess I can't really complain though :) We did love our time on Koh Phi Phi, just relaxing and enjoying our last precious days in Thailand.
And then it finally happened... our trip had to come to an end.... and so, at 2pm on Sunday afternoon (after spending the entire morning at the beach), we left for the Phuket airport. Our flight did not leave Phuket until 10 that night, but we had to catch the last ferry from Phi Phi, so we were forced to sit at the airport for 4 hours. Thank goodness for iPods! haha. Then on to Bangkok, for a 5-hr flight to Seoul, S.Korea. We arrived in Seoul at 8:30 am, and had a 12-hr layover, so we decided to go out and explore the city. We took the subway in, and immediately felt out of place... we were dressed like backpackers in Thailand, not like the professionals of Seoul -- not to mention the fact that it was 50 degrees! and raining at one point... it was not a comfortable day. We did enjoy seeing a small side of another Asian country though. Then it was back to the airport... our flight left Seoul at 8:30 pm on Monday night, and we arrived in Los Angeles at 3:30 pm -- explain that one to me! We are a bit turned around on that one. haha. But it was a relatively painless flight, and then it was back to Salt Lake! We made it home at about 10 pm.... so, if my calculations are correct, that was about 45 hours of travel? Somewhere around there. So it's been a rough couple days... the jet lag is killing me! Hence why it is 1:30 am and I am still awake... argh. Hopefully this will correct itself in the next couple days! So much to do... I probably should try to get to bed so that I can get up tomorrow and be somewhat productive :)
With all that said, I guess this brings me to the end of this travel blog! So for those who were following along, I hope you enjoyed reading about my adventures :) I'll be back to continue in a few weeks, when my next adventure begins in the city of Baltimore! So, until then, korp khun kha!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
the adventure continues...
SO... we are currently in Krabitown, on the western coast of Thailand. The trip has been the adventure of a lifetime, and we are on our final countdown to the end... only one week left! We are both exhausted, but not ready to come home... we are loving life on the road. But responsibilities can't be put off anymore, so we will be back in the good ol' SLC next week. While we are here, though, we are determined to make the most of our precious time... and we are definitely doing just that!
We arrived here late Saturday night, after a LONG day of traveling... about 9 hours between boats and buses to get us from the island of Koh Tao to Krabi. Thankfully we had already booked rooms at a local guesthouse, so we didn't have to deal with the touts shoving pamphlets of information in our faces about their "special deals." Our guesthouse, Good Dream, is run by an American guy, and we are quite grateful for him and his American perspective. Didn't realize how much I appreciate American sense of humor either... haha. Our little fan-cooled room is a perfect little escape for us, and we feel quite comfortable here. And, an extra bonus that we weren't expecting, we get 1-hr free internet for every night that we stay here! We LOVE that part. And they have movies here every night, so if we aren't out around town, we hang out in the common area and watch the featured movie with other fellow backpackers. We love this environment.
Our first night, we wandered down the street to the local night food market -- delicious pad thai cooked to order for only 25B! That's less than a dollar... we can't get enough. That or the delicious banana pancakes. My favorite is the banana cinnamon chocolate... or banana coconut. Both are amazing. And only about 30B. SO CHEAP. And SO delectable. :) After wandering around town, we decided to come back and crash... get some sleep before hitting up the beach the next day. Sunday morning, we awoke refreshed and ready to get some sun! Not that we haven't had enough already... but we caught a ride on the longtail boat taxi to Rai Leh beach... one of the most gorgeous beaches in Thailand. And I'm not exaggerating. It was idyllic. We made it out there around noon, and spent the afternoon relaxing on the white sand and swimming in the aquamarine water. It was wonderful. We had to leave before the sunset, unfortunately, to catch the boat back to our little town. I've heard the sunsets from that beach are unreal. But once we get to Koh Phi Phi on Thursday, we'll have a few more to enjoy. Sunday night we spent watching Slumdog Millionaire (LOVE that movie) and relaxing in our guesthouse. We love it here!
Our guesthouse also serves as a tour agency, and they book various excursions for other companies in the area. And they get discounted prices for all the tours, so we've been taking advantage. Yesterday, we decided to take a speed boat tour of Koh Phi Phi and the surrounding islands... unfortunately for us, the weather was not cooperative. Our speedboat was FULL - probably about 25 people on it... and then the wind picked up, making for a VERY bumpy ride. Julie and I claimed seats at the very front, and we were so grateful that we did... as the boat was tossed across the sea, those who were seasick could not hold back... we looked back to the rear of our boat periodically and saw a few people with their heads in trashbags. We couldn't handle it... the sounds and smells we are bit much, so we kept our heads forward and focused on the trip ahead. I felt so bad for the people that were stuck in the back though... I'm sure that put a damper on their experience. Our first stop was a lagoon... forgive me, I can't remember the name... but it was gorgeous. We had to stay in our boat, but we putted our way through and admired the towering limestone cliffs that stretched up about 300 feet above us, and then peered into the crystal-clear water below and counted the multi-colored little fish that followed our boat. We also got to see "Viking Cave" (apparently named for some old paintings on the walls of the cave of a viking ship - we were unable to see it) which is now home to Thai men who care for swallow nests. I guess "Bird's Egg Soup" is a chinese delicacy, and they use swallow's eggs. Interesting to see and learn about. Our next stop was another bay, where we were able to get out and snorkel... amazing visibility, and the variety of fish in these waters is so much more diverse! We've had fun trying to find all the fish from the movie "Finding Nemo"... we have yet to find Nemo though. That's our goal when we snorkel tomorrow :) After snorkelling, we made our way around to Maya Beach, where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. Also a spectacular beach. Idyllic. I can't get enough! If only beaches like these were more accessible back home... guess I'll just have to travel some more! haha. We ate lunch in the town on Phi Phi's TonSai Bay, which, for those who remember, was devastated by the tsunami in December 2004. It is still in the process of being rebuilt, but is mostly up and running. The Thai people of that area are resilient -- they did not waste any time to get back to work and rebuild their lives. We will be staying on that island from Thursday-Sunday this week, and we are excited to explore the town and do some shopping... as well as relax on the beaches there :) After lunch, we went snorkeling at Monkey Beach, aptly named for the numerous monkeys that inhabit the trees in the area surrounding the sand... they have claimed that little strip of sand as their own, and therefore we watched from the water as they chased each other around and played with various left-over items from careless tourists. Our final stop was Bamboo Island... a beautiful little gem in the middle of the Andaman Sea. We were exhausted from the day's activities, so we found some shade and enjoyed some time to ourselves to read. It was a nice break from the masses that we had been following the entire day (seems to be that most tour groups in the area follow the same itinerary, so we were with multiple boats full of people for the duration of our tour). Our return trip was definitely not smooth... probably worse than we had experienced all morning. We didn't mind so much, as long as we were away from those sick in the back. It was quite the roller coaster ride though! We laughed and shrieked the whole way back to Ao Nang (the beach town our boat left from). A long and exhausting yet enjoyable day.
Today we decided to test our rock climbing skills on the limestone cliffs of Rai Leh. This area is known around the world to be a rock climbing mecca... people travel here specifically to scale the massive cliffs that tower high above the quiet bay below. We went out with a local guide and had the opportunity to climb 5 different routes up some tricky walls. It was gorgeous scenery, and the rocks were NOT easy to ascend! But we conquered them, with a little will-power and a lot of sweat. Our guide was impressed with us and our prior experience, so he definitely gave us a challenge. We appreciated it though. After 3 hours of climbing, our arms were spent, but we never gave up! The last climb was the longest and probably the most difficult... and it made reaching the top that much more rewarding. We thoroughly enjoyed our day, and are now taking time to let our bodies recooperate. I'm thinking a massage is in order... :)
We still have a couple more days in Krabi before we make our way to Phi Phi... we are savoring our remaining time here in Thailand, and still have many things left on our agenda to see and do. So, until next time... cheur gun mai!
We arrived here late Saturday night, after a LONG day of traveling... about 9 hours between boats and buses to get us from the island of Koh Tao to Krabi. Thankfully we had already booked rooms at a local guesthouse, so we didn't have to deal with the touts shoving pamphlets of information in our faces about their "special deals." Our guesthouse, Good Dream, is run by an American guy, and we are quite grateful for him and his American perspective. Didn't realize how much I appreciate American sense of humor either... haha. Our little fan-cooled room is a perfect little escape for us, and we feel quite comfortable here. And, an extra bonus that we weren't expecting, we get 1-hr free internet for every night that we stay here! We LOVE that part. And they have movies here every night, so if we aren't out around town, we hang out in the common area and watch the featured movie with other fellow backpackers. We love this environment.
Our first night, we wandered down the street to the local night food market -- delicious pad thai cooked to order for only 25B! That's less than a dollar... we can't get enough. That or the delicious banana pancakes. My favorite is the banana cinnamon chocolate... or banana coconut. Both are amazing. And only about 30B. SO CHEAP. And SO delectable. :) After wandering around town, we decided to come back and crash... get some sleep before hitting up the beach the next day. Sunday morning, we awoke refreshed and ready to get some sun! Not that we haven't had enough already... but we caught a ride on the longtail boat taxi to Rai Leh beach... one of the most gorgeous beaches in Thailand. And I'm not exaggerating. It was idyllic. We made it out there around noon, and spent the afternoon relaxing on the white sand and swimming in the aquamarine water. It was wonderful. We had to leave before the sunset, unfortunately, to catch the boat back to our little town. I've heard the sunsets from that beach are unreal. But once we get to Koh Phi Phi on Thursday, we'll have a few more to enjoy. Sunday night we spent watching Slumdog Millionaire (LOVE that movie) and relaxing in our guesthouse. We love it here!
