ok, first of all here is a link to my favorite youtube video. totally unrelated to my trip but I want to share it with as many people as possible. It is David after going to the dentist and I think they overdosed him when they put him under. watch it a few times and get ready to laugh really hard: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqiwrbYGrs
now for the pictures... they are in facebook albums that you should be able to open with these links but if they don't work just copy and paste them into the URL. ENJOY!!
Resort stuff:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2101348&id=7301161&l=ce8ebcd89a
Faces of the Philippines:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2101282&id=7301161&l=5fd345bfdf
The Real Cebu:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2101179&id=7301161&l=3ef6312b25
hopefully those links work, if not then like i said, just copy and paste the link into the URL thing :) and there will be more from Thailand on the way soon!
love you all!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
the end of the blog :(
Alright friends and family... I have officially finished my blog. This is the last entry - at least I'm pretty sure of that :) Who knew I would be able to write so much and keep it that updated while traveling around the Philippines and Thailand?! My mom is grateful I was able to keep her so informed, that's for sure. I hope there are others out there who appreciated the blog... Ideally you can learn something from the experience I have shared with you. There is so much need in these developing countries, particularly the Philippines, and everyone really can make a difference. We need to appreciat that, as a good friend put it, "more people need to realize that poverty and hunger and disease do affect so many and we have a responsibility as human brothers and sisters to do something about it". Ask me if you want ideas, I have lots of little things we could do to help out the clinic and proximal areas.
I think it is also important to appreciate the little luxuries in life: flushing toilet paper, clean drinking water, nutritious food, safety, a good education, a promising future, et cetera et cetera (not necessarily in that order :)... I could go on all day. There are so many little things I took advantage of before that feel like such luxuries now, and I know that my appreciation will fade over time but I plan to savor it and draw it out for as long as possible while I can. We are so fortunate and life will be even sweeter if you take the time to remind yourself of that. It is the little things in life, and a positive attitude, that will make all the difference.
The other day I was talking to stranger and asked him a little about himself. He got talking and before I knew it I had been told a brief, and quite interesting, life history, which ended with him staring me straight in the eye and with a subtle nodding of his head he said "I have a great life", as if he had just realized it in telling me about himself. I took a moment to appreciate his realization, to soak it in that I had found someone who was savoring his good fortune rather than taking it for granted. I was relieved, and I was grateful that he knew how lucky he was. We were both silent for a moment, then a tilted my head and said with a smile "me too." I have a great life too. Shaking my head in disbelief, I agreed with this stranger that I was utterly and undeservingly blessed. How did I get so lucky as to draw the right card? To end up living where I do, being raised as I was, not a legitimate complaint in the world. I start medical school in August, I got in! How can I be that lucky? My parents, my friends, my community, my education, I have everything to be thankful for... and how often in my life do I take it for granted? Less now, that's for sure. When you experience poverty, prostitution, sexism, corruption, and all the things that come along with that, it changes you - I am changed.
Here's why the change is good: you are patient ("like a Filipina", I say now), you try to remember to laugh more (in the Philippines they were always laughing), you don't get annoyed as easily (putting up with roosters crowing all day will do wonders for you ability to ignore just about any nuisance), you are kinder, more generous, helpful, friendly, genuinely sweet... or at least you have seen all of these traits epitomized by the people of the Philippines, even in the midst of the poverty and adversity of their lives, and you want to strive to be as upbeat and good. That is invaluable, priceless, that is good change. Not everyone has that wake up call... and not at such a young age - just another reason I am so lucky. Embrace life for what it is, appreciate what you have, find joy where you can. If the Filipinos can do it we certainly can.
Here's why the change is hard (not bad, just difficult to deal with): because today I was on a bike ride with my dad and sister and we rode through a nice, I mean REALLY nice, neighborhood. The houses were big enough to be apartment complexes, with enough rooms that I'm sure there are several in each house that aren't entered even once a month. It was disgusting... the big houses set me off - It felt like something between a panic attack and a total breakdown. I was riding, glancing left and right as I came upon each new mansion, larger than the last. i didnt know what to do, they were sooo excessive it made me sick, it made me physically hurt, and on top of that, angry, angry at how selfish people can be. It was the first strong reaction I've had since coming home and it was awful. I always said in the Philippines that I didn't experience culture shock so much as I experienced cultural enlightenment. Now that I'm home, and I realized this during my week in San Francisco too, I am experience true and full-blown culture SHOCK. Other than being disgusted by how much people have here and how little they give back, here is another part of culture shock - you feel really helpless. you see all the wealth and you've just personally experienced, lived, all the need, and the disconnect is frustrating like you cannot believe. why cant it balance out more?! one less room on that house, one room they don't even need or use, and the money they would save and could donate to a child in the Philippines would change that child's life forever. And that is all it takes to save a country. Save the children - the children are the future. Feed, educate, empower the women and children and it can make all the difference.
I think there needs to be a mandatory study abroad in a developing country that all people must do. People need to experience the poverty first-hand, they need to make connections with the people there, and they need to see that it is real, not just some discovery channel special or ambiguous commercial about 25 cents a day feeding a child. People should feel guilty buying mansions, they should realize they don't need that fifth Lexus, BMW, whatever... Instead of buying $300 jeans maybe they should buy $100 jeans, still excessive, and send the extra money to feed a kid or buy prenatal vitamins for a pregnant woman. It doesn't take a lot to make a BIG difference in a country like the Philippines. It is important to remember that. It is also important to realize that there is only so much you can do to make a difference, and the rest is pretty much futile: complaining, guilt tripping people, etc. So I'm trying to find the balance. Trying to remember to be grateful, appreciative, generous, happy, and so on, while keeping the people of the Philippines in the back of my mind and in my heart so that one day, hopefully not too far down the road, I'll be able to make a difference for them - they deserve it.
I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to read this blog! It was pretty fun writing it, although I was terrible about proof reading so it will be interesting when I read back over everything one day and realize what I made my readers put up with :) love you all, remember to have patience, give thanks for your blessings, and keep laughing like a Filipino always!!
I think it is also important to appreciate the little luxuries in life: flushing toilet paper, clean drinking water, nutritious food, safety, a good education, a promising future, et cetera et cetera (not necessarily in that order :)... I could go on all day. There are so many little things I took advantage of before that feel like such luxuries now, and I know that my appreciation will fade over time but I plan to savor it and draw it out for as long as possible while I can. We are so fortunate and life will be even sweeter if you take the time to remind yourself of that. It is the little things in life, and a positive attitude, that will make all the difference.
The other day I was talking to stranger and asked him a little about himself. He got talking and before I knew it I had been told a brief, and quite interesting, life history, which ended with him staring me straight in the eye and with a subtle nodding of his head he said "I have a great life", as if he had just realized it in telling me about himself. I took a moment to appreciate his realization, to soak it in that I had found someone who was savoring his good fortune rather than taking it for granted. I was relieved, and I was grateful that he knew how lucky he was. We were both silent for a moment, then a tilted my head and said with a smile "me too." I have a great life too. Shaking my head in disbelief, I agreed with this stranger that I was utterly and undeservingly blessed. How did I get so lucky as to draw the right card? To end up living where I do, being raised as I was, not a legitimate complaint in the world. I start medical school in August, I got in! How can I be that lucky? My parents, my friends, my community, my education, I have everything to be thankful for... and how often in my life do I take it for granted? Less now, that's for sure. When you experience poverty, prostitution, sexism, corruption, and all the things that come along with that, it changes you - I am changed.
Here's why the change is good: you are patient ("like a Filipina", I say now), you try to remember to laugh more (in the Philippines they were always laughing), you don't get annoyed as easily (putting up with roosters crowing all day will do wonders for you ability to ignore just about any nuisance), you are kinder, more generous, helpful, friendly, genuinely sweet... or at least you have seen all of these traits epitomized by the people of the Philippines, even in the midst of the poverty and adversity of their lives, and you want to strive to be as upbeat and good. That is invaluable, priceless, that is good change. Not everyone has that wake up call... and not at such a young age - just another reason I am so lucky. Embrace life for what it is, appreciate what you have, find joy where you can. If the Filipinos can do it we certainly can.
Here's why the change is hard (not bad, just difficult to deal with): because today I was on a bike ride with my dad and sister and we rode through a nice, I mean REALLY nice, neighborhood. The houses were big enough to be apartment complexes, with enough rooms that I'm sure there are several in each house that aren't entered even once a month. It was disgusting... the big houses set me off - It felt like something between a panic attack and a total breakdown. I was riding, glancing left and right as I came upon each new mansion, larger than the last. i didnt know what to do, they were sooo excessive it made me sick, it made me physically hurt, and on top of that, angry, angry at how selfish people can be. It was the first strong reaction I've had since coming home and it was awful. I always said in the Philippines that I didn't experience culture shock so much as I experienced cultural enlightenment. Now that I'm home, and I realized this during my week in San Francisco too, I am experience true and full-blown culture SHOCK. Other than being disgusted by how much people have here and how little they give back, here is another part of culture shock - you feel really helpless. you see all the wealth and you've just personally experienced, lived, all the need, and the disconnect is frustrating like you cannot believe. why cant it balance out more?! one less room on that house, one room they don't even need or use, and the money they would save and could donate to a child in the Philippines would change that child's life forever. And that is all it takes to save a country. Save the children - the children are the future. Feed, educate, empower the women and children and it can make all the difference.
I think there needs to be a mandatory study abroad in a developing country that all people must do. People need to experience the poverty first-hand, they need to make connections with the people there, and they need to see that it is real, not just some discovery channel special or ambiguous commercial about 25 cents a day feeding a child. People should feel guilty buying mansions, they should realize they don't need that fifth Lexus, BMW, whatever... Instead of buying $300 jeans maybe they should buy $100 jeans, still excessive, and send the extra money to feed a kid or buy prenatal vitamins for a pregnant woman. It doesn't take a lot to make a BIG difference in a country like the Philippines. It is important to remember that. It is also important to realize that there is only so much you can do to make a difference, and the rest is pretty much futile: complaining, guilt tripping people, etc. So I'm trying to find the balance. Trying to remember to be grateful, appreciative, generous, happy, and so on, while keeping the people of the Philippines in the back of my mind and in my heart so that one day, hopefully not too far down the road, I'll be able to make a difference for them - they deserve it.
I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to read this blog! It was pretty fun writing it, although I was terrible about proof reading so it will be interesting when I read back over everything one day and realize what I made my readers put up with :) love you all, remember to have patience, give thanks for your blessings, and keep laughing like a Filipino always!!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
things I learned in Thailand
*Always have toilet paper and hand sanitizer with you - the bathrooms are not well equipped.
*Pass on the ice - it is best to drink only bottled water.
*Heat makes you move in slow motion.
*You will sweat 15 out of the 16 hours you are awake.
*the french do not all smoke. that said, the one french girl we camped with smoked enough for all of France.
*if you can't speed eat your ice cream don't buy any, thailand takes the melting factor to a whole new level.
*Stray dogs like to hang out at the temples because the monks won't harm them.
*If you like to pick at your feet, don't also pick at the bug bites on your legs - they will get infected!
*Beware when eating with Kor's dad - you will get more stuffed than with any buffet (that man knows how to order a lot of food!!)
*Remove your shoes before going in a temple, someone's home, or many businesses.
*Do not step on the bottom frame of the doorway when entering a Buddhist temple, step OVER it.
*The card game Hearts always makes you feel better - it can resolve anything from minor disagreements to serious disputes.
*Beware playing cards in public places, you don't want to set bad examples for the local children.
*It is possible to shoot the moon multiple times in a row... but only if you are on a haunted island.
*If you want roti look for a Muslim owned roti stand - they always make it the best.
*Sticky rice and mango is delicious for any and every meal, including breakfast.
*It is best to sneak your third friend into the two-person hotel room rather than declare them - this is a serious $$ saver.
*Tigerbalm can cure almost any wound... note: the only exception is huge brown ant death bites.
*Stay away from big brown ants and be careful about what trees you stand under, they might drop down on you.
*jelly fish are harmless minus the temporary sting.
*if you aren't sweating it means you are severely dehydrated and probably going into heat stroke - sweat is good.
*spf 30 + is a necessity whenever stepping outside.
*hotel bug nets are not effective.
*you cannot always bargain a little lower - although in a lot of places you can.
*keep your purse in sight at all times - safety first!
*Philippine airlines: liquids ok... Thai airlines: same policy as the U.S., and they mean business.
*taxi's often don't have meters, make sure you work out a deal before getting in.
*the ability to say "hi" can qualify you as an english speaker - see the blog on our guide in Phang-nga.
*toast and non-descript marmalade can be advertised as continental breakfast.
*lonely planet > rough guide.
*after May 1st it is officially low season and much cheaper to travel in Thailand.
*getting adjusted to driving on the other side of the road is not as easy as you might think.
*fried fish and rice soup are perfectly normal breakfast foods.
*bottled water is usually the only complimentary item in hotel rooms
*it is possible to have a chance encounter with someone you know, even if you're 7,000 miles from home.
*bouldering over the ocean is a great way to bond with strangers.
*if Kor's house catches on fire when you're sleeping upstairs, he will abandon you without translating "fire" from Thai to english.
*elephants believe there is no such thing as too many bananas.
ok, i could probably think of more but i'm tired after to Bay to Breakers and in need of a nap. despite trying to fight jet lag I am finally realizing that jet lag always wins and fighting it does no good. All for now! Look for the final Thailand survey in a few days :)
*Pass on the ice - it is best to drink only bottled water.
*Heat makes you move in slow motion.
*You will sweat 15 out of the 16 hours you are awake.
*the french do not all smoke. that said, the one french girl we camped with smoked enough for all of France.
*if you can't speed eat your ice cream don't buy any, thailand takes the melting factor to a whole new level.
*Stray dogs like to hang out at the temples because the monks won't harm them.
*If you like to pick at your feet, don't also pick at the bug bites on your legs - they will get infected!
*Beware when eating with Kor's dad - you will get more stuffed than with any buffet (that man knows how to order a lot of food!!)
*Remove your shoes before going in a temple, someone's home, or many businesses.
*Do not step on the bottom frame of the doorway when entering a Buddhist temple, step OVER it.
*The card game Hearts always makes you feel better - it can resolve anything from minor disagreements to serious disputes.
*Beware playing cards in public places, you don't want to set bad examples for the local children.
*It is possible to shoot the moon multiple times in a row... but only if you are on a haunted island.
*If you want roti look for a Muslim owned roti stand - they always make it the best.
*Sticky rice and mango is delicious for any and every meal, including breakfast.
*It is best to sneak your third friend into the two-person hotel room rather than declare them - this is a serious $$ saver.
*Tigerbalm can cure almost any wound... note: the only exception is huge brown ant death bites.
*Stay away from big brown ants and be careful about what trees you stand under, they might drop down on you.
*jelly fish are harmless minus the temporary sting.
*if you aren't sweating it means you are severely dehydrated and probably going into heat stroke - sweat is good.
*spf 30 + is a necessity whenever stepping outside.
*hotel bug nets are not effective.
*you cannot always bargain a little lower - although in a lot of places you can.
*keep your purse in sight at all times - safety first!
*Philippine airlines: liquids ok... Thai airlines: same policy as the U.S., and they mean business.
*taxi's often don't have meters, make sure you work out a deal before getting in.
*the ability to say "hi" can qualify you as an english speaker - see the blog on our guide in Phang-nga.
*toast and non-descript marmalade can be advertised as continental breakfast.
*lonely planet > rough guide.
*after May 1st it is officially low season and much cheaper to travel in Thailand.
*getting adjusted to driving on the other side of the road is not as easy as you might think.
*fried fish and rice soup are perfectly normal breakfast foods.
*bottled water is usually the only complimentary item in hotel rooms
*it is possible to have a chance encounter with someone you know, even if you're 7,000 miles from home.
*bouldering over the ocean is a great way to bond with strangers.
*if Kor's house catches on fire when you're sleeping upstairs, he will abandon you without translating "fire" from Thai to english.
*elephants believe there is no such thing as too many bananas.
ok, i could probably think of more but i'm tired after to Bay to Breakers and in need of a nap. despite trying to fight jet lag I am finally realizing that jet lag always wins and fighting it does no good. All for now! Look for the final Thailand survey in a few days :)
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
same same... but different
i don't really know what we did today... oh wait, I remember!! we took all of the food that Kor's mom had prepared and we brought it to the temple and offered it to the monks. She went all out, not only did we bring them like 1000 baht cash and a bunch of incense and flowers, but we also brought them a huge platter of apple-celery fruit (well, that's what Lo and I call it because that is what it tastes like), and a fruit from the lychee family, so delicious. and four containers of cooked food like soup and rice and curry, etc. and finally, a huge bucket with tons of random things from bottled water to toilet paper to snack food. Monks have it good. Kor talks about his good eats during his time as a monk, and there is no shortage of plump monks in Thailand. After we offered our things and Kor repeated prayers and we prayed for good things and happiness in life, we drove to a communist camp. I know, kind of contrasting activities, but it's what we did.
