A Znack Abroad

Spectacularity Amongst the Seas

jznack — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:47:00 GMT

Ahoy all!

So I survived. I made it through the rough and choppy winds of the gulf of Thailand. There were times when I barely thought I could hold on to the hull. It was dangerous and scary and exhilarating. Ok, well, no. Not really. Not at all, actually. We were lucky to get a 3 knot breeze. And the only time I couldn’t keep vertical was when we were playing pool and my accustomed sea legs got the better of me. But it was still absolutely wonderful and quite possibly one of the most awesome experiences of my life.

The first day we (we being my friend Martin, who is a local marine videographer, and I) were to meet our captain, Scott (who, at 27, has been teaching sailing since he was 7!!!!!), and his girlfriend Andrea, at 9 am. I had a large breakfast in preparation for what I was assuming was going to be a long voyage to Ang Thong National Marine Park. That large breakfast I had was not such a bright idea and I soon found myself leaning over the edge of our small sloop gazing down into one and a half meter swells. Fortunately (or unfortunately in terms of sailing) the wind died down and we were left relatively motionless about 7 nautical miles from our destination. So we slowly drifted, and did a bit of tacking as Scott used to race yachts, to gain a wee bit of boat speed. We rolled into Ang Thong shortly after sunset, dropped anchor, and made our way to a beach side restaurant where the local rangers eat, and grabbed some much needed food. Food devoured we made our way back to our boat to sit under the gorgeous sky and have a few glasses of boxed wine. That night Martin and I made our beds in the berth, and Scott and Andrea slept on deck. No sooner did everyone fall asleep did I realize that it was way too hot to sleep in the bottom of the boat. I made my way to the cock pit, my sarong and pillow in hand, and tried to sleep. I froze. At least the night was clear and I was able to watch the stars all night, and saw a very amazing sunrise.

The next morning we decided we would go back to the rangers´ restaurant for breakfast. Unfortunately, the last 24 hours had caught up to me, and I felt very out of commission. The group wanted to go for a hike up to a cave, and I didn´t want to be left behind, so I trudged along. The cave was absolutely stunning, and ridiculously huge (and I am wondering if it was limestone too?). Although the vertical ascent up to the cave came relatively easy for me, the descent brought about a very upset stomach and very dead Jen. Scott decided that the day was better spent lounging on a beach, rather then further killing me in the sun. So we sailed for about a mile before we were in the middle of absolute nowhere. Like I mean out of the 42 islands we were surrounded by about eight. And there was no one there except us (and these two Thai guys that lived in a hut up the hill, but they left early in the morning and came home at sunset, and we are all pretty sure that they worked on the ¨bird sanctuary¨ island, the one that they chase you off with machine guns if you sail to close – don’t worry mom we didn’t, but we heard stories, but I digress). So we put down anchor and found some shade on a beach and lounged around for the better part of the day. And it was absolutely perfect. Later on, after I managed to start to feel human again, Scott made a fire in a dug out pit on the beach and proceeded to cook us a delicious dinner of pork, potatoes, and onions. That night the ocean was calm and the wind was almost nonexistent on the boat. So I decided to make my bed in the cockpit, and had nothing but the ocean breezes for noise, and an endless spectrum of stars in the sky. I finally witnessed the epitome of perfection and complete serenity. I was completely content and for the first time in a very, very long time I slept like a complete baby.

The warm sun woke me up bright and early (early enough in fact I was able to watch the sunrise all four mornings). We were to sail from our place in Ang Thong to Koh Phagnan. After weighing the anchor Andrea made a delicious breakfast of bacon and eggs, and we started our voyage. The morning was for the most part a decent 3 knot wind (to which Scott formed me that one day when I make it onto a boat, that I would make a great helmswoman – I tried to spend as much time as I could behind the helm watching the luff in the sails) and we made a good headway, until about noon when the wind disappeared all together and we had to resort to engine power to get the rest of the way, which was about five more hours in the absolutely ridiculous heat. At first I was a little skeptical of going back to Phagnan after my last experience, but luckily we ended up on the north end of the island, in a small fishing village. We made our way to shore after anchoring and I had the most spectacular shrimp dish (full freshly caught that day shrimp, with their head still on – which I had to get some assistance with) and then we went for a few rounds of pool and a beer (which proved to be exceptionally difficult with my legs that were finally used to the sea). Getting back to the boat it was time for bed, and once again I made my bed in the cockpit.

That night the squid boat lights, the pier lights, the obnoxiously squeaky boom, and out of nowhere waves kept me up. But once again, I at least got to enjoy a rather pleasant sunrise. After a massive breakfast of leftover everything we set our sails back to Koh Tao. Everyone was pretty exhausted, and the wind died down relatively early that day. We ended up setting up a tarp on deck to hide from the relentless sun. Scott decided that we would make use of the lack of sun to practice dinghy-ing, which I found out needs much practice on my part. Before my patience got the best of me, we stopped and agreed that I would try again later (apparently my good helmswomaning only applies to sail boats). Finally we reached Koh Tao and set down our anchor for the night. We went to shore for a drink at the local beach bar, which was about 3 seats and a cranky funny Thai lady behind the bar. We had an early dinner and made our way back to the boat for more drinks, some cards, and a beautiful sleep on the berth squabs on deck.

At about five am the sounds of rolling thunder and blinding flashes of lightning waked me. At first disappointed about being woken up, I ended up hoping and wishing that the shitty weather would stay so we would have enough wind to properly practice our gybing and tacking. My overly eager joy was short-lived when the few drops of rain I felt dissipated and I was left to an absolutely epic sunrise, and hotter, windless weather. Not long after Martin woke up, we found ourselves isolated on the sloop without Scott or Andrea, and more importantly the dinghy. We were just about to start a swim to shore to hunt down breakfast and were happily sidetracked by the sounds of Alf, a coworker of Scott, who was making his way to shore. Making our way back to boat after finding Scott and food, the sails were hoisted and we set off to practice. We got in a bit of practice in before the wind died off completely and we were sitting in the middle of a mirror-surfaced ocean. Scott decided it would be a good time to scrape off the bottom of the boat of barnacles and such, so masks were donned and away we went. Barnacle scrubbing is relatively difficult work and the worst part is, is finishing that, I discovered that I had crabs. Tsk, what are you thinking?! I had tiny little crab like things and shrimp like things that had attached themselves to my bikini whilst I was barnacle scrubbing. It freaked me out more then the first time I had a cockroach crawl up my leg in Bangkok. Anyways, after de-crabbing myself, we made our way back to Koh Tao as Scott began our final boat quizzes. Overly joyous, I managed to remember all the parts of the boat (which the day before Scott was sure I would never remember), and all my knots, and surprisingly all these small little nuances about the boat (I guess I was paying way more attention then I thought I was, which was great, as I was very nervous about this part). So happy to say it, I am now a competent crewmember, which means I can now go join a boat anywhere in the world, and go sailing (which apparently there is a huge demand for). Next job? We got back to Tao and immediately Scott, Martin and I made our way back to the bar for some celebratory drinks, then we took a cab back to Mae Had to try and find accommodation and get my gear from Scott’s office (which turned into having a few more drinks with him).

