Northern Village visited on our Trek

This Village was having a New Year Celebration for the men. Our guide Aike told us the women have already had their celebration that lasts a whole week and the men's only lasts one day/evening. The men handed us homemade whiskey that was a clear colour and holly crap it tasted sooooo strong one shot and I was feeling it! They were drinking it like water I have no idea how they could be standing. Instead they were smiling, laughing, singing and cutting up a huge pig for dinner. As well firecrackers were being let off.

The children in the other two pics were the ones that jumped on the back of our open truck with us taking Rhiann's nuts and trying to put little handmade bracelets on our wrists so that we would give them money for them. Aike explained that the village parents wanted to deter the children from doing this and asked we did not give them money. It would be better if we purchased hand crafts from the adults and donate after the performance in the evening of singing and dancing. It was so hard not to because they were so friggin cute but this made complete sense the parents do not want their children to become beggers.

Many Cats and Dogs

You will see many cats and dogs if you visit Thailand. Some say people eat the cats and dogs but I have not witnessed this. However I was told by a villager up north that dogs were a treat and taste great. Who knows he could have been pulling my leg laughing to himself "gullable tourists"

Here are some cute pics of kittens :)

Slingshots

During our trek we noticed many of the boys had slingshots and played around with them often. We had a little competition of whoever could hit the coke can hung in the tree would win a beer that evening. Michelle was awesome she hit the can and I was lucky enough to share the beer with her as it was HUGE!

Night and Weekend Market Chiang Mai

Buddhist Monk in Chiang Mai

Sorry this is the only picture you are going to see of a Monk because it just did not feel right to be bothering their peacefulness. On my trip I saw many monks and visited the Wat Suan Dok which also has the monk university attached. This location or The International Buddhist Meditation Centre in Wat Mahathatthat were where I really wanted to take a meditation class but unfortunately I went on the day The Lonley Planet had printed in the book and the weekly date had been changed.

The Village Children Performance

They were so cute to watch especially the youngest one who did not know the moves yet and made up her own and smiled the biggest. Their was one child singing the loudest with a high pitched squeeky voice with a big smile that was the second most fun to watch. The children were wonderful and so full of smiles and laughter....One of the most memorable times of my trip for sure.

Eating bugs in Thailand??

You do not beleive it until you see it but yes some people eat bugs. They have carts that go around selling deep fried bugs of all kinds even cockroaches! Our guide for the trek treated us to deepfried baby bees. This is a delicacy because they are only around at certain times and hard to get. I am sorry to dissapoint you all but I did not try it....I just could not. Everyone that did try them said they tasted like bacon.

Thai Dancing at the Night Market

At such a young age her movement had great balance and talent.

Hong Kong Airport

Orchids are everywhere in this Airport and shops are abundant! I spent 6hrs there on the way to Bangkok and on the way back to Toronto. I took a quick cab tour of some of the city....WOW so many people, you can not really understand until you see it. Many people live in high rise buildings with apartments very close together, you better not need your personal space if you move here that is for sure. It reminded me of Quebec in a way because all of the signs are both in Chinese and in English. Everyone speaks English here that I spoke to.

While I was in the airport I found two books I am excited to start reading by chinese authors "Red Dust" about the author Ma Jian's Trek through China to Tibet and "Shanghai Baby" by Wei Hui which was publicly burned in China for its sensual nature and irreverent style. Wow Publicly burned!

The things I loved about Thailand

1. Generally I found that the Thai people shared their sense of humour, laughter and smiles so very naturally. What I found most endearing was that people could be found singing anywhere, anytime and at any age.

2. Yummy the food! Great curries, soups, noodles, pancake rotis and my favourite Mango Sticky Rice. Most dishes are $3 Cdn or less. I love that in this country there is not a McDonald's on every street YEAH!

3. Used Book Stores can be found everywhere. Do not bring books with you! You can purchase a used book for about $7 Cdn and then trade it in for another when you are finished. I LOVE THIS. In my finding I have noted that travellers have great taste in books.

4. Massage places can be found everywhere! For as low as 100-200 BAHT which is about $3-$6Cdn. However just once you have to try one of the 5 star spas like Lanna Oasis Spa in Chiang Mai which was more like 1700 BAHT ($50Cdn) The service was better than any spas I have seen.

5. The Thai Cookery School in Chiang Mai. Get ready to be stuffed because it will be hard to stop eating what you learn to cook the food is sooooooo yummy. The teachers were great, remembering to keep it fun at the same time as being informative and helpful.

