Our Adventure!

Photos: Australia

kittben — Fri, 13 May 2011 13:57:00 GMT

Cairns to Melbourne

Australia: Cairns to Melbourne

kittben — Fri, 13 May 2011 13:54:00 GMT

Australia

The four of us wasted no time arriving in Oz. We went straight to the Cairns Wicked Van rental shop and got ourselves a camper van! A Chuck Norris camper at that!! It was great to be back in western civilization again.

Our plan was to drive from Cairns to Sydney. We got off to a late start as we hadn’t slept a wink on the red eye flight. The first night we made it to Townsville, and stayed in a remote camp site just out of town. The washrooms were absolutely chockas (full in Ozzy) of spiders and frogs. Bright green humungous frogs. They were really quite cool, but pretty much everything in Oz is poisonous so we left them all well alone.

Not sure how many days we took to get to Airlie Beach, but after hearing about how much fun my little sister Karli had there we had to make a stop. Along the way we drove through a lot of areas that had been hit hard by the cyclones and floods. It was quite a sight. Entire forests along the coast were stripped of bark and leaves, just the skeletons left standing. Devestating.

We arranged a SCUBA trip at the Great Barrier Reef for the next day. Due to fairly inclement weather the experience wasn’t amazing. The visibility was fairly poor but diving is still a great feeling, and I saw a shark!! And just being at the Barrier Reef is something in itself. We were all very proud of Vanessa who conquered a fear and dove for the first time ever. Good for her. That night, after a very choppy ride home, we went for a drink and a free pizza at Phoenix, where Karli worked for some time. We met some of her old friends and co workers, which was nice, they all spoke fondly of her. That night we all decided that we definitely did not have time to drive all the way to Sydney if we wanted to have any time to see anything. So we arranged to drop off the van in Brisbane instead.

On the road again. Southbound we eventually made it to Bundaberg, home of the famous Bundaberg Rum, the distillery being on our list of stops. Arriving too late we checked in to a hotel for the evening to hit the distillery in the a.m. As we drove into town, I should mention, as we crossed the bridge we noticed thousands of giant fruit bats hanging in the trees. Later at the hotel we were outside (not smoking, Mum!!) when the dusk sky all of a sudden was completely full of these giant bats, heading to the fields for an evening feed. It was an absolute spectacle. It took a good twenty minutes for them to all fly over head. Just staggering. The next morn we did the tour at the rum distillery. It was pretty good, although it is not my favourite rum. Interesting tour though. The merch shop was ridiculously expensive too, but we still got some souvenirs.

We arrived in Brisbane a few days before we had to dump the van and fly to Sydney. We toured all around the area, spending a day at Surfers Paradise, which was lovely for a day, but I can see how you could get trapped there. Seems like a fun place. We spent a day in Byron Bay as well, but again, due to crummy weather it wasn’t supreme. A great dinner at one of Jays business colleagues made up for it. He and his wife gave us a tonne of great info for our upcoming trip to New Zealand. Good people. The drive from Cairns to Brisbane was a great load of fun. The only thing I wanted to see was a kangaroo. We saw plenty but they were all dead on the side of the road. “There is no theory of evolution, just a list of animals Chuck Norris allows to live.”

Arriving in Sydney we had a few hours to kill before our friends from home who now live there, got off work. So a trip to the Opera House was in the cards. Touring the area and the downtown area was sweet. I could live in Sydney. A great place. We joined Jane, Shannon, Anna and Alex that evening for Thai food and a few brews. Really nice to see them again and meet Janes beau Shannon. Such great and accommodating people. We spent 2 or 3 nights at Janes and then 2 or 3 nights at Annas. Very kind of them all. The next day being Friday we still had to entertain ourselves so J&V and B&B, the four of us went out to Bondi beach and toured the cliffs for hours, stretching from one beach to the other. Later that night, being J and Vanessas last we went for pizza again. Sad saying bye to them after a great month of travelling with them, but we will be seeing them soon enough. Thanks a lot you guys, a great experience with you two.

That weekend we spent seeing more of Sydney with our tour guides. We enjoyed a lovely sushi dinner. We went to a rock n roll gig night (which was well needed), saw lots of Sydney night life...even went out for 3a.m. Chinese food!! Hahaha, crazy. A lazy Sunday trip to “The Secret Garden” for a lovely cheese and wine picnic. That’s all I am permitted to say about that. These guys sure have a beautiful place they call home. Again, I could live here. Our flight was early evening to Melbourne, so on Monday after everyone went to work and we all said our goodbyes, Britt and I went to the fair!! Rides and cotton candy and all!!! So much fun to be 13 again!!

Another flight landed us in Melbourne for the last stop of our shotgun Oz trip. We checked into our hostel and soon realized that this was more of a College dorm. So many rooms, so many floors, and soooo many young kids. It was a bit much, but hey, we survived China, we can survive Frat week!! During our time there the Comedy Festival was in full swing. We took full advantage of that. 2 or 3 shows that we saw were amazing. I got a cold in Melbourne, which would soon turn into Strep throat and a Glandular virus, so layed low watching movies for a few days. The day before we left I forced myself up for a stroll down AC/DC Lane. A cool little alley street with a tonne of little bars and clubs and the entire street is decorated with graffiti. And it is named after the greatest rock band EVER!!!!

Off to Christchurch......

Photos: Indonesia

kittben — Sun, 1 May 2011 12:44:00 GMT

Bali, Jakarta, Gili

Indonesia (Jakarta, Bali, Gilis)

kittben — Sun, 1 May 2011 12:43:00 GMT

Straight off the plane in Jakarta, we nestled back into getting scammed... Each time, we tell ourselves to walk away from the airport, train, or bus stations, collect our heads then make decisions. Maybe we were too tired & overwhelmed. Whatever it was caused us to sign up for the first hotel mentioned & jump in with the first “taxi” driver who offered a ride.

Jakarta was not disappointing, only because we weren’t expecting much. It’s a big city but makes for a good meeting point. As soon as Jason & Vanessa hit the tarmac, we high tailed it outta there, moving to central Bali.

Ubud is a fantastic first impression of Bali. It is a quiet & beautifully artistic city. Carvings, paintings, jewellery... If only we owned a shipping company. Indonesian food is quite good, but when Italian, Mexican, & other tasty foods from around the globe are available, it’s difficult to stick to the local dishes. Our hotel was set on the edge of an inner city rice terrace with mountains for a back drop. Most nights were spent on the balcony watching the sunset with a glass of wine & a game of Crib or ten. One night I looked up expecting Jay to be nudging my chair, trying to get my attention but he wasn’t. An earthquake, a small one, but our first, had just rocked our third floor room. Jay & I were out of that hotel so fast, a trail of smoke followed behind us. Meanwhile Ben & Nessa were collecting necessities like beer & wine... Apparently we were the only ones who cared, or even felt it. The hotel “Security Guard” looked irritated that we woke him from slumber for such a minor vibration.

Our last day in Ubud spent at the Monkey Gardens (gardens with lots of vicious monkeys... Sounds lovely, doesn’t it). As you walk the path to the hub, monkeys slowly descend from the jungle, eyeing up tourists with all their pretty trinkets. A sign at the entrance warning people to put away shiny objects would have been helpful. Another smart thing would be not to feed the thousands of wild, unpredictable monkeys amongst a crowd of helpless humans; Worst idea ever. Oh, no, wait... The worst idea was to let tourists feed the wild animals themselves. This way, they associate all humans with food & stalk until something is sacrificed to the tribe, like sunglasses. Jay was a victim of this terrible crime... Except the big guy missed his sunglasses & instead, sunk his teeth into Jason’s back, and so concluded our day trip.

With Jason all bandaged up, we moved north to Batur for the volcano hike. I mean, what else is there to do after an earthquake... The drive up was wonderful. We did all sorts of touristy things: Gorgeous rice terraces, taste all the strange & beautiful fruit at a roadside stand, & check out the coffee & herb gardens. The gardens were really pretty cool. The smells wafting as you passed each plant made my mouth water. Lemongrass, cinnamon, oregano, vanilla... And the best aroma, roasting coffee beans! The big thing at these gardens was how they prepared the bean. First, and most importantly, they feed the raw beans to a rodent for him to digest, you know, to tenderise the bean (yuck!). Then the guy who drew the shortest stick has to retrieve & clean the beans before they are roasted into the goodness they become. After walking around & imagining this was all in our own backyards, we took a seat & were served a variety of teas, coffees, & liquers plus a cigarette rolled with their home grown organic tobacco. It was all just a really cool experience, especially since we were the only ones there (& all for free.99!).

Jay & Nessa set us up with a beautiful hotel overlooking Mt. Batur with the lake at its feet. Not a bad place to call home for a night or two. The hotel offered a guided trip up Batur but for a hefty price, so we hit the streets looking for a better price, only the streets were empty. The town surrounding Mt. Batur looks deserted. As if it once was a bustling town with plenty of hotels & restaurants but “The Fog” rolled through town & the locals don’t want to talk about “it”. With no luck, we popped our heads into a really quiet shop to ask if she knew how to rent a driver & guide. Saying not much, she called over an elderly man from across the street to organize a trip. Now this seems a little shady at first glance, especially when asked if he could provide a receipt, he grabbed the cafe scrap paper & jotted a few things down. Everything worked out perfectly & Yoman, a very helpful man, kind & generous, picked us up at 3:30AM. At the base we were assigned a guide (unguided tours are not allowed) & up we went. Spectacular! By 7AM we had reached the mouth of the main crater, just in time for sunrise with our thick coffee & boiled eggs, hot from a steam pocket of the volcano. What a way to start your morning.

The Gilis were now in our sights. The smallest & quietest of three islands off the N.W. coast of Lombok, Gili Meno was very appealing. Yoman was an honest guy, just trying to make a buck but never in exchange for bad karma. Our experience in Batur prompted us to use him for our trip to the Gili Ferry pier. On our way out of town, he stopped near the local Temple & has us outfitted with traditional Balinese religious garb. In our sarongs & the boys with their extra flare, we walked towards the Temple where it was clear we were the only tourists there (adding to the experience). Arriving at the ferry port a few hours later, we were scammed by the locals once more before setting off to Meno for beach action. Tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes... What’s next? Apparently a water spout. A few KM’s away from our chugging boat was a massive thunder cloud & three spouts poking out from the bottom. Far enough out of harms way, we sat & enjoyed the sight.

Stepping foot on Meno was lovely. The water was turquoise & warm, the sand soft, the sun hot, & the people few. A horse drawn carriage pulled us to the other side of the island where we set up in a really cool two room hut complete with an outdoor –ish rain shower & views of the ocean. We quickly unpacked, stripped down, & hurried ourselves to the beach for a dip & a drink. The snorkel gear was put to good use. A short hike up the beach to Turtle Haven to check out the coral & have a chilled out turtle check us out, then have the current drop us off right back at the hut; Lovely.

