Here's a few to get you started
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Saturday, March 14, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
We made it home alive (but tired)
Our last night in Bangkok was basically spent trying to spend our remaining baht. Never in my life, while on a trip, have I had to try to use up my money but things were so cheap that I had thousands of baht left over. Val did too, but I blame her previous aversion to buying everything and anything that caught her eye, unlike me who bought it all. Anyway, we both bought some t-shirts and knick knacks. I bought some wooden kitchen things for Mom and Chris. We ate street noodles for dinner, packed (an impressive feat in itself) and went to bed. Despite being, by far the most expensive place we stayed in, our hotel was very noisy. Apparently, I slept through it the first night (Val informs me) but on our last night, I couldn't get more than 15 minutes of shut eye before the next drunken lout would decide to have a shouting level conversation in the echoing hallway outside of our room. I possibly got one hour of sleep before our 4am wakeup.
We cabbed it to the airport and started our 24 hour oddessy to Canada. I'm sure I don't really need to go into the details but I will give you some highlights. First, Val wanted to pick up some duty free booze so we went, logically we thought, to the duty free shop in the Bangkok airport. But for some reason, they have it outside of the checkin area. So our cashier informs us that since we are flying (we are at an airport for Pete's sake) we can't buy a bottle here, we have to wait until we get to Canada. Val tried to explain to her that if we bought it in Canada, it wouldn't be duty free. The cashier then explained slowly with a pitying look on her face (because clearly we were idiots) that you can't take liquid on a plane, you know. At that point, it seemed pointless to try to speak logically to this woman so we decided to buy in Japan. (take note here, duty free is pretty much the driving force for this entire adventure).
Our flight was uneventful and cramped. The not very good movies offered on our way over were still the same for our trip back. I found myself watching Beverly Hills Chihuahua, I am ashamed to admit, because it was the only English movie left that I hadn't already seen (some twice). The food wasn't even as good as the first trip either but we had been spoiled by our last two weeks. We got to Japan and had only two hours to get sorted. Did I mention that this time we had checked our bags. I was still carrying my new plastic travel bag which weighed a ton. I had packed all of my breakable in it such as 2 stone pots, mugs, a stone plaque, some ceramics etc. so it was also bulky but delicate. Even though we weren't leaving the international area of the Narita airport, we still had to go through security for some reason, so annoying cashier was right (I'm sure by accident) as they would have taken our bottles away. Once we cleared that (with a bit of an issue with my blade shaped stone plaque) we were able to do some duty free shopping. I bought a bottle for Bill and some chocolates. I bought two kit kats - one red bean paste flavoured and the other matcha tea flavoured. Ya gotta love the familiar mixed with the 'exotic'.
the next leg was very long and very cramped. And I was pretty much ready to act out my own versions of the movies in the aisles. "Bang Bang" said Mark Wahlberg in 'Max Payne', "kerboom" said Leo DiCaprio in another explosion in 'Body of Lies', "but I can't forget him" said Kate Beckinsale in'Serendipity", "Yea Mon, we can win dis ting" says some random actor in 'Cool Runnings', "yip yip" said an overly cute chihuahua in BHC which I interpreted as "kill my agent for booking me into this movie, I may be a dog but I have pride, woof".
After dinner we tried to have a bit of a sleep (Val had my cold by now and was pretty wiped out) but, of course, there was a screaming baby on board. The term screaming baby doesn't really do it justice. This was no tiny waa waa baby, this was a two year old that had come from India so had been on a plane for as long as us (15+ hours at this point) and who had some lungs on her. She wailed for a good 6 hours, interspersed with screaming laughter and hysterical noises based on unidentifiable emotions. I did not like this child. But we made it. We landed in Vancouver where we had another two hour layover. It was a very hectic two hours though. First was customs to whom we admitted that we had brought back some wood products (Val had bought a couple of carvings and I had my kitchen utensils). Then we waited for our bags which were delayed due to a malfunction on the belt or some such - who can tell when they explain over the kssshs kssssh PA system. Then a stop at agricultural inspection so that they could check our wood products (fine) and then a million miles of walkways through the Vancouver airport. OK, side discussion here, what is going on with that airport! Has it been designed using a small intestine with diverticulitis as inspiration? How far can they make travellers walk, especially after we had all of our bags? Anyway, we finally made it to the domestic check in where Air Canada again was fine, checked our bags (two for me, one for Val) and headed to another security check - yeah, I know you see it coming but we had been awake for almost 48 hours at this point so we did not. Wait in line, make it to the scanner where Val, who went first, was asked about the large amount of liquid in her bag. ooops, we had forgotten to move our duty free into the checked luggage. So back to check in. Fortunately, Val still had a bag allowed and a bag to use so we crammed our bottles in (mine wrapped in my coat which I had lugged around Thailand for two weeks just so I could wear it when I got home) and we checked our last bag. Back through security (a much longer line this time), we were starting to worry about getting to our gate in time. More millions of miles of walkways but we found our gate and were fine timewise, we must have had 5 minutes sit around time. We did not have time to have a coffee which was what we had been using as self-bribery to get through the Narita to Vancouver flight.
