The Thai Police Men
Have I told you about them?
Why hadn't any told ME about them?
They are H.O.T.
They wear these tight little uniforms- like tighter than you can imagine. I especialy like the fat ones. They just walk along or direct traffic or whatever they should be doing, in the spandex uniforms with their tummies hangin over their belts.
But I really like the compact Thai with broad shoulders who look like they were born to wear these uniforms. I will try to get a good photo of them for you. I always feel weird taking photos of cops.
But these guys- I think I'll bring a uniform home for Chuckie. ;)
Check.
I love when I start to feel comfortable in a city. It starts when I decide I don't need to pay attention to every little thing going on and can wear my mp3 player eevrywhere. I have also mastered the public transit. Ah, who am I kidding? I know how to get from Mike's to khao san... no really I am not that bad.
Let me tell you about my day(s).
I went to Khao San rd., the super backpacker area. The streets are lined with cheap pad thai stands, shops selling just about anything, fresh OJ and/or pineapple sellers and a gazillion backpackers. I came here (by sky train and public bus) to find a used copy of an India travel guide. (Have I told you there is a golf course right in the middle of the city? Very odd, you see it from the sky train).
So I went from used book stall to book stall, trying to get a good price for my SE Asia guide book and a Bradbury book I had acquired along the way. No luck. And on top of it all, they wanted 30$ for a photocopied India book!
I had to meet up with Christina (the girl I traveled with in Burma) at 3 so I gave up on the book.
Sat and had coffee in a back alley for about 3 hrs and it was just so great.. she's trying to decide if she can do a year travel trip coming this June.. Strolled around a bit and found a rough guide to india from 2003 for 20$.. I gave in, I need Something! We also decided to get Thai massages.. i was slightly reluctant bc I don't esp like massages, they usually hurt, but the guy I had, well, I almost asked him to marry me! Awesome. Half way thru, this Chinese couple comes in to get an oil massage. The masseuse says "take off your clothes" and the lady, in shock, exclaims "no!" and then the masseuse, i guess she's used to this says " well how i give you oil massage with clothes on?" and then all the other masseurs started to laugh.. there was a lot of chinese between the couple and after a couple of minutes i guess they gave in. Didn't hear a peep from them after that.
Found some hiking boots at a stand along the road. tried to bargain but he was not budging- got them for 40$. They are super light but still sturdy and are hardly used (stop judging- i'm poor!) so they were a pretty good deal. He said i could sell them back to him when I got back, but I think it would be more worth it to keep them. So much for getting to Chinatown for new years celebrations. Just couldn't be bothered...
I had big plans for today- I got up relatively early and headed to the Indian embassy. Took the sky train and then a moto. I think I will just start taking motos everywhere cause I love the adrenaline you get when risking your life.. you know?
There were only about 500 people waiting to get their visas. Fair enough. I had to fight to get a number- I am getting used to the whole "we don't queue in Asia" but come on! Sometimes, it's just plain obvious I am waiting patiently as soon as the person is done talking and he just butts right in front. Serenity Now, right Nahida?
So I push and shove my way to the front, get a number and sit down. Waited 2 hrs but got my paperwork in. Should be ready Friday. Thing is, I left with my passport. The lady had no interest whatsoever in talking to me, whatsoever, so I didn't push the subject. I may not be getting my visa after all. :)
Talked to an American couple who had just been to Burma (and were sailing around the world- it had been 8 yrs!!!) and were astounded at the fact that the Burmese laid roads by hand. This other American next to me interjected, "Ya but if you use a huge machine, that only takes 3 people to operate, then the other 97 people are out of a job". Ok, fair enough. BTW, I think it's pretty silly that white people think they can talk to white people anywhere they please. (Still stuck on the whole Singapore thing, Christina...) I digress.
I sauntered along, back to the sky train. Stopped by chance in a travel shop along the way to check out prices for BKK- Calcutta. So far, I had been letting Caitlin email me all her travel itineraries and prices... lazy bum that I am. The women found me a flight 2000 bhat cheaper (fine fine, that's only 60$ but it pays for my boots and book!) I am flying Druk Air. Scared yet? It's Bhutan's airline. Don't ask me why I am flying with them from Bangkok to Calcutta but anyways... I was very close to leaving a day earlier and doing a stopover in Bangladesh (Dhaka). Druk air was cheaper and what does a night in a dirty city give me other than a headache? I will get plenty of headaches in India, I am sure!
So visa, check. Flight ticket, check. Guide book, check. Trekking boots, check. I am almost there. All I need are socks.
