Ok, I warn you now, this will be a long one. I have plenty of time for a change while we wait for the ferry to take us to Langkawi, Malaysia and also the Wasssssss.
Ko Lipe is lovely, very much like Zanzibar in some ways. Its remote, there are bugger all Farangs (tourists) here, the infrastructure is just basic enough to be comfortable. There are a handful of sand pathways across this little tiny lsand, with beautiful green waters, white beaches and fringed by reef. Rustic bungalows are scattered between bars made from driftwood, and even the best internet cafe in the world. Its right on the beach, with a sand floor and the PCs just up on benches... with the best view of any internet cafe every, fullstop.
The island closes in 3 weeks for the monsoon season, so we are sharing this island with about 20 other backpackers and a handful of thai and Malay holidays... It is bloody hot...but we are yet to find a bit of thailand that isnt. We took a bungalow at one end of the beach, up on stilts with views of the best beach, Pattaya, and its from there we usually watch the evening storms roll in, full of thunder and lightning...and hopefully cooling rain. Power is limited from 6pm to 6am and I can tell you its a killer when that fan swicthes off then and you are left sweltering... A quick swim though, and then a lovely walk down to one of the cafes on the beach.
Of course the place is overrun with dogs and cats, which only makes Josie happy and she will be leaving a few friends behind here. The big black dog and tan puppy that live at our resort, the mum and 6 week old puppies half way up the beach and the 2 dogs that come and sleep next to us while we watch the night movie at the Banana Cafe (and not to forget the cat who occasionally visits). Josie wasnät game to pat the pet Otter of the lady owner... yes, you read that right, pet otter. It even swims with them in the surf....and I WANT ONE. What a cool pet.
We settled down into our new rythym on the island...morning walk, breakfast, swim, walk back along the beach to get books, more swimming, sunbaking. A banana or mango shake and a bit of lunch before repeating in the afternoon. A quick shower and then down to the cafe for the movie, some great thai food and then a walk home a long the beach at night, with the thunderstorms lighting the place up like christmas...
I even went for a couple of dives. Josie bought a lilo...but it needed to be broken in I think...as she could not get on it without getting thrown off for the life of her. I swam off to not be associated with someone so embarrassing...reminded me (and I apologise for the picture) of one of those humping small dogs... hee hee. She is still battling with the lilo, 3 days later !
Well thats about it...now it is time for another country and hopefully more good times....the holiday is nearing finishing, the bank account is battered and brusied and we wish it would never end....
Friday, April 27, 2007
In transit again, aboard the night ferry !
We bought tickets from Koh Toa on the night ferry - leaving at 9pm and arrives at 6am. We were told, yes it had sleeping bunks. Now I don't know what you picture when you hear the term night ferry, but I see a fairly modern catarmaran, with bunks instead of seats on the top deck and maybe some seats downstairs... Gee was I a bit wrong.
This rickety old baot was one of the old style ferrys, from the 80s, you know the ones with the singlular V shaped hull.... we were bundled on board to climb upstairs and find a cabin with a 5 foot ceiling and the floor entirely covered in matresses, with a thin gap down the middle to get to the loo. You basicially lie shoulder to shoulder with everyone, very very cosy indeed. And of course it is about a thousand degrees still and every bloody bed is booked.
Josie, some 30 minutes after taking sea sickness tablets, looks in a bit of shock - but was a bit out of it...in fact the sea was flat as a mill pond - but the tablets at least gave her the benefit of half a nights sleep - much less than me - no part in thanks to the yank next to me, who had a chest infection and spent most of the night coughing inbetween cigarettes ...yep, he was a bright one !!
The trip was surprisingly uneventful - especially given Josie was on board and her luck with boats is not good - maybe the drugs interrupted the disaster signals she normally gives off ? Who knows...
When then entered a dream like, jet lagged state of travel for the next 5 hours while getting on an aircon minbus to head down to trang...where the driver had the bloody car temperature set right between cool and hot - where you kind of sweat in spurts. The 2 kids in the seat behind played "who can make the most high pitched sound" preventing any sleep and causing minor bleeding from the ears....seriously, I hope when Josie and I have kids we are blessed with the selective deafness of you parents out there. Do they give you some kind of special ear plugs or something?
