Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Kanchanaburi in a Hurry
To get to Pai, our "minibus" (a large van with 10 passengers) had to navigate roads that put New Zealand roads to shame. They were super hilly and curvy - there are 782 curves on the way to Pai, to be exact.
We were in Pai over a weekend and it was BUSY. Most of the tourists, however, were Thais. We rented a scooter and explored a few local waterfalls, one of which we could swim in. Our bungalow was surrounded by roosters who woke us up every hour starting at 2am.
From Pai we embarked upon a 22-hour journey to Kanchanaburi, which involved many modes of transportation. First we had a minibus ride through the hilly and curvy countryside back to Chiang Mai. There we caught a "taxi" (a pick-up truck with two bench seats in the back) to our mystery big bus boarding location. This was an overnight bus to Bangkok. Arriving in Bangkok at 6am we hired a tuk-tuk to the train station, where we caught a 3rd class train to Kanchanaburi. 3rd class means no assigned seats, no air conditioning, just bench seats - and animals are allowed. In Kanchanaburi we walked and then hired a rickshaw to bring us to our guesthouse. Seven modes of transportation and 22 hours later, we were in our guesthouse overlooking the River Kwai.
Our guesthouse has a pool, which we've been enjoying since it's HOT - over 35 degrees. We have been exploring the historical parts of the city since it was home to a POW camp during WWII where many Allied soldiers met their death.
On Friday we leave Thailand and arrive in Delhi, India. We will be in India for 10 weeks before flying back to Southeast Asia in mid-April. We are looking forward to the adventures that await us in an extraordinary country like India!
We were in Pai over a weekend and it was BUSY. Most of the tourists, however, were Thais. We rented a scooter and explored a few local waterfalls, one of which we could swim in. Our bungalow was surrounded by roosters who woke us up every hour starting at 2am.
From Pai we embarked upon a 22-hour journey to Kanchanaburi, which involved many modes of transportation. First we had a minibus ride through the hilly and curvy countryside back to Chiang Mai. There we caught a "taxi" (a pick-up truck with two bench seats in the back) to our mystery big bus boarding location. This was an overnight bus to Bangkok. Arriving in Bangkok at 6am we hired a tuk-tuk to the train station, where we caught a 3rd class train to Kanchanaburi. 3rd class means no assigned seats, no air conditioning, just bench seats - and animals are allowed. In Kanchanaburi we walked and then hired a rickshaw to bring us to our guesthouse. Seven modes of transportation and 22 hours later, we were in our guesthouse overlooking the River Kwai.
Our guesthouse has a pool, which we've been enjoying since it's HOT - over 35 degrees. We have been exploring the historical parts of the city since it was home to a POW camp during WWII where many Allied soldiers met their death.
On Friday we leave Thailand and arrive in Delhi, India. We will be in India for 10 weeks before flying back to Southeast Asia in mid-April. We are looking forward to the adventures that await us in an extraordinary country like India!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Hello, My Name is Bingo. I Like to Climb on Things. Can I Have a Banana? Eeep Eeep.
We left Koh Chang with only one thing on our minds: monkey business.
We headed back to Bangkok via bus, and took an evening train to the town of Lopburi. We arrived in town at 10:30pm with no idea of where we were heading. After playing "directions charades" with a local shopkeeper, we arrived at our hotel, where the bars on our windows were not to keep out robbers but "a renegade gang of trouble-making monkeys" as accurately described by Lonely Planet.
The next morning we headed to their local gang turf - the temple across the road, where the gang of 200+ monkeys were out in full force. Here they enjoyed jumping on Craig while he photographed them. At one point he had three monkey babies on him. The good news is Craig is now nit-free. The bad news is he may have a monkey disease known as "bananarama fever". At the temple we fed lots of monkeys and were protected by guards with slingshots who tried to prevent further attacks.
As we explored the city we realized the monkeys were everywhere and had free roam (see the video of us crossing the street by our hotel). The locals consider them pests, but we loved them.
We really felt we were off the beaten track as we explored deeper in the city. We were always the only non-Thais around. In the evening we stumbled across a park where 50 people were doing coordinated aerobics, which is a common sight here. We also watched some young guys playing takraw - look it up on YouTube! It's like volleyball using only your head and feet to send a rattan ball over the net. The guys do aerial stunts and ninja bicycle kicks, often landing on their hands. We were thoroughly impressed.