Now, I know that sounds easy enough, and you are all going 'why is she telling us she needs socks? Just go to any silly little shop and get some.' Oh, no, no, no, no, no. For some very odd reason, you can not find socks. Ok, wait a sec, you CAN find socks but they last for 1 days wear. I am a stomper, not a lily footed light stepper, or whatever. I went to a huge dept store- an upscale one- bc i wanted good socks. I was sent to floor 2, then to floor 1, then to floor 3. I found some on sale (on floor 5), but then at the cash, well, 'those are not on sale!' I found trekking socks (floor 4) and they were just a bit cheaper than my boots. I told the guy too expensive and he said 'No No! Good socks!' I looked down and he had on the little white see thru type socks everyone wears here... I guess there's not much trekking to be done in Bangkok anyways.
I gave up.
Went to the train station by sky train and I took the metro! (I'm almost a local- except for the fact that I say "Hello" when I want to say "thank you" and vice versa.. )
Booked a ticket for the overnite train to chiang mai. I have to test out my trekking boots before bringing them to india... So I'll head there Wed nite and come back Monday morning to pick up my visa and get ready for my 650am flight to Calcutta!
So very very excited.
Oh, I had a revelation today. There are very few foreign kids around, you know really young ones, like 2 or 3 yrs old. But every once in a while I see one. i have been thinking they look like alien babies bc they are so huge- I wonder to myself, well perhaps the parents are working long hours and they can't potty train their children or take the seuss away from them, thats why they are 4 and still in diapers. But I realised today that I am an Idiot. foreign kids are just much larger than Thai kids are. Much Larger. Like, do you remember that commercial where the guy is walking along the hall holding onto the banister and hes sniffling and sulking bc he has such a bad cold. You only see his feet, then the camera pans up to his hands, which are adult hands, but then when they get to his face, it's a little baby's face..? Whata creepy commercial. Anyways, that's what all the kids look like to me. Little walking adults- they are quite scary/silly looking.
Hey a couple books I have just finshed that were pretty good:
The Corrections. Couldn't put it down. But oh so very depressing. Really well written, but stay away from open windows and bridges.
Freakonomics. Easy read, and really interesting. Definitely gets you thinking about how certain things are connected, could be connnected, are not connected at all. But we still can't be sure. What is it? Correlation is NOT causation?
The Hungry Tide. this was an awesome book about a woman who was tracking dolphins in some part off India. Unfortunately I am horrible at describing anything, but if you want a great novel, find this one.
If Not Now, When? Great great book about a band of Jews trying to survive in forests while the Germans go around leveling towns. (Again that whole description thing..) Pretty heavy read tho..
A Graveyard for Lunatics. So very strange. Set on a movie set in the 50s a writer witnesses a death that had already happened and tries to solve it (?) and people go missing. Easy and strange.
Platform. French guy decides to go to Thailand on a package tour... a lot of talk about sex tourism, a lot of sex, but still a book of substance. Somewhat. Strongly recommended.
Well, it had to be done.
Last night, Mike had a great idea.
"Let's go ice skating".
What else do you do on a Sat night in Bangkok, right?
He called the place, the lady said it was open til 11pm- great. We wanted to see the Thais skate.
Got there at 9 and it was closed. Of course it was, why would it actually stay open til 11 like she said?
So we wandered a bit and the Mike decided we should check out Nana district which is a very touristy area with fat white men walking around holding hands with small Thai women (girls?). So walking down from the sky train he points out an elephant. Yup. Walking down a busy Bangkok street. Apparently people buy bags of peanuts and then feed them to the elephant. Don't worry I am sure the elephants are very happy. Ya, Ok.
Got some food and watched the big Western men get chatted up, or chat up Thai women... I'm getting a little more used to it.. I just still don't know how I feel about the whole thing. It seems different here. Like, sex is just a type of release, they aren't uptight like North Americans can be. But the whole sex tourism thing.. men can come here and throw their money around and act like kings. And can be treated like kings. But when they go home they are nothing recluses. It's just too weird.
Anyways, after watching them on the street, we decided to go to the root of it all: the gogo bars. Hell ya.
So there's a type of plaza and about 10 different bars that people are calling you in to. One of them has a midget doorman- it's quite a circus type atmosphere (recalling the elephant from earlier in the evening). We decided on "Skoolgirlz" and step thru the curtain. Seems we fell upon America Night because all the girls are dressed in the stars and stripes. Let me explain: it's not like strip clubs in Montreal where you have one lady dancing on stage stripping. There is no stripping going on. There are about 15 girls standing up on stage around bars, just sortof wiggling a little to the music. Now let me tell you, these girls have the most bored expressions imaginable. They are as close to being naked without being naked, they are up on stage with a bunch of guys looking at them and they are all just bored. EXCEPT when you buy some ping pong balls. (Stop thinking like that!) The pingpong balls are tips that you throw at them. Thing is, if you throw a bunch at a time, they all start to scramble for them... now this is a really cruel thing to do, I know. But Mike thought it was really funny! Anyways, if you sit there with a basket of pingpong balls, you get a lot of attention from the girls on stage. I had one girl who especially liked me, that's all I'll say about that.