Arriving at Trang, near midday it was a 1000 degrees... someone had smuggled bricks into our backpacks and we were too take to get the ferry out to Ko Mook and return to island life very quickly... We were hurting, and Trang offers too many decisions on where to go... In the end, Josie, blessed with more hours sleep made the call... We head straight to Ko Lipe tomorrow and find a nice airconditioned hotel. Now that is a plan Stan would be proud of !!
So we got room service and bunkered down in the blissful airconditioned room and watched movies and dozed all afternoon and evening. The next morning another bus and ferry would take us to Ko Lipe - one of the least touristy and furtherest south of Thailands islands...
This rickety old baot was one of the old style ferrys, from the 80s, you know the ones with the singlular V shaped hull.... we were bundled on board to climb upstairs and find a cabin with a 5 foot ceiling and the floor entirely covered in matresses, with a thin gap down the middle to get to the loo. You basicially lie shoulder to shoulder with everyone, very very cosy indeed. And of course it is about a thousand degrees still and every bloody bed is booked.
Josie, some 30 minutes after taking sea sickness tablets, looks in a bit of shock - but was a bit out of it...in fact the sea was flat as a mill pond - but the tablets at least gave her the benefit of half a nights sleep - much less than me - no part in thanks to the yank next to me, who had a chest infection and spent most of the night coughing inbetween cigarettes ...yep, he was a bright one !!
The trip was surprisingly uneventful - especially given Josie was on board and her luck with boats is not good - maybe the drugs interrupted the disaster signals she normally gives off ? Who knows...
When then entered a dream like, jet lagged state of travel for the next 5 hours while getting on an aircon minbus to head down to trang...where the driver had the bloody car temperature set right between cool and hot - where you kind of sweat in spurts. The 2 kids in the seat behind played "who can make the most high pitched sound" preventing any sleep and causing minor bleeding from the ears....seriously, I hope when Josie and I have kids we are blessed with the selective deafness of you parents out there. Do they give you some kind of special ear plugs or something?
Arriving at Trang, near midday it was a 1000 degrees... someone had smuggled bricks into our backpacks and we were too take to get the ferry out to Ko Mook and return to island life very quickly... We were hurting, and Trang offers too many decisions on where to go... In the end, Josie, blessed with more hours sleep made the call... We head straight to Ko Lipe tomorrow and find a nice airconditioned hotel. Now that is a plan Stan would be proud of !!
So we got room service and bunkered down in the blissful airconditioned room and watched movies and dozed all afternoon and evening. The next morning another bus and ferry would take us to Ko Lipe - one of the least touristy and furtherest south of Thailands islands...
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Ahh, the tropics with a beach
Well we survived the first train back to bangkok (even though it was 2nd class) and spent the day at the cinema...well it was airconditioned and a great way to kill a lot of time. The certainly know how to do the movies in Bangkok - great seats, cinemas and sound, and the best bit (and I am tipping this for the next big thing) cheese flavoured popcorn - mmm. James and Simon, you might want to pack your stuff and move there now ;)
It was then back on the train for anthoher overnighter, finishing at 4.30am and then killing time until our 7am ferry. The ferry trip was lovely - surprising with Josie and her track record on water !! So we arrive on stunning Kao Tao pretty much jetlagged - and damn it is hot here too ! We were hoping it would be a little cooler. This place is pretty much set up exclusively for tourists and it shows - it lacks some of the authentic thai feel, prices are a little steeper and there are hoards of westerners... as we have arrived 2 days before Songkran (the Thai New Year) that means 3 days of waterfights and partying - except for most of the locals who had to keep working to look after all of us :(
We went crazy and hired another moped - well it was at Josie's urging. Me shitting big bricks again, especially as Koh Tao ahs the highest death rate through driving accidents in Thailand. But seeing as the bike was automatic, and much of the road was paved (between the potholes) we survived in tact...I am not sure but I might even look comfortable on these things now, comfortable and dorky of course - it is a scooter!
