Not sure how..but in less than 12 hours I'll be boarding a plane for Hong Kong, with an entire 1 hour layover ( i hate long layovers.but 1 hour seems to be pushing it a bit!)...from Hong Kong, the longest flight to Vancouver, and then on to Winnipeg where I should be picked up by 2 of my sisters and my niece!! Looking forward to going home..not looking forward to -49 weather...sigh. And since I lost my runners in Cambodia..(among other things this trip, I've lost: runners, a cap, my mind a few times ;-), a bag, a tooth(to the evil dentist), books,and the list goes on....) so ..since I don't have proper shoes, I'll be arriving in sandals..did manage to find a pair of pants that are actually long enough,,so at least won't be arriving home in shorts!!
Was thinking earlier, the last time I returned to Winnipeg in the winter was on a stretcher 7 years ago...so I think I'll take being cold over being "broken" anytime!
It feels like I have been gone ages...but it's only been a little over 6 months. Strange.
Have some things to look forward to upon returning home...seeing everyone of course, and some events with meetmarketadventures and couchsurfing and christmas! (Too bad I got my eldest sister to shop for..the most difficult, pickiest one of the bunch..sigh)..Tempted to do the gift cert thing but not really personal is it. Have a few hours left in Thailand to find something,,or the airports or @ home!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Phuket
Home of beautiful beaches, good food and gorgeous sunsets. Can't say the same of some guesthouse owners/travel agents though!
I arrived early Thursday morning, inquired at a travel agent near the bus station about hotels and transport, the guy was friendly-until I hesitated. ("If you come back, the price will be higher"-guess I won't coming back then, will I!?) It was the 2nd time I've seen a travel agent here change personality soooooo quickly. The cahange is amazingly fast! Doesn't encourage sales much does it. The old adage is true..you have good service..you tell 1 person, you have bad service, you tell 10!)
Tound a tuk tuk driver for an inflated rate into Kata town, where I spent well over an hour looking for suitable accomadation, & encountering many unfriendly people in the process. (Primarily, older European (?) men---(older European women, wow, some of them dish out rather nasty looks, or just plain point their noses down at you!) Admittedly, I was looking a bit scruffy after a night on a bus and a very windy ride from the bus station to the town, but regardless, how do they know whether or not I can afford their room? Just the disdainful looks and unfriendly demeanor and suddenly "unavailable" rooms were making me crazy. I'm tempted to list their names here but I won't. I will mention the ones worth mentioning though. The 1st place I looked at was nice, had big rooms with a/c, tv, etc, and the people were really friendly but I was hoping to be closer to the beach, so carried on. It was called "Kata Inn Guesthouse" & the rooms with a balcony were 1200Baht, or 1000 without a balcony. "Lucky Sharky" was only 400 Baht, but the rooms were a bit small and the bathroom outside(although, only for your use), but the rooms were really and clean and the service friendly. When I looked first, the rooms were full, and the next day too lazy to pack up and move, and have grown fond of the room I'm in and the people there.
The place I'm staying at is behind "Moonshine Apartments". I haven't noticed a name on the building, but the housekeeping tag says "The Little Mermaid". The room is big, with double bed, Tv, hot water, free drinking water, fridge,daily cleaning, and really sweet staff..all @ 400 Baht (fan) or 550 Baht (A.C). I looked at a bungalow prior, 550Baht for a room, fan and cold water, in rows that looked like cell blocks,
so in the end, it paid off to walk about, and really I should be thankful for the rude people otherwise I wouldn't have ended up where I did!
One restaurant I want to recommend is "Wimon Seafood", near Kata Inn. The ladies were really friendly , the food good, and affordable, and free fuit served! Near the beach, the food was so expensive, comparable to what I'd be paying in Canada. *If you are coming to Thailand, I recommend going from South to North, you'll appreciate how much cheaper everything is! (ie..Chiang Mai foot massage -120 Baht, Phuket -250 Baht...Chiang Mai GH 180-250 Baht, Phuket GH 400+ BHT---even the 1B scales scattered throughout Thailand go up to 5B in some places here!)
