Kai Bae Beach, Koh Chang, Thailand, December 31, 2013

The shuttle from Trat arrives on Koh Chang and within a minute we are chugging up a huge mountainous switchback behind a bunch of tourist vans. I can't believe the roads, thinking surely there could be no other road worse for hills and switchbacks than that between Pai to Mae Hong Son. I'm mistaken! Now I know why I had read that if you are not highly experienced riding a motorcycle or scooter, Koh Chang is not the island to attempt it. The road looked so smooth that when it rains it must be like a sheet of ice.

Can't fathom how it occurred. The road was completely straight. 

I have just learned that Cambodia is fairly close to Koh Chang. I had no clue. Koh Chang is the second largest of the dozens and dozens of Thai islands, but something like 80% of it is uninhabited jungle. The island is long and does not have "towns" per se, but rather these little enclaves of businesses clumped together along the roadside.

This is the Island where, last May, I could not find 10 nights accommodation in any one place. Now that I've been here for two days, I realize that I am now on the south end of the Island but will be moving to the north end for the last two accommodations. It'll be nice to be able to explore the island more in-depth by staying at opposite ends.

There is a problem checking in to my resort at 3:00 PM. The room is not ready. They offer to store my luggage while I head to the beach. It's only about a 5 min. walk to the beach. 

The first Thai beach I ever set eyes on in person.

Koh Chang, Thailand

I return at 5:00 and my room is still not ready. Seems the guest has been a problem for the past month he's been here and he won't check out. The receptionist says she may have to call the police on him and I reply that yes, she just may have to do that. I booked this room 8 months ago and know there will be no other place easily found on this island. Finally, they get him out. The room absolutely wreaks of cigarette smoke. I'm not happy but suck it up (pardon the pun).

I go in search of dinner at Da Riddem Shack which I had read about on Trip Advisor. It's a Reggae inspired joint that serves up Jerk chicken (and only jerk chicken). I find it about a 15 min. walk away from my resort. I chat up the owner David from England. He's had the business 2 years and is having a tough time making a go of it despite his excellent reviews on Trip Advisor. He told me that it cost him $150 BHT/day to run the business (that $4.50 Cdn), but says there are days he doesn't have a single customer. He is contemplating moving shop down to the north island Lonely Beach area where all the young backpackers hang out. I too think that would be much better clientele for him. I enjoy a couple of rum punch and jerk chicken and walk back to my resort. It's probably 9:00 PM or so but it's not at all scary walking these streets at night as night time seems to be a booming business and the streets are busy and food carts are still out.

Yesterday morning I complained about the stench of my room, how it's seeped into the pillows and it's disgusting. In the morning, I put the "do not disturb" sign on my door when I depart for the beach as I have not messed up the room, have not taken a shower, and there is nothing for the cleaner to do. Imagine my surprise when I return at 3:00 PM and they tell me they have cleaned my room. What? Thankful I had locked up my suitcase before I left and locked my IPad inside. But where the hell is my purse? Obviously I had taken my money, cards and passport with me in my daypack but still.... I look around... they have shoved it inside of a stinky cupboard. I had noticed pillows laid out on a table to air out. Well it seems while I was gone they took initiative and gave me new pillows, removed and washed my curtains (didn't even notice they were gone until they came by to hang them back up), and washed my floors. They had the room closed up tight so I still noticed the stench when opening the door. I left the door and window open until nightfall. Why anyone would smoke inside the room when every room has a lovely little deck with table, chairs and ashtray I have no clue. No offense Kate (my Russian co-worker), but 90% of the guests on this Island appear to be Russian and every single one of them smokes. I have a couple on each side of me both inhaling away every morning and every night. Argh!

Speaking of tourists, with what's been going on in Bangkok (I don't even know what's going on as I haven't followed any news in two weeks), apparently 35 countries put out a travel advisory (including Canada) and 65,000 tourists cancelled out and Thailand is really feeling the pinch. The few hours I spent in Bangkok the other night, I never sensed one iota of unrest.

I didn't notice it on my own but when I was sitting on my deck the first evening, I heard a big noise. What the heck? I went exploring. Right across the street from my resort is an elephant trekking company. I am going to do that this morning. It's 500 BHT ($15) for a one hour jungle trek. Cool! What's nice about this company is the allow tourists just to come by and hang out and watch the elephants. I watched the elephant keepers painting the elephants and that was interesting to see.

Nothing much is open around here too early. 8:00 AM seems to be the earliest opening time a single business which is packed at 8:30 when I show up for a coffee and croissant. It's a bakery with limited selection, they do a booming business in deli sandwiches it would appear. The place was packed and I had to sit inside due to the large patio being fully occupied already. The coffee in Thailand is always very tasty but strong. Most businesses appear to have an espresso machine. The croissant was as good as I've had anywhere. 

After 5 hours on the beach yesterday and one dip in the ocean (not as blue as the Caribbean but nicer than Mexico), I've had enough sun for my first day. There are hawkers on the beach but not nearly as many as Mexico. Perhaps six. They are not relentless, they barely approach you and if you don't make eye contact they don't approach at all. The women are hawking "designer" (knock off) purses. I pity them, each arm splayed out like a display rack with big bags hanging from them.

