I'll work backwards:
We made the quick bus and boat ride to Laos and here we are in Houay Xi for one night before our two day slow boat trip to Luang Prabong in Laos.
When we got back from trekking, we showered and brushed our teeth and hit the night market for market-style dinner to bring home and watch a movie. Both completely exhausted - here's why.
So we went trekking. Anne, our trekking guide, picked us up and we were all dropped off at the boat dock. Anne appeared to be somewhere between 35 and 45 maybe. She was very nice and he English was pretty good so we had polite conversations about Thai culture and American cultures.
After a short boat ride back up the river from where we came, we stopped at the same elephant camp we had stopped at before. Kyle and I rode on an elephant which we renamed about 3 times before we finished our 30 minute ride. We sat on a seat/stool strapped to Fancy/Ellie/Michael Jacksons back while the elephants trainer straddled the elephant with flip flopped feet behind the elephants ears. It did feel fairly touristy, a twenty minute walk through town and into the river a bit but damn it, ya can't do this in Oregon!
Then we had lunch and watched a little of Thai boxing on TV. It began to show that Anne was pretty awkward and it was kind of unclear whether we were in charge or she was. We eventually got back on the boat and rode a little further upstream to the National Park. We walk about 200 feet before Anne said we would have a rest. We sat and sort of talked about the National Park system and protecting the teak forests. Then we sort of sat in silence. Finally Kyle asked if we could get going. A bit more hiking and we arrived in a village on a hill. The village was all bamboo houses on stilts with solar panels next to each one. Anne lead us onto one porch where we sat and waited. We waited some more. Kyle and I finally settled into reading our books and Anne sat. It was a beautiful view of the green valley of bamboo in front of us. We sat on a very steep sloped hill so we looked down on the neighbors thatched roof. Kyle and I decided to take a walk up the hill to the highest viewpoint. Again, beautiful view of greenery and terraced rice fields that were just being harvested by the village people. Back down to our house, we rested some more, played cards and watched the kids play between the houses.
Chickens, cats, dogs and kids mingled around between houses while we waited for the dinner that we being prepared inside. We considered asking if we could help but with 6 people already in the one small room where the cooking was taking place, we decided that we would likely just be in the way. Dinner was served to Anne, Kyle and I on the deck. Green curry and rice - delicious!! We sat and talked, through Anne, to the father and mother of the neighboring house. The two boys that lived in the house we were sleeping in were home alone for the night because the father was out hunting a valuable jungle lizard and the mother was staying at the fields for the night.
As it got darker (and considerably colder) we turned in for the night along with everyone else is town. Our beds, blankets on the bamboo floor next to the fire, took up nearly the whole room. Kyle and I read for about half and hour and looked at each other and said 'I'm not tired, are you?' 'No, what time is it anyway' '7:45pm' 'Oh, that's why!'. It seems that farmers go to bed on the early side.
After a rather chilly, OK freezing night, we were woken by roosters (they live under the houses on stilts so when you are sleeping on bamboo slats on the floor it is like a rooster crow in your ear!) and the older son making fire.
A quick breakfast before heading out to continue hiking to the waterfall nearby. The hiking was not too difficult, the sun hot but up in the mountains it was nearly cold in the shade. We walked to another small hill tribe village where we sat outside a church (many hill tribes are christian after missionary influence) followed by a hike to the local tea plantation and lunch stop in a small town. After that, a long walk to the hot springs. The hot springs were pleasant enough but the moonshine rice whiskey afterwards was even more pleasant and smelled way better! Finally, back into a tuk-tuk for the ride home.
The trekking was a good experience and certainly got us out of our comfort zones. It was not nearly as touristy as we thought it might be which was a pleasant sup rise. It was a little heavy on the awkward silences with Anne and strangely sitting around waiting for something for bizarrely long stretches of time.
Now we are in Laos, ready for the next chapter!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Off to Laos!
Can't write too much because we're off to take a boat to Laos this morning. Treking was a real experience. Just Kyle, myself and our fairly awkward Thai guide Anne. Stayed in mountain village hut and rode an elephant!
More details later.
More details later.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
From Chiang Rai
Our third day in Chiang Mai was Kyle's day at her cooking class and my day on my own. I indulged in some lengthy internet time, a long stroll through a very large art store (oh the smells of home!) and then a long lunch at a noodle stand writing in my journal. I then decided I'd had enough indulgence and needed some culture. I grabbed a tuk-tuk and headed for the Hill Tribe Museum.