& 2 travel agencies, neither of which I used but would use if need be, both near Karon beach(across from Dino Bar) are "Trip for Life" and "My Travel & Tour". The lady at the latter (I think, the bigger of the 2 anyway..)was really kind which was much appreciated after a most unpleasant morning. Seriously, never underestimate the kindness you can offer a stranger. Had she been rude, I think I would have well and truly lost it, but thankfully she wasn't.
(The internet is a bit high ($2/hr..not really high but when you get used to paying less than $1/hr...) so was writing this while hiding out in my room from the rain, and while flipping channels between a rather disturbing Angie Harmon movie and Paradise hotel( of which, I have yet to figure out the point of...)
Have spent the last few days being lazy on the beach, watching sunsets and speedos go by(the latter of which should be banned imho!). Got a bit of a burn but will at least be going home with some colour :-) (In 8!! days...hard to believe!)
I may meet up with a couchsurfer tomorrow to do a tour by motorbike around the island, which sounds like good fun, but not 100% definite yet. Need to check in the morning. (A phone would definitely have been a good investment..makes plans so much easier!!) Next time~~. If that falls through, I'll make my way to the dog shelter. I tried to call the organizer yesterday but wasn't able to speak to him, so will try again later.
Tentatively, I will leave Phuket Tuesday or Wednesday for Koh Lanta, and then Friday night for Bangkok (another 12 hour bus journey...), arriving Saturday morning in time for the weekend market and a few last strolls down Khaosan Road!
I arrived early Thursday morning, inquired at a travel agent near the bus station about hotels and transport, the guy was friendly-until I hesitated. ("If you come back, the price will be higher"-guess I won't coming back then, will I!?) It was the 2nd time I've seen a travel agent here change personality soooooo quickly. The cahange is amazingly fast! Doesn't encourage sales much does it. The old adage is true..you have good service..you tell 1 person, you have bad service, you tell 10!)
Tound a tuk tuk driver for an inflated rate into Kata town, where I spent well over an hour looking for suitable accomadation, & encountering many unfriendly people in the process. (Primarily, older European (?) men---(older European women, wow, some of them dish out rather nasty looks, or just plain point their noses down at you!) Admittedly, I was looking a bit scruffy after a night on a bus and a very windy ride from the bus station to the town, but regardless, how do they know whether or not I can afford their room? Just the disdainful looks and unfriendly demeanor and suddenly "unavailable" rooms were making me crazy. I'm tempted to list their names here but I won't. I will mention the ones worth mentioning though. The 1st place I looked at was nice, had big rooms with a/c, tv, etc, and the people were really friendly but I was hoping to be closer to the beach, so carried on. It was called "Kata Inn Guesthouse" & the rooms with a balcony were 1200Baht, or 1000 without a balcony. "Lucky Sharky" was only 400 Baht, but the rooms were a bit small and the bathroom outside(although, only for your use), but the rooms were really and clean and the service friendly. When I looked first, the rooms were full, and the next day too lazy to pack up and move, and have grown fond of the room I'm in and the people there.
The place I'm staying at is behind "Moonshine Apartments". I haven't noticed a name on the building, but the housekeeping tag says "The Little Mermaid". The room is big, with double bed, Tv, hot water, free drinking water, fridge,daily cleaning, and really sweet staff..all @ 400 Baht (fan) or 550 Baht (A.C). I looked at a bungalow prior, 550Baht for a room, fan and cold water, in rows that looked like cell blocks,
so in the end, it paid off to walk about, and really I should be thankful for the rude people otherwise I wouldn't have ended up where I did!
One restaurant I want to recommend is "Wimon Seafood", near Kata Inn. The ladies were really friendly , the food good, and affordable, and free fuit served! Near the beach, the food was so expensive, comparable to what I'd be paying in Canada. *If you are coming to Thailand, I recommend going from South to North, you'll appreciate how much cheaper everything is! (ie..Chiang Mai foot massage -120 Baht, Phuket -250 Baht...Chiang Mai GH 180-250 Baht, Phuket GH 400+ BHT---even the 1B scales scattered throughout Thailand go up to 5B in some places here!)
