They say you never forget the first time you breathe underwater. I did it for the first time yesterday and must say I agree wholeheartedly.
We arrived on Ko Tao a few days ago. The boatride over was nothing like we had expected. Silly me, I was expecting the overnight ferry would be like the one that you take when you ride over to Newfoundland- the big oceanliner type that would be complete with restaurants, sleeper berths with attached bathrooms, and a local band playing some tunes. Well, it was much more rudimentary than that. In fact, all it was was a small fishing boat full of supplies that were being shipped over to Ko Tao. There were no chairs, certainly no berths, and a hidden toilet that we didn't even bother to go looking for. For sleeping, you simply laid down on the semi-exposed wooden deck (there was overhead protection) with a mix of locals and tourists scattered around you and snooze. Thankfully, we made a couple of Swedish friends and played a few games of Yahtzee to pass some time on board while we were waiting for the boat to leave the dock (did you know the Swedes have different rules for Yahtzee?). The ride was only 6 hours and we arrived in Ko Tao at about 6 a.m. completely astounded by the fact that we had all slept really well and relieved that it hadn't rained. We went directly to Big Blue Diving which is one of about a hundred diving outfits on the island. It was simply a gut feeling we had and we went for it. Plus, we were not in the mood to spend the morning walking around with our backpacks on comparing the different places to dive. The price for the Open Water Diving Course is the same everywhere on the island so price wasn't an issue.
We began the course that same afternoon. It started with some forms to fill out. This is where I first realized that there may be a problem that I hadn't even considered. I often get severe ear and neck pain while descending in airplanes and on the medical questionnaire it asked if this was a problem. I had to consult with a doctor on staff who explained to me why this happens and told me that my sinus cavity wiring is probably not as fluid and wide as others who do not suffer this sort of pain while flying (he was much more technical). So, he showed me some methods of clearing my ears (equalizing) and I wasn't very successful at it. We decided I could try it out in the water and then decide if I could proceed. Today I had to really work on it but found that when the pressure is on, it's much easier to equalize though I still don't think I have the skill mastered.
Anyway, for those who think (as I kind of did) that to go diving you would only have to get an in-water explanation and then go looking for some fish underwater, I'm about to burst your bubble. That is the kind of training you would need for snorkeling but snorkeling is not scuba. Scuba diving, as we've learned, is really complex and you need to watch videos, have lectures, do practical instruction, and do homework that involves (gasp!) math and physics before you even get to try on your wetsuit and (extremely heavy) gear! So it wasn't until today that we actually got out in the water for a swim, though yesterday we were in the shallow water learning some of the initial skills. The swim was only a very short part of the day today though because we were mostly kneeling down on the ocean floor honing up some of our more advanced skills. It was really fascinating to be kneeling down on the ocean floor, I must say. We were next to huge mounds of coral that, if you stood up, would tower over you. We saw rainbows of different fish scoot by and were witness to five large barracudas! Our instructor Jimmy Wild (seriously, that's his name) is exactly how you might imagine a scuba instructor to be. He's American but darker than most of the locals, he has shoulder length sun-bleached hair and a large shark tattoo on his shoulder, he talks kind of like a surfer (dude) and he wears a Superman wetsuit. But he's super-serious about diving and has done thousands of dives all over the world.
Apart from that, Ko Tao is like a tropical paradise. At long last we have reached the elusive white sandy beaches with crystal blue water. It's incredibly beautiful here and cute, healthy dogs abound. It's easy to forget you're in Thailand since this place is a very newly developed island that has not one, but two, 7-11s. Plus, the food is expensive and for the most part, pretty bad by Thai standards. And don't be upset if you don't hear from me until early next week- the internet costs three times as much here as it does anywhere else we've been.
Tomorrow we do the first of our four big, deep dives. Tune in next time to find out how it went!
tothesea,
k&m
Sunday, September 29, 2002
Thursday, September 26, 2002
fried chicken's feet and pig's intestines
Oh, I forgot to tell you the weirdest thing about that restaurant we ate at last night. It was also a small store and they had a big bag of vegetarian chicken feet for sale! They looked exactly like fried chicken feet but were just made of wheat gluten. We've seen "fake" meat, but this was taking it one step further. We really wanted to try one, but buying a bag that had at least 100 in it wasn't worth buying for a sample. Plus, it would be a little creepy to crunch down on something that looks like a chicken's foot when I wouldn't even have eaten that in my non-veg life.
So tonight we are in the small fishing village of Chumphon. It's where the south of Thailand officially begins. We took a dirt cheap third- class train here and arrived only a few hours ago. In our few hours here we bought ferry tickets, stocked up on film and ate two dinners (to make up for the lunch we didn't have). One of them was a simple pad thai dish at a night market food stall but the other was quite bizarre... it was a nice restaurant, probably the fanciest one in town. The menu consisted of ingredients from which you picked what you wanted including spices. There were some stomach wrenching ingredients there, like pig's intestines and chopped pork as a seasoning. We passed all that up and ordered the tofu and veggies. The ingredients all came on individual plates and then it was all tossed in a huge hot pot full of steaming broth in the middle of the table. No doubt we were doing just about everything wrong since some staff at the restaurant seemed to really get a kick out of our ways. Luckily, our waitress was a really sweet person and she made sure we were getting what we wanted plus it seemed like she was enjoying practising her English with us. In the end we were charged for water we didn't order (but drank) and ice that cost twice as much as the water. We had to just laugh it off. Overall, the meal was just okay, but the experience was very entertaining.
We have been expanding our Thai vocabulary on a daily basis and can now explain that we also don't eat eggs (it sounds like "my chai kai" and is easy to remember because all the words rhyme). Actually, we have found that this isn't really necessary in Asia since being vegetarian is widely understood as excluding eggs as well.. but it's fun to learn the phrases and have the locals actually understand us!
We are leaving at midnight for a five-hour ferry that will take us to Ko Tao or "Turtle Island" where we are going to take a diving course. We're so excited! It's one of the few things that is on my Definitely Must Do in Asia list. I find the underwater world so fascinating and I can't wait to see it up close for the first time.
