Hello from stateside. Here is the final installment :-(
My flight from Clark/Manila took me to Singapore where I stayed the night in the aiport (8 hrs) before flying to Phuket, Thailand the next day. For those of you had haven't been to the town of Phuket (not the island itself), there's no need to go. I stayed in the same guesthouse that the guy in the movie "The Beach" did (the one that looks like a jail cell). I basically used Phuket to figure out where to go next since I had decided to forgo my planned live-aboard diving cruise because of the persistent ringing in my ear from the dive in Sipidan (which is still there by the way).
I decided to head to Phang Nga, gateway to Ao Phang Nga, a bay known for it's beautiful mangroves and karsts and "Jame's Bond Island." Phang Nga is not the only gateway to Ao Phang Nga, but it turns out it's the one favored by the locals. I hadn't had a fluent English conversation other than a job interview (which I got) since I'd left El Nido a few days before. Phang Nga was not going to be my relief. I met one other tourist there and he was a Frenchman who didn't speak English! So I visited "Heaven and Hell" cave, which I can't really explain, so you'll have to look at the pics. Next I went on a day tour of Ao Phang Nga and ended up being with 10 Thais that were all on vacation together. They spoke very little English, but it was enough to communicate. They took me under their wing and I ended up having a fantastic time.
Next I went to Khao Sok National Park where Rafflesia (the largest flower in the world and smells like putrid flesh to attract it's prey - flies) are normally found. It wasn't the blooming season for Rafflesia so I joined the leeches once again (or rather they joined me) for a few hikes in the park.
After clearing all the leeches off I took a bus to the train station where I caught the overnight train to Bangkok and then another train to Chiang Mai. You'd think trains would be on time, but we were stopped by a landslide on the rail ahead on the way to Chiang Mai. So by the time I reached my guesthouse in Chiang Mai, it had been 32 hrs. since I'd left Khao Sok. The overnight trains aren't like the overnight buses though. You get a comfy bed and actually get some sleep.
In Chiang Mai, I visited the Tiger Kingdom and then booked a 3-day hilltribe trek. I was going to book the trek with Gina and Crystal, the girls I went to Tiger Kingdom with, but I found one for 2/3 the price and there were already 4 people booked on it, so I went with that one. I began to regret my decision the next morning when we picked up the other trekkers: an elderly French couple that didin't speak English and a German guy with his Thai girlfriend (neither spoke much English either). We started the day with elephant trekking and I asked to ride on the elephants neck because the seats they use are very uncomfortable. The guide was happy to let me do this because we had an odd number of people. I enjoyed the ride much more than previous ones, but I still don't approve of the way they treat the elephants. They keep them chained to the ground when their not working so that they can't touch each other, often out in the sun.
After the elephant ride we had lunch and then hiked to a waterfall where we swam before hiking to our camp for the night. It was a very quiet night and I had resigned myself to bed around 8:30 when our guide called us to the main area to explain that I was on a 3-day trek while the others were on a 2-day trek so our itineraries would differ the next day. This was the first I'd heard that the others were only on a 2-day trek and I nearly asked to go back with them. But I didn't and it ended up being an excellent experience. My guide and I stayed with a family from the Karen tribe that night and they welcomed me and went on with their lives as if I wasn't there. We all ate dinner and breakfast together in their common area the traditional way (with their hands from a big communal plate in the middle - but I had a separate vegetarian plate). I watched them socialize and laugh with each other all night. It was beautiful and I suddenly felt extremely lucky to be on the trek without other foreigners.
When I got back to Chiang Mai, I met up with Gina again and discovered that Crystal had broken her leg on the first day of the trek and would be remaining in Chiang Mai to get surgery. Yikes! So Gina and I went to dinner, the night market, and then for some dancing. It was a late night, but I managed to make it to Pai the next day. Pai is a small artsy, hippie town in the northwest of Thailand near the Burmese border. It's a great place to find healthy food, a laid-back atmosphere and good company. I had planned on spending 4-5 days there and then heading down to Koh Samui, an island near Bangkok, before heading home, but I enjoyed it so much I stayed 8 days. I met several people there and we formed a sort of family group. We spent most of our time together at the pool/gym/restaurant/bar ($1.50 admission), various waterfalls, and trapsing around on motorbikes. It was the perfect ending to a sensational 6 month trip.
The day I left Pai, I was a bit teary-eyed. To me, this is where my trip ended since my last two days were to be spent in Bangkok buying souvenirs/gifts, visiting the Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha, and getting my teeth checked for cavities and whitened ($150). Then it was time to head "home" and after 30 hours and 3 flights, I was back in New Jersey and, 36 hours later, driving a car for the first time in 6 months . . . to Texas - a 30 hr. drive - to begin job training 10 hours after I arrived. Our training lasted 2 weeks and I couch-surfed until it was complete. And then I was stuck on a barge somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico for two weeks. My job is to make sure turtles and marine mammals (protected species) aren't in the vicinity when oil companies use explosives to remove old oil platforms. It's a little boring, but I take consolation in the fact that I'm making money for my next trip . . .
Picture links:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2725248&id=8369089&l=4e17c7e485 AND http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2731257&id=8369089&l=0241364895 AND
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2736887&id=8369089&l=eadb219d60