Our guesthouse also serves as a tour agency, and they book various excursions for other companies in the area. And they get discounted prices for all the tours, so we've been taking advantage. Yesterday, we decided to take a speed boat tour of Koh Phi Phi and the surrounding islands... unfortunately for us, the weather was not cooperative. Our speedboat was FULL - probably about 25 people on it... and then the wind picked up, making for a VERY bumpy ride. Julie and I claimed seats at the very front, and we were so grateful that we did... as the boat was tossed across the sea, those who were seasick could not hold back... we looked back to the rear of our boat periodically and saw a few people with their heads in trashbags. We couldn't handle it... the sounds and smells we are bit much, so we kept our heads forward and focused on the trip ahead. I felt so bad for the people that were stuck in the back though... I'm sure that put a damper on their experience. Our first stop was a lagoon... forgive me, I can't remember the name... but it was gorgeous. We had to stay in our boat, but we putted our way through and admired the towering limestone cliffs that stretched up about 300 feet above us, and then peered into the crystal-clear water below and counted the multi-colored little fish that followed our boat. We also got to see "Viking Cave" (apparently named for some old paintings on the walls of the cave of a viking ship - we were unable to see it) which is now home to Thai men who care for swallow nests. I guess "Bird's Egg Soup" is a chinese delicacy, and they use swallow's eggs. Interesting to see and learn about. Our next stop was another bay, where we were able to get out and snorkel... amazing visibility, and the variety of fish in these waters is so much more diverse! We've had fun trying to find all the fish from the movie "Finding Nemo"... we have yet to find Nemo though. That's our goal when we snorkel tomorrow :) After snorkelling, we made our way around to Maya Beach, where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. Also a spectacular beach. Idyllic. I can't get enough! If only beaches like these were more accessible back home... guess I'll just have to travel some more! haha. We ate lunch in the town on Phi Phi's TonSai Bay, which, for those who remember, was devastated by the tsunami in December 2004. It is still in the process of being rebuilt, but is mostly up and running. The Thai people of that area are resilient -- they did not waste any time to get back to work and rebuild their lives. We will be staying on that island from Thursday-Sunday this week, and we are excited to explore the town and do some shopping... as well as relax on the beaches there :) After lunch, we went snorkeling at Monkey Beach, aptly named for the numerous monkeys that inhabit the trees in the area surrounding the sand... they have claimed that little strip of sand as their own, and therefore we watched from the water as they chased each other around and played with various left-over items from careless tourists. Our final stop was Bamboo Island... a beautiful little gem in the middle of the Andaman Sea. We were exhausted from the day's activities, so we found some shade and enjoyed some time to ourselves to read. It was a nice break from the masses that we had been following the entire day (seems to be that most tour groups in the area follow the same itinerary, so we were with multiple boats full of people for the duration of our tour). Our return trip was definitely not smooth... probably worse than we had experienced all morning. We didn't mind so much, as long as we were away from those sick in the back. It was quite the roller coaster ride though! We laughed and shrieked the whole way back to Ao Nang (the beach town our boat left from). A long and exhausting yet enjoyable day.
Today we decided to test our rock climbing skills on the limestone cliffs of Rai Leh. This area is known around the world to be a rock climbing mecca... people travel here specifically to scale the massive cliffs that tower high above the quiet bay below. We went out with a local guide and had the opportunity to climb 5 different routes up some tricky walls. It was gorgeous scenery, and the rocks were NOT easy to ascend! But we conquered them, with a little will-power and a lot of sweat. Our guide was impressed with us and our prior experience, so he definitely gave us a challenge. We appreciated it though. After 3 hours of climbing, our arms were spent, but we never gave up! The last climb was the longest and probably the most difficult... and it made reaching the top that much more rewarding. We thoroughly enjoyed our day, and are now taking time to let our bodies recooperate. I'm thinking a massage is in order... :)
We still have a couple more days in Krabi before we make our way to Phi Phi... we are savoring our remaining time here in Thailand, and still have many things left on our agenda to see and do. So, until next time... cheur gun mai!
Friday, April 17, 2009
island paradise
Here we are, our last night on the island of Koh Tao... our group left us this afternoon, so it's just Julie and me from here on out! We feel adequately prepared to handle this on our own, and we're excited to keep on going. We're not done yet! We are having the time of our lives, and loving the journey. So we have a week and a half left, and we are going to make the most of it!
The past few days have been blissful and relaxing... I didn't realize how much I missed the beach! The sand... the ocean... the atmosphere... it feels (almost) like home in California. Well... not really anything like home, seeing as the water is bath-water warm and the sand is white and powdery, but still. I love coming home with salt water dried into my hair and finding sand in my clothes. Reminds me of many trips to Zuma Beach growing up...
Well, we've definitely been enjoying our time on the beach since we've been down here! First was the island of Koh Samui... looking back, it wasn't really the beach I was hoping for, but at the time I was just happy to look out and see the water disappear across the horizon and feel the sand between my toes. Julie and I got off the ferry and were ready to pass out on the beach in the sun, so we did just that! We put our stuff down and walked (nearly ran) to the beach and just took a deep breath in and sighed. We made it. We relaxed on the beach with our group until the sun went down in the sky, and then made our way out for dinner. Chompooh took us to another beach on the east side of the island, Hat Chaweng, and we noticed that everyone had squirt guns out and were soaking each other on the sides of the road.... the Songkran festival had (un)officially begun! The Thai New Year is celebrated on April 12/13 here (year = 2552, as calculated from the life of Buddha) and, originally, Thai people would traditionally splash water on each other as a form of cleansing. Through the years, this has translated into a country-wide water fight. Everyone brings out the buckets and hoses and it is a free for all! Seriously. They don't hold back. So... here we were in our little van, peering out through the glass at what we were about to enter... we prepared ourselves (and our valuables) and stepped outside. Within minutes, we were sprayed from one side by a water gun, and then splashed with ice-cold water on the other. We hurried to find a restaurant (safe zones) and enjoyed a delicious seafood dinner. After, a few of us went with Chompooh down the main street to see a "ladyboy" show -- it was so entertaining! And quite impressive... some of them were amazingly believable. They lip synched their way through a variety of pop songs, and had outrageous costumes to match. Then they invited a few guys from the audience to go up and participate... we volunteered James and Joe :) They went backstage for a few minutes, and then the curtains rose... they were in little tops and mini skirts! We were rolling. It was hilarious. They even got into it a bit too. haha. We, of course, commented on their sexy legs for the rest of the evening :)
We woke up the next morning ready to relax and lay out on the sand. We spent the morning on the quiet beach near our hotel, but our group decided to head to Hat Chaweng (the area we had been the night before) to see another side of the island. We made our way to the street to wait for a songthaew (taxi) and found ourselves in the middle of a waterfight/party on the street! It was New Year's Day, and holiday for the locals, so everyone was out on the street in front of their houses or shops (for those that were open) or bumping along in the back of a pickup truck throwing water in every direction. We had, thankfully, purchased some "weapons" the night before, so we were ready to retaliate! We saw families standing in the beds of their vehicles with a 50-gallon barrel of water, heaving buckets at people as they passed, and those on the streets with hoses would gladly fill them up as soon as they were empty. It was a warzone! We immediately jumped in and started firing away... and were quickly drenched. But it was so hot outside, so we didn't care. We enjoyed the party on the street as we waited for our ride to Chaweng beach, and finally found an empty car to drive us the 20-minute ride to the east side. Well... because so many people were on the road, the 20 minutes turned into an hour and 20 minutes... and because we were sitting in a songthaew, which is basically the bed of a truck with benches and a top, we were an easy target. Traffic quickly turned into gridlock (reminding me of the 405) and everyone on the side of the street found it necessary to run to the back of our truck and heave buckets of water at us. And we could do nothing to stop it. Our puny guns did not do much in return, but we still had fun taking aim at passers-by. The ice-cold water was a bit much though... and then we had people coming up into our car to smear baby powder mixtures onto our faces (still haven't learned the reason behind that one). It was all fun and exciting, for the first half of the ride... then we got a little soggy and decided to hop out and walk. We took a little break, and then made our way through the battlezone once more to finally get to the beach. Unfortunately, because our trip took much longer than planned, we reached the beach much later than we had hoped, so we enjoyed an evening swim and some drinks at the beach bar before returning to our guesthouse. All in all, it was great to experience the festival, but by the end of the day I was wet and cold and ready to crash into our little beach bungalow.
Tuesday morning we woke up ready to head to Koh Tao, or "Turtle Island," which is a smaller island near Koh Samui. I must say... this island is my favorite spot so far. The north was a different type of adventure, so I can't really compare, but since I've been here... I've made a few major realizations in my life, and I must say that I'm happier now than I have been in the past couple years. I feel like I can breathe again, and therefore Julie and I got henna tattooes on our wrists that say "BREATHE" in Thai. I love it. The atmosphere here is so laid-back and people are so kind... there are many western tourists here, and it's a major scuba dive destination, but we haven't really been bombarded by western culture or development. Koh Samui, on the other hand, was rapidly transforming into a tourist-driven western-corrupted island, as evidenced by the THREE Starbucks on the main street in Hat Chaweng. So disappointing. The tourists there were also much more... how can I say this... extravagant. 5-star resorts were popping up all along the beach, and drawing in that crowd. So we were quite pleased to find this island catering more to the backpacker crowd. Our guesthouse sits on this narrow little path that connects a bunch of little shops along the beach, and we have enjoyed walking up and down (from 7-11 to 7-11, as there are 2 at either end) just taking time for ourselves. After spending our time constantly traveling from city to city up north, it's nice to just take a moment to stand back and appreciate the environment that we're in. And we've definitely been making the most of that while we've been here :)
Wednesday our group decided to take a snorkeling tour around the island, so we jumped on board. We stopped at various little coves around the island (4 total) and had the opportunity to jump off into the turquoise waters to explore the coral reefs that enclose the island. The fish are quite curious too, so we were greeted by many colorful friends along the way. While we were at our first stop, we were lucky enough to see a shark! It was only 2 feet long, but still... it was exciting. After we made our way around the island, we stopped at a small island chain off the northwest coast, Koh Nangyuan, which is designated a national park. We had 2 hours to spend there, relaxing on the beach or swimming. Julie and I decided to hike up to the look out point at the top of the mountain, as you can see the small strip of white sand that connects the 3 islands together. It was worth the hike... such beautiful views. We then hopped back on our boat and returned to our island. Wednesday night was the last night for our Canadian friends, as they left yesterday, so we all went out to a nice dinner at a beach restaurant to send them off. Julie and I have had Thai food for every meal -- no western food at all! It is our goal to eat Thai food our entire trip. And we're not sick of it yet :)
Yesterday was a bit more relaxed... we spent time at the idyllic beach near our resort for a majority of the day, and then decided to explore the southern tip of the island with some of our group. Chad, from Australia, had rented an ATV, so Julie and I decided to rent a scooter to join him on his journey south. We ended up renting only one, and I didn't feel safe with someone on the back of the scooter, so Chad ended up making a few trips to taxi people down to the beach we found. It wasn't much different from ours, but it was nice to see a different side of the island. We enjoyed our time there until the sun was pretty low in the sky, and decided to head back to our guesthouse to see the sunset. Might I add... the sunsets here are unreal. We make a point to sit on the beach from 6-6:30 each night to watch the sun as it disappears along the horizon amidst a sky of pink and orange and purple. Beautiful. And now that I just glanced at the clock... it's 5:50, so I have to get off soon! Yikes.