& 2 travel agencies, neither of which I used but would use if need be, both near Karon beach(across from Dino Bar) are "Trip for Life" and "My Travel & Tour". The lady at the latter (I think, the bigger of the 2 anyway..)was really kind which was much appreciated after a most unpleasant morning. Seriously, never underestimate the kindness you can offer a stranger. Had she been rude, I think I would have well and truly lost it, but thankfully she wasn't.
(The internet is a bit high ($2/hr..not really high but when you get used to paying less than $1/hr...) so was writing this while hiding out in my room from the rain, and while flipping channels between a rather disturbing Angie Harmon movie and Paradise hotel( of which, I have yet to figure out the point of...)
Have spent the last few days being lazy on the beach, watching sunsets and speedos go by(the latter of which should be banned imho!). Got a bit of a burn but will at least be going home with some colour :-) (In 8!! days...hard to believe!)
I may meet up with a couchsurfer tomorrow to do a tour by motorbike around the island, which sounds like good fun, but not 100% definite yet. Need to check in the morning. (A phone would definitely have been a good investment..makes plans so much easier!!) Next time~~. If that falls through, I'll make my way to the dog shelter. I tried to call the organizer yesterday but wasn't able to speak to him, so will try again later.
Tentatively, I will leave Phuket Tuesday or Wednesday for Koh Lanta, and then Friday night for Bangkok (another 12 hour bus journey...), arriving Saturday morning in time for the weekend market and a few last strolls down Khaosan Road!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Hua Hin
Currently in Hua Hin..a small coastal city filled with old people, girlie bars, prostitutes,"Hard Cock Cafe" tshirts, etc. Had planned to stay a few days, but leaving tonight for Phuket(which I heard is more of the same, but hopefully not!)
The beach & sunset were nice, but the water wasn't safe for swimming while I was there..the tide was too strong~~. The train was quite good..& cheap..I arrived too early @ the train station for the cheap train, so either could have left right away and payed about 10x the cost, or wait an hour and save a lot of $--which I did. Sat across from a lady with 2 dogs(whose tickets cost more than mine!) & a woman and child, all of whom were really friendly.
I was woken up last night by my neighbours copulating..and then him counting out the $ to pay his company...think they needed to put the sign that was on my door on his door ( You stay alone in this room! )
& it's expensive here! Like 3-4 x the cost of Bangkok. I figured it'd be a bit more, but didn't realize how much more; with so few tourists you'd think they'd have more discounts & what not.
Went to a cabaret show yesterday, it was a bit cheesy but OK. Not sure what the deal is with the Korean song "Arirang" & drag queens though. Tina Turner was rather funny.
It is 2:30 now, my bus departs at 840, so 6 hours to bum around. Will hang out on the beach in a little while. It's too hot now so hiding out in the air conditioning.
The airport is still closed, 1 friend told me it's scheduled to open on the 15th, the day I'm due to fly out. I hope so! as was really looking forward to spending Christmas @ home for a change! Fingers crossed :-)
The beach & sunset were nice, but the water wasn't safe for swimming while I was there..the tide was too strong~~. The train was quite good..& cheap..I arrived too early @ the train station for the cheap train, so either could have left right away and payed about 10x the cost, or wait an hour and save a lot of $--which I did. Sat across from a lady with 2 dogs(whose tickets cost more than mine!) & a woman and child, all of whom were really friendly.
I was woken up last night by my neighbours copulating..and then him counting out the $ to pay his company...think they needed to put the sign that was on my door on his door ( You stay alone in this room! )
& it's expensive here! Like 3-4 x the cost of Bangkok. I figured it'd be a bit more, but didn't realize how much more; with so few tourists you'd think they'd have more discounts & what not.
Went to a cabaret show yesterday, it was a bit cheesy but OK. Not sure what the deal is with the Korean song "Arirang" & drag queens though. Tina Turner was rather funny.
It is 2:30 now, my bus departs at 840, so 6 hours to bum around. Will hang out on the beach in a little while. It's too hot now so hiding out in the air conditioning.