Here's the deal with Communist Camp... When the Communist party was in Thailand, not that long ago, it is where their home-base was, in the jungle area outside of Phitlo. What I learned from Kor (and Lo's bible - the lonely planet tour book), is that they were there all the way until 1981. They couldn't be successfully taken by the Thai government because they had superior strategic terrain in the jungle (Kor thought that was really cool). We visited a plaque with the names of those who had fought in the hills, the soldiers that had died trying to take down the communist party. We even saw a heli-pad that reminded from when their camp was there... The communists had recruited tons of students and they were powerful in their numbers, but the government told the students if they returned to society they would be forgiven and not punished, and all the students responded by abandoning the Communists and that is how they lost their power. Kor even said one of his teachers was once almost killed because the Communists, believing in "equality", sought to kill anyone who was educated. There is your kind of random, probably only somewhat accurate, history of the Communist Party in Thailand.
We went on an adventure to see a view of the jungle that our tour book suggested, but all we ended up finding was a bunch of random graves marked by log fences, where some of the communists were buried. It was getting late and the locals seemed to feel that it was impossible to drive the curvy roads in the dark (I don't know about them, but our car has headlights so...), therefore we decided to head back to Kor's house just to be on the safe side. Part of the reason we opted to play it safe is because they drive on the other side of the road in Thailand. It has been quite an adjustment for Kor to remember that he needs to go to the right side of the car to get to the driver's seat, and he needs to stay on the left side of the road when driving. No joke, countless times on our trip Kor will turn onto a new street and start driving on the wrong side of the road, heading into oncoming traffic, and Lo and I have to yell at him to remind him to swerve left and get on the correct side of the street - Terrible!
When we got home is when the real event of the day/night occurred. So we had just turned off the computer and we were all drifting off into a peaceful sleep when we hear kor's dad yell something from downstairs. Lo and I don't understand the Thai of course, as we can only say/understand greetings, "thank you", and "delicious" in Thai, so we aren't phased (yet), but Kor responds by jumping out of bed and taking off for the door. just as he is about to run out in silence we say "kor, what is it?" and he yells - as a side note: I don't understand why we had to ask for this piece of information and he didn't just volunteer it the minute he heard his dad say it - "the house is on fire!!" then runs away. Lo and I jumped from the bed frantically, our hearts instantly pounding, and ran down the stairs after him, expecting smoke and flames and the kitchen to be on fire or something. but we got downstairs and there was nothing, no fire, no smoke, nothing. but kor's dad was still yelling fy-my! fy-my! and his mom and dad are running around as Lo and I stand there totally confused... and then they run into the driveway and we all follow, still baffled by the situation, and we're standing there in the humid darkness and that is when we realize, it is the neighbor's telephone pole that is on fire! Like the fuse box had exploded and now there were huge flames lapping up the wooden pole next to the house. At this point Kor's mom was calling 911, we were trying to wake the neighbors by yelling, Kor's dad was still running around wildly, and Lo and I were wondering if, with the tree so close to the telephone pole, and the house touching the tree, everything might go up in flames in a matter of minutes! soon the neighbors were awake and Kor was helping one of the neighbors throw dirt on the fire (it was funny because the neighbor would chuck some dirt and the flames would go down a little, then Kor would chuck some dirt and the fuse box would explode... it went on like that for several minutes - oh Kor, always fanning the fire, even when he's trying to put it out).
side note to this story, I saw a fire fly. it was the first one i have ever seen in my entire life, with a blue glowing butt, and I thought it was soo cool! i guess it came to check out the action. The fire dept eventually came, at this point lo and i were back in bed, happily falling asleep in the air conditioned room, knowing that our house was not on fire. until the fire dept decided to turn off the electricity in the neighborhood while they fixed the malfunctioning fuse box. you'd be amazed how fast a cold room can turn unbearably hot. until the power came back on we had a lot of trouble sleeping (how did we do it in the Philippines with no AC for a month??!) Although, in defense of our inability to handle the heat here, Kor's parents keep on commenting on how it is unseasonably hot right now.
Our last full day in Phitsanoluk and we kept with our usual morning routine. Wake up, big breakfast, went to coffee at Kor's friend's coffee shop, updated our blogs a little, went to lunch with Kor's friend, played hearts with the pilot friend of Kor's who used to pick on him when they were kids, then we went to get two hour aroma oil massages. This was a perfect activity for our final day in Phitlo. We were told to shower, then got our oil massages, then sat in the steam room, and then showered again... It was the cleanest I felt on the entire trip.
We drove to Bangkok the next day and made it there in time to do some final shopping for souvenirs. Then we met Kor's dad for dinner and a show, the best in Thailand according to the advertisement, performed on the highest stage in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The show was really cool, there were tons of performers and they acted out the history of Thailand. The stage even had a river with boats and elephants, goats and chickens were in a few of the acts. The performers also "flew" which was very entertaining. It was an elaborate show and a great end to our trip.
Here's a side note about parking in Thailand... if the nose-in spots are all full, the Thai people will parallel park behind those cars. it looks like they are blocking in the cars parked in legal spaces but in fact the parallel parked cars are in neutral with the e-brake off so it is easy to roll the car that is blocking you forward or backward so that you can get out of your spot! easy way to make more parking spots, although Lo and I were very confused when we first saw this and didn't understand how it worked.
Here's the deal with Communist Camp... When the Communist party was in Thailand, not that long ago, it is where their home-base was, in the jungle area outside of Phitlo. What I learned from Kor (and Lo's bible - the lonely planet tour book), is that they were there all the way until 1981. They couldn't be successfully taken by the Thai government because they had superior strategic terrain in the jungle (Kor thought that was really cool). We visited a plaque with the names of those who had fought in the hills, the soldiers that had died trying to take down the communist party. We even saw a heli-pad that reminded from when their camp was there... The communists had recruited tons of students and they were powerful in their numbers, but the government told the students if they returned to society they would be forgiven and not punished, and all the students responded by abandoning the Communists and that is how they lost their power. Kor even said one of his teachers was once almost killed because the Communists, believing in "equality", sought to kill anyone who was educated. There is your kind of random, probably only somewhat accurate, history of the Communist Party in Thailand.
We went on an adventure to see a view of the jungle that our tour book suggested, but all we ended up finding was a bunch of random graves marked by log fences, where some of the communists were buried. It was getting late and the locals seemed to feel that it was impossible to drive the curvy roads in the dark (I don't know about them, but our car has headlights so...), therefore we decided to head back to Kor's house just to be on the safe side. Part of the reason we opted to play it safe is because they drive on the other side of the road in Thailand. It has been quite an adjustment for Kor to remember that he needs to go to the right side of the car to get to the driver's seat, and he needs to stay on the left side of the road when driving. No joke, countless times on our trip Kor will turn onto a new street and start driving on the wrong side of the road, heading into oncoming traffic, and Lo and I have to yell at him to remind him to swerve left and get on the correct side of the street - Terrible!
When we got home is when the real event of the day/night occurred. So we had just turned off the computer and we were all drifting off into a peaceful sleep when we hear kor's dad yell something from downstairs. Lo and I don't understand the Thai of course, as we can only say/understand greetings, "thank you", and "delicious" in Thai, so we aren't phased (yet), but Kor responds by jumping out of bed and taking off for the door. just as he is about to run out in silence we say "kor, what is it?" and he yells - as a side note: I don't understand why we had to ask for this piece of information and he didn't just volunteer it the minute he heard his dad say it - "the house is on fire!!" then runs away. Lo and I jumped from the bed frantically, our hearts instantly pounding, and ran down the stairs after him, expecting smoke and flames and the kitchen to be on fire or something. but we got downstairs and there was nothing, no fire, no smoke, nothing. but kor's dad was still yelling fy-my! fy-my! and his mom and dad are running around as Lo and I stand there totally confused... and then they run into the driveway and we all follow, still baffled by the situation, and we're standing there in the humid darkness and that is when we realize, it is the neighbor's telephone pole that is on fire! Like the fuse box had exploded and now there were huge flames lapping up the wooden pole next to the house. At this point Kor's mom was calling 911, we were trying to wake the neighbors by yelling, Kor's dad was still running around wildly, and Lo and I were wondering if, with the tree so close to the telephone pole, and the house touching the tree, everything might go up in flames in a matter of minutes! soon the neighbors were awake and Kor was helping one of the neighbors throw dirt on the fire (it was funny because the neighbor would chuck some dirt and the flames would go down a little, then Kor would chuck some dirt and the fuse box would explode... it went on like that for several minutes - oh Kor, always fanning the fire, even when he's trying to put it out).
side note to this story, I saw a fire fly. it was the first one i have ever seen in my entire life, with a blue glowing butt, and I thought it was soo cool! i guess it came to check out the action. The fire dept eventually came, at this point lo and i were back in bed, happily falling asleep in the air conditioned room, knowing that our house was not on fire. until the fire dept decided to turn off the electricity in the neighborhood while they fixed the malfunctioning fuse box. you'd be amazed how fast a cold room can turn unbearably hot. until the power came back on we had a lot of trouble sleeping (how did we do it in the Philippines with no AC for a month??!) Although, in defense of our inability to handle the heat here, Kor's parents keep on commenting on how it is unseasonably hot right now.
Our last full day in Phitsanoluk and we kept with our usual morning routine. Wake up, big breakfast, went to coffee at Kor's friend's coffee shop, updated our blogs a little, went to lunch with Kor's friend, played hearts with the pilot friend of Kor's who used to pick on him when they were kids, then we went to get two hour aroma oil massages. This was a perfect activity for our final day in Phitlo. We were told to shower, then got our oil massages, then sat in the steam room, and then showered again... It was the cleanest I felt on the entire trip.
We drove to Bangkok the next day and made it there in time to do some final shopping for souvenirs. Then we met Kor's dad for dinner and a show, the best in Thailand according to the advertisement, performed on the highest stage in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The show was really cool, there were tons of performers and they acted out the history of Thailand. The stage even had a river with boats and elephants, goats and chickens were in a few of the acts. The performers also "flew" which was very entertaining. It was an elaborate show and a great end to our trip.
Here's a side note about parking in Thailand... if the nose-in spots are all full, the Thai people will parallel park behind those cars. it looks like they are blocking in the cars parked in legal spaces but in fact the parallel parked cars are in neutral with the e-brake off so it is easy to roll the car that is blocking you forward or backward so that you can get out of your spot! easy way to make more parking spots, although Lo and I were very confused when we first saw this and didn't understand how it worked.
travelers not tourists
Late on the 7th we caught to train from Chiang-mai to Phitsanoluk. This had been our plan from the beginning of the trip, to go stay the last few days with Kor's parents in his home town. There had been a complication however, because his mom had been in Mexico during our first week in Thailand, until the Thai government demanded she come home - you guessed it, swine flu. So she flies home early and finds herself quarantined in the hospital with the other teachers and students she had been on the trip with. We got word of this and went straight to the US consulate in Chaing-mai to figure out if we should still go visit her. apparently she is under house arrest and is being carefully monitored by the government (has to report her temperature frequently throughout the day, etc.) We got the clear for the visit, and she spoke to her doctor and he said it was fine if we visited, so hopefully we don't run into issues with customs anywhere because of our stay with kor's mom :) ugh swine flu!
we tried to sleep on the train but we were in the very back and it was so bumpy and jerky because it was a speed train, none of us got any rest. it was the most uncomfortable ride of my life and i was freezing despite the thick blankets they provide... seriously, you are either sweating profusely or unbearably cold here, there is no happy in between. We arrived around 4am in Phitlo, were picked up by Kor's dad, went to his house, showered, and promptly went back to sleep.
the three of us woke up late the next day. Breakfast was wayy too much traditional Thai food (aka lots of fish, and pork and bbq meat). luckily there was also sweet sticky rice and mango! i could live off of that stuff :) Lo and I hung out a little in our room, savoring the air conditioning before we set off on the day's adventures. i know i always talk about the heat here, but northern Thailand has taken it to a whole new level... the heat/humidity is more extreme than anything we have experienced thus far. i have found that my thirst is an accurate indicator of how extreme the heat is. in the Philippines i was constantly parched during our first week or so there, despite chugging water, then as we acclimated we found ourselves sweating less and feeling less thirsty. in southern Thailand the sea breeze is cool and refreshing, and you can always cool down in the water or at night. i was rarely thirsty in the south and in fact, complained about being cold several times (makes me worry about going home, I'll be needing a parka for 70 degree weather). now that we're in the north, i am back to feeling constantly thirsty, and Kor rarely stops dripping with sweat - humidity sucks!
We went out to get coffee to ease Lo's headache and found a cute little shop that served amazing Thai treats along with their iced coffees. We got taro bread, which was delicious, and these bean curd pastries that were also really good. As we drank our coffee we did what we always do while passing time - play hearts!! seriously, we never get sick of it. after Lo lost (we usually play to 100) in an interesting display of idiocy (she would agree... Kor threw down the queen without thinking, and Lo was so caught up with laughing at him for the stupid mistake that she threw down the Ace of spades... if you know anything about hearts, those are both very stupid moves), we were about to start up a new game when an old lady sitting near our table started to speak to Kor in Thai. apparently we aren't allowed to play hearts in a coffee shop because it is "a bad example for the children", and according to this woman the coffee shop could get in trouble with the police if they caught us playing cards. we were a little appalled that a non-betting card game could be so taboo, it's not like we were throwing down baht as we drank our iced coffee. i guess technically we do bet on the games, dependent entirely on Kor's performance: if kor wins he earns an hour free of nagging (during this hour we must also say "please" or "ka" after every sentence we speak to him to show respect. He thinks I am too sarcastic with this rule... i suppose using please at inappropriate/illogical times could seem sarcastic :) but I do it in the most genuine tone). If kor loses at hearts (which happens the most frequently), he treats us to Roti (the Thai pancake that Lo and I beg for daily)... but this betting is beside the point! Hearts should not be banned in coffee shops! either way we were given the boot....
Our next stop was the national parks about an hour away from Phitsanoluk. We were in search of waterfall but somewhat disappointed with what we found. Because it is May we are about as far away from the rainy season as possible (because it is about to start but hasn't yet), so the waterfalls were more of trickles than waterfalls and the water was a muddy brown that discouraged us from wanting to swim. Lo and I did make an attempt to walk across one of the first rivers, and we were doing fine in about ankle-deep water, until Lo took her next step and was suddenly up to her hip in the murky water - a drop off obscured by the brown water. we were laughing so hard I think we got a bigger kick out of it than all the locals watching from the bank of the river. maybe. (we make the locals laugh a lot... a couple having a picnic thought it was pretty funny when i stopped near them, looked down and realized i was standing in the middle of tons of little ants, yelped, and then jumped to an ant free rock nearby. great, get a kick out of the poor travelers).
Another waterfall, also somewhat disappointing. we bought some mystery fruit Kor couldn't identify from a lady with no teeth on the side of the road, delicious!! (the fruit, not the lack of teeth). then we went to another spot where we found the coolest plant in the world!! I am serious. this plant looks like a tiny fern, well, imagine those type of leaves (many leaves growing off of a stem), but very small, maybe only an inch or two long for the whole thing, and then three to five of these grow out from a central point (are you confused yet? :) and if you pet the plant - like run your finger down the stem - the little leaves on either side respond by immediately closing up. it is remarkable!! while Lo and I were intently touching the leaves and watching them respond while filming the whole thing, Kor decided it would be funny to yell "snake!", at which point Lo and I, totally convinced we were about to be attacked, screamed and basically flew away from where we had been standing, while the video is still being taken, only to realized Kor was joking.... made for a pretty hilarious video. Then i got stung by something on my foot that sent shooting pain through the area (I am so tired of being bitten/stung by jungle creatures - fortunately this wasn't as bad as the huge ant)
We got back to Kor's house in time to change and leave for the Buddhist ceremony that happens only three times a year (good timing on our part!). Kor's dad handed us each a candle, a lotus plant, and three sticks of incense (one for Buddha, one for his teachings, and one for his followers). The cool thing about Buddhism is that you can practice it even if you aren't Buddhist.... and that's just what we did. We went with Kor's dad to the temple where Kor lived when he was a monk (yes, kor wore the robe and shaved his head, and says the food was really good.... we've seen photo evidence of his time as a monk). We lit our candles and incense, Lo and I burned ourselves about four times each in the process of the ceremony. Walked around the temple three times and placed our candles and incense at the front of the temple while we prayed for good luck... we went inside and were blessed by a monk, and we did the prayer to Buddha that Kor's dad taught us. It was pretty cool... dinner, Roti, back to the house to watch THE BEACH. This is the movie with Leonardo Dicaprio that is filmed on the beach where we camped the night. If you want to see where I watched the sunset, swam, and spent the night, watch these movie. there are so many great shots of Maya Bay, it is just like when we were there!! (minus the village of people in the movie). The three of us really enjoyed seeing in play out, and we were joking about similarities between characters in the movie and people we had met here... particularly those characters staying at Tongsai (the hippie beach I talked about a few blogs back).
we tried to sleep on the train but we were in the very back and it was so bumpy and jerky because it was a speed train, none of us got any rest. it was the most uncomfortable ride of my life and i was freezing despite the thick blankets they provide... seriously, you are either sweating profusely or unbearably cold here, there is no happy in between. We arrived around 4am in Phitlo, were picked up by Kor's dad, went to his house, showered, and promptly went back to sleep.
the three of us woke up late the next day. Breakfast was wayy too much traditional Thai food (aka lots of fish, and pork and bbq meat). luckily there was also sweet sticky rice and mango! i could live off of that stuff :) Lo and I hung out a little in our room, savoring the air conditioning before we set off on the day's adventures. i know i always talk about the heat here, but northern Thailand has taken it to a whole new level... the heat/humidity is more extreme than anything we have experienced thus far. i have found that my thirst is an accurate indicator of how extreme the heat is. in the Philippines i was constantly parched during our first week or so there, despite chugging water, then as we acclimated we found ourselves sweating less and feeling less thirsty. in southern Thailand the sea breeze is cool and refreshing, and you can always cool down in the water or at night. i was rarely thirsty in the south and in fact, complained about being cold several times (makes me worry about going home, I'll be needing a parka for 70 degree weather). now that we're in the north, i am back to feeling constantly thirsty, and Kor rarely stops dripping with sweat - humidity sucks!