Today I didn’t get up to too much. I felt like a zombie when I woke up, which is really all in part due to the supreme lack of sleep and too much sun over the last five days. Tomorrow I am going to try to make the most out of my last day in Tao (as I will be heading back to Bangkok on Wednesday), like catching a ladyboy show later on in the evening.

Love to you all and I wish you could have been here for this amazing journey,

Jen

Red sky at night, sailors' delight

jznack — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:57:00 GMT

As a prairie dwelling native of the vast Canadian prairies, it feels odd to have become eerily familiar with a different kind of vastness. The endless oceans that once scared me, the same waters that I once upon a time would have found reasons not to go in, are what I am about to embark across on tomorrow, travelling from Koh Tao, up to Koh Phagnan, and past Koh Samui into Ang Thong National Marine Park. Part of me wonders if this is going to be like driving from Calgary to Saskatoon, except instead of endless seas of say sunflowers or canola it will be the waves coming to greet us as we travel along. I still haven’t managed to familiarize myself with all the terminology (and seemingly complicated knots and such) but I am pretty excited for a new adventure. It all is so crazy and new to me, being comfortable in the ocean and on a boat, that it brings a kind of different sense of calm to my whole adventure. A serious change of scenery for this land locked Calgarian but one that is very happily welcomed (especially after knowing all the fun and excitement my own folks had when they had a chance to sail the BC coast). I leave tomorrow around 9 am, and won’t be back until the 21 afternoon, hopefully as a competent crew member (and not someone who crashed the sloop on a lee shore).

So after the last update I haven’t really gotten up to much, just really enjoying and savoring the opportunity I was given by coming back to Tao (even though the weather hasn’t been very spectacular, mostly rain and over cast, and thankfully, a little cooler). As I wrote, I was going for my advanced open water diving. That wrapped up on Thursday and was only two days and consisted of five dives. I dove at Pura Vida (which was the cheapest place I could find and the people there are really amazing, and very friendly, and really awesome if espanol is your first language). The first dive was a buoyancy dive, which was a blast, and the point of it was to use your breath and a proper amount of air in your bc to float at neutral buoyancy (where you don’t hit the bottom or float all the way up) in many different scenarios (like touching your nose to the ground but not bashing your face). Finishing that was the navigation dive, where you are given a compass, told to swim from one point to another and then exactly back to where you came from, followed by a square directional swim (and of course, the instructor comes with you or I am sure there would be a few ¨missing¨ divers, me maybe or maybe not included). The dive I was second most anxious for was definitely one of the most fun dives. It was nice to find my own way around as opposed to following someone else. But this dive was quite possibly the most incredible as not only did I get the chance to see a giant sea turtle up close eating, I also swam through a ginormous (like I mean a GINORMOUSLY HUMONGUS, like from the sea floor to the very top of the water) school of a fish that was part of the tuna family. They completely encircled my instructor and myself, and it was two hundred kinds of spectacular. After that we broke surface and finished for the day.

The next day, my first dive was my deep dive, where you go down to 30 m. Oxygen gets used up pretty fast the deeper you go (especially when you haven’t quite exactly mastered oxygen use ie there is a guy on the island who can do two dives both over an hour, on one tank, and still have air left over). After that was the naturalist dive, where you just swim around identifying different fish through hand signals. Unfortunately due to the weather, the conditions weren’t so great and not many fish were seen. After that dive I had my dreaded night dive. I was very anxious about diving into the ocean (something I was just getting over my dislike of) at night. I was kinda dreading the idea that the only things I was going to see where those that my flashlight saw. But surprisingly, it was absolutely wonderful and in the weirdest of ways reminded me very much of walking through the mountains at night and I was much more comfortable in the night dive then I had ever been. I think I found my new favorite water activity. The fish are so much more different at night and things just seem so otherworldly, I felt like I could have been on an alien world deep in space. It was such a thrill! After the dive I pretty much called it a night.

On Saturday it was Thai New Years and is celebrated by a giant water fight (which symbolizes to cleansing and renewal). Water gun in hand I was up early to meet some people at a local bar to begin the mayhem. People would drive by on bikes with guns, spraying passersby (even if they had just got to the island, with gear and completely unprepared). We hung around in the rain for a while before deciding to make our way to another bar (Maya Beach Club which was having a massive 20 hour house music celebration) for a while. The chilly weather persuaded me to take a break and warm up and change into some momentarily dry clothes before rendezvousing at a diver bar for more chaotic water throwing. Calling it a day relatively early, I crashed.

Sunday, Monday, and today were all relatively nonchalant (I meandered around town, showed some girls from Calgary how to get to the next town, attempted to drive a friend home on his motorbike – which we both survived without incident, and burnt a swim suit tie bow on my back, you get the hint). Tomorrow morning I meet my skipper at 9 to go over things, drop off my gear and head out to the open waters to being the next stage of my adventure. I’ll try to update this when I get back so you guys know I am still alive.

Wish me luck!

All my love and wish you were here!!