16 minute flight to Victoria was uneventful but freezing, the air coming out of the vents was actually frosty. Remember - no coat. Chris was there waiting and whisked us home. My mom had come down to Victoria to meet us and she was at my house so she took Val home. When she got back, I unpacked all of my purchases to show off to Mom and Chris. Watched an hour of TV, ate a bit of dinner, trying to keep myself awake. I made it to 4 pm when I fell asleep in the living room chair. Mom finally woke me up and told me to go to bed which I didn't argue with. I woke up at 1 am, forced myself back to sleep until 4.
This morning I am catching up on banking, drip coffee, laundry and hot protein conditioning my hair. I may unpack but I will probably just watch the two 'Lost' episodes that I missed.
Thank you for reading my blog, it is always fun to write these. I just read it and already it is reminding me of the fun we had (and what a terrible speller I am.) I will post pictures in the next day or so. Joanne
We cabbed it to the airport and started our 24 hour oddessy to Canada. I'm sure I don't really need to go into the details but I will give you some highlights. First, Val wanted to pick up some duty free booze so we went, logically we thought, to the duty free shop in the Bangkok airport. But for some reason, they have it outside of the checkin area. So our cashier informs us that since we are flying (we are at an airport for Pete's sake) we can't buy a bottle here, we have to wait until we get to Canada. Val tried to explain to her that if we bought it in Canada, it wouldn't be duty free. The cashier then explained slowly with a pitying look on her face (because clearly we were idiots) that you can't take liquid on a plane, you know. At that point, it seemed pointless to try to speak logically to this woman so we decided to buy in Japan. (take note here, duty free is pretty much the driving force for this entire adventure).
Our flight was uneventful and cramped. The not very good movies offered on our way over were still the same for our trip back. I found myself watching Beverly Hills Chihuahua, I am ashamed to admit, because it was the only English movie left that I hadn't already seen (some twice). The food wasn't even as good as the first trip either but we had been spoiled by our last two weeks. We got to Japan and had only two hours to get sorted. Did I mention that this time we had checked our bags. I was still carrying my new plastic travel bag which weighed a ton. I had packed all of my breakable in it such as 2 stone pots, mugs, a stone plaque, some ceramics etc. so it was also bulky but delicate. Even though we weren't leaving the international area of the Narita airport, we still had to go through security for some reason, so annoying cashier was right (I'm sure by accident) as they would have taken our bottles away. Once we cleared that (with a bit of an issue with my blade shaped stone plaque) we were able to do some duty free shopping. I bought a bottle for Bill and some chocolates. I bought two kit kats - one red bean paste flavoured and the other matcha tea flavoured. Ya gotta love the familiar mixed with the 'exotic'.
the next leg was very long and very cramped. And I was pretty much ready to act out my own versions of the movies in the aisles. "Bang Bang" said Mark Wahlberg in 'Max Payne', "kerboom" said Leo DiCaprio in another explosion in 'Body of Lies', "but I can't forget him" said Kate Beckinsale in'Serendipity", "Yea Mon, we can win dis ting" says some random actor in 'Cool Runnings', "yip yip" said an overly cute chihuahua in BHC which I interpreted as "kill my agent for booking me into this movie, I may be a dog but I have pride, woof".
After dinner we tried to have a bit of a sleep (Val had my cold by now and was pretty wiped out) but, of course, there was a screaming baby on board. The term screaming baby doesn't really do it justice. This was no tiny waa waa baby, this was a two year old that had come from India so had been on a plane for as long as us (15+ hours at this point) and who had some lungs on her. She wailed for a good 6 hours, interspersed with screaming laughter and hysterical noises based on unidentifiable emotions. I did not like this child. But we made it. We landed in Vancouver where we had another two hour layover. It was a very hectic two hours though. First was customs to whom we admitted that we had brought back some wood products (Val had bought a couple of carvings and I had my kitchen utensils). Then we waited for our bags which were delayed due to a malfunction on the belt or some such - who can tell when they explain over the kssshs kssssh PA system. Then a stop at agricultural inspection so that they could check our wood products (fine) and then a million miles of walkways through the Vancouver airport. OK, side discussion here, what is going on with that airport! Has it been designed using a small intestine with diverticulitis as inspiration? How far can they make travellers walk, especially after we had all of our bags? Anyway, we finally made it to the domestic check in where Air Canada again was fine, checked our bags (two for me, one for Val) and headed to another security check - yeah, I know you see it coming but we had been awake for almost 48 hours at this point so we did not. Wait in line, make it to the scanner where Val, who went first, was asked about the large amount of liquid in her bag. ooops, we had forgotten to move our duty free into the checked luggage. So back to check in. Fortunately, Val still had a bag allowed and a bag to use so we crammed our bottles in (mine wrapped in my coat which I had lugged around Thailand for two weeks just so I could wear it when I got home) and we checked our last bag. Back through security (a much longer line this time), we were starting to worry about getting to our gate in time. More millions of miles of walkways but we found our gate and were fine timewise, we must have had 5 minutes sit around time. We did not have time to have a coffee which was what we had been using as self-bribery to get through the Narita to Vancouver flight.
