Tales of Thailand

Huh. I do realize that I shouldn't complain about prices, but truth be told, the cheap little bungalow on the beach is quickly loosing its novelty. The huts we (Leia, Kat and I) stayed in the first night were AWEFUL! We paid 600 baht (though Leia and I shared, therefore 300 baht/person which is under 10 dollars). We cast off our heavy packs and went out for dinner and a drink. The next morning, we arranged to meet up in the restaurant of our hut. I had been up for a bit, wandered into town, ate a crepe with Nutella and bananas (30 baht), and lesiurely showed up at out arranged time. Kat stared at me, with a look of a sleepless night written all over her face. She said, "go pack, I gotta get out of here." So we did, we moved over to the resort right next to us. Once again Leia and I shared a room, this one 500 baht and brillant, clean, beautiful...and a ocean side pool to boot! Ah, well...live and learn.
The second night was a quiet one. Something I ate or drank didn't agree with me, and the toliet was my closest companion (thank goodness most were western toliets and not the ever so common squat pot). So needless to say, I spent the say lounging poolside in the sun...yeah, this is vacation.
My last full day in Ko Phangan, sigh. My understanding is that Ko Phangan is normally crammed with drunkin early 20 somethings, but our timing was perfect. Granted there were a few people that fit that discription, but all in all, Haat Rin was quiet and peaceful. Kat convinced me that I must go to the sunrise beach (where they throw the full moon party) for a drink, before I left. So the three of us went and had a Pina Colada. When we arrived it was rather empty. We sat at one of the wooden tablets on the beach, joining a Swedish guy (Michelle) whom Kat had met previously, and one of his friends. Kat disappeared, only to reappear with a couple Dutch guys (yeah...let me tell you I have met HEAPS of Americans on my trip...oh no, wait...only one).

We sat and watched the fire throwers, and the crowd slowly start to grow. Next thing we knew the beach was full of people. All kneeling at little wooden tables, sipping Thai Whiskey out of Buckets. From there we wandered over to a bar that had dancing. So we danced, got hit on by thai women (you know...), were surrounded by Israeli men, dripping in sweat, and pretty darn sober....so in other words, completely entertained! As we climbed the hill back to our "home" we had a good laugh at our last night together. Ah yes, to be young again....nah, to be young at heart, that is all that matters.

So I woke up early, grabbed a bowel of Musli and Yogurt, a cuppa coffee, and then found myself a taxi to the airport (at 40 baht, I was pleasantly surprised). As I sat on the plane I was a bit curious how the rest of my day would play out. I had pre-arranged (and therefore paid for) this flight, a taxi, a ferry ride and a place to stay...but didn't have much in the way of a receipt as proof. When the plane arrived at the wonderful hut style airport in Ko Samui there was a man standing there holding a sign with my name! So he took me to the ferry and from there got my ferry ticket for me, then headed on his way. So far so good, but... I sat there flipping through pamphlets and my lonely planet trying to locate this guesthouse that I had booked, but it was no where to be seen or heard of. As I sat there in the shade, enjoying the view of white beaches and calm waters waiting for the boat, this girl came and sat at my table. Her name is Leaha and is from Sweden. She is spending 5 months in Thailand, and is planning on renting a place two months, so she can write a book! Brillant! When the boat arrived, heaps upon heaps of punk kids got off the boat. Many wearing bandages, or limping in some fashion. Ah, right! The full moon party! All these kids were on the island for the party, and where now leaving! On the boat we met Katherine, a girl from Norway. As we approached port, there was this coma type feeling over the island, everything seemed so peaceful and calm. When the boat reached port, there was no one there holding a sign with my name, which was actually a sigh of relief for me. I was looking forward to sharing a nite with these new girls. We found a bungalow on the beach, dirty and cheap, ah but the view from the beach! Spectacular!! We changed into our suits for a quick dip before the sun went down. We stood in this amazing water, with a fine white sand beneath our feet, and an ever changing sunset leaving a warm glow on our skin. Ah, yes, this has to be paradise. I think I shall stay for longer then a day.

Hello my dearly missed friends and family! It was quite the adjustment getting back to Chiang Mai city after weeks of peaceful solitude. The first week of November is a festival in the city, so rooms were over booked, there were bus loads of people coming into town, fireworks and firecrackers going off every few seconds...it was a shock to say the least. The first night back I lie in bed, hearing all of the madness outside, jumping everytime I heard a bang, it was assuring to know that I would be gone for the next three days on a trekking adventure. The trek was nice, and a welcomed escape from the city (again). Our group started with 8 people, plus 2 tour guides. There were four people in thier early 20's from BC (one a massage therapist at Whister....hmmm), then a couple on their honeymoon from Australia, and an older man from Florida. Our guides, Pi (an alcoholic but very kind and harmless, has 2 wives) and Terry (an 18 year old in med school, spoke only a bit of english, but was full of entertainment). Out of the group, 5 were wearing flip flops...yes, on a hike. The jungle was extremely quiet. The only sound was this insanely loud bug. Very few birds, only the nest of monkeys, and too many spiders for my liking. First we took a bamboo raft down a muddy river, but it was plently of fun. Our first night camping was at this massive waterfall. We had home cooked vegetable soup, with rice and chicken. We then sat around the campfire for a bit and told ghost stories and such. The beds were open air huts, with bamboo "mattresses", sleeping bags and bug nets (good thing since there was this wicked spider outside the hut, and according to Pi it is poisonous). The next morning as we sipped our morning cuppa, we all stared blinklessly at the cooking fire, we had maybe gotten 2 hours of sleep..the waterfall was SO loud, and we were all SO cold. After our breakfast of cold toast with jam and fresh pineapple we left for our hike. The Australian couple and the other american went back, they had only paid for one night camping, and the rest of us continued up the mountain, flip flops and all. We stopped at a second smaller waterfall for lunch, were we showered in the falls and ate noodles in the sun. From there we hiked up to the village Panmo. There are about 60 people living in the village, making up a total of 9 families. They make their living by growing rice, and selling us tourists coke, water and such. For dinner we had tofu and vegetables, and some of the villages rice (for a moment I forgot I was camping). The rice was amazing, a bit sticky, brown and hardy...ah, perfect. I had brought with me an apple, that when I bit into it I was far from satisfied. Pi suggested that I give it to Nah, this 6 year old girl standing by his side. As I felt a bit ashamed handing her this half eaten apple, she willing took it with a grin. Apparently is a special treat to get an apple up in the village. Later we sat around the campfire. Terry trying to teach me Thai, Nah drawing me pictures of flowers and such all while wearing my headlamp, Pi drinking his beer, one of the girls getting a thai massage...all while the full moon cast our shadows over the dancecing flames of our fire. The next morning we once again "enjoyed" our breakfast of toast and pineapple, and headed out of the jungle. We stopped for a ride on the elephants, which I found a bit sad. Mine was the only male of the bunch. His name is Soon Chai, and 20 years old...and quite definant just as any young man is. I arrived back in Chiang Mai, and met up with Lorna again. We were to meet for a vegetarian meal, but settled on festival snacks, and went to this quaint restaurant called the Herb Garden that had nice red wine to cap off the evening. The night was quite intense with the noise of the parade, and performances on the stage (all going on at the same time). It is tradition that during the festival you place flowers (and a wish) in the river, or send a wish off with a balloon (something more like floating lantern). It was truely a beautiful site. The sky was full of these make shift stars, as well as fireworks and a mostly full moon. Now, just to get away from all of these people and all of this noise. Uh, yes, I shall leave for the beaches in the morning!