The airport is still closed, 1 friend told me it's scheduled to open on the 15th, the day I'm due to fly out. I hope so! as was really looking forward to spending Christmas @ home for a change! Fingers crossed :-)
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Back in Bangkok
Arrived back in Bangkok yesterday morning after spending the night in Lopburi..a town I almost skipped but glad I didn't.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lopburi
Didn't do much but was a nice little town, over run with wild monkeys :-). Went to one temple for the sunset which was great..I had missed the sunset at Sukothai, debated staying another night for it, but decided against it. Thankfully..Lopburi was a close 2nd ^__^. Thought about going back for the monkey festival that is held there but since decided against it.
The only disappointment in Lopburi was the price of the guesthouse..cheap by Western standards,it was nice, clean, but it was the highest i've paid yet, and got nothing in return--(towels, tp, soap, etc...even the 150B rooms have towels! usually!) & the customer service..i said it before but Korean customer service really does spoil you...here everything is laissez-faire,,or on 'thai time'.
Going back a few days to Sukothai..I ran into Yui, a Japanese girl I had traveled with for a bit in Vietnam. Small world! We just happened upon each other at the market and were both staying at the same guesthouse. I'd been getting a bit bored so was nice to meet someone! She had plans to fly from Bangkok to Singapore and then India..niether of which are likely to work out due to current events!
Spending a few days in Bangkok, originally had planned to leave tomorrow but am staying to get some dental work done. Had a bit done in Chiang Mai but didn't care much for the dentist, so will complete it here. Went today to meet the dentist, much nicer and lovely office..(the nicest bathrooms I've seen in all of Thailand!)..free internet, coffee, juice, etc..and a promise of a pain free root canal..(if only!). Once all is said and done will catch the train to Hua Hin..supposed to be quite basic but good way to meet many local people. Speaking of which..I got an email on couch surfing from a guy who put it like this
" coz i think traveling in the country is like
a surfing in the ochen and liveing in the country is
like a daving in the ochen"..so true!"
Now going back to my prison like room to get ready for dinner with a couple of people. The rooms really are like cells :-(. Think I'll pay the 3 extra dollars tomorrow for a bathroom of my own! The rooms aren't much bigger but will be nice not to have to wait--2 bathrooms for probably 20 rooms, each with 1 or 2 people! Ah well..you get what you pay for!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lopburi
Didn't do much but was a nice little town, over run with wild monkeys :-). Went to one temple for the sunset which was great..I had missed the sunset at Sukothai, debated staying another night for it, but decided against it. Thankfully..Lopburi was a close 2nd ^__^. Thought about going back for the monkey festival that is held there but since decided against it.
The only disappointment in Lopburi was the price of the guesthouse..cheap by Western standards,it was nice, clean, but it was the highest i've paid yet, and got nothing in return--(towels, tp, soap, etc...even the 150B rooms have towels! usually!) & the customer service..i said it before but Korean customer service really does spoil you...here everything is laissez-faire,,or on 'thai time'.
Going back a few days to Sukothai..I ran into Yui, a Japanese girl I had traveled with for a bit in Vietnam. Small world! We just happened upon each other at the market and were both staying at the same guesthouse. I'd been getting a bit bored so was nice to meet someone! She had plans to fly from Bangkok to Singapore and then India..niether of which are likely to work out due to current events!
Spending a few days in Bangkok, originally had planned to leave tomorrow but am staying to get some dental work done. Had a bit done in Chiang Mai but didn't care much for the dentist, so will complete it here. Went today to meet the dentist, much nicer and lovely office..(the nicest bathrooms I've seen in all of Thailand!)..free internet, coffee, juice, etc..and a promise of a pain free root canal..(if only!). Once all is said and done will catch the train to Hua Hin..supposed to be quite basic but good way to meet many local people. Speaking of which..I got an email on couch surfing from a guy who put it like this
" coz i think traveling in the country is like
a surfing in the ochen and liveing in the country is
like a daving in the ochen"..so true!"
