night terrors

Day 74. July 26th

The terror rose within my stomach and into my chest. I could feel my heart pounding as if it were going to beat it's way right out of my rib cage. I could hardly breathe.
The bus fishtailed from side to side, slid backward and then came to a halt just meters away from the edge of a cliff. "OhmyGod, OhmyGod, OhmyGod" I repeated with fright. "I have to get off this bus!" I pulled open the tiny window by my seat and quickly contemplated the best way to lodge myself out. Feet first or head first? The thought of landing on my head brought me to the conclusion that feet first would be much more practical... and then Chris grabbed hold of me, "Everything is okay, don't worry. The bus is stopped."
"I have to get off" I said, then grabbed my bag and got up to follow the other passengers out into the dark night.

The bus had lost control as it was turning up another sharp curve in the road. A mudslide had coated the road with thick layers of liquid brown sludge. It was slippery.

As soon as everyone had evacuated, all the men took instinctual position behind the bus and proceeded to put all their might into pushing it out of the mud. The sight was somewhat inappropriately hilarious as their feet just slid out from under them. Some found themselves sliding down the road as if it were ice and they were skiing down the hill. 'This could lead to a new kind of extreme sport,' I thought. I couldn't help but laugh as Chris' ridiculously flimsy flip flops suctioned themselves into the mud and remained there as he tried to walk forward. He tripped over his immobile feet and almost landed on his face. The straps popped out of the sandals (for what seems like the hundredth time on this trip) and his feet slid over the mud as he rapidly tried to gain his balance. His movement resembled an awkward combination of the moonwalk and someone at the gym running stationary on a treadmill. "Stop laughing at me!" He scolded.



Side Note:

Yes I'm bitter toward Chris' fake Havaiana flip flops that he bought in Thailand. They have been the cause of him stumbling up mountains and hurting himself frequently while walking. He complains often of all the cuts and bruises he collects as a result from wearing them. He can never keep up to me either and so I try to stay behind him while trekking so he doesn't get mad at me for gaining distance ahead of him. "Stop running!" he yells after me, as if to convince himself that he is actually walking quite fast, which makes my pace appear abnormally quick. He should get a pair of good sandals like my Chacos. They have lots of straps to keep your feet in place and they have a thick sole with deep grooves on the bottom for good traction. He doesn't listen to me though, even if I do know what's best for him ;)


We had left Luang Prabang at around 2pm on the Express bus from the local bus station. Our destination: Vang Vieng. The bus trip was supposed to take about 5 or 6 hours total.

The journey started out well, with lovely scenery to gawk at along the way and lots of little roadside villages. What I find amazing about Laos is all the untouched forested mountains that seem to go on forever and disappear into the horizon. I had heard that this stretch of highway was beautiful, though very windy. I just didn't realize the full extent of what that meant until we were on the bus being jerked from side to side as the bus seemed to be in a continuous zigzag motion, propelling itself up and down steep mountain faces, navigating a series of switchbacks with VERY sharp corners. The unsteadiness is enough to give a person motion sickness. It was a little unnerving at times given that we were driving on a narrow highway that lined the edges of cliffs and huge drop-offs. I couldn't help but imagine the bus driving off the edge at any moment.

Roughly 3 hours into our trip the bus came to stop behind a lineup of other vehicles. We quickly discovered by looking across the valley that there had been a huge landslide. We had passed several smaller ones so far without much issue, but this one had caused quite the traffic jam. A backhoe was slowly clearing the road, tossing the fallen earth off the nearby cliff.

We sat on the bus waiting in anticipation for about 6 hours. The sky darkened as the sun set and we watched the full moon rise above the mountains.

Finally at around 11pm our bus made a move. We pulled out from in between some transport trucks and proceeded up the highway. We reached the site of the landslide and quickly discovered what had taken so long. There were about three landslides in a row and the dirt had mixed with rain and blanketed the road with thick mud. The bus got stuck and I wondered if we were ever going to make it to Vang Vieng. Thankfully there were crowds of people outside ready to help push our bus up the hill. Everyone cheered when we made it out, though the whole process had taken over an hour.

No sooner had we driven a mile or two when the incident occurred. Another landslide. Only this time there weren't any people waiting outside to help us. After many failed attempts at getting the bus out of the mud, we were back on the windy road at around 3am.

We finally arrived in Vang Vieng at 5:30am. My jaw was sore from grinding my teeth the entire way. I hadn't peed all day/night, and we'd only eaten one meal before we caught the bus earlier that day. My stomach felt like it was eating itself.


I'm just thankful that we made it out alive.