16 minute flight to Victoria was uneventful but freezing, the air coming out of the vents was actually frosty. Remember - no coat. Chris was there waiting and whisked us home. My mom had come down to Victoria to meet us and she was at my house so she took Val home. When she got back, I unpacked all of my purchases to show off to Mom and Chris. Watched an hour of TV, ate a bit of dinner, trying to keep myself awake. I made it to 4 pm when I fell asleep in the living room chair. Mom finally woke me up and told me to go to bed which I didn't argue with. I woke up at 1 am, forced myself back to sleep until 4.
This morning I am catching up on banking, drip coffee, laundry and hot protein conditioning my hair. I may unpack but I will probably just watch the two 'Lost' episodes that I missed.
Thank you for reading my blog, it is always fun to write these. I just read it and already it is reminding me of the fun we had (and what a terrible speller I am.) I will post pictures in the next day or so. Joanne
Friday, February 27, 2009
The little engine that couldn't.
If you remember back so many days ago when Val and I were at Thai Boxing with the Frenchies and Alyne, as we parted ways on the street with much European cheek kissing, we realized that we were going to be on the same train back to Bangkok as Fred and Sophie. We were about to compare tickets to see where everyone was sitting when Fred said that fate had brought us together so many times that he was sure we would see each other on the train too. So when we arrived, Val and I found our seats and settled ourselves when all of a sudden the Frenchies arrived. They were in the seats right next to ours. Fate indeed!
Plus, miracle of miracle, there was no one in our upper bunks so we all had double seats to lounge about in. All was going swimmingly for the first 45 minutes until the train stopped. Nothing too unusual until about an hour had passed before a buzz from the tourists started. "What is going on?" Rumour had it that the engine did not have 'enough energy' to make it up the hill. Val had acquired an admirer by this time who was hovering around. He would ask every time someone with a walkie talkie would rush by but his English skills were limited so he was having a hard time explaining to us what was what. After another hour it was declared (can one say declared when it is said through the grapevine) that the train was going back to the last station for a new engine or repairs. So back we went. I guess they fixed it because after a four hour delay we started back up and went toward Bangkok. It actually worked out well for me and Val. We had wanted to take a later train but that one didn't have sleepers so the one we took was supposed to arrive at 6am. We were going to have to kill 4 hours before we could get a room but as it happened we arrived in Bangkok at 11 which is just in time for check out at noon.
This time we decided to go Lux and get a room in the hotel across from our last place. We had seen that they had a pool. Plus we have lots of baht left and are feeling rich after our $4 rooms in Chang Mai. So we checked into the Khoasan Palace. Air, TV, second floor, our own bathroom for $25 bucks plus the pool that we don't seem to be using. My favourite part is the blankets - they are huge towels!
Last night we were pretty exhausted but we went shopping for awhile, again, so much to buy and so many bahts left to spend - not my usual state. I bought a purse (don't say it, lea) and more pendants, a couple of t-shirts etc etc. Val found some necklaces she really liked, fisherman pants and a t-shirt, and some cheap bead necklaces. good fun. then we met the Frenchies for dinner - next trip - France!
Today, we went to the market outside the Grand Palace, the amulet market. Appropriately named since they sell these Buddha amulets at practically every stall. it is quite a thing here. There were magazines (in Thai) that seemed to be about collecting them. There were sellers and monks etc with jewellers eyes (magnifiers) checking them out. I of course, just bought the cheap ones that appealed. I bought a few from one guy who was so happy when I asked to take his picture that he just kept handing me more, I would try to give him more money and he would put more in the bag. I think I bought four and ended up with about 10. Those ones were loose, not in one of the pendant cases (I will have to show you).
Oh, I forgot, Jennifer will love this if she is reading this blog. When we crossed the street (frogger style, as always) these ladies approached us and handed us baggies of corn. We didn't really know why until one of them opened some of the bags and put them in our hands. Oh My God - the pigeons when ballistic! they were all over us, on our hands and arms, faces, in our hair. Yikes, they have sharp little claws, there must have been hundreds of them and the ladies just kept pouring more corn into our hands. I couldn't get away fast enough. And for this horror, they demanded money! No likely. They weren't happy but we made out it with our eyes still in our heads and our baht safely tucked away to be spent on non-Hitchcockian events.
It is so hot here, I can't describe it. I must be 40 degrees. I thought I was going to pass out. Fortunately, we managed to get into a 7-11 before I completely turned to a messy paste (dust and sweat). There at 7-11s everywhere here and they just blast the air conditioning (thank god). A couple of beverages and a bite of food and we headed back to the hotel to recuperate. Now we have our last baht to spend and our very stuffed bags to pack before we head to the airport tomorrow for our 8am flight.