I walk in the direction of my resort and stop for a late lunch: cashew chicken on rice with a banana shake. Shakes are not made with ice cream but with coconut milk and ice. Then I overdo it (probably) and stop at a cart for a banana and fresh coconut roti. Yummo!

Two hours pass and my stomach starts to hurt. Now I'm laying on top of my hard-as-a-sheet of-cement bed with the door and window wide open. I lay there til it's dark then close everything up and don't even think about showering the salty ocean off of me and crawl into bed massaging my stomach trying to get those intestines doing their job. Finally, a few hours later I throw it all up and life is good again at 3:00 AM.

Today, I move to the north end of the island. Plan to do the elephant trek this morning before I leave this area.

The cold is still lingering on. Thankfully Fisherman's Friends seems to be the most popular cough drop in Thailand.

Happy New Year everyone!

Bangkok, Thailand

Flight from Chiang Mai arrives in Bangkok at 4:00 PM. It's 4:30 by the time I am headed to the basement of the airport for the train. I stop at the tourist booth and ask about the train and how much it costs. 150 BHT for the express train, I'm told. The express train only runs every 15 minutes but I'm told it's much better than the city line train which will stop at every station. I push "English" on the pay station and punch in the final station as that is where I need to change to another train line. It tells me that I owe 45 BHT. Hmmm... the tourist booth must've been mistaken. The machine dispenses a red plastic token that you touch to a sensor on the access gate. I go down a few levels and am thoroughly impressed with what looks like a state-of-the-art train system. There is a wall of glass separating people on the platform from the train, with openings in the glass where the train doors will align. A train comes but I have no clue if it's the express train. I ask someone and am told that the express line is on another platform on another floor. Where? I approach someone else who speaks Thai to a security officer to inquire for me, the security officer asks to see my token. I have bought the wrong token and need to go back to the information desk. To get to the desk I have to deposit my red token. Out 45 BHT. At the desk she sells me a 150 BHT token and tells me the express train runs only every one hour. After all that, some 1/2 hour later, I am finally on the city line.

The trains are much wider than the skytrain line at home and about twice as long. Although the train is very crowded it doesn't have that packed in like sardines feel to it. There are sufficient poles and straps for people to hang on to. It's air conditioned and the windows are tinted which gives the outside skies a gray look to them. I can't tell it it's the windows or if it's smoggy here in Bangkok.

Following the instructions on the guesthouse website I get off at Siam Stn., and taking the advice of Victor the guesthouse owner in Chiang Mai, I phone the guesthouse to inquire as to which exit I should take out of the station. The station platforms are huge... some easily a block long in length. The guesthouse tells me I am at the wrong station and to go to National Stadium which is one more stop. I get back on the train but the next stop is not National Stadium. I look at a map and find out National Stadium is on a totally different line! Off the train I get. I ask a security officer and he tries his best English to explain to me I need to go back to Siam Station. What? I return to Siam Stn and ask how to get to National Stadium. A woman who speaks perfect English tells me I am in the right place, just wait for the train... Argh! Finally I arrive at National Stadium but when I go to exit a message pops up on the screen telling me to see the information desk. I owe 3 BHT to exit the station because I had only paid to Siam and am now at National. No cheating (unintentional or otherwise), this train system.

There are 3 teenage girls drinking something similar to Starbucks specialty coffees on the platform. An officer approaches them and tells them to dispose of their drinks. No eating or drinking on the platform or on the trains -- and I think twice before taking a sip of my water while on the train.

Finally, I get to the station where I need to exit and I am dropped off in the midst of a neon skyline. Where ever I am appears to be a hub of shopping activity. I have no clue where to exit and it looks like a freeway below so I don't want to make the wrong move. Lucky for me, I find another Good Samaritan who speaks perfect English. I show him the map on my IPhone indicating that my guesthouse is somewhere close by. Although unsure he points to the exit he thinks I should take. I follow his advice, walk 1/4 block and find the street I need. I walk down what, back home, we would consider a back alley but here in Thailand it's just a normal less busy street. 

It's now dark outside as it's taken me more than 2 hours to get this far since getting to the train platform in the BKK airport. I walk down the back lane really hoping my guesthouse is on his street. Food carts are cooking food, and men are playing cards at a few tables in the back lane. I walk past what look to be some high-end hotels. Eureka! My guesthouse.  I get a bit of a sinking feeling when I'm asked if I have a reservation.... Yes, I made it many months ago. Knowing that my email doesn't work, I can't dig up the confirmation email to prove it. Shortly, after a bit of looking on their part, they confirm I have a room.

My room is as small as a matchbox. I have to turn sideways to get into bed. The only place to sit is on the bed. No clue how two people would stay in this room. It's only $45/night so I can't complain, but it is one of the most expensive places I've booked in Thailand, it's rather run down in that it could use a paint job inside the room and new furniture but it is clean. Got this place off Trip Advisor too. I'm on the 2nd floor and there is no elevator. Thankful they have a porter who can carry my 55 lb. bag up the narrow metal stairs.

The Wendy House (Bangkok)

I want to find something to eat. The front desk lady speaks good English and she pulls out a map. I am right across the street from BMK Centre (I think it's called). A huge shopping mecca. She tells me the 6th floor is the food fare.

I stroll over to the mall and pass through a metal detector and a bag check to enter. I find a chain pizza restaurant and decide that's what I'll have for dinner. Don't feel like getting lost in this monstrosity by venturing off the first floor but am looking forward to the shopping in this place when I return in 11 days time.