We went out to get coffee to ease Lo's headache and found a cute little shop that served amazing Thai treats along with their iced coffees. We got taro bread, which was delicious, and these bean curd pastries that were also really good. As we drank our coffee we did what we always do while passing time - play hearts!! seriously, we never get sick of it. after Lo lost (we usually play to 100) in an interesting display of idiocy (she would agree... Kor threw down the queen without thinking, and Lo was so caught up with laughing at him for the stupid mistake that she threw down the Ace of spades... if you know anything about hearts, those are both very stupid moves), we were about to start up a new game when an old lady sitting near our table started to speak to Kor in Thai. apparently we aren't allowed to play hearts in a coffee shop because it is "a bad example for the children", and according to this woman the coffee shop could get in trouble with the police if they caught us playing cards. we were a little appalled that a non-betting card game could be so taboo, it's not like we were throwing down baht as we drank our iced coffee. i guess technically we do bet on the games, dependent entirely on Kor's performance: if kor wins he earns an hour free of nagging (during this hour we must also say "please" or "ka" after every sentence we speak to him to show respect. He thinks I am too sarcastic with this rule... i suppose using please at inappropriate/illogical times could seem sarcastic :) but I do it in the most genuine tone). If kor loses at hearts (which happens the most frequently), he treats us to Roti (the Thai pancake that Lo and I beg for daily)... but this betting is beside the point! Hearts should not be banned in coffee shops! either way we were given the boot....
Our next stop was the national parks about an hour away from Phitsanoluk. We were in search of waterfall but somewhat disappointed with what we found. Because it is May we are about as far away from the rainy season as possible (because it is about to start but hasn't yet), so the waterfalls were more of trickles than waterfalls and the water was a muddy brown that discouraged us from wanting to swim. Lo and I did make an attempt to walk across one of the first rivers, and we were doing fine in about ankle-deep water, until Lo took her next step and was suddenly up to her hip in the murky water - a drop off obscured by the brown water. we were laughing so hard I think we got a bigger kick out of it than all the locals watching from the bank of the river. maybe. (we make the locals laugh a lot... a couple having a picnic thought it was pretty funny when i stopped near them, looked down and realized i was standing in the middle of tons of little ants, yelped, and then jumped to an ant free rock nearby. great, get a kick out of the poor travelers).
Another waterfall, also somewhat disappointing. we bought some mystery fruit Kor couldn't identify from a lady with no teeth on the side of the road, delicious!! (the fruit, not the lack of teeth). then we went to another spot where we found the coolest plant in the world!! I am serious. this plant looks like a tiny fern, well, imagine those type of leaves (many leaves growing off of a stem), but very small, maybe only an inch or two long for the whole thing, and then three to five of these grow out from a central point (are you confused yet? :) and if you pet the plant - like run your finger down the stem - the little leaves on either side respond by immediately closing up. it is remarkable!! while Lo and I were intently touching the leaves and watching them respond while filming the whole thing, Kor decided it would be funny to yell "snake!", at which point Lo and I, totally convinced we were about to be attacked, screamed and basically flew away from where we had been standing, while the video is still being taken, only to realized Kor was joking.... made for a pretty hilarious video. Then i got stung by something on my foot that sent shooting pain through the area (I am so tired of being bitten/stung by jungle creatures - fortunately this wasn't as bad as the huge ant)
We got back to Kor's house in time to change and leave for the Buddhist ceremony that happens only three times a year (good timing on our part!). Kor's dad handed us each a candle, a lotus plant, and three sticks of incense (one for Buddha, one for his teachings, and one for his followers). The cool thing about Buddhism is that you can practice it even if you aren't Buddhist.... and that's just what we did. We went with Kor's dad to the temple where Kor lived when he was a monk (yes, kor wore the robe and shaved his head, and says the food was really good.... we've seen photo evidence of his time as a monk). We lit our candles and incense, Lo and I burned ourselves about four times each in the process of the ceremony. Walked around the temple three times and placed our candles and incense at the front of the temple while we prayed for good luck... we went inside and were blessed by a monk, and we did the prayer to Buddha that Kor's dad taught us. It was pretty cool... dinner, Roti, back to the house to watch THE BEACH. This is the movie with Leonardo Dicaprio that is filmed on the beach where we camped the night. If you want to see where I watched the sunset, swam, and spent the night, watch these movie. there are so many great shots of Maya Bay, it is just like when we were there!! (minus the village of people in the movie). The three of us really enjoyed seeing in play out, and we were joking about similarities between characters in the movie and people we had met here... particularly those characters staying at Tongsai (the hippie beach I talked about a few blogs back).
chaing-mai cooking class
Our last day in Chaing-mai we signed up to take an all day cooking class, the first and best in Chiang-Mai :)
We started off at the local market. We had each selected an item we were responsible for finding at the market. Kor got bananas, Lo - limes, and me, I got eggs. We found our ingredients, learned a little about Thai plants and foods, then headed to the cooking class.
These are the meals we prepared:
-Rice noodles... wide noodles with some veggies and tofu, my favorite!!
-fish in a red curry paste with some veggies/spices and wrapped in banana leaves to be steamed for 15 minutes
-yellow curry and potatoes and tofu - mmm!
-soy bean meat substitute (actually really good) with cashew nuts and veggies (this was the overall favorite)
-banana in coconut milk dessert with sugar and palm sugar
-spicy shrimp salad - SPICY!
almost everything called for clam sauce and this fish liquid that is made by taking fish, sugar and salt and sticking it in a barrel for 9 months and then the juice that is produced is used for cooking! sick! and delicious :) all at once. The class worked like this... We would watch a demonstration performed by one of three people (the cooking teachers, all of whom were very funny, our group was laughing constantly throughout the day), then we would be sent to our outside cooking stations where our carefully portioned ingredients sat ready for us to prepare the dish. actually, it was so well organized that it was difficult to mess up anything (although Kor did manage to burn his fish). the chefs were walking around yelling instruction at us the whole time, so everything turned out quite well because if you started to mess it up they'd quickly made a save and turn down your heat or add some coconut milk or something.
we would make one of the dishes, go eat it, make a few more things, eat them together for lunch, make some more... dessert... that was how the day went. I was stuffed by the end of the class, and very pleased with my cooking skills :) if only I always had someone to prepare every ingredient for me and give me instruction along the way. the biggest challenge with replicating our meals in the US is probably simply finding the ingredients. But I do believe the cook books we were given offer ideas for substitutes when you cannot find pea eggplant or other obscure Thai ingredients at Safeway. I took the leftovers from four of my six meals with me, and gave them to a little girl begging on the side of the street... I didn't stick around to get her review however.
I definitely recommend the cooking class experience. It was a total blast and a great way to experience authentic Thai food that you know is prepared in a safe way :)
We started off at the local market. We had each selected an item we were responsible for finding at the market. Kor got bananas, Lo - limes, and me, I got eggs. We found our ingredients, learned a little about Thai plants and foods, then headed to the cooking class.
These are the meals we prepared:
-Rice noodles... wide noodles with some veggies and tofu, my favorite!!
-fish in a red curry paste with some veggies/spices and wrapped in banana leaves to be steamed for 15 minutes
-yellow curry and potatoes and tofu - mmm!
-soy bean meat substitute (actually really good) with cashew nuts and veggies (this was the overall favorite)
-banana in coconut milk dessert with sugar and palm sugar
-spicy shrimp salad - SPICY!
almost everything called for clam sauce and this fish liquid that is made by taking fish, sugar and salt and sticking it in a barrel for 9 months and then the juice that is produced is used for cooking! sick! and delicious :) all at once. The class worked like this... We would watch a demonstration performed by one of three people (the cooking teachers, all of whom were very funny, our group was laughing constantly throughout the day), then we would be sent to our outside cooking stations where our carefully portioned ingredients sat ready for us to prepare the dish. actually, it was so well organized that it was difficult to mess up anything (although Kor did manage to burn his fish). the chefs were walking around yelling instruction at us the whole time, so everything turned out quite well because if you started to mess it up they'd quickly made a save and turn down your heat or add some coconut milk or something.
we would make one of the dishes, go eat it, make a few more things, eat them together for lunch, make some more... dessert... that was how the day went. I was stuffed by the end of the class, and very pleased with my cooking skills :) if only I always had someone to prepare every ingredient for me and give me instruction along the way. the biggest challenge with replicating our meals in the US is probably simply finding the ingredients. But I do believe the cook books we were given offer ideas for substitutes when you cannot find pea eggplant or other obscure Thai ingredients at Safeway. I took the leftovers from four of my six meals with me, and gave them to a little girl begging on the side of the street... I didn't stick around to get her review however.
I definitely recommend the cooking class experience. It was a total blast and a great way to experience authentic Thai food that you know is prepared in a safe way :)
driving elephants
We arrive in Chiang-mai by plane. Our first day consisted of visiting temples, getting massages at the Thai massage school (heaven!), finding the best roti stand in Thailand, and booking a trek for the next day. We also found out why it is called shave ice... we walked past a stand with kids lined up, holding out baht coins in their hands, and watching a food stand intently. Turns out the stand was selling shave ice. The man who owned it had a huge block of ice that he was running back and fourth over a metal blade, which shaved off ice into a bowl below. A few strokes of the ice block and the bowl would be full, at which point a girl would take it and add the flavored syrup before handing it over to an eager little kid in exchange for 5 baht. Obvi Lo and I needed some too... literally shaved ice! too good to pass up!
Our first night in Chiang-mai we went to the night market - a great local experience. it is huge and overwhelming, but very fun to bargain with the locals who bring their goods to sell. they start off with a high price, you pick a low price and basically say "no" until they agree to your price (a lot of times the bargaining is done silently - you take turns entering numbers into a calculator back and fourth, it's fun!!). Usually you begin walking away, at which point they will grab your arm (sometimes quite violently), and agree to sell the item to you at the price you had been insisting upon. Occasionally they refuse your price, so you go to the next stand, and they will sell you the same item for the cheaper price. I had a good time buying Thai silk and elephant souvenirs :)
They have everything from funny t-shirts that say things like "same same" on the front and "but different" on the back (we saw that one a lot and though we didn't really get the joke, we over-used the saying on our trip anyway :) There was also a shirt that said "youtube myspace and I'll google your yahoo" - that one made us laugh. You can also get pretty much any item of clothing made out of silk, including silk boxers with elephants on them that I really wanted Kor to buy... he didn't. There are Buddhas and elephants, wooden frogs that make a funny noise when you run their back with a wooden stick, bright lights, fake watches, purses, Tiffany's necklaces, and pretty much anything else you might want. The selection is incredible! and the prices are too good to pass up. I think most of my souvenirs were under $5 US.
the next day was the real adventure in Chaing-mai - the trek!! it was the day we were most looking forward to during our stay in Chiang-mai. we were picked up early along with 6 other travelers: two girls from Sweden who were just out of high school and had been traveling for 4 months (and had the bug bites covering their legs to prove it), an older woman from Spain who was sooo excited to be able to speak Spanish to Lo, and three people from the UK who knew each other from school and had met up to Travel through Chiang-mai together. the 9 of us, along with our driver and our tour guide Mano, took off for the hills/jungle outside of Chiang-Mai where the trek would begin. We started in a village where we were able to watch the women weaving traditional dresses and scarves, one of which I bought after watching the woman who made the scarf at work (it is really incredible what they do, such skill! I didn't bargain with her, just handed over what she asked for the scarf, judging by the living conditions in their village, she needs every baht she can get).
as we hiked out of the village our guide stopped us at a tree. nothing too special, just your average green leaf tree near the outskirts of the village. he picked a leaf, stem and all, from the tree, as we watched with curiosity. he broke the stem, split it just so (to create a triangle shape) and then used the sap the filled the broken area to blow bubbles!! true bubbles! everyone quickly grabbed their own leaves and began trying to coax bubbles from their broken leaf, a few leaves later and our group was ready to see a newly married couple off to their limo :) so many bubbles!! we all got a kick out of that one. next we hiked down to a muddy river (seems to be a trend with the rivers around here in the summer), where there was a dried log serving as a bridge. i wasn't too keen on crossing over the wide rushing rapids on this log, but there was no other choice. fortunately, there was a railing... unfortunately the railing was detached at one side and wiggled around so much it did more to throw off your balance than help it. another bridge later in the hike was equally as precarious and substantially longer. this one was made out of bamboo but it was a suspension bridge of sorts and was being held up by thin scrap wire coiled around the trees at either side, and for support in the middle, the bridge builder had used a downed limb caught in the mud of the stream to brace the center for the bridge... not exactly well-engineered. and the railing of this bridge was crawling with those damn ants that had attacked me on the island, so i was reluctant to use my hand to steady myself as I crossed... we all survived.
our guide showed us another cool plant on our trek, this was a piece of a thick green leaf he took in his hand, wet it with a little water from his water bottle, and mashed the leaf, which quickly turned a vibrant red. Lo and I grabbed some of the same leaves and smashed until they were red, then Lo decided it would be a good idea to use the red as war paint on her and Kor's face. For some reason, Lo's war paint washed off no problem, Kor's was still on his face two days later :) haha! and since we're on the topic of cool plants, I have one more to share about that Kor showed us when we were in Bangkok. This is a plant with a small narrow seed that you pick, and then spit on it and watch it in the palm of your hand once it is wet.... a few seconds will pass and then suddenly it will explode! sending seed shrapnel everywhere!! pretty fun. Thai plants are cool!!
we finally made it to a long and narrow path (man-made, there were irrigation ditches on either side), that had periodical divots usually camouflaged by plants, so as you walk you have to be careful not to step hip-deep into a hole. we looked out over the fields and could see our destination, a small village, in the distance. this village was where the Hmong people live, which was very interesting because I had learned a lot about their culture when i read the book "the spirit catches you and you fall down" for my ethics internship senior year of college. bringing travelers to this village is a great source of revenue for the people living there, and many of our group members bought jewelry and other gifts.
on to the cool part, that was just the warm-up. elephants!! we arrived at the elephants, bought bananas from the locals (they know just how to get you), and climbed onto our elephants (they are sooo huge, I can't believe how big they are! you climb at least 15 stairs onto a platform in order to get onto the elephant's back). feeding the elephants is really fun :) they lift their trunks up over their heads and exhale in your face until you place a banana in their dexterous trunk - my elephant was particularly greedy and would gesture for banana after banana... if I didn't give her one quickly enough she would stretch her trunk out to Lo and Kor in front of us and beg from them! Our group was split up on 4 elephants, I was sitting with our Spanish friend and our elephant was being "driven" by a young girl who looked to be about 8 years old, at best. we started off into the jungle, and once we made it up a steep and muddy path, the view was incredible!! LOST all the way :) when the path flattened out our "drivers" hopped down and Kor took over sitting on the neck of his elephant, while I moved down to drive mine, although I don't know that I was doing much to steer my elephant. I was mostly laughing, petting the rough, cracked skin of her head, and feeding her bananas. It was such an experience!! and being the animal lover that I am, I felt surprisingly ok with how they treated the elephants. The elephant is such a huge part of the Thai culture, and they care for the elephants very well. I still can't get over how intelligent these animals are, they responded promptly to many Thai commands that sounded like nonsense to me. An unforgettable experience no doubt!