That's all for tonight. I'm feeling quite burnt out and uninspired since it feels we really haven't had a break since we left Pai. I'm looking forward to spending several nights in one place and of course, to the diving!
tothesea,
k&m
So tonight we are in the small fishing village of Chumphon. It's where the south of Thailand officially begins. We took a dirt cheap third- class train here and arrived only a few hours ago. In our few hours here we bought ferry tickets, stocked up on film and ate two dinners (to make up for the lunch we didn't have). One of them was a simple pad thai dish at a night market food stall but the other was quite bizarre... it was a nice restaurant, probably the fanciest one in town. The menu consisted of ingredients from which you picked what you wanted including spices. There were some stomach wrenching ingredients there, like pig's intestines and chopped pork as a seasoning. We passed all that up and ordered the tofu and veggies. The ingredients all came on individual plates and then it was all tossed in a huge hot pot full of steaming broth in the middle of the table. No doubt we were doing just about everything wrong since some staff at the restaurant seemed to really get a kick out of our ways. Luckily, our waitress was a really sweet person and she made sure we were getting what we wanted plus it seemed like she was enjoying practising her English with us. In the end we were charged for water we didn't order (but drank) and ice that cost twice as much as the water. We had to just laugh it off. Overall, the meal was just okay, but the experience was very entertaining.
We have been expanding our Thai vocabulary on a daily basis and can now explain that we also don't eat eggs (it sounds like "my chai kai" and is easy to remember because all the words rhyme). Actually, we have found that this isn't really necessary in Asia since being vegetarian is widely understood as excluding eggs as well.. but it's fun to learn the phrases and have the locals actually understand us!
We are leaving at midnight for a five-hour ferry that will take us to Ko Tao or "Turtle Island" where we are going to take a diving course. We're so excited! It's one of the few things that is on my Definitely Must Do in Asia list. I find the underwater world so fascinating and I can't wait to see it up close for the first time.
That's all for tonight. I'm feeling quite burnt out and uninspired since it feels we really haven't had a break since we left Pai. I'm looking forward to spending several nights in one place and of course, to the diving!
tothesea,
k&m
Wednesday, September 25, 2002
kin jay please
We spent last night in Bangkok and hopped on a bus again this morning. In order to avoid another long night on a cramped bus, we have broken up the trip a little. We're not sure if this technique was a good one... we're in a small town that feels very small and for the first time in Thailand, I think we're the only foreigners around.
We asked at the guesthouse where we could "kin jay" or "eat vegetarian". The woman pointed us in the direction of a place that closed at 6 so we had ten minutes to run over there. We arrived and confirmed we were at the right place. A kindly older gentleman served us, and from what we could see the place was owned by him and his wife and their young son. With his broken English and our mangled Thai (there was no menu), we all managed to get a fried rice and tofu dish. It was decent... but already we are missing the multitude of veggie restaurants in Bangkok and the north. Who knows what the rest of the south will be like.
Tomorrow we're doing the one thing there is to do in this town- visit the wat. There are hundreds of stairs to climb before reaching the temple since it is perched high on a hill. Since we are (still) so close to the Myanmar border (only 12 kms away now), we can see the Myanmar mountains when we reach the temple. The best part is- we read that the temple is infested with monkeys. We saw it on the way into town and monkeys are even surrounding the base of the hill. We love monkey temples! Those characters are so much fun to watch. At the so-called monkey temple in Kathmandu we saw one walk up to an unsuspecting woman and steal her bag of popcorn right out of her hands! Everyone, including the victim, got a great giggle out of that. We hope to see similar antics tomorrow.
We're on our way to the beaches... and more specifically, Phuket. They have a vegetarian festival every year so naturally, we have to be there! This year it's being held from October 5th-15th and when I looked it up just now I also found this list of rules that are to be observed during the festival. They are:
10 RULES FOR THE VEGETARIAN FESTIVAL
1. Cleanliness of bodies during the festival
2. Clean kitchen utensils and use them separately from others who do not join the festival
3. Wear white during the festival
4. Behave physically and mentally
5. No meat eating
6. No sex
7. No alcoholic drinks
8. People at mourning period should not attend the festival
9. Pregnant ladies should not watch any ritual
10. Ladies with period should not attend the ritual
Interesting!?
tothesea,
k&m
We asked at the guesthouse where we could "kin jay" or "eat vegetarian". The woman pointed us in the direction of a place that closed at 6 so we had ten minutes to run over there. We arrived and confirmed we were at the right place. A kindly older gentleman served us, and from what we could see the place was owned by him and his wife and their young son. With his broken English and our mangled Thai (there was no menu), we all managed to get a fried rice and tofu dish. It was decent... but already we are missing the multitude of veggie restaurants in Bangkok and the north. Who knows what the rest of the south will be like.
Tomorrow we're doing the one thing there is to do in this town- visit the wat. There are hundreds of stairs to climb before reaching the temple since it is perched high on a hill. Since we are (still) so close to the Myanmar border (only 12 kms away now), we can see the Myanmar mountains when we reach the temple. The best part is- we read that the temple is infested with monkeys. We saw it on the way into town and monkeys are even surrounding the base of the hill. We love monkey temples! Those characters are so much fun to watch. At the so-called monkey temple in Kathmandu we saw one walk up to an unsuspecting woman and steal her bag of popcorn right out of her hands! Everyone, including the victim, got a great giggle out of that. We hope to see similar antics tomorrow.
We're on our way to the beaches... and more specifically, Phuket. They have a vegetarian festival every year so naturally, we have to be there! This year it's being held from October 5th-15th and when I looked it up just now I also found this list of rules that are to be observed during the festival. They are:
10 RULES FOR THE VEGETARIAN FESTIVAL
1. Cleanliness of bodies during the festival
2. Clean kitchen utensils and use them separately from others who do not join the festival
3. Wear white during the festival
4. Behave physically and mentally
5. No meat eating
6. No sex
7. No alcoholic drinks
8. People at mourning period should not attend the festival
9. Pregnant ladies should not watch any ritual
10. Ladies with period should not attend the ritual
Interesting!?
tothesea,
k&m
Sunday, September 22, 2002
silver lightning and the scaredy cats
Another thrilling couple of days in Pai! Yesterday was an adventure and a half and I'm really only comfortable with half an adventure.
Yesterday we woke up to a drizzly sky and decided it would be a good day to rent some scooters. The ones that have motors in them. That's about the extent of my knowledge of them. We rented only two so that I wouldn't have to drive. Past experiences with shifting gears have me turned off that for good.