The beautiful night brought out the locals to the only “pub” just a light stroll up the beach. A $1 local beer washed down the fresh local snapper quite nicely. Just as soon as we leaned back in our chairs, the young guys grabbed the guitars &water jugs from behind the bar, started up a fire, & pulled up a seat for a jam. Shy at first, they eventually loosened up & sang out Balinese songs until late in the night. I could have sat out all night listening to that... The moment reminded me of home.

Apparently there are no ATM machines on Meno (which seems obvious, but to us) so over to the next island, Gili “T”, which was much more “civilized” with money machines, bars, hotels, & gift shoppes. Not as crazy as some islands we’ve been to, but when coming from somewhere like Meno, it’s a big change. Our days on “T” were few, one spent on the beach & the other spent under the shelter of our balcony, away from the monsoon. With a short break in the clouds, Nessa & I took off searching for a bottle of red to keep us cozy while holed up, away from the weather. This was a serious mission. We waded through flooded streets, weaved through strange alley ways (also massively flooded), & all for a couple bottles of warm beer. We arrived home, soaked to the bone & legs dirty with swamp water, to our men snuggled together, watching other grown men hurt themselves for a good laugh... How romantic.

Island life was coming to an end. It was time to head back to Bali for one last hurrah, before Australia. We knew that Lombok was what Bali was 30 years ago, but flying out of Bali didn’t give us the time. As soon as we pulled into Kuta, we all knew this was not a place for relaxing. Kuta was insanely crowded. Hotels, scooters, people, & malls fought for their spot nearest the beach. Our boys were kind enough to get lost in the maze of hotels searching for the best deal. Turns out Kuta is not known for making deals. We checked into the cheapest rooms we could find & hurried off (with a brief stop at a sushi place... I love little towns & all, but I like sushi too!), to the nearest internet cafe to see about catching the next train bound for paradise. Up the road a little was a little less busy & still close to the airport. We’d check in there & scooter down to the very south of Bali for a little peace & quiet. Now that was an idea! The chaotic city roads eventually gave way to winding treed country roads. The beaches down here were virtually empty. I think I can speak for everyone & say that it was a great day getting thrown around by the massive waves then letting the sun dry our skin. Only bummer was that my scooter had one of its mirrors jacked. Ya win some, ya lose some.

Indonesia was a blast. Mother Nature put on quite a show for us. Now let’s see what Australia is all about!

Photos: The Philippines

kittben — Sun, 1 May 2011 12:13:00 GMT

El Nido, Puerta Princessa, Coron, San Juan

Philippines (Puerta Princessa, El Nido, Coron, San Juan)

kittben — Sun, 1 May 2011 12:10:00 GMT

Philippines

Our first impression of The Philippines was grand. The ladies at the “Tourist Information” desk were more than helpful when we rolled up with no clue where we wanted to go.

“What’s easy, cheap, & available for tonight?”

“Where do you want to go Sir?”

“North... Or South... Whatever is easy, cheap, & available?”

(While proof reading, I see this quote could be easily misinterpreted.)

With great help from beautiful Filipino people, we found ourselves on the next flight south to Palawan. A guy from the south east islands also planned to stay overnight in the airport, and so we stuck it out together. What a friendly young man... Interpreted for us when necessary, even bought us a midnight snack!

Puerto Princesa was our first stop on Palawan. Not too much going on, but we managed to find a few things. Our room was a bit of a dive, but it was nice to have A/C for a change. One of the major adverts for P.P. is the 8.5KM underground river, why not? Pretty amazing, but at the end of the day was a bit of a bore only because we have seen our share of amazing caves. Its location forces 3 different styles of transport on you & not for a good price.

With not much else to do, it was time to move north. Our “plan” was to hit Port Barton, back track, and head up further to El Nido. The price difference for travel surprised us, so straight to El Nido it was. What a beautiful place. Set in a quiet bay, El Nido’s small town feel was exactly what we were looking for. We had spent the few days we had bumming around, taking in the dirt roads, beach restaurants, & snorkelling the many, many islands just off shore.

Travel & accommodation has blown our Philippine budget pretty quickly forcing us to get back to our searching the streets for a deal. Ben & I strolled the beach for fisherman willing to rent their boat & a driver for the day. Unfortunately, because of El Nidos’ small size, they had us where they wanted us. They justified the price for their boat (afloat with Pepsi bottles & Styrofoam) as a “private tour”. Fair enough. Although we wanted to explore on our own, away from the crowds of people, the tour price was just right.

The Philippines did not offer the gallery of Hostels previous countries had. Most of our stays were at hotel rooms where the visitors don’t information share about things to do, places to go, or how to get the best deals. Again, the budget had us when it was time to make tracks so we cruised the streets looking for the best rate to get to Coron, an island breaking up the trip back to Manila. Even at the port, the attendants don’t let you in on the local ferry information, forcing a tourist ticket for 5 times the price. Just when you think you may have found a slight deal, you get on a boat only loaded full of the white man.

A few seconds after setting sail from the pier, we came to slow stop. One of the operators dove into the water with 1950’s dive mask looking for our... propeller... Should be thankful that it fell off only 10 feet from the dock? Sometime later, they screwed ‘er back on, a little tighter, & we set sail through some of the most gorgeous waters we’ve seen. Tiny islands, beautiful white sand, turquoise waters, & all with no more than a few fisherman huts residing on their fringes. If only we could stop off... But we weren’t invited L

Just when we were starting to really enjoy our trip through paradise, Ben drags himself back into the cabin, tear in eye, head barely lifted. He had dropped his i-Pod into the depths. Poor guy. Music is everything to him, especially on those 10 hour bus rides.

We didn’t know much about Coron, & so, were very thankful that a room was available in town. Nothing special, but at least it was a place to lay our heads. Island hopping was a bit better priced & apparently the reefs had survived local dynamite fishing better than around El Nido. Unfortunately for us, the funds were already spent out in Palawan. But we were able to enjoy cheap food & a great hike to the top of the towns’ hill for a beautiful sunset over the outlaying islands.

Ben caught sight of a sushi place just down the road from our hotel, a sign that a nice lunch was deserved. Excited to enjoy some fresh sashimi, we barely noticed a man saunter half drunk onto the patio. Finally he asked to join us. With no real reason to say no, we nodded & he plunked himself down. Well, that was the end of our chilled out lunch. This guy was unreal. As we ate, our new Irish friend pounded back beer after beer as if he was the only one who had underground news of an approaching beer ban.

“You guys sure you don’t want one?”

Finally, after the fourth decline, we accepted. We figured he owed us something for our fabulous company!!

I won’t go into too much detail about the statements that came out of this guys mouth, but it was good for a laugh. He meant well, but a little too sauced to make much sense. At one point, he snatched my sandal, threw it down under his head & with his best efforts, attempted a head stand, each time crashing down smashing his knees into the tile floor. He also proved his intelligence with the remark “I’m pretty smart too ya know... For example, I know that E-MC2. I don’t remember how I know that... I just know it, ya know? And that guy, well, he didn’t either... An apple just dropped on his head one day, and he knew it, just like me.”

What an interesting day that was. Nice enough guy, but we needed a break from it after 6 hours. How random.

We had underestimated the lengthy travel times between each place within The Philippines, and time was ticking fast. It’s a bit difficult to reach the corners of the country because Manila serves as the hub for all travel. The shortest line isn’t always a possible route. Based on our last dealing with ferries, it was less time consuming & a better price to fly back to Manila. From there, we bussed north to San Juan, a small surf community a few minutes from San Fernando.

San Juan was surprising. For its popularity amoung the surfer crowd, it was pretty small. You could easily drive past & not take notice. Just a few km worth of beach front accommodation, then back to typical Philippines. Because of this, if you’re not surfing, you’re not doing much at all. We dove right in opting out of lessons since we had a little experience from surfing out in Tofino. Well, apparently that was long, long ago... We didn’t accomplish much & the next day came crawling back to the shop begging for a lesson. It turned out to be a wise decision, & the next few days we were able to spend a little more time on the board instead of in the “washing machine”.

Ben & I have tried to stay with the times when a t.v. or English newspaper is around, which isn’t very often. When we sat down at a table & looked up to see that an earthquake had rocked Japan, we were more than surprised. Everyone around us discussed what they would do if the expected tsunami hit our side of The Philippines. The general feeling was that we were in the clear, which in the end, we were. Just when that scare faded, people were running around with talk of nuclear poisons coming our way. Yeesh... What’s next??

The waves eventually died down, & we were on the road again. This time out of the country, excited to meet friends from home, Jason & Nessa, due to meet us in Indonesia.

Overall, the Philippines was a great time. With a little more time & money, we could have enjoyed all the things we wanted to. In comparison, accommodation, travel, & tours are on the expensive end (we’re ultra cheap, so expensive meaning $15-25 rooms, $30-$50 boats, $20-$30 tours), while food, drinks, & surf lessons are within our “ultra cheap” budget. Part of my love for the Philippines was that there were not a million travellers like me within 2KM radius, & the locals were not just crowding around to serve or sell you something. It was a nice change. There is so much more the country has to offer & the people are amoung some of the friendliest we’ve met.

Can’t wait to see Indonesia!!

Love to you all.

B&B

Photos: South Thailand

kittben — Wed, 9 Mar 2011 16:26:00 GMT

Phuket, Koh Chang (the other one), Samui, Phangnan, Tao, Krabi, Bamboo Island, Phi Phi, Koh Lanta, etc.

South Thailand - Samui, Phangnan, Tao, Phuket, Phi, Ko Phi, Krabi, Lanta, Koh Chang (the other one)

kittben — Sun, 6 Mar 2011 11:08:00 GMT

Thailand Round 2

A few days of travelling from Cambodia we finally arrived in Phuket to meet our good friend Ippy. Our first night he took us out for a great seafood dinner, then for some drinks on Walking Street. Pretty crazy, happening night life in Patong Bay. Loads of dancing girls, fire blowers, street vendors and of course, lots of booze. And none of it cheap!! We went into a bar called Rock City and saw an AC/DC and Metallica Thai cover band!! Very cool.

We spent a day on motorbikes cruising around the island making a stop at the Big Buddha. It was huge, at the top of one of the highest points of Phuket, with staggering 360 degree views. On the way back we went through a check stop. Actually we didn’t go through, we were stopped. And ticketed for not having drivers licenses on us. Ugh...1000 baht for both Britt and I, Ippy had his ID with him and was spared!! Last time we ride without ours.

To celebrate we went out for all-you-can-eat sushi dinner!! And believe me, we ate all we could. It was great. We had a wonderful time with Ippy but had to say goodbye as he was heading back to Australia and we were heading north to meet up with some other friends in Surathani.

