Category: Thailand

Crystal Skull

Not satisfied with his purchases, thus far, we headed to Pantip Plaza, which is a huge electronics store in Bangkok.  We were more keen on seeing the place, then actually making any purchases.  Although Philipp walked away with a handful of more software.  I wasn’t as overwhelmed by what they had available, although the prices for a few things were good.  Ran into Lucy, from the trek and cooking class in Chiang Mai, who was looking for the Apple store.  She fell in a well (happens to the best of us), and her ipod didn’t survive the bath. 

It was noon, so we headed to Lumphini, but much to our dismay it wasn’t open.  We figured the person we’d asked must have thought we were asking when the market was closing, and said twelve as in midnight, not noon.  Alas.  Philipp still needed some souvenirs, so we headed to the Nana area (near where I stayed my first time in Bangkok).  Philipp managed to anger more vendors than acquire any purchases, so we decided to head back to the MBK.  Sadly the skytrain was closed, but we managed to get a pretty cheap taxi.  Philipp grabbed a bunch of t-shirts, and then we headed back to the hostel so he could be packed and ready for the airport.

After saying our goodbyes, I headed to Siam Paragon, and bought a ticket to see Indiana Jones 4.  I had some time to kill, so I wandered through the mall, and grabbed some food.  The movie was okay – and we had to stand up in honour of the king beforehand.  Very nice theatre, to boot.  I had inquired beforehand to make sure the movie finished before the skytrain closed, but I was lied to, it seems.  I had to walk home, but then noticed the buses were still running so I hopped on one that I hoped would get me close enough to my destination.

Bloodsport

Up early, first we had to switch rooms for some reason, then we too the skytrain to the JJ market.  As I suspected, I’d missed a bunch the first time, and with a map at our disposal this time we faired a little better.  I bought a CD that Josh in Laos had recommended, but that was it.  Philipp faired a little better, buying a few things for himself, and for others.  He’s on his way home, so the extra weight won’t be a burden for long.

Visited the MBK next, so Philipp could get some software, and look for a watch for his dad.  He wasn’t impressed with the mobile prices, so he didn’t bother getting one.  I ended up getting an ipod charger, for a pretty good price.  Checked out the Billabong store at Discovery Centre Mall, to see if I could find a shirt to replace the one I bought in Australia and had stolen in Laos.  No luck – I really liked that shirt, too. 

Headed back to the hostel to nap/relax and shower, then made our way to Lumphini Night Bazaar.  Wandered around there – Philipp buying some shoes, me buying more cds.  Philipp wanted to see more of the market, so we asked if it would be open tomorrow afternoon, and were told it was open at twelve.  We decided to return the next day, and made our way to the Muay Thai kickboxing stadium next to the market.

As we were walking there, a security guy (or someone dressed as such), asked if we were heading to the stadium.  We said yes, and he told us to follow him.  He lead us to a co-ordinator for the stadium who arranged to get us our tickets.  Prices were about double the already expensive price we were expecting to pay, so we contemplated for a bit on whether we wanted to bother.  In the end, we decided it would be worthwhile.  We met two other Canadians, Kevin and Kyle, who were having the same dilemna, and they gave in as well.

The kickboxing was pretty fun, with some fairly even matches (except two very young fighters – where one really dominated over the others).  We even got to see some blood, which is important.

After the fighting, we figured we’d head to the Patpong district.  It’s essentially the red-light district, but it didn’t seem as crazy as I thought it might be.  We had picked up some fighting moves at the kickboxing, anyhow, so we were prepared if things got rough.  We had a couple of drinks at a couple of different bars, then finished off the night with a beer on the steps – which seemed to be the thing to do. 

After a long day, we headed back to the hostel for some much needed sleep.

Back to BKK

A travel day, which is pretty much second nature at this point.  Wandered around in the morning, and did a bit of reading in various cafes and parks.  In the afternoon I headed back to the hostle, and caught a cab to the airport with an Irish guy who was also heading to Bangkok (but on a different flight).  He’d been travelling for 364 days, and was heading home from Bangkok.

Didn’t do much at the airport in Saigon.  Roamed the duty free shops for a bit, then eventually got on my Air Asia flight to Bangkok, although it was delayed about one hour.  First come first serve seating, but it wasn’t too crowded anyhow. 

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In Bangkok, I grabbed an express bus into town.  Took a long time, considering it was an express bus, so I was about an hour late for meeting up with Philipp at the hostel.

It was late, but we decided to go grab a drink, and get me some dinner (no food on the plane).   We hit a local restaurant but the prices were outrageous, so we just grabbed something to drink from the 7-11, and drank in our room.