--

Travel tip of the day:

Expect the unexpected and be prepared.

Yeah the bus trip was only supposed to have been about 6 hours, but I really wish that we had brought some snacks for the ride. And maybe a blanket since it got really cold that night.

a little slice of heaven

Muang Ngoi is a small riverside village located on the Nam Ou River just north of Nong Kiaw and Luang Prabang. We weren't really sure of what was there, but had been told that we should check it out. So after a week of enjoying Luang Prabang, we caught a local bus (which was basically like a pick-up truck with benches in the back) to Nong Khiaw, then a slow boat to Muang Ngoi. 

We wound up doing the journey with a foursome, two guys from Finland, one from England, and a girl from the U.S., who turned out to be an entertaining group. 

The boat ride up the river was very scenic with lush mountainscapes and rain forest.

When we arrived in Muang Ngoi, we found a place to stay right on the river. Our bungalow had a balcony with two hammocks overlooking a picturesque view of the river and mountains.

The only road through the village was a long dirt path that went from one end to the other. Near the end of each day the kids would play on the road, while the adults would sit on their doorsteps just observing life in the street. 

What I loved most were all the rice hats. These hats seem to be very practical for keeping the sun and rain off your face. 

The village was full of farm animals: ducks, chickens, cats, dogs, cows, and water buffalo.

We were woken up every morning by the irritating sound of roosters crowing. They sounded like they had the common cold or emphysema because they seemed to cough out the last part of their trills. Other noises filled our bungalow each morning that consisted of kids playing, farmers and other workers going about their day, boats taking off down the river (their engines sounded like helicopters), animals, insects, birds, and to top it off: really loud annoying thai music blasting from the neighbor's stereo. Life in the village started quite early. 

There were no vehicles or fridges and there was also no electricity in the town, just between 7pm and 10:30pm, which was run from a generator. But, somehow, the people found a way to live without it. 

One day, we trekked down a muddy path to a large cave, which had a small river flowing through it. Chris managed to get a leech on his foot during our trek, which drew a stream of blood. 

After checking out the cave we continued down the path and wound up walking through rice fields as far as the eye could see. It was pretty cool. We would up at another small village called Bana and ate a quick dinner there before heading back to town just as the sun was setting.

We saw a praying mantis one day when we were strolling through the village. I leaned in close to it and we made eye contact. As I moved my head from side to side, it copied me. It was as if we were dancing. Then all of a sudden, just when I figured I had charmed it like a snake, it flew at me and landed on my  bag. I screamed and jumped in surprise. "We were just dancing" I said to Chris who was laughing at me. "Then it came on to me!"

We hung out in our hammocks for a couple of days and just chilled out for once. We read our books, talked about our dreams, and discussed the way of life in other countries. We sat for hours and just watched life happen on the river in front of us. 

Many of the villagers spend all day on the river fishing from their boats. 

It was really interesting to see the locals using the river to wash their clothing, bathe themselves, and even wash dishes. The water was brown and looked dirty, but Chris reassured me that it's just the sediment that's been churned up by the flowing river. 

Chris was especially happy in Muang Ngoi. There were lots of cows around.

--


Travel tip of the day:


Some places don't have ATMs or banks to withdraw cash from, so find out before you go to a place if this is the case and prepare to bring enough money with you. And always over-budget for those just-in-case moments.
When we arrived in Muang Ngoi we discovered that there were no ATMs around, so we had to set enough money aside to make sure that we could get back to Luang Prabang. We also had to ration out our food consumption for the few days that we were there.

slow boat into Laos

Day 61 July 12, 2010

We arrived in Luang Prabang by way of the infamous slow boat. It was a two-day long journey down the Mekong River in a slender wooden boat packed, and I mean PACKED, full of passengers.

We crossed the border into Laos from Chiang Khong, a town in Northern Thailand. Unfortunately the border had closed at 6pm the night our VISAs expired, so we had to stay the night in Chiang Khong and pay an overstay fee of 500 baht ($16) each when we finally crossed the next morning. The border officers had no compassion or understanding of the fact that we had tried to cross the night before. "500 baht" was all the officer said to me when I tried to plead my way out of having to pay. "But it hasn't even been a full day yet." I stated. When Chris handed over his fee to one of the officers, I noticed him pocket some money. I don't know for sure what the deal was with that, but it looked suspicious to me.

Because we are Canadian Citizens, we also had to pay $43 USD each for our VISA into Laos, when most other nationalities are only required to pay $30.