So our 4 hour bus ride took 8, but luckily Reffa and X were still able to pick us up on their scooters in the middle of a downpour. They are so accommodating, friendly and kind. This was the first time we had actually met these two. They are friends of the Attack Addict boys and were referred to us when they knew we were going to Thailand. We really lucked out with this connection. Reffa spent months prior to our meeting sending us all sorts of helpful information on Thailand, travel, sights and the best places to see. So kind.

The next morning we arose very early (they gave us their bed and slept on the floor) and jumped on their scooters heading for the ferry. They have 2 bikes so Britt and I rode one while they doubled on the other. It was a long drive but very scenic. On the way we saw a snake that had been hit by a car during the night. It was HUGE!! I remember it being 10 feet long at least and a 4 inch diameter girth. It was sad, but made a nice breakfast for a scavenging dog.

The ferry ride took an hour and half or so and we arrived in Koh Samui. During another tropical downpour we found our new home for the weekend. Beautiful beachfront bungalows. And for FREE!!! Reffa has a friend who works there and she got us a steal of a deal!! Also we got a great discount for the island hopping, snorkelling, kayaking, hiking trip in the National Marine Park for the next day. We started early in the morning with some kayaking and a little hike to the Emerald Lake. Gorgeous. After lunch we did some snorkelling and Britt, Reffa and X climbed to the view point 500m up. I wussed out as my sandals were too slippery. That was my weak excuse anyway!! Before we headed back to Samui we fooled around jumping off the roof of the boat. I love that stuff. X tried showing off with a front flip and landed right on his face. OUCH!! I love that stuff!

A few more days of touring Koh Samui, a highlight was visiting a temple where a monk is encased in glass, but before he died he put some kind of spell on himself so his body would live on forever. He has been dead for ages and his body is not breaking down. He still has hair!! X walked us through a traditional ceremony with incense burning and candle lighting and fortune reading. Very interesting.

X and Reffa had to head home for the work week. They were kind enough to let us keep our big packs at their home, we got to travel light for a while, so we knew we would get to meet up with them again. We were off to Koh Phangan to join a Muay Thai kickboxing camp!!

We found our camp on top of a beautiful cliff overlooking a crystal blue bay. The bay was called Haad Thien and was only accessible by boat so it was very quiet. A strange community there, but very cool. On the beach there was a resort called The Sanctuary. Down there you could train in Yoga, meditation, detox and even Tantra. And above the beach you could learn how to kick some ass!! Very diverse. And strangely enough Jamie, our friend we met in Bangkok, was staying there as well. Great to see and hang out with him again. We were staying in a hut a few meters from the gym. We trained 5 hours a day. 2 and a half hours at 8am and another 2 and a half at 4pm. It was very intense but very, very fun. I couldn’t move for the first few days but after I got over the initial body shock I got right in to it. Flying knees and elbows, superman punches and alot of pad work and cardio. It was an amazing experience. Some of our fellow students actually signed up for sanctioned fights. Taking a boat a few bays over we went and cheered them on. The boat ride over was harrowing to say the least. Huge waves and pouring rain had all ten of us absolutely drenched, how we remained for the duration of the night. Bex fought and stopped the other girl in the second round. It was awesome. I couldn’t speak after the fight I was screaming so much. A few days later Luke fought. I was ecstatic as I got to be the corner man along with Max, Lukes brother. I got to wear the camp vest and was pumped and ready to get in the ring between rounds to give water and rub his legs or whatever. But Luke knocked the guy out in the first round and shattered my dreams!!

We didn’t train on Saturdays so were excited about the huge Friday night party that happened back at Haad Thien. Jamie had been there for a month by this time and told us that most of the locals tend to go to bed early on Friday night and wake up very early to join the party for sunrise. Which is what we did. That was by far the earliest I have ever started drinking!! What a riot though. Max and our trainer Phu were cutely passed out together on a bench by 10am!! So funny.

Our trainer Phu is a legend. He has had over 400 fights. He stopped counting. But he won over 350 of them. I will try and post some of his highlight reels. He is incredible. Sadly he has quite the drinking problem. Locals call him Master Mao, which means drunk in Thai. Everybody on the island knows who he is and when we tell them we’re training with him they ask us to tell him to put down the bottle. Very sad. But he is one hell of a fighter and one hell of a guy. I liked him very much.

As always it was hard to say good bye to our new friends and home. I wish we could have stayed and trained for months. I was really getting in to it and feeling better physically. But it was time to move on. To Koh Tao to take our Open Water Scuba Diving course.

On the ferry to Koh Tao we decide that Phoenix Divers was gonna be our diving school. We made a great decision. Our new home was a nice little hut across the road from the beach front school. The staff and teachers were great, and from all over the world. Klaus from Sweden, Neil from Scotland, Keith from England, Ahmer from Israel, Off from right there in Koh Tao, and our new friend Kim who was from Red Deer, originally from Calgary. He too is a musician so we hit it off right away with lots of common ground, including home.

The course consisted of 2 days in a classroom, with homework, and 2 days diving. 1 dive in a 12ft deep outdoor pool and 4 dives in the open ocean. Our class consisted of 6 students, one teacher and a dive assistant. The pool dive I thought was a piece of cake. We learned how to breathe properly, clear our masks, retrieve our regulators, pressurize and all the basic dive signals and tactics. And there was not a hint of claustrophobia or panic. When we first hit the open water, though, it was a different story. I came very close to freaking out. I was panicking inside for a few minutes. I don’t know what it was, if it was the sheer depth or slight murkiness or what. I quickly realized that if I didn’t calm down and get my head on right I would be in loads of trouble as by this point we were 15 meters deep. No way to quickly get to the surface safely. So inevitably I chilled out. Having my lovely wife right by my side helped a lot. She was basically in the same boat, so to speak, and felt reassured by my presence also. After the first few minutes of unsettled nerves we were able to enjoy the coral and dense population of fish and marine life. Eventually we were diving at 20 meters deep. That was our max. On one of our dives we encountered a Trigger Fish which is about the size of a 4L milk jug and very grumpy. It charged our camera man Keith a few times. We learned about these fish in class. Very aggressive and notorious for hurting people. No teeth but they charge and bash you like a sledge hammer!! One Trigger Fish at one dive site was named Trevor, who was infamous in Koh Tao for figuring out that the dive instructors were able to fend them off. So he would actually go around the instructor who was always at the front of the pack and attack the students who were not so graceful in the water. He also figured out to go for the face and had a hefty record of broken noses!! Sadly, instead of not going to that site anymore, they had Trevor killed and named the bay after him.

After 4 days we “graduated” as SSI certified Open Water Divers. Thankyou, thankyou..... Britt decided to take another few day course specializing in underwater photography. As we still had 4 days left before we had to head back to Surat, and we were already there and it was so cheap, not to mention fun, it was an easy decision. She got some amazing pictures and got to log 2 more dives. I spent the days bumming around the shop drinking beer with the staff who weren’t out in the water. They didn’t seem to mind one bit and Neil even tagged us a new part of the 5 o clock crew!! Very cool people and totally accommodating! I even got a little bamboo tattoo on my collar bone. It says “The life I love is making music with my friends” in Thai writing. A little tribute to Willie Nelson. Bamboo tattooing is traditional in Thailand. It takes longer than with a machine but has zero healing time and this one was absolutely painless.

One evening we went to a local beach front bar and watched Kim play an acoustic set. He was really good. And he had a very Albertan sound which took us home for a while. Good times. We also got to meet up with our friend Jennifer whom we met in Cambodia at Christmas time. She was working on Koh Tao as a veterinarian. Was nice to see her again. As always it hard to say good bye to our new friends, but thanks to Facebook and the internet we can all stay in contact.

We pre planned to arrive back in Surathani on Friday night so we could spend the weekend with Reffa and X. Our overnight ferry landed us at the Surat port at 4 in the morning!! Great. So we slept in a hotel lobby for a few hours until the owner woke up for a morning toilet trip, and could check us in.

We spent the weekend with very gracious Reffa and X. I can’t really explain how amazing it was to have these two to show us around and take care of us. They truly are incredible. They took us to a monkey training farm, took us for a 2 hour massage from their friends who also gave us very meaningful, authentic Buddhist pendants for good luck, they took us to a seafood bbq buffet and a nice trip to X’s mothers restaurant a town away. A very nice relaxing weekend. They even set us up with our bus tickets to our next destination. Once again, it was sad to say goodbye. We have made some life long friends and I hope that if or when they come to Canada we can be half as gracious hosting them. X even came to the bus station first thing in the morning to say goodbye once more. What a guy.

So. Our next destination was to be Ranong. A port town to get us to little Koh Chang. I was extra excited about this as we were to be meeting my little sister Charlie there. She was on a bus from Bangkok, by herself, her first time in Thailand, so I was a little, well, concerned. But we met her at the bus station in the middle of the night, she arrived without any problems. So we celebrated with some beers on the stoop of our hotel, exchanging stories from the past 7 months of travel, us in Asia and her in Australia.

The plan was to get to Koh Chang the next day and spend a week chilling out maxing relaxing all cool and all, but most of all we were all going to get tattooed by Mr. Kai who was recommended to us by our dear friend Dana who had been there and been worked on by him the year before. His work on her was incredible and very affordable so the plan was set. We usually show up somewhere, scout out a budget accommodation, plant our roots and then go about our business. Not this time! Koh Chang is very tiny island with minimal bungalows. We walked the very long beach for hours looking for a room but there were none available. Finally we found a place where the people realized we were “up the creek” and let us stay in a hut which they didn’t usually rent out as there is no power and it was pretty run down. But beggars can’t be choosers. Good, we had that part sorted out. Now to find Mr. Kai. Another few hours of trying to find him and we found out that he had gone on “vacation”. No one had seen him in a while and had no idea when he was returning. The first time he had left the island in decades and of course it had to be now. Perfect. So we decided to leave the next morning and come up with a new plan. So we enjoyed a beautiful sunset together, had a great meal, a few drinks and as it was a black sand beach the phosphorescence were enhanced incredibly. Charlie had never experienced this before, and it was the best we had ever seen. As we walked along the shoreline, in the complete darkness of night, our footprints were glowing blue. It was staggering. Britt and Karli spent the better part of an hour splashing around in the water taking it all in. Surreal.

At dawn we had our sights set on Krabi. An extremely long day of travel landed us there at nightfall. We found a great hostel with great dorms. Comfy beds, air con, hot showers, wifi and internet access. What else do ya need? A step up from the huts we had been in for the last month. We toured the town and arranged a 2 day trip to the Phi Phi islands the next day. Our time with Charlesbad was coming to an end soon, as she was heading north back to Bangkok to meet her Dad in a few days, so we had to cram in all we could.