A couple of random images from our last day in Bangkok
We will be back on Saturday at around noon. I am going to try to stay awake until at least 7pm - either wish me luck or give me a call so keep me alert. See you all soon. Joanne
 Fred and Sophie - right next to us. |
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| Another hazy sunrise/set from the train window. |
Last night we were pretty exhausted but we went shopping for awhile, again, so much to buy and so many bahts left to spend - not my usual state. I bought a purse (don't say it, lea) and more pendants, a couple of t-shirts etc etc. Val found some necklaces she really liked, fisherman pants and a t-shirt, and some cheap bead necklaces. good fun. then we met the Frenchies for dinner - next trip - France!
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| Elephant statue in a very busy traffic circle |
Today, we went to the market outside the Grand Palace, the amulet market. Appropriately named since they sell these Buddha amulets at practically every stall. it is quite a thing here. There were magazines (in Thai) that seemed to be about collecting them. There were sellers and monks etc with jewellers eyes (magnifiers) checking them out. I of course, just bought the cheap ones that appealed. I bought a few from one guy who was so happy when I asked to take his picture that he just kept handing me more, I would try to give him more money and he would put more in the bag. I think I bought four and ended up with about 10. Those ones were loose, not in one of the pendant cases (I will have to show you).
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| My generous amulet salesman. |
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| Meat balls (who knows what kind of meat?) on sticks |
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| Flowers for the household mini-temple. |
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| Val right after the pigeon attack, trying to get rid of the last bag of corn. |
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| The troops massing for another attack - just bring out the corn! |
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| The one noteworthy pigeon in the bunch. A spotted dove. |
It is so hot here, I can't describe it. I must be 40 degrees. I thought I was going to pass out. Fortunately, we managed to get into a 7-11 before I completely turned to a messy paste (dust and sweat). There at 7-11s everywhere here and they just blast the air conditioning (thank god). A couple of beverages and a bite of food and we headed back to the hotel to recuperate. Now we have our last baht to spend and our very stuffed bags to pack before we head to the airport tomorrow for our 8am flight.
A couple of random images from our last day in Bangkok
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| A dog head sticking out of a bridge. Why? Who knows. |
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| A typical image of the king, they like his image from 40 years ago, you rarely see a current 'old' picture of him. |
We will be back on Saturday at around noon. I am going to try to stay awake until at least 7pm - either wish me luck or give me a call so keep me alert. See you all soon. Joanne
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
A very full two days
Once we were beaten stupid(er) by the Thai massage ladies we had a bit of down time. We had been waiting all week for the Sunday Night Walking Market which is huge and only a block from our guesthouse. So off we went once it got going. Holy smoke. So much stuff. I started shopping right away, Val is still being sensible. She claims she is holding out for Bangkok.
Anyway, I got some gifts for others but mostly I shopped for myself (I know, you are shocked). I got an amazing silver necklace with hand carved silver beads and a flower pendant. I found a fish mug, a requisite local painting etc. Val got a bit of jewellery (and now that we are packed to head back to Bangkok, she seems very wise). It was packed with people. The locals keep telling us tourist season is basically over and there aren't many people here but after the market, I have to disagree. We met up with three of the people from our cooking school by chance, Sophie and Fred - the French couple and Alyne - the Victorian girl. They have been hanging around ever since our day together. We wandered around with them for a bit but eventually we had to give in. It was too big and my feet are still a total liability. Plus, if we kept going, I would have just spent more money. How many gifts can I bring home, really?
The next morning we had a 6 am pick up for the 'Flight of the Gibbon'. This is a 2km zipline through the jungle. We arrived in the mountains around 8am and were given our little safety lecture. You gotta love these in foreign countries. 'Don't fall off", 'Don't jump off', 'Don't be an idiot'. Once we had a cup of coffee (very good mountain stuff - yes, I got you some, Nikki) we were ready to be hooked up. The putting on of the harness was only slightly less invasive as the Thai massage but our guide was considerably better looking (and male for that matter) so I can live with it.
Then a quick ride to the start point. We were lucky, we were the first group of the day. Plus, we booked for an early spot because it was cheaper and we wanted to avoid the mid day heat. But being first meant that each platform we zipped to was empty and the jungle seemed pristine. Anyway, I was the first to be chucked off and sent flying to the first platform.
Basically, each platforms is a tiny balcony around a huge tree that we all huddle around so as not to plummet to our deaths. It isn't as bad as I make it out of course. The platforms are barely big enough to fit all of us but we were always hooked onto something, either the line or the tree. I can't say it would be comfortable to fall off but at least we would be unlikely to die. The batteries to my camera died almost immediately but as chance would have it, our group was accompanied by a professional photographer who is doing a new broucher and an article for Thai Airline magazine. He said he would send us a link to see the pictures. If they ever actually arrive, they should be hilarious. Lots of bad angles, I'm sure. It is pretty much impossible to be graceful when you are hanging 120 feet above the ground held only by a single string.