Chiang Khong

Note: I have a backlog of pictures to upload, but the internet is just too slow to get them all up.

Getting Chianged out. Heading to my third Chiang city in the past week. Got up at 9 or so, and had breakfast with William and two older British guys who were also living in Thailand. Seems this guesthouse is big with expats for some reason. Only a travel day, so I didn’t get up to much, wandering to get some U.S money which I may or may not need in Laos (If I don’t use it in Laos, I’ll need it in Cambodia for sure).

Wanted to pawn off my watergun so I wandered around looking for a kid to give it to. Had trouble finding any kids at all, but finally managed to find one little boy who seemed very grateful to have it, and even waied me in thanks. I only wish I had filled it up with water for him, but he slung it around his neck and didn’t seem to mind that it wasn’t loaded.

Grabbed a tuk-tuk to then bus station and hopped on the bus for my two hour ride to Chiang Khong. Ride was okay, but apparently they’re still celebrating songkran here, as the streets were littered with people throwing water. I noticed the waterfighting on the bus, and put my pack covers on, before heading to Boom Guesthouse. Boom was booked, so I headed to a place called PJs which should do the job for the night. It wasn’t till the owner tried to open the wall next to the room door that I realized he was pretty close to blind.

Booking a slow boat to Luang Prabang in Laos for the morning – going to take a long time, so hopefully I’ve got enough reading material.

Little Patpong

Note: I have a backlog of pictures to upload, but the internet is just too slow to get them all up.

Chiang Rai isn’t so big, that I figured I’d be fine sleeping in. Tried to check my email, but the wireless connection I was once getting for free had vanished. Made it till 8:30 or so, then got some breakfast at the guesthouse. Not the best muesli and fruit and yogurt I’ve had, but it did the job. An older gentleman by the name of William asked if he could join me, as tables were limited, so we chatted for quite a while. He’s from Hong Kong, but lives in Thailand most of the time now. He was just visiting Chiang Rai, though.

After breakfast, I headed to the Wats near the day market. The original wat that held the Emerald Buddha now in Bangkok,Wat Phra Kaew, was my first destination. There’s a new Buddha in its place now (made from Canadian Jade, no less), which is pretty nice as well. There was a turtle pond there too, and some nice grounds, but the newer style wats get a little repetitive after a while. Checked out Wat Phra Singha as well, but it wasn’t as nice. Most importantly, all the waterfighters seemed to be off visiting family or something.

Had a wander through Chiang Rai, and then headed back to the guesthouse – happy to still be dry. Took a nap, as I was a tad tired, then wanted to hit the internet cafe. Unfortunately, the waterfighters had returned from wherever they were, so getting to the cafe dry was going to be tough. I opted for some lunch instead, and on the way back to the guesthouse got a tad wet again. William was eating lunch, so I sat with him for a bit.

Made a second attempt at the internet after, and managed ok. A little slower than I would have liked, but I got a few photos up. I was going to stay a little longer, but the weather turned for the worse, and the cafe owner essentially kicked me out before the storm started.

I had told William I’d meet him at 8 to check out the night festival for dinner, but with the rain we decided to check out another spot closer to the guesthouse, as the night festival would most likely be closed. A Thai guy William knew, Kenui, joined us as well.

Patpong is the red light district in Bangkok. Chiang Rai has “Little Patpong”, which seemed pretty tame as we walked through it on the way back to the guesthouse after dinner. I watched a movie (The Heartbreak Kid – not recommended) before finally getting to bed. In the morning I creep a little closer to Laos.

Chiang Rai

Note: I have a backlog of pictures to upload, but the internet is just too slow to get them all up.

A travel day. Got up and headed to the bus station. Managed to make it there dry, which was nice. Couldn’t get a bus for 4 hours, but figured it was better than nothing, so I read in the concourse, and tried to stay cool.

Bus ride was fairly uneventful. Nice hilly scenery, and we got stopped for a police check, but that’s pretty standard I think. They were just checking random people’s I.D, from what I could tell. In Chiang Rai I found a place in he guidebook I figured might be good to stay at, and asked the tuk tuk driver to get me there. Got a little wet en route, but it could have been worse.

Wandered to the day market to get some food (just pineapple as the selection was weak), then back to the guesthouse for a bit and to escape the onslaught of water throwers.

At night I headed to the night market for cheap and tasty food – mostly skewered seafood, then back to the guesthouse to relax for the night.

Waterfight

Note: I have a backlog of pictures to upload, but the internet is just too slow to get them all up.

Pennie and Wiki are gone, so I’m on my own once again. Got some breakfast, and relaxed during the morning, then headed to Julie’s Guesthouse to meet up with Good and some people from the tour. I was strapped with my new gun, and had some fun shooting people, and getting very soaked myself. My watergun is pretty useless against a bucket of water, sadly.