Jen

Photos: A few from the road

jznack — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 22:43:00 GMT

The End. Kinda.

jznack — Tue, 9 Apr 2013 16:48:00 GMT

The last week was filled with a bit of bittersweet occurences for me. After writing my last blog, I met up with the group to grab some dinner at a night market near where we were staying. We made the ten minute walk pretty fast as we were all starving. Food devoured really quickly, the group decided it was time to go to a 10 Baht shot bar, many of which tiny kiosks get set up in the evening consisting of tiny seats and little benches used as tables. Now I think Kanchanaburi is a very nice place. In the day time. When you can get out of the area and go for, say, a day hike, or river float or something. But for some reason, at night, all the creepers seem to come out (mind you I may be basing this entirely off the area we were located in, which I am really hoping is the case). These creepers are the most loveliest of kinds, the older variety of the male species, who seem to be attracted to young, gorgeous Thai women. They sit at the bar all day, and are still there when you walk home. Except they have managed to procure these women. For me, I found it to be a very large turn off, as it seemed very prevalent everywhere in our area (yes, we even watched one leave a hotel room the next morning). I realize that this is a difficult subject to simply start to write about, but I think it was rather off putting to see possible sex tourists out. In Bangkok, you didn't notice it. Neither in Pai, or Chiang Mai. But in the area we were, it was unavoidable (I think the only people in the area were these men, and our tour group). This would be part one of my bittersweet (I'd say almost contradictive) week: gorgeous area, sleezy night scene. Now, I would quite love to move on (and maybe discuss this in person if again) as this seems to get my blood boiling. Sarah and I decided to skip out on the shot scene and find a massage (you can get one there for 150 baht!) Sleep came immediately after the best massage ever.

The next day we went to the Tiger Temple. It used to be a temple where the monks used to take care of tigers. Then the abbot of the temple made the decision to open it up to tourists. Which is fine and all. Until you see all these tigers (over 100 in the facility) being led around, or chained up, or just exhausted in the heat being forced to pose for photos. It's great that there are places to "help" out the tigers (they say that many of them end up dead and abused in the wild), as they have programs in place to vaccinate and keep them healthy, which I can't argue with. But to me, I just can't help but feel bad, or even guilty, about going to places like this. It's such a double edged sword and I am yet still unsure how I feel about it all (again, I only saw the tourist area, nothing behind the scenes, so I can't really know exactly what goes on). Anyway, enough bitter. The tigers were really cute. The property in which they are kept on was masive and had boars, waterbuffalo, deer, and other random animals. The girls in the group got the chance to walk along with tigers, and some of them got to go and take photos with them. After a day in 46 degrees, we made our way back to the hotel. Another night of street market food filled my ravenously hungry belly, and Sarah and I went for another massage.

The next day we were up early to do the Erawan National Park which consisted of a 7 tiered waterfall (you hike to each tier) in which you can swim in. Upon arrival we all immediately jumped into the 3rd waterfall, which was suprisingly ice cold and very refreshing. The group made our way to tier five, and many decided that it wasn't worth going any higher. For some reason, I had a ton of energy in 45 degrees, and wanted to press on all the way to the top (or it may be also due to the fact that my family was the in back of my head disappointed in me cause I didn't see it all). So Sarah and I booked it up the rest of the hike. Unfortunatley the last waterfall was pretty full of tourists and we decided we'd make our way back to the group. This was the day I learned that a downhill hike in ripoff Birkenstocks was not sucha great idea. Finally after squeezing our way through the mass crowds of tourists, we reached the end of the trail and I promptly devoured a few ice creams. I'd never seen such a busy National Park area (Banff in summer? psh, that's nothing). Nonetheless, it was a neat hike, and I got some cool shots. We drove back to town, and all made our way to the pool for some homemade sangria. Sarah and I had another quiet night (something happened to our stomachs in Railay, and drinking really wasn't an option) and decided we would get two hours worth of massages! Yes turn green with envy!!

The next morning brought about our last day in Kanchanaburi, which was kinda nice as I was ready to start inflicting pain on old men. We all boarded a taxi to go for our last activity: elephant trekking, but this time we got to swim/bathe with them. Sarah and I rode together and after a little jaunt around we deboarded the elephant, and made our way to the river, where we were all to proceed with washing them. We sat bareback on the elephant while it sprayed us with its trunk (I guess it was a bit of give and take). I almost fell off a few times, but mostly stayed on. At least, until it was instructed to drop us into the water. There we were handed brushes and soap and we gave it a good scrub. Finishing that, we boarded our freshly polished pachyderm for a bareback ride back to the main area. Trip concluded, we thanked the elephants and made our way back to Kanchan. Again, I was left with the same feelings as I had with the tigers. It feels like these animals are put through this silly joke just to amuse tourists. I felt ashamed for using the animal, and pretty guilty for it having to work so hard. Anywho, after arriving back in town, we boarded a minibus to make our way back to Bangkok. We arrived mid afternoon, checked into our hotel, and did a bit of shopping before we all got ready for our fairwell dinner on the 83rd floor of Baiyoke Sky Tower (the tallest in Thailand). The buffet went all around the inner wall of the building and I made sure to devour as much meat as I could (I have really been missing it). All of us stuffed, we went to the revolving viewpoint (84th floor) and took pictures. The group called it a night shortly thereafter.

The next day was spent shopping again, as it was Sarah's last night in Bangkok before she left for the Philippines. We were exhausted after a long day of fighting the crowds and the next morning we were to be picked up at seven for the airport.

I woke up pretty happy that I wasn't flying home, and was pretty stoked to get out of bkk and make my way back to Tao. But never on this trip had I been so stressed. The bus didn't show up at seven (I had booked a flight from Bangkok to Samui to save another night train, which departed at 9 am), and instead we ended up getting picked up at a quarter to eight. We made it to the airport for me to only find out that check in closed 40 mins prior to boarding (it was almost 20 after with a very long line). I managed to avoid the line and booked it down to my gate (which I also barely made as they close 15 mins prior to departure). Oh so fortunately I found my seat, next to two Vancouverites who helped me figure out where I need to take the ferry back to Tao from. Not long after I was in Tao.

The last couple of days I've been doing a whole hell of nothing, but it's been nice to finally not be rushing around. I've booked my advance open water course at Pura Vida starting tomorrow, which I'm very excited to do. Right now, I'm about to go and put a deposit down for a 5 day/4 night live aboard sailing course, where I'll get my crew course certificate. I'm even more excited for that. Songkran is Saturday, and I just purchased my watergun. Man, I feel so blessed and fortunate.

Love to all of you, and wish you were here.

Jen

Revenge of the Changover and Zennifying Life

jznack — Tue, 2 Apr 2013 21:32:00 GMT

So many of you have asked how much I loved (or hated) the infamous Full Moon Party. Easy answer. I didn’t go. Not because I was epic sick, or because I was being held hostage be a group of random monkey ninjas (though that would have been a viable excuse I think). But because I am simply not a fan of giant drunk fests (I much prefer the mini fests). Yes, shocking. My “Full Moon Party” consisted of a delicious tuna steak and margarita on the beach while watching people light Chinese lanterns and letting them free over the ocean (which seemed much more cooler, and oh so symbolic), as fire dancers weaved their dance through the sandy milky darkness (trust me, it’s much harder than it looks, as my burns the next morning proved).