All of the bays on this island are lovely, we didn't manage to get around to all of them, but covered more than half. They all have some reef, some of which is actually very nice and with plenty of fish. The water is crystal clear and goes that lovely green colour in the shallow water.
I started my Padi course the next days - I won't bore you with the details, but I wasn't sure how much of a kick I would get out of it - hvaing grown up with snorkeling, reef, water and fish etc... but it was very different being under there and floating about weightless. Very zen... While I was studying away, Josie had established herself on the beach in some style... commandeering some deck chairs, befriending the local dogs and also the passing sales people (curses) ! She immediately got to work on her book and her tan....and I can tell you now, Josie is BROWN ! No bollocks - from a distance, I barely recognise her. But wait, there is more...
We both bought masks and snorkels....and now Josie can not only swim about on the top, she can dive, clear her snorkel and even swim out over 15m deep water. But wait...there is still more ! Yes, Josie is now a swimmer... I have given her the basics on freestyle and she has been doing laps up the beach !! You are probably thinking the same thing I was at this point, Where is the REAL Josie ? I contemplated getting DNA and fingerprinting done - but it seems our little pale Irish flower has become a full on water baby !!
The next day, we hired a sea kayak - and through a little bit of deception on my part, we paddled about 1/3 of the way around the island. Stopping at mango bay for a lovely lunch and the best snorkeling to date, even seeing a baby shark ! We then paddled across to another island off the way for some more swimming, and stopped for a nice milkshake in the heat - before heading back. It was bloody hard work in the end, 2 days later we are still sore from the effort - but it was just the two of us and a great way to see the island.
Our remaining days are spent at a fairly chilled routine...breakfast on the beach, back for a swim, a bit of a read, watch the dogs chasing fish, get a lemon ice tea, head somewhere for a lunch, and then repeat...we then watch the sun set over the water in spectacular fashion, head up for a shower, and then out to dinner (yep, on the beach) watching the fire jugglers, or a movie on a big screen and looking at the stars. Oh yeah - we are doing it tough !!
But now its time for another change - we are heading down to Trang. Supposed to be beautiful, but less touristy, we will let you know...
It was then back on the train for anthoher overnighter, finishing at 4.30am and then killing time until our 7am ferry. The ferry trip was lovely - surprising with Josie and her track record on water !! So we arrive on stunning Kao Tao pretty much jetlagged - and damn it is hot here too ! We were hoping it would be a little cooler. This place is pretty much set up exclusively for tourists and it shows - it lacks some of the authentic thai feel, prices are a little steeper and there are hoards of westerners... as we have arrived 2 days before Songkran (the Thai New Year) that means 3 days of waterfights and partying - except for most of the locals who had to keep working to look after all of us :(
We went crazy and hired another moped - well it was at Josie's urging. Me shitting big bricks again, especially as Koh Tao ahs the highest death rate through driving accidents in Thailand. But seeing as the bike was automatic, and much of the road was paved (between the potholes) we survived in tact...I am not sure but I might even look comfortable on these things now, comfortable and dorky of course - it is a scooter!
All of the bays on this island are lovely, we didn't manage to get around to all of them, but covered more than half. They all have some reef, some of which is actually very nice and with plenty of fish. The water is crystal clear and goes that lovely green colour in the shallow water.
I started my Padi course the next days - I won't bore you with the details, but I wasn't sure how much of a kick I would get out of it - hvaing grown up with snorkeling, reef, water and fish etc... but it was very different being under there and floating about weightless. Very zen... While I was studying away, Josie had established herself on the beach in some style... commandeering some deck chairs, befriending the local dogs and also the passing sales people (curses) ! She immediately got to work on her book and her tan....and I can tell you now, Josie is BROWN ! No bollocks - from a distance, I barely recognise her. But wait, there is more...
We both bought masks and snorkels....and now Josie can not only swim about on the top, she can dive, clear her snorkel and even swim out over 15m deep water. But wait...there is still more ! Yes, Josie is now a swimmer... I have given her the basics on freestyle and she has been doing laps up the beach !! You are probably thinking the same thing I was at this point, Where is the REAL Josie ? I contemplated getting DNA and fingerprinting done - but it seems our little pale Irish flower has become a full on water baby !!