The Phi Phi islands are spectacular. Brilliant limestone peaks periscoping out of crystal blue waters. But. Extremely overloaded with tourists. Thousands of foreigners everywhere. Quite overwhelming. So we hired a longtail boat driver to take us to Bamboo island, as opposed to taking an organized tour and arranged for him to pick us up the next morning. Bamboo island was overrun with tourists as well. But at around 3 or 4 o clock everyone left. Everyone. We were the only three people on the whole island with the exception of the park warden and staff. They arranged us a tent, which was crawling with spiders so the girls decided we were sleeping on the beach, under the stars, on the sand. We spent 3 hours enjoying sunset on the beach completely isolated from the hustle and bustle of the tourist trap. Once in a life time experience. We set up our hammocks and took it all in. When the sun had gone down the Park rangers set us up with hot water for our soup cups and spent a few hours chatting the evening away with us. Our sleep was less than comfortable once the wind picked up blowing sand all over us, but it was worth it at sunrise. Our longtail driver showed up in the morning as planned and took us to Maya Bay, where they filmed the movie “the Beach”. Stunning scenery but again, overloaded with people. It was only 9am but still.... Our driver told us of a beachless lagoon that would be quieter so we went and swam there for a while. It was less crowded since there was no beach, but so beautiful. The water was so blue and clear that 3 meters deep looked like a few feet. We were dropped off back at the main island we first arrived at and hopped on a ferry back to Krabi.

The next morning we went with Karli to the airport and said our sad goodbyes. We spent less than a week in total with her but had such a great time it felt a lot longer.

We stayed in Krabi for a few days awaiting the arrival of our friend Nico from the Netherlands who we had met and hung out with in China. I scoured the town looking for a bamboo tattoo artist. I found 4 or 5 and none of them wanted to work on me!! It was a guaranteed few days work with a decent income but I couldn’t get anyone to commit or that I felt good about so once again, I went inkless.

Nico and Liesa arrived a few days later. We spent no time getting caught up, it felt like no time since we had seen him last. We went to the Tiger Cave with them and made a trip to the brilliant Railay Beach. We forgot our cameras that day so please, google it. Incredible secluded place.

The next day the 4 of us took a ferry to Koh Lanta. We found a nice place on the beach, where again we enjoyed sunset over a few beers and delicious bbq’d fresh fish, caught that day. There was a tattoo shop on the beach too, in which I enquired. The owners of our resort told me the shop was dirty and a few people had gotten infections, which is horrible, but they had a friend in town who was an artist so they drove me there to meet him. Right away I knew I had found my guy. He was very professional and the shop was immaculately clean. I told him what I wanted but judging by the artwork on his wall I figured I would give him free reign of the design. He took photos of my leg and told me to come back the next evening. When I returned he had printed off blown up copies of my leg and drawn on the design. It was perfect!! Exactly what I wanted. Traditional Thai art. Malee was an artist over a tattooist. He had been tattooing for 10 years and only did bamboo. I was so happy to finally have found this guy and glad that I had no luck up until that point finding a bamboo artist, making this encounter all the more worthwhile. Unfortunately he couldn’t get started for a few days and estimated 2 days to complete. As we had to meet Britts folks in Phuket in few days, my beautiful wife encouraged me to stay on while she went ahead to meet her parents. So the plan was set. Before she left, Nico, Leisa, Britt and I spent a day touring around the island on motorbikes, as we love to do. Koh Lanta isn’t too big but some of the roads are undeveloped and 4X4 trucks are the vehicles of choice, so cruising on these scooters was a little hairy in parts, but fun none the less.

I said goodbye to Britt and spent the next 2 days in Malees shop. Nico and Leisa stopped in occasionally bringing me snacks and drinks which was nice. Now, my first bamboo tattoo was completely pain free. This one was the contrary!! Very painful at times, but not too bad at others. The first day I sat for 7 hours. The next I sat for 12. Half way through the second day Malee said that he could finish this tattoo but it would be rushed and he or I wouldn’t be happy with the finished product. I told him to take his time and make it perfect and if we don’t finish I’ll have to come back another day. I admired his integrity to perfectionism and agreed to come back again.

The following day Nico and Leisa headed off to Bangkok and I back to Phuket to reunite with Britt and her folks. I realized that Britt and I were apart for Valentines. Upon arriving at the resort that my in-laws we residing I was floored. It was 5 star. It was 10 star!!! It was a condo style quarters and Britt and I had our own room, own bathroom!! Very cushy, and we loved every minute of it. We had numerous delicious meals, of all types of cuisine. We spent many hours soaking up the sun on the beach, or by the pool, or at the pool bar!! Ahhh. It was heavenly, especially after 7 months of backpacking!! Quite a treat, and for that I will be forever in debt to my wonderful “parents”. Not only did host us to a lovely revitalizing week, they were kind enough to put up with us when they were on their holiday!!

At some point Britt suggested that since we were only 1 island away from Koh Lanta and we still had a few weeks left on our visas that we should go back so I could get my tattoo finished. Best wife ever!! So we arranged to get out of John and Mannis hair and head back. Before we did though, we spent a day out of the resort with the folks seeing the sights Phuket has to offer. Numerous temples, the Big Buddha (again, for us) a butterfly and insect farm, and possibly the best meal I have ever had. At a private home, which opens as a restaurant in the evening, we indulged in the definition of fine dining. A five course dinner fit for a king. Lovely! That evening we went to a huge performance called Fantasea. Including acrobatics, dancing, fighting, singing, magic, elephants, tigers and intense pyrotechnics, this was quite spectacular. A great way to end a wonderful visit with John and Manni. We can’t thank you enough.

Back in Koh Lanta, Malee and I figured 2 more days would be more than enough to finish this tattoo. Another day or so and I would be back in his seat sweating and biting my lip. That being decided Britt booked us a ferry back to Phuket so we could then fly out of Thailand before our visas expire. 24 more hours of gruelling bamboo poking, the piece still wasn’t finished. But we had already booked a ferry and a plane. I had no choice but to leave with it incomplete. 1 more day and I would have it finished. Oh well. It is beautiful as it is, and now I have an excuse to return one day to finish it. Who wants to come with me??

Just when they thought they were rid of us, surprise!! We were back at John and Mannis doorstep in Phuket to spend one more night before our flight. They obviously weren’t too excited about this proposition and left for the evening to take in some Muay Thai action!! Thanks again to the in-laws for putting us up and putting up with us for one more night.

First thing in the morning we got to the airport, boarded our flight and set off for Manila in the Philippines.

Photos: Cambodia

kittben — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 19:36:00 GMT

A Holiday in Cambodia

kittben — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 19:33:00 GMT

Cambodia

With just over a week to see Cambodia, an action plan had to be made. First we would check out Phnom Penh on the eastern side, then down to Sihanoukville for a bit of chill time during Christmas, & back up to Siem Reap for New Years.

We have been lazy with planning lately & so arrived in Phnom Penh with a minimal idea of where to head for appropriate accommodation. We had heard of a beautiful lake where there would be Guesthouses galore. But when we rolled into the area, it seemed deserted - buildings which looked abandoned & lazing tuk-tuk drivers. After taking a look at one of the rooms available, we realized something wasn’t exactly right. With no real choices, we booked in with a reasonably priced hostel & went down for some lunch. The manager then explained why the area looked the way it did. Just 6 months ago, the place had been the thriving backpacker hub we read about. That was until the lake was leased out to a Korean company who had plans for a high profit business park. In just a few months, they had backfilled the entire lake, driving tourists away & forcing guesthouses& restaurants to shut their doors. Our “lake & sunset view” room now looked onto a mud pit.

The following day we organized a half day tour with one of the drivers, happy to have business. Whizzing through the local streets, we could see that it could have been a beautiful place, long before we arrived. The fresh water canals were now black & barely running, clogged by heaps of garbage & the trees lining the streets were stained with dust. I don’t want to be negative, but it was not a nice place & our “sites” for the day added to our gloomy mood.

First was a stop at S21, one of the many prisoner camps set up by Pol Pot’s officers for anyone suspected of treason, & in his mind, everyone was a suspect. The cells were still stained by pools of blood from hours of torture & inevitable death. Photos of endless prisoners hung from the walls. One room was dedicated to soldiers of the Khmer Rouge telling their short story of participating & why they feared to rebel. There were signs posted reminding the “tourists” that this was no place for jokes or even smiles.

We then made our way to the Killing Fields on the outskirts of town. I suppose that Phnom Penh had consciously stopped development towards this area. It was a place of horrible things. Before walking through the fields, we stopped at the museum. Here were also wall hangings of the high ranking officials. Below their photographs were small biographies, including death reports, most of which were of natural causes. Pol Pot himself was not tried & so he too died of natural causes while under house arrest. Some say that an eye for an eye would not have undone anything. After reading all the horrible stories, sometimes I think maybe it could have helped. Maybe he should have been forced to sit & listen to the feelings of the survivors... But would a man of his kind actually listen? Who knows? It just feels like he got away with it.

You cannot prepare yourself for the Killing Fields. On the surface, it is a beautiful park; Big trees, tall grass, walking paths & a temple erected at the centre. But on closer inspection, the trees were used to kill the children, beneath the grass were bones & teeth rising up from mass graves, pathways were where the victims marched their last steps, & the temple was filled with skulls, a 3 storey monument to the dead.

Walking back to our driver, there was a strange feeling. He looked to be in his mid to late 30’s which meant he was involved, somehow in the war. Did his parents take part with the Khmer Rouge? Were they killed because they wore glasses? Did their family escape? Asking was not possible. So instead, we sat for lunch together & enjoyed conversation about his kids & favourite local dishes.

After an emotionally draining stay in Phnom Penh, it was time to head somewhere to relax the body & mind.

Sihanoukville was set on the southern coast of Cambodia – a place for chilling out. Christmas had filled up guesthouses forcing Ben & I to sneak ahead of other backpackers, running to receptions here & there hoping there’s one more room left. It worked... Next door to us was Monkey Republic, a pub to end your day with chats & a game of pool. Word had been spread about an island in the south that has little to no development. We spotted immediately, the notice on the wall of M.R. that they had just opened the doors of their bungalows on Koh Rong. Perfect. We booked in for $15/ night & had the rest of our days in Sihanoukville waiting with anticipation!

Sihanoukville was nice. It was not the quiet secret that people had been talking about, although it looked like it used to be. There were still a few beaches that were a long walk from the main town centre which is exactly where we like to go. Inconvenience keeps a place quiet. And that is exactly how we intended on spending our Christmas Day! Otres was set up just east of the main beach area. A short, bumpy tuk-tuk ride & we were on the virtually empty sand. Minimal effort was made by us to create sand “beach chairs” & a little less effort floating in the sea. Our day ended with a classic Christmas dinner, complete with cranberry sauce! Sounds a bit weird, but just a nice home cooked dinner during the Holidays helped to ease the home-sick blues. Plus, we were able to connect on Skype with our families, truly awesome! Gramma “B” even made an appearance.

Off to Koh Rong... What could koh rong? (Cheesy joke, I know).