I'm now back at the Bangkok airport. I've had enough of the train system so paid 350 BHT for a taxi. I plan on taking a taxi to and from this airport when I return too. The train is too much of a hassle when most stations don't have escalators or elevators and I have to carry my suitcase down (and up) a couple flights of stairs. It took 1/2 hour to get to the airport at 9:00 AM today with no traffic.

Thailand is so very quiet. There are no horns honking, drivers are very considerate and respectful and it's common to see 3 or 4 modes of transportation abreast.  In Chiang Mai there were no lines on the road. As much traffic that can fit side-by-side is totally fine and acceptable. I have never witnessed a single accident so far.

The only people I have seen smoking in public are tourists. I asked Sutthi about that and he said that Thai people usually smoke in private but rarely in public. They prefer to keep it hidden from view. I have noticed there are no cigarette butts littering the roads and sidewalks.

This morning, I noticed janitors wet mopping the plaza at the shopping mall. The cleanliness of this country has surprised me pleasantly.

I'm off to Trat by air. It's a one-hour flight. Then I shuttle across the island and catch a 30-minute ferry to the island of Koh Chang where I'll get some beach time in for the next 10 days.

Chiang Mai, Thailand ~ December 24-28, 2013

It's a really strange feeling to find yourself in a strange city not know the lay of the land at all. Chiang Mai has proven very difficult to figure out because of all the "sois", which are similar to side streets or alleys. There is no rhyme or reason to them here. They are illogical, they don't run congruent to the main streets, they curve, and come to sudden stops, one soi turning into another soi. Very easy to get turned around here.

Upon checking in to the Top Garden Guest House (which came recommended on Trip Advisor), I went off in search of dinner. Victor, owner of this guesthouse, recommended a couple of nearby places. I dined at the first one I came across. $1.50 for rice with cauliflower and shrimp. Mind you, the dish only had two shrimp but it was tasty anyways.

I awoke Christmas morning with a full blown cold. The sore throat that had been with me every day since I arrived in Thailand was finally mounting to something more. I didn't have a plan for this day so decided I would go to one of the 4-5 large malls that are in Chiang Mai. I went to the Airport Plaza mall and took a red Songathew (pickup truck) for 20 BHT (60 cents). Songathew's are Chiang Mai's bus system. The rate is between 20 BHT and 40 BHT depending on distance. I have yet to pay 40 BHT, all rides seeming to charge 20 BHT.

I arrive at the mall at 10:30 AM and wait until 11:00 with all the other people who arrived too early. The mall hours are 11:00 - 7:00 PM Monday-Friday, Saturday and Sundays it opens at 10:00 AM.

First stop is in TOPS market. I wander the aisles looking at the offerings. I was hoping to find some oatmeal for my stay on Koh Chang but no such luck. I did buy a box of ginger tea, and because it was Christmas and I wanted a wee experience of Christmas Day I bought a box of Walker's Shortbread cookies. I stopped at the Pharmacy inside the grocery store and bought some Vitamin C. Each pill is the size of a nickle. The Vit. C. comes in a long metal tube, I would guess there may be a dozen or 15 pills in the bottle at most. The Pharmacist, who spoke some English, also gave me some other pill to swallow 3X/day. I took my items to the checkout and stood behind another "farang" (Caucasian) at the register. He was buying some food items as well as some kitchen gadgets (vegetable strainer, spoon etc). His bill came to 1500 BHT ($45.00) which I thought was a bit pricey for Thai standards but I guess that's the price you pay when you're unprepared and buying household items at a grocery store. No different than at home.

I was looking to buy a sweater because Chiang Mai is experiencing its severest cold snap in over 10 years. I had been wearing my winter coat every day since arriving, I had been wearing my polar fleece (and have had to sleep in it some nights too!), and today it was in the laundry. It goes without saying that I'm not exactly the size of the vast majority of Thai women. Finding a style that I liked and that would fit, well my options were slim. I went to Robinsons which is a huge department store. First, I'll backtrack a bit, the Airport Plaza is humongous. Four floors of shopping and the mall is gigantic. Probably the size of our biggest shopping mall back home. Anyways, Robinson's is very, very nice. I could've spent hours in there. I found a couple of sweaters I could've settled on but none were really my style. I find a clerk who is wearing a sweatshirt type hoodie and I ask her where could I find one. She doesn't understand English. I point to her hoodie and say "where?", and she points towards the denim department. Never found the hoodies but settled on a zip up jacket from Body Glove in bright pink. It was less than $30.

On a whim I decide to get a manicure and pedicure. There are 3 ladies working in the shop which has 5 chairs. Pedicures are done the old fashioned way here. No vibrating massage chairs. After I'm seated I have a clear view as to how they do things here. They do have an autoclave to disinfect the utensils but they don't have any running water. I see dirty water being poured into a huge 45 gallon garbage bin and then clean water scooped out of another 45 gallon bucket. How they empty and fill those containers I have no clue. First red flag is I don't see disinfectant being used anywhere. No disinfectant to spray the foot soak tubs, none to clean the containers they put product in. Hmm..... anyone who knows me knows I am a hospital grade disinfectant gal who errs on the side of being cautious when it comes to communicable diseases. Well the lady does remove my utensils from the autoclave so that's a good sign, right? They use OPI products so that's another good sign. I don't want polish on my fingernails so opt for clear. No clue what the hell is going on but as of today, Dec. 28, my fingernails have started to turn black. I don't mean the actual nail, I mean the colour of the clear polish. It's the oddest thing. Never seen anything like it.  I'll have to find a place somewhere in my travels that can remove the polish. I tried to scrape some of it off and it is not my nails turning black, thank goodness!

