Sunny Cameron!

Another incredible dinner last night....Indian with 4 different vegetable curry dishes, chicken, pappadums, and sauces wrapped in a banana leaf eaten with your hands :) We had a big group of us at the restaurant which now knows us by name.

This morning we had a bit of a sleep in and I unfortunately can't remember the last time that I slept through the night. I guess that's what comes with traveling. I even have my own room so I can try and get more sleep but the walls of our place is so thin and since I am a light sleeper could hear the snoring of the guy next door:(

Anyway, we headed out on our own to walk and find the Chinese temple. It was another beautiful temple perched on a hill and about a 6 km nice walk each way with strawberry farms along the way. Its been a beautiful sunny day and the warmest since I've been here. One more night here in the beautiful Cameron Islands. I need to thank my friend that I met 2 years ago backpacking South America who told me that I would love the highlands because HE WAS RIGHT!!!

I think a Chinese dinner tonight. I will miss this hostel. It has a lot of character and I've met some great people here. Many of them are headed East to the Perhentian Islands of Malaysia and I am excited to visit Kuala Lumpur and see some friends I met in Sapa, Vietnam last month.

On a sad note, my friends and I here have learned about the devastating floods that have hit the south of Thailand hard with loss of home and life. Many of the southern airports, flights, trains, and buses have been shut down due to the flooding. I will continue to keep an eye on it all online as much as I can.

Can't believe its APRIL 1ST tomorrow! :)

Strawberry Fields Forever!

Last night was everything I needed and wanted after our great day of hiking. We met our two new British friends from the hike for our CHINESE STEAM BOAT dinner.....sooo excited as we counted down the minutes until dinner. It didn't disappoint:) The steam boat dinner is a central big bowl of tom yam (spicy red) soup on one side and a chicken broth on the other.....then we had four plates of mixed vegetables, seafood, and meats. What you do is cook these in the broth...Brilliant! We had great conversation which also made me feel a little old as the girls (who are taking a GAP year before they begin their university studies back in England), asked us about tips....so here's some I gave which I need to write down:)

1. If you're feet are sore, sleep with them propped up for the night

2. Look for filtered water stations to fill water bottles up (seriously saves you sooo much money instead of buying 1.5 L water bottles all the time!)

3. Buy some tea bags so you can always drink tea whenever you want.

And there's more....

Like I said, it made me feel quite old but I also felt pretty good knowing that I had advice to give:)

I did not sleep as well as I wanted in my private double room, but anyway....had a bit of a lie in and then headed out on the local bus to walk about an hour to the major "BOH" tea plantation which produces the majority of tea in Malaysia. The walk was on a road and so beautiful as we were blessed with good weather.

The sweeping landscape of green tea plants was captivating as we sat and had a cup of tea and a biscuit/cookie on their giant patio.

We then walked back to the main road and visited some strawberry farms (the home made strawberry ice cream was amazing!). Then visited a bee farm, butterfly and vegetable farm. All of the produce was just amazing as we noshed on little packets of organic produce all day...now ready to have a proper meal of Indian food and a banana leaf dinner which is rice, vegetables and a meat/fish wrapped up in the leaf.

One more day in the highlands for me....its started pouring but food calls:)

Content in the Jungle!

So I know that I am definitely NOT backpacking after quite a restless night in the 18 person dorm. Yup, that's a lot of people. I mean there was quite a big space for us all with our own numbered bed cots but one sink, 2 showers and 2 toilets....?! I figured I am past my backpacking dorm days, especially being a light sleeper in the first place. I think I got maybe 5 hours all up with the help of my iPod and sleep mask.

Anyway, I packed up my stuff as quietly as I could in the morning and headed out to the other hostel where I was meeting my new friend from Wales and taking my jungle trek for the day. I had also booked a private room for about $3 extra in the place. 6 of us headed out in our old school 4x4 Land Rover to an Aborigine village where we learned how to shoot arrows from a traditionally made blowpipe. No poison in these arrows of course but it was surprisingly quite easy to shoot at our home made targets. The arrows traditionally were used for catching food and in some places "head hunting" - literally!. The village people are scattered throughout the highlands with their own language dialects. However, we learned that the Malaysian government are building cement homes for them to live in but I wonder if they are forced to move or not?

We then begun our 4 wheel drive upward descent as much as we could since it had rained quite heavily the night before. When our Rover (which I nicknamed "Rory") could not go any more, we got out to start our jungle trek. Here, I really felt like I was in the jungle with the animal sounds, rushing waters around us, muddy tracks, green vegetation and more. My choice of wearing the "Keen" sandals was a good one as we sludged up and down the area. Everybody else had opted on socks and tennis shoes which got absolutely drenched on our trek. It was definitely a rugged trek of about 2-3 hours all up. Going up and down, sliding, watching your steps, holding onto tree trunks, roots and anything else you could. It was just what I wanted and needed. Finally, we saw the giant Rafflesia flower at full bloom.

These flowers take 7 days to fully bloom and then they die, but there are small bulbs everywhere and the Aborigine people help the guides find them since they find them for medicinal purposes. The flower was named after the man who founded it, Mr. Ruffles himself who is also the same guy named after the famous Ruffles Hotel chains. On the way back (which of course is always quicker than going there!) we stopped at the waterfall to eat some of our snacks brought with us. It was a nice little rest but the water was mirky from all the rain of course. I had one big slip and slide with my shorts all muddy but it was part of the fun and our group was so great! When we finally we got to our SUV, we got stuck in some mud and had to get out for a bit...pretty funny. We got a little rain here and there on the hike back to the car too so everybody and everything was muddy!