After an hour on the water, we spotted our new home. WOW! Making our way off the rickety “pier”, we strolled down the beach, empty with the exception of the local fisherman & a colony of stray dogs. The walk down, we were giddy with excitement. Our hut, brand new, was set only a few feet from the shoreline! Freshly lacquered, new bedding, & pillows made from the feathers of an angel. It was glorious! We hadn’t stayed in place that nice in ages... The spiders were a bit, hmmm, how should I put this? HUGE! But a small price to pay.

A few of us decided to take the next day and explore our new home. A rough hike up & down small cliffs would bring us to a beach that was claimed by the ones who know of it, to be the best beach around. We had to see this for ourselves. Following the painted arrows, we marched on through the jungle until we came down a cliff and the trees opened up to reveal, the best beach around. This was by far, THEE BEST BEACH I have ever seen. It was the best for many reasons. The first: Crystal clear, waist deep water that went out for at least 40 feet. Secondly, the clear water showed nothing but sand on the ocean floor... No weeds, no rocks, nothing. And the top reason that this 7km stretch of gorgeous beach was by far the best... There were maybe 10 people there - Amazing, absolutely amazing. The unfortunate part is that the island – which is the size of Hong Kong – has been purchased by two developers and will be turned into the same old tourist destination eventually destroying the reason it is so sought after. But we are glad to have been there to see it before that happens.

Our second day on the island was spent chilling out & enjoying the company of new found friends - Ray, Kiren & Gary from England, and Eemma, from Ireland. Ben & Ray played the same 8 year old pool shark in Sihanoukville, & both were shamed when this kid ran the table on them! HAHAHA. They’ll never live that down.

It was time to move on. The boat back to mainland was quiet. We all sat facing the island, watching it fade away, the sun falling behind. I hope that some of you will get to experience that beautiful place.

Our final stop in Cambodia was the great temples of Angkor Wat. Eemma & Gary would meet us at the bus station & together we would dip in & out of many guesthouses until we found the one. For $10 a night between two, we were set up in a large, very clean room with t.v. & balcony! I love travelling!

That same day, on very little sleep, we hired a tuk-tuk to take us to as many temples as we could handle. It is insane to think that the whole place was hidden by overgrown jungle. We toyed with the idea that we were the ones to discover the grounds while lost on a hike. People had told us, once you see one, you’ve seen them all. I disagree. I could have stayed there for weeks exploring the little nooks & crannys. But lack of time & sleep had us retiring early, but not before “Spider Girl” could flog off a million bracelets on Ben! His excuse is that any young Cambodian, who knows more about Canada than a 31 year old Canadian, deserves to have her whole stock bought out! Fair enough.

Next morning we would wake before the sun to see it rise over the main temple, Angkor Wat. Mistakenly, Ben & I thought we would be the only ones wanting to see temples at this time... Dead wrong. The herd rushed through the gates to secure a good seat. Immediately, we thought, there must be a better way to see this & left the main area, heading back to the moat. We found it. The sun came up from behind the main stone gate, throwing it & a few high temple peaks into reflection on the moat. It was gorgeous & quiet. (How many times can I use “gorgeous” when speaking of Cambodia?!)

Our driver sped off before the crowds left the temple & rushed us to our next site, Byon. We were two of four people in the whole temple. Ben quickly ascended heading for the top of the temple where eerie faces smiled upon its visitors. And I, once again, was lost in the mysterious cracks. It was a spooky feeling wandering around totally alone. It felt like we were back in time, living in the temple. What a special time that would have been. But quickly, the temples filled up. That doesn’t matter... We had our 20 minutes which were grand.

Back in the city, we reunited with Gary, Eemma, Ray & Kiren (who had just arrived) to experience New Years Eve Cambodian style! Our evening started off with a classic plastic chair, street dinner. Each of us ordered a dish & dug in. Unfortunately Gary & Eemma did not stick with us after dinner, so just the four of us went out on the town. The streets quickly filled which made it impossible to reach the other side. To get anywhere, you had to wedge yourself between a few people & go with the flow. Where ever you ended up, you stayed for a bit, then, see where fate takes you next. Ben got the bright idea to defy this logic & crowd surf to his destination. Fairly unsuccessful, his wife thought she’d give it a try. Apparently Cambodians haven’t gotten the memo on how to assist in crowd surfing, or maybe because I tower over the 5ft locals. I was quickly returned to concrete & paid for my attempt the following day. For Ben’s & my own sake, that is the last time.

Cambodia, you were so good to us! We will be back!

Photos: Nam

kittben — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 17:08:00 GMT

Vietnam

This isn't Nam, there are rules!

kittben — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 17:04:00 GMT

VIETNAM...

A 24 hour journey on some seedy buses has landed us in Hanoi. The ride was a little rough, although the border crossing was rather easy. Once in Vietnam a man boarded the already crowded bus & was doing a lousy job at concealing a machine gun under his jean jacket!! That had Ben going for a while. Was he going to hijack the bus? Was he going to rob everybody? I was calmer, only because I had a close call a few years back in Laos when some locals robbed a “VIP” bus but left the local bus we were riding, alone. To Ben’s relief, he got off the bus. It was odd & worth mentioning.

We arrived in Hanoi first thing, checked into a hostel & sat in a cafe with the morning fog overlooking the lake for croissants & tea. Hanoi was the busiest city. The traffic alone stressed us out. Crossing the street is an art. As per the advice of an Irishman we met back in China, don’t hesitate, don’t bolt, don’t dodge... Just walk very slow & steady. It is intimidating at first, but put faith in your stride, & you should come out unscathed on the other side! Just one night of watching the calculated chaos from a restaurant balcony, & we were off to quiet Cat Ba Island for Ben’s birthday.

Cat Ba was a great alternative option to Halong Bay. A guesthouse with clean sheets & a balcony with a view of the harbour ran us a whole $6/ night. On Ben’s birthday we rented some scoots for a tour around the island. What a gorgeous little place. The “Hospital Cave” made our list of sites to see. The Vietnamese constructed the interior of the natural cave with concrete rooms for meetings, doctoring, washing, training, & even entertainment, like a full sized cinema room. Escape routes were designed for each of the 3 floors. One of which was a narrow 10ft vertical tunnel with a 4ft deep pool to break your fall; Clever. The local guide of the cave gave me a little lesson on how not to leave my bike when he easily lifted my seat accessing my purse & camera, then turned the handles & steered my bike off. Hmpf. At least I didn’t have to learn the hard way.

We had been invited to the birthday party of Rafaela who we met on the journey over to Cat Ba. Her birthday happened to be the day before Ben’s. Meeting at Slo Pony, a local bar & adventure centre, we took off on the back of bikes to Slo’s house for casual drinks, chats, & local Vietnamese eats. Rafaela jammed a mean song by the Cranberries, Zombie! Amazing! The honey wine, more like moonshine, had us a little weak in the knees by the end of the evening... weak all over the next morning too! Wandering around in a zombie-like state, the next day we planned for not much. That was until we ran into Kate & James, who bent our rubber arms for a night out to celebrate Ben’s “real” birthday. Glad they did... Great times; Great people!

Our days on Cat Ba were coming to an end. Hoi An was next on our list. The original plan was to rent/ buy a couple of old Minsk’s & cruise down to Saigon, stopping off along the way at various “points of interest”. However, after speaking with a few people here & there, we decided against it. Renting may be too expensive, buying would most likely result in breaking down or the possible delay in re-selling, & our inexperience on manual bikes combined with the deadly HWY1 was sure to give us at least a few new scars to compare. Instead, we chose the safer, cheaper route by bus.

If you need suites, shoes, purses, dresses, coats (I’m using plural on purpose!), go to Hoi An. Not every other, but every single shoppe was dedicated to outfitting tourists with anything they wanted, and for insanely cheap. We couldn’t resist. For myself, a new pair of leather “gladiator” sandals, & for Ben, a fitted button-down shirt. The rest of our days in Hoi An were spent wandering through the little alley ways lit by iron lamps & on the final day, a few hours on the beach. Had we known the beach was as nice as it was, I’m sure we would have spent more time there. But, we had to move further on down the line.

Nha Trang was claimed by a few to be one of Vietnam’s best beaches. Hardly... But it was still nice. With only a few days to spend here, we organized a snorkel trip around some of the outlaying islands. Again, for a whole $6. The boat seemed pretty tame, that was until our crew set up their stage & jammed on the boat. The floating wine bar was soon to follow. Only one or two small glasses of wine were accepted of the many offered, mainly because I saw from the corner of my eye that the bartender had fallen into the sea, open bottle in hand. I’m sure those who didn’t catch the bottle going in half empty & coming up full, had a few issues the following days.

Enter Mui Ne... Now this was a beach! Waves were coming in at 8-9 feet at times. Ben & I, being young and all, decided to try our body surfing talents. Yeesh... 8FT is awful high when you’re in water to your chest. A few good turns being lifted by the water giants, & one good bail where I did the “scorpion” as Ben calls it (where the wave takes your legs & bends them back allowing your heels to smack the back of your head, just like a scorpion’s attack), had me retiring my career with a whole 50 minutes of experience.

The main attraction at Mui Ne, are the two mass dunes, one white, the other red. We had reconnected with Torsten, a German guy we briefly met in Cat Ba, & Ash, an Englishman we met just after the bus arrived in Mui Ne. The four of us rented bikes & rode off to the white for the early afternoon, making it back to the red sands for sunset when they would really show their colour. Other than the sand blasting & clouds dimming our sunset, the trip was a great one!

Off to Saigon. Not much happened here... But our guesthouse owner was interesting. We have dubbed her Vietnam Grandma! The cutest lady you’ve ever seen! She would constantly be holding your hand, or rubbing your arm. Sometimes, she would hold my hand in hers, then grab Ben’s, putting our hands in each other’s & squeezing with the biggest grin. She loved love.

The main purpose was to visit the War Museum. I won’t go too into detail, as much of the things we saw were horrific & emotionally draining. I will not be able to tell you in words what it was like to see the photographs & torture weapons displayed. One thing I will touch on is Agent Orange. Before coming to Saigon, I had no idea what this chemical was. All throughout Vietnam are deformed beggars. Some have twisted limbs, some none at all, & others skin appears to be melting off the bone. Agent Orange, used widely during the Vietnam War, has damned the lives of almost any children & grandchildren of the men & women sprayed. It causes the most terrible birth defects... Siamese twins, eyeless & limbless children, swollen heads & eyes... the list goes on. Denying the street people the food or money they are begging for is hard enough, but now knowing why they are disfigured makes turning away heart breaking. At first, you think it is possible to help by giving money or water, but you are easily defeated by the number of people, that you have to find other ways to help.

I’m not sure why each of our last journal entries, have such sad conclusions... I’m sorry, but the one on Cambodia probably will too. On a positive note, even with all the terrible things that the S.E. Asian people have been through, they are some of the kindest we’ve met.

MUCH LOVE,

B&B VONDUBYA

Photos: Laos

kittben — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 19:52:00 GMT

Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, Vientiane, Phonsavan

Laos - Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, Vientiane, Phonsavan

kittben — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 17:10:00 GMT

Laos...

