Rollin’ on the river! July 5, 2008

24.June.2008

Woke up bright and early at 5:30am to catch the 6 am bus to the boarder city of Chiang Khong (say it with a Thai accent really fast and it sounds like King Kong) where we took a tuk tuk to the river and exited Thailand. We then took a boat across the river and entered Laos-hurray for more passport stamps! We then were approached by a guy selling tickets for the slow boat who seemed really genuine so we followed him to his office with a few others and bought our tickets. Then we were driven over to the slow boat dock just a few minutes away. We bought some cushions for the wooden benches we would be sitting on for the next two days; the ride to Louang Prabang is notoriously cramped and uncomfortable, and was even worse than we expected! They were absolutely tiny and the benches were so slim it hurt to sit on because it wasn’t wide enough to hold your butt comfortably, and the best part was we sat on the boat for over two hours while people filtered on and then argued to get another boat going because there were clearly not enough seats on the boat for all of the passengers…there was a bit of yelling and sure enough they got another boat.

I am not sure how but we managed to find comfortable positions from time to time and just kept shifting between them and before knew it the first day was over. Consuming delicious BeerLaos also made the comfort level increase and people just sprawled out in the tiny alleyway between the benches. It was fun suffering with the other travelers and just joking about the situation, you pay for what you get… We pulled into Pakbeng around 5pm and there was a big welcoming party ready to show us all to their guesthouses…so kind of them, huh? So we found a nice cheap place that had a mosquito net and no electricity…good enough for the one night we would be there. We checked in and Dave instantly befriended a group of three Aussies from the boat who all worshipped metal. I never realized one could actually discuss metal bands like one discusses fine wines, but they managed to. We went with them and met with more fellow boatgoers at a restaurant nearby which promised a free glass of Lao Lao Wiskey with a meal…doesn’t bode well for the food. So they ended up just giving us a full bottle of whiskey for free…bad idea, we ended up spending a lot more time there, but not money. After that we headed to the one bar in town and enjoyed some more BeerLao….

25.June.2008

Up and ready to go on the boat at 8:30am to get a good seat but of course we didn’t end up leaving till 10am or so because people got on late and then the late ones complained there was no seats and they finally got another boat to start its engines. Then there was a massive exodus of people to the other boat….which made it much more comfortable today…the bench was almost big enough to fit a whole butt comfortably, plus we each managed to get a whole bench to ourselves for much of the journey. The weather was much clearer today, we actually saw some blue sky, which was very exciting. The trip passed relatively quickly and we were in Louang Prabang by 4 or 5pm. From there we went looking for a place to stay and with minimal stress we found a really nice little hotel in an old colonial building and our balcony area overlooked the Mekong…very lovely.

We were anxious to explore the town so we just set our stuff down and grabbed our camera….we inevitably ran into many of the people we had met on the slow boat; small town. Louang Prabang is full of cute cafes, boutiques, wine shops, bakeries…I would never have imagined to find a city like this in Laos. I have always thought of Laos as fairly undeveloped, definitely not expecting to find what we found in Louang Prabang. They have a really nice night market every night with all sorts of beautiful souvenir items and the best part is; the vendors leave you be unless you approach them with an offer…so quiet and peaceful! We went to dinner with our Aussie friends Dale and Tisso at a place listed in our guide, which ended up being pretty disappointing. Dave was feeling sick so we had an early night.

26.June.2008

We had a bit of a late start this morning…we went in search of a nice looking cafe for breakfast and found them all to be relatively expensive but found a decent place and ended up running into just about every one of our new travel buddies (the three Aussies, two Brits and an American) from the last couple days. We all agreed to meet up a bit later and hire a tuk tuk to the waterfalls near by. We tried a number of tuk tuks to get a fair price but they all seem to be in cahoots and couldn’t talk them down any…we finally gave in and all hopped in for the 45 minute ride to the waterfalls. On the way to the waterfall was a bear sanctuary for Sun Bears, because the Chinese have devastated their populations due to their use in certain Eastern Medicine practices (i.e. putting them in small cages and draining them of black bile which is used to make men “last long time”)….not fun. Once we got to the waterfalls we were stoked, the water was so unbelievably blue, the whole thing was like a water park but all completely natural…it is what water parks are trying to mimic. We first walked to the top and walked over the top of the highest tier of the water fall and then walked back down and stopped at various tiers to swim in the pools. We had a great time in one little pool because a massive rock funnel dumped a torrent of water into it. We all played around jumping into the falls and trying to swim against the massive current…life is rough!

We took turns jumping off the rocks and trees around the pools, all good fun…would have stayed longer but our tuk tuk driver had to get back because he has class in the evenings, studying to be an English teacher…although it seemed that he still needs to learn English, maybe he already has the teaching thing down. We all went our separate ways after that to get cleaned up, but we then met up in the evening with Kelly and went to a really cute wine shop and sipped on scrumptious Cabernet Sauvignon and enjoyed the cool evening air. We then met up with our Aussie/English friends at their hotel room for a while and off to bed well after the midnight curfew….good thing it isn’t strongly enforced for forgeiners (only the hotel/restaurant owners who get a HUGE fine if we are too loud).

27.June.2008

Today we rented bikes with a few friends and rode around the city despite near constant down pour! We rode around to a few temples but mostly just to check out the city a bit….we had some amazing noodle soup at a random restaurant, which we ducked in to escape the rain, and ended up hanging out there for a couple hours because the rain refused to stop. Every time we thought the rain would stop it just started going even harder…it was so ridiculous all we could do was laugh and order another beer, after all we’re all on vacation!

We came across a local market selling all sorts of fresh fruits and veggies and we bought all sorts of strange new and exciting tropical fruits to take home and eat for desert at the hostel. We then biked home, but stopping to take pictures the whole way because the whole town is one big postcard, every where you look is picture perfect. Once we got back we all scattered taking care of various things…like buying bus tickets, eating and getting cheap massages. Well I got the best 3 dollar massage I have ever gotten and then Kelly, Dave, and I met up for dinner and some shopping at the night market. We then returned to the hostel to share some fresh fruit and then off to bed before the hotel manager yelled at us for disobeying curfew.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/flufflebuns/sets/72157605982116228/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/flufflebuns/sets/72157605987853164/

…and we almost ran over a tiny turtle. July 2, 2008

21.June.2008

Waking up at 4 am is never fun, especially not on a night train, where upon arrival you have to be awake and alert and navigate yourself to another city…so we got off and took a tuk tuk to the bus station to catch a bus to Sukhotai , which took about an hour and a half…although we were still quite groggy the scene of the sun rise over the rice paddy fields was breathtaking and made the whole trip a bit less torturous. When we arrived we walked to a nearby hostel called “Number 4 Guesthouse”-not a very creative name but the place was great. It was surrounded by beautiful green fields in a sleepy little neighborhood and the little bungalows were almost completely engulfed in green foliage…but the best part of the place is the lady that runs it…she does everything….cooking, cleaning, laundry and even helps us with what to do in the city and the whole time she is smiling and laughing…so cute.

After we check into our great little bungalow we have a delicious breakfast and then go to rent bikes to explore Old Sukhotai, but learn it is too far on bicycles and rent a scooter instead-they told us one road straight there very easy so we do it- only 150baht for a day! So the whole way there we ride on the side slow and steady and indeed it was a straight shot (and yes we wore helmets for those who may be concerned). When we got there we were so blown away…so beautiful!!! It is a series of ruins, some contained within the wall of the city and many more outside. Everyone bikes around to the different ancient ruins, all covered by huge trees, making for nice cool temperatures. It was so much scooting around from one beautiful ruin to the next with a minimal amount of tourists. We stopped for a lunch break and were about to head out to the stuff outside the temple when we discover we have a flat tire so we push it to a repair shop and call the rental company to see if they would cover it, they will. 390baht for a new tire and tube and labour…quite the deal and the guy was so efficient he was done in about 15 minutes.

We then hopped back on and did some more exploring but it was getting quite hot and the ruins didn’t seem to end.  At some point Dave slammed the brakes on the bike screaming incoherently like a madman.  Before I could get anything out of him he had turned the bike around, zoomed back a bit, jumped off, and picked up the cutest, tiniest turtle we have ever seen!  After the turtle incident we pushed to more and more and more temples and ruins, but by 5pmish we decided to retire for the day and we drove back and returned the bike and then walked back to the hostel…long day!

22.June.2008

Another early morning…we are up by 6:30 am to catch the local bus to Si Santcahnalai, another area with numerous ruins from the same time period. The bus ride takes about an hour and a half and they drop us off at a seemingly random spot, but there is bicycle rental there for 20baht for the day so we take it and then head across a long shaky bridge to the first ruin and probably my favorite from the whole day. We then bike down the road to the main walled area of ruins, which is similar to Old Sukhotai but not nearly as many ruins (I am relieved). There are only a handful of tourists here and pretty much have the whole place to ourselves, so peaceful, wish we had time to just sit and relax but the last bus leaves at 4 pm so our time is limited…

As we biked back we stopped for a well deserved beer and then a little further down the road for some lunch. The bus was packed when it finally pulled up but got seats after a few stops. When we got back we went back to the hostel to freshen up and relax and then went out for dinner in the evening.