After riding elephants we were all convinced it couldn't get any better... that is, until we were driven to a river and told to climb onto one of the bamboo rafts. The rafts were long and thin, and Lo, Kor and I sat down in the center of one while our guide steered us down the river. I decided after a minute to stand in the back and use the other bamboo pole to help steer. The trip down the river was over an hour and I was in the back most of the way, balancing and helping keep us on course (obvi all my experience rafting on the Tual and Clack prepared me to be an excellent river guide in Thialand :). We would go through rapids on occasion, which was the best part of float, and we saw the cutest baby elephant ever with a bunch of adults, it was sooo tiny and adorable!! toward the end of our river rafting I was getting tired of standing, so I asked Kor if he wanted to stand in the back for a bit and try guiding the raft... we switched places quickly, I sat down and scooted in front of him, and he walked to the back to take my place standing with the bamboo pole. Mere seconds later I heard a loud splash from behind me. We had just started a small stretch of rapids so I was focused on the river ahead, but still, the splash got my attention enough that I turned my head. Kor was no longer on the raft, but bobbing up and down in the water, his dry bag keeping him afloat, as he got slammed into rocks and flushed downstream behind us.
Lo and I had a moment of disbelief that Kor had pole-vaulted himself into the water, then a moment of panic wondering if he was ok... but once we saw he had survived the fall, we broke into uncontrollable laughter. Seriously, I haven't laughed that hard in I don't know how long... tears were streaming down my face and my abs were aching, I could hardly breath as I tried to gain enough composure to hang on through the rapids (I didn't feel like joining Kor in the murky water). I think our wild laughter scared our guide, who misinterpreted the tears running down my face and thought I was crying in fear for my friend. Quite the opposite, I was thoroughly enjoying the misfortune of his tumble. Kor finally made it down the rapids and climbed onto the raft. Lo and were still in a fit of giggles but we made sure Kor was ok - he was - and then asked him what had happened. He said he hand bent over to pick up the bamboo pole and lost his balance, at which point he fell, head first, into the water, dry pack, bamboo pole and all. He was a little beat up from floating the rapids, but we all agreed it was the worth the story, and so appropriate that he would be the one to fall in :) oh Kor!
Our first night in Chiang-mai we went to the night market - a great local experience. it is huge and overwhelming, but very fun to bargain with the locals who bring their goods to sell. they start off with a high price, you pick a low price and basically say "no" until they agree to your price (a lot of times the bargaining is done silently - you take turns entering numbers into a calculator back and fourth, it's fun!!). Usually you begin walking away, at which point they will grab your arm (sometimes quite violently), and agree to sell the item to you at the price you had been insisting upon. Occasionally they refuse your price, so you go to the next stand, and they will sell you the same item for the cheaper price. I had a good time buying Thai silk and elephant souvenirs :)
They have everything from funny t-shirts that say things like "same same" on the front and "but different" on the back (we saw that one a lot and though we didn't really get the joke, we over-used the saying on our trip anyway :) There was also a shirt that said "youtube myspace and I'll google your yahoo" - that one made us laugh. You can also get pretty much any item of clothing made out of silk, including silk boxers with elephants on them that I really wanted Kor to buy... he didn't. There are Buddhas and elephants, wooden frogs that make a funny noise when you run their back with a wooden stick, bright lights, fake watches, purses, Tiffany's necklaces, and pretty much anything else you might want. The selection is incredible! and the prices are too good to pass up. I think most of my souvenirs were under $5 US.
the next day was the real adventure in Chaing-mai - the trek!! it was the day we were most looking forward to during our stay in Chiang-mai. we were picked up early along with 6 other travelers: two girls from Sweden who were just out of high school and had been traveling for 4 months (and had the bug bites covering their legs to prove it), an older woman from Spain who was sooo excited to be able to speak Spanish to Lo, and three people from the UK who knew each other from school and had met up to Travel through Chiang-mai together. the 9 of us, along with our driver and our tour guide Mano, took off for the hills/jungle outside of Chiang-Mai where the trek would begin. We started in a village where we were able to watch the women weaving traditional dresses and scarves, one of which I bought after watching the woman who made the scarf at work (it is really incredible what they do, such skill! I didn't bargain with her, just handed over what she asked for the scarf, judging by the living conditions in their village, she needs every baht she can get).
as we hiked out of the village our guide stopped us at a tree. nothing too special, just your average green leaf tree near the outskirts of the village. he picked a leaf, stem and all, from the tree, as we watched with curiosity. he broke the stem, split it just so (to create a triangle shape) and then used the sap the filled the broken area to blow bubbles!! true bubbles! everyone quickly grabbed their own leaves and began trying to coax bubbles from their broken leaf, a few leaves later and our group was ready to see a newly married couple off to their limo :) so many bubbles!! we all got a kick out of that one. next we hiked down to a muddy river (seems to be a trend with the rivers around here in the summer), where there was a dried log serving as a bridge. i wasn't too keen on crossing over the wide rushing rapids on this log, but there was no other choice. fortunately, there was a railing... unfortunately the railing was detached at one side and wiggled around so much it did more to throw off your balance than help it. another bridge later in the hike was equally as precarious and substantially longer. this one was made out of bamboo but it was a suspension bridge of sorts and was being held up by thin scrap wire coiled around the trees at either side, and for support in the middle, the bridge builder had used a downed limb caught in the mud of the stream to brace the center for the bridge... not exactly well-engineered. and the railing of this bridge was crawling with those damn ants that had attacked me on the island, so i was reluctant to use my hand to steady myself as I crossed... we all survived.
our guide showed us another cool plant on our trek, this was a piece of a thick green leaf he took in his hand, wet it with a little water from his water bottle, and mashed the leaf, which quickly turned a vibrant red. Lo and I grabbed some of the same leaves and smashed until they were red, then Lo decided it would be a good idea to use the red as war paint on her and Kor's face. For some reason, Lo's war paint washed off no problem, Kor's was still on his face two days later :) haha! and since we're on the topic of cool plants, I have one more to share about that Kor showed us when we were in Bangkok. This is a plant with a small narrow seed that you pick, and then spit on it and watch it in the palm of your hand once it is wet.... a few seconds will pass and then suddenly it will explode! sending seed shrapnel everywhere!! pretty fun. Thai plants are cool!!
we finally made it to a long and narrow path (man-made, there were irrigation ditches on either side), that had periodical divots usually camouflaged by plants, so as you walk you have to be careful not to step hip-deep into a hole. we looked out over the fields and could see our destination, a small village, in the distance. this village was where the Hmong people live, which was very interesting because I had learned a lot about their culture when i read the book "the spirit catches you and you fall down" for my ethics internship senior year of college. bringing travelers to this village is a great source of revenue for the people living there, and many of our group members bought jewelry and other gifts.
on to the cool part, that was just the warm-up. elephants!! we arrived at the elephants, bought bananas from the locals (they know just how to get you), and climbed onto our elephants (they are sooo huge, I can't believe how big they are! you climb at least 15 stairs onto a platform in order to get onto the elephant's back). feeding the elephants is really fun :) they lift their trunks up over their heads and exhale in your face until you place a banana in their dexterous trunk - my elephant was particularly greedy and would gesture for banana after banana... if I didn't give her one quickly enough she would stretch her trunk out to Lo and Kor in front of us and beg from them! Our group was split up on 4 elephants, I was sitting with our Spanish friend and our elephant was being "driven" by a young girl who looked to be about 8 years old, at best. we started off into the jungle, and once we made it up a steep and muddy path, the view was incredible!! LOST all the way :) when the path flattened out our "drivers" hopped down and Kor took over sitting on the neck of his elephant, while I moved down to drive mine, although I don't know that I was doing much to steer my elephant. I was mostly laughing, petting the rough, cracked skin of her head, and feeding her bananas. It was such an experience!! and being the animal lover that I am, I felt surprisingly ok with how they treated the elephants. The elephant is such a huge part of the Thai culture, and they care for the elephants very well. I still can't get over how intelligent these animals are, they responded promptly to many Thai commands that sounded like nonsense to me. An unforgettable experience no doubt!
After riding elephants we were all convinced it couldn't get any better... that is, until we were driven to a river and told to climb onto one of the bamboo rafts. The rafts were long and thin, and Lo, Kor and I sat down in the center of one while our guide steered us down the river. I decided after a minute to stand in the back and use the other bamboo pole to help steer. The trip down the river was over an hour and I was in the back most of the way, balancing and helping keep us on course (obvi all my experience rafting on the Tual and Clack prepared me to be an excellent river guide in Thialand :). We would go through rapids on occasion, which was the best part of float, and we saw the cutest baby elephant ever with a bunch of adults, it was sooo tiny and adorable!! toward the end of our river rafting I was getting tired of standing, so I asked Kor if he wanted to stand in the back for a bit and try guiding the raft... we switched places quickly, I sat down and scooted in front of him, and he walked to the back to take my place standing with the bamboo pole. Mere seconds later I heard a loud splash from behind me. We had just started a small stretch of rapids so I was focused on the river ahead, but still, the splash got my attention enough that I turned my head. Kor was no longer on the raft, but bobbing up and down in the water, his dry bag keeping him afloat, as he got slammed into rocks and flushed downstream behind us.
Lo and I had a moment of disbelief that Kor had pole-vaulted himself into the water, then a moment of panic wondering if he was ok... but once we saw he had survived the fall, we broke into uncontrollable laughter. Seriously, I haven't laughed that hard in I don't know how long... tears were streaming down my face and my abs were aching, I could hardly breath as I tried to gain enough composure to hang on through the rapids (I didn't feel like joining Kor in the murky water). I think our wild laughter scared our guide, who misinterpreted the tears running down my face and thought I was crying in fear for my friend. Quite the opposite, I was thoroughly enjoying the misfortune of his tumble. Kor finally made it down the rapids and climbed onto the raft. Lo and were still in a fit of giggles but we made sure Kor was ok - he was - and then asked him what had happened. He said he hand bent over to pick up the bamboo pole and lost his balance, at which point he fell, head first, into the water, dry pack, bamboo pole and all. He was a little beat up from floating the rapids, but we all agreed it was the worth the story, and so appropriate that he would be the one to fall in :) oh Kor!
a boring blog - seriously
We took advantage of our morning at Katathani (and the incredible breakfast buffet)... i think we spent about two hours at the breakfast table playing hearts and returning to the buffet to get more of the cereal with delicious carmelized bananas on top (i seriously miss basic breakfast cereal more than any other food at home.... Lo and I wake up in the morning and just start listing off cereals: cherrios, cinnimon life, raisin nut bran, quaker oat squares, I'm eating cereal for every meal the first week I'm back). We had been woken up that morning to a tropical rainstorm... I thought it was the onset of a monsoon, Kor said it was just the start of the rainy season. thank goodness! the rain brings down the heat to a bearable temperature. We enjoyed our rainy morning in the open-air restaurant, which was conveniently located right next to the street, enabling me to toss Lo's uneaten bacon to the stray dogs wandering around the resort - I thought it was great, so did the dogs :)
The stray dogs here are adorable (many of the cats and dogs are scruffy and look like strays by the American "pet standard", but they have makeshift collars of ribbon or string and you know someone is feeding them - quite a change from the Philippines with countless emaciated and sickly looking animals), and I generally beg Kor about once a day to let me take home one of the homeless dogs I encounter. Unfortunately, i dont think customs would be too happy with me if I tried to smuggle a Thai dog home, so I guess I'll settle with getting my dog from a shelter in the U.S. - that is. when I find the time to actually care for one.
Stuffed from breakfast we went to the pool to digest, and play a little volleyball with a huge foreign man who had mad skills but was luckily nice enough not to slam the ball in our faces. After a little doubles we said our goodbyes and reluctantly left phuket (much to the rejoicing of the katathani resort employees). Our next destination was phang-nga where lonely planet recommended we stay at the Gold Digger Inn, "as long as we can get past the name" the tour book had advised. we decided we could overlook the name since the hotel was conveniently close to the airport and we were leaving so early the next morning for Chiang-Mai (the majority of hotels here have no water pressure and rock-hard beds anyway, so there's no real difference hotel to hotel except price)... We dropped off our stuff and began our search for Phang-nga bay. we ended up at a shady dock where we "chartered" a boat (one of the rikity old long boats that are a common form of water transportation here), and hired a "driver" - an old man who was supposed to be an english speaking tour guide but turned out to be a strictly-Thai speaking, toothless, shoeless old man who refused to let us swim in the water.
we set off to appreciate the natural rock formations of the area. despite the gloomy day, they where truly incredible. Reminiscent of the Railay area, there are huge rocks jutting hundreds of feet into the air. The best way I can think to describe the area is that it is like Yosemite, only with mangrove forests and waterways for the valley floor, and limestone covered in jungle instead of bare granite rock cliffs. Having studied the Yosemite Valley (John Muir is my hero), and having climbed half dome the past two years, that description creates a very accurate image for me. For those of you still a little unclear what I am describing, the best I can do is tell you to wait for pictures :) We were driven through huge caves, and past a muslim village built entirely on stilts. We also got to go to the beach where "nail rock" is - the site where they filmed James Bond and the Golden Finger. I didn't realize our trip would entail visiting so many famous movie locations, who knew? We also saw a crocodile!! (ok fine, it turned out to be a huge lizard) - we thought it was cool regardless. We made it back just as the sun was setting and headed back to the good 'ole Gold Digger Inn for dinner and sleep before our departure for Chaing-Mai early the next morning.
The stray dogs here are adorable (many of the cats and dogs are scruffy and look like strays by the American "pet standard", but they have makeshift collars of ribbon or string and you know someone is feeding them - quite a change from the Philippines with countless emaciated and sickly looking animals), and I generally beg Kor about once a day to let me take home one of the homeless dogs I encounter. Unfortunately, i dont think customs would be too happy with me if I tried to smuggle a Thai dog home, so I guess I'll settle with getting my dog from a shelter in the U.S. - that is. when I find the time to actually care for one.
Stuffed from breakfast we went to the pool to digest, and play a little volleyball with a huge foreign man who had mad skills but was luckily nice enough not to slam the ball in our faces. After a little doubles we said our goodbyes and reluctantly left phuket (much to the rejoicing of the katathani resort employees). Our next destination was phang-nga where lonely planet recommended we stay at the Gold Digger Inn, "as long as we can get past the name" the tour book had advised. we decided we could overlook the name since the hotel was conveniently close to the airport and we were leaving so early the next morning for Chiang-Mai (the majority of hotels here have no water pressure and rock-hard beds anyway, so there's no real difference hotel to hotel except price)... We dropped off our stuff and began our search for Phang-nga bay. we ended up at a shady dock where we "chartered" a boat (one of the rikity old long boats that are a common form of water transportation here), and hired a "driver" - an old man who was supposed to be an english speaking tour guide but turned out to be a strictly-Thai speaking, toothless, shoeless old man who refused to let us swim in the water.
we set off to appreciate the natural rock formations of the area. despite the gloomy day, they where truly incredible. Reminiscent of the Railay area, there are huge rocks jutting hundreds of feet into the air. The best way I can think to describe the area is that it is like Yosemite, only with mangrove forests and waterways for the valley floor, and limestone covered in jungle instead of bare granite rock cliffs. Having studied the Yosemite Valley (John Muir is my hero), and having climbed half dome the past two years, that description creates a very accurate image for me. For those of you still a little unclear what I am describing, the best I can do is tell you to wait for pictures :) We were driven through huge caves, and past a muslim village built entirely on stilts. We also got to go to the beach where "nail rock" is - the site where they filmed James Bond and the Golden Finger. I didn't realize our trip would entail visiting so many famous movie locations, who knew? We also saw a crocodile!! (ok fine, it turned out to be a huge lizard) - we thought it was cool regardless. We made it back just as the sun was setting and headed back to the good 'ole Gold Digger Inn for dinner and sleep before our departure for Chaing-Mai early the next morning.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
great debate: house or hotel
we made it back to Phi Phi alive (not to mention desperate for a shower), and caught the ferry to Phuket just in time. the hour and a half ride was so bumpy and wild that they brought around barf bags to all the passengers - I was too tired to care about the rough water, and too relieved that I was safely below deck and in a large boat that could handle the big waves. Our destination was the Katathani resort, one of the nicest hotels in Phuket. We arrived looking (and I'm sure smelling) absolutely disgusting. I think the hotel employees were quite alarmed by how disheveled their new guests were. I suppose we shouldn't have planned our dirtiest night of our trip right before our stay in the nicest hotel we could find - or maybe it was exactly the right thing to do... we each enjoyed about a 30 minute shower right when we arrived, and then another one later that night, trying to get clean after our camping trip.
once we woke from an A.C. induced nap we decided to explore Phuket... we walked past the half a dozen huge pools that were a part of our resort, and onto the beach. We decided to go along the rocks rather than walk the road into town, because not only did it allow us a constant view of the ocean and neighboring islands, but we were able to pass through some of the incredible resorts build along the beach cliffs. We eventually reached an impassible stretch of rock, so rather than backtrack (how inefficient), we decided to follow stairs up and hopefully find the main road that way. the first path was a dead end due to a massive barking dog blocking our way. we thought it best to leave him alone. the next set of stairs led to a fence/gate that enclosed what we thought was a resort. Kor opened the gate, the three of us let ourselves in. as we climbed up toward the "resort" we started to have second thoughts about our assumption... "i think this is a house" Lo said. Kor was pretty convinced it was a resort... I was on the fence, alternating back and fourth between house and resort with each second. we had paused to debate the matter in hushed voices, and soon noticed a gray-haired man wearing the biggest gold watch I have ever seen, sitting on a lawn chair facing away from us. that should have been a solid clue that not only was it a house, but it was his house, and we should turn around and kindly see ourselves out. instead, we literally tip-toed up the few stairs only feet behind where he lay (thank goodness he was apparently hard of hearing, because he didn't detect the flip flop of our sandals as we snuck behind him). we transitioned into a speed walk across his lawn as we all took in the kitchen (definitely not that of a resort), the pool room/library, and finally, the specialized bikes in the driveway - not exactly hotel property. we weren't speaking at this point, for fear of getting caught trespassing. we quietly opened the gate enclosing the back yard, praying there was no watchdog in the driveway, and without a word, all simultaneously broke into sprints up the steep driveway, past the two SUVs parked by the garage, then let ourselves nonchalantly out the front gate to the main street. only then did we bust into laughter as we all said in unison "definitely a house"!! Needless to say, we opted to take the road back that evening.