The next day, we hired a sea kayak - and through a little bit of deception on my part, we paddled about 1/3 of the way around the island. Stopping at mango bay for a lovely lunch and the best snorkeling to date, even seeing a baby shark ! We then paddled across to another island off the way for some more swimming, and stopped for a nice milkshake in the heat - before heading back. It was bloody hard work in the end, 2 days later we are still sore from the effort - but it was just the two of us and a great way to see the island.
Our remaining days are spent at a fairly chilled routine...breakfast on the beach, back for a swim, a bit of a read, watch the dogs chasing fish, get a lemon ice tea, head somewhere for a lunch, and then repeat...we then watch the sun set over the water in spectacular fashion, head up for a shower, and then out to dinner (yep, on the beach) watching the fire jugglers, or a movie on a big screen and looking at the stars. Oh yeah - we are doing it tough !!
But now its time for another change - we are heading down to Trang. Supposed to be beautiful, but less touristy, we will let you know...
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Elephants elephants elephants
I read somewhere that the devil has a unique hell for each of us - that putting everyone in a generic pit of fire might just appeal to some people - therefore, I can assume we each have a unique heaven, after all "one man's heaven might be another mans hell"... Soory for all the religious theory, but Josie got to her heaven early and while she is alive! And for me especially that was a good thing, as had Josie found this place before she met me, we would never have met !!
The elephant Nature park, about 1hr north of chiang mai and nestled in the hills and next to a local village, took us in for a week of volunteering (we had to pay of course) but it was worth the money. This place is a real conservation effort, the elephants are not worked (that is, made to trek, paint or play football) - they just get waited on hand and foot by us people. Meanwhile 37 rescued dogs, 28 rescued cats and 3 cows are also pampered...like I said, Josie heaven.
We arrrived with the other load of volunteers, of which there were about 18 all up, included those carrying over from last week. We were allocated our bungalow, made out of bamboo, on stilts with a mossie net and outhouse and shower (also bamboo)....beautifully rustic and authentically thai !
And then, we were put to work...Josie made a great statement, First I got paid to shovel shit, now I am paying to shovel shit - and can those big grey beasties curl them out !!
But before I digress, let me give you a quick rundown on the daily routine
at the park:
Rise and shining at 6.30am, to be at brekkie for 7am. Eat by 7.30 to then start morning chores (these are cleaning up the dung, cleaning out the cats, watering plants, doing the bins, collecting figs etc)...all to be finished by 8am.
At 8am we start our morning project - this is a bigger job, usually requiring everyone and could range from digging the mud pit deeper, to chopping banana trees, bringing bamboo down the river, fencing etc but generally involved hard bloody work - I kid you not! You should see my
hands, they were not ready for this kind of hard yakka !! At 10.30, 2 utes arrived loaded to the eyeballs with the elephants food: bananas, pumpkin, corn (damned corn), pineapples and cucumbers. At this time we needed to work hard and fast - we had 30 hungry elephants at the
decks, 20 (usually lound american) daytrippers ready to feed them and a bloody lot of work to fill each basket with the food cleaned, chopped and prepared! The worst was the corn - we had to chuck (spelling?, I mean peel or husk it) - now that doesn't sound hard, but somedays the ute would turn up with only corn....this took the 20 of us about 1 hour !! Damn corn, I
hate corn....
We then got to help feed the elephants (who could feed themselves) but this is a nice way to interact, providing you stay on the right end of the trunk - as some were either cranky or just a bit on the naughty side (particularly one young boy called Jungle Boy)...
After feeding the elephants, we got fed at 12...and let me tell you, did we get fed !! This was real Thai food - and every lunch (and dinner for that manner) we had about 15 thai dishes to pick from. Unfortunately, the park attracts a fair amount of tree hugging hippes, so there was only 1 meat dish - but to be honest, it was all so good it didn't matter !! After lunch was done it was time to bathe the elephants - yes, you read it right. These elephants are spolit rotten...they get taken down to river with us humans in tow with bucket and brush. Their mahoots get them to laying the river and we then scrub their backs - literally !! Usually at some point, Jungle Boy
and Hope will then run amok and we will all scatter before getting flattened...