23.June.2008

We decided to catch the 10:30 am bus to give ourselves a bit of a break today and time to pack up and check out. We said goodbye to our favorite hostel, but when we got to the station they informed us that bus had got into an accident and we would have to wait for the 11:30am bus…no problems though; we just read a bit. We hopped on the bus for about an hour and then we had to change buses, but no problem it was a nicer more comfortable bus so we were content to still had a long journey ahead of us! About 2 more hours past and we were stopped at a bus station and they tell us we have to get off the bus and we figure we have to change buses again, but turns out they only sold us tickets half the way in Sukhotai so we had to get out and purchase the rest of the fare…first time that has ever happened in Thailand, but at least we figured it all out.

We got into Chiang Rai by about 7pm and started walking towards a hostel we had looked up but it was out in the middle of nowhere so we walked back to town (Dave is dripping with sweat from humidity by this point) to another hostel, Baan Bua, and luckily it was a good one, extremely clean and only 300baht per night. So we get ourselves situated and then go looking for food and found a great Lebanese place and had falafel and baba and tabouli yum….we then wander a bit stop for a beer and then head to bed ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

23.June.2008

We found a great little breakfast place and they had great coffee for a change, more exciting for me than Dave …after breakfast we rented a motorbike from our hostel and asked around what was good to see if we only had a day. Our first stop was Khun Kon Waterfall about 30km outside the city down a small country road. It was pretty humid so the bike to the top was a bit tough but the view was nice and the spray from the waterfall cooled us down right quick. From there we rode over to the White Temple, which was more a work of art then most of the temples we have seen (not to say the other temples haven’t been amazing). It was obviously completely white and also had mirrors all over it. The detail of this temple was amazing, the only draw back that it wasn’t yet completed, they still had a long way to go, can’t wait to find out what it looks like when it is done!

From there we road back into town and went to one last temple, not so much for the temple but because it is on a hill it had a great view of the city and countryside around, totally worth getting lost a couple times. By this time we were both in some need of some food so we went to a place in the book and it ended being amazing, really great food, I felt like I had to be rolled out I ate so much….the rest of the evening we spent relaxing and getting ready to go to Laos!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/flufflebuns/sets/72157605873663066/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/flufflebuns/sets/72157605904003515/

Bitch over da liver cry. June 28, 2008

15.June.08

We went back to the Bangkok Chatuchak Weekend market (third time) which seemed much less hectic this time. We just wandered around, had some good street food and bought simple stuff like a watch, patches for our bags, etc. The rest of the day was just wandering around a bit, sewed on patches, and read. Nothing too special.

16.June.08

We hopped on the minibus for a painless journey to Kanchanaburi and got checked in to Charlie Frogs Guest House in a sweet bungalow floating on the River Kwai in the middle of a field of lotus’. We quickly rented out some Kayaks to spend an awesome three hours along the river. We went under the famous “Bridge over the River Kwai” and through fields of lotus’ and water lilies while constantly surrounded by the splended sound and sight of the jungle.

We then headed to a night market and dinner, then back at the hotel the sunset was gorgeous over the pink lotus’ and the bridge, and the romantic moment was only diluted by a group of five incredibly childish, gross, hairy, old (probably Russian) men, wearing only speedos and their five young Thai “girlfriends” outside their rooms (men; drinking, laughing, dancing, and making fools of themselves, and girls; sitting looking miserable). This is a really obnoxious part of Thailand and seems to be more prevalent here in Kanchanaburi for some reason. I won’t bother mentioning it in the rest of the blog, but many times during a meal or wandering the streets or hotel we were surrounded by immature white guys and their Thai “girlfriends.” They were from everywhere; Sweden, Germany, America, England and no matter where they came from they were always super awkward and condescending to their “girls” (like making fun of their accents, but who am I to talk, have you got the title of the blog yet?!). It was painfull to even be around such pitiful men who probably have wife and kids at home, which is surprising they could EVER get a girl as they were all complete dickheads. There’s a good reason we realized that these kind of guys had to buy “love;” pathetic. Anyway, enough of that, the rest of the blog is only the fun stuff, which is aplenty!

17.June.08

We hopped on an early public bus to Erawan National Park where we hiked a gorgeous trail through the dumping Erawan Falls. The falls were seven tiered and at many of the tiers I had the opportunity to swim in the flawless blue waters (only I, because Jess forgot her bathing suit; and flawless is without including the hundred of fish that constantly nipped at my body). The whole hike was terrific if a bit humid (tends to be a trend the last seven months) we met some cool folks along the way and bumped into some crazy caterpillars which didn’t even seem real!

We got back to the hostel, booked a tour for tomorrow (ugh, sometimes a neccessary evil), had a few drinks and dinner with a nice German couple and conversed into the night.

18.June.08

Our tour wasn’t all bad as we got to see a bunch of neat stuff in a short while. We had a trip to a quaint waterfall then to the Hellfire Pass memorial including museum where we learned about Asia’s part in WWII (long story short about the railroad; Japan was overall nearly as bad as the nazis, enslaved 200,000 asians, and 60,000 allies to build a railroad through Thailand to Burma to supply the battle front near India. The working conditions were aweful with rampant malaria, food shortage, torture, etc. They were all treated worse than slaves and more than half died, BUT the railroad got finished! Way to go Japan!). Next we went to a natural hot spring, where we took a dip in piping hot waters, then to a cave then the railroad where we rode the train through a scenic little area then got off and drove to the famous bridge that was built over the river and walked along it. Overall a good experience, we got to see what we wanted, but it also affirmed that we don’t like tours very much (especially with obnoxious crying babies along).

We just hung out around the hostel afterwards, had another terrific sunset, and booked a van back to bangkok for tomorrow.

19.June.08

We took the trip to Bangkok, got our passports back with the gorgeous new Laos visa pasted inside. Then we booked train tickets for the night of the 19th. We decided to get quite drunk off some tequila we bought duty free and inteded to go out, but it started pouring rain so we simply entertained ourselves in our hotel room and surprised ourselves with an awesome time just chatting and laughing about the last many months. We eventually went out to see “Juno” at a nearby cafe. Juno is an incredible film, and even funnier with some tequila.

20.June.08

We did a mini city tour today with a cool rickshaw driver who took us to two shops who paid him so we didn’t have too (always fun). After all the time we’ve spent in Bangkok we still saw some awesome new things. The Golden Mountain Wat with a massive golden spire on top (after taking lots of stairs) had a perfect view of the city. Then we saw a 5 ton solid gold Buddha that had been hidden in stucco by the Thais to protect from maurauding Burmese 700 years ago. It wasn’t uncovered again until the 1950’s, when instead of melting it down, decided to charge tourists 20Bhat to glipse it, a goldmine industry in itself. Next we had an awesome Dim Sum lunch in Chinatown, and wandered the back alley markets where we dumped plenty of Bhat on really silly quintisentially asian trinkets. (We’re talking cutsy hello kitty type stuff, and cartoon poop keychains which we bought plenty of and laughed for hours). Then we got back and got on the night train to start our journey onward and upward!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/flufflebuns/sets/72157605746548864/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/flufflebuns/sets/72157605746424930/

The roads turned to rivers… June 24, 2008

WARNING: The following blog is probably THE MOST BORING blog we have written.  Some excellent ones to follow however, as we’ve been up to some wild hijinks since our stints of laziness described in the following blog.

4.June.2008

We basically collapsed when we arrived in Mumbai. The train ride was easy enough from Aurangabad to Mumbai…an early morning ride in A/C chair…except the guy checking tickets couldn’t seem to find our names on the roster. Until Dave took a look and found them right on top…he was nice enough but a total chocolate tea pot. We did see one amazing character on the train…a disgruntled British man because the A/C car didn’t pull up where it was supposed to and he had to lug his luggage through the train…despite the 30 minutes the train sat stationary at the station, this wasn’t long enough for him to plan accordingly…anyways he looked just like an aged version of Johnny Depps character in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas…absolutely disgusting teeth and over all hard to look at.

Other then that the ride was uneventful and we arrived in Dadar, had a quick snack at a good veg restaurant and then took the local train to Bandra and met Purvi, a spunky slim Indian girl, who let us into Blakes apartment (our CS host who is still in Darjeeling). The area we are staying is extremely nice, apparently the Beverly Hills of Mumbai. There is a crazy kitty in the apartment (has no name other then kitty or el gato) who used to be a street kitty two months ago and still adjusting to a civilized lifestyle…meaning he likes to surprise attack with claws in our legs, but otherwise very sweet.

Dave was feeling ill with stomach pains so we spent the afternoon being lazy bums watching t.v. and ordering in Subway (Subway delivery?! Why would one ever leave the house?)

5.June.2008

Again Dave was feeling quite ill and lethargic so we spent the day just sort of hanging around the neighborhood, walking over the hill to the ocean which is crazy stormy right now and eating western style food at trendy cafes…yum…we even indulged in going to a great bookstore called Crossword and browsing the books and getting coffee at the upstairs cafe…this may not sound like anything special or unusual but it is a major treat for us and very exciting!

After that we headed back to the apartment because that was all the excitement Dave could handle in his “weak and frail” condition. We ordered in Subway sandwiches for dinner and just watched random movies on t.v. It started pouring rain in the evening and doesn’t seem like it will be stopping any time soon!

6.June.2008

Yet another day of doing nothing…Dave was still feeling ill, so we just sort of hung out around the neighborhood. Went out to an American style cafe called “Just Around the Corner” where we witnessed a very big man (looked like an Indian Penn Gillette from Penn and Teller) and his small frail old father also consumed a huge amount of food…it just kept coming and coming and coming and ended with a plate piled high with bananas, a strange sight indeed. Most of the day was spent watching t.v. and playing with el gato….but in the evening we went out to the cinema to see the Sex and the City movie, which was very exciting (for me. Dave edit: hey I liked it too…it brought out my feminine side!)…we got some of the last seats available! The audience were mostly women and all dressed very western style, wearing jeans and tank tops, which is still quite unusual in India, a good majority of the women wear sarees…a very hip and trendy crowd. This was the first time in a long while we have seen a movie in the theater so it was a lot of fun.