The nearby beach town, totally a Thailand version of Santa Cruz, was really fun and we enjoyed walking around, and eating Rotii and dinner at an amazing Italian restaurant (oddly enough)... Thai food 7 days a week is finally getting to us. Back at the hotel that night we decided to test out each of the resort's pools. the property was basically deserted as we made our way to pool #1... we jumped in, swam across, then headed out to the ocean before hitting up the rest of the pools. Thoroughly salty after our swim, we walked up the beach to the next pool when Kor felt his shorts' pocket and said "the key!!"... I'm not sure why, but Kor had decided to keep the hotel key in his pocket (not a zipper pocket), while we went on our pool escapades. Not even 10 minutes in the key way missing. grrreat. we were already on Katathani's blacklist after showing up looking homeless and smelling like fish, just what we needed, another strike on our record. we decided to retrace our steps - nothing. With no other options we went back to get our towels so that we could go to the main office and explain that we had lost the key and needed a new one. Fortunately, there, sitting on our towels was our hotel key, despite the fact that Kor had insisted he had not left the key with the towels. We "Koooorrrr!!!"-ed him, which we find ourselves doing frequently on this trip, and then resumed our pool hopping until we were exhausted and ready for a good night's sleep in our cool room on a soft bed - paradise.
Just another day on vacay in Thailand (with Kor as our guide).
once we woke from an A.C. induced nap we decided to explore Phuket... we walked past the half a dozen huge pools that were a part of our resort, and onto the beach. We decided to go along the rocks rather than walk the road into town, because not only did it allow us a constant view of the ocean and neighboring islands, but we were able to pass through some of the incredible resorts build along the beach cliffs. We eventually reached an impassible stretch of rock, so rather than backtrack (how inefficient), we decided to follow stairs up and hopefully find the main road that way. the first path was a dead end due to a massive barking dog blocking our way. we thought it best to leave him alone. the next set of stairs led to a fence/gate that enclosed what we thought was a resort. Kor opened the gate, the three of us let ourselves in. as we climbed up toward the "resort" we started to have second thoughts about our assumption... "i think this is a house" Lo said. Kor was pretty convinced it was a resort... I was on the fence, alternating back and fourth between house and resort with each second. we had paused to debate the matter in hushed voices, and soon noticed a gray-haired man wearing the biggest gold watch I have ever seen, sitting on a lawn chair facing away from us. that should have been a solid clue that not only was it a house, but it was his house, and we should turn around and kindly see ourselves out. instead, we literally tip-toed up the few stairs only feet behind where he lay (thank goodness he was apparently hard of hearing, because he didn't detect the flip flop of our sandals as we snuck behind him). we transitioned into a speed walk across his lawn as we all took in the kitchen (definitely not that of a resort), the pool room/library, and finally, the specialized bikes in the driveway - not exactly hotel property. we weren't speaking at this point, for fear of getting caught trespassing. we quietly opened the gate enclosing the back yard, praying there was no watchdog in the driveway, and without a word, all simultaneously broke into sprints up the steep driveway, past the two SUVs parked by the garage, then let ourselves nonchalantly out the front gate to the main street. only then did we bust into laughter as we all said in unison "definitely a house"!! Needless to say, we opted to take the road back that evening.
The nearby beach town, totally a Thailand version of Santa Cruz, was really fun and we enjoyed walking around, and eating Rotii and dinner at an amazing Italian restaurant (oddly enough)... Thai food 7 days a week is finally getting to us. Back at the hotel that night we decided to test out each of the resort's pools. the property was basically deserted as we made our way to pool #1... we jumped in, swam across, then headed out to the ocean before hitting up the rest of the pools. Thoroughly salty after our swim, we walked up the beach to the next pool when Kor felt his shorts' pocket and said "the key!!"... I'm not sure why, but Kor had decided to keep the hotel key in his pocket (not a zipper pocket), while we went on our pool escapades. Not even 10 minutes in the key way missing. grrreat. we were already on Katathani's blacklist after showing up looking homeless and smelling like fish, just what we needed, another strike on our record. we decided to retrace our steps - nothing. With no other options we went back to get our towels so that we could go to the main office and explain that we had lost the key and needed a new one. Fortunately, there, sitting on our towels was our hotel key, despite the fact that Kor had insisted he had not left the key with the towels. We "Koooorrrr!!!"-ed him, which we find ourselves doing frequently on this trip, and then resumed our pool hopping until we were exhausted and ready for a good night's sleep in our cool room on a soft bed - paradise.
Just another day on vacay in Thailand (with Kor as our guide).
castaways and ghosts
During our stay in Ko Phi Phi we saw signs everywhere advertising a camping trip to "The Beach" - Maya Bay where the movie with Leonardo Dicaprio was filmed... the photos of the bay were amazing, and the description of the overnight trip sounded too good to pass up: tents, meals, a night on the island. We forked over the 1700 (about $40 US dollars) and signed up. Apparently we were the only travelers in Ko Phi Phi who thought the camping trip worth doing, because we showed up at 3pm the day of the trip and were told we were the only ones who had signed up. a little disappointed we wouldn't get to make friends, we agreed to go for a private night on the island... fortunately two young french girls ended up arriving just in time to come along, and the five of us set out with 4 tour guides for the island.
After some serious issues with miscommunication (Kor has a lot of trouble understanding the Southern accent/dialect), we finally made it onto a small, beat up boat, with our packs (they had insisted we keep our packs at their "office", Lo and I weren't about to leave our passports behind and had no smaller pack to bring our stuff, so we brought everything... this turned out to be a mistake, which the French girls made too, because we couldn't actually bring our packs to the island, I'll explain later). The boat we took to the island was brightly painted but in desperate need of a touch-up, and duck tape was used a little too frequently to make us feel comfortable. It did however, have a set of decent speakers tied to the front of the cabin, and one of the french girls hooked up her ipod so we could rock out to American pop music as we drove out to the island... The other french girl chain smoked the entire time we were on the trip.
our first stop was one of the inlets on the island for some incredible snorkeling. we also passed this wild cave where we were informed by Nemo (one of the guides with an accent so thick I didn't know what he was saying half the time), that these birds build huge nests up to 5m long in the cave and thousands of them live in the nests. furthermore, the nests are used as a delicacy food, it is called something like bird nest drink with rock sugar and it is kind of sweet and very expensive - we almost bought some today but opted against it since we think we understood that it is made from the birds' saliva. there was also something about butternut squash in the story Nemo told, i think, but i didn't really catch that part. Like his name, Nemo himself was a pretty funny guy, he was either smoking a cigarette, joint, taking a hit off a bong, or drinking some type of alcohol the entire time we were on our excursion, but I have to give him some credit because i came out of the water after snorkeling with a weird speckled sting on my spine (it was painful and itchy all at once, and really irritating me as I sat at the front of the boat watching the island go by while we searched for the break in the cliffs where we could enter to the Bay), and he put tiger balm ointment on it and rescued me from the pain/itch... i was so thankful, i couldn't even be mad about him sneaking up on me and grabbing my leg while snorkeling - I'm sure he does it to every traveler, and for him, it never gets old - (i screamed so loud, i was convinced for a second that i was getting eaten by a shark).
To get to the beach it was slightly complicated/mildly dangerous. apparently, because it was high tide the boat couldn't make it into the bay (that doesn't make sense to me either but I'm sure that was the excuse they gave), so we had to take a little dingy, two people at a time, to this steep wooden ladder slippery with algae and salt water. the driver had to time it between huge crashing waves so that we could scurry out of the bobbing dingy near the sharp rocks and onto the ladder to quickly climb the 20 or so feet to the crack in the rock where we could pass to the sand (whew! you get all that? chaos just like the experience :). between the three of us we brought only a small dry bag full of the essentials: bug repellent, tooth brush, and clean underwear... we had basically been living in our swimsuits since arriving in the south, and this adventure was no different. Our packs (passports and all) were left in the boat... Kor got some serious hell from me and Lo for getting us stuck in this situation. how he wasn't able to understand that it was impossible to bring our packs to the beach with us, I don't know, either way, it was pretty reckless of us to leave everything on a small boat floating unsupervised beside an island in the middle of the ocean, but we had no choice and in the end it turned out alright - we were very lucky.
Once we made it safely onto dry land, we hiked a short distance to "The Beach"... it is called Maya Bay and if you see the movie you will be seeing a very accurate depiction of what the beach looks like (watch the movie!! you'll see where we slept!!). we arrived just in time to watch the sun set between the steep cliffs on either side of the opening to Maya bay (in the movie they add a rock in to block the small opening and make it seem more isolated). it was gorgeous! we enjoyed the huge waves and body surfed a little, then Kor and I decided to swim over to a beach nearby and this random guy from England, Greg, joined us. Apparently he had been on a tour boat and had jumped ship when they were heading back because he wanted to stay for the sunset... a castaway!! he had nothing with him, no plan, no way to get off the island, and no idea what he was going to eat or where he was going to sleep. naturally, our group adopted him (after he worked out payment with our guides), and turns out he knows how to play hearts, so we welcomed him with open arms into our group (we shot the moon 4 different times that night, Lo, three times IN A ROW, and me the time after that... we decided it was the island - I don't think Greg will every play hearts with Americans again).
Dinner was delish! food always tastes better outside. Rice and veggies, and then later toast and fish for a midnight snack. After dinner they brought us each buckets of some type of alcohol - i think it was maybe a coke and rum mixture, with some original redbull added - did you know redbull was created in Thailand and it has amphetamines in it? im thinking not anymore, but the drink was shady regardless, and we all enjoyed it anyway :) they literally served it in colorful buckets with handles and straws, the taste really wasn't half bad. we drank while we all played card games, the guides included, though they didn't really speak English, they were able to get the gist of games like Egyptian Rat Screw and Presidents and Assholes, both of which we played as drinking games like the good ole college days ;) I was attacked by a huge brown biting ant during one of the games... seriously, the stupid little aunt chomped into my leg near my hip and the pain was excruciating!! i frantically whipped it away at least 4 times before it finally let go. jaws of death that little sucker had, and my leg soon had a growing welt paired with sharp pain that not even tiger balm could fix. The next couple of days I had a red irritated spot on my leg about the size of a golf ball, accompanied by serious muscle pain deep to where the bite had been. this ant meant business. it was painful to walk up and down stairs for the next two days. damn.
our chain smoker french girl friend brought us down the to beach after cards to look at the glowing sea plankton. i was under the impression that they would glow in the water when agitated, but despite looking for them with Nemo early that evening, we hadn't found any biofluorescence in the water. Chain-smoking french girl figured it out, she scrutinized the waves as they washed up on the beach, until stooping to pick up something we couldn't really see. when we got close we realized that her finger was glowing blue. a small circular creature that was glowing bright in the darkness of the beach, so far from lights/civilization. cool!! and kor was pretty convinced that when he peed in the water a while earlier, the ocean had glowed where it was disturbed. before bed we walked out onto the single dock to lay on our backs and watch the sky illuminate with flashes of lightning. it is amazing to be so comfortable running around in a swimsuit at midnight on an island in the middle of the ocean. and it's a good thing it was so warm, the trip was advertised as providing tents, turns out all we got was stinky (seriously very terribly horribly stinky) sleeping bags.. thin sleeping bags and these random decorative pillows that looked unfit for the goodwill sale rack. we slept on mats under the overhanging cliff just up the beach, which was an incredible location, but it was a windy night and by the time morning came around we were all coated in sand and I think it's going to take me a few more showers before I actually feel clean. I made sure to dig myself a divot (if you ever sleep the night on sand, don't just lay down, dig yourself a little spot in the sand and it will cradle you comfortably all night!! - Lo didn't get this memo), and overall I slept pretty well - though I did wake up once to Kor trying to tell me about how he had seen a ghost, at which point I told him he was freaking me out and to go back to bed and tell me in the morning (I got the full story over breakfast about his ghost, I'm pretty convinced Greg, who he was sleeping next to, was the ghost, but whatever, Kor is convinced the island has powers, like on LOST... I will say, we have one photo on Kor's camera where I'm pretty sure we're all sleeping on the beach in the middle of the night, and I maybe think the ghost took it, if I believed in ghosts that is).
After breakfast (toast that tasted like gasoline, with butter from a costco-sized tub that looked about a year old, and instant coffee power mix), we hopped into one of the long boats and left early. the tour is supposed to head back in the late morning, but we needed to return to the mainland by 8:30a.m. to catch the ferry to Phuket, so we had to go back across the oceans with our packs (they had spent the night unattended on the bigger boat and survived - luckily no pirates off of Ko Phi Phi, Thailand), in the small boat that got tossed around violently on the huge waves. when we left the bay the waves were so big the bow of the boat was changing altitude by at least 15 feet with each wave, it was wayyy more wild than riding the bull on a rafting trip or anything like that. Lo and I were holding on with both hands giving each other the "holy shit!" look and I was seriously wondering not if we were going to tip, but exactly when (sorry ma, i know this blog is probably a little wild for your tastes but in the end I'm so glad we went on the trip, it was such a great adventure!!). when we made it out away from the island the waves finally settled down a little, at which point our driver (cigarette in mouth as always), decided to abandon his driving to do some work on the boat - in order to steer another one of the guides stood up on the front of the boat and leaned side to side to keep the boat going in a straight line. that was an experience... no hands!! I wouldn't go so far as to say we were thrilled about the alternative driving technique.
After some serious issues with miscommunication (Kor has a lot of trouble understanding the Southern accent/dialect), we finally made it onto a small, beat up boat, with our packs (they had insisted we keep our packs at their "office", Lo and I weren't about to leave our passports behind and had no smaller pack to bring our stuff, so we brought everything... this turned out to be a mistake, which the French girls made too, because we couldn't actually bring our packs to the island, I'll explain later). The boat we took to the island was brightly painted but in desperate need of a touch-up, and duck tape was used a little too frequently to make us feel comfortable. It did however, have a set of decent speakers tied to the front of the cabin, and one of the french girls hooked up her ipod so we could rock out to American pop music as we drove out to the island... The other french girl chain smoked the entire time we were on the trip.
our first stop was one of the inlets on the island for some incredible snorkeling. we also passed this wild cave where we were informed by Nemo (one of the guides with an accent so thick I didn't know what he was saying half the time), that these birds build huge nests up to 5m long in the cave and thousands of them live in the nests. furthermore, the nests are used as a delicacy food, it is called something like bird nest drink with rock sugar and it is kind of sweet and very expensive - we almost bought some today but opted against it since we think we understood that it is made from the birds' saliva. there was also something about butternut squash in the story Nemo told, i think, but i didn't really catch that part. Like his name, Nemo himself was a pretty funny guy, he was either smoking a cigarette, joint, taking a hit off a bong, or drinking some type of alcohol the entire time we were on our excursion, but I have to give him some credit because i came out of the water after snorkeling with a weird speckled sting on my spine (it was painful and itchy all at once, and really irritating me as I sat at the front of the boat watching the island go by while we searched for the break in the cliffs where we could enter to the Bay), and he put tiger balm ointment on it and rescued me from the pain/itch... i was so thankful, i couldn't even be mad about him sneaking up on me and grabbing my leg while snorkeling - I'm sure he does it to every traveler, and for him, it never gets old - (i screamed so loud, i was convinced for a second that i was getting eaten by a shark).