The hill tribes of the 'Golden Triangle' region (NW Laos, NE Thailand and SE Burma) are about 6-10 different cultural groups from as far away as Nepal and China. They are fairly small groups that have maintained their traditional lifestyles, in many cases, for the tourist money it can bring in. Their traditional crafts are brought into cities in Norther Thailand (mostly colorful weaving) and sold at markets and tourist shops. Every guesthouse, trekking office and tourist place around offers tours of the hill tribe communities. I decided the best way to learn about these cultures was the museum, all proceeds going to these people themselves.
After a 20 minute drive out of town, I stepped into an empty, tiny and very dated museum. After about 20 minutes, I'd seen everything there was to see of the very faded and poor quality pictures but had done some reading and felt I'd gotten a good grasp of these civilizations. My next move was the make this excursion worth while by getting some exercise by walking home. Not only was I far enough from town to be off my map, but the street signs no longer included both Thai and Roman texts so the 2 hour walk was quite an adventure.
After a Popsicle and a nap, I was woken by Chef Kyle, returning from her cooking class which was a great success. We both showered and dressed quickly for dinner with Liz and Chris (Kyle's friend from NOLS and boyfriend who we had met up with in Phistanulok) who were also staying in Chiang Mai as well too. We had dinner at an excellent restaurant that specialized in organic and wholesome foods (oh Portland, you were so close I could taste it!) and it was fantastic. We then stumbled upon a sort of reggae bar serving cheap mojitos and played several rounds of cards.
We parted ways as we are heading east and they head west but it was really wonderful to have new friends that are having such similar experiences to ours.
The next day, we hopped on a bus and made our way to Tha ton which is a tiny town on the Mekong river. The Lonely Planet guide book included about 15 sentences on Tha Ton and said there really isn't anything there. Maybe that's just what we needed but we just loved Tha Ton. An absolutely charming town divided by the river, we stayed in a very tidy guest house (Riverside GH). The first thing we noticed about TT was the giant white Buddha statue up the hill and what looked like a Wat about 1/4 mile from away from that on another hill. To kill time before dinner, we decided to take a walk and see how far these monuments were and if we could reach them on a road. There didn't seem to be any town maps or tourist information on these icons so we just headed off. Well actually we needed some fortification first so we stopped man with a cart that seemed to be making some kind of sweet pancake/crepe sorts of things. Fried thin pancakes, egg and banana middle, drizzled with sweetened condensed milk and sprinkled with sugar, these little treats were likely the most delicious thing I think I've ever eaten.
Thus fortified, we began to walk up a very steep hill which only indication that it might lead to the wat and shrine was a decorative arch over the otherwise ordinary street. For the next 2 hours we hike up this hill/mountain to discover a series of 8 incredible monuments, statues and temples. We only saw a small handful of other people while walking up this mountain and the views only got better the higher we climbed. Down below, the valley with its farmlands and snaking river opened up and the surrounding mountains circled around. The last temple that we made it to was reminiscent of an Easter egg, or really a stack of Easter dishes, painted in beautiful pastels and was perfectly circular. Inside was a large golden orb with a single statue of a monk inside. Winding it's way around the orb was a ramp that was decorated as a silver snake that deposited you out at the roof balcony to more incredible views. At this point, the sun was setting and we made our way back down the hill.
Dinner of soup on the riverfront and then to 'sleep' with the roosters next door announcing morning at 5am, 5;06am, 5:22am, 6:12am . . .
The next morning, we decided to forgo the 3 day bamboo raft float to Chaing Rai (very expensive and we don't have our sleeping bags) and instead get tickets for the 3 hour motorized long boat ride. The boat leaves once a day at 12:30 so we spent the morning hiking back up the hill to see the last monument past the Easter Dishes. It too was beautiful and had a wonderful view as well but the morning got hotter and we had to hustle to make sure we got to our boat.
The boat ride was very relaxing and beautiful. The boat was maybe 30' long and 3' wide and set very low in the water so your line of sight was almost at water level. We stopped briefly at an elephant camp which included HUGE snakes you could have your picture taken with. One of the snakes was probably 15' long and at it's thickest was probably 8" across. Yes, the largest snake I've ever seen. No, I didn't have my picture taken, or even really consider it.