7.June.2008

Today it is still raining though I was hoping to go to explore the city, but Dave wasn’t up for it so we walked to breakfast over the hill (near the ocean)… and mid-way through the meal Dave started feeling even worse so we decided maybe it is time to see a doctor. We called Purvi and recommended we go to Holy Family Hospital, so we took a rickshaw over there and then went to the emergency room where they asked a whole bunch of questions and diagnosed him with Gastroenteritis, which is basically swollen intestines from a mild infection, which the doctor said is common when the monsoon starts, because of the extreme change in temperature and weather as well as all the gross stuff flushed out by the waters. The hospital was very clean and professional aside from all of the “we love jesus” stickers everywhere (If Christian missionaries did anything right in India, I guess it was set up nice hospitals!) The whole thing (admittance, diagnosis and medication) cost 500 rupees, about 12 USD! Amazing, you cant’ stick your toe in a hospital in the U.S. without paying hundreds!

The rest of the afternoon was spent resting and waiting to see if the medicine would work. The rain became unbelievable and soon the roads became rivers about two feet high! It was completely insane. Dave started feeling better by the end of the day as the medicine certainly did it’s job.

8.June.2008

While Dave wasn’t feeling 100 percent things were looking up and he was even starting to crave eating food again…which is very exciting! We spent the day relaxing, but by the afternoon Dave was feeling hungry and wanting KFC, so we took a rickshaw there and conveniently across the street is a MacDonald’s and I have been curious about MacDonald’s in India because of the whole “holy cow” thing…so I got food at MacDonalds, I got something that was like a Big Mac but made with chicken patties and a spicier sauce…it was a little disappointing…but anyways there is no beef on the menu in India only veg patties, chicken and fish…so after our guilty indulgence we went back to the apartment and did more nothing…

9.June.2008

Dave is feeling lot better today and as it is our last full day in Mumbai we decide to go out and explore Colaba, which is about a 30 minute train ride away from Bandra…too bad it has been pouring rain on and off. We get out of the train and attempt to take a taxi to the India gate and everyone is refusing to use the meter and we mouth off really harshly to them (racist bahinchuds, all of them!). Taking out our aggression on the jerk taxi drivers feels great, but it felt better to finally get a taxi who used the meter. The moment we arrive at the India gate it starts pouring rain so we have to hide out under the overhang and it never really stops raining but once it slows to a drizzle we walk around…not the most impressive sight but it was in the process of being renovated….from there we started walking around, but it started pouring rain again so we decided to go get a drink and food and went to the famous Leopold’s (from the book Shantaram, read it if you haven’t yet) and tried to wait out the rain but it didn’t subside…so we walked around the corner to one of the best restaurants in Mumbai called Indigo…Italian/French style cuisine. I got a steak, which was absolutely amazing…the first beef I have had in 2 months and beyond that it was just really tasty…Dave got Foi Grais and wow it was one of the best meals we have had in a long time! Our waiter informed us that Indigo has a delicatessen with real meats and cheeses so got directions to find it. When we left the restaurant it was still drizzly so we went to the delicatessen and bought some salami, blue cheese, baguettes, and Gouda for dinner and then walked around a bit before taking the train back.

When we got back to the apartment our couch surfing host was there, back from his trek in the Himalayas, which was exciting because we weren’t sure weather we would get to meet him or not, which would be strange after having spent 5 days at his apartment watching his cat! So he was stoked about his trek and talked about that and we had a nice picnic of sandwiches for dinner, which felt so exotic and delicious! We then headed out to a hookah bar around the corner, where all the university students hangout… we smoked a delicious apple flavored tobacco and chatted about life, this that and the other…long day

10.June.2008

We slept in this morning and then went with Blake to a place called the Bagel Shop and we had pretty high hopes for a real bagel and those hopes were dashed. Although it was a tasty meal it certainly wasn’t what I would call a bagel…we then walked along the ocean back to Blake’s home, which was nice, haven’t walked along the ocean in a long time, didn’t realize how much we have missed it! When we got back we packed up and got ready for our flight…said goodbye to the kitty and Blake and then took a rickshaw to the airport.

When we arrived at the airport we were both stunned at how beautiful and modern it is, having only been in the Kolkata airport we weren’t sure if all the airports in India were in need of some improvements, but clearly not! Check in and boarding was all perfectly on time and easy but then we sat in the airplane for over 3 hours, first we were waiting for some people to board and then they found some technical difficulties and thought they might be able to fix it but turns out they couldn’t. By the time we unloaded our first plane we should have already arrived in Kolkata. Not only that but we had to do the whole thing again…get tickets, check our luggage, go through security…really a fun time! We didn’t arrive into Mumbai till well after midnight, we were not happy campers. We took a prepaid taxi to Biplob’s, which was easy and quick, at least when arriving late there is no traffic! We chatted for a bit with Biplob and his other couch surfer Laura and then drifted off to sleepy land…

11.June.2008

At this point both Dave and I are feeling pretty exhausted and have no aspirations to do any sight seeing in Kolkata…so we sleep in till 10 ish and then cook some soup for breakfast for everyone and then hangout around the house doing laundry and using the internet…in the afternoon Biplob has some errands to do and decide to tag along so as not to completely waste away the day. We go the university area and there are hundreds of book stalls lining the streets in all directions and little shops selling school supplies. Biplob takes us to the oldest coffee house in Kolkata, which has a lot of history including revolutionaries meeting there to plot and so on. It had a cool feel to it and we ordered ice coffee (very hot day) and onion pakora and soak up the scene…when Biplob gets back from his errands we walked around some more just checking things out and then we hop in a cab to meet Laura and then head back to the house. We watch a really popular Bollywood film called “Jab We Met”, which was beyond silly but fun to watch just the once and Biplob wips us up a big feast of curries and rice…didn’t know he had it in him! Delicous meal followed by even more delicous slumber

12.June.2008

Another day doing next to nothing.  It rained a bit.  We ate TONS of beyond delicious Lychees and used the internet.  We ate some good Indian food, which means Dave is definitely feeling better.  We kind of just wandered around the city a bit more and hung out with Biplop.  The only exciting thing was sending a package from the post office, followed by a dance and goat sacrifice to Vishnu the preserver that our package actually gets to the US.

13.June.2008

Today was our big flight back to sanity (Thailand).  The Kolkata airport was again disappointing, especially compared to the Mumbai one.  The flight was a great purgatory between India and Thailand.  Somehow the Indian people flooding the plane made it feel overcrowded even though everyone had a seat.  It was a real party for them standing in the aisles, taking pictures, and laughing loudly at the movies on our personal little screens.  We landed without a problem and were soon checked into a hostel near the main touristy area of Bangkok!  It was AWESOME.  A bit of increase in price, but exponentially cleaner and more comfy than ANYTHING we had in India, with a great view from the window to boot.

It was awesome being in “civilization.”  Uncrowded silent streets, blue sky could actually be seen, the food was fresh and beer is cheap and delicious again!  We went out for a stroll along Khao San, had some beers at a club, and felt overall at ease and stress free.

14.June.2008

We had a great full day of Thai food, a clean and orderly museum of Thai history, and getting interviewed by Thai schoolgirls for their English class with their adorable shyness at speaking English.  Shopped a little, wandered a lot and planned extensively for what to do next which we decided to go to Kanchanaburi just to the west!  We booked our tickets for tomorrow, and turned our Passports into a tourist agency to get our Laos visas for later.  After all was settled we watched American history X at a Hostel nearby and slept.

Aural, Ocular, and Nasal Anarchy! April 12, 2008

I think I just like the sound of those three words as sensory description…

08.April.08

Today was an insane day of travel. We spent the first part hanging around the island reading and eating and blog writing, etc, then hopped into a taxi for a 3 hour boat ride to mainland Thailand. Then a 12 hour bus ride throughout the night to Bangkok. We read then slept somewhat well.

08.April.08

We arrive in Bangkok at 5am, took a 45min taxi to the airport, then slept on our bags in the terminal for two hours until check-in opened. We checked in, waited two more hours and got on the plane for an hour and a half into Kolkata, India. The only entertaining part of the journey was a group of a dozen or so Indian men who had like 3 STUFFED bags each, including a big plasma screen TV for each, it was funny watching them argue about weight/bag limits with attendants, and trying to stuff huge carry-ons into overheads, then equally entertaining watching them unload everything in the arrival terminal. Most of the stuff was clothes and electronics, we have our theories about what they were doing, but it was a weird undertaking. We changed money, got a cell phone SIM card, and walked to the main street to catch a bus to the tourist area, Sudder St.

Strolling to the bus we witnessed a group of Indian men surrounding a cell phone and laughing like giddy little school boys. They motioned for me to come look and it was a video of a girl in her underwear dancing, I laughed hysterically at having just experienced my first group of sexually immature Indian men, good start to a weird new country. We hopped on an bus and unbeknown to me there was a ladies section separate from the men. Everyone was looking at me with big comical smiles on their faces, until the ticket collector finally told me I was, in fact, in the ladies section.

