CENTRAL THAILAND

BANGKOK TAKE 2

We arrived to the center of the old city at 5:30am, it was dark and the tuk tuk drivers were screaming things at us. I was half asleep and Trav was a little blind seeing as he didn’t have his contacts in… but we managed to get out of chaos and within 20 minutes we found a cheap hostel on Kaoh San Road. Latter that morning we went to the National Museum where they have an impressive collection of the history of Thailand, elaborate funeral urns that looked like gigantic fair carriages and miscellaneous artefacts like instruments and puppets. In the evening we went to the Grand Palace which was the most impressive structure I’ve seen so far. The amount of detail that goes into every inch is outstanding! We also were attacked by “the bird people” who ambushed us and made us feed birds and then tried to charge a ton of money… we made it out alive ;)  Then we went to Wat Arun where we watched as the sun set behind the river. That night we walked by the Kaoh San market which was incredibly laid back and filled with what I call chillout places; shisha, live music, good food.  But on our way home came the rain, or should I say crazy storm. We looked for shelter but it didn’t look like it was going to stop. The only problem was that we couldn’t get our clothes wet because our laundry wasn’t going to be ready until 5pm the next day… I, as an experienced , prepared traveller, had a poncho with me; Trav on the other hand, had only brought a rain jacket…  so in the middle of one of the busiest bars in downtown Bangkok he took off his pants as to not get them wet and we set out into the streets to get back to the hostel.

            The next morning we took out first tour. In the morning we went to the Floating Market which was really interesting but a little too touristy for my taste. My favourite is when the older ladies come by with their straw hats and their boat filled with fruits of every shape and colour. We tried coconut pancakes and fresh lychee. After lunch we went to the bridge over the river Kwai which was built by the Japanese during WWII.  Got a good history lesson and learned about all the brutalities that the war slaves had to endure. The finished the day at the Tiger Temple, which is a fairly large complex housing 106 tigers. They also have wild pigs, cows, bulls, moon bears and goats, it was like going to the zoo. It was an interesting experience. In the afternoon we went to a fish spa, where little fish eat the dead skin of your feet. I couldn’t stop laughing for the first 5 minutes… I was laughing so hard that I cried a little bit. Once you get over it, it feels pretty good though.

AYUTTHAYA  

Ayutthaya was once the capital of Thailand. It is filled with temple ruins as most were destroyed by the Burmese. We got there in the morning and were given very ghetto bikes to go around and visit the ruins. When I say ghetto I mean that one bike didn’t have breaks and the other one didn’t have handlebars. Nonetheless we managed to make it out to most of the temples spread throughout the city; you get a completely different feeling from looking at ruins, it makes you think more of what actually happened at each site over the years. Everything was going as planned until Trav wen to get his hourly liter of water but he seemed to forget the rule of looking both ways before crossing the street… and a motorcycle gave him a little spin hitting the back wheel of his bike. Nothing tiger balm couldn’t fix though J  The highlight of the day was a Buddha head stuck in the roots of a tree  and watching the sun set over Wat Chai Wattanaram. We also ate some strange crepe filled with sweet hair-like candy that turned out to be pork.

           

When the night came so did the unexpected. News from Chang Main resulted in us taking different paths for the next few days. You see, I have no problem with traveling alone (will be doing so for the next 2 months) but its just the short notice that made my throat clench. From one day to the next I found myself looking at this country from a completely different perspective all on my own.

LOP BURI

Lopburi or monkey kingdom as I like to call it. I made my way with two girls from France that I had met in Ayutthaya.  With all our gear on and under the burning sun we made our way to the main monkey hangout… aka the main temple. Along our way we saw monkeys hanging out all around the city, on the street lights, bothering  people at the stores, climbing on the buildings. As soon as we stepped foot on temple stairs monkeys started climbing all over us, playing with our bags.  It was all fun and games until we wanted to get them off… they got vicious… really really vicious… one even bit my hand! So we ran away and went to get a drink.

SUKHUNTTHAI

Sukhuntthai was the first capital of the Siam kingdom (nowadays Thailand) so it has incredible ruins and a lot of history. I took a tuck (or bus as they call it here) to the historical park and rented a bike for the day. I ended up meeting an Equatorian girl who lives in England and we spent the day together.  Sukunthai is beautiful, the main set of ruins is walled and once you go through the front gate it feels as though you were stepping into a different world and time. The birds singing, the grass so green and the majestic structures spread throughout, each telling a different story. Once we were done the main ruins we ventured outside of the main park, as there are more ruins 2km north. What a change of pace! Rice fields and mountains all around… we climbed up the mountain towards one of the wats and got a great view of the surroundings. Celebrated our incredible biking skills by getting slushies at one of the cafes in the park.