So, after having a beer and getting rid of 3 baskets of pingpong balls, we went to play pool. I was a little preoccupied with the tabel next to us where the Thai girls were playing pool but their German guy friends were just watching. I was beginning to think more and more like a guy as the night went on. It was strange. The pool halls are great here. They have attendants that hand you the cheating stick (if one would so be inclined to use it) and rack up the balls the second the 8 ball goes in. This is a very smart thing because you don't have the time to be like, "you want to play another one?" You just keep playing..
So after 2 hrs of pool, it was time to go home. Thing is, I had heard that the last 30 min is qwuite fun in the gogo bars because the women are actually having fun with eachother, because the night is almost over and they know they probably won't be going home with anyone. So I wanted to continue my analysis of the situation. I had to twist Mike's rubber arm.
This time we went to "Rainbows". The place was packed. Oh, I forgot to tell you, all the women on stage and around the bar have numbers on them so you just have to choose a number and tell, well anyone, that you want her and well... you know.
Anyways, this place was playing Thai music, the girls were all dressed the same again (they are everywhere) but this time they were in bras and thongs. They were having much more fun than the other place, just sorta dancing around to the Thai music and singing.. it was cute.
So, I forced Mike to have a drunk discussion with me about sex tourism.. is it ok? but where does it stop? submissive cultures? release? money? conquering...? I don't know. I don't know what i think. I have never been against prostitution, as long as the women really want to be there. But do any of them actaully want to be there? Or is it just about the money? And if it's just about the money, what about business execx who ruin their bodies thru stress and long hours and, just to make money.. I don't know. Just thinking.
So we stumble out onto the street and I almost step on an elephant. It's weird because my brain didn't register what it was right away- you just don't expect to see an elephant being walked down the street by its ear at 1am. I jumped into the street to avoid the big gray thing, but the traffic was coming in the other direction- oh god where am I?
This place is weird, man.
Heading over to Khao San rd. The main backpacker district today. Going to book my ticket and pick up a guide book for India.
Hey, I was looking at Nahida's pictures from New Years and it was so nice to see so many familiar faces- can you guys send me some pics when you have them? It's fun to see what you're all up to..
:)
My Laos list:
The BeerLao signs, and trucks of bottles driving past.
The French signs.
The baguettes and croissants and chocolate danishes.
How kids were always on the streets, any time of day, any day of the week.
The kip- the thousands upon thousands of kip.
How every flag is accompanied by the red 'hammer and sickle' flag. The white circle in the middle represents the "white light of communism".
Laolao. Damn that was a fun night. You would turn on your friend to not do a shot of Laolao.
The mountains, The treks, The villages, I have not yet visited...
That Canadian girl said she went to a village in Northern Lao and they had a party for the foreigners (all 5 of them- she thinks they just wanted an excuse!) After doing shots of Laolao and drinking Lao whisky, someone said "Now we play chickenhead". Now I don't think anyone really ever wants to hear those words. Anyhow, what they did was take out this chickenhead and stick it on a plate with a bowl on top. The would shake the lot, and when they took the bowl off, whichever person the beak was pointing at had to drink a shot! Now that is a drinking game!
You know, I didn't ever take a puking bus. You know, I am quite happy about that. (Buses that go thru the mountains that carry locals. The locals get quite severe motion sickness and so they puke into plastic bags- or on the floor- or anywhere really. Except maybe out the window.)
So, as you can see this is a rather pitiful list. Therefore I must go back to Laos.
Also to clarify. I am not in a hurry. Well, I am only bc I have to get my visa for India. I am in a hurry for India, bc those girls are going and I think it will be quite a laugh! But I will not hurry India. I think the only deadline I have set for myself is to be in Beijing for Jess' bday in April. Other than that, the wallet dictates the time I have ;)
Now that is how you cross a border!
I am in Thailand. Again.
So I took a minibus down to Vientiane, which was nice and quick, and met some cool people. Went across the Thai-Lao Friendship bridge (checkmarked: done!)
Just after the crossing thru Lao immigration you have to take a bus to Thai immigration, then figure out a tuk tuk or taxi or smthg to the train station, or wherever you wanted to go.