To get to the beach it was slightly complicated/mildly dangerous. apparently, because it was high tide the boat couldn't make it into the bay (that doesn't make sense to me either but I'm sure that was the excuse they gave), so we had to take a little dingy, two people at a time, to this steep wooden ladder slippery with algae and salt water. the driver had to time it between huge crashing waves so that we could scurry out of the bobbing dingy near the sharp rocks and onto the ladder to quickly climb the 20 or so feet to the crack in the rock where we could pass to the sand (whew! you get all that? chaos just like the experience :). between the three of us we brought only a small dry bag full of the essentials: bug repellent, tooth brush, and clean underwear... we had basically been living in our swimsuits since arriving in the south, and this adventure was no different. Our packs (passports and all) were left in the boat... Kor got some serious hell from me and Lo for getting us stuck in this situation. how he wasn't able to understand that it was impossible to bring our packs to the beach with us, I don't know, either way, it was pretty reckless of us to leave everything on a small boat floating unsupervised beside an island in the middle of the ocean, but we had no choice and in the end it turned out alright - we were very lucky.
Once we made it safely onto dry land, we hiked a short distance to "The Beach"... it is called Maya Bay and if you see the movie you will be seeing a very accurate depiction of what the beach looks like (watch the movie!! you'll see where we slept!!). we arrived just in time to watch the sun set between the steep cliffs on either side of the opening to Maya bay (in the movie they add a rock in to block the small opening and make it seem more isolated). it was gorgeous! we enjoyed the huge waves and body surfed a little, then Kor and I decided to swim over to a beach nearby and this random guy from England, Greg, joined us. Apparently he had been on a tour boat and had jumped ship when they were heading back because he wanted to stay for the sunset... a castaway!! he had nothing with him, no plan, no way to get off the island, and no idea what he was going to eat or where he was going to sleep. naturally, our group adopted him (after he worked out payment with our guides), and turns out he knows how to play hearts, so we welcomed him with open arms into our group (we shot the moon 4 different times that night, Lo, three times IN A ROW, and me the time after that... we decided it was the island - I don't think Greg will every play hearts with Americans again).
Dinner was delish! food always tastes better outside. Rice and veggies, and then later toast and fish for a midnight snack. After dinner they brought us each buckets of some type of alcohol - i think it was maybe a coke and rum mixture, with some original redbull added - did you know redbull was created in Thailand and it has amphetamines in it? im thinking not anymore, but the drink was shady regardless, and we all enjoyed it anyway :) they literally served it in colorful buckets with handles and straws, the taste really wasn't half bad. we drank while we all played card games, the guides included, though they didn't really speak English, they were able to get the gist of games like Egyptian Rat Screw and Presidents and Assholes, both of which we played as drinking games like the good ole college days ;) I was attacked by a huge brown biting ant during one of the games... seriously, the stupid little aunt chomped into my leg near my hip and the pain was excruciating!! i frantically whipped it away at least 4 times before it finally let go. jaws of death that little sucker had, and my leg soon had a growing welt paired with sharp pain that not even tiger balm could fix. The next couple of days I had a red irritated spot on my leg about the size of a golf ball, accompanied by serious muscle pain deep to where the bite had been. this ant meant business. it was painful to walk up and down stairs for the next two days. damn.
our chain smoker french girl friend brought us down the to beach after cards to look at the glowing sea plankton. i was under the impression that they would glow in the water when agitated, but despite looking for them with Nemo early that evening, we hadn't found any biofluorescence in the water. Chain-smoking french girl figured it out, she scrutinized the waves as they washed up on the beach, until stooping to pick up something we couldn't really see. when we got close we realized that her finger was glowing blue. a small circular creature that was glowing bright in the darkness of the beach, so far from lights/civilization. cool!! and kor was pretty convinced that when he peed in the water a while earlier, the ocean had glowed where it was disturbed. before bed we walked out onto the single dock to lay on our backs and watch the sky illuminate with flashes of lightning. it is amazing to be so comfortable running around in a swimsuit at midnight on an island in the middle of the ocean. and it's a good thing it was so warm, the trip was advertised as providing tents, turns out all we got was stinky (seriously very terribly horribly stinky) sleeping bags.. thin sleeping bags and these random decorative pillows that looked unfit for the goodwill sale rack. we slept on mats under the overhanging cliff just up the beach, which was an incredible location, but it was a windy night and by the time morning came around we were all coated in sand and I think it's going to take me a few more showers before I actually feel clean. I made sure to dig myself a divot (if you ever sleep the night on sand, don't just lay down, dig yourself a little spot in the sand and it will cradle you comfortably all night!! - Lo didn't get this memo), and overall I slept pretty well - though I did wake up once to Kor trying to tell me about how he had seen a ghost, at which point I told him he was freaking me out and to go back to bed and tell me in the morning (I got the full story over breakfast about his ghost, I'm pretty convinced Greg, who he was sleeping next to, was the ghost, but whatever, Kor is convinced the island has powers, like on LOST... I will say, we have one photo on Kor's camera where I'm pretty sure we're all sleeping on the beach in the middle of the night, and I maybe think the ghost took it, if I believed in ghosts that is).
After breakfast (toast that tasted like gasoline, with butter from a costco-sized tub that looked about a year old, and instant coffee power mix), we hopped into one of the long boats and left early. the tour is supposed to head back in the late morning, but we needed to return to the mainland by 8:30a.m. to catch the ferry to Phuket, so we had to go back across the oceans with our packs (they had spent the night unattended on the bigger boat and survived - luckily no pirates off of Ko Phi Phi, Thailand), in the small boat that got tossed around violently on the huge waves. when we left the bay the waves were so big the bow of the boat was changing altitude by at least 15 feet with each wave, it was wayyy more wild than riding the bull on a rafting trip or anything like that. Lo and I were holding on with both hands giving each other the "holy shit!" look and I was seriously wondering not if we were going to tip, but exactly when (sorry ma, i know this blog is probably a little wild for your tastes but in the end I'm so glad we went on the trip, it was such a great adventure!!). when we made it out away from the island the waves finally settled down a little, at which point our driver (cigarette in mouth as always), decided to abandon his driving to do some work on the boat - in order to steer another one of the guides stood up on the front of the boat and leaned side to side to keep the boat going in a straight line. that was an experience... no hands!! I wouldn't go so far as to say we were thrilled about the alternative driving technique.
level 2 fun? mayyybe level 3
Yesterday was an exciting day... we were still on Phi Phi and determined to find our way to monkey beach. we rented a kayak and set out, slathered in sunscreen, rotten bananas in hand, and a general idea of where we needed to paddle to get to the beach. Our tryak (that is a kayak for three :) reached the beach no problem, and we were happy to see there was hardly anyone there! we spotted the monkeys immediately (or more accurately, they spotted us), and we headed over to feed them. turns out our idea of feeding the monkeys, and their idea of being fed, was very different. as we got close to them to start handing out bananas (in the very calm and fair manner we believed necessary for every monkey to get their share of bananas), one of the large males charged aggressively and in a split second all hell broke loose! monkeys were coming at us and we were screaming and kor was getting grabbed by little monkey hands and in an effort to take the attention off of ourselves we sacrificed the entire bag of bananas (totally panicked, I chucked it across the beach, guilty as charged - but in my defense it did distract the monkeys long enough for us to escape without contracting rabies)...
we retreated into the ocean, the only place we were able to find refuge from the angry, teeth-flaunting grins of the monkeys. only then could we laugh nervously about what had just happened. we decided it was maybe level three fun, it was going to take a while before we could really look back at our experience at monkey beach and say it was fun/funny (you'd think with a Thai speaker we would have had some warning, but no, the vicious monkeys were a completely unpleasant surprise)...
Once more tourists started to arrive, we decided that the best form of entertainment was to watch the unsuspecting visitors try to befriend the aggressive monkeys, and when one of the little guys snuck up and snatched a tourist's can of pop (and proceeded to sip from it with both hands like a human), we couldn't stop laughing. the snorkeling at monkey beach was amazing, and we felt safe in the water, so that occupied the rest of our time there. when a big tourist boat arrived we asked if we could come on board to jump off of the second story roof, which we did several times while the life-jacket clad passengers looked on a little shocked that we were taking over their boat for our shenanigans.
After a couple of hours we decided to leave monkey hell (yes, we renamed the beach). A short paddle back to the main beach (we were going with the waves and wind this time), and we went in search of our meeting place for the next adventure we had planned... a camping trip to Maya Bay, located on an island off of Ko Phi Phi (the location where they filmed the movie The Beach). This was going to be one of our most ultimate travel experiences yet.
we retreated into the ocean, the only place we were able to find refuge from the angry, teeth-flaunting grins of the monkeys. only then could we laugh nervously about what had just happened. we decided it was maybe level three fun, it was going to take a while before we could really look back at our experience at monkey beach and say it was fun/funny (you'd think with a Thai speaker we would have had some warning, but no, the vicious monkeys were a completely unpleasant surprise)...
Once more tourists started to arrive, we decided that the best form of entertainment was to watch the unsuspecting visitors try to befriend the aggressive monkeys, and when one of the little guys snuck up and snatched a tourist's can of pop (and proceeded to sip from it with both hands like a human), we couldn't stop laughing. the snorkeling at monkey beach was amazing, and we felt safe in the water, so that occupied the rest of our time there. when a big tourist boat arrived we asked if we could come on board to jump off of the second story roof, which we did several times while the life-jacket clad passengers looked on a little shocked that we were taking over their boat for our shenanigans.
After a couple of hours we decided to leave monkey hell (yes, we renamed the beach). A short paddle back to the main beach (we were going with the waves and wind this time), and we went in search of our meeting place for the next adventure we had planned... a camping trip to Maya Bay, located on an island off of Ko Phi Phi (the location where they filmed the movie The Beach). This was going to be one of our most ultimate travel experiences yet.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
the happiest day of my life
Woke up early and took a two hour ferry ride to Ko Phi Phi. We made some friends from NY and SF while waiting for the ferry. I cannot get over how many tourists are here (as compared to Cebu especially), not to mention it is the low season - they do discounts on everything! it's sweet! - and all of the issues in Thailand that discouraged travelers, it is surprising how many travelers are here despite all of that. Ko Phi Phi is more developed than Krabi/Railay (which was set in the jungle and very isolated... i really like that about Railay). We decided to stay at one of the bungalows on the less crowded beach a quick boat ride (or 45 minute walk) away from the main dock. It was afternoon by this point and we were determined to hike to the viewpoints that provide an incredible panorama of the area, including Phuket in the distance, and the island where they filmed the movie "The Beach". We first had to walk back to Phi Phi, then we began the ascent to the viewpoints. 344 stairs later (that is just the actual stair count, it doesn't factor in the steep sidewalk meandering to our destination), we had a view of both bays and the neighboring islands, so gorgeous!!
This is when I explain how fun comes in levels: Lo, Kor and I discussed ahead of time that we wanted our trip to be mostly level 1 fun (maybe some level 2). Level 1 fun means that you are having a good time in the moment, aka sitting on a beach sipping on a mango smoothie. Level 2 means that in the moment your experience is not necessarily fun, but immediately after you realize that it is totally amazingly fun (ex: cliff jumping). Level 3 fun is a little bit more difficult to appreciate and sometimes takes hours or days before you realize you enjoyed the experience (i.e. our time on monkey beach and our camping experience - see my next blog). Level 4 fun is like studying for the MCAT... you hate it at the time, you hate it when you take the test, you hate it after, you hate your score, but then you get into med school and you realize that taking the MCAT wasn't so bad after all. Get it? So climbing to the viewpoints, level 2 fun, as our "rough guide" and "lonely planet" (Lo's bible), predicted it would be. Walking up there you are sweating and on the verge of collapsing, you get to the top and you forget all the pain.
Viewpoints 2 and 3 were even more breathtaking and we made our descent feeling happy that we had endured the climb (level 2 fun all the way). Exhausted, we stopped at an internet cafe in Phi Phi to catch up on email. I wasn't really expecting anything new in my gmail, so I was hesitant to use the expensive internet, but since Kor and Lo both were, I caved and got on. I was sifting through some random emails, not really paying attention, until I had already clicked on an email from OHSU, and realized maybe I should start paying attention... I noticed that the email said something about application in the subject line, i saw that there was an attachment, I opened the attachment, the computer wouldn't let me, i tried again, i managed to get it open, English thank goodness (things on the computers here randomly show up in Thai - confusing!). I start reading the attachment... I see the words "congratulations" "acceptance" "OHSU School of Medicine"... I start to freak out. Lo thought Dakota had died when I said in a desperate voice "read this!!" (dont worry, dakota is still alive). In seconds her and Kor had scanned the letter, I was already on my feet screaming, they both consumed me in a huge hug, and then I was crying. The crying was weird because I have never actually been so happy before that it made me cry, but I was crying, and laughing, and the other people in the internet cafe were looking very concerned, and the lady running the internet cafe was bringing me tissue and asking Kor if I was ok, and I wished I knew how to say "never better!!" in Thai, because I was just accepted to Oregon Health and Science University and that was the happiest day of my entire life!!
We wandered around Ko Phi Phi as I tried to calm down, but I wasn't doing a very good job and sobs of joy would sneak out here and there and I couldn't stop shaking - yes, people were staring. We had a huge celebration dinner at a fancy restaurant that night and I called home to share the great news (my mom had the same sobbing response I did :) Then we watched the most extreme presentation of fire juggling I have ever seen. These guys twirled flaming batons so fast I could hardly believe it - wait for the video. And I swear, there were 6 year old boys that would come on stage and do an impressive job with the fiery batons. They would chuck them high into the air and somehow manage to catch them, without burning themselves, before they hit the ground. There were also fire balls attached to a string that one person would catapult across the beach and another would actually catch it, in the complete dark, I don't know how...
then for the finale, two of the guys got up on chairs with a piece of think fabric between them. At first I thought they were just twisting up a fishing net and the show was over, then they took the "net" and dunked it in the gasoline and I started to think the show might not be over after all. They each stood on a chair, the thick fabric hanging down between them, dripping with gasoline, and a third guy came up with a torch and did the obvious thing - he lit the rope on fire. The flames quickly spread up the gasoline-saturated material, right to the hands of the men holding each end. They started to spin the flaming rope like it was a jump rope - I mean, what would you do with a long, flaming piece of fabric, I think using it as a jump rope is really the only logical thing you can do with it. And the first to jump (i.e. be sacrificed), was the 6 year old fire juggler that should be playing gameboy. We should've known he'd be a pro... He hopped effortlessly into the twirling rope and jumped precisely each time the flames came around and grazed the ground below his feet. The video is funny because they start to speed up the jump rope and I say something like "oh my goodness, they're going faster!", and then I start to squeal with each jump for fear that the little boy will get burned. Next a white dude from the audience steps up to the burning rope (in the video you hear me say "I hope this is some random drunk dude who doesn't actually know how to jump rope") and then the guy makes a go at it. he immediately jumps too soon and gets taken down by the scorching rope when it hits his ankles and knocks him onto the ground, at which point he sort of rolls over the flames, gets up, realizes he is not on fire, and... get this... prepares to try it again!! the second time he does a little better, but a few jumps in and sure enough, the rope hits him in the ankles again - 2nd degree burn plus 2nd degree burn equals 4th degree burn right? after that he was done, thank goodness, though he might be wearing pants for the rest of his life. I mean really, the whole thing was just a wild end to the best day of my life. I went to sleep smiling and the next morning, seriously considered that the whole thing might have been a dream (if you'd seen the flaming jump rope you would have questioned the same thing). Fortunately I have Lo and Kor here to remind that it is real!! I was accepted!! Opening that email from OHSU: the epitome of LEVEL 1 FUN!!
This is when I explain how fun comes in levels: Lo, Kor and I discussed ahead of time that we wanted our trip to be mostly level 1 fun (maybe some level 2). Level 1 fun means that you are having a good time in the moment, aka sitting on a beach sipping on a mango smoothie. Level 2 means that in the moment your experience is not necessarily fun, but immediately after you realize that it is totally amazingly fun (ex: cliff jumping). Level 3 fun is a little bit more difficult to appreciate and sometimes takes hours or days before you realize you enjoyed the experience (i.e. our time on monkey beach and our camping experience - see my next blog). Level 4 fun is like studying for the MCAT... you hate it at the time, you hate it when you take the test, you hate it after, you hate your score, but then you get into med school and you realize that taking the MCAT wasn't so bad after all. Get it? So climbing to the viewpoints, level 2 fun, as our "rough guide" and "lonely planet" (Lo's bible), predicted it would be. Walking up there you are sweating and on the verge of collapsing, you get to the top and you forget all the pain.