As I was walking back to the hostel from the bus stop I ran into a monk. He smiled at me and said hi, I couldn’t believe he was talking to me.  He invited me into the Temple and showed me all around. He told me that they were building a new temple and I got to sign one of the roof tiles for it. He taught me how to pray and told me a little bit about his life. He was  generous, humble but most of all welcoming. I think I spent at least an hour with him but then had to leave because it was getting dark. As I said goodbye he gave me an amulet for good luck. 










MORE PICS AT: 
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151652166055476.466978.503055475&type=1

ANDAMAN COAST

PHUKET

We left the city life on a 17-hour bus ride and were woken up by a screaming Thai at 5:30 am telling us to get off and transfer into a minivan. Since language is in fact a barrier, they mark you with stickers wherever you go and kind of herd you around… it’s a clever invention but it makes you feel a little dumb. Arrived at the bus terminal and then cabbed it to Hat Patong, which is the most popular beach in Phuket. Our hostel was located on the main drag, which is packed 24-7 and was filled with bars with live music, gentleman clubs, lots of girls (and ladyboys) pole dancing, and people offering “free ping pong shows”. To sum it up for those of you who (like me) have no idea what that is, well, it’s a show where the main attraction is a girl shooting a ping pong out of her mmm tuti-fruti… we innocently decided to follow one of the 100 people who offered us to see a free show and we were lead to the very back of one of the bars to a room with a neon sign saying “Secret”. To my surprise, the audience was mainly girls and we were lead in by a girl with a flashlight. As I sat, I glanced to the girl on the stage who all of a sudden started pulling out a sting of flowers our of her lady parts… the waitress told us we had to get a drink to stay, each drink was $30 … and so that was the end of our ping pong experience.

            Apart from the crazy nightlife, Patong has more to offer: nice beach, cheap massages, incredible live bands and scuba diving. We booked a 3dive scuba trip; for starters, the yacht was gorgeous! The bottom deck had the equipment and a kitchen, the middle one had tables and an ac-dry room, and the top had pillows and mats so you could laydown and enjoy the breeze and the sun. The highlights of the dives were lots of sing rays, barracudas, eels, blue sea starts, the most chillin turtle I’ve ever seen and a beautiful coral mountain covered with purple anemones that looked like flowers. On our last dive the current was getting pretty strong and the scuba master made hold on to the coral so we wouldn’t get taken away although the safety spot at the end put us 20 feet off the mark.

PHI PHI

When we fist arrived to Phi Phi it seemed like the most laid back backpacker island; turquoise water, limestone mountains decorated with bits of green forest, yellow sand, and the beautiful long boats with their colourful wreaths lined up along the shore. As the sun went down the people stared coming out, a younger crowd than in Patong, no lady boys this time  ;) and fire! Lots of fire! I have no idea where so many people and so many bars came out of… the beach was lined up with them, music, drinks, UV body paint everywhere. People skipping over ropes lit on fire and doing tricks, and limbo (my favourite) the only difference was that every time you went you got a free shot.  To add to it all, you don’t get drinks, you get buckets as in your drink is served in a sand bucket… it was unreal. Met a ton of people! And, on my way back to the hostel ran into a group of Canadians who started singing Oh Canada. As we sang more and more people came and there ended up being about 12 of us.. we even sang it in French. I think I didn’t get back to the hostel until 5:30 am but it was definitely a night to remember.

 RAYLEH

Rayleh was the actual laid-back town… it doesn’t even have a dock so only long tail boats can come into shore. The limestone cliffs have a beautiful red tinge and there is more wild life.  Monkeys dominated the peninsula and they go around with their business as if you weren’t even there. Rayleh is also famous for climbing which we did a bunch off. The first day we went to the main viewpoint and the blue lagoon which was about a 40 minute climb. The viewpoint was beautiful and you could see the ocean on both sides of a thin strip of palm trees. The lagoon was also incredible, but much harder to get to. It was a vertical decent of about 80 meters; but we made it. The water was bright blue, and the lagoon was surrounded by the limestone all round. On our second day we went cliff jumping. We jumped off the boat and swam to the bare rock face, up a brief rope ladder and it was up to you how high and far you could get. Our tallest jump was 12 meters above the water, I could have sworn I was free falling. After that we went snorkelling and saw a pink jellyfish and lots of schools of fish that did not mind swimming all around us. On our third day we went kayaking through the rivers connecting to the sea. Went under large caves, through the forest, around bends and saw exciting mudskippers which are a link between fish and amphibians. Finished the day off seeing the chillin bars and the next day explored what Trav described as the Mines of Moria. The darkness here was absolute but we made it to the top to see another great viewpoint. Left later that day to catch a bus back to Bangkok and begin the journey to the north.