We had another two things on our agenda for our scooter day. We were going to make our way 50 kms out of town to explore some caves and then we were going to finish off our day at a waterfall. I was holding on to Magi really tight for the first 30 minutes of our trip, but then I started to loosen my grip and feel somewhat secure. We only made it a little less than halfway to the caves and the entire way we did make it was uphill. The further we climbed, the heavier the rain rained and the thicker the fog fogged. Aaron was long gone but we met him at the top of a hill at a police station/lookout where he was standing there, dripping wet under a gazebo talking to a British bloke. We had all decided that we had to wait out some of the rain or turn back and go straight to the waterfalls. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like the fog was anywhere near lifting and with heavy hearts and broad smiles we made our way back the way we came, but this time it was all downhill.
Magi is a cautious creature and we made our way down the wet, steep mountain carefully and slowly. Aaron, the speedy devil, had a different idea of how the trip should transpire as he quickly flew out of sight like white lightening. (Actually, he is more silver than white without a shirt on.) As we rounded a corner, we saw a blob of red (his bike), green (his rain jacket), and silver (that Aaron skin) and that surprised us this time, because it wasn't moving. His bike was laying near a guardrail and he was standing next to it examining his hand with great interest looking for some proof of the 20 metre skid that he just had down the hill with the bike on top of him. His bum was muddy, his hands full of rocks, and his body was pretty shaky. In hindsight, we can all laugh about it but it was scary at the time- for me because it was only a few minutes before this that I was actually warming up to the idea of spending an extended amount of time on a scooter and for Aaron, for obvious reasons- he would have to spend another few precious baht on a new pair of pants!
Flashback to a few hours before when we were signing out our bikes. Aaron, Mr. Confident (a.k.a. Mr. No Consequences), wasn't going to pay the extra 30 baht for insurance. He figured that, although he had never actually ridden a motorized two-wheeled machine, he was pretty much a pro, even in the rain going up and down mountains. Magi and I, Ms. Cautious and Ms. Only Half an Adventure Please, had already decided that we were buying both the accident insurance and the theft insurance. With some coaxing, we convinced Aaron to splurge on the accident insurance and he, hesitantly, agreed to.
So, he messed the bike up in a big way but since I don't know the names of any parts of the machine (except the mesh basket in front) I won't go into describing the damage done. Soon after the wreck, Aaron's bike wouldn't start. Luckily, two Thai guys on a motorcycle, were whizzing up the hill and stopped to give us a hand. One of them walked over to the woods and grabbed a long, thick piece of bamboo and proceeded to whack it against the pedal of the bike. This worked like a charm and the bike was as good as new in no time (aside from the numerous cracks and scrapes that Aaron had created).
We were off to the waterfalls. But now, Aaron was just ahead of us instead of WAY ahead of us (at least for a little while). The road to the waterfalls was rough. Really rough. Gone were the smooth paved roads and they were replaced with a muddy, slippery, cracked mess of a path. It was dirtbiking without a dirtbike and Magi hadn't ever had experience with this kind of landscape... so after the bike slipped out from under us for the third time, I just got off and walked the rest of the way uphill (a few kms). The waterfall was nice, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it was worth the trip up the path (and plus it was way too cold to go in). Plus the extra creepy feeling of passing through a traditional Thai village full of angry roosters, kids playing with rocks (we found out later they were shouting to Aaron that they loved him!), and opium dealers (there for the tourist who is stupid and thoughtless enough to buy).
Now that both bikes were totally out of gas, we made it into town (barely) by riding most of the way in neutral. I was glad to be back, glad to get off that bike.. but was left with a little dread in knowing that we still had our bikes until noon today and that Aaron and Magi wanted to wake up and go riding again.
We sat underneath the bright full moon in a gazebo overhanging the river while Aaron and Magi sipped down a mickey of moonshine that Aaron had bought the night before. We talked at length about the earlier incidents as Aaron struggled to get comfortable with a bum that was getting more achy every minute.
This morning, we woke up and rode straight to the hot springs that we had gone to a few days ago on our mountain bikes. The trip only took about 15 minutes compared to the hour that it took us using the weary strength of our legs. We made it there early enough to have the place to ourselves. By the time we soaked for a while, it was time to make our way back into town and return the bikes. We ate a delicious meal complete with that famous local coffee again and then headed here, to the internet cafe, to tell you all our stories.
Sadly, we leave Pai tomorrow.
love,
k&m
Yesterday we woke up to a drizzly sky and decided it would be a good day to rent some scooters. The ones that have motors in them. That's about the extent of my knowledge of them. We rented only two so that I wouldn't have to drive. Past experiences with shifting gears have me turned off that for good.
We had another two things on our agenda for our scooter day. We were going to make our way 50 kms out of town to explore some caves and then we were going to finish off our day at a waterfall. I was holding on to Magi really tight for the first 30 minutes of our trip, but then I started to loosen my grip and feel somewhat secure. We only made it a little less than halfway to the caves and the entire way we did make it was uphill. The further we climbed, the heavier the rain rained and the thicker the fog fogged. Aaron was long gone but we met him at the top of a hill at a police station/lookout where he was standing there, dripping wet under a gazebo talking to a British bloke. We had all decided that we had to wait out some of the rain or turn back and go straight to the waterfalls. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like the fog was anywhere near lifting and with heavy hearts and broad smiles we made our way back the way we came, but this time it was all downhill.
Magi is a cautious creature and we made our way down the wet, steep mountain carefully and slowly. Aaron, the speedy devil, had a different idea of how the trip should transpire as he quickly flew out of sight like white lightening. (Actually, he is more silver than white without a shirt on.) As we rounded a corner, we saw a blob of red (his bike), green (his rain jacket), and silver (that Aaron skin) and that surprised us this time, because it wasn't moving. His bike was laying near a guardrail and he was standing next to it examining his hand with great interest looking for some proof of the 20 metre skid that he just had down the hill with the bike on top of him. His bum was muddy, his hands full of rocks, and his body was pretty shaky. In hindsight, we can all laugh about it but it was scary at the time- for me because it was only a few minutes before this that I was actually warming up to the idea of spending an extended amount of time on a scooter and for Aaron, for obvious reasons- he would have to spend another few precious baht on a new pair of pants!