We arrived in Chiang Rai to find a very busy, commercial city. Both of us imagined something much smaller but we found a guesthouse with rooms available on the second try and took a stroll around too look for an appropriately indulgent place to stuff our face in the wonderful American tradition of Thanksgiving. Pickings were slim but we found an Italian restaurant (we decided the Italians too understand the concept of stuffing yourself) and filled our bellies with calzone, baked spinach and cheese and espresso.
Today is a new day in Chiang Rai where we will look for the office of a trekking company that leads ecologically sensitive 3 day treks.
The hill tribes of the 'Golden Triangle' region (NW Laos, NE Thailand and SE Burma) are about 6-10 different cultural groups from as far away as Nepal and China. They are fairly small groups that have maintained their traditional lifestyles, in many cases, for the tourist money it can bring in. Their traditional crafts are brought into cities in Norther Thailand (mostly colorful weaving) and sold at markets and tourist shops. Every guesthouse, trekking office and tourist place around offers tours of the hill tribe communities. I decided the best way to learn about these cultures was the museum, all proceeds going to these people themselves.
After a 20 minute drive out of town, I stepped into an empty, tiny and very dated museum. After about 20 minutes, I'd seen everything there was to see of the very faded and poor quality pictures but had done some reading and felt I'd gotten a good grasp of these civilizations. My next move was the make this excursion worth while by getting some exercise by walking home. Not only was I far enough from town to be off my map, but the street signs no longer included both Thai and Roman texts so the 2 hour walk was quite an adventure.
After a Popsicle and a nap, I was woken by Chef Kyle, returning from her cooking class which was a great success. We both showered and dressed quickly for dinner with Liz and Chris (Kyle's friend from NOLS and boyfriend who we had met up with in Phistanulok) who were also staying in Chiang Mai as well too. We had dinner at an excellent restaurant that specialized in organic and wholesome foods (oh Portland, you were so close I could taste it!) and it was fantastic. We then stumbled upon a sort of reggae bar serving cheap mojitos and played several rounds of cards.
We parted ways as we are heading east and they head west but it was really wonderful to have new friends that are having such similar experiences to ours.
The next day, we hopped on a bus and made our way to Tha ton which is a tiny town on the Mekong river. The Lonely Planet guide book included about 15 sentences on Tha Ton and said there really isn't anything there. Maybe that's just what we needed but we just loved Tha Ton. An absolutely charming town divided by the river, we stayed in a very tidy guest house (Riverside GH). The first thing we noticed about TT was the giant white Buddha statue up the hill and what looked like a Wat about 1/4 mile from away from that on another hill. To kill time before dinner, we decided to take a walk and see how far these monuments were and if we could reach them on a road. There didn't seem to be any town maps or tourist information on these icons so we just headed off. Well actually we needed some fortification first so we stopped man with a cart that seemed to be making some kind of sweet pancake/crepe sorts of things. Fried thin pancakes, egg and banana middle, drizzled with sweetened condensed milk and sprinkled with sugar, these little treats were likely the most delicious thing I think I've ever eaten.
Thus fortified, we began to walk up a very steep hill which only indication that it might lead to the wat and shrine was a decorative arch over the otherwise ordinary street. For the next 2 hours we hike up this hill/mountain to discover a series of 8 incredible monuments, statues and temples. We only saw a small handful of other people while walking up this mountain and the views only got better the higher we climbed. Down below, the valley with its farmlands and snaking river opened up and the surrounding mountains circled around. The last temple that we made it to was reminiscent of an Easter egg, or really a stack of Easter dishes, painted in beautiful pastels and was perfectly circular. Inside was a large golden orb with a single statue of a monk inside. Winding it's way around the orb was a ramp that was decorated as a silver snake that deposited you out at the roof balcony to more incredible views. At this point, the sun was setting and we made our way back down the hill.
Dinner of soup on the riverfront and then to 'sleep' with the roosters next door announcing morning at 5am, 5;06am, 5:22am, 6:12am . . .
The next morning, we decided to forgo the 3 day bamboo raft float to Chaing Rai (very expensive and we don't have our sleeping bags) and instead get tickets for the 3 hour motorized long boat ride. The boat leaves once a day at 12:30 so we spent the morning hiking back up the hill to see the last monument past the Easter Dishes. It too was beautiful and had a wonderful view as well but the morning got hotter and we had to hustle to make sure we got to our boat.
