Still in the same place...

So, I have booked a trek which leaves tomorrow morning, but I didn't book through the guesthouse to save a little money. The guesthouses in Chiang Mai are ruthless about trying to book tourists on their treks. Apparently if you do not book with them, they will invent some reason to kick you out. So I am trying to play hard to get with the people at the guesthouse, so they don't confiscate my laundry or worse. And the tour company is picking me up at the end of the soi (side street) instead of at the guesthouse, so as not to anger them. I guess you cannot expect much if you only pay 150 baht/night.

Otherwise I am enjoying Chiang Mai very much. The pace is slower than in Bangkok, and even though it is the second largest city in Thailand, it feels much smaller. Everything is within walking distance. Yesterday, I just walked around, booked the trek and went for dinner. I wanted to go to the night market, but I was a bit nervous walking around on my own.

This morning, like a good little Vancouverite I went to yoga class for a much needed stretch and relaxation. There, I met two other female solo travellers with whom I spent the rest of the day. One of the girls, Sarah, is Swiss and she is going to come with me on the trek. The other girl is from Edmonton and her name is Janice. After the trek, Sarah and I will share a room at the Safe House Guesthouse, which will not pressure us to buy a trek. And I think it is much nicer than where I am currently staying. Then we went for lunch in a nice air-con restaurant. Janice and I both had the kao sawy, a curry noodle soup which is (according to the Lonely Planet) a local specialty. It was yummy...Tonight we will stop by the night market briefly so that I can buy a flashlight for the trek, and then go see a muay thai boxing match. Janice does muay thai back home, so she wanted to see the real thing. I can't guarantee that I will like it, but it should be an experience...

Anywho, off to shower and rest for a bit before I meet up with the girls. And it looks like it might rain...

Chiang Mai, oh my!

So, after a brief stay in a grotty guesthouse on Kao San Rd in Bangkok, an afternoon visit with my friend Tamir and his friend James (from the UK), and an overnight sleeper train, I am now in Chiang Mai. It is pouring rain. But, I have my trusty Goretex jacket (thank you Daddy!) so now I am hiding out in an air-con internet cafe. It doesn't seem to be stopping but rather slowing down and then getting heavier...Oh well...Apparently the night market is open rain or shine.

I am probably going to book a three day trekking tour into the mountains to visit the hill tribes. According to the woman at the guest house, the only tourists I will see on this tour will be the other 6-11 people in my group. Also included are all meals, park entrance fees, an elephant ride, a wooden rafting trip, and one helluva good time.

James brings up a good point. (And for the record I hadn't forgotten...) Now that I am in Chiang Mai, presumably my last city in Thailand before I head to Laos, are there any Thai souvenirs that I can get for anyone? Keeping in mind that I'm barely 5 feet tall, and my sack already contains the two pairs of jeans, two pairs of sandals and a silk bedspread that I bought in Bangkok and I still have 2 weeks of travelling left. So, things that are light and/or small would be ideal. For example, silk (pillow cases, tablecloths, bedspreads, wall hangings, pashmina, scarves), t-shirts (Red Bull, Chang beer, Singha beer, PUMA/TUNA/PUDEL), fishermen's pants (any colour, silk or linen), wood (carvings, puzzles, coasters, wine holders), elephants (jade, wood, ivory, t-shirt, purse). Apparently Chiang Mai is the "cheap-cheap"est place to buy stuff, and my bartering skills are improving. So, speak now or forever hold your peace...

Sun is out, but still raining...

Same(t) Same(t)...but different

After 6 busy days in Bangkok, I thought I could use a little beach relaxation. So, now I am on the island of Ko Samet, approximately 4 hours from Bangkok. It was a pretty hairy trip...but I met some nice people. I impressed a French couple by reading Zola on the bus, and they gave me a french Cosmopolitan to read. I also met a sweet couple from the UK. We have neighbouring bungalows, and I had dinner with them last night on the beach.

