Lone Ranger Seeks Tonto

So, as hard as it was to get to Pai, it's even harder to leave. Not because there aren't buses out of here, but because it's just so comfortable. After less than a week here you start to feel like a local. I know quite a few of the natives by name now, and have befriended a number of other travelers. Everywhere I go in town I seem to know someone. I met a guy named David who is traveling from Northern Ireland, and we spent part of the day yesterday helping a friend arrange the furniture at a restaurant she just bought.

I've moved bungalows for a third time since getting here and am now outside of the city limits (just across a bridge). I'm staying in a quaint little hut that looks over the river and the mountains for 150 baht (about 4$ US) a night. The owner is an British ex-pat named Milo who runs the place with his girlfriend. They just opened up five days ago and only have four rooms so it's very, cozy and casual. The food in the restaurant isn't bad either, and they have a bunch of movies you can watch whenever you feel like it.

Ian and Kathy headed home yesterday marking a milestone in my trip: I'm now officially on my own. I had a great time traveling with them, and it was sad to see them go. I wish they could have at least gone on to Lao with me as we've been hearing such great things about it from other people. I probably could have used the company on the two day slow boat I'll be taking to Luang Prabang, too.

I rented a scooter again today and have been exploring some of the outer areas of the surrounding countryside. Driving downtown is a little tricky, but once your outside the city it's a piece of cake.

Well, the next few days may be spotty in terms of updates as I'll be preparing to leave Pai, and then on the slow boat for two days. I'll try to update if I can.

Northern Exposure

So we've headed north now. It took some time but we finally made it up to Chang Mai. Chang Mai is an interesting place. It's a city, but nothing like Bangkok. Much more laid back. It's full of old temples, bookstores, monks, and bars run by British and Australian ex-patriots.

Our first night in Chang Mai we checked into the Janya guests. It was not a good experience. The beds were hard, the toilets didn't work, and the food in the restaurant downstairs was not so good. We only stayed in the Janya for one night, but one might was one too many. We did however meet a friendly young British guy named Sam. He'd been trying to make it up to Pai (our next destination) for several days, but was having trouble leaving Chang Mai. Not trouble in the "I can't book a bus," sense of the word, but in the "I love this place I can't leave," sense.

We ourselves only stayed two nights in Chang Mai before moving on. We used our one full day there to explore some temples, browse some bookstores and check out the infamous Night Market.

The Night Market could not have been a bigger disappointment. You see, our first night in Chang Mai we thought we found the Night Market, but it turned out we went to the wrong location. What we had found was a market that actually catered to locals. No bartering, no Beer Chang t-shirts, and very few tourists. When we finally found the real Night Market the next night it was just a long strip of stalls selling the exact same tourist garbage we'd found in Bangkok. Even though we had gone to the wrong market the first night, it really was the better one.

On the 19th we took a bus up to Pai. Pai is a smallish town up in the mountains with cool weather, natural hot springs, lots and lots of hippies. The bus ride to Pai was windy and steep, but nothing next to the white knuckle experience we'd been led to believe it was. People, I believe, have a tendency to exaggerate.

After checking into a guesthouse with bungalows right on the river, we wandered the town to look for some nightlife. We ended up bumping into a Canadian couple from Toronto who had been riding on the same bus as us (Dino and Vincent - yes those really are their names) and chatted with them for a while. They've recently married after being together for 22 years (22!), and couldn't be more charming. And to think people believe allowing gay couples to wed will destroy the institute of marriage. We parted ways only to bump into them again later that night at what we've come to believe is one of the hidden jems of Pai - the Mobile Bar.

The mobile bar is a vendor cart that serves beer, wine, and cocktails on the side of the road. That's right Seattle - as hard as it is to get a liquor license in our home town, these people can sell it right on the side of the street. The two girls who run the place are animated and personable. They have a drink called "Forget Your Home," that they claim will help you do just that. We met a number of characters that night, both local and foreign and had a great time.

The next day we rented scooters and rode around the town. We went to a waterfall, a natural hot springs, and then watched the sunset at a canyon. Later that night we ran into our friend Sam from Chang Mai (he finally made it!) and met up with some other travelers at a place called the Bamboo Hut.

