Vietnam

Hanoi

We got off the plane and were greeted by someone from our hotel at the airport. The hotel is definitely worth mentioning, and staying at if you are ever in Hanoi. The place is called May De Ville and just opened three weeks ago. Private rooms are on sale right now for 20$ a night complete with full bathroom (a real shower OMG), twin beds, fridge, safe, flatscreen TV (finally some Gray's Anatomy), and air con. This place is amazing. One thing that stood out was the Westerner who was greeting people as they came it. Turns out the manager is a guy from Alberta who is travelling SEA and got stuck in Vietnam after he was offered a job here. The hotel is beautiful but the streets are even more lively. Motor bikes and cars are everywhere, you have no room to walk on the sidewalk and you need to watch your toes or else they'll get run over. We arrived at the hotel, dropped off our bags, showered and headed out to a local restaurant that was recommended by the Albertan. The place served the biggest margaritas I've ever seen followed by fresh spring rolls filled with shrimp, glass noddles and cilantro (fish sauce sweetened and spiced with sugar and chillies served on the side), and authentic Vietnamese Pho which were all amazing. We headed back in the direction of our hotel and stopped on "the beer corner" which is literally a corner of the street that is filled with plastic chairs and beers are served for 1$. We were well warned that people are not allowed to sit on the street so when the police pass by everyone grabs their chairs and squishes onto the side walk until they pass. We had a beer and then excitedly walked back to our hotel, ready to enjoy staying in such a luxurious (and amazingly cheap place) for the night. Tomorrow we leave bright and early for Ha Long Bay.

Ha Long Bay
Ha Long means descending dragon. The bay was named this because it is believed that during a war between China and Vietnam, a dragon descended from the heavens to help the Vietnamese win the war, and once the war was over, he thought the bay was so beautiful he decided to stay for eternity. Katie and I were picked up by our bus at the hotel at around 9 am and driven the 4 hours to Ha Long town. We were dropped off at the pier and boarded our cruise ship. Originally we had asked for a cruise that consisted mostly of young people but in the end they upgraded us to a better ship so we didn't complain (we were saving 50$, just our luck!). We boarded the boat and were pleased to see how beautiful it was. Our rooms were small but very nicely decorated and most importantly had air conditioning (that only ran from 5pm - 7am, however). We cruised through the 1960 limestone islands and eventually the ship's captain threw down the anchor. We were told our first activity would be going to see the Amazing Cave. Once inside I was surprised to see just how massive this cave was. The biggest part could hold over 10,000 people. the cave was formed by an underground river, but now the sea level is lower and the cave is what remains. We learned that stalagmites and stalactites grow at a rate of one cm every 80 years and that this cave is millions of years old. UNESCO has built stairs throughout the cave making it easier for tourists to visit (a little too touristy). It was a breathtaking site, especially with the colored lights that have been installed to help illuminate the massiveness of the cave.

Cruise boat similar to ours



View from the boat





Ha Long Bay



Amazing Cave



Inside the cave



After caving we headed back to the boat for dinner. I cannot even begin to describe the food on this boat. The plates kept coming. We were served Vietnamese food by the platefull. Every meal consisted of at least 8 dishes, served with rice. Katie and I were in heaven. We tried everything from stuffed crab and steamed prawns to pumpkin soup and sliced dragon fruit. We met some students from Singapore, two of which were also in medical school so we talked to them until 10:30, discussing the differences between the medical system in Singapore, Canada and the UK where they study. We then moved onto lighter topics and talked about what we did for fun and what the social life was like in our parts of the world. We also asked them if they had heard of Epic Meal Time (Montreal group who makes YouTube videos of meals with extraordinary amounts of bacon) and of course they had. It always surprises me how fast things can travel around the globe.
The next morning started with breakfast at 7:00 followed by kayaking to a bay that was only accessible by a small boat. Ha Long Bay is a an amazingly beautiful place and it is no wonder it is a world heritage site. We spent the rest of the morning cruising past islands back to the harbor and tanning on the sundeck (in 35C weather). We lunched at 11:00 (again, the plates just kept on coming) and then said a final goodbye to the crew as we headed back to Hanoi.