Hmm do you think the OPI name on the bottle was a knock-off?

December 25, 2013

I'm sick and this few hours of being at the mall has exhausted me. Time to return to my guesthouse. I hop on a songathew, four Aussies join me. They're young guys wanting to know where to get an authentic Christmas dinner. I suggest the Four Seasons. They've already sussed that out and tell me it's about $80 for 6 courses. Too pricey for them. Oh well.... I imagine I'll be eating rice for my Christmas dinner. Gotta say I don't miss not celebrating Christmas. I could quite happily skip the retail frenzy, the stress of planning for a big meal, the shopping and decorating. Don't miss any of that stuff one iota.

December 26, Boxing Day, I hire a private driver that is arranged through my guesthouse. Kwan picks me up promptly at 8:30. I want to go up the mountain to Doi Suthep temple. I also want to see the Tiger Kingdom and hopefully the silk farm and umbrella factory. Kwan isn't all that eager when I tell him my itinerary. In his hard-to-comprehend English, he tells me that I want to go north, south and east. Yah, but I still want to go to all those places so I don't see the issue. He tries to push off the alligator farm, snake farm and monkey farm on me. I told him I have no interest in seeing any animals but the tigers. He takes me to Doi Suthep as our first stop.

Doi Suthep sits 950 meters up on the mountain. 309 steps to the top where the temple sits. There is an option of taking a cable car to the top but I'm up for the exercise. At the top it is jam-packed with tourists, Thai tourists. It's very true what I had heard, that Thai's like to travel for the New Year. It's another beautiful site and I was enthralled watching the Monks walk around the chedi chanting with non-monks following behind.

The Chedi at Doi Suthep.

When these clang together they sound like heaven.

We drive in the opposite direction to the tiger farm. The entrance fee is priced by which tigers you want to see. The more tigers, the different sizes, the more expensive. I meet Louisa from Brazil in the payment line and she is alone too so we agree to go together, swap cameras and take photos of one another. It worked out well. Talk about (dis)organized chaos though. Everywhere we went it was "wait 30 minutes", then you walk back and forth between the different sized tigers looking to see if your number has come up in the queue which gives you and idea of how long you'll be waiting. The tiger farm was okay. Would I do it again? No. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience though.

By now it's finally starting to get warm. The first warmth I've felt since I arrived in Thailand.

Final stop of the day is to the silk factory. It was very interesting to see how silk is derived from silk worms, watch the women weaving silk and then shopping in the showroom. The showroom was huge. With my birthday money I received from some generous friends I bought the most expensive silk/cashmere scarf I will ever own in my lifetime. It was $180 Cdn! The one I truly loved was $600 and the salesman was trying his hardest to sell it to me but I stood my ground. I know I probably won't even wear the less expensive one too often but I will cherish it knowing that I bought it in Thailand and it was a gift from friends.

Back to my guesthouse and I'm ready for a nap. This cold has zapped my energy. I had been wearing a surgical face mask all day because I've been coughing up a lung and being I was in a car with Kwan I didn't want him to catch my germs. Wearing a face mask here, people don't give you a second look. It's common, probably due to the exhaust fumes. After a nap I want to go to the Night Bazaar. I hop on a songathew and it's only about a 15-minute ride. I am dropped off into another world. Never ever seen anything like this in my life. It goes on for miles and not just in a long straight stretch, but it goes back deep too. I spent four hours there and am certain I skipped much of it. I ate my favourite Thai dish, Tom Sum Gai for dinner. I told the man I didn't want it spicy and he said he would make it very mild. Whew... I ate most of it but it was still too spicy for me.

Friday, December 27 I sleep in til 10:00. I've been up and out of bed by 6:00-6:30 AM every day since coming to Thailand. Can't believe I slept 1/2 the day away. I decided that I'll skip breakfast and have lunch at AUM Vegetarian by the Thai Pae gate which came recommended from my co-worker Susan. I can walk there from my guest house and then from AUM I'll walk to the famous Warowat Market. I eat green curry for lunch. A first for me! Those who know me know that curry is definitely not to my liking.

I stroll along Thae Pae Road browsing in and out of shops all the while perusing my map as it's become a common theme that I bypass the road or shop I am looking for because everything is so crammed together here. I stop in a shop that catches my eye and the lady is listening to American country music! I comment on the music and she says she really likes it. The radio station is from Chiang Mai. Luke Bryan is playing, then Zac Brown Band comes on singing "Sweet Annie". She asks me what they are singing about as she doesn't understand the words. I decipher the song for her. I buy a few items from her and we wish each other "Happy New Year".