I crashed pretty early after dinner and woke up early ish to go get lost on Koh Tao. I ambled my way down the street for some breakfast, then shortly found myself drenched in sweat at the top of a rather large hill trying to figure out my way back to civilization again (at least you didn’t call me when I was lost on this hill dad). A while after I had found my way back down, it was time for lunch before I caught my ferry back to Phagnan, where I really didn’t want to be, even if it was just for one more night. Upon arriving, I caught a cab that was to take me back to the groups hotel (yeah Darren, we were in Haad Rin, and I am wicked jealous of your brilliancy). I was dropped off on yet another hill, and had no idea which way the hotel was. After about an hour of cursing and sweat, I found Sarah and immediately began to get filled in on the previous night’s activities at Full Moon. I was very much relieve I had decided to take all my valuables with me, as it turns out our oh so moldy hotel had gotten broken into, ruining a few people’s nights. Our room, fortunately, hadn’t been broken into (but I was nevertheless happy for my mom in the back of my head when I had packed to leave).A rather quiet night followed, as one would expect, and the next day we were to be up at 5 am to catch a boat back to shore to make our way to Railay (it’s near Krabi).

The sound of the zombies could be heard from miles away. The slow steps and outstretched arms were agonizing to the eyes of the onlookers who watched from afar, dreading that the disease would be spread amongst their pristine flesh. But someone somewhere had been watching over them, for a taxi arrived and saved the population of Oasis Bungalow resorts from a very slow and pitiful death. We boarded a ferry at 7 am and then took a 4 hour minibus ride west to Krabi, where a longtail boat picked us up and took us to the tiny peninsula of Railay. We happily breathed in the ocean air as we cruised along, waves splashing our tired faces, and our eyes devouring the towering rock formations that rose around us. Anchored to the beach we made our way to the next hotel and passed out for a much needed nap. Reenergized, we decided we’d take a little hike up to a view point (a pretty much flat faced cliff for our flip flopped feet). Feeling exhausted and rather silly in dresses, we reneged (as it was nearing sunset and we thought we would die coming down in the dark) and settle on walking to the beach. Turning the corner on the path to the beach brought to my eyes one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen: red tinted rock, that looked like it was out of Jurassic Park (sorry Darren, I know I’m probably epic wrong here), the ocean as far as the eye could see, with an assortment of islands waiting to be explored, and the sun casting a pink glow onto the beach as people swam and climbed the face of the rocks. It was truly, truly, a sight to see. I fell completely in love and didn’t want to be anywhere else in time. Sarah and I decided we would have a quiet night to just chill and catch up. We wandered around from Railay east (where we were staying) through to Railay west and pretty much just coasted on the chill vibes of the beach/mountain town.

The next morning the group got up to go kayaking. After a very lengthy drive, we arrived at a gorgeous outcropping of land with mangroves and many more rock formations (you know when you look at Asian paintings of the 16^th C. ,for example, and you wonder exactly what those artists were looking at when they painted things that seemed to appear out of ethereal dreams of splendor (or perhaps opium)? Well, there was a great place to start understanding). A guide took us all, two to a kayak, through the groves and told us how if we didn’t paddle fast enough we would get stuck in low tide, and of course multitude of other lovely things. The sights were absolutely incredible, like something out of Avatar, and it was a very wonderful experience. We paddle back to land, famished, and luckily found food thereafter. We stopped off in a town 711 (everything in Railay has to be imported by boat so it is much more expensive) and stalked up on random supplies for the nights ABC party (anything but clothes, ie. Garbage bags/news papers/ be creative). We made our way back to Railay to get ready and have ourselves a fun night out.

The next morning brought about my good friend. I hadn’t seen him since Pai. He wasn’t too friendly and didn’t want to let me be for a good solid part of the day. But, Sarah and I had decided the day before to book an afternoon of snorkeling, boating, swimming, and private beach sunset dinners. So Changover came with us. We were picked up by the guide outside our hotel at around 2 pm and led to west Railay were a longtail greeted us for a very long and choppy ride out to one of the islands. After anchoring next to the biggest rock formation I had been beside, we jumped out and snorkeled around looking at all the fish and absolutely bottomless, kinda creepy, ocean. Changover was a fan of snorkeling and decided that he was going to be a little friendlier for the rest of the day. We proceeded to go to many other islands and beaches, and Sarah, Changover, and I made friends with the 3 guys in the seat behind us. The wind was unfortunately very choppy and we didn’t really get a chance to swim through the caves that we were shown, but we did see many sea urchins (and so did some people’s feet). The absolute best part of the day happened when it was dinner time. We were let off on an island, which had emptied (as it was around 5pm, all the other tourist boats were done around 3) and we got to explore it as the tide went out and the sun began to set. The guides began fixing a dinner of whole fish, squid, and chicken on a small bbq while Sarah and I looked back upon the coast we had originated from. The setting suns bright pink hue cast a deliriously warm glow upon the massive thunderheads forming over the shores. The lightning made everything seems absolutely dreamlike and I began to wonder if Changover had let me sleep as it seemed too incredibly perfect. It was a quiet and cool evening as we began to eat under the stars that started peeking out and it was a moment in time I never wanted to end. Until the guide informed us we better go before we don’t make it because of the storm. We started off our piece of paradise after dark and did one more snorkel to see the phosphorescent algae, then made our way back over increasingly choppy water. After setting foot upon dry land again, Sarah and mine’s stomach were left to the sea.

The next day, for most everyone there was mostly filled with food poisoning. Sarah and I included. This was absolutely heartbreaking for me as that was the day we got the chance to go rock climbing (the one thing I was the most looking forward to out of the whole trip). I forced myself to go, and climbed up just so I could say I did it, and proceeded to be sick all the way back. But it was SO COOOOOOOOL! I am definitely going to be going back and climbing more. Complete heaven! The rest of the day was mostly a write off.

The next day we packed up our stuff and had our last afternoon with the full group (half were six week and half were three week tours). At around 3 the three weekers (me and Sarah) and one of the guides departed Railay to make our way up to Kanchanaburi. We were to take a longtail (which I was a little dreadful of), a minibus, a night train, and another minibus (which took about 20 hours).