Tanning on the sundeck



Houseboat
Sometimes families of 4 lives their lives on these boats, making a living by fishing



Ha Long bay at night

Laos cont.

Vang Vieng

Day 1
We got off the bus after 3.5 hours and arrived in the small, tourist ramshackle of a town called Vang Vieng. It is clear the only think attracting tourists (aka young adolescents looking for a dangerous way to get intoxicated) to this place is the tubing. You can rent a tube which promises to be "safety certified" by the Laos government for around 15$, of which you will get back around 5$ if you bring the tube back. We jumped off the bus, threw our things into the sketchiest guesthouse we could find (the room rates were 3.50$ a night including breakfast) and ran to the tubing rental store. But, not before buying a waterproof case to carry our money down the river (1.50$ well spent). We got to the river, which was anything but "leisurely" and was most definitely brown. Abandoning all warnings from our parasitology lecturers who told us never to swim in fresh water in South East Asia, Katie and I hoped in a boat with our tubes that brought us to Bar 1. After a game of beer pong, which we lost to two showoffs from Virginia, we hoped in our tubes and swam for dear life to Bar 2. The current was so strong I thought there was no way in hell that I was making it to the other side simply by paddling. But then out of nowhere a rope comes flying at you with a green water bottle attached to the end. I grabbed on and almost got ripped out of my tube. After maneuvering the river and leaning towards one side I let the Laos dude who was holding the rope reel me in. After I was safely on shore I looked around and saw that Katie had also made it safely to the other side. We walked up to the bar, grabbed some free shots of Laos Whisky (ewwww) and I ordered a Beerlao. Katie, realising she had very little money left, took out everything she had and asked what she could get. She was handed a bucket with some ice, energy drink (surely whatever was in there is illegal in Canada) and god knows what else. We stayed at Bar 2 until we saw the tubes were getting low (some crazies always think they can swim the river so they don't rent tubes and then they steal yours when they realize they will be smashed to bits by the rocks) and then we headed down the river. This is where things start to get fuzzy. The bars are no longer numbered and promise things like "happy time" and other things involving illegal substances. We got to the Slide Bar and I watched Katie fail her first attempt and then have to jump into the river, followed by a successful slide into the water at full speed. We knew it was getting close to dark, and it being our first time on the Nam Song (aka river of death, we'd heard a girl went missing two weeks ago) we stopped at a few more bars and then stumbled out of the river and took a tuk tuk back to town. Exhausted, we went and got Laos head massages (best idea ever) and then passed out in our room (complete with stifling air, ants in our beds and lizards on the walls).

Fully spray painted after a day of tubing

Day 2
After eating breakfast and chilling on the balcony of our guesthouse for a few hours, Katie and I went and bought full tubing gear (shorts, T-shirt etc.) and headed back to the tubing rental shop once more. This time we knew what to expect so were a little more ballsy when it came to how far we wanted to go down the river. We planned on getting ourselves all the way back to the town sometime around dark and hoped we didn't die along the way. We started out at Bar 1 once more, but this time the Beerlao wasn't going down so easy. We decided to head to Bar 2 when all of a sudden two girls asked us if they could tag along on our tubes because their friends had already left without them and they were sharing (bullshit, they were too cheap to pay the 10$). Reluctantly we said yes, we didn't want to see anyone die (this may be a slight over-exaggeration but whatever, the river was fast!). The girl holding onto my tube was basically dead weight and I didn't make it to the Bar in time. When I finally caught the rope, my tube flipped and between trying to save the tube and my sunglasses (after all this I really didn't give a shit about the girl...who made it across much more safely then I did) I smashed my leg and foot into a massive rock. Now bleeding and bruised and definitely pissed off at the cheap b*itches who tried to ride with us on our tubes the only thing I could do was drink to numb the burning pain (seemed like the only logical thing to do, I didn't have any Advil available). We walked to Bar 3 and continued drinking. We ran into a fellow Montrealer