At one point we heard gibbons but couldn't see them. Val thinks she may have had a glimpse but it is unconfirmed. Zip, Zip, occasional dead man drop to below and then two hours later it was over.
Perfect timing, it was just starting to get hot and very jungle humid. Then a quick buffet lunch and a drive to a waterfall, reminiscent of Africa - climb a million high stairs to get to the top of a waterfall.
Fortunately, there was an interesting bird half way up and I chose to ID that instead of continuing. Have I mentioned that the birding here sucks lemons. Considering that Thailand is home to a large portion of the world's bird species, I have seen few. Occasionally I see one I can ID to the family, eg, 'look a bee eater' or 'hey, that was an owl' but always from a car or train, so no time to speciate. Anyway. Back to the guesthouse where we spent the afternoon napping.
We have been getting up early but not 5 am early and we were pretty tired. Plus, we had big plans for the evening - Thai Boxing! Our tickets were for 9pm (very late for us old timers) but Lyn told us we could eat there so we headed over early, 8ish. The stadium is close to the guesthouse so we just walked. On our way, Val saw our three cooking school friends again, sitting in a restaurant having dinner. They had mentioned the last time we ran into them, that they were planning to go to the Boxing match too. We stopped to say hi and see if they were, in fact, coming. They were so we said we would see them there and we would save seats if possible. Well, when we arrived at 8:15 or so, the place was empty and we were told we would have to eat outside but we could save a table if we wanted. When we mentioned that there were 5 of us, we were allowed to save a table right at ringside, sweat spatter distance (I know this is an acurate measure because I was, in fact, splattered with sweat). So we put our names on the table and went back to eat with the group. When we arrived back at the stadium just before 9 it was still pretty empty but the fights started soon after. The first two fights were just little boys (100 lbs class) and it was pretty tame.
The third fight was awesome. Hard to describe but lots of kicking, but it still didn't seem nearly as brutal as a North American boxing match.
Well, maybe this guy thought it was a bit brutal (knockout!)
After that, it was two matches with lady boxers, again not very violent. (despite the how the photo looks)
The night was to finish with two matches, one 'major fight' and one 'international fight' between Thailand and New Zealand. Well, the 'major fight' was over in less than two minutes with a knock out.
Then they announced that the international fight was actually between Canada and Thailand. WooHoo. Unfortunately, Mr Canada was a bit too much for Mr Thailand and the ref ended the fight almost immediately. Canada rules! (but too quickly). Then we were all ushered out and Bob's your uncle. Home by midnight.
Just as well as the next morning was another early pick up. We decided to spend our last full day in Chang Mai doing one of the day tours. Val wanted to see the long neck tribal village and I wanted to see the Golden Triangle, which is where Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet. So we found a tour that didn't involve elephant riding (not easy to do) and booked it. Now so far, we have had great trips - elephants/awesome, zipline/great fun, boxing/very exciting etc etc, but I can say that this trip was the dud of the bunch. We were crammed 13 in van with questionable air conditioning. Once we had everyone we were advised it was an hour and a half to the hot spring. The hot spring consisted of a pipe in the middle of a parking lot spraying egg smelly hot water into the air. I didn't even take a picture. But don't worry, it was surrounded by shopping opportunities, stalls and stalls of the same same (a common term here for, well it is pretty self explanatory actually). We bought coffee and sesame snaps - yummy homemade ones.
Then back in the van for another 1 1/2 hours to the White Temple. I have to say, this was impressive. Again, pretty self explanatory name but like all things Thai - way over the top. I have to mention here, I may have already said this with the Grand Temple, that photography in this country is impossible. Everything is too much! It is so over the top with curly cues and decoration that there is no way on earth it will show up in a mere photo. Others mentioned this to us when they showed us their pictures but you have to see to believe. Anyway, I have inadequate pictures again.
Some things of note about the White Temple, well obviously it is pure white on the outside. There is a moat around it with silver koi that are so cool to watch as they school and dart - again, bad photos to follow.
There is also some waterless ponds filled with hands, reaching up to you like dead souls from below. Creepy. I am pretty sure the architect was insane.
Once you pass all of that, you go inside where there are Buddhas in descending sizes ending with a real monk at the front. He didn't move so I had to ask Val if he was real. NO photos allowed inside so you will have to trust me that it was a cool visual. Then we turned around to leave and there is a huge wall size mural on the exit wall. It is covered in Thai and Buddha imagery with random Pop culture references hidden within, such as a high top shoe and some space ships. Disconcertingly, there was a GI Joe (70s version, not the little wimpy 90s one) sized picture of Keanu Reeves at eye level. Why? I just don't know. But I think he was watching us... (I took the blue pill). Then out we went for more shopping time - Val got an iced coffee, I got pineapple to ward off the Pad Thai induced scurvy that is soon to kill me. Back in the van for ANOTHER hour and a half. Then we arrived at the Golden Triangle. We learned that most of the rest of the group had already purchased tickets to take a boat over to the Laos side so we bought tickets too.