We got in this morning around 11 and had a much needed shower and nap. We are currently staying in a really nice bungalow set up with a very nice pool (the temperature out at 1730 is 38 C). Today were all taking it pretty easy, night market later on. Tomorrow we are going to be spending our day waterfall gazing (and swimming). The day after is a tiger temple (which I hope is as cool as the one I got the chance to do in Chiang Mai), and the day after that will be our elephant day (we get to wash and swim with them, SO STOKED! You’ll be getting your hair Mike!) After that we make our way back to Bangkok for our last couple of nights together (dinner in the Skyscraper hotel)!

And just so those of you who don’t know already, I won’t be coming back! Not ever! Haha I wish. I won’t be back until the 25^th now, but fyi, it’s comin con weekend, so I am definitely already busy :D

I’ll keep you updated on the next couple weeks go abouts (definitely thinking about doing my advance open water certification now).

Love to you all and wish you were here!

Jen

BCs and Sunshine

jznack — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 15:59:00 GMT

Hey all!

So, I am sorry for the delay in the update, I have been surprisingly busy for having been on "vacation". The day after my last post I made my way to the Grand Palace, with the intention of making my way to Wat Arat and the canals. All fine and good. I had packed up my stuff and move out of my room (so they could clean it) and had eaten breakfast by ten. I decided I would adventure my way to the Palace as it really wasn't that far from where I was staying. Leaving at around ten, I discovered that a half an hour walk in 40 degrees was probably a decision I should have thought through a little more. Upon arrival to the palace entrance I was greeted by a friendly old lady who handed me a bag of corn, and in my tourist naiveté, I proceeded to feed the pigeons that were flitting around with absolute glee and a stupid smile on my face. After finishing being bombarded by the birds, the lovely old lady demanded I pay her 200 B, which was absolutely ridiculous and I proceeded to get bullied out of 50 B. Well, lesson learned. Walking through the front gates of the giant area, I was absolutely taken back by the number of tourists (it was a Saturday after all) and stood in line with the rest of the foreigners (Thais have their own line) to enter the infamous facility. Camera in hand, I perused the magnificent sculptures and awesome shrines, wandered my way through the immaculate murals, and sat down and meditated before the Emerald Buddha. I stared gawkingly in the museums full of jewels and swords, of textiles and writings, and the many different statues of the Buddha held in the Royal treasury. I become enamored with the Thai Queen and her decision to help the Thai women through SUPPORT textiles and her hand in aiding Thai women's lives; she really is a true role model. After finishing my wonderings and wanderings, with sore eyes and mind, I decided it was time to leave. Little did I know that I had managed to spend an astonishing 6.5 hours at the Palace (which is really only supposed to take 2-3 hours according to a guide book). Exhausted from heat and lack of food and water, I went back to my room for a nap. I met up with Devo and his mom to grab some dinner and drinks, then at around 2200 made my way to the airport to greet Sarah. After celebrating her arrival, we caught some much needed sleep.

The next day we made our way back to Wat Pho, but thankfully this time we had a tour guide so I learned a little bit more about the temple from an awesome guide named James Bond. Tour finished, and everyone still pretty jet lagged we made plans for some shopping and dinner, followed by a few drinks (as it was after all St. Paddy's day).

The next day we checked out of our rooms, and made a trip by tuk tuk to MBK (West Ed eat your heart out). Feeling overwhelmed, we tuk tuked our way back to Khoa San for some food and to catch a night train to Koh Tao (well really a train to Champun (forgive the spelling), followed by a bus, followed by a 3 hr ferry). Upon arrival to one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen, albeit stupidly tired and exhausted, I decided to sign up for a bit of an intro into scuba diving. Within the first five minutes of the discussion I decided that I was indeed going to get my certification (thank you Pam and Darren for being that voice in the back of my head!!) Immediately after I found myself regretting the decision as I was to spend the entire day in a classroom, while the rest of our group flocked about in the lovely ocean. Homework completed, we had dinner and a few drinks, and called it a night (as the next three days were to be spent in the water - the course was an intensive four day, and we were unfortunately only there for five days).

The next morning brought more class room work, followed by about 6 hours in a pool getting used to regulators, mask removal, BC buoyancy, emergency rescue breathing and the like. Class finished, Sarah and I had a very relaxing evening shopping and getting Thai massages. I could barely sleep as the next day we would be doing a bit more class work (ie final exam!) and my very first dive in an ocean!

Morning came and I was abounding with energy. The exam seemed to drag on forever, but once I got in to the water, it was like stepping into space. It was the extreme of cool! Schools of fish swimming around you, the sun's rays beaming down and highlighting corals here and there. It was absolutely magnificent and absolutely addicting!! Dives complete we had dinner, and another early night, as we were to be up at 6 am for morning dives.

I found myself rather saddened by the fact that this was to be the last diving day and pretty much last day on Koh Tao. I felt like I barely had any time to go out and see the island, but luckily that was short lived once I was back underwater. We dove down to about 18 m for our last dive, and we had a two guys along with us filming, so it was an incredible amount of fun. We were done around noon, and I decided to grab lunch with a fellow diver, followed by a trip out to go snorkeling around Shark Bay (don't worry mom, I didn't see any sharks). 5 pm came very fast and I had spent the entire day around or in the water, and I felt very blissful. The videographers that had recorded us had put together a little show for us to see, so we gathered at the scuba bar to watch and celebrate the fact that we were all now open water certified! A morning changover was sure to ensue.

Changover averted, we checked out of our rooms to make a sad departure from Koh Tao Koh Phagnan (full moon party central). I was exhausted, and by the time we got there I found myself missing Tao like crazy. We were situated in Haad Rin Nok, and that was where Full Moon was to happen in three days’ time (neon overload anyone?). I had a relaxing night, and figured I would feel more comfortable about it Phagnan in the morning after a solid nights rest.

The next day I still greatly disliked Phagnan. I decided I would make contact with some of the people I met on my scuba diving adventure and booked a ferry back for the next day until the day after the full moon party (yes, I have discovered I am not a wild party person). I spent the day wandering around town and on the beach, followed by a night of epic Muay Thai boxing (yes, I definitely snuck down into the front row). Epic fight concluded, I decided bed was the best option, as I was to be up at 6 to catch the cab to the ferry that left at 0830.

Yesterday morning came early, and I was extremely excited to be going back to Koh Tao (don’t worry, I am going back to my group tomorrow). I spent the day cruising around town looking for pictures to take, swimming in the gorgeous uncrowded ocean, and sipping mojitos. Today I am still enjoying a bit of relaxation, and may have a drink or two on the beach later while gazing at the full moon, but luckily in a much more peaceful manner.Tomorrow I take the 3 pm ferry back to Phagnan, and the next morning, bright and early, we will take the next trip to Railay (rock climbing haven!).