After bath time, the 3 baby elephants there (like I said Josie heaven) would then play in the mud pit for 30 mins while we all ooohed and ahhhed as they rolled about in the mud....before 2pm rolled around and we would need to start our afternoon project work, finishing about 5.30pm...enough time to go back to our bungalow, grab a cold shower and get changed for dinner at 6.30.
After another fantastic feed (and a big beer on my part) when those feeling brave dared a thai massage...and these were sensational ! Borderline torture - but for 120 baht (2 quid) you got an hour of massage !! mmmm massage
This usually meant it was about 8.30pm - and time for bed - where we would fall into a deep coma until the alarm went off again at 6.30 in the morning and we would repeat the whole process.
Josie, being a vet nurse, hooked up with the local vet - got to do the rounds, treat elephant wounds and even did an off site visit - yep, happy as a pig in shit !!
Some of the other special highlights we were part of:
And before we knew it, it was time to leave for the islands....very hard to say goodbye.
They do important work and try to get a big message out there. They don't like elephant trekking, the elephants get broken in the most brutal way, and are then overworked, underfed and regularlly hit on the forehead with a sharp metal hook - have a look at www.elephantnaturepark.org If you get a chance in thailand - don't do an elephant ride, come to this place - even for a day trip (where you can feed, wash and walk with the elephants) - you will love it !
Dare I say it, but I think we will be back there for sure...I am sure Josie will make sure of that !!
The elephant Nature park, about 1hr north of chiang mai and nestled in the hills and next to a local village, took us in for a week of volunteering (we had to pay of course) but it was worth the money. This place is a real conservation effort, the elephants are not worked (that is, made to trek, paint or play football) - they just get waited on hand and foot by us people. Meanwhile 37 rescued dogs, 28 rescued cats and 3 cows are also pampered...like I said, Josie heaven.
We arrrived with the other load of volunteers, of which there were about 18 all up, included those carrying over from last week. We were allocated our bungalow, made out of bamboo, on stilts with a mossie net and outhouse and shower (also bamboo)....beautifully rustic and authentically thai !
And then, we were put to work...Josie made a great statement, First I got paid to shovel shit, now I am paying to shovel shit - and can those big grey beasties curl them out !!
But before I digress, let me give you a quick rundown on the daily routine
at the park:
Rise and shining at 6.30am, to be at brekkie for 7am. Eat by 7.30 to then start morning chores (these are cleaning up the dung, cleaning out the cats, watering plants, doing the bins, collecting figs etc)...all to be finished by 8am.
At 8am we start our morning project - this is a bigger job, usually requiring everyone and could range from digging the mud pit deeper, to chopping banana trees, bringing bamboo down the river, fencing etc but generally involved hard bloody work - I kid you not! You should see my
hands, they were not ready for this kind of hard yakka !! At 10.30, 2 utes arrived loaded to the eyeballs with the elephants food: bananas, pumpkin, corn (damned corn), pineapples and cucumbers. At this time we needed to work hard and fast - we had 30 hungry elephants at the
decks, 20 (usually lound american) daytrippers ready to feed them and a bloody lot of work to fill each basket with the food cleaned, chopped and prepared! The worst was the corn - we had to chuck (spelling?, I mean peel or husk it) - now that doesn't sound hard, but somedays the ute would turn up with only corn....this took the 20 of us about 1 hour !! Damn corn, I
hate corn....
We then got to help feed the elephants (who could feed themselves) but this is a nice way to interact, providing you stay on the right end of the trunk - as some were either cranky or just a bit on the naughty side (particularly one young boy called Jungle Boy)...