The boat ride was very relaxing and beautiful. The boat was maybe 30' long and 3' wide and set very low in the water so your line of sight was almost at water level. We stopped briefly at an elephant camp which included HUGE snakes you could have your picture taken with. One of the snakes was probably 15' long and at it's thickest was probably 8" across. Yes, the largest snake I've ever seen. No, I didn't have my picture taken, or even really consider it.
We arrived in Chiang Rai to find a very busy, commercial city. Both of us imagined something much smaller but we found a guesthouse with rooms available on the second try and took a stroll around too look for an appropriately indulgent place to stuff our face in the wonderful American tradition of Thanksgiving. Pickings were slim but we found an Italian restaurant (we decided the Italians too understand the concept of stuffing yourself) and filled our bellies with calzone, baked spinach and cheese and espresso.
Today is a new day in Chiang Rai where we will look for the office of a trekking company that leads ecologically sensitive 3 day treks.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Chiang Mai, Thailand
After leaving Phistanulok, we got on a bus and headed to Chiang Mai. It was about a 5 hour bus ride where we moved from the valley up into more mountainous area to the north. The millisecond we stepped off the bus, we were bombarded with "where are you going Miss? What to play with live real tigers? Want to ride an elephant? Where do you want to go trekking?". We've learned to politely avoid these advances and just get a tuk-tuk to an area with many guesthouses. We found one called Eagle House 2 and hit the town.
Chiang Mai is very busy and fairly full of foreigners. The main tourist attraction seems to be trekking, zip line, elephant-tour type stuff. Kyle and I decided to eschew this scene and have those kinds of adventures in Laos in a few weeks. Laos has a better reputation for environmental tourism run by the Laos government and is generally a poorer whose government is making a strong effort to preserve it's natural beauty through eco-tourism.
The old city of Chiang Mai is walled in by a thick brick wall and moat. It has over 300 Wats (Buddhist temples) which dot both the new and old parts of the city. Some wats are older than others but all are still in use with practicing monks, young and old, all donning the orange robes.
We spent our first evening walking the closed off street in the middle of town which every Sunday sprouts up with craft vendors, musicians and of course food. We bought dinner of clear rice noodles (called glass noodles) in a vinegar dressing, honey chicken and some dumplings. Yum as usual. There were many beautiful things being sold and I had to use quit a bit of self control not to buy much because of the hauling-it-around factor. There was lots of jewelery and fabrics which all remind me of my grandmother. Turns out the fabrics that were practically her uniform were all from Northern Thailand.
Today was a lazy day. Quite a bit of sink laundry in the morning (which now decorates our room) and then off to a place that served big American food. It was absolutely astonishing to realize how our perception of portion sizes has changed since being here. After consuming as much as we could, we waddled out of the restaurant and walked through town. In the early evening we decided to go to a "monk chat" just outside of town. A "monk chat" is an informal discussion with a monk about Buddhism which helps him practice his English and farang (Thai work for foreigners) learn more about Buddhism.
We strolled around the wat but weren't sure if there was a formal setting or how it all worked until Roti approached us in his bright orange robes. I would guess he was maybe about our age or slightly younger and his English was pretty hard to understand but we started to chat. He told us all about the major principles of Buddhism and after about 20 minutes, we were joined by two other monks, likely in their late teens-early twenties. These two wanted to know all about America and show off their US knowledge. They all are excited about Barak Obama and continually mentioning how bad our economy is. I guess if Buddhist monks in Thailand are reporting to you about the US economy, it must be pretty bad.
Some funny complications in our monk discussions were explaining what exactly Washington D.C. is. What does 'Columbia' mean? Is it not a state? Is it a city? What was the official language of USA? We had to explain that "technically there isn't one". And trying to explain that "Kate" and "Kyle" don't mean anything, they just sound nice. I'm thinking of making up a meaning for next time! Anyway, a completely pleasant evening. We walked home, past boys skateboarding in a city plaza and girls having cheerleading practice just next to them. Ah, sounds of home.
Tonight is another market which is likely to be less crafts focused but as always, there will be delicious and mysterious food!
Chiang Mai is very busy and fairly full of foreigners. The main tourist attraction seems to be trekking, zip line, elephant-tour type stuff. Kyle and I decided to eschew this scene and have those kinds of adventures in Laos in a few weeks. Laos has a better reputation for environmental tourism run by the Laos government and is generally a poorer whose government is making a strong effort to preserve it's natural beauty through eco-tourism.