6. The trekking in the North was an unforgettable experience especially because our group really got along. The bamboo rafting will have you laughing until you almost pee your pants, the elephant riding will teach you how wonderful the elephants are and the relationship they build with the guides (the village let these elephants run wild and gather them for each riding), staying with the villagers in the mountains teaches you to be happy with little by appreciating nature, the people you are with, great food and last but not least the singing and dancing of the children. Even though on this trip I was sleeping on the floor of a bamboo hut and using washroom facilities I am not used to I would say this trip was the best part of my vacation.

7. The Temples and Palaces- gorgeous architecture with great detail. Eg. "Grand Palace" in Bangkok, "Wat Phra That Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai".

8. Shopping is incredible, prices are shockingly low! Best places to shop were Patpong Night Market (Bangkok), Chattuchuk Weekend Market (Bangkok), Chiang Mai Weekend and night markets, & if you want a mall there is MBK mall in Bangkok. Remember the Beaches will always be more expensive then the cities. Note: usually if you ask how much it is and walk away they will ask how much you want it for always ask for a little lower then you want because the vendors will always give you a price just a bit higher than the one you offer. If that does not work if you walk away again sometimes all of a sudden it is the price you want it for YEAH. However if you like the vendor this few bucks to us is really a lot to them....so think about that too.

9. Bangkok comes alive at night it is incredible to see!

10. Cool cellphones :)

11. New Cd's and DVD's for $3cdn each and sometimes 5 for the price of 4....WOW.

12. Internet Cafe's are everywhere great for travellers. The prices are much better in ciites, the beaches charge much more. They range from 20Baht/hr to 3Baht a minute.

13. 7 Eleven stores are everywhere and are very convenient for good prices in drinking water, beer, coolers and phone top up cards for your phone.

14 All guest houses and hotels have international sockets so that you do not have to bring a convertor....how ingenious and helpful to travellers.

15. For a healthy snack they have these amazing fruit carts where you ask for a fruit (pineapple, mango, watermelon, strawberries) and they cut a fresh one for you place it in a bag with large toothpicks so that you can easily carry and eat it as you walk. This is incredible, way better then those gross hotdog carts in toronto.

16. Gorgeous handmade crafts, silks, paintings, unique instruments.

17. Thai dance is beautiful to watch. It requires incredible balance and hand/leg movements dressed in gorgeous traditional Thai dress.

18. Lots of travellers from around the world to talk to and share experiences as well as learn of other cultures.

19. The flowers and vegetation are numerous!

20. The snorkelling around Ko Phi Phi and Railay was amazing,

21. Rock climbing in Railay was so scary but definately a highlight!!

22. You can find Islands where only camping is aloud no electricity eg. Bamboo Island and you can find areas where electricity is only on during the evenings from 6pm until about 6am.

23. Seeing Wat Suan Dok the Monk University in Chian Mai. I really wanted to participate in the Monk Chat and the meditation Retreat there but ran out of time. The Monk Chat is meant for travellers to talk to the Monks because they want to learn about different parts of the world. The Meditation Retreats are where you are given lodging at the University and you learn about meditation and Buddism. I am so sad I went on the wrong day as it has been changed from the day in The Lonely Planet, my mistake you should always check first and not completely go by travel books. I should have known how silly of me :(

24. You can pack light for this trip because there are places everywhere where you can get your laundry done for only 30BAHT/kg except for in the Islands where it is 40BAHT/kg which is around $1 - $1.50/kg. But make sure to take some stain remover as most places use cold water.

25. My Favourite sayings were "Oh my Buddha" & "Same Same, but Different"

26. The heat YEAH I loved the SUN :)

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai

This was up the highway overlooking the city. Michelle, Rhiann and I felt sick on the ride up and back we had a taxi with crazy exhaust fumes and the ride is windy to boot. Unfortunately it could not be seen very well at this time of year but the grounds were beautiful and you could get an idea of how incredible it would be on a clear day without smog. There are also meditation classes held here as well. I did not get a picture but there are several bells you can ring inside, the monks and people ring each bell as they go by the row of bells. This Wat was more touristy with some shops, cafes and markets in the surrounding area. On the way to this Wat there is also a Zoo we are not really Zoo people and did not make it.

Yeah Sun on my Last Day in Ko Lanta!