The lifestyle on Ko Samet seems more laid back than on Ko Samui. I don't think that there are any souvenir stands here. Shocking! The bar across the road was playing loud dance music until about 1:30 am. I wasn't in the mood for going out last night, but I will probably go check it out tonight. If you can't beat em, join em, right??

Maybe I will head back to Bangkok tomorrow or the next day. Tamir flies out on the 27th, so it would be nice to hang out with him one last time.

Kayak-yak-yak...

IMG_0967
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Here is a photo that Tamir took of me during our kayaking trip. About 5-10 minutes after this photo was taken the skies opened up and it started to pour...This is one of the last photos from my Canon A85...sigh...it had a good long life. (For a camera...)

Footing it through Ang Thong National Marine Park

IMG_0955
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

This was the viewpoint from the top of some very steep stairs at the Ang Thong National Marine Park off of Ko Samui...Well worth the climb!

Stormy weather on Hat Chaweng

IMG_0899
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

My first night at Hat Chaweng beach on Ko Samui, I went for dinner at this restaurant on the beach. As I sat there eating, my waiter pointed at some rather ominous clouds off in the distance and said, "Rain is coming." He then proceeded to scurry around and pick up seat cushions and condiments from the tables. So, I polished off my phaneng curry with shrimps and hid under the canopy drinking a Singha beer until the rain stopped. I'm not finding the rain to be too bothersome (xcept for when it killed my camera of course). It will rain heavily for an hour or two a day, and the rest of the day it is hot and humid. The rain is actually a relief...

Float like a butterfly...

I'm so relieved...I just checked the memory card on my camera and the photos that I took prior to getting caught in the rain are in perfect condition! So...no lost memories. My camera was due for a replacement anyway...so this just gives me an excuse to make a trip to Future Shop and hang out with Mark and Jesse...wink, wink, nudge, nudge...In the process of uploading some of my photos to Flickr website now and will post them to the blog after I finish this entry.

Yesterday, Jenny and I went on a walking tour of the Grand Palace (former residence of the king) and saw the Emerald Buddha. He was a lot smaller than I expected him to be, but the room in which he is located was spectacular, as were the palace grounds. No wonder their royalty is so revered here...they live in some nice digs! Maybe I have mentionned it....but this year is the King's Diamond Anniversary (60th year on the throne), so every Monday there is a sea of yellow polo shirts (the king's colour)...I bought myself one too, but will not dare wear it until I leave. I have a hard enough time now with people thinking I'm Thai. Sometimes, I like being able to blend in...at other times, I wish I had blond hair and blue eyes...

We also went to Wat Pho, where the statue of the Reclining Buddha is. He was much larger than I expected him to be. I think one of his toes was maybe the length of my head and torso...And his feet were extremely impressive, decorated with mother of pearl designs...pretty...

After sweltering in the heat, we escaped to the air conditionned relief of MBK centre, a GIANT shopping centre that is 6 floors high. I bought two pairs of jeans that were labelled as Diesel and Victoria Beckham for 1230 THB (approx 36 bucks Cdn). Didn't find my Puma shoes or my Adidas bag...but I'm sure I will come across them again someday...

Today, we woke up early and went to the floating market in Damnoen Saduak. A sea of tourists, and pretty much the same old crap that has been in all the other markets, except floating (on boats). Some of the boats with the fruit on it were quite pretty. The tour guide also dragged us off to an elephant compound and a wood carving place. Jenny rode an elephant and the driver even gave her a turn steering! I sat back and took pictures, not wanting to smell like elephant for the rest of the day. The drive through Bangkok back to our hotel was slow and painful due to the traffic. Apparently the traffic situation following the coup has resolved itself. We saw a tank and lots of military men, but it is hard to tell whether or not this is out of the ordinary...

Tomorrow we will go to yet another market, and then on Sunday I will leave for Ko Samet for some beach relaxation.

Enjoy the photos!

Coup d'etat and a city in ruins!