Thank god this hot hunky Spaniard took charge and this Canadian girl I was chatting with (who happened to be travelling with the hunk) and I were escorted into a taxi and whisked to each place for 100 bhat. I think it's the first time I crossed a border without feeling like I got ripped off! Damn it felt good!
But get this, we get to the train station where I was getting my train to Bangkok (the Canadian and the Spaniard were traveling on by bus). The girl says she has a ticket that is basically going to be void so she'll come in with me to see if she can change it over to me...
It worked and she didn't let me pay her! Now those who know me, know I don't accept this type of behavior! But she ran! Really!
So I sat there in a stupor and paid the change fee and have 3 hrs before my train to Bangkok. I don't even know her name!
So lady from Vancouver- Thank you!!!
It's like a washing machine...
.. all turny inside out and upside down... that's me.
I'm going to India.
Yup. That's right, India.
Ok, let me tell you about my day...
I'm in Vang Vieng. One of the main reasons people come to VV is to do this Amazing tubing down a river- That's what I did today.
We got our tube and tuktuk up the river around 11am. You just jump in the tube and the current takes you down- not very quickly, just right.
I lay there in the tube, passing people fishing for seaweed, butterflies landing on my tube (I swatted them away- did you know I am also afraid of butterflies?) Looking to my right (when facing fwd) ;) the huge mountains I see from my guest house window loomed above- to my left gardens and homes..
Kids were swimming and pitching seaweed at each other the legnth of the tube ride.. Also there were a bunch of places you could stop and buy sandwiches or Beerlao- there were actualy guys standing on the side of the river "fishing for tourists" with long sticks, pulling you in if you needed a refill! You could climb to the top of towers and jump down or tarzan style down, depending on your level of fear I suppose. I stayed put in my tube...
It took about 3 hrs to do the length of the river (start to finish) :)
We even paddled hard because we were so hungry and didn't want any damn Beerlao! We wanted fruit shakes!
Passed one stand along the water were a little kid, not older than 3 years old yelled out "Sabaydee! " (hello) and then "Beerlao!" Too funny!
Got back to our guest house, right outside the end point, showered (icky water) and then lay by the river reading til the sun went down.
Emily got more music put on her ipod- I bought some thai/lao pants (I should've brought the ones you gave me, kate!) and went to eat.
I was planning on going to Luang Prabang tomorrow morning. Thing is I have to get my visa for India and I am not sure i can do it in Luang Prabang. I wanted to take the boat into Thailand that takes 2 days, but my time is getting super limited- flight to India is on Feb8.
So, I am skipping what I foresee to be the best part of Laos. I will just have to come back is all. I don't even feel that I can buy the Lao patch to put on my backpack ;) Perhaps on my way back to China I will travel overland... money is getting low tho.. who knows anyways, my plans change more often than my underwear. Actually much more often ;)
Afetr getting to Bangkok I will have about 10 days to check out Thailand so it is not wasted time. Don't worry I will have stories for you soon.
Ok, back to Bangkok. More soon. (I don't want to hear anything about missing out on Laos. Tonight I mourn for Luang Prabang- I am very upset about it- but the travel time would have been way too much... and India logistics just don't work...)
It's in the North- why didn't anyone tell me???
After 2 buses (11hrs) and only 2 flat tires, I am in Northern Laos. Hell ya. I hated the South, well not hated so much as was unimpressed by, so I am very happy to be up here. Who was I kidding , I am not a water baby, I don't like beaches or chilling out. I need my mountains and cool air. And they are here. I am in a town called vang Vieng with a bunch of other tourists. Stoned ones. Ok, that's mean, they are not all floating on air, but just one walk down the main street and you will find many of them lounging, passed out or close, in front of large televisions.
I will spend 3 nites here and then head to Luang Prabang.
Nepal is off. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Nepal.html?_r=2&oref=login
but i am still not so convinced. The girls are heading to Kolkata instead and will trek in Darjeeling. At this point I know nothing of India, nothing so I ahve to do a bit of research before deciding I think.
Anyone planning on being in Asia anytime soon?
;)
Indecisiveness. The theme of the trip.
What to do? what to do?
I am in Vientiane, capital of Laos. I spent a couple of days in Si Phan Don and then I chickened out of a moto journey with Michael. Well, I didn't so much 'chicken out' as 'not bother' but I digress. I am regretting it now.
So, Nepal. I don't know. I think it will have to be one of those spur of the moment things. I'm going to spend the next 10 days or so in Laos, then head over to Chiang Mai, maybe take a cooking course or a massage course and then head down to Bangkok for the 5 or 6 of Feb and decide based on flights and what the political situation is looking like over there. It seems kinda confusing, some ppl think it's ok, but there will be problems or other people say don;t go. The election is scheduled for the 7th so things may get better or worse after that, who knows. Either way, I would just be passing thru Kathmandu and heading to the hills where there are supposed to be no problems, but I just don;t know.