Today has been more of a lazy day... we spent time at the beach with our group, just lounging around until they left us to head back up to Bangkok. We can't believe the tour is over! It feels like just yesterday we were gearing up to head to Chiang Mai... and now we're nearing the end. It was quite an adventure, and we enjoyed every minute. Well, almost every minute. Maybe not so much the leeches :) We will miss our group though, we definitely bonded with them the past few nights. Thank goodness for facebook so we can swap pictures and keep in touch! So after separating from them, Julie took our scooters down to a beach at the southern-most tip of the island, Freedom Beach, and enjoyed some time there. We love having the scooters! A bit of freedom to explore. They are so much fun to ride too :) Well, we've gotta get going.. and I have probably given you more than enough detail to read through! haha. So.. tomorrow we leave Koh Tao to make our way west to Krabi... we're so excited! We've got an idea of what we want to do, but we're free to make our own decisions from here on out... and so the next adventure begins....
The past few days have been blissful and relaxing... I didn't realize how much I missed the beach! The sand... the ocean... the atmosphere... it feels (almost) like home in California. Well... not really anything like home, seeing as the water is bath-water warm and the sand is white and powdery, but still. I love coming home with salt water dried into my hair and finding sand in my clothes. Reminds me of many trips to Zuma Beach growing up...
Well, we've definitely been enjoying our time on the beach since we've been down here! First was the island of Koh Samui... looking back, it wasn't really the beach I was hoping for, but at the time I was just happy to look out and see the water disappear across the horizon and feel the sand between my toes. Julie and I got off the ferry and were ready to pass out on the beach in the sun, so we did just that! We put our stuff down and walked (nearly ran) to the beach and just took a deep breath in and sighed. We made it. We relaxed on the beach with our group until the sun went down in the sky, and then made our way out for dinner. Chompooh took us to another beach on the east side of the island, Hat Chaweng, and we noticed that everyone had squirt guns out and were soaking each other on the sides of the road.... the Songkran festival had (un)officially begun! The Thai New Year is celebrated on April 12/13 here (year = 2552, as calculated from the life of Buddha) and, originally, Thai people would traditionally splash water on each other as a form of cleansing. Through the years, this has translated into a country-wide water fight. Everyone brings out the buckets and hoses and it is a free for all! Seriously. They don't hold back. So... here we were in our little van, peering out through the glass at what we were about to enter... we prepared ourselves (and our valuables) and stepped outside. Within minutes, we were sprayed from one side by a water gun, and then splashed with ice-cold water on the other. We hurried to find a restaurant (safe zones) and enjoyed a delicious seafood dinner. After, a few of us went with Chompooh down the main street to see a "ladyboy" show -- it was so entertaining! And quite impressive... some of them were amazingly believable. They lip synched their way through a variety of pop songs, and had outrageous costumes to match. Then they invited a few guys from the audience to go up and participate... we volunteered James and Joe :) They went backstage for a few minutes, and then the curtains rose... they were in little tops and mini skirts! We were rolling. It was hilarious. They even got into it a bit too. haha. We, of course, commented on their sexy legs for the rest of the evening :)
We woke up the next morning ready to relax and lay out on the sand. We spent the morning on the quiet beach near our hotel, but our group decided to head to Hat Chaweng (the area we had been the night before) to see another side of the island. We made our way to the street to wait for a songthaew (taxi) and found ourselves in the middle of a waterfight/party on the street! It was New Year's Day, and holiday for the locals, so everyone was out on the street in front of their houses or shops (for those that were open) or bumping along in the back of a pickup truck throwing water in every direction. We had, thankfully, purchased some "weapons" the night before, so we were ready to retaliate! We saw families standing in the beds of their vehicles with a 50-gallon barrel of water, heaving buckets at people as they passed, and those on the streets with hoses would gladly fill them up as soon as they were empty. It was a warzone! We immediately jumped in and started firing away... and were quickly drenched. But it was so hot outside, so we didn't care. We enjoyed the party on the street as we waited for our ride to Chaweng beach, and finally found an empty car to drive us the 20-minute ride to the east side. Well... because so many people were on the road, the 20 minutes turned into an hour and 20 minutes... and because we were sitting in a songthaew, which is basically the bed of a truck with benches and a top, we were an easy target. Traffic quickly turned into gridlock (reminding me of the 405) and everyone on the side of the street found it necessary to run to the back of our truck and heave buckets of water at us. And we could do nothing to stop it. Our puny guns did not do much in return, but we still had fun taking aim at passers-by. The ice-cold water was a bit much though... and then we had people coming up into our car to smear baby powder mixtures onto our faces (still haven't learned the reason behind that one). It was all fun and exciting, for the first half of the ride... then we got a little soggy and decided to hop out and walk. We took a little break, and then made our way through the battlezone once more to finally get to the beach. Unfortunately, because our trip took much longer than planned, we reached the beach much later than we had hoped, so we enjoyed an evening swim and some drinks at the beach bar before returning to our guesthouse. All in all, it was great to experience the festival, but by the end of the day I was wet and cold and ready to crash into our little beach bungalow.
Tuesday morning we woke up ready to head to Koh Tao, or "Turtle Island," which is a smaller island near Koh Samui. I must say... this island is my favorite spot so far. The north was a different type of adventure, so I can't really compare, but since I've been here... I've made a few major realizations in my life, and I must say that I'm happier now than I have been in the past couple years. I feel like I can breathe again, and therefore Julie and I got henna tattooes on our wrists that say "BREATHE" in Thai. I love it. The atmosphere here is so laid-back and people are so kind... there are many western tourists here, and it's a major scuba dive destination, but we haven't really been bombarded by western culture or development. Koh Samui, on the other hand, was rapidly transforming into a tourist-driven western-corrupted island, as evidenced by the THREE Starbucks on the main street in Hat Chaweng. So disappointing. The tourists there were also much more... how can I say this... extravagant. 5-star resorts were popping up all along the beach, and drawing in that crowd. So we were quite pleased to find this island catering more to the backpacker crowd. Our guesthouse sits on this narrow little path that connects a bunch of little shops along the beach, and we have enjoyed walking up and down (from 7-11 to 7-11, as there are 2 at either end) just taking time for ourselves. After spending our time constantly traveling from city to city up north, it's nice to just take a moment to stand back and appreciate the environment that we're in. And we've definitely been making the most of that while we've been here :)
Wednesday our group decided to take a snorkeling tour around the island, so we jumped on board. We stopped at various little coves around the island (4 total) and had the opportunity to jump off into the turquoise waters to explore the coral reefs that enclose the island. The fish are quite curious too, so we were greeted by many colorful friends along the way. While we were at our first stop, we were lucky enough to see a shark! It was only 2 feet long, but still... it was exciting. After we made our way around the island, we stopped at a small island chain off the northwest coast, Koh Nangyuan, which is designated a national park. We had 2 hours to spend there, relaxing on the beach or swimming. Julie and I decided to hike up to the look out point at the top of the mountain, as you can see the small strip of white sand that connects the 3 islands together. It was worth the hike... such beautiful views. We then hopped back on our boat and returned to our island. Wednesday night was the last night for our Canadian friends, as they left yesterday, so we all went out to a nice dinner at a beach restaurant to send them off. Julie and I have had Thai food for every meal -- no western food at all! It is our goal to eat Thai food our entire trip. And we're not sick of it yet :)
Yesterday was a bit more relaxed... we spent time at the idyllic beach near our resort for a majority of the day, and then decided to explore the southern tip of the island with some of our group. Chad, from Australia, had rented an ATV, so Julie and I decided to rent a scooter to join him on his journey south. We ended up renting only one, and I didn't feel safe with someone on the back of the scooter, so Chad ended up making a few trips to taxi people down to the beach we found. It wasn't much different from ours, but it was nice to see a different side of the island. We enjoyed our time there until the sun was pretty low in the sky, and decided to head back to our guesthouse to see the sunset. Might I add... the sunsets here are unreal. We make a point to sit on the beach from 6-6:30 each night to watch the sun as it disappears along the horizon amidst a sky of pink and orange and purple. Beautiful. And now that I just glanced at the clock... it's 5:50, so I have to get off soon! Yikes.