Nam Song River
as seen from our guest house

Luang Prabang

Day 1
Paying 12$ for a what-was-supposed-to-be a 7 hour bus ride seemed like a cheap and easy way to get to our next location. It was not. It was not 7 hours, it was 11. And it was not easy, considering for the majority of the trip I was scared for my life. After driving for what seemed like 3 years and stopping twice for food and a washroom break (thank god because I'm sure the bus was also charging people for use of their sauna which was clearly on full blast) we came to a spot on the mountain road that had been washed out. The bus decided to drive on through and got stuck. After trying to reverse (while being 5 meters away from the edge of a cliff that dropped off for about 2 km) the bus swayed to the cliff-side and I actually thought we were going down. The bus miraculously gunned it through the mud hole, but not without popping a tire of course. We all debarked once more (it was either that or literally die of suffocation in the bus) and waited out the extra delightful hour of travel. All I can say is that the mountain scenery was beautiful but it was too bad I couldn't really enjoy it due to the stifling heat and fear of falling to my death in a bus of 50 people. Once we arrived in Luang Prabang (and after mentally kissing the ground and thanking God I was still alive) we went in search of a guest house. We settled in a nice dorm with AC (for only 4$ a night) and then headed out to check out the night market. We stopped at a local restaurant for some Lao food and then headed to bed around 11:30, when all the shops and bars close.

The Lao mountainside our bus almost toppled off of

Day 2
We woke up at 5:30AM, me having to press the snooze button on my alarm 4 or 5 times, and walked into the main square to see the monks on their morning walk through town. We bought some bananas and sticky rice to feed to them. After about half an hour of observing their morning rituals we climbed back into bed. At 9:30 we started the day. We ate breakfast alongside the Mekong river (I ordered a baguette, 2 eggs, fresh fruits, melon shake, tea, bacon and fried potatoes all for 5$...and yes I ate it all). After breakfast, I could no longer ignore the cold-turned-into-what-I-think-is-another-sinus-infection so I researched where to get some sort of medical care in Laos (extremely hard to come by). I ended up taking a tuk tuk to the provincial hospital and after speaking to a nurse/doctor(?) I self prescribed some amoxicillin and got her to give me a prescription for a 5 day treatment. After paying 6,000 kip for my antibiotic regimen (about 75 cents) Katie and I were on our way to explore the town. (I'll keep you updated on the antibiotic situation...hopefully I'll be able to breath again soon). We rented bicycles for about 2.50$ and drove around the small town that is Luang Prabang. We ended up at the local pool and had a pineapple daiquiri to beat the heat. Once the sun started to go down we walked up the 3 hundred or so stairs to Phousi hill to see the view of the city. We stayed until almost sundown and then walked back through the night market. We met some people in our dorm and went out for Indian food with them, a quick drink and were back at the hostel again, ready for our trip to the waterfall tomorrow.

Monks collecting alms at 5:30am

Chillin poolside in Luang Prabang

Day 3
Today we slept in until 10, took our time getting up and then headed to Joma cafe just down the street from our guest house. This place was recommended in the Lonely Planet and they definitely got it right. The cafe is quaint, plays relaxing tunes like Death Cab and has air conditioning (definitely needed considering its been around 34C in the afternoons). The coffee is great and if you get a large they offer you a free refill and a free small coffee the following day. I tried the fruit, granola and yogurt for breakfast with a coffee and it was quite delicious. Katie and I, and some others from the dorm spent the morning catching up on emails and then decided to visit the waterfall. We took a tuk tuk with another Chinese couple and drove into the countryside for about 45 minutes. Once we got to the Kuang Si waterfall we payed the 20,000 kip entrance fee (about 2.50$) and started to trek the well kept paths. There were many tiers to this waterfall and it was definitely the most beautiful I've seen. We climbed up to the third tier and jumped off the rocks into the pool of swirling water below. After a few jumps we made our way up passing by different levels, all beautiful in their own way. Once we reached the end of the path and the beginning of the waterfall we stopped and sat in the sun just listening to the sound of the water hitting the rocks. The fall was probably 800 m high and a mist was blowing in the wind keeping us all cool despite the blazing sun. It was such a relaxing place. We climbed back down in time to meet our tuk tuk driver who brought us back to town. We spent the next few hours relaxing (in typical Laos style) and then decided to try Lao Lao Gardens for dinner. Probably one of the best meals of the trip, we were set up with a personal bucket of coals with a metal cooking surface placed on top, with a groove to hold soup broth. We poured in the broth and added vegetables, eggs and glass noddles and waited for the soup to heat up. Meanwhile, on the top of the cooking surface we placed a large piece of animal fat which dripped down into the soup and also made the surface oiled enough so our chicken, pork and water buffalo did not stick while we cooked it. We dipped the cooked meats into Lao Lao BBQ sauce (the best I've ever had) and drank our soup in small bowls with lime and chili peppers. We finished off the meal with a shot of Lao Lao whisky and then met up with some friends from school who we ran into at the waterfall (small world). After a few drinks, we called it a night and made it back to our guest house for the 12:00 am curfew.