If I don't go to Nepal I also just don't know. ;)
Decisive chick aren't I?
God you should see the amount of "Happy" stuff there is in Laos. Happy shakes, pancakes, cake or just plain "happy" if thats what you want. As you all know, I am not such a big fan of "happy". I don't esp like the drug scene that is going on here. Everyone seems to agree that Laos is best done in the North and I haven't been there yet so I will let you know what I think soon, but if it were to remain the way it has been, well, I will be leaving Laos soon anyways.
I only have 15 days here, but I do have the option to extend the visa. I will see if I feel better tomorrow.
For all of you who have been out here, I am planning to go N to Vang Vieng (I know drug central, but i need to do the tubing) and then N to Luang Prabang and perhaps a trek a little further N. After that, I am pretty open. Suggestions?
I was thinking Chiang Mai, but that was really just cause I needed to get back to Bangkok to fly to Nepal. Can you guys give me any other ideas?
I am going to examine my SE Asia on a Shoestring tonite. That should help. But as it stands, I am a little less inspired by Laos as I thought I would be, and I am only dreaming of Burma. (...and Montreal- uh oh.)
Laos- 4000 Islands
Ok, this internet is costing an arm and a leg but I needed to check some flight details..
Ok, I am on such a high right now- I think I just got really good news re:school, but i will keep you posted when I know for sure-
So we flew to Pakse and jumped a pickup to Don Det- absolutely gorgeous. I have not been out of sight of water for he past 3 days.. saw dolphins yesterday playing in the Mekong river then visited some waterfalls.
More importantly I met some girls who are going to Cambodia and then are heading to trek in Nepal on the 6 of Feb. That gives me only 15 days or so in Laos, but I am quite keen on Nepal, but not alone, so this is working out fine.
I am checking flights to see f i can afford it but I will keep you posted...
:)
5 Days in Cambodia
Ok, Ok, I know I should spend more time here.
Took the bus from Bangkok to Siem Reap on Friday the 13th. Good thing that has no significance here (me at the travel agent: "ohh Friday the 13th- hmm maybe I should reschedule! heehee! travel agent: polite smile "buy ticket?")
The road has been repaired in the last 3 months so it was great. The entire ride still took about 14 hrs, but I really didn't notice. Another Canadian sat with me at the border and we have been hanging out since.
So we got dropped off at 11pm in the "middle of no where guest house" after driving right thru town. Hope someone is getting a good commission. We decided to stay bc we got hot water, AC, and HBO for 7usd (3.5 each). :)
Next day we went to the flooded forest on moto. What a great time! I hadn't ever really been on a moto, well not for more than, say, a 2 min taxi somewhere. This was a crazy ride for about an hour on bumpy sandy roads.. great!
We got to the end of the road and met this French guy right away. He also wanted to go to the flooded city and the city on stilts. He had worked out a price for the boat and we thought we could just split that with him. No luck. So we all went out together.
The city was amazing. All the houses are high in the air and the town is quite long (it stretches along the water). There were so many kids running around- the Cambodian kids are just gorgeous! So cute- they have something I haven't seen before- can't quite put my finger on it.
We wandered into a school yard where these kids were playing a game that required 2 sticks and banging them open and closed.. uh, how do i explain- ok, this might help- That Canadian I met, he decided to play too, so he took the sticks from one fo the kids (much giggling) and he tried it out. The beat goes like Queen's We Will Rock You, and he started to sing. It was so funny- I have video of it- I will try to figure out a way to get it up somewhere so you can see it. (you can check out a photo on yahoo)
We continued on to the flooded forest- in the middle of the forest so far from anything was a tiny (like 2 feet by 3 feet) temple up in a tree. The driver said it held a little Buddha shrine.
We went back to the village and the driver fed us at his home. Pascale and MIchael had the fish and shrimp they offered and I ate rice and some spinach type stuff. I was so surprised after we finished that they wanted to charge us 3usd each- I am just too used to Burma. I was quite shocked actually- funny how easily you get used to smthg. Pascale has spent much time in Cambodia and told me to get used to it, you have to pay for every every thing here. Ok, I am used to it - it's true.