Flashback to a few hours before when we were signing out our bikes. Aaron, Mr. Confident (a.k.a. Mr. No Consequences), wasn't going to pay the extra 30 baht for insurance. He figured that, although he had never actually ridden a motorized two-wheeled machine, he was pretty much a pro, even in the rain going up and down mountains. Magi and I, Ms. Cautious and Ms. Only Half an Adventure Please, had already decided that we were buying both the accident insurance and the theft insurance. With some coaxing, we convinced Aaron to splurge on the accident insurance and he, hesitantly, agreed to.
So, he messed the bike up in a big way but since I don't know the names of any parts of the machine (except the mesh basket in front) I won't go into describing the damage done. Soon after the wreck, Aaron's bike wouldn't start. Luckily, two Thai guys on a motorcycle, were whizzing up the hill and stopped to give us a hand. One of them walked over to the woods and grabbed a long, thick piece of bamboo and proceeded to whack it against the pedal of the bike. This worked like a charm and the bike was as good as new in no time (aside from the numerous cracks and scrapes that Aaron had created).
We were off to the waterfalls. But now, Aaron was just ahead of us instead of WAY ahead of us (at least for a little while). The road to the waterfalls was rough. Really rough. Gone were the smooth paved roads and they were replaced with a muddy, slippery, cracked mess of a path. It was dirtbiking without a dirtbike and Magi hadn't ever had experience with this kind of landscape... so after the bike slipped out from under us for the third time, I just got off and walked the rest of the way uphill (a few kms). The waterfall was nice, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it was worth the trip up the path (and plus it was way too cold to go in). Plus the extra creepy feeling of passing through a traditional Thai village full of angry roosters, kids playing with rocks (we found out later they were shouting to Aaron that they loved him!), and opium dealers (there for the tourist who is stupid and thoughtless enough to buy).
Now that both bikes were totally out of gas, we made it into town (barely) by riding most of the way in neutral. I was glad to be back, glad to get off that bike.. but was left with a little dread in knowing that we still had our bikes until noon today and that Aaron and Magi wanted to wake up and go riding again.
We sat underneath the bright full moon in a gazebo overhanging the river while Aaron and Magi sipped down a mickey of moonshine that Aaron had bought the night before. We talked at length about the earlier incidents as Aaron struggled to get comfortable with a bum that was getting more achy every minute.
This morning, we woke up and rode straight to the hot springs that we had gone to a few days ago on our mountain bikes. The trip only took about 15 minutes compared to the hour that it took us using the weary strength of our legs. We made it there early enough to have the place to ourselves. By the time we soaked for a while, it was time to make our way back into town and return the bikes. We ate a delicious meal complete with that famous local coffee again and then headed here, to the internet cafe, to tell you all our stories.
Sadly, we leave Pai tomorrow.
love,
k&m
Friday, September 20, 2002
when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pai
I'm sitting in an empty internet cafe flooded by flourescent light. The two young people working here are talking quite loudly while Thai heavy metal plays in the background. Outside it's warm and dark. Magi and Aaron are at a restaurant finishing up their red curry and pad thai dishes (complete with big, moist chunks of TVP if you fellow veggies can believe it!).... they're watching a movie there so I decided to leave them and come here. Those two are definite film-junkies!
We're in Pai (pronounced "pie"). It's a small village waaay up north and less than an hour's drive from the Myanmar border. Inhabitants up here are relatively few and far between so we feel, for the first time really, that we are in some sort of untouched land. Of course, travellers found this place a long time ago and the names of the restaurants show that the locals have caught on to making things cute to lure the bellies of hungry and thirsty farang (foreigners). Places to eat and drink are called such things as The Hiccup Bar and Krazy Kitchen. However, we did a little exploring outside of town today and saw some of the most lush and vibrantly green vistas; complete with palm trees, rolling hills, expansive rice fields, and rainbows. Really.
Our day started like any other, we slept in until the neighbourhood dogs started to get rowdy and woke us up. We showered and then walked around town to find a place that would suit our palate and our budgets. By this time it was nearly 1 pm so we decided to accomplish something and rent bicycles. For about a dollar, we have bikes for 25 hours and we were even given a map of special places to visit.
The trip we went on was a little over 20 kms. The first leg of our journey took us by an elephant "camp". We didn't go in but they were by the road in plain view so we stopped to admire the baby elephant (who was recently born in Myanmar) and see the life of the older ones. It's pretty tragic to see these animals tied by one foot with a 3 or 4 foot chain to a tree... all for the foreigners to come in and get an hour-long joy ride. I know these animals as being wise, intelligent creatures with a strong capacity for memory and it's terrible that they are taken from their land, their families, and imprisoned in that way. It's a shame that the hilltribe people are driven to do this to the animals of their country because they need money, and it's a shame that foreigners don't see past the hour they spend on an elephant's back. Similarly, we saw a man in Bangkok who was walking around a very urban, crowded market with a baby elephant. The idea is that you buy food from him and then feed it to his elephant. It's another tourist gig that foreigners get excited about and it keeps these guys in the business of stealing newborn elephants from their mothers and aunts and domesticating them. Argh!
Where was I?
It's hard to get my mind off of those elephants.
So we passed the camps along the road and after about 8 km we reached our first destination.... hot springs! At first we were kind of wondering what the draw for hot springs could possibly be in Thailand. I mean, sure, in Iceland and Canada hot springs provide relief from the terribly frosty temperatures you experience almost without a break. But Thailand is roasting and dry or roasting and wet all year round! We just had to see for ourselves and eventually discovered that bathing in a hot spring actually works to cool you down. We walked along the path to large, bubbling sulphur-smelling pools of blue-green water. Immediately we knew we were not going to be spending any amount of time bathing in them since even a slight touch with the fingers excited pain receptors! Eventually we worked our way downstream and found a few shallower spots where we could sit and enjoy the cooler-but-still-hot water. We lingered in the hot streams for about an hour while a cool drizzle fell on us and mosquitoes feasted heartily on Magi's blood. When it was time to go, we could hardly tear Aaron away and he kept finding new and nicer spots to soak in. But it was time to get back on the bikes and by that time, our bums were already sore!
After 2 kms of a pure uphill nightmare (but the scenery was gorgeous!) , we arrived at our second stop - Pai Canyon. What a view! It was as if we had temporarily left Thailand and stepped into the lushest landscape in South America. Immediately upon arrival, Aaron went exploring (Magi and I were still walking up the hill to get to the canyon). By the time we reached the top, he was barely in sight! He had walked a very narrow footpath with a steep slope on each side to reach the edge of the canyon. Magi felt brave and followed in his footsteps until she reached a very narrow part of the path and panicked in a moment of a real fear of heights (and she's not afraid of heights at all), she turned back and together we found a wider path to walk along the other crest of the canyon.
