A few more photos ...

Here are a few more photos ... first Singapore ... and then .. yummy .. fried insects!
The cave pictures are of the Lod Caves which I visited on a motorcycle trip north of Chiang Mai ... incrdible . huge .. you traverse thru sections on bamboo rafts .. millions of bats swirl at the entrances ..
The riverside scene is the balcony of my guesthouse in Soppong .. followed by Haley, Tenzin and his brother enjoying a fine meal and .. heavan ... a foot massage!
Then you see my bike .. 115cc ... did a three day 600km trip on it .. went great ... but seat did get hard!

Happy in Pai ....

Well I arrived in Pai today ... rode my rental Yamaha 115 cc wonder thru the mountains from Chaing Mai today .. what a lovley ride. It's a winding road thru mountainous jungle ... with occasional vistas ... and hot springs dotted along the way.

I arrived in Chaing Mai on the 20th .. whenever that was .. losing track of time here ..

It was great to be met at Chiang Mai airport not by one friend, but two ..... Tenzin from Saskatoon was visiting with his brother, a doctor ... who speaks not a word of English ... but we had a great time. The day after I arrived we all chipped in and rented a Suzuki 4wd and went to the highest point in Thailand .. abt 100 km west of Chiang Mai. It was lovely and cool up there, and there are amazing gardens and two huge stupas ... dedicated to the king and queen of Thailand. Pictures in a few days I hope ..

Upon out return to Chiang Mai we all went for a foot massage ... a Thai speciality ... based very much on reflexology ... and very, very pleasant. We finished the day off with one of the best meals I've ever had ... at the Whole Earth Restaurant.

Tenzin and his brother left the next day ...

I've been going for Thai Massages just about every day ... they are very good ... sort of like assisted yoga. I went for my first one in Wat Po, in Bangkok, and am going to the ones associated with temples. You can get them on the beach, and there's lot's of places in the towns .. but by going to the temple you know you are getting the real thing by competant practitioners. Many of the temples have massage schools attached top them .. if you'd like to know more .. here's an interesting article that describes the process. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53545-2004Jul15.html The cost here is 120 Baht .. or abt $3.50 Cdn

Well better get to bed here .. riding to Mae Hong Song tomorrow - with any luck, (it's on the Burmese Border) ... bye for now ..

More pics ...

The order of these is a bit mixed up ... depending on how this turns out .. we should have a picture of the Emerald pool ... a thermally heated jungle pol south of Krabi .. followed by a view from my room on Koh Si Chang. Then we have a boat on the river in Bangkok. The airplane picture is of northern Alaska ... and the chariot thing a Saamlor .. they are powered by car engines .. they were banished from Bangkok a few years ago and ended up in Koh Si Chang.
Then we have a shot of Buddha's feet .. and detail .. at Wat Po in Bangkok
And that's all folks ... for now ...

More pics ...

The order of these is a bit mixed up ... depending on how this turns out .. we should have a picture of the Emerald pool ... a thermally heated jungle pol south of Krabi .. followed by a view from my room on Koh Si Chang. Then we have a boat on the river in Bangkok. The airplane picture is of northern Alaska ... and the chariot thing a Saamlor .. they are powered by car engines .. they were banished from Bangkok a few years ago and ended up in Koh Si Chang.
Then we have a shot of Buddha's feet .. and detail .. at Wat Po in Bangkok
And that's all folks ... for now ...

Pictures ... finally ...

All these pics were taken around Krabi in the Andaman Sea ... except the last, which is the beach I stayed on Koh Si Chang, 100 km south east of Bangkok ...

....at the gate ....

Geez ..they even have free internet at the gate ...

And little lounges with couches and different tv channels .... like the discovery channel .. National Geographic ... and stations on the way to the gate where youi can sit in this contraption and get your legs and feet massaged ... the only airport in the world to ffer this free service the sign proudly proclaims!

At each gate there's an X-ray machine and security check to go thru ... you just can't be too careful it seems ...

.....observations about Singapore ...

Free 15 mins internet at the airport ... the nicest airport I've ever been in!

Immigration card has written on back .. in red ... Death for drug smugglers under Singapore Law

no grafitti ... anywhere.

Ads for Community Mediation Services to settle quarrels on the Subway

Some Taxis are hydrogen powered

Chewing gum is illegal .. you can't buy it anywhere

Big ads for shared car program - drop foo and pick up at designated points

No garbage, recycling bins everywhere

Highest rate of hme ownership in the world

times up ... I'm off to Chiang Mai!