Today has been more of a lazy day... we spent time at the beach with our group, just lounging around until they left us to head back up to Bangkok. We can't believe the tour is over! It feels like just yesterday we were gearing up to head to Chiang Mai... and now we're nearing the end. It was quite an adventure, and we enjoyed every minute. Well, almost every minute. Maybe not so much the leeches :) We will miss our group though, we definitely bonded with them the past few nights. Thank goodness for facebook so we can swap pictures and keep in touch! So after separating from them, Julie took our scooters down to a beach at the southern-most tip of the island, Freedom Beach, and enjoyed some time there. We love having the scooters! A bit of freedom to explore. They are so much fun to ride too :) Well, we've gotta get going.. and I have probably given you more than enough detail to read through! haha. So.. tomorrow we leave Koh Tao to make our way west to Krabi... we're so excited! We've got an idea of what we want to do, but we're free to make our own decisions from here on out... and so the next adventure begins....
Sunday, April 12, 2009
welcome to the jungle...
WE MADE IT! We are finally on Koh Samui, an island off the coast of eastern Thailand in the Gulf of Thailand. It is GORGEOUS here and the weather is ideal for laying out on the beach and enjoying a tasty pina colada. It is such a relief to be here, as the past few days have been a bit bumpy for us.... but funny now that we are able to look back on it.... so without further adieu --
We left Bangkok on Thursday night, drained and ready to leave the city behind. Julie and I have decided that we really dislike Bangkok, and were more than happy to get out of there. Our first destination: Khao Sok National Park, the oldest rainforest ecosystem in the world. We were excited for this part of our adventure, a little hiking and exploring the jungle? Sounded like a walk in the park for us Utahns who are used to hiking the Rocky Mountains. HA. haha. We were in for a treat. We arrived at our lovely riverside lodge on Friday afternoon, and we were beat. We decided to relax on our balcony outside our room, and left the windows and doors open to allow some air flow through. We've noticed that the weather is much more tropical down here -- much more humid and sticky than up north, which we thought was bad. So it's been a bit of an adjustment. After sitting outside reading our books for about half hour, we heard a loud crash from inside our room and we both jumped up to see a monkey in the rafters above our beds with my face wash in his mouth!!! We both freaked and he ran out the window, WITH my face wash. We quickly shut all the doors and windows, and ran out front, only to be greeted by about 15 of his friends.... all sitting and waiting for us. Maybe they thought we had food? But they were a bunch of cheeky little rascals... they tried to get back in our room! We shut the door just as one was reaching his hand in, and we collapsed on the floor in a fit of laughter. We really could not believe this was happening. Then the monkey started banging on the door! Really?? We couldn't help but laugh and scream at the same time. Eventually they all dispersed, when they realized we weren't coming out, and they weren't coming in. It took about 25 minutes for them all to leave, and I finally ventured out to find my stolen face wash. I thought it was lost forever, until I found it off on the ground about 50 feet behind our room. Complete with bite marks. Hilarious. We decided to leave our room and head to the lodge, where we joined some of our group members on the veranda overlooking the river for some drinks. It was quite peaceful, aside from the screeching cicadas lounging in the nearby trees... and then the rain came. We were pleasantly greeted by a pouring rainstorm, and we enjoyed watching the water stream down off the side of the roof. I love rainstorms, especially when it's still 80 degrees outside! After it finished, we met for dinner and celebrated Fredericke's 30th birthday. It was a fun, relaxing evening.
As if the encounter with the monkeys wasn't enough of a jungle experience, our day in the park yesterday definitely brought us face-to-face with the jungle. Julie, James, Joe and I all decided to take on a hike to one of the waterfalls within the national park. We looked on the trail map and it sayed 4km, so we figured the walk would take us about an hour round trip. We followed the old, decrepit cement stairs back a ways into the jungle, and then we knew we were really in for a treat -- the trail soon became a muddy, narrow path through the vines and over tree roots up and down the side of the mountain. I don't think Thais know how to measure trails properly either... we were about an hour into our trek, and no river in sight. We were that far in, though, so we decided to keep going. A bit further along, we looked down at our feet... Julie and I had about 3-5 leeches on each of our shoes, and they were making their way up to our legs! No joke this time -- they were legitimate leeches. We freaked... the guys then looked down at their legs and they actually had a few... attached. It was awful. We then realized that the foilage we were walking through was crawling with them. But... being the fearless "youngsters" that we are, we kept on going... we were determined to get to the blasted waterfall that had brought us this far. Finally, after 2.5 hours of trekking through the jungle and fighting off the leeches, we made it. It wasn't anything spectacular, but we were also a bit exhausted from the journey. So we took a few photos and booked it back to civilization. We didn't even care to really check for leeches... okay, so we did, but we were determined to get back... and we made it in about an hour and a half. Overall, the "4km" hike was probably closer to 10km... no lie. We were beat, and we were ready to get out of that blasted park... we treated ourselves to delicious fresh fruit shakes (and did a final leech check) before heading back to our hotel. We collapsed onto our rock-hard beds, and I didn't even care... it was so nice to be back. Julie and I have not really had the feeling yet that we were ready to leave a place we were in, until we reached Khao Sok. When we boarded our songthaew taxi this morning (at 5:15 even) we were almost overjoyed to get out of that place! Looking back, it really was a beautiful place, and I wish I could have appreciated it more... but the wildlife kinda got the best of us. At least we're laughing a bit about it now :)
Well, we have to get going to meet our group for a show tonight... we're in Hat Chaweng on the island of Koh Samui... I'll write more about this island paradise that we're enjoying when I have more time. The beach today couldn't have come at a more perfect time... seriously... can't wait for my pina colada tomorrow that will be served in a pineapple :) Until next time, cheur gun mai!
We left Bangkok on Thursday night, drained and ready to leave the city behind. Julie and I have decided that we really dislike Bangkok, and were more than happy to get out of there. Our first destination: Khao Sok National Park, the oldest rainforest ecosystem in the world. We were excited for this part of our adventure, a little hiking and exploring the jungle? Sounded like a walk in the park for us Utahns who are used to hiking the Rocky Mountains. HA. haha. We were in for a treat. We arrived at our lovely riverside lodge on Friday afternoon, and we were beat. We decided to relax on our balcony outside our room, and left the windows and doors open to allow some air flow through. We've noticed that the weather is much more tropical down here -- much more humid and sticky than up north, which we thought was bad. So it's been a bit of an adjustment. After sitting outside reading our books for about half hour, we heard a loud crash from inside our room and we both jumped up to see a monkey in the rafters above our beds with my face wash in his mouth!!! We both freaked and he ran out the window, WITH my face wash. We quickly shut all the doors and windows, and ran out front, only to be greeted by about 15 of his friends.... all sitting and waiting for us. Maybe they thought we had food? But they were a bunch of cheeky little rascals... they tried to get back in our room! We shut the door just as one was reaching his hand in, and we collapsed on the floor in a fit of laughter. We really could not believe this was happening. Then the monkey started banging on the door! Really?? We couldn't help but laugh and scream at the same time. Eventually they all dispersed, when they realized we weren't coming out, and they weren't coming in. It took about 25 minutes for them all to leave, and I finally ventured out to find my stolen face wash. I thought it was lost forever, until I found it off on the ground about 50 feet behind our room. Complete with bite marks. Hilarious. We decided to leave our room and head to the lodge, where we joined some of our group members on the veranda overlooking the river for some drinks. It was quite peaceful, aside from the screeching cicadas lounging in the nearby trees... and then the rain came. We were pleasantly greeted by a pouring rainstorm, and we enjoyed watching the water stream down off the side of the roof. I love rainstorms, especially when it's still 80 degrees outside! After it finished, we met for dinner and celebrated Fredericke's 30th birthday. It was a fun, relaxing evening.
As if the encounter with the monkeys wasn't enough of a jungle experience, our day in the park yesterday definitely brought us face-to-face with the jungle. Julie, James, Joe and I all decided to take on a hike to one of the waterfalls within the national park. We looked on the trail map and it sayed 4km, so we figured the walk would take us about an hour round trip. We followed the old, decrepit cement stairs back a ways into the jungle, and then we knew we were really in for a treat -- the trail soon became a muddy, narrow path through the vines and over tree roots up and down the side of the mountain. I don't think Thais know how to measure trails properly either... we were about an hour into our trek, and no river in sight. We were that far in, though, so we decided to keep going. A bit further along, we looked down at our feet... Julie and I had about 3-5 leeches on each of our shoes, and they were making their way up to our legs! No joke this time -- they were legitimate leeches. We freaked... the guys then looked down at their legs and they actually had a few... attached. It was awful. We then realized that the foilage we were walking through was crawling with them. But... being the fearless "youngsters" that we are, we kept on going... we were determined to get to the blasted waterfall that had brought us this far. Finally, after 2.5 hours of trekking through the jungle and fighting off the leeches, we made it. It wasn't anything spectacular, but we were also a bit exhausted from the journey. So we took a few photos and booked it back to civilization. We didn't even care to really check for leeches... okay, so we did, but we were determined to get back... and we made it in about an hour and a half. Overall, the "4km" hike was probably closer to 10km... no lie. We were beat, and we were ready to get out of that blasted park... we treated ourselves to delicious fresh fruit shakes (and did a final leech check) before heading back to our hotel. We collapsed onto our rock-hard beds, and I didn't even care... it was so nice to be back. Julie and I have not really had the feeling yet that we were ready to leave a place we were in, until we reached Khao Sok. When we boarded our songthaew taxi this morning (at 5:15 even) we were almost overjoyed to get out of that place! Looking back, it really was a beautiful place, and I wish I could have appreciated it more... but the wildlife kinda got the best of us. At least we're laughing a bit about it now :)
Well, we have to get going to meet our group for a show tonight... we're in Hat Chaweng on the island of Koh Samui... I'll write more about this island paradise that we're enjoying when I have more time. The beach today couldn't have come at a more perfect time... seriously... can't wait for my pina colada tomorrow that will be served in a pineapple :) Until next time, cheur gun mai!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
back in bangkok!