Chris and I hadn't bought our tickets for the boat yet, as we were hoping to find a better deal at the pier than what all the travel agencies in Thailand had been advertising. Some men at the border tried to sell us tickets for 1500 baht each. We declined and paid 900 baht each at a travel agency that claimed that this price is set the same everywhere. Of course, the actual price at the pier was only 750 baht.

We got on a tuk tuk to the pier and met a couple from Paris on the way. We were shuffled into a waiting area where Chris and I loaded up on snacks for the trip (a fellow traveler had tipped us on the fact that you can't get much food on the boat). Chris and I made our way down to the boat to try and find a good seat. The boat was already full, or what I perceived to be full, so we squished our bums onto a small wooden bench that literally had no leg room. Twenty minutes later a large group of backpackers made their way onto the boat. Everyone's packs were shoved beneath the floor boards of the boat and somehow people managed to find a space to sit. I think the boat left the pier at around 11:30am.

The ride down the Mekong was quite beautiful. The scenery was amazing with lush green jungle on either side along with the occasional small riverside village nestled in the hills. We passed many people fishing in the river, kids swimming, herds of water buffalo, and even a few elephants feeding at the river's edge. We stopped at a few villages along the way either to drop some people off or pick some up. I think the amazing views along the way are what helped us endure the pain of sitting in cramped quarters on a hard bench. I avoided having to use the toilet as I had heard from other travelers that it was basically just a small hole in the floor at the back of the boat with no walls for privacy. Eeeek!

Our boat floated into a small town called Pak Beng at around 7pm, which is where we stayed the night. Chris and I noticed right away how different this place appeared from anywhere we'd been in Thailand. It seemed to be much more impoverished, less developed, and the people seemed to avoid eye contact with us as we walked down the main street. Another thing I couldn't help but notice were all the kids - there were tons of kids and babies everywhere we looked!

The next morning we got back on the boat at around 8:30am, though it was a different boat this time. It was smaller and the seats were fewer and more crammed together. Many people wound up sitting on the floor.

Just when I thought that there was no possible way that anyone or anything else could fit on this boat, we stopped at a village where we waited for about 30 minutes as dozens more people loaded on. I kept thinking of the analogy of the jar that isn't quite full until rocks, sand, and then water fill every crevice. I was surprised when on came a motorbike, huge sacks of sugar and rice, large baskets full of clucking chickens and quacking ducks, and sacks with turkeys poking their heads out. There was one particular turkey in the front who appeared to blend in with the crowd as if it, too, was another person crammed onto this crazy boat. Once the boat was filled to the brim, people hopped onto the roof and hauled all their livestock up with them.

It was a long, sweaty ride, but we met some interesting people on the boat before finally arriving in Luang Prabang at around 6pm that night. 

Since our arrival in Luang Prabang, we've witnessed the Alm's Giving Ceremony, where about 300 monks march down the main street from their temples at 5:30 am and receive offerings of sticky rice and banana or coconut rice packed inside banana leaves from the locals. After the Monk Procession we hiked the stairs up Mount Phousi and got a spectacular view of the city as the sun rose. Then we rented mountain bikes and cycled for 3 hours (a total of 36km!) under the scorching sun, up and down rolling hillsides, and through small villages until we reached Kuang Si Waterfalls, which were beyond beautiful. As we struggled through the heat, once in a while we'd pass a group of kids who would extend their arms out toward as and give us 'high-fives' as we passed. "Sabaideeee" they'd yell at us excitedly. This made me happy and renewed my energy to keep going. We passed a lot of farmland including rice paddies and cornfields. After spending a couple of hours at the waterfalls and observing some black moon bears (one was hanging out in a hammock), we caught a tuk-tuk back to town, with our bikes strapped to the roof. We shared the ride with a group of Irish travelers who were hilarious and made fun of us for giving up and not riding alllll the way back on our bikes. 

Food... and a green worm

July 6, 2010

Everyday I wake up and I'm excited to eat.

Sitting down to eat is one of the only times during the day that I actually allow myself to relax. And since we've been traveling and don't have a kitchen to cook in, we get to eat out for every meal.

The food is relatively cheap here in Thailand, at least it can be VERY cheap if you're looking to spend the least amount of money possible. Meals can range between $2 to $16 each. A few times we've splurged and ate at a Japanese or Indian restaurant. Thai food is really good, but it's nice to add some variety to the staple  dishes that we've gotten used to. The little red and green chillies that you can sprinkle on top of any dish are soooo good. They are also very hot! I've figured out that the best way to eat them without burning your entire mouth and throat is to keep your mouth open while eating. Seems rude, but works. Our staple every morning is often muesli with fresh fruit and yogurt. Chris tends to get a mango shake with pretty much every meal (yes they are that good) and I like to try new drinks all the time, though I also have my favorites: Masala Chai, coconut shakes, lemon shakes, and iced green tea to name a few. We've made the decision to cut coffee out of our diet, though when we first got here, we enjoyed an iced coffee almost daily.