Our transit back to Tanah Rata in the main town was a content one made even more content with a roadside stop to get some fresh sweet corn on the cob hot off the grill. After a good scrub and shower, my friend and I headed into town for some Tea (of course!) and some freshly cooked naan bread. Tonight, we will meet up with our new friends from the group today and eat a Chinese steamboat meal. It's basically a broth with vegetables and meat that you cook in the broth by yourself...Yum! I'm craving some good vegetables too.

I am loving the lodge I have moved to. Its got a great open but covered patio area where I am sitting on the computer. Over 8000 titles to choose from in a (pirated) DVD collection and the hot shower is super! The rain has started to come down now but it's all good.

Tomorrow, we are going to get on a local bus and explore the strawberry, vegetable, bee, rose, butterfly and tea farms/plantations on our own as opposed to jumping on another tour. Should be fun....and hope the weather holds up for us! I think I might stay here a bit longer than I had first planned:)

It's Tea Time Anytime!!!

Monday March 28, 2011

It’s TEA time ANYTIME…

I have escaped the hot and sweaty climate that was making the clothes stick to my skin in Penang (but at least it wasn’t raining) and arrived in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia…..home of tea plantations and strawberry fields. My last morning in Penang had me walking around seeing some more temples and I got to speak my Chinese ‘hakka’ language for the first time at one of the Buddhist temples with a gentleman manning the entrance….very cool!

The drive was very easy and the roads are fabulous here (well at least for this part of the country). As you get closer to the highlands, you see massive green forested mountains pop all around you. The blue sunny weather blanketed everything beautiful and green.

Now I am soo excited to be here in the highlands because like many of you, I LOVE BOTH tea and strawberries SO MUCH! There is pretty much just one main road in the town and about 13 trails off this road lead to various gardens and plantations. Tomorrow however, I have booked myself on a junlgle trek out to see the world’s biggest flower that grows in the jungle here. I am craving a good hike so thought this would be nice and I also met a girl in town who is doing the same trek too.

For tonight, I am in a dorm with 16 people, it’s the first time on my trip with so many bodies in one room and fortunately, it’s a BIG room in an old converted convent. The place is old but has a nice ambience and is nice and quiet. I think I might try and get a single room tomorrow night though if I can.

I have forgotten to mention that the people in Malaysia are so very well versed in the English language. I asked and I guess they learn the English language at an early age when starting school….very cool indeed!

Day 2 in Penang!

Sunday March 27, 2011

I heard hard rain falling outside on and off all night so was not surprised to wake up to a overcast weather like yesterday. By the time I got outside I realized that it was not actually raining yet, and there were some rays of sunlight trying to peek out. So I decided to get on the bus and head to the Kek Lok Si Temple which was about 45 minutes on a bus away from where I was staying.

The temple is the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia and stands on a hilltop that appealingly winds through a little Chinatown on the way there. I felt like I actually was in China this morning as I got off the bus and headed up the stairs to the seven tiered pagoda that overlooks the city. The temple and morning was probably one of my favorites in the trip so far. The blue sky came out for some fabulous photos of the colorful and creative architecture and landscaping of the temple area. It was the first pagoda that I could actually climb up to and see at each level of the 30 meter, seven tiers which was really neat. Each level had a central Buddha and different unique Buddhist tiles lined on the wall which I tried to photograph to see the contrasts.

The main prayer hall was also stunning with its individually carved poles and individually lined Buddhist statues. I then got on “Malaysia’s first cable lift” to get to see the 36.5 meter bronze statue of “Kuan Yin” goddess of mercy. Many local (mainly Chinese) Buddhists were there since it was a Sunday to worship. Like I said earlier, I think the entire temple and surroundings was the most stunning for me so far.

I walked through the busy Chinatown market to have my first Penang signature dish of “Laksa”, a spicy fish broth soup served with noodles and an array of sauces that give it a hot and sour taste. I sat down at the shop that soooo many people were at and thought that would be a good bet.

On the way back to where I was staying, I stopped at their local shopping mall. It was five levels and seemed to be busy with the Sunday locals. I walked home from the mall and booked my bus ticket to the Cameron Highlands at 11:30am tomorrow. The 7:30am bus was full so I figured I will try and see a few more temples in the morning before checking out and heading out.

For now, blue skies continue to shine and I hope they stay here. I think I’ll travel to India tonight for some dinner (down the roadJ!). My lack of photo taking yesterday was definitely made up for today…

Con Fusion in Penang

Friday March 25, 2011 – 6:30pm

After getting up and checking out of my what I call luxury hotel in Bangkok for the night (a cable tv with a movie and Animal Planet channel, plus hot water shower and a/c), I grabbed a quick breakfast and headed to the meeting point for my airport bus an hour early. Its funny because companies advertised such different airport journey times ranging from 45 minutes to two hours when raining. Fortunately, it was not raining however, I did not check my bus ticket that was written to me yesterday and the girl had written 10:00pm.

I quickly pointed out the mistake which was definitely a lesson learned and another lady said there was no room on the 10:00am bus (my flight was at 2:15pm) but room on the 9:00am airport bus so I took it!