The last 10 km leg of our trip back to town was tough and it's a good thing we had our newly appointed personal trainer Aaron with us to give us some incentive to keep cycling. He didn't even break a sweat or breathe rapidly once (it was pretty sickening)- meanwhile Magi and I were walking up almost every hill that we came upon... they were really steep hills! The landscape we saw on this part of the journey was breathtaking (yeah, that's why we were out of breath!). The bubbly blue-grey, black, and white clouds hung over and around the bright green hills while blue patches of sky and sun rays peaked out from behind them... a thick rainbow formed above the vast fields that were dotted with villager's homes. It was straight out of a vivid, tropical dream.
We are staying in a small, wooden bungalow on the shore of a roaring river. It's our first time on our trip that we're sleeping under mosquito nets and I have to say, I enjoy it very much. There's a definite freedom you feel when you have an absolute mosquito-free space to linger in.
I haven't even begun to discuss our time in Chiang Mai. It was a much-too-short two days but we wanted to have extra time in Pai and we must be back in Bangkok by Tuesday morning to deal with passport and plane ticket issues. It's a shame we are rushing through Northern Thailand this time around but when we come back to this country we'll definitely spend more time up here. It's really a different world up here... one that has the lucky combination of friendly people, incredible landscape, and one of the best cuisines in the world (complete with delicious local coffee!).
Just for the record, Magi hears this alot : "You look like Thai people". We are beginning to wonder if there is a place in Asia we will visit where she won't be mistaken for a local! She even brazenly attempted to use her limited knowledge of Thai to begin bargaining with a man at a market in Chiang Mai. Prior to our trip to the market, we learned how to say two phrases (in addition to what we already know- hello and thank you).. and those two phrases were "How much?" and "Too much!". Thinking she would get a better price without the obvious farangs around (me and Aaron), we left her to bargain on her own. She made it as far as the first phrase but when the guy answered her in Thai and she didn't understand him her cover was blown! I guess we weren't thinking too far ahead when we learned only those two phrases and no numbers...
That's all for today. I still have a whole headfull of things to write... but I shall disgress. I hope you're all having a beautiful autumn. It's my very favourite season and I feel a little envious about all of you in North America who are enjoying it now. I think my body must be wondering how long this summer is going to last! I don't think I've ever been subject to these temperatures for this length of time.
tothesea,
k&m
We're in Pai (pronounced "pie"). It's a small village waaay up north and less than an hour's drive from the Myanmar border. Inhabitants up here are relatively few and far between so we feel, for the first time really, that we are in some sort of untouched land. Of course, travellers found this place a long time ago and the names of the restaurants show that the locals have caught on to making things cute to lure the bellies of hungry and thirsty farang (foreigners). Places to eat and drink are called such things as The Hiccup Bar and Krazy Kitchen. However, we did a little exploring outside of town today and saw some of the most lush and vibrantly green vistas; complete with palm trees, rolling hills, expansive rice fields, and rainbows. Really.
Our day started like any other, we slept in until the neighbourhood dogs started to get rowdy and woke us up. We showered and then walked around town to find a place that would suit our palate and our budgets. By this time it was nearly 1 pm so we decided to accomplish something and rent bicycles. For about a dollar, we have bikes for 25 hours and we were even given a map of special places to visit.
The trip we went on was a little over 20 kms. The first leg of our journey took us by an elephant "camp". We didn't go in but they were by the road in plain view so we stopped to admire the baby elephant (who was recently born in Myanmar) and see the life of the older ones. It's pretty tragic to see these animals tied by one foot with a 3 or 4 foot chain to a tree... all for the foreigners to come in and get an hour-long joy ride. I know these animals as being wise, intelligent creatures with a strong capacity for memory and it's terrible that they are taken from their land, their families, and imprisoned in that way. It's a shame that the hilltribe people are driven to do this to the animals of their country because they need money, and it's a shame that foreigners don't see past the hour they spend on an elephant's back. Similarly, we saw a man in Bangkok who was walking around a very urban, crowded market with a baby elephant. The idea is that you buy food from him and then feed it to his elephant. It's another tourist gig that foreigners get excited about and it keeps these guys in the business of stealing newborn elephants from their mothers and aunts and domesticating them. Argh!
Where was I?
It's hard to get my mind off of those elephants.
So we passed the camps along the road and after about 8 km we reached our first destination.... hot springs! At first we were kind of wondering what the draw for hot springs could possibly be in Thailand. I mean, sure, in Iceland and Canada hot springs provide relief from the terribly frosty temperatures you experience almost without a break. But Thailand is roasting and dry or roasting and wet all year round! We just had to see for ourselves and eventually discovered that bathing in a hot spring actually works to cool you down. We walked along the path to large, bubbling sulphur-smelling pools of blue-green water. Immediately we knew we were not going to be spending any amount of time bathing in them since even a slight touch with the fingers excited pain receptors! Eventually we worked our way downstream and found a few shallower spots where we could sit and enjoy the cooler-but-still-hot water. We lingered in the hot streams for about an hour while a cool drizzle fell on us and mosquitoes feasted heartily on Magi's blood. When it was time to go, we could hardly tear Aaron away and he kept finding new and nicer spots to soak in. But it was time to get back on the bikes and by that time, our bums were already sore!
After 2 kms of a pure uphill nightmare (but the scenery was gorgeous!) , we arrived at our second stop - Pai Canyon. What a view! It was as if we had temporarily left Thailand and stepped into the lushest landscape in South America. Immediately upon arrival, Aaron went exploring (Magi and I were still walking up the hill to get to the canyon). By the time we reached the top, he was barely in sight! He had walked a very narrow footpath with a steep slope on each side to reach the edge of the canyon. Magi felt brave and followed in his footsteps until she reached a very narrow part of the path and panicked in a moment of a real fear of heights (and she's not afraid of heights at all), she turned back and together we found a wider path to walk along the other crest of the canyon.