Into the boat, quick tour around. Myanmar, strangely enough, has a huge casino in the area that we could look at but not dock at. Then over to Laos where we had 1/2 hour to - you guessed it - shop.
I bought a postcard and sent it to work (see, I am thinking of you guys in Financial Aid) and had my passport stamped with a very suspicious looking Laos stamp. Do cartoon elephants sound official to anyone? I then bought a gift or two, Val bought herself a stone box.
Neither of us bought the booze that came in a bottle with a snake and a huge bug of some sort. Again, how can a picture do that justice?
One of the guys on our boat tasted this and said it just tasted like vodka, not like dead snake and bug. I declined.
Back on the boat, back to Thailand, a quick trip to the grossest by far bathroom we have seen here and then back in the van to go to our buffet lunch. Lunch was good, they had chicken fingers. They had a dessert that consisted of sweetened coconut milk with tapioca balls, already good, but for some reason they added gelatin worms in red and green. Some of the worms were very realistic versions of these maggots we saw for sale in the market. Well, of course, I had to have some. The coconut tapioca in honour of the Curry Family and the worms just so that it is that much grosser when I tell Melissa about it. Photo - not up to snuff.
WE stopped to look at the Myanmar border but we weren't allowed to cross. I personally would have paid the 500 baht ($20) for the stamp but it didn't seem to be an option.
Things in the van were getting a bit tense. The four in the back had their knees up their chins and they wanted to switch up with the bunch in the front but the front bunch were having none of it. Val and I were off to the side so no one seemed to care what we wanted. Plus there were four (middle section) very loud Spanish girls who just wouldn't stop talking. My favourite part was when they asked for the radio to be turned off and then had a loud discussion about how silence is golden (I can guarantee that the irony was lost on them). Finally the guide asked them to be quiet so the driver could concentrate after which they had the gall to shush anyone else who talked. Anyway, last stop. We had been led to believe that we would stop at three villages to 'meet' three different groups of hill peoples. What actually happened was that we were driven (1 1/2 hours) to a row of shacks that had all of the hill people crammed together offering another shopping opportunity.
I was not too excited about the original version by Val was keen. But the actual version was just icky. A human zoo.
I bought quite a bit out of white, North American middle class guilt for being there. The ladies, in all of their tribal garb, were very lovely and friendly but, well I will spare you the anthropological rant on 'the other' etc etc.
Then, believe it or not, a THREE + hour ride back to Chang Mai to arrive after 9pm. By the last trip in the van, I was pretty much ready to fling myself in front of oncoming traffic. We were going so fast though, that it would have been hard to open the door with all of the centrifugal force on the curves, which were many. Now we are killing a few hours before the train leaves at 4:30. I want to buy some sinus medication for the flight and Val needs some painkillers for her shoulder (actually from hanging on in the van so she wouldn't fall out of her seat, it was that bad). Off to Boots pharmacy, the pharmacist arrives at 1 so it is time to go now (it is 12:53) then we want to buy Lyn some chocolate for a thank-you and then we are out of here. See you in Bangkok.
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| Apparently, I didn't take any gift market photos so here is another random food market picture |
Anyway, I got some gifts for others but mostly I shopped for myself (I know, you are shocked). I got an amazing silver necklace with hand carved silver beads and a flower pendant. I found a fish mug, a requisite local painting etc. Val got a bit of jewellery (and now that we are packed to head back to Bangkok, she seems very wise). It was packed with people. The locals keep telling us tourist season is basically over and there aren't many people here but after the market, I have to disagree. We met up with three of the people from our cooking school by chance, Sophie and Fred - the French couple and Alyne - the Victorian girl. They have been hanging around ever since our day together. We wandered around with them for a bit but eventually we had to give in. It was too big and my feet are still a total liability. Plus, if we kept going, I would have just spent more money. How many gifts can I bring home, really?
The next morning we had a 6 am pick up for the 'Flight of the Gibbon'. This is a 2km zipline through the jungle. We arrived in the mountains around 8am and were given our little safety lecture. You gotta love these in foreign countries. 'Don't fall off", 'Don't jump off', 'Don't be an idiot'. Once we had a cup of coffee (very good mountain stuff - yes, I got you some, Nikki) we were ready to be hooked up. The putting on of the harness was only slightly less invasive as the Thai massage but our guide was considerably better looking (and male for that matter) so I can live with it.
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| Our guides, North and Mr. Bee |
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| Val getting strapped in. |
Then a quick ride to the start point. We were lucky, we were the first group of the day. Plus, we booked for an early spot because it was cheaper and we wanted to avoid the mid day heat. But being first meant that each platform we zipped to was empty and the jungle seemed pristine. Anyway, I was the first to be chucked off and sent flying to the first platform.