It ended up being a blessing with disguise and we got to the airport in 40 minutes with minimum traffic. The van also only had 2 other people in it. Plus, I wanted to explore the BKK airport a bit knowing that it is a HUGEEEEE airport transportation hub for SE Asia, if not THE biggest! Indeed, it was giant with massive duty free shopping outlets once you got through the security and immigration lines. Elevated prices of course with pad thai at 160 Baht (minimum) as opposed to last night’s 30 Baht on the Khao San Road strip.

The Air Asia flight was quite full and I sat next to an American going there for the weekend and we ended up splitting a cab to the main city area about 15 miles away. I was planning to get the local bus suggested in my lonely planet book for $1. The cab ride split was about $8 each. My reservation was not confirmed and the place was full where I wanted to stay but they sent me to one of their other hotels down the road which has a simple fan one bed room (well more like cubicle) I guess and shared bathroom…about $6 each. So basically, my cab ride into town cost more than my night’s stay! Haha….anyway, We will see how I sleep tonight. I had no idea what to do in this UNESCO heritage island so unpacked walked the little Chinatown strip where the guesthouse is located and was ready to find out what to do in this place.

The guys at the hostel information were so helpful and they actually stay and live in the building where I am staying too. I have a walking tour planned and since Penang is the food heave for people, there is even a food brochure with explanations which is great. Tomorrow, I will walk the morning, then get on a bus and try to explore the coastline and various spice and butterfly farms before a night market at the beach and then home.

Sunday, more exploring/walking and a hike up to a lookout temple is planned. In my Lonely Planet book it says that the Chinese (hakka) language I speak is one of the national languages. I am excited to perhaps talk to some people in Hakka here but after speaking to some locals here this afternoon, it sounds like they are more in other places.

From the plane, Penang looks so clean, crisp and green. It is an island of course linked to the mainland by a bridge and I guess they have had a little bit of rain so everything is so lush. I wasn’t very hungry for dinner tonight so just had some fresh grilled corn on the cob and some rice noodle with coconut and brown sugar wrapped in a banana leaf from the street which a local girl encouraged me to eat (very and too sweet for me!). I’ll be ready to indulge the next few days…..

Saturday March 26, 2011 – 3:55pm

I awoke to heavy rain and couldn’t believe that I slept as much as I did….by the time I was headed out on my morning walk around, I realized I had not changed my watch an hour ahead and it was already 10am so I had slept for nearly 10 hours! I guess the rain cools things down a lot and the fan in my room is all I need. A friend tells me that Kuala Lumpur is hot and sweaty so maybe a room with A/C is needed there.

With that said, my poncho has come in handy and its my first day on the travels that its been fully raining (not just light rain). I myself don’t mind getting wet but its just my little backpack that I walk around with. Hence, the poncho comes in handy.

While staying in “Chinatown” I walk past noodle carts and incense burning stores, then “Little India” smelling the curries, seeing the brightly colored saris and more. I see my first mosque which happens to be the biggest in Malaysia, then a Hindu temple with worshippers washing their hands and feet outside, another Buddhist temple then making my way to the Penang State Museum. Very well done with its galleries of history, culture, dress, music, food and more.

Working up an appetite now, I headed towards water where the smaller palaus (islands) can be send. At the esplanade, I hit up the food court and have breakfast at 11:30am which is some concoction that I have no idea is but is icy, sweet, fruity and refreshing – a Penang decadent desert. Since it is raining, I have few photos but will post the photos of my food at least! J

I continued making my way through the heritage sited street with my walking map and get to the recommended Indian restaurant from the guesthouse receptionist. I chose chicken tandoori and naan bread which was incredible. In fact, the tandoori marinate is still in my fingers I think…..I make my way back to the guesthouse main street and get on the bus to head to the “resort” area up north. Maybe the weather is better up that way around 45 minutes on the bus. Its not the case but the bus ride was well worth it seeing the coastline and the massive apartment and hotel beach side buildings. I am glad I am staying in the Chinatown main side.

I stop at the Spice Garden but decide the weather and the walks in the 4 ½ hectare garden wouldn’t be so good in the rain, so hop on the bus on the way back observing all the people and stores along the way.

I am staying on “Love Lane” in Chinatown which is apparently where the wealthy Chinese men brought their mistresses back in the day. I hope the weather clears up tomorrow as I am hoping to hike up to the temple up on a hill and lookout of the island and then maybe seeing some local markets.

I thought Hawaii had fusion but this place makes it even more evident since the fusion of cultures is between ethnicities of such diversity.....I love it!

Goodbye Pad Thai

The overnight bus ride from Chiang Mai to Bangkok was actually better than I was thinking it would be. Although I have never seen so many mosquitoes IN a bus. It was a pretty full bus and its open seating, but the window seat I chose had its neighbor seat arm rest broken so nobody wanted to sit there. We watched a pirated version of “The Town” on the TV screen too. We got in earlier than expected at 5:15am (as opposed to 6am). I orientated myself as best I could with where we got dropped parallel to Khao San Road. It was pretty fun to see all the night partying people stumbling around drunk as skunks. Fortunately, I had met a nice Aussie guy on the bus and he hadn’t booked anything for the night to stay, so it worked out great and we split a room just off the main strip. It had all the luxuries of A/C and TV as well….a big change of scenery to my Chiang Mai guesthouse.

A good shower, and some well needed hours of zzzzzz, we both got up around 10:30am ready for some brunch. We got on a local bus and headed to a market he heard of. It was 6 floors of fashion at pretty good prices too so I got some Thai fisherman pants that I had wanted for a while. One more ‘pad thai’ on Khao San Road for dinner and a couple more walks up and down the strip enjoying the company of hippy Thais before heading in for the night.