The last 10 km leg of our trip back to town was tough and it's a good thing we had our newly appointed personal trainer Aaron with us to give us some incentive to keep cycling. He didn't even break a sweat or breathe rapidly once (it was pretty sickening)- meanwhile Magi and I were walking up almost every hill that we came upon... they were really steep hills! The landscape we saw on this part of the journey was breathtaking (yeah, that's why we were out of breath!). The bubbly blue-grey, black, and white clouds hung over and around the bright green hills while blue patches of sky and sun rays peaked out from behind them... a thick rainbow formed above the vast fields that were dotted with villager's homes. It was straight out of a vivid, tropical dream.
We are staying in a small, wooden bungalow on the shore of a roaring river. It's our first time on our trip that we're sleeping under mosquito nets and I have to say, I enjoy it very much. There's a definite freedom you feel when you have an absolute mosquito-free space to linger in.
I haven't even begun to discuss our time in Chiang Mai. It was a much-too-short two days but we wanted to have extra time in Pai and we must be back in Bangkok by Tuesday morning to deal with passport and plane ticket issues. It's a shame we are rushing through Northern Thailand this time around but when we come back to this country we'll definitely spend more time up here. It's really a different world up here... one that has the lucky combination of friendly people, incredible landscape, and one of the best cuisines in the world (complete with delicious local coffee!).
Just for the record, Magi hears this alot : "You look like Thai people". We are beginning to wonder if there is a place in Asia we will visit where she won't be mistaken for a local! She even brazenly attempted to use her limited knowledge of Thai to begin bargaining with a man at a market in Chiang Mai. Prior to our trip to the market, we learned how to say two phrases (in addition to what we already know- hello and thank you).. and those two phrases were "How much?" and "Too much!". Thinking she would get a better price without the obvious farangs around (me and Aaron), we left her to bargain on her own. She made it as far as the first phrase but when the guy answered her in Thai and she didn't understand him her cover was blown! I guess we weren't thinking too far ahead when we learned only those two phrases and no numbers...
That's all for today. I still have a whole headfull of things to write... but I shall disgress. I hope you're all having a beautiful autumn. It's my very favourite season and I feel a little envious about all of you in North America who are enjoying it now. I think my body must be wondering how long this summer is going to last! I don't think I've ever been subject to these temperatures for this length of time.
tothesea,
k&m
Monday, September 16, 2002
our first few days in thailand
Perhaps we shouldn't be as surprised as we are that Thailand is so different from Nepal and India. But it's hard to spend all that time experiencing life in the subcontinent and then hop on a plane and a few hours later still be in Asia, but have it be a completely new experience.
Thailand is much more developed than the subcontinent. As soon as we entered the Bangkok airport we knew we were in for a treat. The taxi ride was quiet (no honking), peaceful (drivers stayed in distinct lanes), cool (a/c), smooth (new pavement!), and the city was developed and there was much less poverty than anywhere we'd been. I felt like we were back in Europe.
Of course, now we have been around the city and know that Bangkok doesn't really resemble the west as much as we first thought. We have explored some frantically paced markets, had the most delicious meals for less than a dollar, seen roasted scorpions for sale as a snack, and been to some amazingly ornamented wats (temples) that have all added to the very distinct feeling of Bangkok. It's a great city, a vibrant city and a city where we don't automatically want to scream, "Let's get out of here!"
Having Aaron here has added immensely to our enjoyment. It's almost like having a local showing us around. He knows where to go to get the best sticky rice with custard and papaya for breakfast, he recommends wats that left the with him biggest impression (you have to see the size of that reclining Buddha!), he's great company, and he has found a unique Thai home to stay at for very few baht a night. It's more communal than we are used to but we are enjoying it there. Everyone in the house shares one bathroom but surprisingly, there is rarely a wait to get in. Sometimes there will be a Bob Dylan- Beatlesesque sing-a-long jamboree in the evening when Tu plucks his sitar and some Americans, Aussies, Canadians, and/or Europeans plays the guitar and bongos. Yet surprisingly, you hardly hear a peep in the house after 10 pm. Everyone is pretty respectful and very quiet of one another's sleeping time and personal space.
We have several weeks to explore Thailand, by far the longest time we'll have in any country on our trip. We're going to head up north first before returning to Bangkok and then heading to the renowned (and hopefully some secret!) beaches in the south. Stay tuned.
We have finally reached the SEA...South-East Asia.
fromthesea,
k&m
Thailand is much more developed than the subcontinent. As soon as we entered the Bangkok airport we knew we were in for a treat. The taxi ride was quiet (no honking), peaceful (drivers stayed in distinct lanes), cool (a/c), smooth (new pavement!), and the city was developed and there was much less poverty than anywhere we'd been. I felt like we were back in Europe.
Of course, now we have been around the city and know that Bangkok doesn't really resemble the west as much as we first thought. We have explored some frantically paced markets, had the most delicious meals for less than a dollar, seen roasted scorpions for sale as a snack, and been to some amazingly ornamented wats (temples) that have all added to the very distinct feeling of Bangkok. It's a great city, a vibrant city and a city where we don't automatically want to scream, "Let's get out of here!"
Having Aaron here has added immensely to our enjoyment. It's almost like having a local showing us around. He knows where to go to get the best sticky rice with custard and papaya for breakfast, he recommends wats that left the with him biggest impression (you have to see the size of that reclining Buddha!), he's great company, and he has found a unique Thai home to stay at for very few baht a night. It's more communal than we are used to but we are enjoying it there. Everyone in the house shares one bathroom but surprisingly, there is rarely a wait to get in. Sometimes there will be a Bob Dylan- Beatlesesque sing-a-long jamboree in the evening when Tu plucks his sitar and some Americans, Aussies, Canadians, and/or Europeans plays the guitar and bongos. Yet surprisingly, you hardly hear a peep in the house after 10 pm. Everyone is pretty respectful and very quiet of one another's sleeping time and personal space.
We have several weeks to explore Thailand, by far the longest time we'll have in any country on our trip. We're going to head up north first before returning to Bangkok and then heading to the renowned (and hopefully some secret!) beaches in the south. Stay tuned.
We have finally reached the SEA...South-East Asia.
fromthesea,
k&m
Sunday, September 08, 2002
to typhoid and back... almost
We had to cancel our trek at the last minute. I had a very rough night on Thursday because I was sleeping very little and feeling achy and sore. When it was time to get out of bed in the morning I was trying to convince myself that the soreness was coming from the yoga we had done the day before. We were the only two in the class and for two hours, the yogi stretched and pulled us in directions our bodies were clearly not ready to go in. I attributed the sick feelings to lack of sleep the night before. Basically, I was trying to convince myself that I was okay for the trek. I knew that trying to cancel it only one hour before the sherpa was supposed to pick us up was going to be a real nuisance.