Kuang Si Waterfall
Luang Prabang

Day 4
Getting another good night's sleep Katie and I woke up, packed our things and headed over to Saffron Espresso cafe also recommended by Lonley Planet. Two-for-two, this place was also great. We ordered vegetable panini sandwiches which were made with fresh baguette and delish fresh roasted veggies. The sandwich was made with a tasty garlic mayo and it was definitely a challenge to stop eating when I was full (this thing was made for 2 people). Although the cafe has amazing food they still don't have their wifi up and running to we headed back to Joma for a few hours before we have to leave for the airport. I ordered a small mocha and was not disappointed. It was delicious. In a few short hours we will be boarding the plane to Hanoi and will finally be in our third country of the trip.
who obvioulsy had common friends with Katie, them both beng from the West Island. We chatted for a while then grabbed the last 2 tubes and headed down the river. After the Slide Bar, which we did not attemp this time things get blurry once more. After the last bar we decided we wanted to make it back to the town. It was getting dark so we linked up with a couple from Iceland (how ironic as we had just been discussing that we have never met travellers from Iceland) and continued down the river. Once it got very dark out (and we started getting a little worried) three Laos kids jumped out of the split in the river and tried to "save us" however, we were not drunk enough to be fooled by their tricks so we kept floating. Eventually we got back to what we thought was the town and emerged only a few meters from our hotel. The only downfall was that we lost the husband of the Iceland couple. We were all a bit worried but luckily we found him wandering up the road with his tube about 10 minutes later. Having survived our second day, Katie and I stopped in at Q Bar, got our second Laos massage and headed to bed.

Islands Part III - Full Moon Edition, + Day 1 in Laos

Koh Phangan

We got to Koh Phangan two nights before the Full moon Party. We took the ferry from Koh Samui with Lesley and Fallon. The ride was anything but smooth and for the first time I was actually scared. 45 minutes later we made it to the dock and everyone, looking slightly green in the face, got off. We taxied to Neptune's Villa, by far the nicest place we've stayed at (as it should be for 100$ a night per room) complete with fridge, air con, TV, shower and pool. The hotel was about 5 minutes away from Full Moon beach which we thought was perfect so we could actually get some sleep (ya right). The first night we met up with some of our classmates and had a little predrink reunion at a small pub named Jaya. Buckets were 5$ and after two Sangstrom + diet coke + red bull I was having a good night. We hit the beach and eventually all got seperated, which can only be expected when there are 5000 other people surrounding you. After calling it an early night around 4, I walked back to my room (only getting lost once) and passed out in my comfortable double bed.

Best drunk food in Koh Phangan

The second day we spent on the beach. There were about 7 or 8 of us from school who were on the island, along with some other Montrealers so we all tanned, talked and filled each other in on our trips. Katie and I got some good tips on where to go next. I also decided I'd go for a nice leisurely jet ski, which was so fun while I was the driver (and not so fun when I got the wind knocked out of me as the passenger after hitting the ocean...I mean brick wall...at full speed). My new Montrealer friend Ariel and I explored the bay at Full Moon Beach and then went to go check out the neighboring beaches. After half an hour we called it quits. That night was basically a repeat of the night before (minus one of our friends who was spending the rest of his trip in the clinic due to a gash in his foot he got after stepping on a sharp rock). We met each other at Same Same bar, ordered some buckets, got out the full moon paint and most importantly, I beat Jeff Chan's record at flip bucket. Then we headed to the beach, to be separated once more.