**I accidentally hit 'save' rather than 'publish' so I wrote this blog a few days ago... You get double the info today!!**
Our northern exposure tour has quickly come to a close, and now we are preparing to embark on our journey down south... with white sand beaches and crystal-clear turquoise waters. I am SO ready for that. Relaxing and getting a tan. Especially because I've heard that it is snowing pretty heavily back in Utah.... hehehe. Can't say I'm sad about missing that!! :)
Our past few days here have been running at a more leisurely pace... I last wrote while we were sitting in an internet cafe in Chiang Rai, before heading out and exploring the market. It was a bit smaller than the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar, but the handicrafts for sale were quite similar. Julie and I like taking our time to wander through the marketplace... just taking in our surroundings and appreciating the fact that we are in THAILAND.... we just love it here.
Tuesday was a long travel day back to Bangkok... we stopped in Chiang Mai for a couple hours after our luxurious 3-hour coach bus ride (compared to the local buses we had been taking). I really do love Chiang Mai... it's a bustling city, but not nearly as overwhelming as Bangkok. Julie and I have decided that we like the smaller towns of Thailand MUCH more, and are excited to leave Bangkok behind when we hop on our train later today. In Chiang Mai, we had the opportunity to explore the local market again... there is a difference between the local market and the tourist market-- local markets offer Thais everything they might need, from fresh produce and raw meats to clothing and home appliances... so the sights and smells are a bit overpowering. Julie and I can only handle that for a little while... but we love exploring through the covered aisles. We enjoyed lunch at a family-run shop -- chicken and steamed rice for 25 baht (less than $1) and it was DELICIOUS. I love the cuisine here! And can't complain about the amazing prices either :) We've also fallen in love with the fruit shakes... you can get them anywhere for about B30, and I usually go for the banana, coconut, or pineapple. Unbelievably tasty. And don't get me started on the fresh fruit that is available everywhere on the streets... I've been spoiled! I don't know how I'm going to return home where having fresh pineapple is a special treat. Agh. But I still have 2.5 weeks, so I won't worry about that yet! Our overnight train back to Bangkok left Chiang Mai later that afternoon, and Julie and I enjoyed the comfortable 14-hour ride south. We had a lot of time to chat and catch up on journaling... just relishing our time in this amazing country.
Arriving in Bangkok yesterday morning around 7 am, we dropped our things off at the hotel and then went out into the city to tour the Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Arun -- 3 sights "not to be missed" in Bangkok. We took the boat taxi down the canal to the Palace Pier and hopped off, immediately bombarded by touts trying to get us to take their specialized tour for a cheaper price. SCAMS! We know better. We pushed our way through and found our way to the palace gates. The grounds are enclosed by a 20-ft wall, and once inside, the city sounds just disappear. We first walked to the palace temple, Wat Phra Kaew, which is home to the most revered buddha image -- the Emerald Buddha. There is a story behind the buddha, but I do now know all the details.. the important thing is that a monk found it near a temple in Chiang Rai, and thought that it was carved from emerald (it is, in fact, carved out of jade) and stories started circulating around the country about this holy image. The king at the time (I believe the 13th century) soon learned about it and had it brought to his palace. It has finally made its resting place on a golden shrine in this temple. The image itself is not too big (probably about 2 ft tall) but the shrine built around it is quite spectacular. We paid our respects and then made our way through the temple grounds... the attention to detail is exquisite. I can't adequately describe the beauty of the buildings, but we were in awe. After seeing the temple, we made our way to the palace buildings where royal proceedings take place. Again, stunning. It was a hot day, and we had many other sights to see, so we found our way out and back to the bustling streets of Bangkok.
Our next stop was Wat Arun, across the river from the Grand Palace. It has a tall, narrow chedi in the center of the grounds, and you are allowed to climb the steep stairs to view the Grand Palace and Wat Pho from across the river. The climb was a bit unnerving, as we felt like we were going to fall backwards, but the views were well worth the risk. We made our way back down and across the river to continue our trek through the city. Unfortunately, there were some unhappy Thais protesting the newly-appointed Prime Minister, so we were unable to get to some of the sights we wanted to see, but we were okay with that. We were a bit exhausted, so we found ourselves back on Khao San Road for some shopping. Why not, right?
Later last night, we met our new group for the south. It has expanded a bit -- now there are 12 of us. It is quite the mixture of people too.. James and Joe are still with us, and Ava and Tony have left on their own, but we have gained 8 more -- Chad from Australia; Fredericke from Germany; Catherine from Ireland; Helene, Annee, and Tina from Canada; and then Anna and Richard from England. It's a fun group. I look forward to our days ahead.
Today Julie and I decided that it would be nice to see the downtown Bangkok... the shopping mecca of the city. We got up early and made our way down the river on the boat shuttle to the skytrain, which took us right into the center of the 4 shopping malls. WOW. The first mall we walked through had any and every designer shop you could think of. It was a bit of a culture shock for us... we're used to the backpacking atmosphere! We felt a little like we had returned home, and we were not prepared for that. I will say, though, that I was ecstatic when I learned that there was a Red Mango (Pinkberry equivalent, and I'm addicted) in one of the shopping centers. Of course I had to have some. It was delicious. We walked through the malls... it was a bit overwhelming, and Julie and I were not exactly in the mood to deal with all that, so we left. It was such a relief to get out of there! We felt like we had been dragged back into our lives back home, where we feel the need to buy THINGS.... we live such consumer-driven lives. I'm enjoying the escape from that, and being removed from that mentality. So we came back to our guesthouse (amidst a sudden thunder/rainstorm) and now we are preparing to leave for the train station to head south! FINALLY... I am ready to lay out on the beach and get a tan! haha. We first head to the Khao Sok rainforest though, so I will probably get back on the internet when we are on the island of Koh Samui... until then, I hope all is well with you, wherever you may be!
Our northern exposure tour has quickly come to a close, and now we are preparing to embark on our journey down south... with white sand beaches and crystal-clear turquoise waters. I am SO ready for that. Relaxing and getting a tan. Especially because I've heard that it is snowing pretty heavily back in Utah.... hehehe. Can't say I'm sad about missing that!! :)
Our past few days here have been running at a more leisurely pace... I last wrote while we were sitting in an internet cafe in Chiang Rai, before heading out and exploring the market. It was a bit smaller than the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar, but the handicrafts for sale were quite similar. Julie and I like taking our time to wander through the marketplace... just taking in our surroundings and appreciating the fact that we are in THAILAND.... we just love it here.
Tuesday was a long travel day back to Bangkok... we stopped in Chiang Mai for a couple hours after our luxurious 3-hour coach bus ride (compared to the local buses we had been taking). I really do love Chiang Mai... it's a bustling city, but not nearly as overwhelming as Bangkok. Julie and I have decided that we like the smaller towns of Thailand MUCH more, and are excited to leave Bangkok behind when we hop on our train later today. In Chiang Mai, we had the opportunity to explore the local market again... there is a difference between the local market and the tourist market-- local markets offer Thais everything they might need, from fresh produce and raw meats to clothing and home appliances... so the sights and smells are a bit overpowering. Julie and I can only handle that for a little while... but we love exploring through the covered aisles. We enjoyed lunch at a family-run shop -- chicken and steamed rice for 25 baht (less than $1) and it was DELICIOUS. I love the cuisine here! And can't complain about the amazing prices either :) We've also fallen in love with the fruit shakes... you can get them anywhere for about B30, and I usually go for the banana, coconut, or pineapple. Unbelievably tasty. And don't get me started on the fresh fruit that is available everywhere on the streets... I've been spoiled! I don't know how I'm going to return home where having fresh pineapple is a special treat. Agh. But I still have 2.5 weeks, so I won't worry about that yet! Our overnight train back to Bangkok left Chiang Mai later that afternoon, and Julie and I enjoyed the comfortable 14-hour ride south. We had a lot of time to chat and catch up on journaling... just relishing our time in this amazing country.
Arriving in Bangkok yesterday morning around 7 am, we dropped our things off at the hotel and then went out into the city to tour the Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Arun -- 3 sights "not to be missed" in Bangkok. We took the boat taxi down the canal to the Palace Pier and hopped off, immediately bombarded by touts trying to get us to take their specialized tour for a cheaper price. SCAMS! We know better. We pushed our way through and found our way to the palace gates. The grounds are enclosed by a 20-ft wall, and once inside, the city sounds just disappear. We first walked to the palace temple, Wat Phra Kaew, which is home to the most revered buddha image -- the Emerald Buddha. There is a story behind the buddha, but I do now know all the details.. the important thing is that a monk found it near a temple in Chiang Rai, and thought that it was carved from emerald (it is, in fact, carved out of jade) and stories started circulating around the country about this holy image. The king at the time (I believe the 13th century) soon learned about it and had it brought to his palace. It has finally made its resting place on a golden shrine in this temple. The image itself is not too big (probably about 2 ft tall) but the shrine built around it is quite spectacular. We paid our respects and then made our way through the temple grounds... the attention to detail is exquisite. I can't adequately describe the beauty of the buildings, but we were in awe. After seeing the temple, we made our way to the palace buildings where royal proceedings take place. Again, stunning. It was a hot day, and we had many other sights to see, so we found our way out and back to the bustling streets of Bangkok.
Our next stop was Wat Arun, across the river from the Grand Palace. It has a tall, narrow chedi in the center of the grounds, and you are allowed to climb the steep stairs to view the Grand Palace and Wat Pho from across the river. The climb was a bit unnerving, as we felt like we were going to fall backwards, but the views were well worth the risk. We made our way back down and across the river to continue our trek through the city. Unfortunately, there were some unhappy Thais protesting the newly-appointed Prime Minister, so we were unable to get to some of the sights we wanted to see, but we were okay with that. We were a bit exhausted, so we found ourselves back on Khao San Road for some shopping. Why not, right?
Later last night, we met our new group for the south. It has expanded a bit -- now there are 12 of us. It is quite the mixture of people too.. James and Joe are still with us, and Ava and Tony have left on their own, but we have gained 8 more -- Chad from Australia; Fredericke from Germany; Catherine from Ireland; Helene, Annee, and Tina from Canada; and then Anna and Richard from England. It's a fun group. I look forward to our days ahead.