This morning I have a mini van ride to the airport for a 2:15pm departure to Penang and a new country…MaLAYsia!!! Penang is meant to be a foodie’s paradise with all sorts of culinary treats like curry. I get in at around 5pm and hope to find a place to spend the next few nights exploring town. I was recommended to go there by somebody I met on my travels. It is a UNESCO world heritage sight and isn’t a giant city but still pretty happening I guess.

I wonder if Thailand will be more or less expensive than Malaysia? I am already one month into traveling here in SE Asia which is so crazy to think. Another month and a bit to go.

Last Day in Chiang Mai....!

Tuesday March 22, 2011

9:55pm

I am blogging tonight but unfortunately won’t be able to post until tomorrow after a full day’s adventure (7:15am-8:30pm) heading further up north to Chiang Rai and the “Golden Triangle”.

The day started with a pick up at my guesthouse and we ended up having only 7 people in our group which I guess was lucky since I saw other groups packed to the maximum 13 people in their mini vans. The highlight of the whole day was probably our tour guide named “Star”. She was born and raised on a rice paddy field/farm just outside of Chiang Mai and she still helps her family farm during the wet season when tourists are not around. She was so knowledgeable and personable to each and every one of us along with added humor. She really was a SUPER STAR and probably one of the best guides I have ever added in all my travels. She helped me learn some Thai as well so I could blend in more since so many people again today asked if I was ThaiJ

So our drive began with about an hour’s drive up to the Chiang Rai Hot Springs. It was like a minature “Old Faithful” for those who have been to Yellowstone National Park. I thought it was so funny because people sold chicken and quail eggs with a mini basket that you could dip into the hot springs and cook to eat. It was already quite hot so I skipped dipping my feet in. Yesterday and today was 38 degrees Celsius and sorry I don’t know what that is in Farenheit. But the heat here up north is a dry type of heat as opposed to humid type-great for drying clothes outside!

After the hot springs we headed further up north to the famous “White Temple” designed and constructed by a famous Thai painter whose paintings sell for tens and thousands of dollars. While reading up on him in the gallery, I learned he is a devout Buddhist and funded the construction of the temple with his own money for all to appreciate for free. Construction continues as he designs and builds on a day to day basis making the sight ever changing. It was indeed beautiful and a little morbid in parts with these hands reaching out from under the ground to the sky at the bridge entrance; I guess to symbolize people’s yearning to reach the highest state of mind? In the main part where a Buddha statue was placed for worship, the was painted with X-Men, Batman and other superhero characters…I was a little confused at this point and read that this was to symbolize that the superheros are heros but Buddha himself is the one hero?

The female toilets were the best free squatting toilets I’ve seen and used in my life. It was a massive gold building with little gold cubicles that had some shoes that you wore inside. They were spotlessly clean and it was just pretty cool.

We headed further up north to the famous GOLDEN TRIANGLE that borders the countries of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar (Burma). This is the place where the opium trade and exchange occurred back in the day. We got on a small boat to go up and down the Mekong River (which I learned is 3^rd largest in the world behind China…if you can recall I got to travel on the Mekong in Vietnam too!). There are casinos built by the Chinese along the river on both the Burma and Laos sides! We got off at the riverside border of Laos to a town called Don Xao, where there was some fake shopping little stalls and children asking for money. So I got to be in Laos for about 30 minutes today but didn’t need my passport for this short time. There is definite poverty in both Burma and Laos with Thailand being the most developed of the three countries. We headed to a buffet lunch after this and then to the border of Myanmar/Burma.

Myanmar was the former name of the country but is now formally known as Burma. There is very cheap shopping to be done at this border town of Mae Sai, even for Thai people. Also, many people take care of their immigration needs like extending visas and such. We went to a hillside temple where we could see the two countries from above. A river is what simply separates the two borders. Thailand does not charge anything for the Burmese to cross the border but the Burmese charge the Thai people about $17. Historically, the Burmese and Thai have had conflict over this river and the Burmese actually took over parts of Northern Thailand back in the day. Border patrol is intense here especially near the river since the Burmese people like I said are quite poverty stricken and see Thailand as a better way of life for them and their families.

We then visited some hilltribe village people from the Akha and “Long Neck” Tribes. We had the opportunity to buy ice cream for the local kids who jumped at the chance from such foreigners and I had a field day taking photos of the native kids enjoying their ice creams!

A four hour back to Chiang Mai found me pretty tired…I have packed my bag tonight as I bought an overnight bus ticket back to Bangkok tomorrow afternoon. My plans of wanting to go meet a friend down in one of the southern Thailand beaches fell through. Unfortunately, the flights and costs just didn’t match up and its just so hard for me to justify paying so much for what luckily awaits me back home on the Big Island….

So, Bangkok here I come again. I get in at 6am and am just going to stay for the night and try to find a flight online tomorrow to fly from Bangkok to Penang (Malaysia) for Friday.

As I walked back from my local “7 Eleven” around the corner where I got my ice cream after the ride home late, and then said “Swadeeka” (hello) to the sweetest elderly couple who run the Roti (Indian pancake) cart on my guesthouse’s side street (delicious as well since I got one last night for 20 cents), then was greeted with clean laundry and my room key by the night man on duty who has the warmest smile and minimal English which hand gestures have helped us communicate over these last 5 days!....I know I am going to miss Chiang Mai!