We took the motos back to town and went to Angkor Wat for sunset. Got a 3day pass for the temples and headed to one of the popular temples to watch. I can not even begin to explain to you the amount of ppl there (theres a photo on yahoo). I hate tourists. Ok, I know I am one myself, but in mass quantities it is really hard to appreciate anything. So, we basically sat and made fun of the tourists before leaving. Sunset was ok. ;)
Sidebar: Pascale was from France and so we spoke French the whole day- M is from Regina where he did French immersion (and i think his French is better than mine-) Then at night we went out with Pascale to this bar owned by a french ex pat and spoke french there, continued on to an after hours type place and met some french girls- more french- I have not spoken as much French as in Cambodia in a very very long time! It's actually quite refreshing- I miss speaking French and I am not so bad at it so I think I will search out the French tourists and old French Lao men and continue to practice :)
The next day we hit Angkor Wat and Ta Pronh (think Tomb Raider) by bike. Now I do not recommend this. :) But then again I am one lazy girl. The ride out was about 12 km and then we must have biked at least 10km inside Angkor itself, and then I biked back the 12 to town (M had a date). The whole time I was thinking, Oh Jesus, What the hell was I thinking?!
And so the next day we rented a tuktuk for the day.
We went out to a bunch of temples- what a great tuktuk ride tho! I am not templed out so much, I don't really "temple" I just like to watch people.
At night, went out to Bar street. There are kids carrying smaller kids, asking for money- they are quite good little actors, let me tell you. One the other night was crying. No I am not a heartless jerk- these kids are frequenting the tourist sector, they are doing quite fine without my money I promise. There are land mine victims everywhere- they sell books on the street to make money. Bar street is not so fun.
Today we gave blood at the children's hospital- they don't have enough- may have smthg to do with the amount of ppl that suffer from land mine injuries. Either way, we did a good thing :)
We then went off to the land mine museum- quite shocking actually. Many countries are still producing them- US and China included. They cost about 3usd to make and about 500usd to take out. There are about 6 million in Cambodia (i think).
Today was the first time I thought of traveling the rest of Cambodia- I would like to know more about the history and see more of this beautiful country..
...but for now I am going to Laos. Michael can only travel for another 2 weeks (he extended his ticket to come to Laos) and so we are flying to Pakse in Laos tomorrow morning. I really like this idea of flying. I hadn't wanted to stay in cambodia for more than Siem Reap really, and now he gives me the excuse to fly ;) (If you want to travel to Laos by land you have to go South to Phnom Penh and then North- about a 3 day trip). You see how that all works?
So I will be out of touch for a while again.I think Internet is a little on/off in Laos, and especially in the South. After getting in to Pakse I will go South to the 4000 Islands in the Mekong for a week or so.
So stay posted.
Cambodia photos are up. Well only about 20 of the 300 I have, but I know what you guys want anyways.
Bangkok taxi
After a night of partying, Michael put me in a taxi for my guest house- it was about 4am. Along the way I asked the driver if he wanted some of my chocolate bar, he refused, he offered me a juice box, i refused, all in al it was a nice ride. We tried to communicate but it didn't really work.
So finally we get to my guest house and the meter says 77 bhat.
He says "for you, 40. only 40."
and i say "why? no no no."
and he says "yes!" and gives me back 60 change for my 100.
Then he turns around from the front seat into the back seat and gives me a great big hug and says "bye!"
So nice... for no reason. Except..
I tell Michael about it the next day and he says "no no no, that doesn't happen in Bangkok. The cab driver actually PAID you 37 bhat to give you a hug!"
Depends on your perspective, I guess.
Thailand
So I actually made it to Bangkok for the 24th of Dec. My plane landed 1 hr before Chantal, Phil and Jess' so we took the shuttle to the hotel together.
Basically we spent one week in bangkok, lounging by the pool by day (or shopping at MBK) and hitting the market at night. We also went to the crazy!!!! weekend market- you come out of there totally sweating and needing a vacation on the islands... so we went to ko Samui.
Spent a week in a gorgeous resort right on the water- the first 3 days we could take 3 steps and be on the beach and the last 3 days we were in a huge villa that had an amazing view of the gulf.
Most of the days on Samui were spent by the pool- one day we went to a near by beach- craziness. Topless beach with hawkers trying to sell stuff to you every 2 seconds- no place to sit, dirty- needless to say we stayed on the resort the rest of the time!
Also spent one day on a boat- went snorkelling, which was interesting... I don't know how many of you know this but I am pretty scared of fish. i know I know, they are just fish but I am terrified of them. Well I decided to try this snorkelling thing anyways. I got out of the boat and floated on my back (not very conducive to snorkelling you don't have to tell me, i know). Finally decided to look down, but only after Fab swam up beside me and I asked if I could grab her hand as I looked down.. I felt much better doing so for some reason and actually saw the fish below. I didn't last long but I did do it!