We are currently in Pai, which is a small hippie town in Northern Thailand that is surrounded by mountains. It kind of reminds me a bit of Tofino, just without the ocean. We've discovered this amazing healthy restaurant here called 'The Good Life'. They serve many different kinds of healing teas, wheatgrass juice, and even Kombucha, along with fruit and other good food. I used to brew my own Kombucha tea so I'm aware of some of the health benefits that it's famed to have. The Good Life is really cool and sitting there one night inspired me with ideas on how to live a healthier lifestyle.

There have been several power outages every day since we've been in Pai. It's something that you get used to after a while. We've been staying in a little cabin for 200 baht a night that is owned by a really sweet lady and her infant daughter. "Sawadee Kaaaa" they say to us every morning. The other night a big lizard entered our room and woke us up. It's feet moving quickly across the wall created quite a ruckus. Turns out it was eating the cockroaches that have also found a home in our bungalow. Yeah - go lizard!

There's something about Pai that feels different. Maybe it has to do with the type of people who are attracted to this place. We've met a few western expats living here who have had some really insightful and interesting things to say. There is a special energy here...

Chris was sick all day yesterday with a high fever and nausea. He was very weak and faint and so I was afraid that he would pass out. We were sitting in 'The Good Life' after spending half an hour in meditation. We had just ordered breakfast when I had to grab a garbage can for Chris to puke into. We didn't have a clue what could be the problem so I managed to find a way to get him to the hospital with the help of some local expats who were sitting a few tables down from us. A man named David gave us a ride on the back of his motorbike. Chris was sandwiched in between us in case he wouldn't be able to hold himself on the bike.

The people working in the hospital didn't speak a whole lot of english, but it was enough to get by. I explained Chris' symptoms and right away they sent him for bloodwork to be tested for malaria (maybe we should have taken anti-malarial pills for this trip?). We went back and forth between the doctor and the lab tyring to figure out what was wrong.

I don't like hospitals. They represent a place of pain and suffering, both physically and emotionally. I don't like the odd smell that hits when you walk in the front entrance, or the sights and sounds of people with many ailments. I often admire the nurses who work there because I imagine that their job must be one of the hardest jobs that exist.

I held the flashlight and steadied the beam of light as it shone into Chris' mouth. There was a man just behind him lying on a cot, moaning loudly with every breath he took. A nurse was mopping up the blood that covered his head as she shaved off the hair that surrounded a large gash. I looked away. The doctor inserted a long metal scissor-type aparatus with tweezers on the end into Chris' mouth. He gagged as the doctor latched onto what looked like a green worm attached to the back of his throat. He pulled it out and placed the specimen between two glass plates for analysis. Finally, after a few hours and through broken english, we figured out that Chris had gotten some kind of infection that can cause pneumonia.

The doctor prescribed 3 different medications, two of which are antibiotics. I remember Chris' mom saying something about him going crazy on a specific kind of antibiotic... hmmm what was the name of it again?

Needless to say, Chris didn't take any of the antibiotics, just the pills for fever and he seems to be back to normal today. Thank God.

zombie bus from hell

June 29th, 2010

I walked into one of the stalls of the public bathroom.
"You've got to be kidding me!" I groaned out loud. I heard a quiet giggle come from a stall next to me. The soft wimpers of another girl crying a few stalls away informed me that I wasn't the only one in discomfort.
I swatted at my face. They were flying all around me.
Flying termites had made this place their home. They were everywhere. An investation, like a plague. You could see them from a distance, a cloud forming around all the flourescent lights, as our bus pulled up to the rest station. It was 1:30 in the morning.
I looked down at the squat toilet at my feet to disover that it was full of termites.
"Well, here goes nothing." I said as I pulled my pants down, placed my feet on either side of the porcelain and hovered, attempting to perfect my aim as I peed. Termites landed on my head as I steadied myself. 'Just as long as they don't fly into my bum, I'll be fine.' I reassured myself.

I still haven't quite figured out this squat toilet deal. I mean, I can hover just fine over a regular (western) toilet and not worry about backsplash, but this is different. I don't think I have the form or the guts to hover so close to the ground.... not when there's cockroaches, termites, and/or other strange bugs scurrying out from unseen crevices in the floor. I think I'd rather pee in a bush somewhere...