Wednesday March 23, 2011

10:22am

Back at my regular coffee shop with wifi this morning and woke up early to a mosquito buzzing at 6am so I just got up and decided to go for a run around the old city walls. Its one big square with a river like a mote that bounds it and it took me about 35-40 minutes. I think if I moved here I would start the Chiang Mai Running ClubJ The whole place is great to run in and the morning temperatures is beautiful…not many women (ok none!) or men too running around so it was some interesting looks that I got from people passing by.

It was just what I needed after such a long day yesterday in the mini van up north.

I then walked down to the 24 hour market…yes 24 hours…flowers, food, clothes…sooo big…to get some breakfast..well a shake!

The beaches and south of Thailand including Bangkok is heavy rain so my decision to skip those beaches I think is a good one, except I’ll miss connecting up with a friend I met in Vietnam. So back on the overnight bus I go to Bangkok tonight at 6pm. I’m hoping I can check into a somewhat nice place when I get in around 6am and then sleep, explore some more of Bangkok and hopefully even get to meet up with some HPA students that live there too.

So one last day in Chiang Mai….another Thai massage I think since Bangkok is more expensive too!

Still Chillin' in Chiang Mai!

Well I woke up today with sore feet from my 2 hours of walking the Sunday night market:)

But it's all good because after I booked my Chiang Rai and Golden Triangle day trip at the agency, I went straight to the massage parlor to have my very first THAI MASSAGE (for $4).

It was sooo awesome....very different and people say it's not so relaxing but I like the pressure points and movement that they put your body into. It feels like the toxins are all getting out. I asked for it to be "hard". Then I rented a bike from my hostel for half a day and cruised some more markets that were recommended to me. So that's just it...I think I like this place because there are SO MANY MARKETS!!! Today's was local fabrics, clothes and of course more food.

I then headed to a local pool that my hostel people recommended. It was a warm day and the pool was very well organized and clean. It was great to have a dip and relax for a few hours and it was only about 10 minutes bike ride away. I stopped at the Night Bazaar on the way home to get a papaya salad which was awesome of course.

One of the coolest things I did today was fill up about 6 of my 1.5L water bottles with clean drinking water that I've been accumulating in my room. I rode past one of the stations and realized I would be saving so much money (10 cents for 1.5L refills) as opposed to about 50 cents for buying a whole 1.5 L bottle from the store)..wooo hoooo!!! I put the bottles in my bike basket and was happy as can be!

I've forgotten to mention that 7 ELEVEN here in Thailand is EVERYWHERE...literally I can stand in one intersection and see four in each direction with my naked eye! A lot of them are 24 hours too.

So no real photos today..I should have some tomorrow on my day trip to the border of Laos and Myanmar (Burma). I won't get back until about 9pm but will be sure to post the next day.

Time to get online and plan out my southern Thailand beach getaway now and heading further south to Malaysia....

Oh My Buddha!

So....I think I could live in Chiang Mai, Thailand! What an incredible liveable city. I am in a corner coffee shop with literally hundreds of people walking side by side, back to front at the regular Sunday (walking street) market. Just like last night's Saturday walking street market, they close off the main street in the middle of the city (inside the old city walls) and CREATIVE CRAZINESS is what I would call. Nothing here sold is tacky I feel, the food is just absolutely amazing with regional treats like sticky rice and mango, pad thai with every type of noodle possible, mango salad, papaya salad, fresh strawberries, plus japanese and chinese food to mix everything in with it. My eyes just feast on everything that I go past. It's just sooo liveable here and is probably what the real Thailand feels like:)

Before all this Sunday night fun though, I had a wonderful day of hill tribe trekking that started off with visiting a butterfly and orchid farm. We then drove about 90 minutes up into the hillside and I got to ride on my first elephant. It was soooo cool! They have little tiny kind of spikey black hairs on the skin. I didn't understand the trainers but they weren't very personable and it sounded like they were grunting most of the time to the elephants instead of talking to them:( One of the trainers kept saying "Oh My Buddha" which was pretty funny. We then hiked out to about an hour into the 'jungle'/forest out to a waterfall and then hiked back in to go white water rafting....nothing intense but lots of fun and we finished the day off with some bamboo rafting which I got to steer and then visiting a native hilltribe village.

I was planning to head out to Chiang Rai tomorrow for a few days but am thinking I might just chill here in Chiang Mai. Tomorrow, find a pool, bike around, maybe go for a run and hit up the night bazaar again to try and score some knock off dvd movies to watch:) Then maybe just base out of here to go to the Golden Triangle for the day and try and work out some plans to get to the south of Thailand beaches and then cross into Malaysia. We will see....for now, I'll continue people watching in this full of life town!

Chillin' in Chiang Mai

Sorry I have this blog broken up into different parts because my hostel doesn’t have any Internet access and I wrote this morning when I first arrived to Chiang Mai and now again this evening.

Saturday March 19, 2011

8:37am

The overnight bus ride was OK...better than I was expecting since I got to spread out and try to sleep. The bus was definitely not full which was nice..but SOOO cold....and the morning we got in right on time at 6am. I found a guesthouse close to our drop off and its VERY BASIC at $5 a night..no internet and all so I am at a coffee shop blogging here....ready to take on the day!