Stuffed in Little India

I've just stuffed myself on a great Indian meal in the Little India district of Singapore. What a town! 5.5 million people crammed onto this little Island .. super clean, urbanised, amazing infrastructure, shop till you drop, multi ethnic, very organized, very controlled, incredible food .. so many choices, english speaking, IT heavan!

I'm staying in a hostel out in the 'burbs .. interesting place .. they bill themselves as a "boutique hostel" You get a private "room" maybe 7"X8" ... a futon on the floor, tv, a/c, a few shelves ... almost like the capsule hotels I've seen in artiucles about Japan. It's all very tasteful .. designer fabrics, decor etc .. ultra modern and clean shared bathroom facilities, kitchen, internet, lounge etc ... about $37.00CDN a night ... not bad for Singapore ... which is one of the more expensive Asian cities.

Singapore itself is booming. I had a fascinating discussion with the restaurant owner in Little India .. the Govt here just brought down a budget that is giving huge handouts to the poor, aged and students ... a reaction to globalization and the success of multinationals and gov't owned corporations .. which hasn't trickeled down to the people. Never the less, the average per capita income here is the highest in Asia .. over $24,000 a yr .. and it has the highest rate of home ownershil in Asia. Cars have to pay huge fees to drive, and the MRT - an underground Metro is just incredible. You buy a card, that you just wave at the barrier to get on and out of staions, and it automatically comes off the card - when it runs low, you put it in a machine and feed the machine cash or credit card ... and off u go again. Some of the Taxis are hydrogen powered.

My ear infection was still with me this morning, so I went to a clinic .. super modern ... and got some better drops .. it seems a lot better this evening. I spent the day wandering around the city .. and bought myself a new digital camera and a basic cell phone ... abt 20% cheaper than Canada. So with any luck, I'll have some good pictures to share soon and can talk to you all!

I go back to Thailand on Monday .. am looking forward to that. Singaporeans are very friendly .. but the city just pulses with energy .. Thailand is so much more laid back ... my kind of people!

I've been in Krabi a week now .. and what a great week! I finished my Open Water SCUBA diving ... very much enjoyed it. We went out to two little islands about an hour off shore, and did three dives the first day, and two the next. The area I was diving in was hit directly by the Tsunami, and while the coral was damaged a bit, it's recovering .... the water was not terribly clear, we have been having rough seas and thunderstorms in the late afternoon for the last five days .. but the coral was wonderful .. lot's of fish, including lot's that looked just like Nemo. Saw a nice stingray and a moray eel.

I've moved to another hotel .. a little cheaper .. but still great .. love the name .. the Goodream Guesthouse ... very friendly with a good restaurant and email.

The company I took my SCUBA course from, offer liveaboard trips to the Tarantoa (sp?) National Marine Park south of here ... giving some thought to coming back here in April to do one.

I've rented a small motorbike ... a Honda Wave .. four gears .. no clutch, 125 cc of raw power. $4.50 a day. Just about everyone rides a small bike here ... kids to grandmothers, and they outnumber the cars by far. It's not uncommon to see a whole family ... Mum Dad and one or two kids on them ... You are supposed to wear a helmet in town ... not many do ... and when they do .. it's just the driver who wears one ... Gas works out to about .80cents a litre - cost me $2.50 to fill the tank for over 200 km of riding fun!

Yesterday I took it on a 60km or so trip to the Emerald or Crystal pool ... a swimming hole in the jungle fed by a hot spring ... very refreshing .... refeshment that continued all the way home as the heavans opened for the afternoon thunderstorm. When I hit Krabi, the cops were diverting traffic from the main drag into town because of flooding!

This morning it was off early in the morning (to escape the heat) to Tiger Cave Temple .... which has a shrine on top of a limestone karst that you climb up to ... exhausting .. 1227 steps ... and we are talking really steep ones to the top ... there's a huge buddha, a stupa ... and an incedible view .... was worth it however ...

Tomorrow it's off to Singapore for the weekend .... sounds glamorous huh? Tiger Airways has just started serving Krabi on it's Singapore run, and has a special, I also got a cheapie from Singapore up to Chiang Mai, where I will connect with a friend from Edmonton, Halley, and his Thai partner. Tenzin from Saskatoon is also there visiting with his brother, and I just heard from Kayliah McKinnon, Uncle Niel's daughter that she plans on taking a massage course in Chaing Mai at the ned of the month ... looks like a Saskatoon convergence may be in the offing!

Well that's all for now ... still working on a way to get pictures up on this thing some easy way ...

Sunday Afternoon in Krabi

It's Sunday afternoon and I'm sitting in the lobby of my hotel .. the Ban Chaofa, in Krabi, on the south Andaman Coast in Thailand, sipping a Chang beer ...