We left off at Chiang Mai, leaving for Luang Prabang. This time around, we opted for the easy route with our hostel; A few extra dollars in exchange for a little less hassle. Tourists charged by “fake” border crossings for their visa were too common a storey. Everything unknown seems scary in the moment, but when we look back, the border crossing was easy as pie. There were 2 options, the more scenic route, a 3 day trip including 2 river boats plus the 2 very necessary Thai massages to get the feeling back in your ‘seat’, or the straight shot to the city by bus. We chose the quick & painless. Our trip to the border included a stop off at the White Temple (or something close to that), a sparkling spectacle, plopped in the middle of nowhere. Gnarly Gargoyles perched at the entrance & distraught masks hanging from the trees out front added to its wonder. Even the “No Smoking” signs & road beacons were artistic sculptures of death. When you enter the temple, on either side are hands from Hell, hoisting up human skulls. Two beefy protectors guard the passage to the Temple, but once inside, everything is tranquil & beautiful. Number 1 Temple to date.

Luang Prabang is a smaller French influenced city with not much to see other than markets (which are still cool). Our first priority was to sort our Vietnamese visas, which was a cake walk. Again, horror stories of how long they take, or that they are fly-in only, difficult border crossings, etc. After a few circles, we spotted the Embassy & with fingers crossed, filled out our forms, handing them in with exaggerated Canadian smiles. Taking it, without a glance, the guard says, “$40 for Tuesday, $50 for Monday, $60 for 5 minutes.”

Not wanting to stay in Luang Prabang longer than we needed to, we chose the highest price. No jokes, he actually drove us to the bank & when we got back, our visas were stamped.

We exhaled & hooked up with new found friends, Dave & Tanwen, for a trip to the turquoise falls. Up early hoping to beat the crowds, we jumped into the back of a truck & went winding through country roads. But not before our driver busted some major “loser laps” around town desperate to hook another few foreigners.

Arriving just when the sun was beginning to heat the day, we hiked to the top of the falls (well, we tried) for a view of the valley. Gorgeous! And, a nice little work out to make the chilly swimming holes that much better. The swimming hole was youth juice, complete with a rope swing & falls to jump from! The Chinese men standing on the side creeping was a bit uncomfortable, but other than that, the day was bliss.

That evening, we split up with our UK friends for some shopping & dining out at the local market, which was tucked away down a grim alley. I said I would try to become a veggie (China turned me onto the idea), & did quite well, but the smell of chicken breast roasting over hot coals kyboshed that idea. I hadn’t found white meat in soooo long. It was like... How does Turbine Irvine put it? “Tiny little angels dancing on your palette”. That together with sticky rice made for a glorious meal out with my man. The simple things...

I won’t even go into our accommodation here... Actually, yes I will. Budget sometimes gives you what you pay for. This was one of those times. At first glance (18Hrs travelling, 6AM arrival, swollen feet... so a pretty blurry glance) the place looked half decent. SOLD! A wee nap later, it looked a bit different... Well, a bit like hell really. The walls didn’t connect to the ceiling, interior or exterior, there was a faint highway of ants marching through our bathroom, the shared bathroom was beside our room (walls here also didn’t reach the ceiling), tacky posters were covering gaping holes in our tacky wallpaper, our sheets looked ancient, & there was a faint smell death. But other than that, it was decent.

It was time to move on. Vang Vieng was next on our list. Just 3 years ago, I had visited the town with Spills & Janer, two of my Besties. We had rented, for $1 each, a bamboo hut down by the river with its own balcony & private bath. Every night, we’d sit watching the sun sink behind the mountains, glass of red in hand. The main attraction in town is the river running through. Bamboo bars have been set up along the banks & for a few dollars tourists are driven a few km out of town with inner-tubes as their means to get home.

Vang Vieng has changed. It’s still a bit of the same thing, but just far bigger, pricier & touristy. The bus station had moved to a spot just far enough out of town that a 10,000KIP tuk-tuk is necessary to get to the town’s centre. Its 2 small dusty roads have morphed into paved drags lined with vendors & shoppes selling the exact same things the next are. Instead of the chilled out hippies dragging their feet through town, it’s filled with loud mouthed kids who think their same-old jokes are just “hil-air!” I was a bit sad that I couldn’t re-live the days down by the river with Ben. Ah well, everything good must come to an end. But she still had a few years left in ‘er.

Tanwen, Dave, Ben & I fixed ourselves up with rooms overlooking the creek flowing around the small island & the mountains for the back drop, still not bad for $7. We joined in with the crowd & were up early (ish) to beat the rush down the river. I must admit, it was a blast. We intended on making the 3 hour trip getting off at our hostel & save on the tuk-tuk back before dark. But the rope swings, slides, & speakers bouncing with music enticed us. It was bringing back little memories of the Sheep River, home (minus the bars, rope swings, & loud music... The Fun Police would never allow it).

The river trip had us on a high & afterwards decided to hit up Party Island with all the youngsters, because we’re hip & with it! An hour later...

Next day was shamefully spent vegging out in front of Friends & Family Guy from the many restaurants offering the laid back scene. I know, I know, how lame. I will say, however, that we limited ourselves to 2 hours of T.V. time.

With the intent of getting myself one of those beach bodies, I’ve attempted to cut out the white devil... bread. You may think this is easy, especially in an Asian country full of rice. Well you’re dead wrong! Not sure if you realize, I didn’t, that the French have left an unmistakable mark on Laos... Baguettes & croissants! I cannot resist these lovely things. And so, I’ve given up on giving up bread.

Vientiane arrival... Marching our sorry butts to the fourth floor, our bags dropped, then our jaws. Our $10/ night guest room was a glorified prison cell. Of all the places, Ben & I have wound up in yet another dive. I cried a little inside, I really did. After a quick chat to Tanwen & Dave about their cheaper, cleaner place, we put on our “we’re really sorry” faces & explained to the ‘Three Seasons’ reception that “it turns out our brother had already booked us into another hotel” and that “we’re so sorry & feel just terrible”. Grandma Mary, I’m sorry, but if you saw this place, you’d understand that this little white lie was a must.

Vientiane was visually a cool city, European & Asian cultures mixed beautifully in architecture & food. Our main objective was to sort out our Thai visas as we plan to stay for longer than the automatic 15 day over-land visas provided when we are there in January. These were also a breeze. A few snapshots at the local portrait studio, short hand paperwork, & next day pick up, free of charge. Again, we arrived on a Friday, but this time did not have a “5-minute” option, so had to lay low for the weekend. There is not much to do, but we found a few cheap day trips. First was a stop off at the local Museum. It’s an old run down, off-white Government building hidden behind unkempt bushes; Easy to miss. For a dollar, you can walk yourself through the fan cooled building to read up on Laos’s history. It covers most things from Dinosaur findings, the French rule, & the ‘Secret War’. Time well spent.

Doing things on your own is usually cheap, which was the case with our trip to Buddha Park. A few blocks to the local bus station, shake off the tuk-tuk drivers, hop on the over-crowded mini-bus, & trust that the driver will let you know when to get off, if it’s not obvious. Ben was excited for the park. He has been collecting images for his upcoming bamboo tattoo in Thailand. The park is filled with Hindu & Buddhist statues, each with their unique features but similar symbols of enlightenment & sin. Adding to the whole visual experience were bright coloured monks strolling about, disappearing behind this god, & reappearing from behind that god. The park is highly recommended.

One thing we didn’t end up seeing, was the Vertical Airstrip. Laos was given millions of dollars to add an airstrip to the capital city. Instead, they erected a gorgeous building.

Again, everything good must come to an end... And this was the same for our new foursome. They think they’ve ridded themselves of us, but we have plans! See you guys, hopefully sooner rather than later!

I had always wanted to see the Plain of Jars. Not many people know of the jars, so we were hoping not too many people would be there to see them. Another foreigner was waiting around early morning for the bus to Phonsavan. Naturally, we locked eyes & took comfort in our common worry of the unknown. It’s always nice to pool resources. Instantly we got along with Swiss Sonya. Kindly she exchanged her seat allowing Ben & I to sit together. We rolled into town, well, not quite. The station is again located a few km outside the town centre, requiring additional transport for a small fee. Unusually, we all decided on a guesthouse rather quickly & found our way to Kong Keo. With not much sleep, we decided to push forward, get some breakfast down, & bike to the phenomenon. According to maps, site 1 seemed possible with our mode of transport. It was straight forward, but the 12KM uphill ride was not the 3KM flat road we were expecting. The small children waving from their roadside villages made the trip fun.

The Jars are a wonder. Hundreds of large pots believed to be crafted from stone, mud, & animal hide, scatter the hillside. Small red & white plaques line the pathways through the site indicating which areas have been cleared of UXO (Unexploded Ordinates). Every so often, a huge hole is blown out of the earth from a bomb dropped during the ‘Secret War’. The jars are said to have been constructed for a number of reasons, each very different from one another. Some locals believe they are urns for the dead, while others think they were simply used to store food or whiskey. Who knows, but they are a site to see.

With time left in the day, we stopped in at MAG to view a film on the affects of the ‘Secret War’. For those of you who do not know, Laos is THE most bombed country in the world. More explosives were dropped on this small country between 1964 and 1973 than Japan & Germany during WWII, combined. The United States air bombed Laos because Vietnam was supplying their army via the Ho Chi Minh Trail (running along the border), secondly they were trying to halt the Communist movement in Laos (the rebels were not affected by the bombs), & lastly, once the VN war ended, rather than spend the money to safely land & disarm a loaded aircraft, the pilots were ordered to drop them over Laos. Over 500 million bombing missions were carried out, totalling over 200 million tonnes dropped on the country, 2 tonnes per person, $2M USD per day. The most unfortunate part is that even after the war was uncovered & stopped, thousands of Laos are still dying each year. Why? 30% of the bombs dropped did not detonate. They are scattered throughout rice fields, under schools, behind homes. It is inevitable that the villagers will come in deadly contact with one while clearing their fields. Children are amoung the highest casualties. They see a little yellow ball (Cluster Bombs), or something that resembles the fruit their parents pick, & they pay the ultimate price when they pick it up, kick starting the internal fuse, sending shrapnel through every part of the body. New development is rare because of what might be uncovered. MAG has trained locals as bomb specialists. They spend countless hours with steady hands & light movements to safely remove these threats. Ben & I highly recommend visiting their website to learn a more about Laos’ past & how organizations like MAG are helping bring the country back to its feet.