Full moon beach by day



Full Moon beach at sundown



On the night of Full Moon, we all met up at Jaya Bar (except for Nathaniel and Mark because according to them it didn't exist), we painted each other in Full Moon styles, ensuring we all had our room numbers painted on ourselves in case we were in no state to find our way home. At 12:30, with the whole night (and half the morning) ahead of us, we headed to the beach. This night was different than the previous two. Even walking to the beach was impossible. There were people everywhere. And I mean everywhere. The streets were packed with people dressed in fluorescent yellow, green, pink and orange with their country's flags painted on their bodies along with other symbols and profanities. This time the beach was overwhelming. You literally could not move. We weaved in and out of people, saw the fire slide and fire skipping rope in the distance and realized we were in a crowd or something around 15 - 20 000 people. Where the night goes after this I cannot really say, maybe because I do not remember but mostly because what happens at Full Moon stays there. All I can say is that this night I did not call it early and only climbed into bed around 9AM.

Full Moon Party July 17, 2011

Sunrise

Laos

Vientiane
Katie and I left Koh Phagnan, took the ferry to Surathani and then the train to Bangkok. We had a few hours to kill so we grabbed lunch at a local Thai street vendor and then being adventurous we decided not to cab to the airport. Instead we took the metro and then the sky train. We were worried about the metro system being dark, dirty and dangerous but it was anything but. The trains looked brand new, they were air conditioned and there were TVs playing in the background. Definitely about 10 steps above Montreal. The sky train was even nicer. I was starting to understand why they said Bangkok is one of the most technologically advanced cities in the world. Once we got to the airport we killed a few hours, I finished my third book of the trip and then after a slight weather delay we boarded the small plane to Vientiane. The flight was short, only about an hour and a half and we arrived at Mixay Paradise around 9:30PM. We showered and headed out to the local bars to check out their party scene. We soon realized there wasn't one. Bars here closed at 11:30, so after having a beer at the rooftop bar Bor Pen Ngang, we went home to bed. We woke up early and at 9:30 caught the bus to Vang Vieng. If you don't hear from us after this, I guess the river got us.

Islands Part II

Koh Samui
We stayed only one more night in Koh Phi Phi. The island is really small and we felt like we had explored its entirety. Not to mention that there was quite a bit of construction going on and the roads were covered in mud. We spent our last night at Harmony House, which was less about harmony and more about drunk teenagers screaming until 4:30 in the morning. But Phi Phi is all about partying so we just covered our ears with our pillows and slept through it. To get to Koh Samui, which is on the east coast we took a ferry to Krabi (2.5 hours) then a bus from there to the opposite coast (3 hours) and finally we got to Koh Samui by taking one last ferry (another 1.5 hours). The whole trip took us the day, and we got to Koh Samui around 7PM. We found a small guest house that was offering air con rooms at 500 baht per night (less than 10$ each) but it turned out this place was a good 25 minute walk from all the action. We spent two nights there and then upgraded to the local trendy beach club Ark Bar. The first night we were in Koh Samui we went for a sushi dinner at a nice restaurant. We seriously thought the trip would mean no sushi for 6 weeks and I just didn't know if i could handle it (guess it looks like I won't be able to last through pregnancy either). After a dinner of sashimi bowls and rainbow rolls we met up with some Montreal girls we met in Chiang Mai who were staying at Ark Bar. We drank by the beach and vibed to the house music pumping over the loudspeakers. This place definitely felt less like Thailand and more like Montreal on a nice summer night (with a little beach and sand added to the mixture). We spent the night laughing and gossiping about life back home. We headed to a nightclub called Green Mango and then called it a night. Katie and I made the long trek back to our hotel trying not to be attacked by local dogs and avoiding weirdo strangers.

Sushi at last!