The bus ride was insanely hectic, yet strangely magnificent. There was something we noticed in the air; just like Bangkok there was lots of traffic, but in Thailand it is dead silent at all times, no honking ever, and no road rage, it was often eerie even. But in India, as we later learned, it is not only lawful, but required to honk one’s horn when anything comes near to their auto, or they deviate at all from a straight line, the result: an absolutely anarchistic cacophony of blaring horns AT ALL TIMES. The aural assault was accompanied by a likewise incredible ocular assault of street life. People are everywhere, cars swerve into each other all the time and near accidents among people and autos seem constantly imminent, the sidewalks are full of people eating, cooking, walking in the most vividly colorful clothes, naked babies, slum structures held up with wood scraps and plastic sheeting seemingly ready to collapse at a whim. These are the constant sights one sees in any taxi, bus, rickshaw (human or bike pulled), or tuk tuk. This is why people say you either love it here, or you hate it, and we both LOVE IT!

We arrived at the bus station near Sudder st. and wandered around trying to find hostels. After many people trying to offer accommodation, and after seeing a few rooms, we settled on a nice clean one higher up (where the air is nicer) for an amazing price of about $2/night. We used internet a bit, made plans, etc, then headed to what we thought was a hole in the wall restaurant along the sidewalk which we read about, and instead was directly behind the dirty sidewalk at a 5 star hotel. For the quality of the food it was WELL worth the price, but for India the food was expensive. It was all delicious, and I was certain, enjoying my scrumptious Thali, that we made the right choice coming to this country of beautiful scents, spice, and color. On the walk home a very persistent man pulling a rickshaw wished for us to ride with him which was an absolutely daft experience. The Rickshaw pullers are, as we learned, “Pavement Dwellers.” They sleep, eat, poop, pee, raise families, etc on the sidewalk. I am not kidding, ON the concrete sidewalk where everyone walks. It seems very sad to hear of I am sure, but these people are simply so beautiful, often very clean, healthy, and most of the time appear at least mostly content, sometimes outwardly happy. So with a big smile, a head wobble, and a heavy lift, the thin, muscular man; barefoot, wearing only a piece of cloth as a skirt and a small tank top, briskly carried us through the back alleys teaming with crazy nighttime activity. It felt awkward to be given such treatment, as if this man were a mule, but it is his only way to make money. Nonetheless I gave him equivalent to $1.25 in rupees after a 15 minute journey, more that double the price agreed on, and he seemed quite happy. I cannot over-emphasize, this country is wild!

09.April.08

We met up Biplob today, a Couchsurfer who could host us for the night, in his lovely house tucked right above a wild alleyway. He sent us out to visit the Queen Victoria monument and we stopped by to get train tickets to Darjeeling, our next stop, we also got lunch at a place specializing in delicious Biryani. It is our second crazy day in India. We learned of and saw more of the “pavement dwellers” and their lifestyles. I was followed for a long time by a very persistent child insisting I buy him food. I resisted only from all the things I’d heard about giving money or food, and them selling the food back for the money and giving it to their father who uses it to buy alcohol, or once I give one some money, I’ll get swarmed by others, like some beggar syndicate, etc. Still, after about 10 minutes I had to give the kid credit for persistence and I bought him a mango. The Victoria monument was beautiful, but the more beautiful part of the experience were the women dressed up for visiting in their vividly bright Saris of every color imaginable.

We took the metro back and met with Biplob and another Couchsurfer Lauren, a French girl, who breaks all bad French stereotypes, in other words, she’s awesome. We all chatted, and later got dinner at a street vendor who gave us delicious dhosas, uttapams, gulab jamuns, samosas, etc. Have I mentioned that we LOVE Indian food, more than even Thai food, and that’s saying a lot. We gave a little street boy some of our food and he followed us home almost the whole way wanting more (you give a mouse a cookie…). I learned that they always stick to me because I cannot help but smile at them while everyone else just ignores them. Anyway this kid got more of his friends and they all kept laughing and following me trying to get my food and when he grabbed on my arm I lifted my arm with him attached and carried him a ways, he LOVED it. They all kept laughing and I kept pulling the kid off the ground; it was something I never imagine I would experience, these children had their own little intricate lives living on the street, and I’ve learned that it is a life that can still be filled with laughter, love, and happiness, while I have come across so many super wealthy people in life who are sad, neurotic, and unfulfilled. Quite a mind blowing thing to experience.

So we learned a lot today from Biplop. Indian customs, Hindu traditions, etc, and we’ve planned out the rough skeleton of our trip, sticking mainly to the north to stay cool and avoid the oncoming monsoon.

10.April.08

We slept in for once (very nice) and hung out around the house for the middle part (the HOT part) of the day. We later headed to the Dakineshwar Hindu temple to my favorite god Kali! Kali is the brutal god I always take pictures of. She is blue with 4 arms, and is always drinking human blood, tongue sticking out, wearing a necklace of severed human heads and hands, she represents dark magic and destroying evil with “evil” power. Anyway it didn’t seem to different a ceremony to any other Hindu Puja, everyone lined up to see the deity on it’s throne and make offerings of flowers, food, etc. It was all gorgeous, but we couldn’t take pictures. After that we went to another holy place, Belur Mhat which was likewise gorgeous dedicated to a wise Yogi; no pictures allowed. We got back, had another great dinner, and back at the house all the lights went out which happens everyday, but this time something must have happened down the street because dozens of people started screaming, and dogs barking ferociously, it was like being in a apocalyptic zombie movie, scary for a bit there. The lights went on again after an hour and all was silent again.

Boom, Porn, Bee, Oil, L, Porntip. April 8, 2008

The title of this blog are just a few favorite name tags we’ve seen. Totally legitimate Thai names, pronounced different than one would think, but they spell some funny shit in English. Check out the guys nametag below:

1.April.2008

We decided today that traveling is just too much for us, and booked tickets back home in a week. We figured we’d just get home, get full time jobs and have a few kids. Jessica is already pregnant too so we have a head start. See you all in a week.

APRIL FOOLS!!!! Ha ha, that was fun, sorry I didn’t post it ON April Fools day. Here’s the REAL April first blog:

Today we woke up at a reasonable hour, instead of the usual half past dawn, and walked down for a great breakfast buffet at the hotel. We took advantage of the free hotel shuttle to Chaweng beach, which is where we would be staying if we weren’t lucky enough to be with my parents. Chaweng is where most of the backpackers stay, super crazy and hectic, the beach is packed from wall to wall with beach resorts, bars, restaurants, and massage booths. We walked around to check out the craziness and then slowed things down a bit with an hour long Thai massage on the beach, for the bargain price of 200 baht (7 USD)…it was an amazing massage, almost put me to sleep I was so relaxed.

After Chaweng we headed back to the hotel for a little rest and relaxation floating around in the pool and napping in the room. We had a late dinner at the hotel, on the balcony over looking the beautiful ocean vista and partook in happy hour, buy one get one free and were even serenaded by two Thai men and their guitars, doing great covers of all sorts of random songs…

2.April.2008

Today we split up and did our own things, mom and dad hung out at the pool and Dave and I went for a crazy little adventure to see the big Buddha. We were too cheap to take 400baht cab so we decided to walk and even tried to convince ourselves that it would be fun, but in the end it really wasn’t. It was a very hot day and we were walking along the road ( a good portion of it under some kind of construction) getting fumes in our face the whole way but we did it and I guess at least we got some exercise out of it. We stopped at a Wat along the way with huge statues of different gods, quite impressive. The big Buddha was quite impressive once we got there, it is on an island right off the coast of Koh Samui (yes another, littler island). Big golden statue surrounded by beautiful blue ocean. We then stopped for a well earned lunch and cold beer at a cute little restaurant nearby with a great selection of vegetarian options.

We opted not to walk back and took a tuk tuk for 200baht back to the hotel. Once we got back we threw on our suits and joined my parents at the pool, which felt great. Definitely made good use of the pool while we were there…for our last dinner together we caught a cab into town to Eat Sense, a restaurant recommended to us. Beautiful location right on the beach with hanging lanterns and all… the food was great and I got a delicious drink in a fresh coconut…after dinner we explored the area a bit, mom and dad buying a couple last minute souvenirs to bring home. We then headed back to the hotel and had one last beer in our room and then said goodnight.

3.April.2008

Today was spent traveling by all. After breakfast Regine and CB hopped in a taxi to the airport and begin their trip back home. Team Siebenjack (our official team name) got picked up an taken to the dock where we took a big boat to Koh Phangan chatting with a nice german girl along the way who likes to relax on the Phangan beach during the day and take lots of ecstasy and dance to rave music at night (I think our itinerary here will be a BIT different, but maybe only the ecstasy part).

We arrived in Phangan at dark, tired and having no clue where to stay. We tried a few nice looking places, some booked, some too pricey and settled with a cheap cheap bungalow right on the beach for 350 Bhat. It was a terrible night. The place had cockroaches, it smelled, very hot, and crappy music blasting in our ears from a nearby bar, but we finally settled into a crappy sleep.

4.April.08

We knew we must find a better place today so after a decent breakfast (Jessica eating typical western breakfast, porridge and Banana, and me with my asian breakfast of hot and spicy Tom Yum soup, emphasis on the YUM) we hunted down a better deal. We found a MUCH nicer room (not bungalow) which was especially cool, clean, and quiet, with a comfy bed and nice bathroom for 100 Bhat CHEAPER than the last place. That 100 Bhat must be because we moved back away from the beach by about 100 feet, oh what a gruelling hike it is! Now very satisfied with our diggs we spent a good amount of the day hanging out on the beach and contemplating what to do next. We had a terrific lunch at a hole in the wall, no name, Thai place, which cooked the BEST black pepper chicken I have ever had and ordered by mistake, using my broken Thai, and Jess had delicious coconut soup. We booked a boat trip to Aang Thong Marine Park for tomorrow and a boat to Koh Tao for the next.