Now going back to my prison like room to get ready for dinner with a couple of people. The rooms really are like cells :-(. Think I'll pay the 3 extra dollars tomorrow for a bathroom of my own! The rooms aren't much bigger but will be nice not to have to wait--2 bathrooms for probably 20 rooms, each with 1 or 2 people! Ah well..you get what you pay for!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Sukothai
In Sukothai now,a smallish town. It is soooo hot here. Much warmer than Chiang Mai. I stayed in Chiang Mai for a few days, it's a comfortable city, but was getting a bit restless. Will do a bike tour tomorrow at sunset and hopefully meet some people along the way. Am getting a bit bored of my own company :-( ..again. But...no company is better than bad company!! Thankfully there hasn't been much bad company though..save for 1, and that particular person keeps emailing of late...strange. Hopes our "paths will cross again". Didn't seem that way when we traveled together! People are strange >.
Have been giving more thought about what to do come January. I'm thinkng about going back to Korea (yea yea :P -you can take the girl out of Korea..you can't take Korea out of the girl) for 6 months, save enough $$ and then go to Europe in September. There are quite a few openings in Poland and that general area, and will be able to visit friends in that area as well. 2 friends are going to France in October, so will at least be on the same continent!
Going to go check out the nightmarket..kind of pales in comparison to the ChiangMai night bazaar though. I got a picture done of my niece,,the artist did a decent job, but unfortuneately gave my niece a bit of a conehead :-( Poor kid. Ah well, what can ya do.
Oh & I will change the blog address when I get home..www.tracy-estaesmivida.blogspot.com I believe is the correct link. My time is about to run out so will sign off here and cross my fingers that it posts!
________________________________________________________________________________
I wrote this yesterday but was unable to post...
Didn't do the tour as you need more than 1 person, another drawback of traveling alone >.<. That, and the boredom. Overall, it's been OK, but recently I've become increasingly tired of my own company @.@; and just about ready to call it a day. But, I'm sure, a day or 2 after arriving in Winnipeg I'll be ready to go again.
It turns out the Lonely Planet guidebook was correct about old vs. new Sukothai. New Sukothai pales tremendously in comparison. I used Lonely Planet a fair bit in Cambodia and Vietnam and 9 times out of 10 was disappointed with their recommendations. Turns out I should've listened to them in regard to Sukothai. I took the local bus (converted truck) into Sukothai old city and hired a bicycle to tour around the park. Right now, it's 150 Baht entrance fee, but come December 1st, the price increases to 350 Baht! (For foreigners only) Anyway..the park itself reminded me of a very mini Angkor Wat( but with a lot of French & German tourists instead of Korean tourists). It was nice to ride around beautiful green space looking at all the ruins without worrying about traffic!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhothai_kingdom
I'll post a link to some pictures eventually...
Now I'm debating whether or not to hop back on the bus for sunset at the old city...I spent the evening in the new city yesterday..really not a lot to see..Its early yet though..
Think I'll skip Singapore and Malaysia, had originally planned to spend a week visiting but there are still a few stops I'd like to make in Thailand and would rather not rush through everything. Thinking about doing volunteer work here:
www.fun4kidsinthailand.org & http://www.soidog.org/..they are both located in Phuket, which would make it a bit more convenient..The King of Thailands birthday is on the 5th of December though, so need to make sure I book everything beforehand if I want to travel on or near the 5th.
Not much longer left til I board a plane for Winnipeg...(well..Hong Kong, Vancouver, and then Winnipeg) Looking forward to seeing everyone ^___^!!
Have been giving more thought about what to do come January. I'm thinkng about going back to Korea (yea yea :P -you can take the girl out of Korea..you can't take Korea out of the girl) for 6 months, save enough $$ and then go to Europe in September. There are quite a few openings in Poland and that general area, and will be able to visit friends in that area as well. 2 friends are going to France in October, so will at least be on the same continent!
Going to go check out the nightmarket..kind of pales in comparison to the ChiangMai night bazaar though. I got a picture done of my niece,,the artist did a decent job, but unfortuneately gave my niece a bit of a conehead :-( Poor kid. Ah well, what can ya do.
Oh & I will change the blog address when I get home..www.tracy-estaesmivida.blogspot.com I believe is the correct link. My time is about to run out so will sign off here and cross my fingers that it posts!
________________________________________________________________________________
I wrote this yesterday but was unable to post...