Green Mango

The next morning of my life was not the best. After figuring out that I had only eaten a sushi dinner, small cup of gelato and brushed my teeth in the local water (all of which Katie had done) the cause of my sudden onset "illness" was unidentifiable. I spent the morning in bed and then finally decided I could lie on the beach at Ark Bar. We spent the day on the beach (wow, this vacation is getting more adventurous by the minute) and then went to a BBQ restaurant promising all-you-can-eat for dinner (could have been a disaster). The girls were planning on going out afterward but I crawled back to the guest house and slept a good 14 hours. This was probably one of my better decisions because I woke up feeling okay, and by the end of our third day I felt back to normal.





Day 3 also brought another little treasure. One of our good friends Lesley, from back home knocked on our door and we all screamed and hugged because how often do you get to hang out with a bunch of friends in Thailand? We went out for Thai food and after much convincing (ok maybe only a little convincing) we made Lesley extend her 10:30pm bedtime so we could go out and have a few drinks. We chilled at a place on the beach, had a blue margaritas and smoked apple flavoured shisha. The island was quieter than usual, probably because everyone is already on Koh Phagnan, getting ready for the Full Moon party.

Barb and Lesley Reunited!!

The Ilsands Part I

Phuket
We arrived in Phuket, hopped in a "limousine" aka a bus and drove into Phuket town. We had to stay over night in order to catch the ferry to Koh Phi Phi the next morning. Phuket is a very different city, by far my least favorite in Thailand tied with Bangkok. We were staying in the quiet part of town near the ferry so we took a bus to Patong Beach to check out what was going on. There were resorts, big hotels, shops and restaurants lining the streets and everything was so much more expensive than anywhere we had been so far. We walked along the beach at sunset which did have an amazing view. Then we wandered along the street adjacent to the beach in search of some dinner. We found an outdoor restaurant promising 2-for-1 drinks and decided this was a good place to start. I got a cashew chicken dish and Katie had a seafood salad, which were delicious. We also tried a mango margarita, then a blue raspberry one for good measure. For dessert we had strawberry, and after all the sugar and tequila we didn't feel our best. We weren't up for partying in Phuket, mostly because it was so expensive and we didn't know anyone. Instead we cabbed home, and arrived at the hostel to find that the AC in our room wasn't working. We got upgraded (to a much bigger room, with gecko and all) and called it a night.

Patong Beach

Koh Phi Phi Don
We caught the early ferry at 8:30 to Ko Phi Phi. The ride took us about 2 hours in the hot sun. The ocean was beautiful; sometimes turquoise and sometimes deep blue. The islands are formed from limestone and drop straight off into the ocean. They are probably some of the most beautiful islands I`ve ever seen. We docked and unloaded our stuff. We weren`t sure where to stay and Ko Phi Phi is known to be expensive so we found a room at a backpacker`s dorm. The rooms slept 16, and we were cooled only by fans but were surprisingly cool because the hostel, called `The Rock`is high up on a rock just back from the beach. I`m assuming its called the rock because it is on a rock, but it might also bear this name because the beds are rock hard. Either way, we only stayed for one night and then booked an overnight camping trip to Phi Phi Lay. We spent the first day in the islands tanning and exploring. The island is pretty small and there was a path leading to the top called The Viewpoint where we could overlook both bays and see the two beaches. The look out from the top at dusk was beautiful. After swimming in the ocean all day and being thoroughly covered in sand we went back to the hostel and showered in the outdoor bathrooms (nice touch, and very clean). We ended up buying àll-you-can-drink bracelets at a bar just off the beach and we had a few buckets and made our way back to The Rock.