I find my way to Warowat Market. More of the same except this one is for locals and not geared to tourists as was the Night Bazaar. Frankly, I'm about marketed out. I don't spend too much time here but am wandering. Quite by fluke I find myself back on Thae Pae Road and I easily find my way back to my guest house. I nap again as the afternoon heat has zapped the energy from me. In the evening I walk a different direction and come across "authentic Mexican" food. I give it a try with enchiladas. The tortillas are made by hand and rolled out by hand with a huge rolling pin. It was okay. I've had worse. 

After dinner, I stroll back to the local market that I visited on my first night in Chiang Mai. I decide to have my first Thai Massage. 170 BHT for an hour (less then $6.00). Later, after the massage, as I am drinking my complimentary tea (it is common in Thailand that after receiving a service you are offered tea), I chat up the woman who massaged me. Her English is pretty good. She is from Burma. She learned Thai Massage in two days and has been practicing it for 5-6 months. I was none the wiser. Being it was my first Thai Massage I had no clue what to expect anyways. We have a nice chat and I tell her about LomiLomi Massage. We watch a YouTube video of LomiLomi on her phone and she is completely enthralled and says she wants to learn it.

Now it's Saturday, December 28. I have a 2:00 PM flight to Bangkok where I'll overnight. Last night I looked up the route on how I'll take the trains from the airport to my guesthouse. Poor planning on my part, which I realized many months ago. I wish I had booked more time in Chiang Mai and less time on the island of Koh Chang. Oh well, live and learn.

My suitcase is packed. It's now weighing in at 55 lbs! It was 37 lbs when I came to Thailand. So far I have carried a ton of sunscreen and bug spray and haven't used any of it. I imagine Koh Chang will be hot and sunny though as I can feel the Thai heat already this morning and it's only 9:45 AM. I'm sitting at an outdoor cafe eating oatmeal with fresh fruit and coffee that tastes like espresso. Coffee is popular here but man do they ever make it strong and you only get about 6 oz in a cup here so one cup does me.

I am allowed 66 lbs of luggage on Bangkok Airways but Air Canada only allows me 50 lbs but I can take two, 50 lb bags no charge. I'll be buying another piece of luggage when I'm in Bangkok in 11 days from now, before I head off to Tokyo.

When I'm on Koh Chang I'll have to spend some time with Telus and get my email working. I've been completely out of the loop since December 18 except for Facebook.

Off to 7-11 for water, then I'll probably walk to the market for a fresh fruit shake then relax in the lobby of my guesthouse until my taxi arrives at noon. They offered to call me a Tuk Tuk but I am not keen on that smoggy exhaust-laden bumpy ride with a huge piece of luggage.

Next stop Bangkok.

Mai Sarang to Chiang Mai

We depart the Riverside Resort promptly at 9:00 AM. Driving out of the town of Mae Sarang you can see every place (school) that the Princess had visited because it's completely decked out in her colour purple and with huge photos of her. Thais sure do spend a lot of money on their Monarchy and by most accounts they love their King. His photo is seen a lot around here.

For miles and miles down the highway the purple flags stuck in the ground provide proof that the Princess had traveled that route.

First stop of the day is Chom Tong Waterfall. Honestly, by this point I've seen so many waterfalls I'm not so sure what makes this one special two days after I saw it.

We stop in a town with a very well known Wat. It's obvious upon stepping inside that it is a very significant Wat. I could've spent 1/2 a day here taking photos but unfortunately we were in and out in about 20 minutes, I would guess. In a back room they have a very special glass vault with iron bars. This back area is only opened to the public for 2 weeks a year around New Years and I was fortunate to be there when it was open to the public.  It is filled with hundreds and hundreds of solid gold Buddhas.  

One of the smaller Wats I visited but one of my favourites. 

Solid gold Buddhas behind plexi-glass, iron bars, & lock & key.  

Normally, this area is closed to the public.

See the cash?  Thai are very giving people.

We enter Doi Inthanon National Park. You can tell it's a very popular place as we are in a traffic jam. Shortly after entering the park we stop for lunch at the only lunch stop place in the vicinity. I would liken it to a mammoth-sized cafeteria except the food is served to you at the table. Sutthi goes up to order our meal and it is brought to us within 5 minutes which is the norm in Thailand. I've never experienced such speedy food service anywhere else I've ever visited. We eat cashew chicken, the tasty Thom Yam Gai (or Thom Sum Gai) soup that has become one of my favourite Thai dishes, and fried rice. Sutthi had also brought along a few pieces of fruit and the lunch place cut it up and presented it beautifully on the plate. We had pomello, star fruit, tangerine, watermelon and pineapple.

Family-style lunch with the fruit that Sutthi had purchased earlier in the day

and the restaurant cut it up for us and displayed it so nicely for us.

Our next stop is to another Karan Tribe: Mae Klang Luang inside Doi Inthanon National Park. This tribe is not long neck. They are coffee farmers among other crops but are known for their coffee. Starbucks used to buy their Arabica beans at one point. The village is traditional bamboo houses, teeny tiny by North American standards. A Karan woman greets us dressed in traditional attire. Married Karan women wear a white head scarf. The scarf kinda look like the way you'd wrap a towel around your head after having washed your hair. We take a look at the white beans drying in the sun. These beans are not yet peeled. Sutthi pours some beans into a manual coffee grinder and the Karan woman makes us filtered coffee the old-fashioned way. She pours hot water into the cloth sack filled with coffee grounds. She lifts the cloth sack high into the air letting the brown water drip out the bottom. Then she takes that container of brown liquid and dumps it through the filter again and again and again. Sutthi and I sit at a long bamboo table and bamboo bench and enjoy or fresh roasted, fresh tasting coffee.