Saturday March 19, 2011

8:03pm

So since my morning blog, I have since booked myself on a full day trekking adventure beginning at 8:15am and getting back at 6pm. It ended up being a fabulous blue sky and sunny day after such an early morning chill. I guess the last 2 days has been raining hard so I got lucky! I wanted to maybe do an overnight trekking adventure but I have talking to some travel agents and they say it is COLD and most of you know I don’t do well in the cold so I opted for the full day adventure that includes some trekking, bamboo and white water rafting. I shopped around hard for the best price and got it from this one gentleman whom was super friendly and also told me that he had a second job organizing ‘lady boy’ pageants…..very interesting indeed!

Chiang Mai is a gorgeous little town and its kind of like the YORK of the United Kingdom where the old city was built around a fort and has water around it. The fort has various gates around to enter and has since of course crumbled quite a bit in various parts. My morning exploring various temples was again very worthwhile seeing the beautiful architecture of the temples and also the beautiful Buddha statues. With that said, I think I have seen the most monks in this city than in all my travels.

I was struggling with tiredness as the day wore on but didn’t want to sleep in case I wouldn’t fall asleep tonight so I decided to take the 20 km and local transport (which is in this extended open aired truck that you can just hop on!) to the very sacred temple on the hill overlooking the entire city. The temple was absolutely stunning and being a Saturday there were many local people paying their visits and prayers.

I saw many practicing monks at this temple on the hill and I honestly think they are so beautiful with their clean shaven heads and brightly colored orange robes. Saturdays in town have the “Saturday Walking Street” which is a street closed off to all traffic and allows foot traffic to enjoy an open air market of crafts, clothes and food. It was fabulous and then I headed the regular night “Bazaar” that they have in town after that. That too was very big!

Happy Full Moon! Its beautiful up in the sky and those traveler down south in one of the Thai islands named Ko will be partying the night away. As for me, I am enjoying it in this little northern town of Thailand! What a huge change to the big city of Bangkok (I got to explore the big HUGE shopping malls before I left on the overnight bus to Chiang Mai!) I forgot to mention that walking through those big and high end stores was like another world in the country with such contrast.

It’s so cool my hostel is right next to a Wat/Temple so I get to hear the chanting and all.

The Mango Truck

One very fun and amusing thing I noticed today was the MANGO TRUCK....So, its mango season here in Asia and YES! I have been getting my fair share of this amazing fruit I love during my travels (30-70 cents for a big mango cut up for you...sooo yum!) Anyway, just like our ice cream trucks that have a megaphone coming around that you can buy ice cream...there was a mango truck doing the same thing...genius....It was 4 mangos for 75 cents...pretty good bargain yeah??!! I wonder if we could get away with doing this in the US or Australia....? I think its genius:)

Buddha Love...

Day 1 in the big city.....The Khaosan Road didn't sound like it slept all night (and I'm staying 2 roads away from it!) Tonight will be even bigger I'm thinking since its ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!! There are a couple of Irish pubs on the strip which I am sure will keep the party pumping all night and morning long.

I woke up with a 'game plan' in mind after consulting the travel agent at the hostel last night before heading to bed. She suggested a big loop covering the palace, museum, wats, use of the ferry, metro, skytrain, Chinatown and outer suburbs. Well, I got to the Palace, Museum and Wat Po but it was about 4pm by then so tomorrow's agenda is the rest.....

I started with walking to the National Museum. My Lonely Planet book said that English tours were at 9:30am on Wednesdays and Thursdays...perfect! The gentlemen giving the tour was a Buddha expert and I learned so much in 2 and a half hours....it was awesome...He had lived in Thailand for 5 years and was an American by birth. I can now look at a Buddha statue and really LOOK at it with insight into its hand positions, dress, statue and more. It was a great tour.

One thing today that I did not expect was IT WAS SOOOO COLD! It was also raining but fortunately lightened up in the afternoon. After the museum, I grabbed some nice soup to warm up a bit and walked further to the Grand Palace....WOW! The colors, architecture, detailed walls, gardens, everything was so impressive and my photos on the blog don't do it justice...but I tried! The Emerald Buddha is the highlight at the Grand Palace and the shrine is just exquisite.

We have to take our shoes off at many of the altars and so I feel like I have done so about 500 times. The Wat Po holds the largest reclining Buddha statue which is pretty impressive but the Wat itself was again immaculate in detailed architecture.

My plan after that was to take a ferry then metro to Chinatown to explore and then see the outer suburbs and shopping malls...but I never made it because by the time I finished Wat Po it was already 5pm.

I was tossing up whether to go to the floating markets about 2 hours away on a tour but with the weather uncertain of being clear and the fact that I only covered half of what I thought today....I have decided its ok to miss the floating markets. I will jump on an overnight bus to Chiang Mai at 6pm tomorrow evening.

So for tonight....its checking out the Khaosan Road again of course, and putting the feet up after that. Too bad I don't have cable tv in my hostel or room..its American Idol night tonight! Do I look Thai? I had 2 people ask me that today.... :)

Made it to the Big Bangkok City!

Well after a very longgggg 10 bus/van ride from Siem Reap and Cambodia, I have made it to the big Bangkok city in Thailand. The border crossing about 3 hours into the trip was a very interesting one so let me try and describe it. Firstly, you get dropped off at the border and get off the bus with all your luggage. The bus company is pretty much for tourists and they have about 5 buses a day so this overland route is very common indeed. We go through the Cambodian immigration side and then walk about 300 meters with our luggage passing big flashing neon signed hotels and random roadside stores selling clothes, food etc. On the Thailand side, you fill out your immigration card again and then everybody on the bus got split into different vans. I guess vans are a lot faster than buses on this route and it makes sense, especially when you enter the 7.7 million population city.