Afterwards we went on the boat again and had a great lunch on an island and then went kayaking. Phil and I went with Jess and we were so low on the water it was a ittle scary! But since I had gotten over my fear of fish, it wasnt as bad as it could have been. :)
Ok, so there is your update. Oh ya, the past week I have spent lying on someones couch (thanks Michael!) reading in Bangkok. (The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh. Try it. )
I am leaving Friday the 13th for Cambodia. I will be taking a bus to Siem Reap and then heading to Phnom Penh and to Laos eventually.
I will keep you posted.
:)
REALLY traveling
Ok, so after doing nothing in Hsipaw for a couple of days, I found people willing to go up north with me- a place not many travelers go to, mainly bc it's so out of the way and difficult to get to.
I had been waffling between going up north on my own and just hanging out around Hsipaw and/or Mandalay... thank goodness I went up North.
We left Hsipaw in the morning and got to Mandalay around 2- luckliy the train was leaving around 6 so we had plenty of time.
The train: definitely the highlight of my trip- well I guess one of them- it lasted 29.5 hours. It was on this leg of the trip that the whole "it's in the journey, not the destination" clicked. I relaxed on the bench, stuck my feet out the windows (there was no glass or anything, just open windows) and let the scenery fly by. Have I told you Burma makes me think of the scenery in Apocalypse Now? Not in a bad way, it's just so jungle out here...
So I lay back and listened to the tocktock.... tocktock.... tocktock.... of the train as it (very slowly) rode along. It's such a beautiful sound and we were swinging back and forth a bit and bouncing a little.
The people behind us , some sort of Christian group, were singing Christmas carols in burmese so that was ok to listent o for a bit. Finally, Henry took the guitar away from them and started playing some bluesy stuff- now that was great!
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I tucked my pants into my socks so the mice on the train woudln't run up my jeans
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Henry got coffee at ne of the stops from a little boy running along the side of the train- he brought it in a bag with a straw
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I run off the train to buy my lunch in a plastic bag and as we swing off clockclockclockclock I look back and the whole stand is standing there smiling and waving. Amazing.
We got to Mytkyina at 1130pm and were brought to 'the cheapest guest house available'. Turned out it was only for Burmese and we werent actually allowed to stay there, but at least we only found that out in the morning! It cost 1$ each. Cheapest accommodation so far.
We wanted to take the boat from Mytkina to Bhamo to Katha and continue all the way to Mandalay which should have taken 2 days 1 night. Once we got to Mytkyina we asked right away about getting to Bhamo by boat. Everyone told us it was impossible... but we persisted- to the point that Soo Jin and I were on the beach at 10pm with flashlights going up to random boats and asking them to take us. Now who said there was no adventure? (no one really but i digress)
So we found a couple of boats who were willing to smuggle us aboard (i'm not kidding) but they were asking far too much money so we refused.
Took the bus the next morning. I use the term 'bus' loosely. It was an open air pickup with seats high up and cargo below- my feet were dangling most of the ride... Check out the photos- theres one of the contraption and one of me with my head scarf and hat and sweater covering my entire being head to toe- sand was a lot to handle. The scenery was amazing between Mytkyina and Bhamo- jungle mountains and dirt roads. And our driver was insane, so I obviously fell in love. ;)
Got to bhamo at 5 and had planned on sticking around but the boat left the next morning and I really wanted to get to Bangkok for xmas so I decided to leave. Soo Jin and Henry did too, but they decided to stop in Katha. I bought a ticket for a cabin (54$) and they got deck tickets (4$).
We went out that nite in Bhamo and played pool which was fun for me. I love playing pool. Only one game tho bc well, we werent all that great.
Next morning took the boat- I met my roomie- a gorgeous and friendly woman who had just gotten a promotion to Yangon with the Health Dept. She was alab technician in a hos[ital.
Now the boat should have taken 2days and a night but it ended up taking 3days 2 nites, which was not bad at all really. I loved my roommate to death- she was feeding me half the time and teaching me Burmese and she was just always happy. Also, she would really only eat and sleep and read. Just like me!
So after getting into Manadalay I booked a ticket out of Yangon to Bangkok for the 24th, and a bus to Yangon.
So thats it. From Thurs 6am to Fri 7am (181 hrs) I was in transit for 112 hrs. And all of it was great. If I were to return to Burma I would head up north immediately- it's just so untouched and beautiful.
So that's Burma for you. If any of you have any questions about it, or are planning on heading there pls let me know bc there is so much more than this- I just can't get everything up...