We head up the top of the highest mountain in all of Thailand, 3500 meters above sea level. I go to the viewing point to take some photos but all I could see were the clouds below me. We do a lovely walk through the rain forest on wooden walkways. It was a lovely 15 minute little hike through the dark green aged vegetation. I get to stand on the very highest point in all of Thailand and Sutthi takes my photo.

The tallest point in all of Thailand.

We head back down the mountain and stop at Wachiathan Waterfalls. Wow! The spray from the fall was keeping people far back from the fence. It was a very gorgeous and powerful sight to witness. It was roared like thunder too.

Next stop is Chiang Mai. Sutthi wanted to show me one of the most famous temples in Chiang Mai before we part company. We went to Wat Chedeliem. It was the perfect time of day. The gold and red intricate adornments of the Wat shone in all its glory in the setting sun. Photos don't do it justice in portraying the beauty of it.

Wat Chedeliem

Sutthi drops me at Top Garden guesthouse run by Victor from Montreal and his Thai wife Thanya. Sutthi and I say our goodbyes and I try not to cry as I hug him goodbye. Hiring this man was the best decision ever. Sutthi showed me a Thailand I would not have seen on my own. I enjoyed his company and I promised to send him a memory stick with music on it. The memory stick came about because he was playing a CD of older 70's music and he was asking me about John Denver when the song "Country Roads" came on. Well finally after two days he asked me "is this John Denver singing?" I said "No". Sutthi says "Who is it?" I said, "I have no clue but it's not John Denver, and that wasn't Peter, Paul, and Mary singing Blowing in the Wind either." We had a good laugh at it. He had bought the CD in Laos or Burma and obviously got ripped off.  {confession: I have not sent the memory stick!}

I check into my guest house and head on down the Soi to find my Christmas Eve dinner.

Mae Hong Son to Mae Sariang, Thailand

Preface: Spent 2.5 hours typing this post only to have had the system log me out somewhere along that time frame and there wasn't a single word saved! After a night's sleep, let's try again. I'm typing this on Dec. 25 at 6:40 AM and am sick with a full on cold.

Our day starts at 9:00 AM and we head on down the road only about 15-20 minutes or so and we reach our first adventure of the day. We are going to take a long tail boat up the Pai River towards Burma to visit the Karan Long Neck Tribe. This was a great surprise for me as I didn't know this was included in this tour that I had switched to from my first choice months ago.

As Mae Hong Son started to grow and develop, the Karan Tribe people were moved out of Mae Hon Son by the Thai Gov't and they were relocated to this patch of land about 2 km from the Burmese border. They're refugees from Burma.

Sutthi and I get on a long tail boat, put on our life jackets and take a fast boat ride 15 minutes down the Pai River. Our boat is captained by a man in the rear commanding the motor. His son, who looks to be about age 12 or so is sitting up front. The motor of a long tail boat is about 20 feet long. It has a very tiny propeller. The river has some activity on it. We pass rice farmers carrying heavy bags of rice on their heads, loading it into their boats. Long Tail boats can take on a vast amount of weight and they don't show the slightest sign of capsizing. We can see how much the river rose during the rainy season by all the garbage that got caught up in the tree branches. It looks to be some 6-8 feet up in the branches. Our boat pulls up to the bank and the young boy jumps out first.

Long Tail boat on the Pai River (heading towards Burma).

The smell of smoke greets us on the banks of the Karan Village. Talk about culture shock! I have never ever in my life seen anything like this. The "road"/trail goes up the hill and bamboo houses are chock-a-block lined up side-by-side. By house, I imagine they're perhaps 240 square feet. Another reality check as to how "big" we do things in North America. I spot my first Karan woman with the brass rings on her neck and I am conscious of the fact that I shouldn't be gawking at her like she's in a zoo but it's hard not to stare. Most of the houses have a frontage area where the women are weaving scarves to sell to the tourists. No clue what the men do all day but many of the women are being productive.

Wearing brass rings is choice nowadays, or so Sutthi tells me. But there was a baby probably a year old with rings on her neck so how that is her choice I haven't quite figured that out yet. The woman who was holding her, if I presume that is her mother, wasn't wearing any rings on her neck.

The rings are changed 5 times throughout a lifetime. As the neck elongates, the rings are removed (can't imagine how they do that), and replaced with a long section of rings. Around age 45 the final set of rings is placed on the neck and these are the rings the lady will wear until the day she dies. At their heaviest, the rings can weigh 7 kg. I held a set of rings that weigh 3 kg and that was pretty darn heavy. Can't imagine wearing more than twice that weight.

Some women wear the big earrings that create the big hole in the earlobes. Some women choose to wear a golden colour on their faces. It looks like a stencil. One teenage girl had  gold-painted leaves on her cheeks. It was pretty.

Karan Long Neck Village

We walk up to the end of the road where the school is. Although it's a school day there is no school as there is no teacher. A common problem here as Sutthi tells me that teachers simply decide to not show up because they don't want to work so remotely. Karan kids are only educated to the 2nd or 3rd grade.

The bamboo houses are built close together. They look to be about 240 square feet in size, all built on stilts. Many women weave scarves in front of their house and hang them out to sell to tourists.