The old city of Chiang Mai is walled in by a thick brick wall and moat. It has over 300 Wats (Buddhist temples) which dot both the new and old parts of the city. Some wats are older than others but all are still in use with practicing monks, young and old, all donning the orange robes.
We spent our first evening walking the closed off street in the middle of town which every Sunday sprouts up with craft vendors, musicians and of course food. We bought dinner of clear rice noodles (called glass noodles) in a vinegar dressing, honey chicken and some dumplings. Yum as usual. There were many beautiful things being sold and I had to use quit a bit of self control not to buy much because of the hauling-it-around factor. There was lots of jewelery and fabrics which all remind me of my grandmother. Turns out the fabrics that were practically her uniform were all from Northern Thailand.
Today was a lazy day. Quite a bit of sink laundry in the morning (which now decorates our room) and then off to a place that served big American food. It was absolutely astonishing to realize how our perception of portion sizes has changed since being here. After consuming as much as we could, we waddled out of the restaurant and walked through town. In the early evening we decided to go to a "monk chat" just outside of town. A "monk chat" is an informal discussion with a monk about Buddhism which helps him practice his English and farang (Thai work for foreigners) learn more about Buddhism.
We strolled around the wat but weren't sure if there was a formal setting or how it all worked until Roti approached us in his bright orange robes. I would guess he was maybe about our age or slightly younger and his English was pretty hard to understand but we started to chat. He told us all about the major principles of Buddhism and after about 20 minutes, we were joined by two other monks, likely in their late teens-early twenties. These two wanted to know all about America and show off their US knowledge. They all are excited about Barak Obama and continually mentioning how bad our economy is. I guess if Buddhist monks in Thailand are reporting to you about the US economy, it must be pretty bad.
Some funny complications in our monk discussions were explaining what exactly Washington D.C. is. What does 'Columbia' mean? Is it not a state? Is it a city? What was the official language of USA? We had to explain that "technically there isn't one". And trying to explain that "Kate" and "Kyle" don't mean anything, they just sound nice. I'm thinking of making up a meaning for next time! Anyway, a completely pleasant evening. We walked home, past boys skateboarding in a city plaza and girls having cheerleading practice just next to them. Ah, sounds of home.
Tonight is another market which is likely to be less crafts focused but as always, there will be delicious and mysterious food!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Phistanulok - Fits on a log
A bit of a long silence as we've been doing a lot of moving . . . or sorta moving. . . or moving kinda slowly. We left Koh Chaing and made the long journey back to Bangkok (in Thailand, it seems that All Roads Go Through Bangkok) but this time we decided to try a new hostel and were greatly rewarded. The hostel, Suk 11, was tucked down an alley with a few open air bars on the ground floor. Everything in the hostel was wood and cozy. Lots of rooms for people to sit and relax. The best best best part was, after a long long day of traveling, Kyle discovered that the hostel had outdoor showers. They were fully enclosed and on a sort of open porch. The hostel was pretty quiet so the luxury of taking a shower and listening to the bustling BKK below was a luxury indeed. Then out to an indulgent dinner - Italian food!! The pizza was great but the red wine left something to be desired. Guess you can't have it all. Anyway, it was a real luxury and the day of travel was a little rough so we needed a treat.
The second time around, Bangkok was much less overwhelming. Our home base was better, we knew our way around the Skytrain and to avoid the damn Tuk-tuk's at all cost.
The following morning, we packed up again and made our way to the train station (an adventure in itself!). After 4 hours on one of the bumpiest trains ever, conquering the squat toilet on said turbulent train (Indian Jones would be impressed) and bearing the odor of the smelliest European alive (there should be laws about that kind of stink in an enclosed public space) and we arrived at Phitsanolok.
P-lok is a bustling town with a lively riverfront night market and two vast food markets. One of the best features of town is the amazingly hilarious outdoor fitness/play area. Imagine your gym's elliptical machine or rowing erg painted yellow, red and blue and cemented into the city's public park.
Kyle and I met up with one of Kyle's friends from her NOLS trip to Alaska this summer, Liz, and her boyfriend Chris. Both originally from Seattle, they are traveling for several months as well. We played some cards at the hostel while drinking Chang and Singha beers (oh Portland . . . I miss your microbrews!!) before heading to dinner and a stroll through the night market.
We snacked on these little crispy pancakes with what appeared to be marshmallow Fluff and other soft pancakes filled with another kind of custard/pudding. After snacking, strolled through the night market - fully of oddities. We rounded out our night with more Singha at the waterfront stalls, each stall blasting it's own music and serving the same beers. The four of us had a really pleasant evening of strolling and eating.