MAG.ORG.UK

Photos: Chiang Mai

kittben — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:59:00 GMT

Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand)

kittben — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:35:00 GMT

To save on accommodation, we usually ride through the night, but there were only two departure times available, 3PM (the 6hr ride would land us in Chiang Mai in the dead of night) or 6AM. So 6AM it was. Ben kept an eye on the clock, watching for city signs. At around 4PM, we rolled into a biggish city, but not Chiang Mai. A kid jumps on the bus, headed for Chiang Mai himself, we find out that it’s actually a 16HR bus ride... Awesome. Thanks Pattaya Bus people, real helpful. That puts us at a Midnight arrival which is bad for a few reasons. One, it’s scary. Two, tuk tuks & baht buses charge “last resort” rates. Turns out the other foreigner on the bus speaks a little Thai & we all split a decent priced truck to our hostels. Aimlessly wandering through unusual residential streets, we’re unsure what to expect of our hostel. Accommodation is often set in bustling (& sometime hustling) parts of town, tall dingy buildings cozy with one another. Never in a classy, upscale European neighbourhood with yards, picket fences & scab-free dogs. We spot our hostel & push open the unlocked door to our 19^th century 2 story house, making our way towards the light. There sit 2 tired locals. “Ben?”

We reply, apologizing for not contacting about our new arrival time. Expecting a little sass in response, we were surprised to hear “We emailed you wondering where you were. We were getting worried.” Huh?

Noom introduces himself & his wife then explains how things work at Spicy Thai. He starts in, “we are a family here. Breakfast is available from 7:30-11:00 each morning. You serve yourself & clean up after yourself. If you have special diets, you can shop for yourself. If you’d like to show off any cooking skills, you can make dinner for the family. Here is the fridge, take what you need & write it down. It is based on trust. There are two living rooms for chilling out, free internet, hammocks outside, etc. The dorms are basic because they are meant for sleeping. We’ve done our best to make the rest of our house comfortable for you to hang out and enjoy the other travellers & our company. Each day, we do an outing. Sometimes it’s free, sometimes it’s not. If you can come, that’s great. If not, don’t worry.”

This is what we love about hostel living.

Next morning we sit around the breakfast table, with our new family, chatting about where we’ve been, what hot spots are around, & which places are a waste of time. Our first day, the outing is a Thai BBQ plus a temple tour with the owner of Spicy Thai, Pong, who was at one time, a novice monk. We were lucky to receive a little history on Buddha & life as a Monk. A few snip-its... In Thailand, the year is actually 2553 as they count from Buddha’s death. Monks eat only what they are given by the people eating once in the morning, & again before noon. Male Monks are to live by 227 rules, while female Monks live by 311. The orange coloured robes mean nothing. They do not sing or dance. Buddha was an Indian Prince with a wife & son. His father created for him, a world full of beauty, kindness & wonder, free of pain. Catching a glimpse of real life, Buddha chose to leave his title of Prince to seek out the best way to spend his time on earth.

The BBQ was insane. Hundreds of people gathered down a back road, under an open aired tent. Tables overflowing with every kind of meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables, & deserts you could imagine. Lesson one in buffet dining: always scan the offerings before piling your plate full from first few sections. Otherwise, once you’ve caught a glimpse of these other glorious options, you’ll either be full, or feel glutenous, going back for 2^nd & 3^rd helpings.

Next day, Ben & I were set up to go on a 3 day jungle trek through some of the mountain villages, ride Elephants, raft a bit, & check out waterfalls. What an amazing few days. This was proper jungle trekking. We were led to the Elephant camp to feed & walk the beautiful beasts. Not much to be said here... It was just very cool. I wish we could say they didn’t use bull hooks or any other taming tools, but I can’t & would rather not talk about it. Moving on...

As we started in on our major trek for the day, we picked up a new mum dog from a small village. When they realized she was leaving for good, her pups turned back for town. Now equipped with two guides, we headed into the thick bush. At hour 2, our guide “V” stops for a rest, starts a fire, grills up a grasshopper, chomps ‘er down, & off we go. We had our very own Survivor Man. After 4 long, hard hours, we made our first camp with traditional dinner prepared& mind tricks ready to waste away the night. Accommodation for the evening was a long bamboo house with a thatched roof, bamboo walls & floorboards, all propped up by logs. Our beds, floor mats with Princess style mosquito netting, scratchy, but warm wool blankets & a stone pillow. Pigs & roosters made the “basement” their home, which at 2AM can sound scary. Whoever said that a Rooster crows at dawn was... well, a liar. What he meant was that their raspy “cock-a-doodle-doo” kicking off at midnight, is so painful, that by 5AM you are forced up to go muffle the sound with a shot gun. That’s what he meant. In addition, anyone who has watched the movie “Snatch” would understand the terror that crept up my spine when the pigs started up below. Was this a trek? Or a plot to steal our belongings & use the pigs to cover up our existence! I never thought I’d grow to fear Piglet. Alas, there I lay.

Still, it was beautiful. Set on top of the valley, an open fire cook shack, crisp morning air... It was wonderful.

Neglecting our legs, we paid severely on day 2. Our trek would be 6 hours in total, 80% uphill through the jungle, but a break to cool off at the waterfall!! What an absolute treat! As we ducked under & climbed over deadfall, we came to an opening, there it was... Water blasting over soft stone into a refreshing pool with a hut stocked full of ice cold Coca-Cola! Our grimy bodies scrubbed, thirsts quenched, & swelling in our feet down, we laced up & continued the climb. Dairy, as they boys named her, after her unfortunate swinging utters, had stayed with us (I know, I know... brutal name). When we stopped for a rest, she’d stop. If she got too far ahead, she’d slow her pace to wait. What a cool dog. V said he worries for Dairy. She is likely to be picked up by locals for food or killed by other dogs. And so, we kept a watchful eye on her. Just as the sun was setting, we reached the village. Poor Dairy was not welcome... The local dogs picked up her scent, showed their teeth & chased her out of town. We’d like to think she made it back home safe.

Our new home was much like the first. Up on pillars, farm animals underneath, an outhouse a few steps away, & a cook shack. These people don’t have running water or electricity, but they make sure to hook up solar power for their satellite dishes bringing in the latest episode of “As the World Turns”. I loved the feeling of our temporary home. All of us joined on the floor mat around a big bowl of Green Curry Soup & Sticky Rice that had just been prepared by the Villagers by fire-top! Candle light flickering over our faces, sipping on local whiskey. It was so nice. Then the darkness spread, out come the creepy crawlies, pigs & roosters start in, the outhouse seems more frightening than ever. I choose ignorance to deal with my fear of spiders the size of your head. Ben needs to see, with his own eyes, the things that go bump in the night. These two ideas clash. And so is the tale of our first public fight:

“I DON’T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT WHATS ABOVE ME!”

“WELL I NEED TO KNOW! Oh God, look at that one!”

“That’s it. I’m peeing outside. Cover me.”

Adding to my phobia was the lack of mosquito nets. At any moment, a spider could drop on my head, a cockroach crawl in my ear, or a moth (which could be easily mistaken for an OWL!!) could flap its dusty self all over MYself! I always thought I was “woodsy”... I take it back. I’m girly.

Ah, sweet, glorious, creep-free morning has arrived! For breakfast we put down boiled eggs, toast, & juicy pineapple. Today was to be easier than the previous days. Most was down hill & only a couple hours. The local school was on our way out of town. Outside, a little boy, slightly red from all the dirt, was playing with his toy gun. Looking closely, it was a real gun, with its metal bits removed. Ben sat down showing photos to the boy. He’d look, smile, grab his shirt, pull it out to see that it was matching the photo then look up at Ben, amazed. With not much, these kids were some of the happiest I’ve ever met. We could have spent hours just watching them (that sounded slightly creepy).

One more stop before we reach the river to catch our raft home... The Bat Cave! Leaving our packs up top, we climb down a steep path to the mouth of the cave. Monks are known to come to the cave seeking dark & quiet calm to mediate, sometimes for days. With Ben shaking in his girly boots, we didn’t make it to the belly of the cave, & we made our way back to the light.

Our trek was coming to an end. A quick ride on a dingy through rapids & bamboo raft to our pick up point then we were back to city life.

Going back to a place like Spicy Thai is not bad at all. On the board was posted “Cheap local dinner + Free Thai Boxing.” We’re in!

Now, I love curry, I really do. And, I can handle spice. Kristi & Lindsey would disagree & feed you lies of my inability to dance with the fire. But as of late, I am increasing my tolerance to heat. When we sat down & the waiter informed me the green curry was out, I opted for the red. This is usually not a brave choice. But today, it was. I received a plate of rice with chillies. I couldn’t even chill out the heat by upping the ratio of rice to spice, impossible. I swear the chillies were mocking me from the plate...

When we arrived at the fights, I was first to the beer station, ordering a cold Chang to keep the blisters from swelling too badly (okay, I exaggerate, but it was hot!).

Right away, Ben starts up the internal betting ring amoung us foreigners,

“I got blue shorts. Who do you have? A beer for the winner.”

“We” have agreed that, if we are to afford travel for the next 8 months, Ben’s betting career is on hold.

Locals start into us in Thai. Which no matter how much you wave no, or say in their language that you don’t speak Thai (which I now see appears to be a lie), they continue. For the most part, they were friendly, interested to see foreigners at a local fight. Once the bell rung, hands fly into the air, waving new odds at the Bookies.

Whispers started through the crowd... “There’s a Brit fighting tonight”. Exciting! When he climbed through the ropes, no one thought much. All the locals started again, wanting us to bet for the Foreigner. Then he disrobed. Thai tattoos covered his body. This guy was for real. Taking his time to perform the traditional Muay Thai dance, he throws fierce eyes at his opponent. I had my camera out & was pushed as close to the front as I could by the crowd. For all they knew, he was my brother.

Ding! Ding!

A quick heel stomp to the Thai’s chest left the local breathless. A sharp elbow to the head left him legless. WHAM-O! A solid knee with another elbow.

30 seconds later, fights over.

By the Locals reaction, you’d think we just fought. They cheered & slapped us on the backs! What a night.

The following day we had planned to rent bikes & site see. Realizing we had neglected to figure out our next move, we stayed at the hostel, preparing to leave.

Stephen, one of the guests, was a Chef back home & decided he’d share his love for cooking with us. The guests pitched in a few baht each for groceries & away he went. The rest of us sat around the yard listening to music & chatting while he made magic in the kitchen! Dish after dish made their way to the tables, all pushed together in the dining area; Spectacular grub. Tiring ourselves out with a game of poker, we made our way to bed. A great way to end our stay at a great hostel.

See you in Laos.

Photos: Pattaya

kittben — Wed, 8 Dec 2010 17:41:00 GMT

Pattaya

kittben — Wed, 8 Dec 2010 17:36:00 GMT

Pattaya

So we ended up spending way too long and over staying our welcome in Pattaya!! We decided that since we were staying with Neil that we would have Britts good camera mailed to us express, so we could take better photos and try to capture our sights at a more real level. Due to unfortunate circumstances at the border and customs and well, just the fact it is Thailand, it ended up taking 2 WEEKS!!!! So, instead of boring you with a 2 week play by play I am just going to give y’all the highlights!!