Wish you were here!

Love,

Jen

(p.s. I don’t have any more money on me at the moment to pay for more time to reply to emails so I will the moment I have more money! Sorry everyone!)

Contemplation of marriage and surreality

jznack — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 21:38:00 GMT

On the 10th we made our way to Fang which was a nice five hour drive. Slithering in sunscreen and sun oil, we crawled back into our domain of the back of the truck. The drive consisted of many gorgeous mountain scenes (sorry Dad we were driving far too fast for me to actually take a decent shot) and interesting, tiny villages scattered along the way. We stopped about 2 hours in to grab some mango chicken, which Ing assured us was the best in Thailand. Once again full of delicious northern Thai food, we hopped back in the truck and continued our journey towards Fang. Upon arrival to the tiny hotel tucked away off the main streets, we enjoyed the cool air conditioning until we gathered up the strength to wander down to the orange farm.The view of from the road into the orchard was abosutely ridiculously beautiful: trees for as far as you could see sprawled up mountain slopes, lakes on both sides. and a little European styled chalet tucked away in the distance(where many Thai soaps and such are filmed). We got in just before close and enjoyed a bus ride around the well kept grounds where we all snapped pictures of random trees of oranges. The tour was finished with us devouring tiny little oranges. which were quite sour, but you ate the skin which added the much needed sweetness to it all. Arriving back in Fang we made our way for some delish street food and a bit of shopping in the night market. Foreigners don't much visit Fang and I kinda felt like a celebrity with everyone staring at me (I just tell myself that). It was fun, but everyone was exhausted, so with the night finished, I had a much needed good sleep.

The next morning came early and we were on our way to the Burma/Thai boarder for a bit of crazy ridiculous shopping. It was absolutely crazy seeing so much and I definitely felt a little overwhelmed with all the stuff we saw in the markets: Louis Vutton, Ray Ban, Chanel, etc, for all ridiculous cheap (no copy right in Burma so free game)and all knockoffs. Definitely the place to go to do all your Christmas shopping. Following our little jaunt to another country, we made our way to the Golden Triangle to do the boat ride to Burma/Laos/Thailand. Boarding our motorized canoe we jaunted down the river, then back up with go buy ourselves some cobra whiskey, then back to the Thailand. Three countries in one day! New record! After getting back to the truck we drove the rest of the distance to Chiang Rai. We got put up in a really adorable hotel by one of the city clocks that was gold, which was really cool. After having a much needed shower (I don't think there is any shower here that is not much needed) we ended up going to a mall for some Thai soup and duck (yeah mom, duck). After devouring a whole plate of duck to myself we decided it was night market time and wandered around there, where there were some lady boy performers (who definitely didn't look it to me), and some traditional music and more modern. Full of more food, and some really neat si(gh)t(e)s, we crashed.

Tuesday morning was a very very full day. Immediately after breakfast we drove to the Black House, which was an art haven (I can't even desribe it without showing you all photos). Currently housed was a celebration of national and international artistic talent, and some more crazy artist type. I could have spent the whole day there, it was so stunning, really awe inspiring, ridiculous, incredulous and just simply surreal (photos will come, I promise, I just haven't been able to connect my camera). Finally after having to will myself to leave, we drove to the hill tribes to see some cultural music and wander tourist-eyed through the villages. We saw the famed long neck people with the many rings (who hand make many scarves which take hours to produce). Following that, we made our way to the white temple for some seriously surreal and mind bending architecture (like seriously, so crazy). Everything was made of white, with reflective panels to make everything glimmer, with an image of Buddha in the main area. Again, it was hard to describe the surreality of it all, and it felt much like buildings that appear in dream reality. After a full day of wonder and awe, we made our way back to Chiang Mai, where the four of us would part ways with Ing. The shuttle for the bus arrived at 6 and soon enough we were on a double decker bus (with many other Canadians) on our way back to Bangkok. I lucked out and snagged a double seat and could mostly sleep on them.

We arrived in Bangkok at 4:30 am. Finding our hotel, we were informed that our room wouldn't be ready for a while. So we slept in the cafeteria, probably much to their dismay. Rooms ready, I had a nap, then Bry (who's birthday was that day) and I went for a facial! Firstly I must admit that magic like that doesn't happen often, but my face was massaged by hands of a goddess. I hadn't felt that amazing in a very long time, and for once was debating on how my parents would feel if I were to tell them I had asked a Thai woman to marry me! That thought was put aside when I woke from my facial induced slumber to see my tan was completely gone thanks to all the talcum powder. Saddened I left the face goddess and we made our way to meet the girls and go for another massage (spa day birthday!). My sadness was shortlived when yet again I was greeted by the hands of an angel. For the 1/2 hr that I lay there I ran through my mind how our wedding day would be. And again, I was awakened by the masseuses knees in my back as she bent my spine over them. The day concluded with us wondering around Kho San Roa and eating again. We parted ways with Karly and Becca, as their flight back to Sask was very early in the morning, then proceeded to have a very interesting and very fun night at a few bars and a Thai night club.

Yesterday, after waking a little later on in the day, we wandered our way to Wat Po to amble around the grounds and see the massive and brilliant reclining Buddha. Not a word I can write here will describe it's immaculate prestige. Just go. And see it! Stunning (yes dad, I got good photos). With the day winding down, and us feeling a little rough, we packed Bry up for her trip to Japan and had our last night of hanging out.

After a day of trying to catch up on last minute shopping, and a complete down pour, I just saw Bry to her cab. Tomorrow I will be getting up early to make my way to the Grand Palace, Wat Arat, and some of the canals tomorrow, and maybe a few other places depending on heat and time. Sarah is in at around 11, and then the next day we will be starting the 3 weeks of southern hospitality.

Till later everyone and I hope you are awesome!

Love,

Jen

Smooth vibes and Changovers

jznack — Sat, 9 Mar 2013 21:37:00 GMT

Hey all!!!