Didn't do the tour as you need more than 1 person, another drawback of traveling alone >.<. That, and the boredom. Overall, it's been OK, but recently I've become increasingly tired of my own company @.@; and just about ready to call it a day. But, I'm sure, a day or 2 after arriving in Winnipeg I'll be ready to go again.
It turns out the Lonely Planet guidebook was correct about old vs. new Sukothai. New Sukothai pales tremendously in comparison. I used Lonely Planet a fair bit in Cambodia and Vietnam and 9 times out of 10 was disappointed with their recommendations. Turns out I should've listened to them in regard to Sukothai. I took the local bus (converted truck) into Sukothai old city and hired a bicycle to tour around the park. Right now, it's 150 Baht entrance fee, but come December 1st, the price increases to 350 Baht! (For foreigners only) Anyway..the park itself reminded me of a very mini Angkor Wat( but with a lot of French & German tourists instead of Korean tourists). It was nice to ride around beautiful green space looking at all the ruins without worrying about traffic!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhothai_kingdom
I'll post a link to some pictures eventually...
Now I'm debating whether or not to hop back on the bus for sunset at the old city...I spent the evening in the new city yesterday..really not a lot to see..Its early yet though..
Think I'll skip Singapore and Malaysia, had originally planned to spend a week visiting but there are still a few stops I'd like to make in Thailand and would rather not rush through everything. Thinking about doing volunteer work here:
www.fun4kidsinthailand.org & http://www.soidog.org/..they are both located in Phuket, which would make it a bit more convenient..The King of Thailands birthday is on the 5th of December though, so need to make sure I book everything beforehand if I want to travel on or near the 5th.
Not much longer left til I board a plane for Winnipeg...(well..Hong Kong, Vancouver, and then Winnipeg) Looking forward to seeing everyone ^___^!!
Friday, November 21, 2008
24 days...
& then it's back to reality. (I just typed this all out and my finger slipped,
deleting it all. urgh :-( )
Back to the reality of -30 degrees minimum...arriving at the airport in sandals
and shorts...surely there's something somewhere in Bangkok I can pick up beforehand!Back to the reality of job searching...there doesn't seem to be much in Mexico or Turkey, a lot in China though..hmm. decisions, decisions.
I'm back in Chiang Mai, after a few days further North. From Pai,
I caught a bus to Maehongson. (The minibus is definitely more comfortable!).
There were more people than seats..2 people were standing, I was lucky one guy gave up his bench at the front to sit on a bag of potatoes. Maehongson was
a nice, quiet little town. From Maehongsan, I went to Mae Sariang, a friendly, even smaller, quieter little town. Had originally wanted to go on a boat trip that was advertised at the Maehongsan guesthouse, but not enough people so it was canceled. The pricing here really confuses me..for a day on the boat, it would've cost about $45 US, the same price as a 3 day trek including all your food, elephant riding, lodging, etc. & the bus from Mae Sariang was about $3, yet the tuk tuk from the bus station to my guesthouse was nearly the same. 5 hours..5 minutes...hmm
Mae Sariang was good, although I didn't do much..just hired* a bicycle and rode around most of the day. Tried to go see a big buddha (because I haven't seen enough of them :P ) but couldn't find an entrance anywhere so just returned to the town for dinner. ( Will miss $2 curries!) (Speaking of food..was sooo looking forward to Khaow Soi, a trad'l northern soup (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khao_soi),
but all the khaw soi shops seem to close super early..so will have to go for lunch tomorrow. May meet the aforementioned potato guy for dinner..but with his limited English and my complete lack of Thai...we'll see what happens :-)
Anyway..caught the 9 am local, non AC bus from Mae Sariang...1/4 of the way through was regretting not taking a dramamine beforehand..was a really curvy, bumpy journey. The shirts they were selling in Maehongsan were advertising 1864 curves..more than double the Bangkok-Pai journey. (Not sure the amount of curves from Mae Sariang to Chiang Mai...& I wonder whose task it was to COUNT all the curves!