Today was an early day to get to Sukothai which has a historic ancient city just outside the modern city of Sukhothai. A 1 hour bus ride turned to two and a half but we eventually made it to the historic city. After renting some fantastic cruiser bikes, we made our way around the ruins. Amazingly, there were very few tourists and quite a few Thai families having picnics. We walked all around the amazing ruins of a city based around temples (Wat) devoted to different images of the Buddha. I took a zillion pictures as well. We ventured down a lonely road to see the two ruins outside the main part of the city. With no one around and just fields on all sides, it was an amazing way to beat the heat.
After we just couldn't stand the sun anymore, we headed back to town for lunch and back on a bus to P-lok. The heat is still fairly intense but I think I'm learning to just deal with being sweaty and take cooling showers in the afternoons. Tomorrow, we're off to Chang Mai to see the northern part of the country and maybe do a little trekking. After today's bicycle adventuring, we've decided that's just the only way to see the town sights!
The second time around, Bangkok was much less overwhelming. Our home base was better, we knew our way around the Skytrain and to avoid the damn Tuk-tuk's at all cost.
The following morning, we packed up again and made our way to the train station (an adventure in itself!). After 4 hours on one of the bumpiest trains ever, conquering the squat toilet on said turbulent train (Indian Jones would be impressed) and bearing the odor of the smelliest European alive (there should be laws about that kind of stink in an enclosed public space) and we arrived at Phitsanolok.
P-lok is a bustling town with a lively riverfront night market and two vast food markets. One of the best features of town is the amazingly hilarious outdoor fitness/play area. Imagine your gym's elliptical machine or rowing erg painted yellow, red and blue and cemented into the city's public park.
Kyle and I met up with one of Kyle's friends from her NOLS trip to Alaska this summer, Liz, and her boyfriend Chris. Both originally from Seattle, they are traveling for several months as well. We played some cards at the hostel while drinking Chang and Singha beers (oh Portland . . . I miss your microbrews!!) before heading to dinner and a stroll through the night market.
We snacked on these little crispy pancakes with what appeared to be marshmallow Fluff and other soft pancakes filled with another kind of custard/pudding. After snacking, strolled through the night market - fully of oddities. We rounded out our night with more Singha at the waterfront stalls, each stall blasting it's own music and serving the same beers. The four of us had a really pleasant evening of strolling and eating.
Today was an early day to get to Sukothai which has a historic ancient city just outside the modern city of Sukhothai. A 1 hour bus ride turned to two and a half but we eventually made it to the historic city. After renting some fantastic cruiser bikes, we made our way around the ruins. Amazingly, there were very few tourists and quite a few Thai families having picnics. We walked all around the amazing ruins of a city based around temples (Wat) devoted to different images of the Buddha. I took a zillion pictures as well. We ventured down a lonely road to see the two ruins outside the main part of the city. With no one around and just fields on all sides, it was an amazing way to beat the heat.
After we just couldn't stand the sun anymore, we headed back to town for lunch and back on a bus to P-lok. The heat is still fairly intense but I think I'm learning to just deal with being sweaty and take cooling showers in the afternoons. Tomorrow, we're off to Chang Mai to see the northern part of the country and maybe do a little trekking. After today's bicycle adventuring, we've decided that's just the only way to see the town sights!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
A great day of snorkeling!! We booked a trip on a boat for a 4 island tour of snorkeling. Today ended up being a bit overcast and windy so a good day to be face down in the water. Contrary to popular belief, you can get sunburned through clouds; that or the sun came out when I was swimmin' with the fishes. Either way, both of us have the classic snorkeling sunburn . . . let's just say it hurts a bit to sit! Lots of cool fish to see though and it felt good to do some real swimming not just wading out of head-desperation. We had a delicious lunch on the boat and some good "I'm feeling a little seasick" napping on life-vests. Tonight is movie night at a bar up the street from our hotel so we'll be lounging and movie watching. We're both so sun-drained that lying on a mat and watching a movie is about all we can manage.
Koh Chaing is beautiful and the sunsets are wonderful but I think a place a bit less touristy next.
It's odd to walk back to our little hut on the ocean past half a dozen bars blasting Bob Marley, offering authentic Thai tatoos or showing The Simpsons - not that I don't love The Simpsons and Bob.