Then we braved a 10-hour train journey north to Chang Mai, where we are now. We have been exploring some of the 300 temples in town, but it begins to feel like once you've seen five or six temples, you've seen them all.
To give you an idea of how affordable travelling is here, a few examples of our daily costs:
- Pad Thai = $1 - $2 CAD
- Bottle of beer = $1 CAD
- Pack of birth control pills = $0.50 (as seen in the pharmacy but not actually purchased - can you trust them when they are cheaper than a chocolate bar?!)
- Hotel room with hot water, private bathroom, A/C, TV = $10 CAD
- Guest house room with fan, shared bathroom = $8 CAD
- Bus ticket (4 hour journey) = $6 CAD
- Train ticket (10 hour journey + lunch) = $18 CAD
On Friday we head to the small town of Pai (population 3000), which will NOT be off the beaten track, as the transvestite/ladyboy we bought our bus ticket from assured us there are many "farangs" (white people) there.
It's all in a day in the life of Thailand!
We headed back to Bangkok via bus, and took an evening train to the town of Lopburi. We arrived in town at 10:30pm with no idea of where we were heading. After playing "directions charades" with a local shopkeeper, we arrived at our hotel, where the bars on our windows were not to keep out robbers but "a renegade gang of trouble-making monkeys" as accurately described by Lonely Planet.
The next morning we headed to their local gang turf - the temple across the road, where the gang of 200+ monkeys were out in full force. Here they enjoyed jumping on Craig while he photographed them. At one point he had three monkey babies on him. The good news is Craig is now nit-free. The bad news is he may have a monkey disease known as "bananarama fever". At the temple we fed lots of monkeys and were protected by guards with slingshots who tried to prevent further attacks.
As we explored the city we realized the monkeys were everywhere and had free roam (see the video of us crossing the street by our hotel). The locals consider them pests, but we loved them.
We really felt we were off the beaten track as we explored deeper in the city. We were always the only non-Thais around. In the evening we stumbled across a park where 50 people were doing coordinated aerobics, which is a common sight here. We also watched some young guys playing takraw - look it up on YouTube! It's like volleyball using only your head and feet to send a rattan ball over the net. The guys do aerial stunts and ninja bicycle kicks, often landing on their hands. We were thoroughly impressed.
Then we braved a 10-hour train journey north to Chang Mai, where we are now. We have been exploring some of the 300 temples in town, but it begins to feel like once you've seen five or six temples, you've seen them all.
To give you an idea of how affordable travelling is here, a few examples of our daily costs:
- Pad Thai = $1 - $2 CAD
- Bottle of beer = $1 CAD
- Pack of birth control pills = $0.50 (as seen in the pharmacy but not actually purchased - can you trust them when they are cheaper than a chocolate bar?!)
- Hotel room with hot water, private bathroom, A/C, TV = $10 CAD
- Guest house room with fan, shared bathroom = $8 CAD
- Bus ticket (4 hour journey) = $6 CAD
- Train ticket (10 hour journey + lunch) = $18 CAD
On Friday we head to the small town of Pai (population 3000), which will NOT be off the beaten track, as the transvestite/ladyboy we bought our bus ticket from assured us there are many "farangs" (white people) there.
It's all in a day in the life of Thailand!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Chicken Fried Rice, and I Don't Care...
We left New Zealand last week Friday on a 12-hour flight to Bangkok, Thailand. With personal TV screens, movies and TV shows on demand, three meals, and all the free alcohol you wanted, the flight with Thai Airways was one of our best.
Bangkok is as nuts as everyone says it is. We stayed at a guesthouse on Soi Rambutri, just around the corner from the famous Khao San Road. That area of the city is like a nonstop carnival with really good food stalls.
On our first day in Bangkok we did the regular tour of the city via tuk-tuk, which is a motorized three-wheeled speeding death machine of awesomeness (no seatbelts, of course) that took us to see temples and other attractions, including the giant Chatuchak Markets. These markets have over 15,000 stalls, selling everything from puppies to clothes to snakes to ninja stars, and everything in between.
Another day we went to the shopping district with four huge malls within 1 km of each other. At one there was Versace on the first floow, Maserati and Lamborghini dealerships on the fourth floor, and IMAX on the seventh floor, where we watched "Avatar" in 3-D.