The very first day there we were taken to the Crocodile farm/zoo place where we were super excited to feed the crocs. We had no idea what we were in for. We were there pretty early and compared to everywhere else we have been, there were very few people around. Bonus. We walked straight past the croc viewing area, as we don’t do zoos anymore, and it was kinda zoo like, and headed for the feeding area. Walking up I kept hearing what I thought was muffled shotgun blasts. As it turns out it was the crocs smashing their jaws closed trying to get to the chickens they were about to be fed. I was blown away. They were so big. I have never seen such big crocs, I guess on TV you don’t really get to see how enormous they really are. It was a big pond/lake area and we guessed there would have been a thousand crocs in there. We counted close to 100 in close proximity to the dock we were standing on. So we went ahead and tied the chicken to the bamboo poles and started feeding these monsters. It was very intimidating at first, they are so fast, strong and loud, and so many going absolutely ape!! After a while, and a whole lotta chickens, our confidence grew and we actually started taunting them, at the last second pulling the chicken away so they had to jump and miss and get really mad!! When they came out of the water chomping away and missing their bait, we could feel the force by the wind hitting our face and shotgun blast sounds!! It was unbelievable. But, unfortunately, without Britts good camera having arrived yet, the experience wasn’t captured to its fullest. Following that was the croc show where the trainer daringly puts his arms and head into a crocs mouth. I could barely watch, considering what I had just seen, and the huge scars all down the trainers shoulder and arms. There we a few tigers and elephants and what not there too, but looking too much like a zoo, we bailed.

After a few days of lazing around the pool bar at Neils he decided to take us fishing at a local fishing hole. As we are not pros by any means, judging by my technique (see the pics), we had the owner bait and cast the stick thingys for us. We were there for about 3 hours and I caught 3 or 4 fish. But they were HUGE!!! Each one took me about 30 – 40 mins to reel in. Man it is tough, I don’t know how you fisherman do it!! I was knackered!!! These giant fish were fighting, man. I would say they were probably 30 pounds maybe, not sure but when I finally got the first one to the shore I was shocked. It was pretty easy to get a bite I must say, but have you ever caught a fish that big?? That’s what I thought.

That night we went for a round o golf!! 9 holes at a Jack Nichlaus designed course. It was phenomenal. All lit up, with caddies and carts. Rentals and beers included it was still substantially a lot cheaper than at home. That was fun. Again, I’m not an avid golfer, but I think I might be coming around. It seems to be getting more fun the older I get!! I still came in last place though. “I hate golf, I hate golf.” “Nice shot!” “I love golf, I love golf!!”

We then went to Neils friends house for a BBQ. It was fantastic. Those Thai women know how to cook!! And a lot of it!! There were a few couples there, us included, so all the women, Britt excluded, fly around cooking and serving and cleaning as they go, it’s quite something, and the guys sit around drinking and eating!! It is a little odd, but that’s the way they do it. They love to serve and cook and clean, and actually get offended if you offer some help!! So I sat back and enjoyed it!!!

I had a battle with what I thought was food poisoning. Turns out it must have been some weird Thai monster flu bug. It took me down for a few days. Sick for 12 hours and then weak as a kitten for another 36. And right at the end of my first 12 hours Neils girlfriend Nui started in to it. One after another the whole household got it, even little Juno, who we were worried was gonna miss her first birthday party. Fortunately we all pulled through and enjoyed another huge BBQ party at Neils friends house who has a 2 year old son who shares the same bday. Another massive celebration with way too much food. A great time, especially since a day or 2 earlier none of us were in any shape to do anything.

We heard a lot about how crazy and sleazy Pattaya is, so, since we hadn’t really seen anything too shocking, we spent a night out in the Red Light District on “Walking St”. Other than being offered everything under the sun we didn’t see anything too crazy. We did however enjoy ourselves at The Blues Bar watching a Thai cover band. Not sure if they actually knew what they were singing, in English anyway, but they were really good!! I was craving live music and these guys did it! We requested everything from Queen to AC/DC to Guns N Roses and they played it all!! And did a really good job at it too. Then toward the end of the show a special guest guitar player came on stage. He looked like a Thai version of Slash crossed with Willie Nelson and Cheech!! He was absolutely stunning. It turns out that he is a huge legend in Thailand and most of SE Asia. We have since seen t-shirts and posters of this guy in other countries!! Apparently he has be offered hundreds of times by big Hollwood music buffs to come play and join their labels and bands and he just won’t do it. He is happy playing The Blues Bar. It was just a treat to be able to witness this guy shred the guitar. Epic.

The Floating Market was quite nice. Very big, but nice. We got lost for a little bit, but managed to get a grip on our bearings eventually. We had a nice meal and looked at some shops, even contemplated zip lining from one part to another, but as we asked the guy, he just zipped off leaving us standing there like idiots. A simple “NO” would have been just fine but hey. No Falangs I guess!!! Hahahaha. It is quite amazing how such a huge market is built on floats and stilts. Would be a fun place to run a business.

We had a few good little Thai style Grill nights at Neils. We caught up on all the UFC fights I have missed, which was another thing I was needing. It was just great sitting around watching a good dust up, sipping on some beers with an old friend. We even got up at 6 in the morning to catch a live Flames game. They lost 2-1 to Detroit. Good job boys. Shut up Kevin!!

So the camera finally showed up and we were excited to get back to backpacking. We had a wonderful time in Pattaya, Neil and Nui were so gracious, and even though we stayed for a week plus longer than planned, they truly didn’t mind. Even with all the throwing up. So after 2 weeks of kicking back and being spoiled it is time for dirty bus rides and hostel living. Can’t wait!!! Heading to Chiang Mai, where the real action is, in the jungle.......

Photos: Bangkok

kittben — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 17:14:00 GMT

1st stop in Thailand

Bangkok

kittben — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 17:09:00 GMT

Bangkok

If you’ve read our last few blogs, you know what’s next... From the tarmac, walk through the gates trying to block out all the taxi drivers & hotel staff hollering, search desperately for the real way out, hop on a bus for an hour, jump off when you think it might be at your stop, shoot helpless eyes at any stranger that looks willing to help, & act as confident as possible even though you’re totally lost.

We settled in at the Sivarin Guesthouse, about a 10 minute walk from the infamous Khao San Road. As always, after travelling, Britt slept & I drank beer on the patio. I browsed through all the tourist maps & flyers & found an all you can eat sushi house. So we went to go satisfy our cravings. Tremendous sushi.

The next morning we decided to take a little trip to the popular Chatu Chak weekend market. Unbeknownst to us, it is the biggest outdoor market in the world!! It was busy... After spending 4 hours doing a little browsing and a little less buying we discovered we had only seen maybe a quarter of the massive shopping village. Being that it was 40 degrees out and we were already wiped, we bailed. Shopping mall on crack, is what it was. Absolutely absurd! Some good bargains though.

We met a new buddy that night, Jamie, from London. He raved about this Thai Massage place down the street, so we went. For a 2 hour massage. For under $10. It was soooo good. Thai massages are great. You are very very involved, being bended, stretched, contorted, cracked and of course, viciously massaged. After 2 hours, you come out feeling wonderful. Loose and relaxed. Knowing my friends, many jokes are being made right now, so insert your own jokes here, jackasses!!

Finally we ventured to Khao San Rd to take in the huge buzz it has created. The street is pretty cool. Loaded with bars, street vendors, stores, shops and every kind of peddler imaginable (and I mean EVERYKIND) it definitely lives up to its rep. We found a sports bar and had a couple buckets!! As we sat there we were offered all sorts of merchandise. Mostly fake. Lighters, cigarette packs, bracelets, hats, kids toys, trick toys, clothing (we saw an amazing, authentic Exploited t-shirt with a picture of Kerry King from Slayer on it!! Hahahaha), Armani custom suits, fake ID’s, tattoos...the list goes on and on. Over the next week I was offered suits and tattoos by the hundreds!! Don’t worry Mum, I didn’t get any. Yet.

Next morning, the crack of dawn, we moseyed down to where we were going to be taking our Thai Vegetarian cooking class, at May Kai Dee’s, I think it was called. It was only Jamie, Britt and I, so it was a very intimate class. We met our teacher, Oi, and she took us to the local market to pick up our ingredients for the dishes we’d be preparing. From about 9:00, when we started cooking, til 1:00 we cooked AND ate about 12 – 13 plates. All veggie, and all amazing!! Starting with Tom Yum soup, we also created dishes like Green Curry, Massaman Curry, Spring Rolls, Pad Thai, Garlic and Ginger Stir Fries, and an amazing sticky rice coconut banana desert thing. It was great. And I must admit, I was opposed to the whole idea at first. But I ate my words, with Soy Sauce and lime juice.

If my memory serves me correct, we spent the rest of the day just people watching and taking in the buzz of Khoa San. And especially watching idiot Falongs (foreigners) getting ripped off!!

A little more shopping would be in order so the 3 of us took the canal taxi to a few different malls. MBK and Siam Square are basically New York style malls. Crazy in size and nature. We spent a while browsing and trying to find the best deals and wound up getting Britt a few really nice camera lenses. There was a huge movie theatre on the top floor of the mall so we checked it out. There were alot of people around and a big red carpet type of premier going on so decided to wait for a while before buying tickets. A few movie stars were hanging around, including the one and only Brad Pitt, who we managed to sneak a picture of with Britt lurking in the background! She was in heaven! Eventually we went and saw a movie but didn’t take in the luxurious Thai style experience, as we had promised to enjoy that with a friend in our next destination, so regular reclining seats were purchased.

Our friends from Okotoks, Mike and Kim, who were already in Thailand, were going to be flying home out of Bangkok in a few days so arranged a day to hang with them. We rendezvoused on Khoa San and spent the majority of the day playing Catch Up, walking around taking in sights, eating, drinking and laughing. It was awesome!! The first time in 3 months we saw faces from home, it was very warming.

I forgot to mention Tuk Tuk rides. The 3 wheel motor bike/golf cart style taxi’s. Most of them have flames painted all over them with pinstripes and lights and big mufflers and sweet rims...the works. I even saw one with a disco ball in it. They are sooo sweet. When I grow up I want to be a Tuk Tuk driver. They haul ass and are a cheap way to get around around. Alot of fun.

A few more massages, a few more trips to the crazy market road, and a few more beers with Jamie, and we were ready to head to the airport to meet another friend from Okotoks, Mr. Neil Brown. He lives in Pattaya with his girlfriend and 1 year old daughter. After 60 days at work he was flying in to Bangkok and then taxi-ing to Pattaya, so we kindly offered to join him. We haven’t seen Neil since our wedding, which didn’t really constitute any 1 on 1 talk time, and before that it was at least 4 years....so this is going to be fun. By the sounds of it he has a lot in store for us. We met Neil at the ‘port, hellos and hugs, jumped a cab and took off into the night.

Good bye Bangkok, Pattaya here we come!!