We finally arrived and got dropped off very close to the famous Khao San Road where EVERYTHING happens.

I didn't have a guesthouse booked so followed the signs to one that I remember mentioned in the Lonely Planet book. It was offering a basic private room with a fan for $11/night and well I couldn't be bothered looking elsewhere because it was about 6pm by this time...so took it!

After dumping my stuff, I have ventured out onto KS Road and its alive with street food stalls offering of course, the famous PAD thai for about 70 cents:) Lots of fake clothes, watches, hats etc. and now I've found a quiet coffee shop and ordered the cheapest thing on the menu (blueberry muffin for about $1.75) BUT free wi-fi internet and that's great because my hostel does not have free internet! booo!

So, I'm thinking 2 nights will be plenty in this big city and then head up north to Chiang Mai for some trekking and relaxation. People have told me that Chiang Mai is similar to Siem Reap so I like that idea:)

OK, time to head out...maybe try and find some papapa salad food stall since I already ate Chicken Pad Thai at the lunch stop we had right after crossing the border. Everything is a little bit more expensive here that's for sure....I checked, 20 minute foot massages are about $3 here as opposed to $1 in Cambodia.

Thailand is definitely more developed so it will be interesting as I travel through the region.

Time to brave the night market....and learn some Thai now! :)

Bangkok Bound!

As exhausted as I was after a day exploring the temples, my friend and I ended up sleeping in for the first time until 9 am yesterday morning!!!! That’s the luxury of having a private room and NOT having 8-10 people coming in and out of the dorm roomJ Both of us piddled around and actually didn’t even leave our hostel until about 11:30am. It was the best feeling not having a schedule or plans to sightsee around. We got on bikes (free use from our hostel) and headed into the main town area for some brunch at our favorite place since getting into Siem Reap. We will surely miss this place and the owners knew our loyalty to them everytime we walked in. You just can’t go wrong with 50 cent shakes, complimented by a photo menu (always helpful in a foreign country). From the picture menu, we found it ironic that the FRESH fruit shakes were 50 cents and the juice drinks out of a carton were $1. Its just so funny how fresh fruit is cheaper than boxed here in these countries, yet fresh is always better for us as we all know!

Breakfast was the best coffee shake ever and a HUGE plate of cucumbers, tomatoes, triangle cheese, a warm baguette and 2 eggs. Everything we felt like as we continued our day on the bikes exploring the outer parts of the city and other various temples (Wats). After working up a sweat we decided to pay $3 and use the lovely pool at the hostel next door to ours. It was just what we needed as we cooled off, read and slept pool side with nothing better to do but relax! Today’s temperature was definitely cooler with a bit of cloud cover and even some droplets of light rain throughout the day, which was usually followed up by the sun reappearing. Tonight’s temperature was just perfect!

After our swim, we headed into town to do our last bit of market shopping and our last dinner at the local restaurant we love. We knew exactly what we were going to order tonight and that was something very traditional Cambodian – Khmer “Amok” fish. It is basically a very light curry and vegetable (with fish) dish. It was delicious with rice and we also got some vegetable and chicken noodles and fresh spring rolls! More night shopping after that and I got a pair of “Ray Ban” sunglasses for $1.50 which should keep me going for the rest of the trip as long as they don’t breakJ

Vietnam and Cambodia both have TARO ice cream which has been the biggest hit and I am thinking that the rest of the Asian countries will have the same. Yay! Cambodia has been quick but great to visit. There is so much poverty here that I see-kids and adults coming up for you for money, shacks (literally) we saw built on the filthy riverside while biking this afternoon, victims affected by the landmines found all over the country…..and more! Yet with such heartache from history, the Cambodian people do not seem aggressive at all. In fact, they are so kind and appear like they are just longing for their country to progress.

I will miss my hostel too (the best bed and pillow!). It is called THE HAPPY GUESTHOUSE and its run by a local Cambodian family who are genuinely so happy and welcoming to everybody they meet. I woke up early to have breakfast with my dear friend one last time before we part our separate ways (Bangkok for me and Phnom Penh for her!). I really do hope she and I can reconnect in Bangladesh in April since I’ve been trying to convince her to come over while I am there! Like I have written in other blog posts---it is the people I meet on the travels that have probably been the one highlight and everything else is just a bonus. On this account, having reconnected from nearly 2 years ago meeting and traveling together in South Ameria says so much!

I have the big city of Bangkok awaiting me and my bus ride crossing the border is expected to be from 8am-3:30pm. Here we go…..!

Angkor What??!!!

What a day we had yesterday! We had an early start and met down for breakfast in the hostel at 7am to try and plan our day at the famous Angkor Wat Temples. The tuk tuk driver whom dropped us off the day before from the bus stop left his cell phone number for us to call him when we wanted to arrange our day at the temples with him as our chauffer. I tried to apologize to him on his arrival for being so tired and grumpy the day before to him after arriving in from our bus trip out of Phnom Penh. He ended up planning a great route for us to see which started with Angkor Wat and ended with Angkor Thom. We spent the whole day walking, climbing, and exploring the hugeeeeeeee site of temples.

Firstly, the temples are located about 8 km out of Siem Reap town and many people hire out a tuk tuk driver for the day at about $5 for each person and they take you to the temples you want to see and just chill while you explore and then move onto the next and the next. Our driver had a sweet little hammock set up in our tuk tuk which let him enjoy nice naps throughout the day.