After feeding the elephants, we got fed at 12...and let me tell you, did we get fed !! This was real Thai food - and every lunch (and dinner for that manner) we had about 15 thai dishes to pick from. Unfortunately, the park attracts a fair amount of tree hugging hippes, so there was only 1 meat dish - but to be honest, it was all so good it didn't matter !! After lunch was done it was time to bathe the elephants - yes, you read it right. These elephants are spolit rotten...they get taken down to river with us humans in tow with bucket and brush. Their mahoots get them to laying the river and we then scrub their backs - literally !! Usually at some point, Jungle Boy
and Hope will then run amok and we will all scatter before getting flattened...
After bath time, the 3 baby elephants there (like I said Josie heaven) would then play in the mud pit for 30 mins while we all ooohed and ahhhed as they rolled about in the mud....before 2pm rolled around and we would need to start our afternoon project work, finishing about 5.30pm...enough time to go back to our bungalow, grab a cold shower and get changed for dinner at 6.30.
After another fantastic feed (and a big beer on my part) when those feeling brave dared a thai massage...and these were sensational ! Borderline torture - but for 120 baht (2 quid) you got an hour of massage !! mmmm massage
This usually meant it was about 8.30pm - and time for bed - where we would fall into a deep coma until the alarm went off again at 6.30 in the morning and we would repeat the whole process.
Josie, being a vet nurse, hooked up with the local vet - got to do the rounds, treat elephant wounds and even did an off site visit - yep, happy as a pig in shit !!
Some of the other special highlights we were part of:
- Josie had to treat a mahout (elephant handler) who had the tip of one finger bitten off by a baby elephant !! His finger did not look pretty - and I bet that baby now has a taste for human blood !
- We all went and rescued a pregnant elephant from a trekking camp down the road, which got chased by Hope back out of the park, but eventually settled in over 3 days and should give birth in the next couple of months.
- I got charged by a big ol' elephant while working with Craig - we shat our pants and ran like the wind (much to the amusement of the mahout). Damn scary I can tell you (one of the elephants in the park is a man killer!) and believe it not, but you cannot hear and elephant sneaking up on you !
- We saw the set of the next Rambo movie, that's right Rambo IV - it was 5 mins down the road !! Go Stallone ! But filming finished the week before we arrived - bugger !
And before we knew it, it was time to leave for the islands....very hard to say goodbye.
They do important work and try to get a big message out there. They don't like elephant trekking, the elephants get broken in the most brutal way, and are then overworked, underfed and regularlly hit on the forehead with a sharp metal hook - have a look at www.elephantnaturepark.org If you get a chance in thailand - don't do an elephant ride, come to this place - even for a day trip (where you can feed, wash and walk with the elephants) - you will love it !
Dare I say it, but I think we will be back there for sure...I am sure Josie will make sure of that !!
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Up north in Chiang Mai
Well the overnight train (1st class in a sleeper - we had too!) was a nice trip....but bugger me if Chiangmai was not as hot, or hotter than Bangkok ! It is also a lot dryer than we expected - we were thinking lush tropical rainforests? Supposedly its a big centre for trekking - but this is me and Josie, do we look like trekkers? For a start, it is too bloody hot. Secondly, the treks are more about the people of the hill tribes - and well, to be honest, Josie and I are not really into that. If it was scenic and crowded with animals, well yes - but people we would not be able to understand living as they have for hundreds of years - just not our cup of tea. Not to mention the horror stories we have heard from Brett and Amanda about the elephant ride that usually goes with those trips. We wanted Josie to be able to work with some elephants, but not ride on them.
So, with elephant volunteering looking decidedly poor - we took a day in our nice air conditioned guesthouse - fairly basic, but at $8US a night - to adjust. It is much cheaper than Africa in Thailand - and if you really wanted to scrimp you could get by probably on $10 US for a couple up here (that is accomodation and all meals, but not beer) !! We were still both struggling for motivation, and formalising plans to head home sooner rather than later.
All we were managing, was cowering in air-con coffee shops and restuarants and then trips to the Night Bazaar shopping. Given the heat, that was knocking us about a fair bit, we decided to move to a guest house with a pool and try a thai cooking course for a day.
And then, well we had one of those good days and got over our lethargy !!