I went into the bathroom and sat on the floor. I was very hot and the cool tiles provided me some relief. When Magi woke up we talked about how I was feeling and she insisted that we call the trek off and go see a doctor. It was a decision I needed her to make as I was still telling myself that I could probably go ahead and trek anyway. Looking back now I realize how stupid that was.
Magi took care of cancelling the trek and a couple of hours later (after a nap), we walked about 20 metres down the street to a clinic for Western travellers (the doc had even practised in Calgary for a few years). I laid down on the clinic bed and felt a tremendous sense of relief just to be laying down once again and to be on my way to finding out what was wrong. I was given an injection in my bum to loosen my tight muscles and ease the pain. They took blood and urine samples to run tests. I was sent home with three bags of drugs and the whole visit, complete with drugs, cost about US$105. It's not a tremendous amount of money, but I'll be glad to recoup it with my medical insurance that, in hindsight, I'm very glad I came with.
Under orders to rest for the remainder of the day, I gladly obliged and looked forward to every horizontal moment ahead of me. I had to wait until Sunday (today) for the diagnosis. Yesterday was a very long and anxious day.
I found out this morning that I have a urinary tract infection and a mild case of typhoid fever. Now for the gross part. Typhoid is "passed in the feces and, to some extent, the urine of infected people. The germs are spread by eating or drinking water or foods contaminated by feces from the infected individual." Disgusting.
Dr. Shah told me the drugs he gave me will take care of both of these problems and that I should feel a marked improvement by the end of today. I'm already feeling much better than I was on Friday and yesterday wasn't too bad either, though moments of feverish confusion still occur. I would have expected something as serious as typhoid fever to feel a lot worse than it does. Oh, the wonders of modern medicine!
I don't think I could have prevented the urinary tract infection. They are not uncommon for women travelling through these parts of the world. I did what I could to prevent typhoid. I had the innoculation prior to the trip... but the doctor said no innoculation is 100% effective... and I tried to eat and drink safe foods. Goes to show, you never know. Thinking back, I cannot pinpoint any occasion where I threw caution to the wind and ate or drank carelessly. But Magi has just reminded me that eating just about any meal in India is throwing (some) caution to the wind. I'm pretty sure I must have contracted typhoid in India because Kathmandu is so touristy and the restaurants are much cleaner than most places we ate in India. Also, it takes 1-3 weeks for the fever to manifest itself and that puts me in India at the time of contamination.
We're sad we had to cancel our only chance to see the countryside and something other than Kathmandu. On the other hand, I keep thinking about what an event it would have been to have had me airlifted to a hospital during the trek.
I go for a check-up on Tuesday and we leave on Wednesday for Bangkok. As usual, we'll keep you posted.
tothesea,
k&m
I went into the bathroom and sat on the floor. I was very hot and the cool tiles provided me some relief. When Magi woke up we talked about how I was feeling and she insisted that we call the trek off and go see a doctor. It was a decision I needed her to make as I was still telling myself that I could probably go ahead and trek anyway. Looking back now I realize how stupid that was.
Magi took care of cancelling the trek and a couple of hours later (after a nap), we walked about 20 metres down the street to a clinic for Western travellers (the doc had even practised in Calgary for a few years). I laid down on the clinic bed and felt a tremendous sense of relief just to be laying down once again and to be on my way to finding out what was wrong. I was given an injection in my bum to loosen my tight muscles and ease the pain. They took blood and urine samples to run tests. I was sent home with three bags of drugs and the whole visit, complete with drugs, cost about US$105. It's not a tremendous amount of money, but I'll be glad to recoup it with my medical insurance that, in hindsight, I'm very glad I came with.
Under orders to rest for the remainder of the day, I gladly obliged and looked forward to every horizontal moment ahead of me. I had to wait until Sunday (today) for the diagnosis. Yesterday was a very long and anxious day.
I found out this morning that I have a urinary tract infection and a mild case of typhoid fever. Now for the gross part. Typhoid is "passed in the feces and, to some extent, the urine of infected people. The germs are spread by eating or drinking water or foods contaminated by feces from the infected individual." Disgusting.
Dr. Shah told me the drugs he gave me will take care of both of these problems and that I should feel a marked improvement by the end of today. I'm already feeling much better than I was on Friday and yesterday wasn't too bad either, though moments of feverish confusion still occur. I would have expected something as serious as typhoid fever to feel a lot worse than it does. Oh, the wonders of modern medicine!
I don't think I could have prevented the urinary tract infection. They are not uncommon for women travelling through these parts of the world. I did what I could to prevent typhoid. I had the innoculation prior to the trip... but the doctor said no innoculation is 100% effective... and I tried to eat and drink safe foods. Goes to show, you never know. Thinking back, I cannot pinpoint any occasion where I threw caution to the wind and ate or drank carelessly. But Magi has just reminded me that eating just about any meal in India is throwing (some) caution to the wind. I'm pretty sure I must have contracted typhoid in India because Kathmandu is so touristy and the restaurants are much cleaner than most places we ate in India. Also, it takes 1-3 weeks for the fever to manifest itself and that puts me in India at the time of contamination.
We're sad we had to cancel our only chance to see the countryside and something other than Kathmandu. On the other hand, I keep thinking about what an event it would have been to have had me airlifted to a hospital during the trek.
I go for a check-up on Tuesday and we leave on Wednesday for Bangkok. As usual, we'll keep you posted.
tothesea,
k&m
Tuesday, September 03, 2002
magi the nepali
Magi is tickled pink to be thought of as Nepali. People have said things to her in Nepali on the street and there have been many occasions where people in shops and restaurants have told her she looks like she's a local. It's neat to blend in when everywhere else you are such an outsider (of course, acting like she is a local to avoid touts only works when she is not walking with me!)
We took a stroll down to Freak Street this morning, taking a break for thanthuk and momos along the way. Freak Street is the place in Kathmandu where hippies used to come and tune out. It hit it's peak in the 70's though and now Thamel is where the majority of the travellers are. The Freak Street area is heavily sprinkled with temples that are each very unique in some way. We're going to head back there one day soon and learn more about the buildings we saw. Today we were just kind of walking through and gawking at the scenery.