Dinner was good and is always accompanied by a movie or US TV show, this time some enjoyable episodes of “Friends.” When the sun fell we hung around the beach, drank a bucket of cheap liquor (Thai whiskey with coke, red bull, and ice, in a big red bucket; an island favorite), listened to some sweet booming trance techno, and watched the single fastest fire dancer we have EVER seen. The fire dancing was incredible and this guy was simply insane. Tatooed and ripped from head to toe, constantly dripping in sweat, this Thai local didn’t even take a break when not spinning flaming sticks, chains, balls, because he would simply sit there and flip around a coke bottle with lightning speed. Speaking of lightning, the background lightning made the ambience that much cooler, though the thunder couldn’t be hear over the booming music. We slept much nicer in our cool, comfy new room.

5.April.08

Woke up early to taxi to a pier where we hopped on our packed boat for a day of exploring and snorkeling. The hour plus journey to the island was mildly miserable being dumped on by a torrent of cold rain, though it did feel good to be COLD for once! The trip was very fun; the snorkeling not too great but the waters were crazy clear. The whole archapelago was stunning with really dramatic rock formations, no wonder parts of the movie “The Beach” were filmed here as well as in Koh Phangan. We did some hiking on one island, and had a tasty lunch on another where I befriended a little lizard.

The group was a very strange mix of about 20 people. Two Aussies we instantly befirended, some germans, a thai family with a really cute little kid, and a really odd hungarian family. The Hungarian family was our favorite; the mom was super posh and made-up for the trip, she had HUGE fake tits and tiny little bikini, a skinny body (and after having TWO kids). On the trip back to Koh Phangan we hit a big wave and all her junk fell out and bobbed all over as she stumbled to the calmer back of the boat. It was a fun show for all (especially the giddy Thai family who will tell the story for years), but the most impressive part was how absolutely shameless she was about it. She didn’t even give an unnecessary apology like most would, or become embarrassed, she simply made a little laugh and readjusted her balloons back in place. I instantly loved her for that and realized I had misjudged her by her plastic looks; she actually spoke about five languages including German and English which we chatted in about Hungary and E. Europe for the trip home.

Back on Phangan we watched more fire dancing after dark, drank another whiskey bucket, and went to bed.

6.April.08

We took an early boat trip on a massive boat to the third, smallest, and final island of the trio; Koh Tao. We instantly liked it better than the other two because of the truly relaxed atmosphere, beautiful street dogs, and neat, eclectic little bungalows and hostels down the cozy main street. We got a great deal on a bungalow with a hammock in which I laid and read in while stroking my new best friend; a large bulldog I named Achilles (speaking of, as I was typing that line he JUST walked by the internet center I am in and I ran out to pet him…weird). We had some great lunch overlooking the pristine beach, booked our trip back to Bangkok in two days, and got info about an ATV tour around the island we wished to take tomorrow. Then we laid around the beach for a good amount of the day, enjoying the weather and the topless Scandinavian and Dutch girls around us (perhaps I enjoyed it more than Jessie, but I’m sure she snuck a glance now and again).

Dinner was terrific with a beautiful ambiance as all the electricity went out and we ate by candlelight and flames along the beach. After dinner we walked along the fire-lit alleyways to a cheap Thai massage place where we experienced delicious hour massages for 300 Baht each ($10). Thai massages are always great and involve stretching, back cracking, pressure points, etc. We thoroughly enjoyed our first day on Koh Tao and slept very well under our mosquito net.

07.April.08

Today we rented an ATV and all the gas we needed to go around the island. For the concerned parents; yes we wore helmets, especially after we’ve seen so many tourists in arm/leg/head bandages from motorbike accidents. The whole day was terrific and at times terrifying and miserable when we got stuck or lost in the horrendous heat!!! We met up with a nice Canadian on a motorbike and all road together in a “you watch my back, I’ll watch yours.”

The beaches around the island were fantastic, the snorkeling only moderate as the coral and fish life wasn’t too impressive, but the scenery was breathtaking, especially from a really high point on the island where some major resort construction is going on which cleared the way for an awesome view of the island. We also had a great view of the waters and “Shark Island” from where we ate lunch. All very serene and not too many tourists on the more remote parts of the island, but LOTS of construction. The roads were a bit dodgy in many areas, and we even tipped the AV on it’s side at one point, but we were going very slow and safe and jumped off in time, damaging nothing. Luckily we didn’t get burned as we constantly reapplied sunscreen, but DAMN was it hot, the sun scorched the skin.

We got back to mainland and ate dinner completely exhausted, falling asleep shortly after with thoughts of the HUGE journey tomorrow from Koh Tao to India. Taxi to boat to long night bus ride to plane from Bangkok to Kolkata!

Well that’s it for now. I added TONS more pictures to Flickr.com of the three islands. Enjoy!

Operation: Elephant Wang April 1, 2008

21.March.08

Charlie (our CS host) flew to Malaysia today for a DJ gig leaving just the two of us his apartment for the weekend, talk about generosity!!! After a short walk around the neighborhood, where we were certainly the only white folk for miles, we found an excellent noodle vendor. One couldn’t call it a restaurant exactly as there is no official name and only a couple plastic tables and seats, but they have a big wok with tons of fresh veggies and cook absolutely terrific noodles, filling us both up for 40 Bhat (maybe $1.50). We spent most of today on the internet typing the last blog and meeting a really cute street dog outside that I played with extensively (fleas be dammed!).

We headed to Kao San where I went on a bit of a shopping “frenzy.” I got new sunglasses, a Job for a Cowboy T-Shirt (which is an obscure Death Metal band I like that I am surprised they had a shirt of), and some souvenirs for friends. We also discovered a terrific vegetarian place a bit out of the touristy part where the more “hippy” backpackers hang out. The place is called May Kaidee’s and we met May who teaches cooking classes every day. I had an unforgettable shitake mushroom soup and Jess a likewise tasty dish. Later that night we met at a super fancy club with other Couchsurfing travelers and hosts. It was kind of boring; the live music was great, but loud and impeded us from getting to talk much, and after an hour or so they all went out salsa dancing, which sounded about as much fun to us as sliding down razorblades into a pool of lemon juice. So we took the train home and contemplated how boring and old we are because we don’t like getting plastered and grind against sweaty people at a club, like all the other kids our age do.

22.March.08

We went to the famous Chatuchuk markets today which is a place where anything from T-Shirts, massages, & touristy trinkets to human slaves can be purchased (maybe not human slaves, but with nearly a thousand stalls filled with cheap merchandise, one’s gotta have a deal for slaves somewhere in there). We bought more souvenirs and I bought a really nice, cheap bag (everything is cheap, especially when you bargain!). Bangkok as we’ve learned is an okay city with lots of pollution, some interesting attractions, but mainly cheap shopping (and we usually hate shopping, but it’s all just too cheap to pass up, and stuff friends and family back home will love). It was hotter than hell today (though I think hell is getting colder from global warming or something, I don’t know I’m not an expert). It was one of those days where you step outside and your shirt instantly clings to your back with sweat, but we’re pretty much used to it by now, Jess bought a little fan to help. Finished off the day of shopping in the maze of merchandise with some noodles at our new favorite place, then hung out, read a lot, and slept (we’re best at that).

23.March.08

We took a taxi in the morning to the Riverfront apartments to meet Jessie’s parents (CB and Regine) at noon. It was good to see more people from back home again! We took them to Chatuchuk and this time saw even more of the insanity than we saw before. Chatuchuk is not the sort of place you can see all of in one day; the markets take up like 8 blocks long and 4 blocks wide, it would take a half an hour to speed walk end to end, and zig-zagging through the labyrinth of shops would take more than a full day. We entered through a different section this time; the animal section. This experience was both depressing and exciting at the same time. There were far too many puppies, kitties, bunnies, and squirrels (yes squirrels; little flying squirrels too, sugar gliders) all taken from their mothers WAY too early. They were suffering as well in hot heat and sometimes in terrible conditions where there were even dead animals in cages with live ones. Some stalls even had rarities like peacocks in cages, rare tropical fish, and later we read in the news that vendors that day were arrested selling endangered animals like two Madagascar turtles on the brink of extinction worth a couple million bucks. It was very sad, but good to hear the police are doing something about it, and it’s just a matter of time before animal rights groups step in. Jess and Regine got a long foot massage while CB & I bought more souvenirs for them to bring back home to friends.

We headed back to our very nice apartment building, though quite a distance from town, and had dinner overlooking the river and city. We got some groceries and got CB a good sampling of Asian beers, namely Singha, Tiger, and Chang. We drank a bunch of beer in the living room of our two bedroom apartment and talked about our travels and plans for the next couple of weeks. Then CB and Regine spent their first night ever in SE Asia!

24.March.08

After an okay buffet breakfast at the apartment building we headed into the main city. (The apartment building by the way is very complex. It is in a clump of tall apartment buildings, has a mall underground, a pool, restaurants, a hotel-like lobby, etc. It is more like a hotel for long stays, like business, but reasonably priced and very nice and clean). We went to the Grand Palace which is the labyrinth of Wats (temples), European, Thai, and hybrid style living quarters, and covered in murals and statues depicting Chinese and also Hindu history and mythology. The main attraction is an intricate statue of the Buddha carved entirely of Jade and changes clothes in different seasons…with magic (monks might help out too, and I don’t know what its clothes look like when it changes as it’s pretty much only one season here; varying levels of HOT, so I assume Buddha doesn’t wear a scarf or anything). Part of the palace was closed because the king’s sister just died (really you hadn’t heard? I thought everyone knew). Overall the palace was pretty incredible. From the pictures however it will look even more incredible as close up it’s a little ‘too much’ sometimes, bordering on tacky; maybe a bit too much gold leaf and glitter some places.