Today Julie and I decided that it would be nice to see the downtown Bangkok... the shopping mecca of the city. We got up early and made our way down the river on the boat shuttle to the skytrain, which took us right into the center of the 4 shopping malls. WOW. The first mall we walked through had any and every designer shop you could think of. It was a bit of a culture shock for us... we're used to the backpacking atmosphere! We felt a little like we had returned home, and we were not prepared for that. I will say, though, that I was ecstatic when I learned that there was a Red Mango (Pinkberry equivalent, and I'm addicted) in one of the shopping centers. Of course I had to have some. It was delicious. We walked through the malls... it was a bit overwhelming, and Julie and I were not exactly in the mood to deal with all that, so we left. It was such a relief to get out of there! We felt like we had been dragged back into our lives back home, where we feel the need to buy THINGS.... we live such consumer-driven lives. I'm enjoying the escape from that, and being removed from that mentality. So we came back to our guesthouse (amidst a sudden thunder/rainstorm) and now we are preparing to leave for the train station to head south! FINALLY... I am ready to lay out on the beach and get a tan! haha. We first head to the Khao Sok rainforest though, so I will probably get back on the internet when we are on the island of Koh Samui... until then, I hope all is well with you, wherever you may be!
Monday, April 6, 2009
making our way north...
I left you the evening we returned from our trek... Thursday night I believe? And now it is Monday afternoon, and we are sitting in a quaint internet cafe near the market in Chiang Rai, a city about 3 hours northeast of Chiang Mai (where we were on Thursday). It's been a busy past few days, so let's get started....
Friday morning, Julie and I woke early and eager to get our day started. It was the day of our adventure at an elephant conservation park called Elephant Nature Park (www.elephantnaturepark.org if you care to check it out) where they focus on caring for abused and neglected domesticated elephants... I would love to go into detail about the plight of these poor creatures, but that would take too much time. So if you're interested in learning more, check out the website. Lek Chailert, the founder of the park, has a vision to restore the relationship between the elephants and mahouts to one of respect and admiration through love and positive reinforcement during training. Right now, many elephants are beaten and mistreated in order to teach them to obey their trainers. We watched a couple documentaries on Lek and her park and learned about the dark truth of many elephant shows and camps in the area, and it just pained me to see the reality. But at the park, the elephants are free to roam the property (quite large) and are encouraged to act as they would in nature as wild elephants -- and many do, now that they are safe and cared for at this park. There are 30 elephants there, and all have very different backgrounds and histories as to how they ended up there. I'll share one with you... Jokia was working in the illegal logging industry up in the hills, and was pregnant at near-full term (22 months.. yikes) and went into labor while she was working one day. The baby fell out and rolled down the hill, and she was not allowed to go after it, and the baby died. Jokia was so sad and depressed that she refused to work... her owner shot her in the eye with a slingshot until she was blinded, and then she was sold... she refused to work for the next owner, and so he felt it necessary to blind her other eye as well. Lek found her, and brought her to the park... now she is thriving, thanks to another elephant -- Mae Perm -- who has befriended her. The two are never apart... Mae Perm is Jokia's eyes, and watches out for her. It's the sweetest thing to witness. Our experience at the park was incredible... we arrived late morning and had the opportunity to feed a baby elephant (he was about 8 years old I believe) and that was SO fun. We relished every moment. After, we ate our own lunch, and then made our way out to the river that flows through the property, where the elephants have their daily baths. We were able to go out into the river with the elephants and bathe them... buckets and scrub brushes and all. Quite surreal, I felt like I was in a dream! I couldn't believe that we were standing next to such gentle, incredible creatures. It is an experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
After arriving back in the city, we went out to dinner at a local restaurant on the river, aptly named The Riverside restaurant.. I ordered some fried rice, and should have known not to eat the egg on top with the runny yolk... I know many of you are probably shaking your heads, and I wonder what I was thinking when I think back, but I figured that it was a reputable restaurant, so it had to be safe. Well... it came back to haunt me the next day. I woke up Saturday morning feeling a bit queasy, and was really scared for the 4 hour bus ride to Tha Ton... I said a little prayer that my stomach would hold up, and thankfully it did. THANKFULLY. The Lord was definitely merciful... we arrived to our guesthouse in Tha Ton, and my stomach was definitely churning. We took a tour of a local temple, quite beautiful, and Chompooh gave us a lot more Thai history and told us about each king -- including the king from one of my favorite movies, The King and I. Julie and I have really loved learning about Thai culture and the background of this amazing country... I'm hoping that I'll have time to tell you more about it, one of these days when I don't have so much to blog about! So after we arrived back from the temple, I spent the rest of the evening and night running back and forth to the bathroom... I'll spare you the details, but thankfully we came equipped with prescription meds to fight the bacteria that was at war with my digestive system. I woke up Sunday morning feeling quite well, surprisingly, and grateful as we had another long day of traveling ahead of us.
Sunday we left our guesthouse to head further north, to see the Golden Triangle -- where Thailand, Burma, and Laos all meet. We stopped along the way at a temple (not sure what the actual name is) but nicknamed the "monkey temple" -- quite obvious when we arrived, as the place was crawling with the cutest little monkeys! We were excited to take pictures from afar, but were surprised when Chompooh took us to the booth selling peanuts for monkey food... We actually got to feed them! They were quite friendly, probably because they are used to humans feeding them... so we walked up and held out our hands full of peanuts and they came right up and grabbed them from our hands! It was a fun little excursion. They were adorable. Crafty little guys though... I was feeding one, and another came up and tugged on my pants expecting to be fed! It was quite funny. After we left the temple, we drove a bit further north to the city of Mae Sai, which is the northernmost point of Thailand, right on the border of Burma. We shopped for a bit, as it is quite cheap up there (many Burmese who come across the border to sell their goods to tourists). We then hoped back in our shuttle (the back of a pick-up truck converted to a taxi, called a songthaew) to our next stop, the Golden Triangle. We ate lunch and took a bunch of photos at the lookout point there, walked around the streets, and finally made our way to our final destination for the day - Chiang Rai. We had a couple hours to relax in our comfortable guestroom before checking out the local night market. We shopped around, and enjoyed the live entertainment -- a "ladyboy" show! Quite hilarious. Thailand, I guess, is known for its transexuals... and how convincing they are... Julie and I really couldn't tell the difference. It was quite the spectacle. We then made our way around the market, taking in all the sights and sounds... I love the marketplaces here. So much fun to explore and bargain for gifts and souveniers :)
Today we've finally had a free day, where we didn't have to rush off with our group to go somewhere, and Julie and I have been taking advantage! We ran into Chompooh as we were leaving the hotel, and she took us to explore another local market, where they have the widest assortment of things for sale... targeting locals, and not tourists. We were bombarded with smells -- our sensory system is not prepared for this! We passed FRESH fish and pork on one side, then a small bakery selling sweets (not the best location, my appetite was suppressed with the pig head staring at me) and then dried bugs opposite that. Crazy. But we weaved through the maze of aisles where the locals purchase everything, from home appliances to school uniforms. And everything in between. Aside from the pungent odors, we enjoyed the experience. Not sure I'm ready to go back in there any time soon though :)
Well, I guess that brings me to where I am now! We are going to wander through the markets again today, and then tomorrow we head back to Chiang Mai and on to Bangkok for a couple days before we make our way south! Julie and I are both ready to relax on the white sand beaches that await us.... I can hear the waves crashing outside our beach bungalow door now....
Friday morning, Julie and I woke early and eager to get our day started. It was the day of our adventure at an elephant conservation park called Elephant Nature Park (www.elephantnaturepark.org if you care to check it out) where they focus on caring for abused and neglected domesticated elephants... I would love to go into detail about the plight of these poor creatures, but that would take too much time. So if you're interested in learning more, check out the website. Lek Chailert, the founder of the park, has a vision to restore the relationship between the elephants and mahouts to one of respect and admiration through love and positive reinforcement during training. Right now, many elephants are beaten and mistreated in order to teach them to obey their trainers. We watched a couple documentaries on Lek and her park and learned about the dark truth of many elephant shows and camps in the area, and it just pained me to see the reality. But at the park, the elephants are free to roam the property (quite large) and are encouraged to act as they would in nature as wild elephants -- and many do, now that they are safe and cared for at this park. There are 30 elephants there, and all have very different backgrounds and histories as to how they ended up there. I'll share one with you... Jokia was working in the illegal logging industry up in the hills, and was pregnant at near-full term (22 months.. yikes) and went into labor while she was working one day. The baby fell out and rolled down the hill, and she was not allowed to go after it, and the baby died. Jokia was so sad and depressed that she refused to work... her owner shot her in the eye with a slingshot until she was blinded, and then she was sold... she refused to work for the next owner, and so he felt it necessary to blind her other eye as well. Lek found her, and brought her to the park... now she is thriving, thanks to another elephant -- Mae Perm -- who has befriended her. The two are never apart... Mae Perm is Jokia's eyes, and watches out for her. It's the sweetest thing to witness. Our experience at the park was incredible... we arrived late morning and had the opportunity to feed a baby elephant (he was about 8 years old I believe) and that was SO fun. We relished every moment. After, we ate our own lunch, and then made our way out to the river that flows through the property, where the elephants have their daily baths. We were able to go out into the river with the elephants and bathe them... buckets and scrub brushes and all. Quite surreal, I felt like I was in a dream! I couldn't believe that we were standing next to such gentle, incredible creatures. It is an experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
After arriving back in the city, we went out to dinner at a local restaurant on the river, aptly named The Riverside restaurant.. I ordered some fried rice, and should have known not to eat the egg on top with the runny yolk... I know many of you are probably shaking your heads, and I wonder what I was thinking when I think back, but I figured that it was a reputable restaurant, so it had to be safe. Well... it came back to haunt me the next day. I woke up Saturday morning feeling a bit queasy, and was really scared for the 4 hour bus ride to Tha Ton... I said a little prayer that my stomach would hold up, and thankfully it did. THANKFULLY. The Lord was definitely merciful... we arrived to our guesthouse in Tha Ton, and my stomach was definitely churning. We took a tour of a local temple, quite beautiful, and Chompooh gave us a lot more Thai history and told us about each king -- including the king from one of my favorite movies, The King and I. Julie and I have really loved learning about Thai culture and the background of this amazing country... I'm hoping that I'll have time to tell you more about it, one of these days when I don't have so much to blog about! So after we arrived back from the temple, I spent the rest of the evening and night running back and forth to the bathroom... I'll spare you the details, but thankfully we came equipped with prescription meds to fight the bacteria that was at war with my digestive system. I woke up Sunday morning feeling quite well, surprisingly, and grateful as we had another long day of traveling ahead of us.