After three busy days in Bangkok we decided to head to the beaches for some R&R. We've been on the island of Koh Chang for four days now, enjoying the warm sun and refreshing sea. A few days ago we rented a scooter to explore the island and found monkeys eating garbage - the raccoons of the island. We also did an elephant trek, where we bathed with the elephants in a stream, fed them, and rode them. Our guide got off and let us take turns "driving" the elephant while sitting on its neck.
The food here is amazing - we haven't had a bad dish yet. Pad Thai, fried rice, and Thai curries are staples of our diet now. We've also been indulging in Thai beers, as they are very cheap and tasty. You can get a 660mL bottle of 6.4% beer for less than $2 CAD. After a hard day of relaxing on the beach it really sorts you out!
We're planning on heading north of Bangkok next, as we'll be exploring the southern beaches when Carrie and Nick are here in May.
A final thought, and something no one tells you: Thai toilet systems apparently cannot handle toilet paper, so you get a spray gun to clean with, and toilet paper goes in the garbage. In our beach hut you flush via bucket. As in, you keep pouring buckets of water down the toilet until it is flushed.
Ahh, life in Thailand!
Bangkok is as nuts as everyone says it is. We stayed at a guesthouse on Soi Rambutri, just around the corner from the famous Khao San Road. That area of the city is like a nonstop carnival with really good food stalls.
On our first day in Bangkok we did the regular tour of the city via tuk-tuk, which is a motorized three-wheeled speeding death machine of awesomeness (no seatbelts, of course) that took us to see temples and other attractions, including the giant Chatuchak Markets. These markets have over 15,000 stalls, selling everything from puppies to clothes to snakes to ninja stars, and everything in between.
Another day we went to the shopping district with four huge malls within 1 km of each other. At one there was Versace on the first floow, Maserati and Lamborghini dealerships on the fourth floor, and IMAX on the seventh floor, where we watched "Avatar" in 3-D.
After three busy days in Bangkok we decided to head to the beaches for some R&R. We've been on the island of Koh Chang for four days now, enjoying the warm sun and refreshing sea. A few days ago we rented a scooter to explore the island and found monkeys eating garbage - the raccoons of the island. We also did an elephant trek, where we bathed with the elephants in a stream, fed them, and rode them. Our guide got off and let us take turns "driving" the elephant while sitting on its neck.
The food here is amazing - we haven't had a bad dish yet. Pad Thai, fried rice, and Thai curries are staples of our diet now. We've also been indulging in Thai beers, as they are very cheap and tasty. You can get a 660mL bottle of 6.4% beer for less than $2 CAD. After a hard day of relaxing on the beach it really sorts you out!
We're planning on heading north of Bangkok next, as we'll be exploring the southern beaches when Carrie and Nick are here in May.
A final thought, and something no one tells you: Thai toilet systems apparently cannot handle toilet paper, so you get a spray gun to clean with, and toilet paper goes in the garbage. In our beach hut you flush via bucket. As in, you keep pouring buckets of water down the toilet until it is flushed.
Ahh, life in Thailand!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Bangkok or Bust!
It's official - we fly to Bangkok on January 8. This will give us three weeks in Thailand before we leave for India. We've heard so many great things about the country we're super excited to be able to experience the food and culture ourselves.
We're not sure where we'll go after we spend a few days in Bangkok, but we expect some warm beaches will be a pleasant change from the freezing water and rocky beaches that surround much of New Zealand!
Craig's sister and her boyfriend, Carrie and Nick, will be joining us in May when we return to South East Asia after we're done our ten week stint in India. We're looking forward to having some fun travelling companions, especially since Carrie has travelled that area before and will be a great tour guide.
We'd like to thank all the people we met here who have made our travels in New Zealand memorable. We'll definitely be keeping in touch.
Next stop - a ping pong show!
We're not sure where we'll go after we spend a few days in Bangkok, but we expect some warm beaches will be a pleasant change from the freezing water and rocky beaches that surround much of New Zealand!
Craig's sister and her boyfriend, Carrie and Nick, will be joining us in May when we return to South East Asia after we're done our ten week stint in India. We're looking forward to having some fun travelling companions, especially since Carrie has travelled that area before and will be a great tour guide.
We'd like to thank all the people we met here who have made our travels in New Zealand memorable. We'll definitely be keeping in touch.
Next stop - a ping pong show!
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