(Disclaimer to all you grammar/English crazies: I'm on vacation. Don't expect me to edit this. Thanks :D)

Sorry for not keeping this up to date, there is just too much fun going on to convince myself to go and sit at a computer. On Monday morning we woke up early to catch some breakfast before our trek to the jungle. Bellies full we sat around, wondering if we were going to get picked up by the company. The truck (a covered pickup with a tailgate and two benches) came and we piled into the hot back with two other couples and we all thought awesome this will be fun. That was until we picked up another couple, oh, and another couple. Twelve full grown people crammed into the back of a truck to drive for 1 hr in 38 degress isn't really ideal for many. After a half hour drive, we all got a much needed pee and water break, and continued north for lunch at a waterfall. Banana leaf wrapped fried rice consumed, leftovers fed to the local cananines, we started our 2.5 hr approx. hike to the village. No sooner did we make it a few steps did it start to pour, which was I guess a pretty nice feeling going straight up the mountain in that kind of heat. Soaked, we arrived at the first village for a potential swim and optional gift buying. Another half hour of walking, we made it to the "village", which was pretty much a campground, and in all was absolutely gorgeous (gorgeous enough for Rambo to come shoot shit up in Rambo 4). We piled in to the cabin, where six slept on one side, and six on the other, on the floor, with a large mosquito net (as we were in the heart of the rainforest), and it felt so incredibly cool. Dried off roughly, everyone made there way to the dining area for beers and water,(and a home made beverage from one of the guides which I am sure was Thai everclear). We ate a dinner of home made sweet eggplant curry (my new favourite addiction), something with bean sprouts, and rice. After chatting and a few matchstick games around the fire, people made there way to bed. Exhausted. I managed to sleep an hour before I had to pee. I crept out and started making my way to the toilet. Then I froze in the pouring rain. No flashlight, and all I could think of was the tiger people from kingdom telling me that tigers hunt at night.

The next morning I rose early to see the mountains start to clear off as the sun rose and the mist playing with the trees to create this indescribable scene. After toast and egg for breaky, we hiked to another waterfall for a swim, then made our way to the truck for more food at the company's restaurant. Pad Thai devoured, we rode elephants for 45 mins and fed them bananas, which was so very cute. Until you ran out of them, and they spray you with...whatever it is that was coming out of their trunks. Luckily, bamboo rafting was next and we had a chance to clean off. The rafts were made of about 15 foot long pieces of bamboo,about 10 across, and the four of us sat down, whilst a guy stood up front and navigated the river with a pole. Half way in, Becca go the chance to direct the raft, which was a lot like paddleboarding. Minus the rocks, and currents, and the four other people depending on you to not flip the raft. She did great! Not long after, the raft got turned around and I got to give it a try. Much harder than it seemed. No body died, and we banked and headed back to the truck for the ride back to Chiang Mai. After an awesome dinner of noodles in thai gravy, Ing took us for blind thai massage, which was absolutely out of this world. I have never felt so incredibly light and de-knotted. Fried and tired, we had dinner, and Bry and I went for a much needed Guinness.

The next morning we left for Pai. Ing picked us up and we piled into the back of the truck, with pillows, for a 2 hour drive north. The scenery was absolutely majestic. Mountains as far as you could see in all directions, pine trees, and most awesome of all, fresh and clean air. It reminded me of Kananaskis in the summer. Eyes and nose completely sated, we arrived to a cooler climate. The town of Pai greeted my senses with a feeling of familiarity and comfort, a kind of vibe that just makes you want to put down your bags and stay. People were friendly, and from every place, and the idea of serenity eminated from the trees and mountains. Ing drove us around the Pai Loop, which was really scenic, and we went up to visit the Chinese school that he volunteers at (the children go to school all day, then come to the chinese village school to learn about their history and develop Thai language so they can get citizenship). We were priveleged enought to get to watch the children assemble and sing the Thai national anthem. After that we went to the hotel. Our hotel, more like cottage, was across the town center bridge. Walking through the doors gave you an overpowering sense of calm. There was a pool in the central courtyard, next to the checkin desk/lunch place and little bungalows in which you stayed. The property overlooked fields with water buffaloes (complete with the birds that sit on them)and rolling mountains in the background, complete with homes and a temple. Complete zen. The sound of birds littered the air, and sweet sunshine bounced off the water. I had found a piece of paradise. We unpacked and wandered around the streets of Pai (the main tourist area is pretty much a square). Most things didn't open up til later on in the day, so the pool welcomed our overheated bodies. After browsing the night market, we called it a night so that we could all enjoy our free day the day after. All of us got up to nothing much and called it another night.

The next morning brought a small tea tasting at the Chinese village and me getting a bit lost wandering around the mountain/river side of Pai. After finding my way back, we went to go look at a canyon, which resembled the hoodoo like area of Invermere in a way. Even though it was winter and not everything is as green as it can be in the summer, it was still so lovely to see all the trees that go on for miles and the mountains in every direction. Since it was the time of season in which fields were being burned off for new crops, the atmospheric perspective made everything seem so ethereal and dream like. After ambling back to the truck, we attempted to go to a waterfall, which was closed due to all the rain the area had been getting. Figure that one out. For dinner, Ing took us to a restaurant that used to cook for the Thai Royal Family in Bangkok, but moved to Pai a while ago. The banana flower salad was a completely new taste and a must eat if you are ever in Pai. Post feast, the group went out to one of the very chill bars for a drink and to sit by the fire. Bry and I decided that we would continue the night and have a bit of fun. After a few Changs, and a pretty disgraceful game of pool, we made our way back to get some sleep.

So today I woke up with what they call here a Chang-over. I had no head ache, but my stomach felt like death. Well, hell, I thought, I have another day in ridiculous heat, full of activities. Shit. Oh, no, nevermind, today is fishing day. We drove 5k to a place called Piranha Par, which was pretty much just an aweome hotel area, with 3 large ponds full of fish, like piranha, that you can catch and release all for a whole 30 baht an hour, plus bait. So here we were, standing around these ponds, pole in hand fishing. All I could think of was Ocarina of Time: I stood around without much success, fishing to a peaceful vibe, (trying hard not to throw the bloody pole in the pond out of frustration), and thinking I should be be doing other more productive stuff, like saving a princesses, but just couldn't stop. I reeled in a Siamese ....something rather..., when I wasn't looking, or even standing at the pole, and ended up having the pole go in the piranha lake. So success relatively achieved, I called it a day and went back to Pai to continue my quest to save the princess. I mean find a computer and some food.

All in all, Pai is absolute heaven. I am going to open a poutine place for all the Canadians that come out here (there aren't really any fries places). Tomorrow we have a 5 hour drive (hopefully no rain) to Fang, where we will do an orange grove tour (there's an orange thats only grows there). The day after, we have temples, or the long neck tribe, or we go to Burma/Laos, or some other amount of cool (totally can't remember the order of events no matter how many times I get told). I should be able to fill you all in around the 12th ish(13th here). But no promises.