The cooking course was a lot of fun - the food delicious (hey, we cooked it ourselves!) and you can rightly demand a Thai night if you come and stay with us - when we have a home that is. The only negative was our fingers and anything we rubbed stung like crazy for about 4 hours after from chopping the chillies for the red curry paste !! We also found out from one of the fellow cookers, about a really good elephant rescue (which unfortunately was booked fully on the website)...
After heading home for a swim and a kip (hey, we had eaten 6 main courses) we then jumped in a tuk tuk and headed into town. We decided to try the elephant rescue office, to find out what else they had on offer and surprise surprise, a little bit of talking got us in for a week !! Well this is big news obviously - 7 days for working directly with the elephants - has Josie in a bit of a head spin. In fact, her eyes were teary all through dinner with the excitement !!
We then headed to the Friday night Muay Thai Kickboxing. On the way, we had a bit of an accident - our dickhead (excuse the language but he was) of a driver pulled out in front of a moterbike driver...who slammed into us pretty bloody hard and hit the deck like a sack of spuds. And what does our driver do - takes off like a madman, obviously not wanting to get caught. So once we worked out we were not hurt, and hanging on for grim life as this madman sped through the streets getting our tuk up on 2 wheels....I started yelling at him to slow down and stop...of course everytime he says "slow down, yes" and continues to speed along. Well Josie joins in, and we really give it too him to stop. Which he does, refuses to go back and kicks us out - before disappearing into the night.
Josie wants us to head back to see if the poor dude on the bike is ok, so we slog it back through the streets and eventually find him on the side the road. He is alright, a bit banged up and in a bit of shock....we try and explain what happened, but as we couldn't get his taxi number - we are not of much use !!
So we try again, and make it to the kick boxing.... it is not a bad night, capped of with a fight between an Aussie and this giant Welshman. The Aussie ends up battering him convincingly and we head home feeling pretty chuffed with ourselves - just one of those days.
And now, we are starting to feel thailand, and going home early seems a bit rash...I mean, this could be a last holiday for a while !
So now the plan reads thus, 1 week working with elephants in the jungle (going to be hot but Josie will be beyond happy), down to Koh Tao island for a week for me to do my PADI diving and Josie to work at an animal rescue for a week, then down to Krabi for a week, to kayak around the special coastline and fish, a week at the Trang islands, before heading over to Malaysia to have a beer with Brett & Amanda before returning home !!
Well, it sounds like a grand plan...we will see how we feel at the end of the Kao Tao stay for the last few weeks. Next update will be post elephant....where there is a genuine risk I may not be able to drag my wife away !!
So, with elephant volunteering looking decidedly poor - we took a day in our nice air conditioned guesthouse - fairly basic, but at $8US a night - to adjust. It is much cheaper than Africa in Thailand - and if you really wanted to scrimp you could get by probably on $10 US for a couple up here (that is accomodation and all meals, but not beer) !! We were still both struggling for motivation, and formalising plans to head home sooner rather than later.
All we were managing, was cowering in air-con coffee shops and restuarants and then trips to the Night Bazaar shopping. Given the heat, that was knocking us about a fair bit, we decided to move to a guest house with a pool and try a thai cooking course for a day.
And then, well we had one of those good days and got over our lethargy !!
The cooking course was a lot of fun - the food delicious (hey, we cooked it ourselves!) and you can rightly demand a Thai night if you come and stay with us - when we have a home that is. The only negative was our fingers and anything we rubbed stung like crazy for about 4 hours after from chopping the chillies for the red curry paste !! We also found out from one of the fellow cookers, about a really good elephant rescue (which unfortunately was booked fully on the website)...
After heading home for a swim and a kip (hey, we had eaten 6 main courses) we then jumped in a tuk tuk and headed into town. We decided to try the elephant rescue office, to find out what else they had on offer and surprise surprise, a little bit of talking got us in for a week !! Well this is big news obviously - 7 days for working directly with the elephants - has Josie in a bit of a head spin. In fact, her eyes were teary all through dinner with the excitement !!