Rayleh was highlighted by seeing two friends from back home, through the kayaking, beach walks and dinners we learned it is always nice to know someone in your corner of the world.

 the internet is WAAAYY too slow... PICS AT :

 http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151626211285476.464174.503055475&type=1

Bangkok

Together the two foreign Canadians boarded their first trans ocean adventure. Not new at travelling, nay, but new with this side of the world. Excitements, anticipation, wonder, all bubbling to their surface of their young minds. What could happen next?

Plane ride to Shanghai went well, despite the strange odour from the man sitting beside us. We were welcomed by a red carpet, people staring at us, waving and holding signs, none of which had our name on them. The second flight we took landed in Bangkok and we walked outside of the airport bargaining with cab drivers; we got to a hostel by 11:45 pm.  We made it through!

The following day went to the largest market in Bangkok, which only runs on weekends. Here we literally saw EVERTYTHING you could want to buy EVER….and a whole lot you wouldn’t  ;) . Sharks, stingrays, chickens, puppies, monkey like creatures, lemurs, fridges, cars, music, art, books, clothes, astronomy gear, frogs, fried insects, eel on a stick, we’re talking everything. We even got to witness a cock fight and we ate a massive cockroach (were taking as big as my middle finger); it was … interesting tasted like grainy crab with a fish aftertaste... oh and Trav ate like 15 fried worm like things until he started feeling uneasy.  We left the market exhausted, slightly overwhelmed and sweaty. Decided to treat ourselves to a movie in 3D to discover an incredibly high tech theatre.

On day two we went to see the temples around Bangkok. Caught the sky-train and snuck into a monk school. Then got on a river ferry to Wat Pho to find out that it didn’t open until 2pm (it was noon).  We made a Thai friend who helped us rent a Tuk Tuk for 30Baht ($1) which drove us around for the following 3 hours… A tuk tuk is like a motorcycle with a built in cabin they swarm through cars and very very small spaces at unimaginable speeds. We went to our first temple and learned how to pray, then to the Golden Mountain where we climbed all 300 steps to a beautiful temple with a golden Buddha and a great view. The way up was decorated with waterfalls, vines and chiming bells with wishes. Finally ended at Wat Pho which is the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok and is home to the largest reclining Buddha which is 46 meters in length and 15 meters high and represents the passing of Buddha into his final nirvana. Ended the day by watching the sunset on the river.

On our last day in Bangkok we went to Siam Square home to numerous shopping centers and skyscrapers. It feels like taking a trip into the future.  We then ventured off into a nearby university that seemed more of a city than a campus. Every campus block was dedicated to a faculty and was reflected in the architecture and accessories (for a lack of a better word). Ended the day by taking a stroll by a park where we were surprised to find people doing tai chi, playing volley with their feet (which is a real sport here and they do the most elaborate pirouettes, we named it Kong Fu volleyball), dancing and working out in what looked like playground machines. Families, teens, men all working out and playing together.

 I’m in love with this city. Transport is effective, modern and cheap, we learned to use the sky train like pros; the people are beyond nice; the food is delicious and cheap.. $1.50 for a Pad Thai; you can find something to do at any time of the day or night, the city doesn’t sleep; and yet the way of living is so healthy and harmonious. 


more pics at:  http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151604224300476.462272.503055475&type=3

To pack or to leave...

What would you bring with you if you were going to be away for 102 days? ....  Now stop.  What if you had to carry all of it around with you everywhere you went? ... yeah I thought so... I’ve narrowed it down to : 3 shirts, 3 tank tops, 2 shorts, 2 pants, 1 ¾  sweatshirts, 1 rain jacket, 1  towel, 2 bathing suits, 3 pairs of socks, underwear, pair of sandals and pair of shoes, camera, iPod, notebook, meds and first aid, shower stuff, a dress (just in case ;), and finally, my little guitar.  


But packing is not everything,  you need to make sure you have a way to get money abroad, vaccines are in place, malaria pills ($500!!!) ready to go, cancel your cell, passport and documents in shape, and well some sort of plan I guess :p were leaving on Friday morning, sharp. 

Now last but not least, say bye to your friends and family and get ready for a 14+4 hour plane ride.... Bangkok here we come!

The rest of the pics at: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151518844170476.460145.503055475&type=3