After the Grand Imperial Palace we went to a tasty lunch followed by an exhilarating boat ride. We sped through the back alley canals of Bangkok seeing a lot of very Thai style homes staked in the water. It was very fun and was the most authentic taste of Bangkok we’ve had yet. Many of the houses had beautiful little spirit houses outside sitting in the water. Spirit houses are something the Buddhists put outside every structure where the spirits can live in harmony, and they make offerings to it. The Thai’s are especially fond of these little structures because they are terrified of ghosts. After the boat trip we landed at the reclining Buddha, a huge statue of Siddhartha lying on his side and painted all in gold. It was nice, but nothing mind-blowing, and as massive as it is, it’s only the 2^nd largest reclining Buddha in the world.

We got back to our place then left again to eat at Cabbages and Condoms; a quirky little place downtown with good food, live Thai music, and fun décor maximizing the use of condoms, birth control pills, and other contraceptives. Instead of a dinner mint…how about a free condom? How’s that for spreading AIDS awareness!

25.March.08

We spent a good portion of the day at a travel agent and planned the next leg of the trip with Regine and CB. After we brought them to our favorite little vegetarian Thai place May Kaidee’s near Khao San then wandered around Khao San a bit afterwards. We spent a bit of the day just relaxing and ate dinner at Bua near the hotel where we had terrific Tom Yam (very spice-full and spicy Thai soup/noodle with prawn dish), and I ate a wonderfully unique Wild Boar curry. I say unique not because it was Wild Boar, but because it was served with the skin still attached and the meat and skin in the form of a watermelon wedge. I had to eat out the meat and pile up the way too chewy skin which, to add an extra level of weird, one could still see the hair follicles inside it’s translucency; I ate the whole dish…yummy!

26.March.08

We took an early bus to Ayutthaya, the old capitol of Thailand until the Burmese came and smashed everything, leaving some sweet ruins of Wats and palaces. We had a really funny guide who spoke hysterical broken English and repeated himself a lot (we think he just ran out of things he could say, but felt he needed to keep talking, but we loved him, he was SO energetic and had a huge smile at all times). The first Wat was a very old Wat restored by monks with grand brick and stone architecture. The most impressive of the day was the ancient royal palace with the very dramatic cone spires and gorgeous ruins. The new palace of Pa-In was not so impressive. It is the modern summer home of the royal family, and felt a bit like Disneyland (especially riding around in a golf cart) with rather dull European architecture, probably pretty to someone who has never seen European buildings, but altogether the grounds felt like just any old wealthy mansion. Nice, but nothing new, and far from Thai except for the massive spirit house island.

We took a nice boat ride back into Bangkok accompanied by a westernized Thai meal (Mai Pet = No Spice = BORING). It wasn’t that bad, but when you’re used to more authentic spicy Thai food, it was just okay, good for westerners who absolutely can’t handle any spice. We hung out at the hotel, ate dinner there and off to bed.

27.March.08

We took a tour to the unforgettably unique floating markets outside of Bangkok. It is a series of canals where many vendors float in canoes selling their wares; originally just crops and other goods, but since tourism, now a lot of souvenirs get sold from the boats. It was really wild to experience, especially when we got a boat ride through the canals. Though we didn’t buy much except some delicious fried bananas (have I mentioned yet that bananas in every shape and form are EVERYWHERE in Thailand, no wonder the Hindu’s and Buddhists can so easily afford to leave them as sacrifice for the spirits to eat), some fresh lychees, fresh mangoes (also thoroughly abundant), as well as a set of fisherman’s pants for Jess and Regine, it was well worth the experience to boat through such colorful maritime chaos.

We went to another touristy woodcarving place on the way back which was pretty neat since some of the carvings were stunningly intricate on deep wood panels and all being carved by hand. All were too expensive to buy, mainly tables and chairs or wood carved 3-D murals, but I’m sure quite a good price for the quality. We got back and Jess and Regine got a Mother/Daughter foot massage, then we did laundry, ate dinner, and packed up to get ready to leave Bangkok which we were all very ready to do. Bangkok has been great, but just VERY polluted and quite difficult to get around.

28.March.08

We taxied to the airport and flew to Suratthani right on the outskirts of the major national Rainforest Khao Sok. The flight was quick and easy and when we arrived at the hotel we mainly hung around, chatted, and drank some beers. We explored a nearby mall and were stunned by how similar it was too Wal-Mart, something we especially didn’t expect in this odd little town. The hotel is very nice and reasonably priced, but we didn’t do too much extraordinary today.

29.March.08

We went to the Lobby and dropped off our main luggage at the front desk, bringing only essentials for our 2 day 1 night jungle journey in Khao Sok. In the lobby we were confronted by a driver who said to us “You need ride,” we responded “Yes, to Khao Sok,” and realized this was a mistake. We realized we should have let him say where he was supposed to take us because now we feared he was just a regular taxi and not our scheduled shuttle bus, especially because in his minimal English he responded “Taxi, yes, Taxi.” His minibus certainly wasn’t a typical taxi, but it did not say Siam Safari on it (our tour company), in fact he didn’t seem to know what Siam Safari was. We had our heads filled with some elaborate scam where he’d drive us an hour in the opposite direction then charge to take us back, but after a few calls and many apologies for being paranoid, he ended up just being a hired driver to take us in his pleasant minibus where we needed to go.

Khao Sok was instantly awesome. We stayed in palm thatched roof bungalows with hot water and nice clean beds, two hammocks outside, a cute dog, two cute cats, and friendly goats that loved licking the sweat off my arms. Lunch was delicious Thai food, a bit westernized, but authentic enough to be super yummy! We got situated, read in the hammocks a bit, then headed for our day adventure of kayaking and elephant rides through the rainforest jungle. The kayaking was great, and though I was disappointed that I didn’t get to paddle (I hate being papered and it’s more fun to do it yourself) the guide who paddled us was excellent at picking out the King Cobras and Boas in the trees…no monkeys though *frown.* The river and surrounding mountains and jungle were stunning, and the scorching heat was kept at bay with hats, glasses and lots of sun block. One point on the trip we got tea, snacks, and a place to swim in the mud brown river and swing off a rope-swing, fun stuff. After an hour and a half tour it was over and we were back in our military-like truck to meet some elephants.

The elephant ride was an absolutely phenomenal adventure. Our elephant trainers were the real deal, and only a dozen or so years ago were forced from elephant logging to tourist rides due to restrictions. They may make more money now, but as un-environmental as it sounds, I imagine they had much more fun logging as it required much more skill and brain power than hauling honkies like us up and down through the jungle. They were however extremely nice aside that they spoke no English; they were excellent elephant handlers and controlled movements with a scary looking metal spike on its head (very thick skinned though and without a sharp jab the elephants wouldn’t even feel it). They rode on its head and could get up and down at a whim by getting the elephant to bow forward. At some point there were massive bolts of lighting with thunder sounding like Thor splitting a mountain in half with a hammer (we’ve been around Scandinavians a lot in the last month) and torrential rains. It made the whole experience even more exciting. Speaking of exciting, Regine and CB’s elephant was in a constant state of excitement with his protruding ‘fifth leg’ that puts even the most well-endowed like Ron Jeremy to shame. I know for some of you readers this topic may seem gross, but take my word for it, to see such a gargantuan grey wang in person is really quite humbling.

We ended our terrific jungle adventures with another delicious meal at the lodge by the bamboo fueled fire. Throughout the meal we were entertained by Geckos on the lights eating small insects above our heads and a Thai guide who brought in a frog and cicada for me to play with (everyone else was too scared to touch; though even I got freaked out and dropped the frog when it peed all over my hand). Throughout the evening we saw a stunning sunset and an absolutely entrancing electrical storm with lightning bolts performing maneuvers I have never seen, such as spiraling in the sky or covering a massive area like a spider web, followed by more Thor-like thunder. A terrific day, and after a few beers and some whiskey we slept very well.

30.March.08

Regine felt a bit sick today so Jess, CB, and I went with a small group and a great English tour guide for a jungle trek. All night were torrential rains with booming thunder so the muddy clay ground was quite soaked making it even more beautiful, but forcing us to perform acrobatics during the hike as not to get our shoes soaked. Our guide provided a wealth of knowledge about jungle crabs, monkeys, snails, poison dart frogs, elephants, plants that will make your arm feel on fire for a day after brushing its leaves, bamboo that stabs fungus and bacteria in you, temporarily paralyzing where contact is made, and other such fun facts of the death and pain that surrounded us at all times; it was awesome…as long as one stayed on the path. He gave a great lesson about rubber trees and their cultivation. Rubber plantations make up 30% of Thailand’s GDP, and another 30% is tourism and 98% of the Thai rubber, which is just the tree sap harvested like maple syrup, goes to making condoms and surgical gloves. After an hour of informative and light hiking (which was nowhere near the devastating heat and uphill root climbing of Taman Negara, but nonetheless quite hot) we stopped for probably the best lunch we have had in all of Thailand.