You can buy a $20 for one day or $40 for three day pass at the front gate where they take a photo of you on the ticket which you must present at each major site to the officials. $20 is a steep amount but when you go to the site, you realize how big and extensive the upkeep and maintenance of the grounds and temples are. There was scaffolding and restoration work being done all over the place and I guess it is for good reason and I tried to take photos of the temples without such equipment in the background. By about 9am, it was steaming hot and we rested in shady areas wherever we couldJ.

It was hard to sometimes realize that the picture I had seen so many times in books, magazines, videos etc. was now right in front of me in real life! Everything inside the complex is a little more expensive such as food, and souvenirs, but you can bargain for everything and got our lunch of delicious fried rice with chicken and vegetables to $3 instead of $4!

Angkor Thom was probably my favorite temple site and we finished our day with them which was great. It is the temples with over 217 faces embedded into the stones and I am sure everybody has seen them one time or another. It was cool to see where ‘Tomb Raider’ movie was made too. There were many people of course but the complex is so big that you don’t realize that much. Also, I have noticed the large number of Japanese and Korean tourists and tour buses. So much so that sushi restaurants around town are quite popular.

Its impressive to see many of the Cambodian looking guides also speaking Japanese and Korean so I wonder how that all came about?

We got back to our hostel around 4pm and cleaned up a bit before heading out to the markets for dinner and shopping. Tonight we tried the famous BBQ dinner where you cooked in “tepenyaki” style like in Japan with noodles, rice, vegetables, meats and seafood. We also had some banana and chocolate crepes for dessert and a fresh watermelon juice. All for $3.

After dinner, I headed straight for the $1 foot massage parlor (there are many of them) and literally nearly fell asleep. I nearly tripped over 3 times walking back home from being so tired and dragging my feet.

Sleeping in was super nice this morning as we plan to explore the city on the free bikes our hostel offers us. We are also excited to try and find a pool to jump in and cool off at! Then I’m thinking some more great food, market shopping and another foot massage! J

Hello Lady....

Hello Lady….

After taking a quick must needed shower back at the hostel after our day of sightseeing in Phnom Penh on Saturday afternoon, my friend and I headed down the road to the weekend ‘night market’ for some dinner with the locals. It was fabulous and for $2 we got to choose a range of appetizers such as shrimp rolls, meat ball skewers, green beans, stir fry noodles, papaya salad and more, to be brought to us on the mat. We sat with many others doing the same thing enjoying the open air atmosphere, market shoppers and live dancing entertainment.

With a larger group, we then headed out to the riverfront for a drink or 2 and maybe more!

Some fun dancing and a 3 am return back to the hostel meant that I only had about 4 hours of sleep before having to get up for our bus to Siem Reap at 8:45am on Sunday morning.

The bus journey with the ‘standard’ ticket I purchased ($5) would be a 6 hour journey with no toilet on board, but 2 stops along the way. It was a full bus and I dozed off quite a number of times during the trip, but to be honest it was quite uncomfortable and the sun was shining on my side of the bus so I got super hot towards the end of the trip since the air-conditioning on the bus was not working as well as it could of.

We arrived into Siem Reap town at about 3pm and was informed by the bus assistant that we would have a free ride into town about 7 km away from the bus station. My friend and I did not have a room booked but had the address of a hostel that had great reviews on hostelworld.com and we were just hoping there would be a room for us. So here’s the thing, once we arrived at the hostel the tuk tuk driver stuck around wanting to arrange a day at the temples for him to work for us. I felt bad because I was so tired from the bus journey and quite grumpy to be honest only wanting a quick shower to freshen up. I informed him that we had no idea what we were doing and he insisted to stay. In the end, I just got up and headed to the room for that much needed shower and rest.

I jumped online and emailed my dear friend whom I had met traveling South America nearly 2 years ago. We had arranged to meet in Siem Reap as she will continue through Laos and I to Thailand. I sent an email to her enthusiastically awaiting her arrival the next day, but as I stood up and got off the computer, there she was getting out of her tuk tuk. I had mixed up the days (since I just have no idea what day or date it is!) and it was the best thing ever to see her after sooo long.

We had the evening to stretch our legs (She coming in from Rome, Italy to Bangkok then doing an 8 hour trip on a bus to get from Bangkok to Siem Reap!). We plan to spend a few days here since both of us don’t have an itinerary to follow. As we headed closer to the night market, we stopped for some dinner of delicious noodle soup for $1 and then kept walking. By this time, there were tourists everywhere and the market had come alive. Many vendors using the phrase “Hello Lady” to greet me.

In Phnom Penh, I had questioned how “cheap” everybody had said Cambodia was and I think their working with the US dollar threw me off a bit. But now, I understand….the market tee shirts and goods were all soooo cheap $1 for beautiful scares, $2 for tee shirts and more. I am planning on dumping some of my old tees and getting some new ones for the rest of my travels.

Waking up now, I had a wonderful sleep in an A/C room last night with the perfect bed softness and pillow fluffiness. We have a big day of doing the famous Angkor Temples today, with an early start to try and beat the crowd. I’m thinking my camera will be getting a good workout. Perhaps a $1 foot massage after the day of exploring or maybe try the crazy fish feeding on your feet to promote new skin cell growth teatment? Can’t wait….!

I’ll be sure to post and upload pics at the end of todayJ