The next day (today) was chock full of activities. We started off the morning with an elephant ride. Kathy did a lot of research and happened to find a place where the animals are treated extremely well. They have a rotation of animals that they use and let them live freely part of the time in the jungle. I got to ride in front on the elephants neck which was much less stable than the further back seats. After an hour in the nearby hills we got to ride through the river. Then the elephants sprayed us all down with water. I got pretty soaked, but that wasn't the end of it. As a bit of a prank the elephant wranglers told the elephant sit down in the river and we all fell off. Thankfully the water was shallow, so it was a good laugh.

After this we took a two hour pickup ride up to a huge limestone cavern nearby. Much of the cavern is foot deep in water so they have bamboo rafts that you ride through to certain areas and guides who carry gas lanterns and show you through the caves. We saw the largest spider I've ever seen in my life (ones at zoo's included), and heard a lot of bats. We thought for sure it would be cold in the caves but it turned out it was actually warmer than it was outside. I worked up a nice sweat and an appetite, and had a nice curry dinner after the ride home.

The Best Laid Plans

So, I should be in Chang Mai right now, but as any traveler can tell you, sometimes things are a little beyond your control. We left Ko Chang at 8 am to catch a 9 am ferry, and then a 11 am bus to Bangkok. We had tickets booked to fly to Chang Mai at 9:00 pm. Considering the bus trip was supposed to last four or five hours we should have had plenty of time right? Wrong.

First off the bus left late, and made several unplanned stops, before finally breaking down on the side of the highway in the sweltering heat. It took well over an hour before someone showed up to repair the bus, and when they finally did it took another twenty minutes or so to get going. Long story short, we pulled into Bankok at 8:30 pm with not nearly enough time to make it to the airport.

Since we got in so late, most of the decent guesthouses were already booked. I ended up spending 250 baht (about $6) to stay at the "Maco Polo Hostel." The room was so suspect that I slept with the lights on.

Ian and I stayed out until 3am trying to wrangle the three of us new tickets to Chang Mai. Can you believe there was a travel agent open at 2am? We eventually got tickets for later the next afternoon. So next time you hear from me I should be in a cooler, relaxing, more moderate climate. I hope. But like I said, sometimes things are a little beyond our control.

I'm Not a Beach Person

Anyone who has known me for a long times knows I always say that I'm not a beach person. I'm here to tell you all that I was wrong. Maybe it's that I'd never been to a real beach before. Maybe it's that I've really only been to Cannon Beach and Edmonds Beach, and Richmond Beach. Hell, even the beaches in San Diego are just lame in comparison to what I found here in Ko Chang.

We've been staying the last few days at Lonely Beach in Ko Chang. Beautiful sand, shockingly blue water, and so, so few people compared to a place like Hawaii, or the beaches in Europe. I mean, don't get me wrong, there are people here, but there are no crowds. And this is the high season! I've never had trouble finding myself a secluded spot on the sand to sit and read, or just vegetate and look at the water.

Our second day here we went kayaking for an hour out in the water. The third we rode scooters around the island and found a beach that was 90% locals. The fourth we spent on an eight hour boat trip around to some of the smaller islands here. This boat trip also included snorkeling.

I've never been snorkeling before, and I'm not exactly the strongest swimmer. At first I was having a lot of trouble getting used to breathing through the apparatus, but by the end of the day I was significantly more confident (though not nearly as confident as everyone else on the boat). There were some amazing tropical fish in the water. Photographs really don't do justice to the beauty of those creatures. There was also quite a bit of coral, and various other sea creatures.

For the first time in my life I think I'm really not worried about anything. No stress. That's right, me not stressed. I really don't want to leave here. I guess I could stay here for the whole seven weeks, but there's a lot more to see in this part of the world. We're already one day overdue to leave according to our "itinerary." But really who cares. We'll be leaving tomorrow though, and heading north towards Chang Mai. I have one day left in this paradise. I think I'll get out from in front of this screen and go enjoy it now.

Too Much Travel

So my third and last day in Cambodia was great. Our guide wanted to show us a little more about how the people live there, so she took us to her home where she lives with three generations of family. The house was nice, although small for the twenty people she said lived there. They run a motorbike repair show in the front, and had a large pit of crocodiles out back that they apparently raise and sell. We got to meet her husband (who is also a tour guide), her son, and her mother and father.

Later, she took us to a floating village where the people were all fishermen (and women). It was very sad because most of the people there are so incredibly poor. I saw people who had homes that were literally the size of a small rowboat. I couldn't say that this part of the trip was "fun," but one shouldn't see only the good sides of everywhere they go.