A Thai guide went ahead of us earlier to set up cooking supplies at a small overhang. We got a terrific lesson on authentic Thai cooking using all native ingredients and all the eating and drinking utensils were straight from the rainforest. Coconut bowls, banana leaf plates and table cloth covering a bamboo table, bamboo cups, etc; it was all mind-bogglingly simple, yet beautifully elegant, efficient, and all 100% biodegradable. He cooked with coconut, shallots, turmeric, Thai ginger, spicy peppers, lemon grass, etc. We ate a Tom Yam-like soup was made with chicken, as well as fried pork, coconut and spiced scrambled eggs, all absolutely incredible. We had fun conversation over lunch about Thai people and their spiritual beliefs and Buddhist philosophy as well as the native jungle Thai and their animal and tree spirits. As usual however, we couldn’t help but all agree that most religion is pretty silly, an opiate of the masses if you will, and causes as much, if not more harm than good, however Buddhism, in the majority of its forms is not a religion as I used to think, but simply an open-minded and critically thinking philosophy that heavily encourages all followers to steer clear of any dogma and always think for yourself, never accepting blindly what anyone else says. This made a lot of sense from the mentality of the Thai and Malaysian Buddhists that we have met so far, but it is still a set of beliefs and is, as always, interpreted however the believer wishes, not, in the end, all that different from any other set of beliefs I suppose, but it sounds like beautiful ideas and teachings nonetheless.

We made our way back to civilization, seeing tons of gorgeous fungus along the way and a quite rare stinky flower that when it blooms at some point smells of rotting flesh to attract flies; thankfully it was not one of those blooming days. We waded through a knee deep river, getting a bit wet, but the scorching sun dried our clothes in mere minutes. After packing up again we were back on a bus back to Suratthani and to our same hotel. We had a few beers, talked, watched some TV, and wrote a bunch for the blog.

31.March.08

We spent most of the day traveling by Tuk Tuk to a bus station than by bus to pier then by a huge and beautiful boat to Koh Samui then by Taxi to our hotel. Koh Samui is an island right along with the infamous Koh Panang and Koh Tao, also just short boat ride to the island where “The Beach” was filmed. Our hotel is splendid with nice pools, great views and tons of great tropical bird and frog sounds at night. We relaxed at the pool a good amount of time upon arrival, then ate at a fancy place downtown with a killer chicken and cashew dish. We had some beers back at the hotel and headed to bed early, quite tired from a day full of travel. It is a strange thing that sometimes the days of just sitting around on a bus/boat/taxi etc, are often more exhausting than the days full of activity.

Whew…that’s a long one! I just put up a ton of Flickr pictures from the last couple weeks. Check them out at the link to the right.

Not even the Irish have this much luck. March 21, 2008

You’ll understand the luck title after you read a few of our stories. Yes it’s been a long time since I’ve written a blog because we have been in the middle of a rain forest followed by a tropical island adventure, both having neither the time, motivation, or access to computers. So without further ado, here’s a long blog. Some days I’ll keep short so I don’t get carpal tunnel from typing so much, but I’ll try to keep in the interesting bits!

09.March.08

Our three friends left today to go to other parts of Malaysia, so Jess and I were left with a sunny day to explore. We took a jungle trek through unexpectedly vicious terrain filled with mud and steep uphill slopes. At the peak was a tall tower that we got to just in time for a decent view of the rolling hills and distant city before the fog rolled in. Turns out it was more than fog, but heavy rain, and under cover of our ponchos we hiked down a road to the ‘Boh’ tea plantation. When we arrived a couple hours later (it looked like only a few inches on the map!) it looked like it should have been gorgeous, but was covered in fog. Then, like a divine miracle cast from vishnu/allah/buddah above (remember it’s a very diverse culture) the skies cleared within minutes and we had a splendid view of green fields. The tea plantation was pretty, the factory was mildly interesting, but packed with kids. Not wanting to walk ALL the way back we hitchhiked and got picked up by a super friendly Muslim family who drove us back and we went to bed.

10.March.08

We said a sad farewell to the puppies and Tanah Rata in the cool Cameron Highlands to take a long bus ride to the sweltering hot and humid Kuala Tahan in Taman Negara rainforest. We picked a hostel quite a bit out of the way called Durian Chalet and got our own room which was quaint…maybe a better word is basic, I don’t know. We randomly bumped into Darren and Richard again (we knew they were coming here, but the fact we chose the same hostel as them, the farthest out of town was really weird!) Along with them came to dinner Anja; Norway, Claudine; New York, and some weird German dude who’s best description could be old fashioned; nice, but, well…weird and sometimes maybe too nice, it was a bit creepy. This was our crew for the next 2 days. We ate and hiked through the dark village a bit. It’s a really unique little village as all the restaurants float in the river and little wooded boards lead up to them. Beer however is nearly nonexistent.

Trying to fall asleep this night was absolute hell! Huge bugs called Cicadas surrounded our room, one even in our room for a bit and made a noise best described as someone screaming from physical torture for 15 seconds ending with a cute little ‘beep’ sound, and then screaming again, like some sick, twisted lullaby. It went on for hours into the night, stopping so we could sleep a bit, then starting right back up again; we decided at some point we must change rooms.

11.March.08

Claudine left this morning, Anja felt a bit sick, and German dude was…doing weird stuff I guess, so we hiked just with Darren and Richard which was among the most grueling hikes we’ve ever done. Not so much that it was physically demanding, but the heat and mud was like walking in a wet clay oven wearing boots made of thick molasses. It rained intermittently which didn’t phase us as we couldn’t get more wet from sweat. Overall however it was a great experience. There was some gorgeous fungus, unique and spiky plants, followed by a terrific view from the top.

At some point on the way back to the hostel Jessica realized she lost her wallet containing lots of cash, cards, ID, etc!!! We all went back to the village to search. She thought she dropped it while at the dock on this side after crossing the river so we looked there. Being few English speakers in the area I kept pointing at my wallet and any color blue I could find. One guy seemed to have an idea of what I was talking about, said something indecipherable and pointed in a direction we then followed asking people along the way. One guy at a restaurant nearby talked to me and pointed in the water saying more indecipherable language. He called his friend over who said that his friend had the wallet and would like to keep it, “but no” we retorted “it is her wallet,” “oh” he said, “well he’ll be back later with it” seeing our worried looks he told us he’d call his friend and told us to meet at some random place in the middle of the village. Sure enough a guy rode up on his motorbike and grudgingly handed Jessica her wallet. He got to keep a 50 Ringett reward, but I think he wanted the whole wallet, but knew his friends would give him shit for not being honest! Disgustingly lucky! We ate well and slept comfortably in our new dorm room shared with the others (ah peace and quiet).

I also spent a lot of the day having Anja teach me Norwegian (almost the same as Swedish) which is really quite easy since very similar to german/english and has less complicated grammar. This was a theme as long as we’ve been traveling with Anja. I should have been learning Malay, but had no proper teacher, plus it is a LOT more difficult and could only learn the necessary words to be polite in the time we’ve been here.

12.March.08

Darren and Richard left for the Perhentian Islands and Anja, Jess, and I crossed the river into the National park again to hike to the Canopy walk; a series of bridges about 65 meters off the ground walking above the rainforest. Not as exhilarating as we’d hoped, then again nothing compares to that massive 75 meter tree we defied death by climbing in SW Australia, and this was safe and secure all the way through, pleasant enough. That night we packed with other tourists into the back of a pickup truck, Anja sat with a guide on the ROOF of the truck and we sat with four others on seats in the back with 5 more inside…mildly dangerous, but hey, no traffic and on mud roads mostly. We drove through a palm oil orchard to search for some nocturnals. Saw some cool birds, a small wild cat, a raccoon-like thing, and fireflies. The whole experience was fun and a little scary when the truck kept stalling in the uphill mud from being packed with 13 people’s weight, maybe not too smart, but we made it home safe.

13.March.08

Long day of travel with Anja as we made our way by bus and jungle train to Khota Baru; our final destination being the Perhentian Islands. The whole trip we read and slept, there were some pretty views out the window as well, and we stopped in Khota Baru for the night at a cute hostel run by a Chinese family with an adorable cat who had fallen and broken it’s paw (I didn’t think it possible!). Khota Baru was fun for the little time we were there. We had a nice dinner in a hectic Chinese market and finally had access to some Tiger beer.

14.March.08

Spent the first part of the day traveling via taxi to Kuala Besut then Boat to Kuala Kecil (the small island of the two Perhentian islands). The boat ride was wet and rough, but made for a memorable experience. As we landed we met Richard and Claudine again about to embark on a SCUBA journey. They pointed us in a 15 minute walk across the island to Long Beach where we met Darren! Darren told us a hysterical story about meeting the two British girls that our friend from Cameron Highlands (Jessica Thorpe) was talking about all the time (they split up because they got on each other’s nerves). Amazing coincidence that they were on this little beach on this little island where they had been bumming aroud for 2 weeks while Jess traveled elsewhere alone (meeting us along the way as well). Totally random! Anyway Jess and I got a VERY nice room with own shower, nice (western) toilet, comfy bed, and an awesome price of $12 a night! We hung out on the beautiful sunny beach with cool blue water and ate dinner with our now large group of friends (the newcomers being 2 Irish, a Scot, the two English I talked about, and 2 Swedes). We had a great dinner and headed after to a bar where we drank a bit, laughed and talked a lot. It is definitely nice being social in a big group for a change; everyone we hung out with has been really fun.