Koh Chaing is beautiful and the sunsets are wonderful but I think a place a bit less touristy next.
It's odd to walk back to our little hut on the ocean past half a dozen bars blasting Bob Marley, offering authentic Thai tatoos or showing The Simpsons - not that I don't love The Simpsons and Bob.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Koh Chang
We have finally gotten ourselves out of BKK (that's Bangkok for those of you no in the know . . . I also like to think of it as Bodacious Kate 'n' Kyle) and to Koh (island) Chang. It's off the coast of Thailand in the Gulf of Thailand. We took a 5 hour bus ride out of BKK and a ferry and an hour on a truck bed with benches which is called a 'taxi'. The bus ride out of BKK was interesting. Watching the Thai landscape go by full of factory warehouses and dotted with incredibly ornate Buddhist temples makes you realize what "Made in Thailand" means. As an not-yet-architect, it's interesting to observe a city full of non-descript, not terribly well cared for concrete buildings that have the most ornate and glorious temples sprinkled in their midst. It shows a very different priority and standard here. It seems like that which is public/spiritual takes priority to anything personal - just the impression I got.
But I digress, we're on Koh Chang which is beautiful and full of semi-touristy kind of shops and restaurants but everything is thatched roof or tin roofed and doesn't really feel too over-developed. Our "cabin" for the first night was much more tree-house than hostel but we were happy to find it since the island as fairly full (Sunday night) and we're in the "backpacker ghetto". We moved tonight to a cabana that is ocean-side with it's own bathroom (kind of a luxury) but we figured it would be worth it. Today was spend unwinding from a day of travel to get here and a few days braving the city.
There was bravery involved in today however! We rented a moped for the day (really the only way to get around the island) and Kyle maneuvered us all around from beach to beach, to a wonderful seafood lunch on a lagoon-side cooking school/resort and home again. Yes, we ran out of gas, yes, we were passed frequently as the slowest on the road, and yes, I almost wet my pants from the sheer terror of riding up and down these giant hills on these winding jungle roads. Kyle did a great job and we made it everywhere we wanted to go. Upon our arrival home though I did decide I'd hate myself if I didn't try the Two Wheeled Terror Machine on my own so I took the Red Rocked With Hello Kitty Stickers out for a spin. Let me tell you, moped- ing is a great way to blow dry your hair before you've gotten a plug adapter . . . and I'm not too bad at it too!
Tomorrow is a splurge-day of snorkeling tour at four different islands around Koh Chang. Should be a fun way to spend a day and even out the sunburn we've both got on our faces, neck and feet from reading in the sun for an afternoon.
Food - we've decided to abandon western breakfasts. It's always slightly disappointing (Portland, Or has the best breakfasts ever, I'm spoiled for life) and not very authentic of us. It may be cliche but my favorite dish so far has been the Pad Thai. We did have some good crispy noodles with lots of tamarind today though. Yum.
But I digress, we're on Koh Chang which is beautiful and full of semi-touristy kind of shops and restaurants but everything is thatched roof or tin roofed and doesn't really feel too over-developed. Our "cabin" for the first night was much more tree-house than hostel but we were happy to find it since the island as fairly full (Sunday night) and we're in the "backpacker ghetto". We moved tonight to a cabana that is ocean-side with it's own bathroom (kind of a luxury) but we figured it would be worth it. Today was spend unwinding from a day of travel to get here and a few days braving the city.
There was bravery involved in today however! We rented a moped for the day (really the only way to get around the island) and Kyle maneuvered us all around from beach to beach, to a wonderful seafood lunch on a lagoon-side cooking school/resort and home again. Yes, we ran out of gas, yes, we were passed frequently as the slowest on the road, and yes, I almost wet my pants from the sheer terror of riding up and down these giant hills on these winding jungle roads. Kyle did a great job and we made it everywhere we wanted to go. Upon our arrival home though I did decide I'd hate myself if I didn't try the Two Wheeled Terror Machine on my own so I took the Red Rocked With Hello Kitty Stickers out for a spin. Let me tell you, moped- ing is a great way to blow dry your hair before you've gotten a plug adapter . . . and I'm not too bad at it too!
Tomorrow is a splurge-day of snorkeling tour at four different islands around Koh Chang. Should be a fun way to spend a day and even out the sunburn we've both got on our faces, neck and feet from reading in the sun for an afternoon.