Sunday we left our guesthouse to head further north, to see the Golden Triangle -- where Thailand, Burma, and Laos all meet. We stopped along the way at a temple (not sure what the actual name is) but nicknamed the "monkey temple" -- quite obvious when we arrived, as the place was crawling with the cutest little monkeys! We were excited to take pictures from afar, but were surprised when Chompooh took us to the booth selling peanuts for monkey food... We actually got to feed them! They were quite friendly, probably because they are used to humans feeding them... so we walked up and held out our hands full of peanuts and they came right up and grabbed them from our hands! It was a fun little excursion. They were adorable. Crafty little guys though... I was feeding one, and another came up and tugged on my pants expecting to be fed! It was quite funny. After we left the temple, we drove a bit further north to the city of Mae Sai, which is the northernmost point of Thailand, right on the border of Burma. We shopped for a bit, as it is quite cheap up there (many Burmese who come across the border to sell their goods to tourists). We then hoped back in our shuttle (the back of a pick-up truck converted to a taxi, called a songthaew) to our next stop, the Golden Triangle. We ate lunch and took a bunch of photos at the lookout point there, walked around the streets, and finally made our way to our final destination for the day - Chiang Rai. We had a couple hours to relax in our comfortable guestroom before checking out the local night market. We shopped around, and enjoyed the live entertainment -- a "ladyboy" show! Quite hilarious. Thailand, I guess, is known for its transexuals... and how convincing they are... Julie and I really couldn't tell the difference. It was quite the spectacle. We then made our way around the market, taking in all the sights and sounds... I love the marketplaces here. So much fun to explore and bargain for gifts and souveniers :)
Today we've finally had a free day, where we didn't have to rush off with our group to go somewhere, and Julie and I have been taking advantage! We ran into Chompooh as we were leaving the hotel, and she took us to explore another local market, where they have the widest assortment of things for sale... targeting locals, and not tourists. We were bombarded with smells -- our sensory system is not prepared for this! We passed FRESH fish and pork on one side, then a small bakery selling sweets (not the best location, my appetite was suppressed with the pig head staring at me) and then dried bugs opposite that. Crazy. But we weaved through the maze of aisles where the locals purchase everything, from home appliances to school uniforms. And everything in between. Aside from the pungent odors, we enjoyed the experience. Not sure I'm ready to go back in there any time soon though :)
Well, I guess that brings me to where I am now! We are going to wander through the markets again today, and then tomorrow we head back to Chiang Mai and on to Bangkok for a couple days before we make our way south! Julie and I are both ready to relax on the white sand beaches that await us.... I can hear the waves crashing outside our beach bungalow door now....
Thursday, April 2, 2009
the hills are alive....
It is a hot, sticky night here in Chiang Mai, and I am flat-out EXHAUSTED -- Julie and I just arrived back in town after a 3-day, 30-mile trek through the hills outside the city. WOW. Never thought I would actually sign up for something like that, but I am SO glad that I did! And I guess I have a few days to catch up on for ya'll, so I'll try and keep this brief.
So... I left you before we travelled to Ayuthaya on Sunday morning. Our 4-hour bus trip was quite an adventure... we were on a local bus, and I really enjoyed staring out the window at the passing villages and appreciating the fact that I was driving through Thailand. I love being out in the world, and traveling through foreign countries to see how other people view the same world that I live in, and how they experience it each day. It's been amazing here so far, and it just makes me want to travel more! Crap, I really have the travel bug bad now. Thankfully my job will allow me to travel through countries throughout the world, offering what services I can. I am so grateful for the opportunities that I will have! But back to my story :) So we arrived in Ayuthaya, which is the old capital of Thailand (back in the 14-15th centuries I believe) so there are many ruins of old buddhist temples in the central part of the city. Julie and I rented bikes and rode around the city, admiring the remains of a once-glorious city. One highlight -- Wat Mahatat (wat is the Thai word for temple) has a famous buddha head that has been "swallowed" by tree roots, and that is very auspicious in buddhism. I took some photos.. and again, I wish I could upload some! (I think I'm up to almost 700 now...) After the last temple site that we explored, we walked through the local market and picked up some fresh pineapple -- my FAVORITE fruit... and completely surprised me that Thailand is the #1 exporter of pineapple in the world. I'm in heaven. It's delicious. I have it EVERY day... hahaha.
After finishing our bike tour through the city, we met with our group and headed to the train station to board our train up to Chiang Mai, the second largest city in Thailand. The train traveled 14 hours overnight, so we had beds to sleep on as we sped up through the country. We arrived in the morning, and took our stuff to our hotel before we took a taxi up to a famous mountain temple in the area called Doi Suthep. Our group leader Chompooh (and the two guys from London) went with us, and explained various aspects of the buddhist religion and their practices as we were walking along the temple grounds. When I have more time, I'll try to go into more detail, because it really has been fascinating talking with her about her culture and her beliefs, and how intertwined the two are here in Thailand. We had the opportunity to have holy water sprinkled on us by a monk and then white string tied around our wrists to wish us "good luck" -- it's a buddhist tradition. The temple itself was beautiful, with a golden chedi (a dome + spire architectural aspect of temples in the buddhist religion) in the center, and many golden buddhas that filled the surrounding courtyard. Many people were up there worshipping, and just as many were up there walking around admiring the general splendor of the building. Unfortunately, the skies are quite cloudy right now as the rice paddy fields are being burned to prepare for next season's crops, so we could not see down to the city below, but it was still quite a beautiful view from up on top of the mountain.
That night, we had 1-hr Thai foot massages (only $4!!) and then we explored the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar -- hundreds of stalls selling anything and everything you can imagine.. from hilltribe handicrafts to knock-off DVDs... it's quite the spectacle. But fun to explore. We made it an early night, as we had to prepare our bodies for the days ahead.... our hilltribe trek! Which is where I have been the past few days, and why I haven't had a chance to update this :) But before we began our trek, we had the opportunity to take a stroll on the back of an elephant! It was quite a fun experience... we were on a smaller elephant, so our mahout (the elephant owner/trainer) walked in front of us as the elephant wasn't big enough yet to hold him up on his head, and we walked through the hills feeding our little guy bananas and sugar cane. He LOVED the bananas. It was really cute... we'd be walking along, and he would swing his trunk up above his head... equalling "GIVE ME A BANANA.. OR FIVE" hahaha. It was great. So we'd put a couple in front of his trunk, and thanks to vacuum action in his trunk, he would get a tasty snack. It was a short ride, maybe about 45 minutes, but we weren't too disappointed because tomorrow we're spending the entire day with elephants at a famous elephant conservation camp in the area. Can't wait to tell you more about that :)
After leaving our elephant friends, we made our way up to the base of the hills that are home to various hilltribe villages -- Akha and Karen are the two most well-known in this area. We brought small packs with all our gear (sleeping bags, mats, and some clothes) and headed off into the unknown, led by our local guide, Can, and the hilltribe porter, Superboy (YES that is his name...) We didn't quite know what to expect, but about 15 minutes into our hike, we realized that we were in for quite a treat -- the fun part about hiking to these hill tribes is that you have to hike UP into the hills. So, we were hiking UPHILL (and I'm talking very steep) for about 3 hours. We took periodic breaks, but it was definitely strenuous. We finally arrived at the first village, and had a delicious dinner cooked by our host from the Karen tribe, and it was a fun night playing card games by candle light. Quite an experience. And then we slept in bamboo huts. I will say, it is fun to reminisce and look back on this as a fond memory, but that night was not the most enjoyable... we all were waking up every hour or so to rotate because we'd go numb on one side of our bodies from the hard bamboo floor, and then on top of that it was FREEZING. I was not prepared for that weather! It's okay though, we all had a good laugh about it in the morning. We woke up bright and early for the next day of trekking to the next village... another 2 hours+ uphill. Well, it was about half uphill and half flat. But still... my legs were still recuperating from the day before! SO it was a long day. But we arrived into the next village and were able to take a shower...... hahahaha. I laugh, because the shower was in a nearby stream. And we had to wear sarongs that covered our bodies over our bathing suits out of respect for the villagers (they are very modest). We were all in the stream having a good laugh until Ava (the girl from Australia) looked down at her arm and saw a few black wormy things crawling on her. Of course we all assumed that it was leeches... so we ran out of the stream and proceeded to do a leech-check on each other! It was quite funny. But after arriving back at our hut, our group leader told us that they were only dragonfly larvae... that leeches only live in the moist jungle during the rainy season. So we were safe... and we had a good laugh about that one too :) After relaxing for a bit, we walked around the village and met some of the locals... so warm and inviting. We learned how they make rice... wow, I will NEVER take our 90-second rice for granted ever again! After harvesting, it takes about 1.5 hours to prepare rice for dinner. They do that each and every day. They live such modest lives... Julie and I have had a few talks about American culture and how we value the most ridiculous aspects of the world, and that we overlook and belittle the more important things, such as relationships with your loved ones. Being in those villages brought me back to my days in Africa... I love how I feel when I am surrounded by these people. I really feel like I have had a spiritual and emotional recharge, and that I have found myself again. I didn't realize how much I had lost sight of myself in the past year... I am so grateful that I have here to gain a stronger foundation of my ideals before I venture off into the unknown of Baltimore and nursing school....