We were in Bangkok again for about two days. This time around we felt more comfortable with our surroundings as we knew where to get cheap accomodation and even recognized the faces of a few street vendors and our first Tuk Tuk driver, ChaLee. The only thing that seemed different was the vibe. I could sense a bitterness coming from the people here around Khao San Road. Or maybe I just didn't notice it before because I was so distracted by being in a new place.

Bangkok has gone through a tough time lately with all the political unrest that's been in the news the past couple of months. It's taken a serious toll on the tourism industry here as many countries have advised their citizens to avoid all travel to Thailand.

My friend Will is heading back to Canada in a few days and so we needed to catch a bus north to Chiang Mai, then on to Pai to meet up with him. Along with dozens of tattoo shops, jewellery shops, 7 Elevens, and pharmacies, there were also way too many tourism agencies to choose from for information on travel. They were all advertising the bus trip to Chiang Mai as costing 350 baht. We knew the bus left at around 6 pm, so we went about our day, eating a late breakfast and doing some last minute shopping in the market before making our way to one of the agencies to buy a bus ticket.

"The bus is full." The man behind the counter informed us. Chris and I looked at each other with despair, "Now what?" We said to each other. "There's got to be another way. What about the train?" I asked. "The train left at 2:30pm." The man stated without remorse. "But there's another bus. It's better. It's a V.I.P. bus, second class with A/C, reclining seats to sleep, and bathroom. It also leaves at 6pm tonight. I call and see if they have seats left." He got on the phone and spoke quickly in Thai to whomever was on the other end. "Only a few seats left." He said. "Thao-rai? (how much?)" Chris asked him. "550... but I can give you better price if you also book guesthouse and trekking tour with me. If combine with package then I can discount you 10 %. Special price for you." Chris and I looked at each other, wondering what we should do. We could stay in Bangkok another night and pay 350 for the bus tomorrow... but we only have 12 days or so left on our VISA. We've got to get to Chiang Mai.
The man pulled out a brochure for The Plaza Inn, "This is the hotel we have connection with. Room is 500 to 600 bahts a night. If you book with me I get you 300 to 400." "What if we don't like the room? Can we book with you for one night and still get the discount?" I asked. "Noooo... you have to book for minimum three nights to get special price." Chris and I asked him about trekking tours and prices and found out that the total price for the bus trip including accomodation for three nights would come to 1050 baht each. "No way!" I said. Chris and I decided to just go with the bus trip for now and figure out our accomodation and activities once we got there. We were able to barter him down to 500 baht each for the bus, but he wouldn't budge past that.
I don't really care about all the extra frills that you get for paying more for a bus trip. I'd rather travel how the locals travel and pay the same price as they do. But, since I figured we were paying for the luxery of riding on a 'better' bus, then I figured that we better darn well get V.I.P. treatment. Ha.

After eating at an Indian restaurant for dinner, we noted that it was getting close to 6pm so we grabbed our packs and waited at the travel agency for our bus to arrive.
A scrawny kid in ripped jeans and a black t-shirt showed up and said to us "tickets?". We gave him our bus ticket then he said "follow me". We followed him down Rambuttri Road, gathering other farang (foreigner) backpackers along the way. We wound up on the side of a busy highway and waited for an hour in the sweaty heat for our bus. "This isn't V.I.P. treatment." I joked to Chris. "We should all be kept in an air-conditioned room and served ice cold water."
Several fancy buses along with local 'lower class' buses passed by as we waited, and every time we questioned if this was the one.
Suddenly a bus came to a screeching halt just past where we were all waiting. I stared in disbelief. "That is not our bus!" I declared, as everyone picked up their bags and proceeded quickly toward the bus.
The front left window was shattered, it's body rusted and warped with cracks in random places. "This is not a V.I.P. bus!" I said angrily. "Yeah... maybe it was in the 70s" Chris agreed. We boarded hesitantly, wondering what to do, but the kid who had taken our ticket was gone. We basically had no proof of how much we had paid or what type of bus we had paid for.
The interior wasn't any better. We all stashed our packs in a storage compartment on the bottom floor and walked up some steep steps to our seats. It smelled like old.
Throughout the entire night there was a steady drip of condensation falling from the ceiling onto my lap. I managed to drift off into a light sleep, but at 11:30pm was startled awake by the sound of a loud "BANG". Chris said that I practically jumped out of my seat with fright when it happened. The interior of the bus filled with a dark smoke that smelled like burning rubber. The bus kept moving forward, bumpily, then pulled over to the side of the road into what just so happened to be a tire repair shop. There were tires piled up everywhere, along with all the tools needed to fix or change them. "This seems rather coincidental" said a British girl sitting in front of us.