Food - we've decided to abandon western breakfasts. It's always slightly disappointing (Portland, Or has the best breakfasts ever, I'm spoiled for life) and not very authentic of us. It may be cliche but my favorite dish so far has been the Pad Thai. We did have some good crispy noodles with lots of tamarind today though. Yum.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Day Two - Bangkok
Hello from day two.
I'm giving up on posting for day one because it was all a blur of Tuk-tuk scamming, jet lag and the Kings sisters funeral. The funeral part was actually really interesting - everyone was wearing black and the streets and trees were all covered in black and white silk and flowers and there was a huge ceremony with flowers and the public paying their respects. A bit of an odd way to be first introduced to the city but it gave a good idea of how much the Thai love their royal family.
Anyway, Bangkok is a city full of smells - sometimes really good from food on the street and sometimes really awful from other things on the street . . . and sometimes the food too. It's also a city entirely full of stray animals which seems strange to me for a city so large. Just an interesting observation that I had not really thought about before arriving here.
All is going well for the most part. We went to this gigantic market today and walked around most of the morning. I bought some funky tie/Thai pants that however neither Kyle nor I can quite figure out how they work exactly. We also discovered that in the middle of the Venn diagram of Portland, Oregon and Bangkok, Thailand is hipsters. Much hipster wear was being hocked at this market but there was also furniture, used clothes, new clothes, food, art, small dogs and all sorts of plastic junk as you might imagine.
Anyway, after the market it was back to the hostel for some relax time, journal-ing and reading. It's pretty darn hot so it's hard to stay out all day without some sitting time. Then we went to "Little Arabia" which is the Arabic/middle eastern part of town that is just near where we are staying and sat and played cards and smoked hookah before a dinner of Indian food. It was much much better than our lunch at the market which was not too tasty. Food is hard to judge so we're still kind of feeling our way around in that department too. Now post dinner jet lag is setting in again so it's back at the hostel. We're both feeling tired and pretty ready to get out of Bangkok. It's just a bit much here in the city - too much dirtiness, too many tourist scams to watch out for, too much traffic etc. I guess we knew that and we've gotten our fill of the sights here. We're going to take a morning bus to this island, Koh Samet, for some relaxing. It's not quite as beautiful and touristy as the southern Thai islands will be but it will be nice to get away from the city and into to beach climate and atmosphere. It will also be wonderful to do some swimming - it's so hot and sticky here!!
I'm giving up on posting for day one because it was all a blur of Tuk-tuk scamming, jet lag and the Kings sisters funeral. The funeral part was actually really interesting - everyone was wearing black and the streets and trees were all covered in black and white silk and flowers and there was a huge ceremony with flowers and the public paying their respects. A bit of an odd way to be first introduced to the city but it gave a good idea of how much the Thai love their royal family.
Anyway, Bangkok is a city full of smells - sometimes really good from food on the street and sometimes really awful from other things on the street . . . and sometimes the food too. It's also a city entirely full of stray animals which seems strange to me for a city so large. Just an interesting observation that I had not really thought about before arriving here.
All is going well for the most part. We went to this gigantic market today and walked around most of the morning. I bought some funky tie/Thai pants that however neither Kyle nor I can quite figure out how they work exactly. We also discovered that in the middle of the Venn diagram of Portland, Oregon and Bangkok, Thailand is hipsters. Much hipster wear was being hocked at this market but there was also furniture, used clothes, new clothes, food, art, small dogs and all sorts of plastic junk as you might imagine.
Anyway, after the market it was back to the hostel for some relax time, journal-ing and reading. It's pretty darn hot so it's hard to stay out all day without some sitting time. Then we went to "Little Arabia" which is the Arabic/middle eastern part of town that is just near where we are staying and sat and played cards and smoked hookah before a dinner of Indian food. It was much much better than our lunch at the market which was not too tasty. Food is hard to judge so we're still kind of feeling our way around in that department too. Now post dinner jet lag is setting in again so it's back at the hostel. We're both feeling tired and pretty ready to get out of Bangkok. It's just a bit much here in the city - too much dirtiness, too many tourist scams to watch out for, too much traffic etc. I guess we knew that and we've gotten our fill of the sights here. We're going to take a morning bus to this island, Koh Samet, for some relaxing. It's not quite as beautiful and touristy as the southern Thai islands will be but it will be nice to get away from the city and into to beach climate and atmosphere. It will also be wonderful to do some swimming - it's so hot and sticky here!!
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