15.March.08

Anja, Jess, and I went on a snorkel trip to five different spots with a boat full of Swedes (lots of Swedish here). The snorkeling was terrific; at shark point we saw a couple black tip sharks, at turtle cove we saw…yup, a big turtle and at coral points we saw…CORAL (mingled with hundreds of clownfish, moray eels, wrasse, parrot fish, clams, and every other type of beautiful and colorful fish, anemone, and coral one could imagine. We finally were able to see true clownfish (Little NEMOS; in Australia we saw nearly ALL varieties except the true clownfish) and the Nemos we saw got hysterically aggressive as you dove down to their anemone. The alpha Nemo would swim away from his family right up to your face and sometimes rapidly attack the goggles to scurry quickly away to it’s safe, stinging anemone. Gotta respect that a cute little thing like that would pick a fight with something maybe 1,000 times its size, talk about small-man’s complex.

Back on the beach we met with everyone for dinner at a place advertising to play the new version of Sweeny Todd with Johnny Depp (but it’s not even out on DVD yet you say, well clearly you haven’t been to Asia with pirated DVD’s galore in nearly perfect quality, but often hysterically bad subtitles even in English when it’s an English spoken film; I still don’t really get it). Turned out the movie they purchased from whoever was the wrong version of Sweeny Todd; a non-musical from the early 90’s, yet still VERY entertaining and made for a gruesome evening of barbershop slaughter and cannibalism; my favorite things to go with a fine meal and conversation.

16.March.08

We did absolutely nothing during the day today and it felt great. We hung around the beach with all our new friends, talked, read, listened to music, ate, avoided the sun because snorkeling yesterday gave us sunburns, and that was it. It was Julia’s Birthday (one of the English girls) so at night we packed a table at the local bar for diner, games, and drinks. Due to generator problems the lights at the bar kept coming on and going off all night, but we were outside in the sand with candles, torch, and later a bonfire so it was all good. As usual the night ended in fits of laughter; a good time had by all, except Darren who due to a Ring of Fire rule (drinking game) he had to drink any time I was caught not paying attention to the game, needless to say he got exceedingly drunk.

17.March.08

We said goodbyes to nearly all of our new friends save Anja, Bob and Maddie (The Swedish couple, I said to him, “Bob doesn’t sound Swedish,” he said his real name is Tobias…still doesn’t sound Swedish. But man are they stereotypical Swedes, blonde hair blue eyes, the works). Bob and Maddie came with us on another snorkeling trip just the four of us to some nearby islands about a 30 minute boat trip away with two terrific guides. The whole day was spent hunting down Black tip sharks, though I only saw two, a baby and a big one. One of the guides even speared a fish to attract the shark with blood to no avail. The water at the islands was pristine because it is less visited and there are no resorts or anything near them, though the beaches still covered with trash that washes up from mainland and nearby island resorts. Some of the coral was unlike any we’ve ever seen and tons of cool fish, and B & M got some good underwater shots that we’ll steal from later and put online. We ended the day in a cove filled with massive sea turtles. Within 5 minutes of entering the water I had followed 3 of them around and we all gathered around one nearly the size of a person.

The four of us and Anja ate and chatted with our favorite waitress/hostess/hostel manager Sharon about life on the island before tourists, which was only like 10 years ago. We have been absolutely in love with Sharon since day one. She was always at the front desk/restaurant working, and she always has a huge smile, speaks perfect English, is super peppy, sweet, and adorable. She had lived on the island all her life, and until recently it had been only a small community of fisherman. Now it is quickly becoming a booming tourist resort, and we were glad to have visited before it becomes too over crowded/expensive.

18.March.08

Anja, Jess, and I hopped on a boat around noon to the mainland where we waited for a bus, but it never came so we took a taxi to Khota Baru. From there we said bye to Anja and just barely caught a bus to the Thai/Malaysian border. We walked through the border crossing getting our coveted exit and entry stamps, then, having no idea where to go and being surrounded by nothing but slums, we started walking towards a hotel in the distance. We definitely wanted to get through this area swiftly as people and our Lonely Planet guide mentions this area having Muslim terrorist problems (they want a separate state from Thailand and protest by bombing police and military stations, they have a no civilian casualty policy, but I hear bombings don’t always go as planned).

We briskly walked to the hotel and once there we exchanged 30 Ringett for 300 Thai Bhat and inquired about busses to our next destination, Hat Yai. The last daily bus to Hat Yai was to leave in 15 minutes; good we thought, just in time, but when asked the price she said 500 Bhat and she couldn’t change American currency. No problem all we needed was an ATM, but the closest one we found out is 2 kilometers away! Maybe we could get a quick taxi to take us there and back to get enough money and just catch the bus, unfortunately the only taxis in this town are motorbikes, so holding on for dear life I hopped on the back of a motorbike and sped through alleyways and busy streets to the ATM where I got the money, sped back, and caught the bus within mere seconds…not even the Irish have this much luck! Turned out later all the hassle could have been avoided since I still had 100 Ringett hidden deep in my bag…but then I guess there wouldn’t be a story to tell, or an exhilarating motorcycle ride. The bus was an uneventful 5 hours and we got to Hat Yai and checked into a hostel at a staggering 300 Bhat a night (actually only about 9 bucks, but it feels like we’re paying more). Our room on the fourth floor had the slight smell of cooked cabbage reminiscent of Jessica’s Oma’s house in Germany, it was a very nice room in a hostel filled wall to wall with pictures of the current king at every stage in his life. A bit weird, but as we find out the king is kind of a big deal in Thailand (I bet his home has many leather bound books and smells of rich mahogany…or incense).

19.March.08

Hat Yai is just another SE Asian city, except now the people speak Thai instead of Malay so we have to get used to learning the basics of a whole new language. We did errands today; got some much needed clothes washed for us at a laundry place, spent a good amount of time using the internet, mailed shit from the post office, etc. We went to the train station to book our tickets tomorrow to Bangkok, but due to holiday all 1^st class and 2^nd class sleeper seats were booked for the next four days and we have to meet Jessica’s parents in two days, we had to make a split decision because two 1^st class sleeper seats were available on a train leaving in two hours. We bought the tickets because we did not want to have to sit on uncomfortable seats for 14 hours and compared to ticket prices in western countries it was super cheap.

Before boarding the train we got some food from a street vendor near the train station. The lady wanted her picture with Jess and insisted that she was Jessica’s mother. She was just being funny and that’s exactly what it was. The room we got all to ourselves on the train was very luxurious. A set of comfy bunk beds, sink, clean sheets, and close to a squat toilet that I used quite a few times because the food didn’t agree with me too well (I later found out there was a western toilet right around the corner, but we’re rather getting used to squat toilets, they aren’t that bad at all, and at least your not essentially touching butts with hundreds of people). The train ride went smooth and after a few beers and some reading we fell fast asleep.

20.March.08

Woke up and finished the massive tomb I had been reading Atlas Shrugged which I highly recommend to anyone as a truly thought provoking piece of literature with some very interesting philosophies. I am now starting to read The Hobbit before it becomes a movie, and Jess is reading Shantaram which it seems every backpacker has read because it is an awesome story about an Australian convict living in the slums of India. I guess it’s sort of related to travel, if you’re going to be living in the slums of India; we keep hearing about and seeing this book everywhere.

So our train arrived in Bangkok and we quickly got on the internet to check responses to the CouchSurfing messages we sent yesterday. One guy Charles said we could stay and had me get a Thai SIM card for my cell phone so he could talk to a tuk tuk driver and give directions to his house. (A tuk tuk is like a motorized horse carriage, 3 wheels and you sit on a bench in the back all open to the elements, they drive crazy too, whizzing through the city and through little alleys). Charles is awesome and he has a nice and simple apartment just on the outskirts of town. He is from Cameroon and teaching French in Bangkok (some weird theme with French teacher/CouchSurfer hosts). He is very worldly and worked with Peace Corps in Cameroon for 7 years, he also DJ’s on the side for fun. He took us around town a bit and to Khao San, a really touristy street with lots of shops and street vendors. We bought a few things needed, namely I bought kerchiefs to wrap around my face while riding in tuk tuk’s because the street pollution is bad. Bought a new Rough Guide SE Asia because I lost the Lonely Planet we had (though Rough Guide is better). We ate at a tasty vegetarian restaurant (Mmm I can still taste the Shitakke mushrooms!) and then headed back to the apartment. We were ready to go back to sleep, but Charles came home and we all went out, but it didn’t last long as we were all tired. As we were leaving a pub we bumped into a baby elephant walking through the street with a guy selling sugar cane sticks for less than a buck to feed it. We kicked ourselves because we left the camera at home, but got a good amount of cuddle time with this beautiful beast! It was so unreal, and had such thick and tough skin with little spikes of hair, and feeding it was great because its tusk would reach right in your hands with a strong grip. I tried to get her to take one out of my mouth, but she wasn’t down with that. When I didn’t have any food left she kept feeling my hands for food, got annoyed I didn’t have any left and gave a little charge at me, it was cute.So far Thailand seems great. We’re starting to get the basics of the language; thank you, hello, goodbye, your welcome, etc. The people are super friendly, though you definitely have to bargain when shopping, I got ripped off a little, but also got unbelievable deals, all in all it is always cheaper than anything back home.

Sorry if the blog was a bit long to read! We always try to write more frequently, but don’t always get the chance. If you’d like to call my Thai Cell Phone dial +66806164015 (on a land line the + symbol can be a 00, and on a cell phone just usually hold the 0 button for a couple seconds and it turns to +)

We’ll be hanging out around Bangkok for a bit until Jessica’s parents come in a couple days. Just put the new pics on the Flickr page, check them out. I’ll try to find that baby elephant again and get pics.