We all hopped off the bus in seach of a toilet. There was only one and whoever had already claimed it was taking taking their sweet time, so all the boys walked off into the yard to go, while the girls waited anxiously. I decided to hold it.

The tire right underneath where I had been sitting on the bus had blown! A group of men were gathered around it, working together to exchange it for a new one. The whole situation seemed like the perfect setup for a robbery, but as far as I could tell, our bags were safe in the storage compartment inside the bus.

I couldn't fall back to sleep after that, so I read some of my book until we stopped again. This time at the termite invested rest area.

The remainder of the bus trip was uncomfortable. Odd smells of animal dung, burning rubber, and stinky body odour wafted through the bus throughout the entire trip. Our bus crawled at a snail's pace up hills, while acutal VIP busses raced past us. 

We finally arrived in Chiang Mai at around 7am and funny thing is, we checked ourselves into The Plaza Inn for 200 baht/night, NOT 500 - 600/night like the travel agent had told us. It certainly pays to figure things out on your own. We're so thankful that we didn't book anything else through him... we could have been out quite a bit more money. We asked a few other people on the bus what they had paid and most answered 350 baht. One of them also told us that VIP is just the name of the bus company...

We ran into a couple of the other people who had been on the same bus trip later on that day and they informed us that their packs had been riffled through. I am missing my good tweezers and Chris and I are both missing our razors. Strange things to be stolen, but we're thankful that nothing else had been taken.

That was definitely the sketchiest, most unV.I.P. bus trip ever!

--
Travel tip of the day:

You can't trust anyone! I know it sounds rather negative, but it's the unfortunate truth.
Actually... there are times when people are trustworthy, and we have been lucky to come across a few. I think the best thing to do is trust your intuition. When something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't.

Also, try not to go the easy route and have all your travel plans booked through an agency. It's far cheaper and more rewarding to find your own way.

climbing, and cities and good people...

We left Phi Phi for the mainland... we were heading to Krabi town... Our true destination was a beach just west of Krabi called Railay Beach. It's world renowned for rock-climbing and after a brief 2 month stint in a climbing gym in Tofino I was ready to conquer my fear of heights...

We opted instead to go to Ao Nang Beach which is outside of Krabi and a short boat ride to Railay thinking that we'd enjoy a beach town a little better than the city....and it was closer to our destination....

Ao Nang was.....well...kinda like Samui...(see earlier blog posts) very touristy....and not good touristy....like, 'dirty old man' touristy....
Railay on the other hand was....absolutely gorgeous. Towering limestone cliffs...beautiful sand beaches near huge caves, monkeys....everywhere... We should have stayed there instead of visiting for a day...
When we arrived by longtail boat to Railay we were taen to a small shop to get outfitted for climbing...and then we walked a few hundred meters to the end of the beach....to the base of this huge limestone wall....We spent the morning hanging on the side of said wall in the hot sun....enjoying every minute of it......I climbed higher than I've ever been in my entire life and ...I was ...OK... Sairaa who had only climbed a couple times, had done incredibly well... I was impressed and proud to be with someone who isn't a princess....:)



After the climbing....we grabbed some food and then went exploring. We followed a path long the side of this cliff/cave until we came to a path that seemed to go up...sort of... We followed this slippery muddy path, that you should only climb while wearing shoes.... I was not wearing shoes... which proved to be a bit difficult but I managed...Sairaa managed to get annoyed that I was taking longer to get to the top.... I love her...:)
When we arrived at the top we found a path that took us to a view point.....amazing is all I can say....

We headed back down and continued down the path alongside the cliff until we came out on a beach... At one end of the beach was a huge cave...full of big wooden penis' Yes...you read correctly....large wooden penis' and there were hundreds of them....
Apparently this cave held the spirit of the Phranang (princess goddess)...or something...and fisherman would come and pray for success on their fishing trips........If they did have success they would return to the cave with an...'offering' ....