Viewpoints 2 and 3 were even more breathtaking and we made our descent feeling happy that we had endured the climb (level 2 fun all the way). Exhausted, we stopped at an internet cafe in Phi Phi to catch up on email. I wasn't really expecting anything new in my gmail, so I was hesitant to use the expensive internet, but since Kor and Lo both were, I caved and got on. I was sifting through some random emails, not really paying attention, until I had already clicked on an email from OHSU, and realized maybe I should start paying attention... I noticed that the email said something about application in the subject line, i saw that there was an attachment, I opened the attachment, the computer wouldn't let me, i tried again, i managed to get it open, English thank goodness (things on the computers here randomly show up in Thai - confusing!). I start reading the attachment... I see the words "congratulations" "acceptance" "OHSU School of Medicine"... I start to freak out. Lo thought Dakota had died when I said in a desperate voice "read this!!" (dont worry, dakota is still alive). In seconds her and Kor had scanned the letter, I was already on my feet screaming, they both consumed me in a huge hug, and then I was crying. The crying was weird because I have never actually been so happy before that it made me cry, but I was crying, and laughing, and the other people in the internet cafe were looking very concerned, and the lady running the internet cafe was bringing me tissue and asking Kor if I was ok, and I wished I knew how to say "never better!!" in Thai, because I was just accepted to Oregon Health and Science University and that was the happiest day of my entire life!!
We wandered around Ko Phi Phi as I tried to calm down, but I wasn't doing a very good job and sobs of joy would sneak out here and there and I couldn't stop shaking - yes, people were staring. We had a huge celebration dinner at a fancy restaurant that night and I called home to share the great news (my mom had the same sobbing response I did :) Then we watched the most extreme presentation of fire juggling I have ever seen. These guys twirled flaming batons so fast I could hardly believe it - wait for the video. And I swear, there were 6 year old boys that would come on stage and do an impressive job with the fiery batons. They would chuck them high into the air and somehow manage to catch them, without burning themselves, before they hit the ground. There were also fire balls attached to a string that one person would catapult across the beach and another would actually catch it, in the complete dark, I don't know how...
then for the finale, two of the guys got up on chairs with a piece of think fabric between them. At first I thought they were just twisting up a fishing net and the show was over, then they took the "net" and dunked it in the gasoline and I started to think the show might not be over after all. They each stood on a chair, the thick fabric hanging down between them, dripping with gasoline, and a third guy came up with a torch and did the obvious thing - he lit the rope on fire. The flames quickly spread up the gasoline-saturated material, right to the hands of the men holding each end. They started to spin the flaming rope like it was a jump rope - I mean, what would you do with a long, flaming piece of fabric, I think using it as a jump rope is really the only logical thing you can do with it. And the first to jump (i.e. be sacrificed), was the 6 year old fire juggler that should be playing gameboy. We should've known he'd be a pro... He hopped effortlessly into the twirling rope and jumped precisely each time the flames came around and grazed the ground below his feet. The video is funny because they start to speed up the jump rope and I say something like "oh my goodness, they're going faster!", and then I start to squeal with each jump for fear that the little boy will get burned. Next a white dude from the audience steps up to the burning rope (in the video you hear me say "I hope this is some random drunk dude who doesn't actually know how to jump rope") and then the guy makes a go at it. he immediately jumps too soon and gets taken down by the scorching rope when it hits his ankles and knocks him onto the ground, at which point he sort of rolls over the flames, gets up, realizes he is not on fire, and... get this... prepares to try it again!! the second time he does a little better, but a few jumps in and sure enough, the rope hits him in the ankles again - 2nd degree burn plus 2nd degree burn equals 4th degree burn right? after that he was done, thank goodness, though he might be wearing pants for the rest of his life. I mean really, the whole thing was just a wild end to the best day of my life. I went to sleep smiling and the next morning, seriously considered that the whole thing might have been a dream (if you'd seen the flaming jump rope you would have questioned the same thing). Fortunately I have Lo and Kor here to remind that it is real!! I was accepted!! Opening that email from OHSU: the epitome of LEVEL 1 FUN!!
is it normal to be shaking?
As you can see, I am behind on my blogging, but I am doing my best to catch up!! So we're still in Railay on April 30th and we wake up early to head over to the hippie beach where everyone is meeting for the rock climbing excursion. This time we took the route out and around the rock because the tide was out so far. Lo and I made it to the other side in perfect condition, Kor shows up a few minutes behind us bleeding from like 5 places on his body. he's got blood running down his elbow and his hand is all cut up... what's new? ;) we get to the tree-house-type structure they call their office, and small world, one of Kor's college friends is there!! yeah, weird, I know. we're checking in and being told about where to get our climbing shoes when I hear Kor say "Dave?!" and this guy looks up confused for a second then realizes it is Koranin who he knows!... totally random, in the jungle, in the middle of nowhere Thailand, they had by chance signed up to go on the same rock climbing tour on the same day with the same group - wild! so Kor and Dave got to hang out for the day (something they had been trying to arrange when they were both living in SF but it never managed to work out), and Lo and I got to make instant new friends. Andy was Dave's friend/travel companion and then Jake was there and so was Emil (but not his brother because he was feeling sick - travelers beware, there are many ways to get sick in Thailand, and even more if you're staying in Tongsai), and then there was one more couple... just the right number of people to fit comfortably in the long boat - we would know, we've been crammed into a longboat with about 30 other people, that is definitely more than capacity.
We took the boat out to the first rock climbing location - a huge overhanging cliff where a few people were already climbing. It was intense at first because you have to climb a rope ladder to get on the rock, your hands and shoes are slippery from salt water, and the climbing is not easy - pretty much inherent in climbing outside of a gym. I worked my way along the rock, paying careful attention to the good hand holds designated by the chalk smeared on the rock from previous climbers. I would look for the whitest spots I could find and sure enough, there would always be a great hand hold for me to stabilize myself with. Lo and I struggled, being such inexperienced climbers with little strength and a small reach, so we would climb as high as we could manage then jump off into the ocean below. It was a blast!! And Dave gave us some helpful instruction that made climbing so much easier and enjoyable, and allowed us to climb higher and tire less quickly... it was great to have a coach along for the trip :)
Feeling shaky and thoroughly exhausted after a morning of climbing, we headed to a secret beach nearby to enjoy the snorkeling and get some lunch. The food was incredible but seriously the spiciest thing I have ever eaten (so I automatically loved it :), I think, had I eaten that lunch near an open flame, my breath literally would have caught on fire. We bouldered a little on the beach, and were awed by the ability of our tiny Thai guide to climb up anything. I swear he is spider man, his hands and feet just stick to the rock, I bet he could climb up a marble wall. It was jaw dropping to watch him scale the cliffs around the beach... his hand holds were maybe big enough for a single finger or toe, and as he moved swiftly up the wall (which was angled so that he hung almost below the rock where he held on), he would shift his entire body from side to side, laying almost horizontal at times in order to free up a hand or foot to move to the next hold. It was an incredible display of skill, especially considering I tried to merely hang on the same wall and couldn't manage... terrib! and terribly awesome that he spider-monkeyed his way up any and every rock we encountered.
After everyone was full and somewhat digested we headed to the next climbing spot. Lo and I pretty much sat this one out and enjoyed the show (we were with some impressively experienced climbers)... it wasn't that the climbing at this spot was particularly challenging, it was that the first part, going up the ladder and getting securely on the rock, was difficult, and we were tired from the morning of climbing. Once past the first part, the climbing was fairly easy, which posed a problem because the guys could climb so high and with such ease that they would get up to 20 meters high having hardly broken a sweat and then they were left with only one option - jump. The guides were no help in keeping our fellow travelers at a safe height, they kept encouraging our group members to "climb more higher",and with their knowledgeable instruction (the guides had all the good hand and foot holds memorized), Dave quickly found himself sitting 60 plus feet above the water, on a small ledge, trying to work up the courage to jump. After he survived the fall/jump/suicide attempt, Emil decided to give it a go, then Andy, then Jake, and then, much to our horror, Kor.
Once sitting on the tiny ledge kor yells down "is it normal to be shaking?!!" (I have this on video, don't worry), and we all try to encourage him. For a moment there I was convinced we were going to have to bring in a helicopter or something to get him down, but he finally got the courage (or lost the common sense) and jumped!! Such a long fall, with each jump I was shocked by the air time, but kor survived - it was a little alarming that when each of the guys jumped our guide would paddle the kayak out to them once they hit the water, like he was expecting them to float to the surface face down or something and he wanted to be ready to rescue them... There was more climbing after this, more daring feats by the boys, and I was surprised when we were all heading back to the beach with only minor injuries. By the end of the day we were all inevitably abused: bug bites, sun burns, jelly fish stings (so many stinking jelly fish by the rocks, i'd be swimming and sporadically yelp in pain when I'd get stung, it made me wish I could walk on water) and scrapes from the rocks. fortunately that was the worst of it, and they made for great battle wounds!! (though Lo could do with a few less bug bites).
Having bonded with our fellow rock climbers we made a plan to meet up for dinner. 6 of us showed and explored the east side of the island looking for a great place to dine, which we found. then it was cards and beers until everyone was ready for bed. Just another day in paradise :)
We took the boat out to the first rock climbing location - a huge overhanging cliff where a few people were already climbing. It was intense at first because you have to climb a rope ladder to get on the rock, your hands and shoes are slippery from salt water, and the climbing is not easy - pretty much inherent in climbing outside of a gym. I worked my way along the rock, paying careful attention to the good hand holds designated by the chalk smeared on the rock from previous climbers. I would look for the whitest spots I could find and sure enough, there would always be a great hand hold for me to stabilize myself with. Lo and I struggled, being such inexperienced climbers with little strength and a small reach, so we would climb as high as we could manage then jump off into the ocean below. It was a blast!! And Dave gave us some helpful instruction that made climbing so much easier and enjoyable, and allowed us to climb higher and tire less quickly... it was great to have a coach along for the trip :)
Feeling shaky and thoroughly exhausted after a morning of climbing, we headed to a secret beach nearby to enjoy the snorkeling and get some lunch. The food was incredible but seriously the spiciest thing I have ever eaten (so I automatically loved it :), I think, had I eaten that lunch near an open flame, my breath literally would have caught on fire. We bouldered a little on the beach, and were awed by the ability of our tiny Thai guide to climb up anything. I swear he is spider man, his hands and feet just stick to the rock, I bet he could climb up a marble wall. It was jaw dropping to watch him scale the cliffs around the beach... his hand holds were maybe big enough for a single finger or toe, and as he moved swiftly up the wall (which was angled so that he hung almost below the rock where he held on), he would shift his entire body from side to side, laying almost horizontal at times in order to free up a hand or foot to move to the next hold. It was an incredible display of skill, especially considering I tried to merely hang on the same wall and couldn't manage... terrib! and terribly awesome that he spider-monkeyed his way up any and every rock we encountered.
After everyone was full and somewhat digested we headed to the next climbing spot. Lo and I pretty much sat this one out and enjoyed the show (we were with some impressively experienced climbers)... it wasn't that the climbing at this spot was particularly challenging, it was that the first part, going up the ladder and getting securely on the rock, was difficult, and we were tired from the morning of climbing. Once past the first part, the climbing was fairly easy, which posed a problem because the guys could climb so high and with such ease that they would get up to 20 meters high having hardly broken a sweat and then they were left with only one option - jump. The guides were no help in keeping our fellow travelers at a safe height, they kept encouraging our group members to "climb more higher",and with their knowledgeable instruction (the guides had all the good hand and foot holds memorized), Dave quickly found himself sitting 60 plus feet above the water, on a small ledge, trying to work up the courage to jump. After he survived the fall/jump/suicide attempt, Emil decided to give it a go, then Andy, then Jake, and then, much to our horror, Kor.
Once sitting on the tiny ledge kor yells down "is it normal to be shaking?!!" (I have this on video, don't worry), and we all try to encourage him. For a moment there I was convinced we were going to have to bring in a helicopter or something to get him down, but he finally got the courage (or lost the common sense) and jumped!! Such a long fall, with each jump I was shocked by the air time, but kor survived - it was a little alarming that when each of the guys jumped our guide would paddle the kayak out to them once they hit the water, like he was expecting them to float to the surface face down or something and he wanted to be ready to rescue them... There was more climbing after this, more daring feats by the boys, and I was surprised when we were all heading back to the beach with only minor injuries. By the end of the day we were all inevitably abused: bug bites, sun burns, jelly fish stings (so many stinking jelly fish by the rocks, i'd be swimming and sporadically yelp in pain when I'd get stung, it made me wish I could walk on water) and scrapes from the rocks. fortunately that was the worst of it, and they made for great battle wounds!! (though Lo could do with a few less bug bites).
Having bonded with our fellow rock climbers we made a plan to meet up for dinner. 6 of us showed and explored the east side of the island looking for a great place to dine, which we found. then it was cards and beers until everyone was ready for bed. Just another day in paradise :)
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
bkk to krabi - hippie beach!
from the airport we took a bus to the ocean and then a boat to railay (the only way to access the beaches of railay despite the area not actually being an island). the peninsula is breathtaking... steep cliffs jutting straight out of the ocean hundreds of feet high, most covered in trees and vines, surrounded by crystal clear blue-green water. i couldn't get enough of our surroundings. after an exhausting trek from the west to east side and back we finally settled on a place to stay; a cute little bungalow with an amazing pool, beach-front restaurant, and an impressive breakfast included :) we tried to rest on the beach a little, take in the sun, allow ourselves to get suckered into buying sundresses from old and wrinkled local women who drive hard bargains (one such women got me with a brown strapless dress I just couldn't say no to)... but that didn't last long. I've found the three of us aren't very good at sitting still, so after a short break we headed down the beach (not exciting enough), and decided to swim around the point to see what's on the other side (adequately adventuresome :)
the buoyancy of salt water never ceases to amaze me. swimming takes such little effort, and if you get the least bit tired or lazy you can, quite literally, lay back, put your hands behind your head, and rest. no effort to stay afloat, it is incredible!! we arrived on the far end of a long beach, where three guys happened to be hanging out in the water. they yelled "mermaids" as we came up on the beach, which gave us the okay to speak to them in English. turns out one of them, Jake, is from Iowa of all places, and has been traveling solo for a while. the other two were from Denmark and brothers. The three of them fit the mold of the isolated beach quite well... it seemed to be a hippie commune we had stumbled (swam?) upon and the more we explored, the more our first impression was reinforced. Bob Marley posters and music everywhere, and marijuana leaves decorated many of the buildings and souvenirs. We even found a sign offering "peace cake" which looked to be a cake version of weed brownies (we did not let kor try it, despite his interest). Everyone we spoke to was sporting tie-dye and dreads - and many were blatantly high - which made our side of the "rock" seem a bit stuffy (quite frankly, boring), compared to the laid-back atmosphere of the tongsai beach we had discovered.
Our new friends told us about a climbing adventure we should join them on the next day, and after getting more details about the trip we set off to find Wee Climbing so we could sign up. After scouring the buildings along the beach and seeing mostly bars, we ran into Emil again (one of the Danish boys) and he directed us down a long dirt road into the jungle where he said we would find the climbing place (he warned us that it would be "uncomfortable" to walk to road barefoot, which it was, particularly for Kor, who dragged behind us by about 30 feet the whole walk... he has trouble keeping up). We finally found the Wee Climbing sign and eagerly committed to what sounded like - and turned out to be - the perfect day. Our plan for our stay in Railay was to do some rock climbing, cliff jumping and kayaking... with the trip, we got to do all three! score!! and the tour said lunch was included :) can't pass up an offer that good. We swam back to our side of the island talking of LOST and how we had just visited "the others" (for all you LOST fans out there). We had been invited by some of the tongsai residents (they are more residents on that side of the beach than visitors), to return for a party that night, so we had dinner, then set out for hippie land again. Unfortunately, in the dark this proved more difficult than we expected...
Swimming there is fine in the daylight, but at night, with the tide out and no way to see, we decided to take the other route we had heard about. the only problem was that we couldn't find a way over the huge mountain that separated our beach and theirs. headlamps on (dad, you have no idea how useful my headlamp had been! thanks for getting it for me :) we searched every possibility, but all we found was steep rocky cliffs and some creepy caves that we opted against entering. feeling defeated, we started to walk back to our bungalow, until we spotted a light moving rapidly in our direction - two girls, somewhat tipsy, heading to the "other side". they didn't slow their pace but offered a friendly invitation for us to follow them because they've done the trek "loads of times" - what luck! first they tried the ocean route (you can walk over there at low tide), it was a no go. but they told us not to worry and led us straight to a discrete path we had overlooked. The trail went directly up these huge boulders, with no end or flattening out in sight - riiight... we followed obediently and in silence as they picked their way along, talking in an ambiguous accent the entire time about some hula girl who wears a nude swimsuit and gyrates her hips for an hour and if they could do that they would be cool too (no joke, this is basically word for word what their conversation was). despite how strange the whole sequence of events was, the 10 minute or so hike up and over the mountain went quickly and we soon found ourselves standing on the tongsai beach, a little shell-shocked, and thanking the girls as they hurried off to whatever party they were seeking. Lo and I escaped the hike unscathed as usual, Kor looked like an overworked racehorse... as usual (see references in later blogs, or ask me about when we all hiked half dome - it is when we came up with the "overworked racehorse" description).