We then headed to the Friday night Muay Thai Kickboxing. On the way, we had a bit of an accident - our dickhead (excuse the language but he was) of a driver pulled out in front of a moterbike driver...who slammed into us pretty bloody hard and hit the deck like a sack of spuds. And what does our driver do - takes off like a madman, obviously not wanting to get caught. So once we worked out we were not hurt, and hanging on for grim life as this madman sped through the streets getting our tuk up on 2 wheels....I started yelling at him to slow down and stop...of course everytime he says "slow down, yes" and continues to speed along. Well Josie joins in, and we really give it too him to stop. Which he does, refuses to go back and kicks us out - before disappearing into the night.
Josie wants us to head back to see if the poor dude on the bike is ok, so we slog it back through the streets and eventually find him on the side the road. He is alright, a bit banged up and in a bit of shock....we try and explain what happened, but as we couldn't get his taxi number - we are not of much use !!
So we try again, and make it to the kick boxing.... it is not a bad night, capped of with a fight between an Aussie and this giant Welshman. The Aussie ends up battering him convincingly and we head home feeling pretty chuffed with ourselves - just one of those days.
And now, we are starting to feel thailand, and going home early seems a bit rash...I mean, this could be a last holiday for a while !
So now the plan reads thus, 1 week working with elephants in the jungle (going to be hot but Josie will be beyond happy), down to Koh Tao island for a week for me to do my PADI diving and Josie to work at an animal rescue for a week, then down to Krabi for a week, to kayak around the special coastline and fish, a week at the Trang islands, before heading over to Malaysia to have a beer with Brett & Amanda before returning home !!
Well, it sounds like a grand plan...we will see how we feel at the end of the Kao Tao stay for the last few weeks. Next update will be post elephant....where there is a genuine risk I may not be able to drag my wife away !!
A shitty farewell & onto Bangkok
The Sth African heavens opened up on the day we left - by Josie and my theory that means Africa is sad to see us go. And unfortunately for me, not the only thing that opened up. I had survived 8 weeks in africa, through some of the most remote corners and happily getting tucked into the local food - and what happens, I get the runs in the most modern town - go figure! Also right before the start of a marathon plane and airport session.... bugger.
Well, not much more needs to be said on airports and flights - you have all been there/done that. We arrived into Bangkok fearing the worst...the guide book paints a pretty sorry picture of the capital with long traffic delays, pollution etc etc. But we didn't find it that bad. Traffic was ok (we have seen worse in London and Sydney) and the same with pollution. We managed to get to our new home in Banglampuu ok - but bugger us, was it hot! 36 degrees of bangkoks humid best (and I am sure that was in the shade)...
Will did the usual touristy things, temples, boat trips, Khao San Road - and ate the delicious food... but to be honest we are very hungover for Africa. Thailand is having trouble inspiring us, and as we cannot go back to Africa - we are thinking of heading back to Oz early. You see Africa and Thailand are both quite similar on their own as a destination - beautiful people, culture and natural beauty - but comapring, Africa just seems to have this 'wildness' and living beat - that makes Thailand look a little paler. But we know it can take a week sometimes to get into travelling - so we decided to make no decisions, and head up to Chang Mai.
Well, not much more needs to be said on airports and flights - you have all been there/done that. We arrived into Bangkok fearing the worst...the guide book paints a pretty sorry picture of the capital with long traffic delays, pollution etc etc. But we didn't find it that bad. Traffic was ok (we have seen worse in London and Sydney) and the same with pollution. We managed to get to our new home in Banglampuu ok - but bugger us, was it hot! 36 degrees of bangkoks humid best (and I am sure that was in the shade)...
Will did the usual touristy things, temples, boat trips, Khao San Road - and ate the delicious food... but to be honest we are very hungover for Africa. Thailand is having trouble inspiring us, and as we cannot go back to Africa - we are thinking of heading back to Oz early. You see Africa and Thailand are both quite similar on their own as a destination - beautiful people, culture and natural beauty - but comapring, Africa just seems to have this 'wildness' and living beat - that makes Thailand look a little paler. But we know it can take a week sometimes to get into travelling - so we decided to make no decisions, and head up to Chang Mai.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)