Love to you all, and hope you are all well.

Jen

Finally a breather!

jznack — Sun, 3 Mar 2013 21:44:00 GMT

Hey all!

Sorry for the delay in writing, I have been up to my ears in busy and slightly annoying fun.

So, after a very long plane trip from Vancouver to Beijing, which was pretty crappy (I am way too tall for the silly seating schemes in those planes, but I managed to snag a few hours sleep thanks to some Chinese beer), I arrived in Thailand at midnight to a stifling 40 celsius. IN pants. AND a sweater. AND a hat. After locating my bag, I found my tour guide, Ing (born in Chiangmai), who found me and took me to the hotel where the other three girls from the tour were staying. My roommate, Bryony (who is from London), was out cold so Ing suggested we hit up a beer down in the main open area of the cafe in our hotel. No sooner had we finished the first beer did my tour guide from the second part of the tour show up with his mother, who he was showing around Thailand. They invited us to join them for a few beers, so off we went in the direction of Khao San Road to locate a street vendor for awesome noodle like dishes and meat on a stick. Beers consumed, we moved on to the next bar when the current location closed (after all it was two or so am). Ing called it a night around four, so Devin, his mother, and I went for some Thai massage. Good lord they are my new obsession, and I will definitely be needing many after all the shitty sleeping I've been doing. Getting back to the hotel room around six, I decided it was time to try and catch some sleep until our group were to meet at around 12 the next day.

Two hours later, I was up. Bry and I went down to have breakfast and wait for the group. Rebecca and Karly (cousins from Saskatchewan) joined us shortly after and when Ing arrived we made our way to the Bangkok train station to catch the train to Chiangmai. OK awesome!, I thought, I love train rides! Especially night trains!!! Hell. NO! The train ride north is about 18 hours. We left at noon, and got in at six am. The first few hours were fantastic: country side, villages, giant buddhas, mountians, food being offered, cool water, and beer. The last bit of the trip consistd of ridiculous heat (no ac) and later on bugs from HELL! But on the brightside of it all, Ing is the bloody best person to ever be your Thai tour guide: an ecstatic foodie who is absolutely stoked to show everyone awesome new foods (yeah mom, you would be in heaven) and his home. He managed to get us dinner, which he ordered (cashew chicken and egg omelettes anyone?), as the sun set. Shortly after food, the beds got pulled down and we all tried to sleep in the wicked heat, bugs, and overly rickety train.

6 am came way too fast and we were all exhausted (minus me, who mananged to be stoked up on either jet lag, or excitement) and took a cab (which looks like a prison truck) to our hotel, Chinda House. They gave us a back up room to sleep in till 1030, when our rooms would be ready and we could relocate. I had a much needed, way overdue shower, and tried to sleep again. Sleep eluded me and I was up and raring to go for our day of tigers, monkeys, and crocodiles, sushi, and a night market. Ing rented a truck and the four of us piled into the back of the truck for a ride out. This, as dodgy as I thought it was at first, was a blast and I am told I must be prepared to do many more of them (when we go up to Pai, we will get mattresses, pillows, wine, and a tan). Anywho, Tiger Kingdom was definitely load of fun, and I got to cuddle with small adorable tiger cubs (who were most certainly not drugged, as one of them was convinced he would pounce on and devour me). We made our way up in tiger sizes, and finally got to the "big cat" who was playing around in a tiger pool as the keepers played with giant kitty toys. It was a ridiculously epic way to spend however many hours, until the heat got to us and we were ready to go. We stopped at a monkey show and watched a monkey do some tricks, which was cute and all, and followed it up with a guy sticking his head in a crocodiles mouth. Horrifying, tourist kitch in a way, it was fun and we were invited to sit on the giant croc. Sure, why not. Crocodile accomplished, we drove back to the hotel and got ready for dinner and Ing's favourite sushi place. Full on delish and fresh food, we made our way to the Saturday Night market, which is all outside, and again stupidly hot, to browse amazing wares and such. Ten pm hit fast, and we decided to call it a night, as this morning we had Thai cooking at nine.

Sorry mom and dad, but this blew New Orleans out of the water. I had the chance to make sweet and sour soup, red thai curry, banana spring rolls, and cashew chicken. I succeeded in not chopping off any digits (and not dying in kitchen heat) and had some of the best Thai food yet. And yes, I have a recipe book now. With that concluded, we made our way back to the hotel for an avocado shake (new addiction) at the Hungry Tiger and waited for Ing to come back and pick us up for a jaunt to the mall. It was weird being in Thailand and feeling like I was shopping at Chinook or WestEd. But luckily for me, there was a market in the bottom, full of food and awesome spices (you should see how bloody fresh and delish EVERYTHING looks here, I have definitely been spending my money on food), and Ing would run off and come back with plates of different things for us all to try.

Stuffed, and tired, I just arrived back at the hotel. It's pouring out, and I hope it stops, because apparently the Sunday Night market is where it's at!!! Tomorrow, we leave here at around 9 to go out to the jungles for our overnight jungle trek to a village. I had my hiking shoes packed for this trek, thinking Ill have to carry everything up a mountain, but we just pack an over night back, and sit on an elephant :D!!! Once in the village we will have local food, and I don't know what else, but I am sure it will be just wonderful and I am way too excited. Back on Tues around 5 my time (15 hours ahead of Cowtown) and the following day we leave for Pai in the back of the truck.

So stoked. I love my life.

Til later, and love to you all

Jen

Last night in Canada

jznack — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 09:54:00 GMT

Feb 26 2013

Tomorrow is the day I leave for five weeks in Thailand (for those of you who know me well enough: yes, I still have not finished packing). The excitement is building so much, I doubt I will be able to sleep. I mean, when you plan on doing a trip for six years, and it finally comes to fruition, it's a little overwhelming. I kinda wish I had at least one more chance to ski before I head out, but I think spending it in the mountains of Chiang Mai will more than make up for it.

My flight leaves at 8 am tomorrow from Calgary to Vancouver. After that, it's an 11 hour flight to Beijing, followed by five hours to Bangkok with the final arrival time of 12am Feb 28. Writing that is absolutely crazy and exhilarating; two days and I will be across the world. After one night in New Siam 1 (hotel), followed by a night on Khao San road, we'll be taking a night train up the next day to begin the northern part of this awesome adventure.

I plan on keeping up with this, but no guarantees. I also plan on taking lots of pictures! Hopefully can get a few posted here. Feel free to email me with questions :D

Love,

Jen