I didn't end up doing the detox program, the guy who runs it was going out of town, and the next one isn't til December 1st. It sounded like it would've been alright..ah well. Have been trying to cut back just on my own, but it's so hard. I had one friend in Korea who lost 100lbs by primarily eating kimchi chigae. Bleah. I mean I like kimchi Chigae, but I like variety more. It would be nice to lose a few kilos* before going home though! I keep one of my old students quotes in mind though:
" There are alot of reasons why I am living.
One of them is because there are alot of food to eat.
Every human feel happy while they are eating. Food is (a) blessing"
deleting it all. urgh :-( )
Back to the reality of -30 degrees minimum...arriving at the airport in sandals
and shorts...surely there's something somewhere in Bangkok I can pick up beforehand!Back to the reality of job searching...there doesn't seem to be much in Mexico or Turkey, a lot in China though..hmm. decisions, decisions.
I'm back in Chiang Mai, after a few days further North. From Pai,
I caught a bus to Maehongson. (The minibus is definitely more comfortable!).
There were more people than seats..2 people were standing, I was lucky one guy gave up his bench at the front to sit on a bag of potatoes. Maehongson was
a nice, quiet little town. From Maehongsan, I went to Mae Sariang, a friendly, even smaller, quieter little town. Had originally wanted to go on a boat trip that was advertised at the Maehongsan guesthouse, but not enough people so it was canceled. The pricing here really confuses me..for a day on the boat, it would've cost about $45 US, the same price as a 3 day trek including all your food, elephant riding, lodging, etc. & the bus from Mae Sariang was about $3, yet the tuk tuk from the bus station to my guesthouse was nearly the same. 5 hours..5 minutes...hmm
Mae Sariang was good, although I didn't do much..just hired* a bicycle and rode around most of the day. Tried to go see a big buddha (because I haven't seen enough of them :P ) but couldn't find an entrance anywhere so just returned to the town for dinner. ( Will miss $2 curries!) (Speaking of food..was sooo looking forward to Khaow Soi, a trad'l northern soup (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khao_soi),
but all the khaw soi shops seem to close super early..so will have to go for lunch tomorrow. May meet the aforementioned potato guy for dinner..but with his limited English and my complete lack of Thai...we'll see what happens :-)
Anyway..caught the 9 am local, non AC bus from Mae Sariang...1/4 of the way through was regretting not taking a dramamine beforehand..was a really curvy, bumpy journey. The shirts they were selling in Maehongsan were advertising 1864 curves..more than double the Bangkok-Pai journey. (Not sure the amount of curves from Mae Sariang to Chiang Mai...& I wonder whose task it was to COUNT all the curves!
I didn't end up doing the detox program, the guy who runs it was going out of town, and the next one isn't til December 1st. It sounded like it would've been alright..ah well. Have been trying to cut back just on my own, but it's so hard. I had one friend in Korea who lost 100lbs by primarily eating kimchi chigae. Bleah. I mean I like kimchi Chigae, but I like variety more. It would be nice to lose a few kilos* before going home though! I keep one of my old students quotes in mind though:
" There are alot of reasons why I am living.
One of them is because there are alot of food to eat.
Every human feel happy while they are eating. Food is (a) blessing"
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Pretty Pai
Pairific, Pairadise, Inspairation, Pairassic Park, Paisi, who knew you could make so many plays on just one word. “Pai”.
I’m in the small town of
I’m traveling with a 60 year old woman now, who was mistaken for my mother yesterday @.@! It was a bit funny how it worked out, I got off the bus, and was approached by a woman looking for her son, and she mentioned 2 women were looking for a 3rd to split the cost of a room, so I agreed. After being on my own for a week in Chiang Mai, it was nice to have company. After all, you can only talk to yourself for so long ;-).
I think I have to return to Chiang Mai at some point, bit of a rough ride..726 curves I think it is to get from Chiang Mai to Pai. I’ll be taking a different route back, but I think just as curvy.
It is only 11:30 am now, have to decide what to do with my day. Will be hard to go back to the real world and actually have to do something J, so I better enjoy this while it lasts!~ 30 days to go. Well, 29 to be exact. I fly home on the 15th of December…and will stay home for about a month, and then back overseas, somewhere.
Ah guess time will tell!
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