We put our concerns about getting back to Railay aside and went in search of the party. a flame juggler distracted us long enough to enjoy a beer outside the Viking Bar, while we watched his performance and laughed about how we were pretty sure he was a drunk amateur who was going to set himself on fire - we weren't being rude, it's just that when he was practicing with the unlit strings he kept hitting his very flammable-looking pants. The party wasn't difficult to find, it was lit up in the middle of the jungle, a live band was playing surprisingly decent music, and there were drunk and high people everywhere enjoying the show. we decided it best to stay as sober as possible considering the trek back to our beach that we knew lay ahead, so we sat down and watched an extraordinarily high middle-aged man do the funniest stuff on stage in front of the band. he was so absurd that even the high/drunk people who were a part of this culture were rolling on the floor laughing and taking pictures as he tried to dance to the music, kick himself in the face, and bounce around on a tight-rope tied between two trees (used for improving balance). we were actually convinced he was going to catapult himself through the crowd as he bounced back and fourth, announcing with a heavy slur about a trip tomorrow that everyone should go on (at this point we were a little concerned that he was actually our guide for the rock climbing adventure, but fortunately we were mistaken). I have video of the whole thing, I'm not sure you can hear the music over my laughter, but you can definitely see crazy-high-man and it is hilarious!!
After all of that excitement we decided to call it a night. The hike back wasn't terrible, though we heard some creepy loud noises in the forest and I thought we were going to be eaten by a jungle beast. There was also a huge spider... never mind, I'm freaking my mom out too much. Anyway, point is we made it back safe and sound and somewhat enlightened to the different world that was hiding just beyond the small mountain West of Railay.
the buoyancy of salt water never ceases to amaze me. swimming takes such little effort, and if you get the least bit tired or lazy you can, quite literally, lay back, put your hands behind your head, and rest. no effort to stay afloat, it is incredible!! we arrived on the far end of a long beach, where three guys happened to be hanging out in the water. they yelled "mermaids" as we came up on the beach, which gave us the okay to speak to them in English. turns out one of them, Jake, is from Iowa of all places, and has been traveling solo for a while. the other two were from Denmark and brothers. The three of them fit the mold of the isolated beach quite well... it seemed to be a hippie commune we had stumbled (swam?) upon and the more we explored, the more our first impression was reinforced. Bob Marley posters and music everywhere, and marijuana leaves decorated many of the buildings and souvenirs. We even found a sign offering "peace cake" which looked to be a cake version of weed brownies (we did not let kor try it, despite his interest). Everyone we spoke to was sporting tie-dye and dreads - and many were blatantly high - which made our side of the "rock" seem a bit stuffy (quite frankly, boring), compared to the laid-back atmosphere of the tongsai beach we had discovered.
Our new friends told us about a climbing adventure we should join them on the next day, and after getting more details about the trip we set off to find Wee Climbing so we could sign up. After scouring the buildings along the beach and seeing mostly bars, we ran into Emil again (one of the Danish boys) and he directed us down a long dirt road into the jungle where he said we would find the climbing place (he warned us that it would be "uncomfortable" to walk to road barefoot, which it was, particularly for Kor, who dragged behind us by about 30 feet the whole walk... he has trouble keeping up). We finally found the Wee Climbing sign and eagerly committed to what sounded like - and turned out to be - the perfect day. Our plan for our stay in Railay was to do some rock climbing, cliff jumping and kayaking... with the trip, we got to do all three! score!! and the tour said lunch was included :) can't pass up an offer that good. We swam back to our side of the island talking of LOST and how we had just visited "the others" (for all you LOST fans out there). We had been invited by some of the tongsai residents (they are more residents on that side of the beach than visitors), to return for a party that night, so we had dinner, then set out for hippie land again. Unfortunately, in the dark this proved more difficult than we expected...
Swimming there is fine in the daylight, but at night, with the tide out and no way to see, we decided to take the other route we had heard about. the only problem was that we couldn't find a way over the huge mountain that separated our beach and theirs. headlamps on (dad, you have no idea how useful my headlamp had been! thanks for getting it for me :) we searched every possibility, but all we found was steep rocky cliffs and some creepy caves that we opted against entering. feeling defeated, we started to walk back to our bungalow, until we spotted a light moving rapidly in our direction - two girls, somewhat tipsy, heading to the "other side". they didn't slow their pace but offered a friendly invitation for us to follow them because they've done the trek "loads of times" - what luck! first they tried the ocean route (you can walk over there at low tide), it was a no go. but they told us not to worry and led us straight to a discrete path we had overlooked. The trail went directly up these huge boulders, with no end or flattening out in sight - riiight... we followed obediently and in silence as they picked their way along, talking in an ambiguous accent the entire time about some hula girl who wears a nude swimsuit and gyrates her hips for an hour and if they could do that they would be cool too (no joke, this is basically word for word what their conversation was). despite how strange the whole sequence of events was, the 10 minute or so hike up and over the mountain went quickly and we soon found ourselves standing on the tongsai beach, a little shell-shocked, and thanking the girls as they hurried off to whatever party they were seeking. Lo and I escaped the hike unscathed as usual, Kor looked like an overworked racehorse... as usual (see references in later blogs, or ask me about when we all hiked half dome - it is when we came up with the "overworked racehorse" description).
We put our concerns about getting back to Railay aside and went in search of the party. a flame juggler distracted us long enough to enjoy a beer outside the Viking Bar, while we watched his performance and laughed about how we were pretty sure he was a drunk amateur who was going to set himself on fire - we weren't being rude, it's just that when he was practicing with the unlit strings he kept hitting his very flammable-looking pants. The party wasn't difficult to find, it was lit up in the middle of the jungle, a live band was playing surprisingly decent music, and there were drunk and high people everywhere enjoying the show. we decided it best to stay as sober as possible considering the trek back to our beach that we knew lay ahead, so we sat down and watched an extraordinarily high middle-aged man do the funniest stuff on stage in front of the band. he was so absurd that even the high/drunk people who were a part of this culture were rolling on the floor laughing and taking pictures as he tried to dance to the music, kick himself in the face, and bounce around on a tight-rope tied between two trees (used for improving balance). we were actually convinced he was going to catapult himself through the crowd as he bounced back and fourth, announcing with a heavy slur about a trip tomorrow that everyone should go on (at this point we were a little concerned that he was actually our guide for the rock climbing adventure, but fortunately we were mistaken). I have video of the whole thing, I'm not sure you can hear the music over my laughter, but you can definitely see crazy-high-man and it is hilarious!!
After all of that excitement we decided to call it a night. The hike back wasn't terrible, though we heard some creepy loud noises in the forest and I thought we were going to be eaten by a jungle beast. There was also a huge spider... never mind, I'm freaking my mom out too much. Anyway, point is we made it back safe and sound and somewhat enlightened to the different world that was hiding just beyond the small mountain West of Railay.
muay thai kickboxing cont...
i think this is where i left off with the last blog... we've got two boxers in the ring, the first bell sounds and the ref gives the "go" signal - the fight begins. Each match starts off slow, the opponents dance to the rhythm of bells that ring through the building during the fight, and feel out the style of the other fighter. Rounds 1 and 2 are always a little slow, warming up, gauging skill, being careful to save enough energy for the end... Each fight is unique, and consequently, edge-of-your-seat captivating, especially in the final rounds. The boxers are quick, and deceivingly strong for their size - is it possible to have negative body fat? The loud slap of bare foot on skin echos through the audience and about half of the crowd goes wild in response. As the fight progresses the welts on thighs and abdomens darken from pink to purple and multiply with each round. In the later rounds the fighters close in, they interlock arms, and both try to pull their opponent close to prevent an attack while attempting to distance their own legs enough to pick up momentum for a side jab that scores a point (confusing? not when you're watching it). Eventually the ref will step in, pressing his body to both of the boxers' as a signal for them to stop pummeling each other for a moment while he grabs them simultaneously by the back of the neck and pulls them apart, forcing them to opposite ends of the right with firm pushes to their sternums. He gives the signals and red and blue are instantly mixing to purple again as the crowd roars in response.
The fights were all remarkably even, the fighters strikingly compatible in strength and skill, that we hardly ever correctly predicted the winner. At the beginning of each match we'd wait for the opponents to remove their robes, then we'd size them up during their warm up, and settle on our "bets" by the first bell. I tried to choose the bigger of the two, more muscle, longer reach, but a few kicks in and I'd always be questioning my decision. Betting is a big part of the matches. Behind us the stands were filled with men of all ages yelling and screaming with hands in the air, fingers indicating who their money was on and how much they were betting.
Despite the outward violence of the sport, in involves an incredible amount of skill and if you can appreciate that fact you will be instantly hooked. Also, I loved watching the fighters before and after the match when they would smile and act somewhat human :) during the fights you are convinced their stern, often grimacing faces and blank eyes are incapable of such a facial gesture as a smile... But when the fight is over they break into wide smiles, hug their opponents as if they weren't enemies just a moment before, and you know they wouldn't want to be doing anything other than muay thai boxing.
I have pages more I could write about the matches, I could replay each fight with detail you couldn't get from film footage, but I have other blogs to write and I'm far behind on my Thailand adventures, so I'm going to move on. Ask me if you'd like to hear more about muay thai boxing, I'd be happy to elaborate :)
The fights were all remarkably even, the fighters strikingly compatible in strength and skill, that we hardly ever correctly predicted the winner. At the beginning of each match we'd wait for the opponents to remove their robes, then we'd size them up during their warm up, and settle on our "bets" by the first bell. I tried to choose the bigger of the two, more muscle, longer reach, but a few kicks in and I'd always be questioning my decision. Betting is a big part of the matches. Behind us the stands were filled with men of all ages yelling and screaming with hands in the air, fingers indicating who their money was on and how much they were betting.
Despite the outward violence of the sport, in involves an incredible amount of skill and if you can appreciate that fact you will be instantly hooked. Also, I loved watching the fighters before and after the match when they would smile and act somewhat human :) during the fights you are convinced their stern, often grimacing faces and blank eyes are incapable of such a facial gesture as a smile... But when the fight is over they break into wide smiles, hug their opponents as if they weren't enemies just a moment before, and you know they wouldn't want to be doing anything other than muay thai boxing.
I have pages more I could write about the matches, I could replay each fight with detail you couldn't get from film footage, but I have other blogs to write and I'm far behind on my Thailand adventures, so I'm going to move on. Ask me if you'd like to hear more about muay thai boxing, I'd be happy to elaborate :)
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
bangkok!!
I’m not really sure how to sum up the last two days in Bangkok… we had a whirlwind tour courtesy of Koranin’s amazing dad, and now we’re packing to leave early in the morning for Southern Thailand - beaches!! Immediately after landing yesterday we went to the grand temple, then to see the gold Buddha, then to the mall, and finally on a dinner cruise on the river at night. We were exhausted after all the excitement (and so little sleep the night before our flight), but we managed to get up early today and headed to the floating market in time to claim a boat. The floating market is a must-do Thailand adventure without question :) You climb into a long, simple boat – that seems very unstable, and I was slightly worried we might overturn into the green-brown water! The boat sits really low (allowing for easy viewing of the merchandise, which is also usually in boats), and you’re in the boat with your knees crammed up to your chest, one person to each of the five benches. The guide rows you along a canal that is lined with stands and boats packed with souvenirs. As you pass each merchant, if you so much as look at their souvenirs for more than a second, they take their long pole and hook it on your boat and drag you over to their stand/boat of knickknacks, framed spiders, Buddha’s, elephants, purses, hats, vases, hammocks, statues, carvings, shoes, spices, and pretty much anything else you could want to remember your time in Thailand. Boats also float by with such a variety of food that I could hardly identify half of what I was seeing. Just when the food in the Philippines was starting to become familiar, we travel on to this new country where everything is freshly foreign!! And don’t even get me started about the language… Cebu was a great way to ease into a new language because everything there is written in English, and the pronunciation of their language is phonetical – almost perfectly phonetical. Here I don’t recognize the letters, and I can no longer say “thank you”, “you’re welcome”, “please”, “my name is”, “how are you?”, et cetera et cetera. We had just mastered all of the critical words to help us get around politely and with ease, and now we’re starting from scratch! So far, I’ve figured out “thank you” in Thai… always the most important :)
A few more striking differences between the Philippines and Thailand: In contrast to the strictly white taxi’s of Cebu, the taxi’s of Thailand are every bright and obnoxious color imaginable, and often multicolored (pink, orange, blue, green and yellow… all of the almost-neon variety). While driving, I have also noticed how alarmingly quiet it seems as few people, if any, use their horns – thank goodness! However, the driving is just as chaotic, and motorbikes are still everywhere… but jeepney’s are now absent, and you see many nicer cars such as bmw, Lexus, and Mercedes. In fact, so much about Thailand seems notably developed and modern compared to what I have been experiencing for the last month in the Philippines. Because of the great number of tourists here, it is hardly remarkable to see two white girls wandering the streets, and I could not be more relieved that there are no staring locals here!! Along with that, though, is my observation that, thus far, the people are less friendly than Filipinos (I expected this, I do not think I can stress enough how sweet and kind and friendly Cebuanos are, I am convinced they are the nicest people in the world, so obviously the Thai can’t live up to that :) As for the slums, they are few and far between in Bangkok (but I feel this will change when we head out of the city), and they seem like upscale retirement communities compared to the shanty towns that lined nearly every street in Cebu. Finally, the Thai Buddha has replaced Santo Nino of the Philippines as the decorated relic you see in every store, sitting on each car dashboard, decorating all the intricate buildings we pass… the architecture here is extremely detailed and it seems like every other building must be some important temple of sorts, though only a few actually are.
Today, after the floating market, we left in search of the ancient city (I think that’s what it was called, I’m still in the “confused” stage of travel, it being only day two in this new country)… It is basically a park, in the shape of Thailand, with models and imitations of actual monuments, in their relatively correct places within the "country", if that makes sense. I guess the idea is that you can see all the important things in the country in just one stop! It was really cool to wander around and see so many temples and monuments all in one place. Thoroughly exhausted from sightseeing the entire country in a few hours ;) we left and headed for the highlight of our time in Bangkok (I’m pretty certain Lo would disagree, but for Kor and myself, tonight was unquestionably the highlight of the trip so far :). We got front row seats at a Muay Thai boxing match!! What an experience! I cannot believe it took me 23 years to realize and appreciate what an entertaining sport boxing can be, particularly Thai style boxing! Here we go!!....
The boxing ring is in the center of a circular building called the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. The building itself has the typical roof made from a mosaic of scrap metal and corrugated tin, with long fluorescent bulbs lighting the ring, and a few fans high on the ceiling, doing little to circulate the stuffy air (though I thought it impossible, I’m pretty sure it is hotter here than it was in the Philippines). Above the ring there are glowing signs advertizing Coca Cola and Chang, a beer with a very “Thai” elephant logo. We take our seats and wait for the first fighters. Match 1 and 2 are to get the crowd warmed up, and to entertain those who arrive on time while the stands fill for the later, more intense matches (a match consists of 5 rounds). The competitors start off in the lower weight classes (100 lbs!!) and then move up to the heavy-weight fighters (136lbs), which is the featured fight of the night.
Two opponents climb into the ring, one blue, one red… they wear gloves, boxing shorts, and ankle protectors to match their color (though the red boxers tended to favor wearing hot pink boxing shorts). Kor and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to buy ourselves boxing shorts at the store nearby the ring, and now we both have a pair of Muay Thai shorts we plan to wear for the annual Bay to Breakers 12K in San Francisco (for the costumed race we’re dress up as, you guessed it! Thai boxers!). We took some serious notes on the boxers' attire, so that our costumes will be as authentic as possible. They fight barefoot and shirtless, and usually have braided rope tied around their head and each of their biceps. When they first enter the ring they wear a robe and are decorated with flowers, but both of those accessories come off before the fight begins. Prior to the first bell, music plays while the fighters warm up… well, more than warm up they move around the ring doing what looks like mixed martial arts in slow motion, though sometimes they lunge in these odd positions and wiggle their feet and hands and I can’t help but think they look like exotic birds doing a mating dance. The warmup routine is designed to honor their coaches and it is part of the tradition of the sport.
I don’t have time to say more about the fight now (inopportune moment to stop this entry, I know, sorry!). We’re catching a flight really early tomorrow morning and it’s already 1:30am here so I need to pack/sleep, but I promise as soon as I can find a more reliable internet connection I will describe the match, because it was awesome!! Get excited!!! I've got you hooked now :)
also, i dont know why the font of this post is so big (not sure if it will be that way for everyone), and the websites on this computer are in Thai so I'd like you to appreciate that I even figured out how to post this!
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