After leaving Cambodia we flew back to Bankok for a night, and then spent a full day travelling to Ko Chang, a beach island off the eastern coast of Thailand. We got in a little late, and had just enough time to eat dinner and take a quick walk on the beach before collapsing with exhaustion.

Holiday In Cambodia

I'm not sure I've ever had so much fun. Okay, I exaggerate, but it really is great here. We're staying at a guesthuse called the Ivy Guesthouse which has a great bar with $1 beers, and rooms that look very, very french colonial chic. The food excellent (amok fish and coconut pineapple soup being especially good), the weather has been amazing (not to hot), and the peope are refreshingly friendly.

Siam Reap has so much more charm than Bangkok. It's busy, dusty, and crowded in the city center. Everyone rides around on scooters and seems to be carpooling with half their family on the back of them. Guys with pushcarts sell photocopied editions of Lonely Planet Guides and copies of the Killing Fields.

I don't want to romanticize it however. There are all the issues you would expect from a country who has had such a tumulptious recent past as Cambodia. Many people here have lost limbs due to incidents with land mines. Many parents pressure their children to beg for money or sell cheap toy flutes to tourists. Siam Reap is full of tragic stories, even though this is probably the most up and coming area of the country.

Which leads me to mention the main reason any tourist comes here. To see the Temples of Angkor. Like the Grand Canyon, and Eiffel Tower, the Temples of Angkor are one of the few things in life that don't dissapoint. We've seen only five of the one thousand temples in this area over the last two days. One gets the feeling they could stay here for months, or years and never come close to seeing everything there is to see.

Thanks to my friend from work, Reeve, we have an execellent tour guide who's services I'd recommend to anyone coming here. She is incredibly knowledgeable about the temples, is smart, funny, and has an infectious laugh. She is also studying to be a lawyer. I'm truly amazed by how people choose to deal with the cards life has dealt them. Here is someone who was born into a country where she could very easily have given in to frustration and apathy due to the difficulties that surrounded her, and yet somehow hasn't.

As you can imagine, the educational system in Cambodia has not always been the most advanced. But here is a woman who, younger than me, has learned several other languages independently, pioneered her own career (when family and society have told her to stay home and be a housewife) as a tour guide, and dreamed big beyond that to someday have the career she truly wants as a lawyer.

Tomorrow night we will be leaving for Thailand again, this time back to Bankok (albiet quickly) and then on to the island resort of Ko Chang. I'm ready for a little relaxation after all the overwhelming sight and sounds of the last few days.

P.S. I apologize for all of the spelling errors which I am sure are present in this post. The spell check runs way to slowly on this 56k connection. Yes, without machine intervention I really do spell this poorly.

One Day, Two Day, Bad Day, Good Day

Well we've been in Bangkok for around 24 hours now, and so far it's been a mixed bag. The travel period itself was long and grueling. Twenty-two hours of total travel time. Then, the guesthouse we were hoping to stay at didn't have any rooms available, and so we ended up wandering around for a couple of hours with our heavy bags in the hot sun trying to find a place.

We must have picked the wrong district, because all the places we looked at we're dirty, seedy, and not anyplace I'd want to sleep in. Bare bulbs in the sockets, ratty blankets, and clerks who all seemed to be checking for cockroaches when they opened doors. Ultimately, we ended up spending the night in an ultra-luxury hotel so that we wouldn't have to look around anymore. Yes, that's right, my budget travel trip is starting out in pampered luxury. I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

As anyone who has ever been here can attest to, the street vendors, cab drivers, and silk hustlers of Bangkok are all incredibly pushy. They do everything short of chase you down to try to get you to buy there goods. One incredibly "helpful" gentleman told us he would take us to a good hotel, only to lead us to a tailoring shop to try to drum up business for his boss. I'm pretty bad about only saying "no" once and then moving on. By the end of the trip I'm sure I'll be an expert.

I got a decent nights sleep and the next day felt prepared to tackle the seething, sweaty, stew which is Bangkok. First order of business was checking out the Grand Palace which was, well... grand. There are an amazing number of ornately detailed buildings and temples packed into the grounds of the Grand Palace. The colors were amazing. I've never seen so much mosaic.

After this we went to Wat Pho to see the world's largest reclining Buddah, and then went back to the hotel for a much needed shower.

I'll have to cut this short because this cafe is closing soon. Tomorrow we take a quick diversion to Cambodia to see Angkor Wat. Check back soon.