Ferry to Koh Phi Phi



Koh Phi Phi Don beach



View Point

Koh Phi Phi Lay
The next day we spent lounging on the beach until it was time to take the boat to Phi Phi Lay. The boat trip only took about 20 minutes but we stopped to check out The Viking Cave, and we snorkeled for a little while in the lagoon on the side of the island. The boat finally dropped us off in a cove on the opposite side of the famous Ma Ya Bay and we swam up to the cliffs, climbed a rope and after being smashed a few times into the rocks (hearts pounding) we made it onto the island. A short walk to the other side brought us to Ma Ya beach, which has probably been the most breathtaking view so far on this trip. The island is exactly like it is in the movie The Beach, minus Leonardo DiCaprio. We all ran into the water and bobbed around in the cool waves. We finally realized that the boat that was bringing our stuff around into the bay was nowhere to be seen and we all started getting worried. Katie and I were making up hypothetical scenarios of what we could do in Thailand to make a living since our passports were probably at the bottom of the sea. In the end the bags showed up and we all changed into dry clothes and waited for dinner to be served. We feasted on coconut curry chicken and vegetables in oyster sauce served with steamed rice. The food was amazing and I`m sure almost everyone went back for seconds. We had a few Changs to start the night and then moved onto Thailand's most famous buckets. Everyone was feeling tipsy and we all laughed, played drinking games and someone finally got out the guitar and we sang oldies until late into the night. We went for a midnight dip in the ocean and had BBQ before we all passed out on the beach. It was amazing, just the 15 of us on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I woke up as the tide was coming in, my eyes and hair filled with sand, and moved to a drier location. Once everyone was awake we had a quick breakfast of toast and scrambled eggs and then we all swam back to the boat and made our way make to Phi Phi Don. After much deliberation Katie and I opted for an AC room with a bed that is not made of stone. We will stay here until tomorrow or the next day and then we`ll make our way to Ko Samui to meet up with friends and get ready for the Full Moon Party. As for now, sipping a diet coke on the beach at Sunflower bar (and benefiting from the free wifi) is the only place I want to be.

"The Beach" Beach aka Maya Bay by Day

Maya Bay Beach by Night

Chiang Mai

Day 3 in Bangkok:


Its our last day here (thank God). We woke up early this morning, having gone to bed before 1AM due to the lack of alcohol service last night, got dressed and headed to the local Internet cafe to figure out where we want to stay in Chiang Mai. It looks like Julie's, the guest house recommended to us by multiple friends, is fully booked so our plan is to show up and try to get a room. If this doesn't work out hopefully we won't have a problem finding something else. We are excited about the laid back atmosphere that Chiang Mai promises; it will be a nice change from the hustle of Bangkok. We headed out down Koasan, for our last time and were delighted and surprised to find a Starbucks. I got a mocha frappuccino and Katie and iced coffee. Yes, it seems like we're cheating ourselves of the true Thai experience, but 3 days without a good coffee is hard on the system. We spent the first part of the morning at what we thought was Chinatown, but turned out was Old Siam. We passed multiple street stalls filled with Indian jewellery and fabrics, trinkets and fresh cut fruit. I stopped to buy some mango which was still not ripe enough for my tastes and then we continued on our way, checking out some strip malls and finally making our way to the true Chinatown. That was an experience. If you think the Jean Talon market is busy on a sunny Saturday morning you are mistaken. The streets in Chinatown are lined with stalls on both sides leaving only 2 feet for people to walk through. This seems manageable, but when there are 6 lanes of human traffic going both ways it is almost impossible to move. Vendors sell everything from cameras and TV remotes to old toasters and shoes (not pairs, literally one shoe). After wandering in for about 10 minutes, we finally realized that we could not see a way out. Streets to the North, South, West, and the East (the way we came) had blue umbrella covered stalls lining them as far as we could see. Trying not to panic (if we were claustrophobic this literally would have been the end of us) we made out way down the street which seemed to have the least human traffic. We passed vendors selling Chinese soups cooked in a location that would not stand up to any food inspectors that I can think of, but regardless were packed with locals. We emerged after a few minutes of squeezing through shoppers and took a deep breath of anything-but-fresh air. Even though it was only lunch time, that was about all we could handle and we hopped in a tuk tuk and made our way back to the hotel. We spent the rest of a beautiful day relaxing by the pool and reading our books. A quick stop at a local place for dinner and then we'll make our way to the train station and head to chiang Mai. Its a 14 hour over night trip so we should be in Chiang Mai by tomorrow at 9:30AM.