A beautifully designed home

The nice thing about touring with Sutthi is that he is able to communicate with these people. He chats up some guys standing around a fire stirring a huge vat of delicious smelling pork.  Karans are not Buddhists. They believe in the spirit world and are cooking the pork to take it up to the cemetery as an offering to their ancestors. Afterwards there will be a big celebration. Some young men are preparing floral wreaths for the celebration. The vat's "lid" is made from woven leaves. A woman pours beer over the leaves.

   

We chat up a woman sitting outside her home. She pulls out the contents of her tobacco bag: bitternut, leaves, and some dried herbs/leaves. Sutthi explains to me about the bitternut that they chew. It leaves their teeth stained brown, their lips stained red and it's addictive like tobacco. She offers me 1/2 of her bitternut.  “No thank you”, I tell her.

She offered to share her Bitternut with me.

We start heading towards our boat and Sutthi spots an elder and he gets so excited. He first met this lady 20 years ago and he was so happy to see that she was still alive. We find out that she is 90 years old now. She wears the brass rings on her neck, and on each of her calves too. She is chewing bitternut and is spitting it out not so lady-like. She wipes her mouth and the red stain looks like a lip liner gone astray. Sutthi gives her some money and it's obvious he has an affection for her.

Our last stop is to buy some BBQ'd bananas. Very tasty. 

The boat captain and his son are waiting at their boat to take us back up the river to civilization.  We take our places on the floor of the boat and head back up the river

We drive a few hours and stop for lunch. Today's lunch was a whole fish fried crispy with crispy garlic. We also had the ever present white rice, stir fried vegetables and a crispy fried bone-in pork. Delicious as I've come to expect with all Thai food.

Along our travels, if there's an interesting Temple, Sutti shows it to me.

Next stop is a Calacite crystal cave at Mae La Noi. We stop at the information centre where we hire a private taxi to take us to the cave. Sutthi and I hop in the back of a rickety old Toyota pickup truck. The driver guns it as best he can up the steep mountain road and I hold on for dear life. At the cave we hire a guide with a dim flashlight. We walk down into the belly of the cave some 120 meters. It has 5 chambers. It was only discovered 20 years ago and is estimated to be 435-500 million years old. No photography allowed and no bright lights as any light at all affects the calacite and turns it brown (hence the very dim flashlight). We climb back up the 144 steps and hop into the back of our taxi/truck which we share with an American from Washington, DC. He is on a 5-month cycling tour. He had finished 3 months in Cambodia and was now touring Thailand.

Our stop for the night is in the town of Mae Sariang. The streets are adorned with purple flags stuck into the ground every few feet. Sutthi says that means the Princess of Thailand is in the area. The day of the week you are born on has a colour associated with it. Purple is the Princess's colour, yellow is the king's colour. These flags are everywhere. There's a heavy police presence. Sutthi checks me into the Riverside Resort with an intention he will find a cheaper place to sleep but the hotel clerk tells him that he won't find anything for miles as the roads are closed off. Sutthi decides to stay at the Riverside Resort too. There's really nothing to do in this town. No night market. I went out for a walk but the streets were really quiet and dark. I found a 7-11. These stores are everywhere in Thailand. I bought some ointment for my sore throat, a kitkat bar, a lychee jello cup, and a big bottle of water. It came to less than $3.00 Cdn.

For a hotel set on a river bank, it was a noisy hotel. I put my earplugs in and head to bed. Never heard a thing all night.

The Road to Pai

Thought I would post for yesterday and today but yesterday's post (Saturday) took me so long to type that I will post for only a single day. If I awake early enough in the morning I'll tell you what I did today. Let me just pique your interest and tell you today was the hi-lite of the trip thus far.

Yesterday (Saturday), my guide Sutthi picked me up at 8:00 AM sharp. He took me on a very quick little tour of Chiang Mai and we visited a very large Temple that had been built thousands of years earlier. It certainly looked to be of historical significance from looking at the decay and restoration process. On the same property a newer Temple was in use and I got to witness the Monks chanting. It was a beautiful thing to hear.

Sutthi was a Monk from the ages of 15-21 and he's taught me a lot about their lifestyle, the rules they have to follow, why they become Monks etc. In Sutthi's case, his parents were deceased when he was 8-years-old, and he was raised by an older sister and her husband, who were farmers and had a young family. It was a struggle for them to feed Sutthi too as there were 8 siblings all totaled so he decided to become a Monk where life is very simple and they do not want for material possessions. I'm really enjoying learning about Buddhism philosophy from him and the things that he is showing me along the miles of our 4-day journey.

Leaving Chiang Mai we did the "tourist trap" things that are about a 20 minute drive out of Chiang Mai: The elephant camp and the orchid farm. Both were interesting. The elephants are in quite an orchestrated show and honestly I could've done without witnessing that bit of it but I did enjoy seeing the elephants walk down the river to have a bath. Further down stream there were 3 ladies with big plastic baskets that looked similar to laundry baskets. Their job was to catch the elephant dung so that it did not float further down river into the village. What a job, but I guess someone's gotta do it and it beats unemployment.  

Paintings done by the elephants were sold in the gift shop.