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| Val on the zipline, zipping through the jungle |
Basically, each platforms is a tiny balcony around a huge tree that we all huddle around so as not to plummet to our deaths. It isn't as bad as I make it out of course. The platforms are barely big enough to fit all of us but we were always hooked onto something, either the line or the tree. I can't say it would be comfortable to fall off but at least we would be unlikely to die. The batteries to my camera died almost immediately but as chance would have it, our group was accompanied by a professional photographer who is doing a new broucher and an article for Thai Airline magazine. He said he would send us a link to see the pictures. If they ever actually arrive, they should be hilarious. Lots of bad angles, I'm sure. It is pretty much impossible to be graceful when you are hanging 120 feet above the ground held only by a single string.
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| A high above the ground walkway |
At one point we heard gibbons but couldn't see them. Val thinks she may have had a glimpse but it is unconfirmed. Zip, Zip, occasional dead man drop to below and then two hours later it was over.
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| Our group before we left the jungle. |
Perfect timing, it was just starting to get hot and very jungle humid. Then a quick buffet lunch and a drive to a waterfall, reminiscent of Africa - climb a million high stairs to get to the top of a waterfall.
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| Stairs and stairs and stairs |
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| One of several waterfalls |
Fortunately, there was an interesting bird half way up and I chose to ID that instead of continuing. Have I mentioned that the birding here sucks lemons. Considering that Thailand is home to a large portion of the world's bird species, I have seen few. Occasionally I see one I can ID to the family, eg, 'look a bee eater' or 'hey, that was an owl' but always from a car or train, so no time to speciate. Anyway. Back to the guesthouse where we spent the afternoon napping.
We have been getting up early but not 5 am early and we were pretty tired. Plus, we had big plans for the evening - Thai Boxing! Our tickets were for 9pm (very late for us old timers) but Lyn told us we could eat there so we headed over early, 8ish. The stadium is close to the guesthouse so we just walked. On our way, Val saw our three cooking school friends again, sitting in a restaurant having dinner. They had mentioned the last time we ran into them, that they were planning to go to the Boxing match too. We stopped to say hi and see if they were, in fact, coming. They were so we said we would see them there and we would save seats if possible. Well, when we arrived at 8:15 or so, the place was empty and we were told we would have to eat outside but we could save a table if we wanted. When we mentioned that there were 5 of us, we were allowed to save a table right at ringside, sweat spatter distance (I know this is an acurate measure because I was, in fact, splattered with sweat). So we put our names on the table and went back to eat with the group. When we arrived back at the stadium just before 9 it was still pretty empty but the fights started soon after. The first two fights were just little boys (100 lbs class) and it was pretty tame.
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| The boys class |
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| Val, Aylin and Sophie (I don't think I have a single picture of Sophie where she doesn't look horrified) |
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| The real spectators (not the gawky tourists) |
The third fight was awesome. Hard to describe but lots of kicking, but it still didn't seem nearly as brutal as a North American boxing match.
Well, maybe this guy thought it was a bit brutal (knockout!)
After that, it was two matches with lady boxers, again not very violent. (despite the how the photo looks)
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| Lady Boxers |
The night was to finish with two matches, one 'major fight' and one 'international fight' between Thailand and New Zealand. Well, the 'major fight' was over in less than two minutes with a knock out.
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| It was over fast, but I still managed to get shot of his cool tatooes. |
Then they announced that the international fight was actually between Canada and Thailand. WooHoo. Unfortunately, Mr Canada was a bit too much for Mr Thailand and the ref ended the fight almost immediately. Canada rules! (but too quickly). Then we were all ushered out and Bob's your uncle. Home by midnight.
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| Mr Canada pummelling Mr Thailand. |
Just as well as the next morning was another early pick up. We decided to spend our last full day in Chang Mai doing one of the day tours. Val wanted to see the long neck tribal village and I wanted to see the Golden Triangle, which is where Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet. So we found a tour that didn't involve elephant riding (not easy to do) and booked it. Now so far, we have had great trips - elephants/awesome, zipline/great fun, boxing/very exciting etc etc, but I can say that this trip was the dud of the bunch. We were crammed 13 in van with questionable air conditioning. Once we had everyone we were advised it was an hour and a half to the hot spring. The hot spring consisted of a pipe in the middle of a parking lot spraying egg smelly hot water into the air. I didn't even take a picture. But don't worry, it was surrounded by shopping opportunities, stalls and stalls of the same same (a common term here for, well it is pretty self explanatory actually). We bought coffee and sesame snaps - yummy homemade ones.
Then back in the van for another 1 1/2 hours to the White Temple. I have to say, this was impressive. Again, pretty self explanatory name but like all things Thai - way over the top. I have to mention here, I may have already said this with the Grand Temple, that photography in this country is impossible. Everything is too much! It is so over the top with curly cues and decoration that there is no way on earth it will show up in a mere photo. Others mentioned this to us when they showed us their pictures but you have to see to believe. Anyway, I have inadequate pictures again.
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| The White Palace |
Some things of note about the White Temple, well obviously it is pure white on the outside. There is a moat around it with silver koi that are so cool to watch as they school and dart - again, bad photos to follow.