I got here three days ago on the overnight train from Bangkok - 2nd class sleeper .... basic but fine, and a three hour bus ride. On Friday I went on a boat tour ... 4 Islands, snorkling and lunch .. lot's of fun! On the way back we ran into a squall ... big waves. We were riding in a longtail boat .... quite the trip. They have a motor mounted on high on the back with a long propeller shaft .. make a heck of a racket .. and go like hell.

I've just come back from a day in a swimmng pool .. I'm taking the PADI open water scuba course. Tomorrow it's off in another longtail to do my first two open oceon dives .. quite a rush. I'm really enjoying the course .. learning a lot ...

The country around here is quite spectacular .. lot's of limestone "karsts" both on the land and as islands .. absolutley stunning.

Hopefully I'll get my photos transferred from my camera and be able to put more pictures up.

Anyways .. gotta run .. I'm starving ... it's off to the pier for a bowl of noodles ..

Happy 25th Birthday Nicole!!!

I have half an hour before my train leaves for the south, sitting in Hua Lamphong Station in Bangkok. I'm headed for Krabi .. the jumping off point for many of the better known Andaman Islands on the south west coast of Thailand. The train is an overnight one, and I've booked a second class A/C sleeper ... upper berth - the lower is supposed to be better but they were all booked .. so we will see.

A moment ago the station lights dimmed, everyone stood up and faced the big portrait of the king, and the National Anthem was played.

I'm really falling in love with many aspects of Thailand.

The food is equisite. Everything imaginable, and then some! I've yet to have a bad meal or something I didn't like. So many flavours .. lemon grass, ginger, garlic .. and many others I don't know. It doesn't matter if you are eating at the most humble street stall, where a bowl of noodles - with veggies and meat will set you back a whopping 20 baht (70 cent CDN) or splurging in a truly fancy place (maybe 200 baht for a meal ... the presentation is always equisite, the flavours distinctive - although i must confess that some chicken and rice dish I had this morning was so spicy it almost took my face off ... but it was sooo good!

Following my idyllic three days on Ko Sichang, I've spent the last couple of days in Bangkok ... getting my shots, doing a little shopping. Unfortuantly my efforts to get my cell phone up and running have failed ... the europeans here seem to have no problem, but the local SIM cards don't seem to work in mine. Internet is everywhere though .. so I may not bother.

It will be a bit of a relief to get out of Bangkok .. it really is an intense place! I have never seen such traffic! Abusy bustling place. Street stalls to mega malls .. and I mean MEGA, The ladies shoe department in one store was bigger than a floor of the Bay in midtown!

Fortuantly the new skytrain whisks you around above all the chaos ... a taxi ride across town could take an awful long time otherwise.

Well .. better run here - got a train to catch! ... stay tuned for the next installment!

The Dharmachef has landed ....

Gosh ... where to begin? Today was pretty good. Exceptional in fact.

After a cappuchino and fresh pastries, I caught a motorcycle taxi to the dock (a bit scary), took the boat to the island of Ko Si Chang where I rented a small motorbike and explored the island a bit before settling on a beach I liked. After a lovley lunch - stirfried veggies with fresh seafood, it was time for a little snooze ... and then a Thai Masssage on the beach (a bit of a cross between extreme physio, accupressure and assisted yoga). Before heading back to the ferry I visited one of the many Wats (Buddhist temples) which has a number of caves in which there are hermit monks. Then it was the 6:00 PM sunset ferry back to Si Racha where I'm staying in a hotel built on stilts over the sea.

After a shower I went shopping in a futuristic mall .... fed an elephant on the street sugarcane (what a trip .. such sensitive trunks .. they really connect with you) .... chickened out trying the fried insects (4 kinds to cheoose from yet) from street vendors, and settled for springrolls and noodles in the market. After a little shopping in the mall ... (very futuristic - bout the size of midtown .. but way more modern and swanky in parts) On the way home to my hotel I stopped at this tres chic internet cafe and french bakery and decided to set up this blog.

Thailand is really incredible ... full of surprises ... contrasts ... and magic. My first impressions of Thais have been of extremly friendly, respectful and aware people.

I arrived last Monday in Bankok ... 18 hours of flying ... very tiring but great service on Cathay Pacific. I treated myself to a soft landing in a comfortable hotel. I got my shots at a very modern travel clinic - way cheaper than Canada and very thoroug. I'm getting all that was reccomended - typoid, Japanese Encephalitis, Hep a and b, tetanus and rabies. I have to go back for followup shots on Tuesday, so decided to escape bustling Bankok for Si Racha and the island of Ko Si Chang for a few days.

Well the cafe is closing ... so that's all for now folks!!