Second stop of the day was an orchid farm. It was enjoyable. I had no clue how an orchid is grown from a seed in a bottle not dissimilar to a whisky flask and then transplanted into soil. They need very little soil to grow. The orchid farm was massive. So many stunning colour combinations and hanging from practically every object.

With it being lunch time, we stopped in a little town and perused their farmer's market. It was an excellent market. So many weird and wonderful things from bugs to worms to live frogs in plastic bags. My thoughts immediately turned to the TV show "Survivor". Sutthi was his usual informative self explaining everything to me. He bought a variety of food items from many stalls. We then crossed the street and went to a Mom & Pop "diner". All eating in Thailand is basically outdoors or in open air buildings. Sutthi ordered a couple of hot dishes which we shared "family style" and he spread out the array of goodies he purchased at the farmer's market: Bamboo shoots; sticky rice; and some other kind of sweetened rice for dessert.  

Fresh frog at the Farmer's Market!!

Pad Thai

I've thoroughly enjoyed the scenery along our journey. I've heard from many about how beautiful Thailand is but words really do not do it justice. Experiencing it really brings it home on just how lovely of a country Thailand is. Coming from a mountainous province such as British Columbia, the most amazing thing for me to see was how the mountains of Thailand are layered behind one another... just layers and layers of mountain ranges, unlike BC where we have these huge monoliths with very jagged and rugged silhouettes. Thai mountains are "softer" looking.

We entered a National Park and did a short (10 min) hike to a gorgeous waterfall. In the heat of summer it's a great place to take a dip. Two huge waterfalls with a huge gush of water that showed no sign of slowing down to a trickle any time soon.  

Mork-Fa Waterfall

Still in the National Park but many more miles down the road, we left the main highway and traveled down a road that had been recently paved because the Princess of Thailand wanted to pay a visit to the area and heaven forbid she had to ride on a bumpy dirt road. So we got to travel over nice new pavement for about 15-20 minutes. At the end of the road we hiked about 10 minutes to see some geysers. The water was hot enough to boil eggs. Seriously! I have the photos to prove it too. On the car ride to the geyser I noticed an old lady sitting at the road side weaving baskets. Very odd I thought as who could possibly be interested in purchasing her little baskets out here in the middle of nowhere. Well at the geyser, low and behold, people were putting those bamboo woven baskets onto bamboo poles and letting nature work its miracle on those eggs. The water was much too hot for us to put our feet in but in the area near where we parked we were able to roll up our pant legs and have a 10 minute soak. It was lovely. There is a little resort there and guests were swimming in the hot pools. The resort was nestled in a lovely valley and I have some nice photos of it. (I wish this blog site allowed the posting of more photos - so far I haven't had any luck, sketchy wifi and this site acting up more times than I care to be reminded of). 

Eggs cooked in the gaiser

So now, here we are on the first day of our tour and we are finally nearing Pai.  Pai is only 120 miles from Chiang Mai but the road has something like 76 hilly switchbacks and driving straight through without stops is typically a 3.5 hour trip. We pulled off the road about 10 minutes outside of Pai. We hiked up a hill to a lookout area and watched the sunset with about 30-40 tourists from around the world.

Sutthi gave me a quick tour of the town of Pai and showed me the streets where the night market would be happening. The resort was about a 3 minute drive out of town and we drove there and checked me in. Sutthi was staying elsewhere as the Ban Kratting Resort was too expensive and "not in the budget" according to Sutthi. The resort consists of bungalows on stilts in a grassy meadow. My room as very nice and modern. It has two decks, one out front and one out back. From inside the room, there was a huge picture window looking out over the deck facing the forest. 

Ban Kratting Resort at Pai 

The resort offered a complimentary shuttle to the night market. I partook and it was really great and really large for a small town. A moment of panic set in when I realized I had gotten turned around and had no idea which way I was to go to meet the shuttle for my 9:30 PM pick up. After much to'ing and fro'ing through the utter throngs of people, up and down streets I thought I had walked, I found my pick-up destination. Whew! Now I could enjoy the last 45 minutes of my time and I paid extra careful attention to every street that I walked down so I could find my way back. 

Tea at the night market in Pai.

Shuttled back to the resort and was beat so went to bed by 11:00 PM.

Awoke this morning to a huge mist covering the resort area. It was a bit eery to see and I had hoped to take some photos of the lovely surroundings. I still took photos but they have that misty hue to them. Mist is a common occurrence in the north of Thailand at this time of year.

Unfortunately, there was not a drop of running water in my room at 6:30 AM. I went to the reception area and explained in English "no running water", to which I got something in Thai in reply. I don't know if she understood any English at all but one would think that in a tourism job such as hers she would be able to communicate in English but no such luck. In any event, she said her Engineer would be here in 10 minutes. I waited about 30 minutes and visited reception for the second time. Now she's making frantic phone calls and I begin to wonder if this was the first time she had picked up the phone since my first visit. I don't think the "engineer" had been made aware of the situation. I head back to my room. 7:30 rolls around and I've been up for an hour and still haven't had my shower and Sutthi is coming around at 9:00 AM. I pack up my suitcase and head back to reception for the 3rd time this morning. I tell her that she must give me another room to shower in. She understood that immediately and handed me a key to another bungalow. Crisis averted!

Sutthi arrives promptly (early) and we commence day #2 of this 4-day adventure. Next final destination for the day Mae Hong Son.