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| White Koi |
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| A bit of detail |
There is also some waterless ponds filled with hands, reaching up to you like dead souls from below. Creepy. I am pretty sure the architect was insane.
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| Creepy |
Once you pass all of that, you go inside where there are Buddhas in descending sizes ending with a real monk at the front. He didn't move so I had to ask Val if he was real. NO photos allowed inside so you will have to trust me that it was a cool visual. Then we turned around to leave and there is a huge wall size mural on the exit wall. It is covered in Thai and Buddha imagery with random Pop culture references hidden within, such as a high top shoe and some space ships. Disconcertingly, there was a GI Joe (70s version, not the little wimpy 90s one) sized picture of Keanu Reeves at eye level. Why? I just don't know. But I think he was watching us... (I took the blue pill). Then out we went for more shopping time - Val got an iced coffee, I got pineapple to ward off the Pad Thai induced scurvy that is soon to kill me. Back in the van for ANOTHER hour and a half. Then we arrived at the Golden Triangle. We learned that most of the rest of the group had already purchased tickets to take a boat over to the Laos side so we bought tickets too.
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| Our questionable boats tied to the questionable dock. |
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| The not very exciting view of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. |
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| Cool view of a giant Buddha that watched over the Golden Triangle. It is so hazy because it was rice feild burning season. The whole countryside was like this. |
Into the boat, quick tour around. Myanmar, strangely enough, has a huge casino in the area that we could look at but not dock at. Then over to Laos where we had 1/2 hour to - you guessed it - shop.
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| Me and Val on the boat |
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| Our visit at Laos. |
I bought a postcard and sent it to work (see, I am thinking of you guys in Financial Aid) and had my passport stamped with a very suspicious looking Laos stamp. Do cartoon elephants sound official to anyone? I then bought a gift or two, Val bought herself a stone box.
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| The market in Laos |
Neither of us bought the booze that came in a bottle with a snake and a huge bug of some sort. Again, how can a picture do that justice?
One of the guys on our boat tasted this and said it just tasted like vodka, not like dead snake and bug. I declined.
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| Some girls asking for some money. |
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| Chinese boats |
Back on the boat, back to Thailand, a quick trip to the grossest by far bathroom we have seen here and then back in the van to go to our buffet lunch. Lunch was good, they had chicken fingers. They had a dessert that consisted of sweetened coconut milk with tapioca balls, already good, but for some reason they added gelatin worms in red and green. Some of the worms were very realistic versions of these maggots we saw for sale in the market. Well, of course, I had to have some. The coconut tapioca in honour of the Curry Family and the worms just so that it is that much grosser when I tell Melissa about it. Photo - not up to snuff.
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| You can't really see the gelatin-grubs but here is the picture |
WE stopped to look at the Myanmar border but we weren't allowed to cross. I personally would have paid the 500 baht ($20) for the stamp but it didn't seem to be an option.
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| Myanmar border crossing. |
Things in the van were getting a bit tense. The four in the back had their knees up their chins and they wanted to switch up with the bunch in the front but the front bunch were having none of it. Val and I were off to the side so no one seemed to care what we wanted. Plus there were four (middle section) very loud Spanish girls who just wouldn't stop talking. My favourite part was when they asked for the radio to be turned off and then had a loud discussion about how silence is golden (I can guarantee that the irony was lost on them). Finally the guide asked them to be quiet so the driver could concentrate after which they had the gall to shush anyone else who talked. Anyway, last stop. We had been led to believe that we would stop at three villages to 'meet' three different groups of hill peoples. What actually happened was that we were driven (1 1/2 hours) to a row of shacks that had all of the hill people crammed together offering another shopping opportunity.
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| Row of 'Hill Tribe' shacks - a primitive strip mall. |
I was not too excited about the original version by Val was keen. But the actual version was just icky. A human zoo.
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| A cute hill tribe baby |
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| A nice lady (chewing beetlenut) who sold me some scarves |
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| A Karen (long neck) woman. |
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| Little Karen girls |
I bought quite a bit out of white, North American middle class guilt for being there. The ladies, in all of their tribal garb, were very lovely and friendly but, well I will spare you the anthropological rant on 'the other' etc etc.
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| Scarves - I bought a lot of scarves. |
Then, believe it or not, a THREE + hour ride back to Chang Mai to arrive after 9pm. By the last trip in the van, I was pretty much ready to fling myself in front of oncoming traffic. We were going so fast though, that it would have been hard to open the door with all of the centrifugal force on the curves, which were many. Now we are killing a few hours before the train leaves at 4:30. I want to buy some sinus medication for the flight and Val needs some painkillers for her shoulder (actually from hanging on in the van so she wouldn't fall out of her seat, it was that bad). Off to Boots pharmacy, the pharmacist arrives at 1 so it is time to go now (it is 12:53) then we want to buy Lyn some chocolate for a thank-you and then we are out of here. See you in Bangkok.
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