Boo Hoo, bye bye beaches :( Bangkok here I come for one last night :)

Opium Bar

Our last night in Ko Lanta was spent dancing at Opium Bar. The night was a mixture of joy and sadness. We were all so sad it was our last night travelling together and at the same time the smiles and laughter were abundant! Two english boys said we were like the four musketeers and we should never loose touch. At that point we got a little teary eyed :(

The two little girls

I was torn between these 3 paintings one blue, one yellow and one green. Two sweet Thai children came up to me to help they pointed to the green one and giggled. Then they giggled even more when they saw the picture that I had taken of them. I met the painter as well who was a very nice man named Virod Pilasopha. He sold me the oil painting for only 1200 Baht which is about $36 Cdn. Other stores were charging about 2000 Baht. Ahhhhhh shopping in Thailand :)

Ko Lanta

The weather has been overcast and rainy during my stay in Ko Lanta but this has not stopped the fun. On the ferry I met Carmen (from Mexico), Siobhan (from England) and Petra (from Slovenia). They have been my Ko Lanta travel buddies and we have had some funny times :) First at the Pier with the people surrounding us trying to get us to their guest house it was madness. We went with this really funny guy Handy to the guest house he works for. The pickup ride to the resort was long but full of jokes from Handy. We were entertained by him and his friends at the resort. They had the craziest sense of humour ever (it may have been how much they smoked though giggle giggle). Handy performed a fireshow for us and the bar gave us free wine, the cook put on a barbeque and the driver drove us into town for free. We shared two bungalos between the four of us and only paid about $3cdn each per night WOW.

Ko Lanta is a sleepy place very chill out on the beach. A great place to see the Island is to rent a motorbike, you can rent them everywhere. If you get bored there are caves to see. On the south side of the Island there is a jungle like atmoshpere and you can take diving or snorkelling trips but the area is not know for it.

Flintstone Bakery in Railay

This was a favourite place to have a coffee and read in Railay to get away from the sun or rain. The staff were really friendly, the coffee was real coffee, there was art and photos hung everywhere, games and books were available and one day a child sat right beside me while I read and he played so happily. He was so sweet, I took a picture and showed him what it looked like and he got such a kick out of it his face lit up and he laughed and laughed. The girls I met in Phi Phi Astrid and Sara led me to this bakery.

Ko Phi Phi

During my stay in Railay I spent a few days in Ko Phi Phi. I went only meaning to spend a day there and ended up wanting to stay longer. When you get dropped off at the main pier make sure to ask to be taken to Long Beach by a longtail boat. That is the better beach to stay on. With the mixture of affordability and cuteness stay at Phi Phi Hill in a villa $30cdn(fan and breakfast included) with a terrace over looking the ocean...georgeous! The beaches are more expensive so do not expect a $10Cdn room here. Snorkelling is great, shark sitings, dolphin sitings and so much more. Bamboo Island is a great spot near by and it is an Island not touched with only camping aloud. Maya Bay is neat to see it was in the movie "Beach". Ko Phi Phi was one of the hardest hit by the tsunami. People I talked to said there was nothing left afterwards. Most has been reconstructed but there are a few places you can still see evidence. For example close to the main pier there is a 7/11 store sign hung over a gutted store. Another vendor is now selling there items in the open space. It is hard to find good coffee in the beaches and there is good coffee at Phi Phi Bakery by the main pier.

It Has Caught Up To Me

Yesterday was the first day of my trip that I thought oh god get me on a plane home! I got a case of heat exhaustion and puked all day yesterday :( Now are you jealous...probably not.

Thank goodness the rough part is over, my body is just a bit weak still. Well I guess that is what happens when you try to do too much. I have been out in the sun snorkelling, sea kayaking, exploring and laying to read a little too much. For the next day or two shade and water will be my friend for sure. The lesson here is to take breaks in high sun "siesta".

This means I will be staying on Railay a little longer than I thought because hmmm I think a boat ride would not be a good idea yet. So I will be leaving for Ko Lanta tomorrow or the next day.

I have attached a pic taken of me on my hell day....enjoy.

Thailand Politics

I am sure you have all heard in the news of Thailands political problems at the moment. The Thai people really want the present Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra out of the picture as they do not trust his morals and agenda after corruption allegations. In Bangkok and in Chiang Mai I have seen anti-Thaksin demonstrations of which were peaceful. Although if not by April 2nd election there is not a change there will be problems in Thailand. It really is difficult to say what the future may be. So far at this time it has not seemed to affect the Thai market.

Oh and Mom and Dad I am in the beaches right now and there are no demonstrations there so not to worry!

baby elephants and monkeys

On Railay I got to see about 20 monkeys in the wild. It was incredible! I witnessed some silly tourists feeding them. They have so much food in the trees they really do not need to be fed and honestly it only encourages them to get aggressive.

Rock Climbing in Railay...Yikes!

Yikes that was almost as scary as bungee jumping! The whole way up you are thinking oh god I can not do this, I am going to die. Thankfully there are guides with you cheerleading you on because really it is all in your head because if I can do it anyone can.

Tips if you decide to try:
*use your footing and legs to pull yourself up not so much your arms
*use the chalk for your hands
*keep thinking "Yes I can do it"
*take a break if you get too nervous or even worse get the shakes from nerves

It is a lot of fun and the view and beauty of the limestone formations in Railay are out of this world! Try it if you can :)