Above the cave, the limestone drooped over the water making us feel like it would fall on us at any moment, while we were swimming.... So incredible !!!
Along the side of the cliff behind us, a man was bouldering...(climbing without a rope) he had gone through at least five different routes at breathtaking speed and then proceeded to climb tree and hang off one of the branches......doesn't sound too crazy but if you saw it...you'd think the guy was Spiderman... seriously... Then on our way back down the path we ran into an entire herd/tribe of monkeys....tons of them climbing on the top of a fence that ran along the side of the path we were walking...
It was a good day...one of the better ones...:)


Our next stop would end up being a couple days later.....we were headed towards the border because our visas were about to expire....so....we decided to head all the way down to Kuala Lumpur...the capital city of Malaysia.
It is what you'd expect from a metropolitan city. Skyscrapers, huge malls, starbucks, more huge malls.... We actually enjoyed our time there....we had spent most of our trip in bungalows and getting bitten by every bug known to man so some time in the city was much needed. We finally got to watch a movie in a theater......we saw the new 'Karate Kid' movie.. I have to say...it wasn't too bad..a bit more for younger kids...but having seen the original when I was younger, it was cool to see them completely rework it with the same storyline. I was also able to have a Guiness for the first time in almost two months...so that was cool....
Sairaa and I love food so we indulged a little.....we ate at a really fancy Japanese restaurant....had amazing sushi...:) We saw the Petronas twin towers..... huge towers side by side...with a connecting walkway between them.... that was cool... Oh! and speaking of food....we also had Pho at this really nice Vietnamese restaurant. Pho is basicly noodle soup with beef in it... It sounds kinda boring but it's really good and this restaurant did it proper....
After a few days in KL we were sick of the city and ready to get back to Thailand...so we headed north...
We stopped on the way to jump over to Pulau Penang, which is a small island off the western coast of Malaysia, just south of the Thai border. The town we stayed in looked like it was form the colonial era. Like something out of a historical European picture-book. We were surprised because this place felt less like a tourist destination. Everyone seemed to be going about there own business....rather than caring about some foreigners walking around...... Again, food....so we ate at this really amazing Indian restaurant and our table was literally in the street, with cars and motorbikes driving by just meters from our table..... The indian man at the counter of the hotel we were staying, suggested it. He was right...it was very good and very cheap...

From Penang we were headed north and on our way to Bangkok, to connect to the northern town of Chiang Mai. We had to get across the border though....which is not a big deal....except that we missed our bus 'cause Sairaa slept in.......haha.....
So....we ended up taking a local bus which would only take us to the town on the Malaysian side of the border....Ok so we took that bus...(which was cheaper, luckily) and we end up in the town of Kangar at approx. 8 in the evening. We were determined to cross the border before we called it a day because we felt a bit more comfortable in Thailand and Kangar didn't seem to be very foreigner friendly........
...We then decide to take a taxi to the border, but he would only take us and drop us there....he wouldn't take us any further....so.....we discussed and discussed.... and we finally decided that we;d take the chance.....
So with the border closing at 10, we decide to take the 45 min. drive to the border sometime after 8. The driver did eactly as he had promise and dropped us at the immigration office on the Malaysian side. We quickly got stamped for leaving the country and proceeded to walk another km (with full packs..) towards the Thai side of the border....

.....this is where the story gets interesting....

as we are walking a truck pulls over ahead of us....heading in the same direction that we are. A man in his late 30's maybe, gets out of his truck to offer us a ride across.... he can't speak a word of English ....but both of us sense right away that he's harmless and we accept his offer. When we get into his truck I proceed to tell him, with the few Thai words that I know, that we are headed to a town called Haat Yai. He takes us to the Thai office and he gets the guards ( who speak little english) to translate for him. He says that he'll take us to a place in Pedang Besar (the town on the Thai side of the border) because there aren't any buses running that late to Haat Yai, so we would have to catch one in the morning. Great! so.... we get stamped and sent on our way....we get back into his truck and I tell him and we would like a place that is 'took, took ma'....which means 'Cheap, very cheap' only 300B ( approx. $10US) He looks at me as if to say something and then hesitates, and then waves his hand as if to tell me 'nevermind'......I don't think anything of it until we arrive at our destination.... let's just say that this hotel was the kind of place that rented out rooms by the hour...:( OH well...something about judging books by covers......anyway.... we get out and I am trying to give him money for helping us thus far.....he takes 300B out of my hand, hands Sairaa (who had remained silent the whole time watching everything unfurl) a plastic bag with two bottles of water in it ( it looked like he had just purchased them-they were still cold) and he proceeds up the steps into the hotel. We follow. We get to the front desk, the woman behind the counter cannot speak a word of english, so the gentleman does all the talking, signs us in under his name and hands the lady our 300B and then gives her another 200B. Whoah!....wait a minute...what just happened..??? Did he just pay more money out of his own pocket??? We were very confused and everything happened so fast that we hardly had time to protest. Yes, the man had signed us in and because the room was actually 500B, he paid the balance from his own pocket........We were dumbfounded!! He then escorts us to our room, making sure we arrived safely, and then says goodbye. We thank him profusely and then he is gone.........
Sairaa and I spent a good half-hour talking about it in our room....WHAT JUST HAPPENED!!!
Well, we felt blessed, and also very hungry so we went to grab some food ....