So... walking through the village was special. I loved that. And then we had the opportunity to make fried rice for all the village children (about 30 of them) and that was just fun. Again, brought me back to my days in Africa. LOVED it. Every minute of it. We then gathered around a small bonfire with the children and they sang us village songs and we sang to them. It was quite tender. They were so sweet and so precious. I really can't wait for the day that I can travel into developing countries to provide medical services to children who don't have available resources. SOON :)
This morning, after another comfy, cozy night in our bamboo suite, we had a blessing from our host and were sent on our way... another 4 hour hike, at least mostly downhill. Julie and I found, though, that walking downhill was just as tiring... it was so steep that we had to take our time so as not to slip (or roll) down the hill. It was exhausting. I don't know which I prefer... honestly... it was a long hike back. But quite beautiful, and I had a lot of time to think and reflect. So I definitely appreciated it. And now that we've come out the other side, exhausted but breathing, we are grateful for the experience. And we can say that we hiked 30 miles through the villages of the hilltribes in Thailand! I bought an amazingly beautiful hand-made shirt from a cute old woman in the tribe and a fantastic bag from another lady, which I am proudly using tonight as Julie and I wander the streets of Chiang Mai. We are both beat, but we cannot waste our time here! We love everything about Thailand, and are soaking up all that we can. So we are off to explore the night bazaar... hopefully we'll find some fun things of intrest to bargain. We're getting better :)
I will try and post again in the next couple days... we leave for Tha Ton and then to Chiang Rai on Saturday morning... I know we'll have internet access up there, so I will try not to leave so much to blog about! I hope you are all doing well, and I will be back with more soon..... Tah Beur! (thank you/so long in the Karen tribe language)
So... I left you before we travelled to Ayuthaya on Sunday morning. Our 4-hour bus trip was quite an adventure... we were on a local bus, and I really enjoyed staring out the window at the passing villages and appreciating the fact that I was driving through Thailand. I love being out in the world, and traveling through foreign countries to see how other people view the same world that I live in, and how they experience it each day. It's been amazing here so far, and it just makes me want to travel more! Crap, I really have the travel bug bad now. Thankfully my job will allow me to travel through countries throughout the world, offering what services I can. I am so grateful for the opportunities that I will have! But back to my story :) So we arrived in Ayuthaya, which is the old capital of Thailand (back in the 14-15th centuries I believe) so there are many ruins of old buddhist temples in the central part of the city. Julie and I rented bikes and rode around the city, admiring the remains of a once-glorious city. One highlight -- Wat Mahatat (wat is the Thai word for temple) has a famous buddha head that has been "swallowed" by tree roots, and that is very auspicious in buddhism. I took some photos.. and again, I wish I could upload some! (I think I'm up to almost 700 now...) After the last temple site that we explored, we walked through the local market and picked up some fresh pineapple -- my FAVORITE fruit... and completely surprised me that Thailand is the #1 exporter of pineapple in the world. I'm in heaven. It's delicious. I have it EVERY day... hahaha.
After finishing our bike tour through the city, we met with our group and headed to the train station to board our train up to Chiang Mai, the second largest city in Thailand. The train traveled 14 hours overnight, so we had beds to sleep on as we sped up through the country. We arrived in the morning, and took our stuff to our hotel before we took a taxi up to a famous mountain temple in the area called Doi Suthep. Our group leader Chompooh (and the two guys from London) went with us, and explained various aspects of the buddhist religion and their practices as we were walking along the temple grounds. When I have more time, I'll try to go into more detail, because it really has been fascinating talking with her about her culture and her beliefs, and how intertwined the two are here in Thailand. We had the opportunity to have holy water sprinkled on us by a monk and then white string tied around our wrists to wish us "good luck" -- it's a buddhist tradition. The temple itself was beautiful, with a golden chedi (a dome + spire architectural aspect of temples in the buddhist religion) in the center, and many golden buddhas that filled the surrounding courtyard. Many people were up there worshipping, and just as many were up there walking around admiring the general splendor of the building. Unfortunately, the skies are quite cloudy right now as the rice paddy fields are being burned to prepare for next season's crops, so we could not see down to the city below, but it was still quite a beautiful view from up on top of the mountain.
That night, we had 1-hr Thai foot massages (only $4!!) and then we explored the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar -- hundreds of stalls selling anything and everything you can imagine.. from hilltribe handicrafts to knock-off DVDs... it's quite the spectacle. But fun to explore. We made it an early night, as we had to prepare our bodies for the days ahead.... our hilltribe trek! Which is where I have been the past few days, and why I haven't had a chance to update this :) But before we began our trek, we had the opportunity to take a stroll on the back of an elephant! It was quite a fun experience... we were on a smaller elephant, so our mahout (the elephant owner/trainer) walked in front of us as the elephant wasn't big enough yet to hold him up on his head, and we walked through the hills feeding our little guy bananas and sugar cane. He LOVED the bananas. It was really cute... we'd be walking along, and he would swing his trunk up above his head... equalling "GIVE ME A BANANA.. OR FIVE" hahaha. It was great. So we'd put a couple in front of his trunk, and thanks to vacuum action in his trunk, he would get a tasty snack. It was a short ride, maybe about 45 minutes, but we weren't too disappointed because tomorrow we're spending the entire day with elephants at a famous elephant conservation camp in the area. Can't wait to tell you more about that :)
After leaving our elephant friends, we made our way up to the base of the hills that are home to various hilltribe villages -- Akha and Karen are the two most well-known in this area. We brought small packs with all our gear (sleeping bags, mats, and some clothes) and headed off into the unknown, led by our local guide, Can, and the hilltribe porter, Superboy (YES that is his name...) We didn't quite know what to expect, but about 15 minutes into our hike, we realized that we were in for quite a treat -- the fun part about hiking to these hill tribes is that you have to hike UP into the hills. So, we were hiking UPHILL (and I'm talking very steep) for about 3 hours. We took periodic breaks, but it was definitely strenuous. We finally arrived at the first village, and had a delicious dinner cooked by our host from the Karen tribe, and it was a fun night playing card games by candle light. Quite an experience. And then we slept in bamboo huts. I will say, it is fun to reminisce and look back on this as a fond memory, but that night was not the most enjoyable... we all were waking up every hour or so to rotate because we'd go numb on one side of our bodies from the hard bamboo floor, and then on top of that it was FREEZING. I was not prepared for that weather! It's okay though, we all had a good laugh about it in the morning. We woke up bright and early for the next day of trekking to the next village... another 2 hours+ uphill. Well, it was about half uphill and half flat. But still... my legs were still recuperating from the day before! SO it was a long day. But we arrived into the next village and were able to take a shower...... hahahaha. I laugh, because the shower was in a nearby stream. And we had to wear sarongs that covered our bodies over our bathing suits out of respect for the villagers (they are very modest). We were all in the stream having a good laugh until Ava (the girl from Australia) looked down at her arm and saw a few black wormy things crawling on her. Of course we all assumed that it was leeches... so we ran out of the stream and proceeded to do a leech-check on each other! It was quite funny. But after arriving back at our hut, our group leader told us that they were only dragonfly larvae... that leeches only live in the moist jungle during the rainy season. So we were safe... and we had a good laugh about that one too :) After relaxing for a bit, we walked around the village and met some of the locals... so warm and inviting. We learned how they make rice... wow, I will NEVER take our 90-second rice for granted ever again! After harvesting, it takes about 1.5 hours to prepare rice for dinner. They do that each and every day. They live such modest lives... Julie and I have had a few talks about American culture and how we value the most ridiculous aspects of the world, and that we overlook and belittle the more important things, such as relationships with your loved ones. Being in those villages brought me back to my days in Africa... I love how I feel when I am surrounded by these people. I really feel like I have had a spiritual and emotional recharge, and that I have found myself again. I didn't realize how much I had lost sight of myself in the past year... I am so grateful that I have here to gain a stronger foundation of my ideals before I venture off into the unknown of Baltimore and nursing school....
So... walking through the village was special. I loved that. And then we had the opportunity to make fried rice for all the village children (about 30 of them) and that was just fun. Again, brought me back to my days in Africa. LOVED it. Every minute of it. We then gathered around a small bonfire with the children and they sang us village songs and we sang to them. It was quite tender. They were so sweet and so precious. I really can't wait for the day that I can travel into developing countries to provide medical services to children who don't have available resources. SOON :)
This morning, after another comfy, cozy night in our bamboo suite, we had a blessing from our host and were sent on our way... another 4 hour hike, at least mostly downhill. Julie and I found, though, that walking downhill was just as tiring... it was so steep that we had to take our time so as not to slip (or roll) down the hill. It was exhausting. I don't know which I prefer... honestly... it was a long hike back. But quite beautiful, and I had a lot of time to think and reflect. So I definitely appreciated it. And now that we've come out the other side, exhausted but breathing, we are grateful for the experience. And we can say that we hiked 30 miles through the villages of the hilltribes in Thailand! I bought an amazingly beautiful hand-made shirt from a cute old woman in the tribe and a fantastic bag from another lady, which I am proudly using tonight as Julie and I wander the streets of Chiang Mai. We are both beat, but we cannot waste our time here! We love everything about Thailand, and are soaking up all that we can. So we are off to explore the night bazaar... hopefully we'll find some fun things of intrest to bargain. We're getting better :)
I will try and post again in the next couple days... we leave for Tha Ton and then to Chiang Rai on Saturday morning... I know we'll have internet access up there, so I will try not to leave so much to blog about! I hope you are all doing well, and I will be back with more soon..... Tah Beur! (thank you/so long in the Karen tribe language)
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