We were rather shocked this morning while waiting for our tour bus to Ayutthaya to pick up the newspaper and find out that there had been a coup d'etat at the parliament buildings last night. The photos of the tanks were rather disturbing! Luckily when this all happened (at around 10 pm last night) we were snuggled in bed for an early night. Our tour guide assured us that this sort of thing happens all the time, and that there was no danger to tourists or Thais. The best thing was that the traffic was better due to the "changing government". His words...hehe...

Ayutthaya was pretty cool, but we felt rushed through the ruins and it would have been nice to explore some of the Wats (temples) more. We only saw inside two, one with a giant 19-feet tall buddha and one ancient Wat (name forgotten). There are so many temples, and they all kind of blend together after awhile. We also went to Ban Phe-In and saw the old royal residence of Rama V. He had an affection for non-Thai architecture so that was pretty interesting to see these buildings looking so out of place. We climbed aboard a boat and cruised along the Chao Phraya on the way back to Bangkok.

Yesterday we did some wandering down Th Silom and down towards the water. We went for afternoon tea at the Orient Hotel. It was nice to get out of the heat and humidity of Bangkok and be treated like ladies. I had the oriental tea set and Jenny had the traditional tea set. I've never had afternoon tea before...I felt like a pampered colonial woman. Bought some souvenirs from the Patpong market and tried to avoid being pulled into the go-go bars. Also tried to avoid staring at the line of Thai lady-boys...very creepy.

Tomorrow we are going to do a walking tour of Bangkok in the morning checking out the Emerald Buddha, etc. And then we will go to MBK centre for more shopping. I would like to find a cute pair of knockoff Puma shoes and maybe a pair of Chanel sunnies.

I'm still alive, but my camera is not. I have changed the batteries to no avail. And I'm not sure where to go to get it fixed in Bangkok. I guess I will have to use disposable cameras until I get back to Canada...sigh...

There's a place called Ko-Ko Samui

I'm loving it so far...

Upon landing in Bangkok early Monday morning, I flew immediately to the beach island of Ko Samui, which came recommended by Kevin. There are many beaches to chose from, and I picked Hat Chaweng as I thought it would give me the greatest chance of meeting people. I stayed in a cute little bungalow at the North (and quieter) end of the beach. It had it's own bathroom and a powerful fan. Most of the restaurants and stores in Hat Chaweng have at least one person who speaks English as this is the busiest beach on the island. I met a nice Israeli guy who was also travelling alone and we went on an organized tour of Ang Thong National Marine Park. Did some snorkeling, sightseeing and kayaking. Got caught in a mini-monsoon and while kayaking, and I think my camera is dead...Will try to fix it tomorrow when I go to Bangkok. More worried about the memory card though.

Took a ferry then an overnight train to the town of Phetburi, about 3 hours south of Bangkok where there are about a dozen temples. I didn't go in any of them, but I took some pictures (with a disposable camera) from outside the gates. Rented a bike and rode up to Kao Luang, a cave sanctuary that houses a couple of Buddha statues that some Thai king transported to the site. It was beautiful with the light pouring in through the top of the cave...like an old-fashioned sky light. I pray that these photos will turn out. There are less English-speaking people in Phetburi and more than one person has assumed that I'm Thai and has attempted a conversation with me. I guess my dark skin confuses them...Anywho, I am getting by with pointing at what I want and gesturing, and this morning I learned the all important word for rice! Tonight will head to the night market in Phetburi, a sure place for good cheap eats...This afternoon I had spicy banana flower salad on rice and the other day I ate a whole fried fish, making sure to pick the bones clean as per my regular MO.

Tomorrow, I will take a bus to Bangkok to meet up with Jenny for big city adventures!

Employed and Thai-ing one on!

I am officially employed! They offered. We negotiated. And I accepted. I will start at Veritox (in Seattle) when I get back from my trip to Thailand. Speaking of which, I am completely unprepared...and need to run some errands today, before my going away bonfire tonight.

Will try to update this blog with photos and stories while I am away...to let everyone know that I haven't died/been mugged/am having fun.