Met up with Shane, Shawn, Good, Lucy, Amy, Freyja and Volker, as well as one of Good’s friends, Tong. Chiang Mai’s old town centre is surrounded by a moat, so we headed there. Trucks filled with garbage pails of water circle the moat, soaking people who line up along the moat, and get their firepower from the moat itself. It was chaos on a very wet scale.

The evil ones use ice water, which is akin to chemical warfare, if you ask me. Otherwise it wasn’t so bad (although the water is very dirty, and I imagine I’ve caught a disease or two). After a couple of hours of walking through snarled traffic, getting soaking wet, we got some food. Good bought us some bugs, and bamboo worms, which were okay. Bamboo worms were pretty tasteless, and I’m not sure I’d eat the beetles again, but it was worth trying once.

We wandered around a bit more after that, but it was getting a little tedious, so we headed to a bar and hung out there for a bit. I dismissed myself after a while and headed back to the guesthouse to read and relax. In the morning I’m hoping to get up early and grab a bus north to Chiang Rai.

Setting Thailand Afire

Note: I have a backlog of pictures to upload, but the internet is just too slow to get them all up.

Cooking class pickup was at 9. We ended up passing the hostel a few more times as we picked up other people, and eventually got to the market. Big group of us: Coleen & Tracey (Portland, Oregon); Stephanie and Katie (u.s); Ioan (Ireland), Volker and Lucy (from the hiking trip, obviously following Amy and Freyja’s advice too), Etgar and Atna (Israel), Sybille (Switzerland ), Miriam (Germany), Tako (Japan), and Fay (England). Learned about the various vegetables at the market, then back in the songthaew and headed to the cooking school.

School was a lot of fun, and the food was deceivingly simple and tasty. They gave us a recipe book, so hopefully I can reproduce some of the items when I get home. We got to make some big flames, which was fun and maybe a little dangerous.

After school, I bought a watergun. Got soaked by a local girl twice en route, but managed to fill up my watergun and exact my revenge on the way back. Went for a swim after that, finally making use of the pool, then back to the night market for food.

Up With The Roosters

Note: I have a backlog of pictures to upload, but the internet is just too slow to get them all up.

My earplugs were powerless against the rooster’s crow, so I was up a few times once they got going at about 4am. Lay around under the mosquito net, which created a nice earthly glow around the cabin, before finally getting up.

Breakfast was what Good called red mango (but was really watermelon), an egg, and some toast and jam. When we were all finished, the local children, who watched us eat most of the time swarmed the leftovers. Pretty cute. Or sad, I’m not sure which.

The walk down the hill was a lot easier, obviously. We came across a group of Japanese tourists who were resting, and told me I looked like Jesus, then asked if I believed in him (“I hope that you do.”). As we continued down the hill we could hear them singing Christian hymns from higher up the mountain. At the base of the mountain was a nice waterfall, where we stopped to wade (too shallow to swim) and to stand under the waterfall. From there we walked a bit further, stopping to use a slingshot en route, and then eventually reaching the river. At the river, we got a quick lesson on white water rafting, and got on a boat. I was with Volker, Bill, and Moon, with our rafting guide, Jack (“as in Sparrow”). It’s essentially the dry season, so there wasn’t much to the rafting – pretty shallow, and not so rapid. We got out and floated for a bit, and got stuck more often than not. Probably much better in the rainy season.

Following the lousy rafting was some lousy bamboo rafting, or as Good put it, “bamboo submarine”, as we were half submerged most of the time. At the end of the rafting we had some much desired lunch. Pad thai. Took some group photos, and passed on the rafting and elephant ride photos they tried to sell us. Or at least I passed on them. It was Wiki’s birthday, so Good fashioned a birthday cake out of some watermelon (sorry, red mango) for her.

The way home we were bombarded with water from the kids by the side of the road. I sat at the front of the truck and called out their positions, as we had water of our own to retaliate with. Once again, I think I managed to remain the most dry, but still got pretty soaked.

Back at the guesthouse, Pennie, Wiki and myself did some laundry, and I booked a cooking course for the next day. After some gentle prodding I managed to convince Pennie and Wiki to join me. We’ll be doing one that Amy and Freyja recommended.

Headed to the night market for food, and to celebrate Wiki’s birthday. Wiki was getting a massage, so Pennie and I waited for her, but eventually ended up getting one ourselves. I had planned on having a number of massages in Thailand, but this was the first, and probably the last. I may get a foot massage before I leave for home, but I’m not too sure. The massage place smelled of tiger balm, which was pretty nice.