Amazing photos from Myanmar.
http://www.pbase.com/clyne/myanmar
Update bus stoppage
Just briefly whats going on:
After Inle lake, which was amazing! although it rained quite a bit, we decided to take the bus to Mandalay and head to Hsipaw. Thing is, it freak rained for 3 days in Inle before we left (Bay of Bengal typhoon?)
Anyhow, we started on the bus and after just 2 hrs of driving (9hr trip) the bus stopped. There were trucks lined up as far as the eye could see... the road had been washed out.
So we were stuck in the middle of no where, really, for the nite (we left at 6pm) and most of the next day. The biggest problem was that no one knew when we would actually get to leave. We ddin't have any food. We all thought we would be on the bus overnight and get there around 4 am or smthg. We sorta slept thru the nite ( i obviously didn't and stood outside with my flashlight to help whomever got off the bus find a good place to pee) and in the morning no one knew much more than the night before. Thank goodness a couple from Singapore spoke Chinese and English, and another guy spoke Chinese and Burmese, so somehow we got the news from the busdriver (busdriver Burmese-chineseguy- singapore guy to us.)
We would go for walks and come back hoping that we would be moving but it wasnt happening. Around 2pm we got fed up and went out find food. the only thin left was white rice with peanuts. Thatwas it. Ok, a little scary because we really didnt know when we would be moving again.
Anyways, we got out finally- a ride that should have taken 9hrs turned into 27. When we got to Mandalay, there was a big sign in the guest house saying "Road to Mandalay- Closed". Good timing.
Went to another lazy town 9hrs away (no problem this time). Nice and realaxing. Spent most of my time with a retired Aussie lady who had bought a n amazing teak wood house (10000usd) and was selling coffee out of it. man i missed coffee. she was such a great lady. I want to retire in Myanmar too!
Also, the insurgents are around. well, they were a town over from where we were. This guy said that 3 days before we got there 2 armies tried to unite but the military got between them- 3 military died. But it was 3 days before I got there so there was no trouble ;)
If you are thinking of heading to Asia, please please please put Burma on your itinerary. It's a truly amazing country.
Where is the Love?
(Retro post)
There's so much love in Burma. I don't know why I feel this way. the men walk down the street with one arm draped over their friends shoulder. Older brothers play with little ones. The men are always playing with their children. That being said, the women are always working. It feels like women are seen as equals here. Really. They carry heavy loads (on their heads) as much or more than men do. But it seems a welcome habit, not an oppressive one.
Christina says she thinks there is so much love here because the people are simple. They go to the market on market day, farm every other day, and hang out with their family.
It's just such a great country. The people genuinely smaile at you when you wave or smile at them. Such beautiful huge smiles.
I also love how people sing all the time. Everywhere and at the top of their lungs singing, not just humming.
People are loving, the views are beautiful, towns small, there isn't the obssession over money (yet).
Everywhere you go, they give you oranges. At the hotel, at restaurants, and just randomly. And never enough- if you are 4ppl, they give you either 3 or 5 oranges.
Music blaring from homes. I like it. It;s not harsh- it just seems like someone is having a great time listening to their music. Loud.
Went to the jumping cat monastery and someone asked the monk why he teaches the cats to jump.
Monk: "For fun".
Favorite scene: On Inle Lake. Took a boat out for the day to check out the floating villages.
"No problem" the driver tells me as I turn around to look back at the motor and he's banging it with a brick.
The buses here are really cool. They are raised so that the stock goes underneath and you rest your feet on top of it. Its ok, but sometimes it gets a little cramped. Also, all the buses come with a drivers assistant bc the steering wheel is on the right side, but the cars drive on the right side also, which makes for an interesting situation when one wants to turnleft. So these little drivers assistants hang out wither the side or the back of the bus/ pickup and are another set of eyes for the drivers. They also run out to give money to thew officials at the check points. Very useful.
The longyi are really cool. Just a tube of fabric that en tie together in the middle to fit. The men just undo them and tie them back up. I have never seen so many mens' bare legs.
I bought peanuts the other day. They were still in the shell and were warm and wet. the woman scooped them into a plastic bag with an old tin can. Henry said they had been boiled in salty water. They were quite good.
I think the best part about traveling is meeting people from so many different places. You get to learn about so many countries from ppl who live there. If I were to go to say, Singapore, I would not experience or learn as much as I have traveling for a week with Christina. I would be in Singapore and I would be a tourist and do tourist things. I got to actaully learn about what it's like to live in Singapore (and Israel, and Slovenia and Korea...) I have enjoyed that more than actually traveling and seeing sites in Burma. I am not one for sites anyhow, I prefer to watch ppl everywhere (true Montrealer) but getting to know little insights into ppl and their countries- countries I may never visit- has just opened up my mind.