 

Rambuttri road



Day 1 in Chiang Mai:
We arrived in Chiang Mai today after a 15 hour over night train ride. The train was exceptionally comfortable, all but the bathrooms (almost vomit inducing). We got to the train station and made our way outside, where at least 20 tuk tuk and cab drivers were waiting. We got in the closest one and asked our driver to take us to Julie's house. Luckily, there was a room left for us, for the cheap price of 300 THB per night. Once we got to the room, I soon realized why. Small, smelly, and damp and cooled only by a rotating fan, this place will be ours for the next few days. But hey, at least it has it's own washroom. After settling in and eating breakfast (fruit plate, espresso and a Thai omelet, all for the cheap price of 4$ CAN) we booked a cooking school for tonight, a two-day-one-night trek for the next two days and arranged for our visa to Vietnam. After all that hard work, we wandered around Chiang Mai for a few hours and then stopped into a local massage place for our first authentic Thai massage. I'm surprised I'm even able to write; I feel like I should be napping in one of those comfortable hammocks that are in the courtyard of our guest house.



Thai Cottage cooking school

Pad Thai in the making



Everyone hard at work making curry paste



Final Product

Green curry chicken

Tofu spring rolls

Day 2 in Chiang Mai:
We woke up early, feeling like death after our late night out, packed our things and waited in the lounge area for our bus to come. At 9:30 we got in the back of an open truck, squished in 11 people and drove for an hour and a half outside of the city. We spent the first part of the day riding elephants and checking out the view of the amazing mountain scenery. The elephant riding was definitely an experience, but not my favorite of our trekking tour. Our elephant riding adventures were followed by lunch, and then we started the climb. Everyone walked in silence taking in the scenery. It was hard to look up even for a second because you were sure to slip on a rock and fall to your death. After about 2 hours, which were probably the longest of my life (only because the following two hours hadn't occurred yet) we stopped at a small water fall to cool off, had a snack of fresh mangos and carried on our way. Then the steep part of the mountain started. It was a literal straight up climb. After about an hour and 45 minutes me and a few of the girls in our group just collapsed on the hill side not knowing how we could ever reach the top. My legs and arms were shaking from exhaustion and I'm sure my heart rate was 200 bpm. I didn't know whether or not I should cry, scream and yell until someone carried me down the hill or just suck it up and keep going. After looking at my watch and realizing it was going to get dark soon I knew that I had no choice, I had to keep going. We kept climbing, and every step was almost impossible. By the time we reached the small village where we were staying I felt like collapsing on the deck of the bamboo hut and staying there forever. Instead, I drank a bottle of water, showered and waited for the delicious dinner that our Thai guides were preparing. We had pumpkin and red curry, which was amazing, especially after such a long day. After eating we walked into the village and played with the local Thai children. They were adorable, dressed in their traditional clothing and were running around screaming and laughing. The ran up to me and yelled "up, up, up" so I picked up a little girl, and then all of the other kids jumped into the arms of the rest of our group. We ran around screaming, and worked up another sweat after our shower. The kids are learning a few phrases from tourists and they can say things like "picture" and "one more time" (once you swing them around and put them back down they demand this). They even took some of our cameras and took pictures of themselves (strange how a 3 year old Thai child who has never left the jungle or even seen electricity can work a digital camera better than my mom). Once it got dark we headed back to our hut and listened to our guides play guitar and sing Thai and American songs (even if they don't know all the words). We went to bed around 9:30 exhausted from the long day.

Chillin on an elephant

The beast we climbed

Probably the dirtiest I've ever been

Thai kids playing in the village

  Day 3 in Chiang Mai:
Our guides promised that today would be all down hill. Which was a miracle, because I think I would have become a citizen of the jungle if we had to take another step in an upwards direction. We walked down the mountain and stopped at a beautiful waterfall, took a quick swim and carried on. We walked along the river until we got to a rafting house. We were instructed how to raft and all climbed in, ready to do anything but walk. The ride was nice, all though we lost one of our group along the way and he had to get pulled back in by our rafting instructor. We finished rafting about 30 minutes later, climbed up the river bank barefoot where Pad Thai was waiting for us. After eating, all of us so exhausted we climbed back into the truck/cab/death mobile and rode back to Chiang Mai. What's on the agenda for tonight? Night market and we'll see where we go from there.

Breakfast with the group



Quick stop at a waterfall to cool off



Group shot with our tour guide "monkey boy"