Planning a trip to Nepal in September was probably not the best timing. It's great to travel in the off-season if you want to escape hordes of travellers, but there are some places where it doesn't make much sense to travel unless it's the high season. The beaches of Goa is one example, and Nepal is another if you come expecting to do any trekking. The monsoon here is very slight this year but it still does not provide a great opportunity for a medium or long trek. So, we have decided to take only a short trek around the Kathmandu Valley. We will have our own Sherpa guide, a porter to carry our bags, and all food and accomodation taken care of. It is quite a departure from what I imagined trekking to be.
We originally planned for 20 days here but due to the weather, we have cut it down to 11. Today we changed our flights and will be leaving Kathmandu on September 11th. Perhaps because we were in NYC last year we find the travel date makes us a bit wary. Therefore, we tried first for the 9th or the 10th but neither day had seats available.
As for my aunt Mary-lou's question about the critters: we haven't really had a bug problem anywhere. The odd time there will be a cockroach in the bathroom when one of us goes in there in the middle of the night but that's about it. The mosquitoes haven't even been that bad though the ones we have met with are highly evolved and excellent at alluding and biting humans. We've probably seen more ants than anything: ants in the sugar dish, ants under the cap of the pop bottle, ants struggling to carry a piece of dropped granola bar up a wall....
tothesea,
k&m
We took a stroll down to Freak Street this morning, taking a break for thanthuk and momos along the way. Freak Street is the place in Kathmandu where hippies used to come and tune out. It hit it's peak in the 70's though and now Thamel is where the majority of the travellers are. The Freak Street area is heavily sprinkled with temples that are each very unique in some way. We're going to head back there one day soon and learn more about the buildings we saw. Today we were just kind of walking through and gawking at the scenery.
Planning a trip to Nepal in September was probably not the best timing. It's great to travel in the off-season if you want to escape hordes of travellers, but there are some places where it doesn't make much sense to travel unless it's the high season. The beaches of Goa is one example, and Nepal is another if you come expecting to do any trekking. The monsoon here is very slight this year but it still does not provide a great opportunity for a medium or long trek. So, we have decided to take only a short trek around the Kathmandu Valley. We will have our own Sherpa guide, a porter to carry our bags, and all food and accomodation taken care of. It is quite a departure from what I imagined trekking to be.
We originally planned for 20 days here but due to the weather, we have cut it down to 11. Today we changed our flights and will be leaving Kathmandu on September 11th. Perhaps because we were in NYC last year we find the travel date makes us a bit wary. Therefore, we tried first for the 9th or the 10th but neither day had seats available.
As for my aunt Mary-lou's question about the critters: we haven't really had a bug problem anywhere. The odd time there will be a cockroach in the bathroom when one of us goes in there in the middle of the night but that's about it. The mosquitoes haven't even been that bad though the ones we have met with are highly evolved and excellent at alluding and biting humans. We've probably seen more ants than anything: ants in the sugar dish, ants under the cap of the pop bottle, ants struggling to carry a piece of dropped granola bar up a wall....
tothesea,
k&m
Sunday, September 01, 2002
set your clocks 15 minutes ahead, we're now in Nepal
We have arrived in Nepal. Flying over the land this morning was one of the most memorable parts of this trip so far. The green was so incredible. The rolling hills, high peaks, and valleys were dotted with homes and rice terraces.
Our day began early with a short trip to the airport. After we hailed the rickshaw and settled into it we asked the driver to turn on the meter. When he refused and insisted instead that the trip would cost us Rs. 130, Magi (or her amazing stunt-double!?) jumped out of the moving vehicle and grabbed at his shirt instructing him to STOP! It was quite a scene to behold and afterwards we got quite a chuckle out of the event. The wallah did succumb and set the meter. The trip ended up costing Rs. 60.
Magi's second saucy event of the day was when we were in the immigration line at the Bangalore airport. An Indian man in CHiPs shades and a light brown jumpsuit ignored the line that we had all formed and decided that he should be ahead of us. This is a standard occurence in India, one that you get annoyed by, but learn to ignore. Magi didn't. She tapped the man on the shoulder and instructed him to the back of the line. He meekly apologized and moved to another line altogether.
Clearly, Magi had had enough of India. So had I. It really was time for us to move on.
Kathmandu has become a very warm welcoming hug. We settled in to the most comfortable room of the whole trip and went out for some nourishing and delicious Tibetan food. Momos and thanthuk; two things I swear I could eat every day of my remaining life and never get tired of. We walked, open-jawed, along the twisty roads of the neighbourhood where we are staying, Thamel, admiring the scenery and getting a feel for this city.
Aaron has finished his meditation retreat and discusses the trying and compelling ordeal in his latest posting... click there if you haven't already been keeping up with his travels and if you're interested in doing so.
I pity the fool who messes with Magi.
tothesea,
k&m
Our day began early with a short trip to the airport. After we hailed the rickshaw and settled into it we asked the driver to turn on the meter. When he refused and insisted instead that the trip would cost us Rs. 130, Magi (or her amazing stunt-double!?) jumped out of the moving vehicle and grabbed at his shirt instructing him to STOP! It was quite a scene to behold and afterwards we got quite a chuckle out of the event. The wallah did succumb and set the meter. The trip ended up costing Rs. 60.
Magi's second saucy event of the day was when we were in the immigration line at the Bangalore airport. An Indian man in CHiPs shades and a light brown jumpsuit ignored the line that we had all formed and decided that he should be ahead of us. This is a standard occurence in India, one that you get annoyed by, but learn to ignore. Magi didn't. She tapped the man on the shoulder and instructed him to the back of the line. He meekly apologized and moved to another line altogether.
Clearly, Magi had had enough of India. So had I. It really was time for us to move on.
Kathmandu has become a very warm welcoming hug. We settled in to the most comfortable room of the whole trip and went out for some nourishing and delicious Tibetan food. Momos and thanthuk; two things I swear I could eat every day of my remaining life and never get tired of. We walked, open-jawed, along the twisty roads of the neighbourhood where we are staying, Thamel, admiring the scenery and getting a feel for this city.
Aaron has finished his meditation retreat and discusses the trying and compelling ordeal in his latest posting... click there if you haven't already been keeping up with his travels and if you're interested in doing so.
I pity the fool who messes with Magi.
tothesea,
k&m