That's not the end of the story!!!!

When we get back from getting food, the lady behind the counter yells at us....' hey you!' ...'Your friend...' She couldn't say anymore in english because she didn't know anymore......but she does hold up two plastic bags.....on had two cheeseburgers and the other, two cokes. The man had realized that we were hungry and went and got us food.....WHAAAATTTT?????? REALLY?? You have got to be kidding me... Yeah it happened!!

I'm not sure where all the good people have gone......but I know where one of them is.....he's in Pedang Besar.

The next day we started a long arduous journey back to Bangkok....like mst long distance journeys, it was long and cramped and sweaty and smelly......but e arrived at Bangkok at 5 am the next morning.....needless to say, we slept most of that day......

i have to go phi phi...

haha ...I'm hilarious...!!

anyway..

..so we arrived on Koh Phi Phi....(koh means island...)

we had heard a lot about it from our friend Will.....he said it was the most beautiful island he'd seen so far.....

It is pretty beautiful...but.....like so many beautiful things ....people have found a way to exploit it.....

There are actually two islands that make up Phi Phi.......Phi Don and the (in)famous Phi Lei -the location where they filmed 'the beach' ....

Phi Lei is uninhabited...it's more of a national park....however...apparently 'Hollywood' came in a totally landscpaed the entire beach for the movie....it's kind of upsetting...

So we arrived on Phi Don...a couple square kilometers of beach set between towering limestone cliffs.......the first thing that happened when we arrived at the pier was , we were charged a beach cleanup fee....now mind you, it was minimal......but i thought it strange that we were charged for cleaning up the beach...before....we had made it dirty........but 'when in rome' ...

Phi Phi, like most of the touristy islands, caters to westerners...so there's plenty of bars, and irish pubs, and pizza joints.....we had dinner one night at an indian restaurant....the food was really good but a bit pricier than we were used to....

.....the best food we had were at the more unassuming places...little holes in the wall...one such place was owned my a woman named Song....she made Phad Thai....it's the one Thai dish that most westerners recognize.......THAT'S ALL SHE DOES....just phad thai....some drinks, yes....but as far as food goes....you either get it with chicken, pork, or veggie... Her little 'hole in the wall' is literally that....it has four tables....very close together...allowing for no more than 2 people at each table.....and covering the walls are hundreds of notes attesting to her amazing Phad Thai .....we were intrigued by all of this and decided to try it...........it was in fact the 'Best Phad Thai' we had had in our lives thus far.... the notes were completely warranted....and on top of that....it was super cheap...

I would go back there just for that....:)

We did a tour of Phi Lei....part of the tour involved cliff jumping.......so they take us to this spot along the side of these towering cliffs.......there's a spot where you can climb up a ways and then jump off.....at 8m, 10m, up to 30 m....so we all jump out of the boat and swim to the edge of the rocks....and we start climbing....I was the first one there...and I started to climb up...like so many situations...I assumed that Sairaa was right behind me.....well she wasn't..... I got out safely and I watched as every other person on the tour...( approx. 8 people ) got up as well...........Sairaa had been the last to reach the edge and by the time she got there, boats had gone by, creating waves...pushing her further from the rocks.............long story short...the guide helped her up eventually......

She was not happy with me.....her knee had been scraped....the same knee that she had cut up when I threw us of our motorbike......

*lesson of the day* Don't run ahead, assuming your girlfriend is right behind you....instead make sure you are always behind her, ensuring that you don't get in trouble for leaving her to be bashed against the rocks...;)

So....we get to the top of this cliff....the girls were jumping at the 8m mark.....the guys were jumping at the 10m mark......I jumped at the ...8m mark....but seriously....it's only because I'm terrified of heights and....the 10m required you to jump OUT as well as DOWN....so....yeah....i'm justified...(masculinity still in tact - hopefully) and damn it!! ...I jumped twice....

The one funny thing that I mentioned to Sairaa afterwards ( and she agreed..) ...on my first jump...I kind of landed on my ass.....it was kind of like having an enema......it happened to her too.......needless to say....it was difficult to sit down for a bit after that....:)

Phi Lei is truly amazing...limestone cliffs jut straight up, out of the ocean...like towering giants...it hurts your neck....staring up like that for so long...

The longtail boat we were on took us to a small lagoon, where we got out and swam to this set of stairs...we climbed up them and down another set into another very small lagoon and we proceeded, through a sand pathway through palm trees and other underbrush....and finally we break into this clearing onto 'the beach' .....truly beautiful....