The itinerary

We fly into San Jose on Dec. 24th and spend the night.  Christmas morning we have a shuttle booked to take us from San Jose to La Fortuna.  We spend a few day exploring an active volcano, canyonering (this is a downward repel over a 200ft waterfall into a canyon), soaking in the hot pools and shopping.  Then we take a jeep-boat-jeep transport to Monteverde.  This is home to Costa Rica's Ziplining.  Bill thought this was such a rush in Thailand that it would be fun to do it again with the girls. There are also cloud forest tours and night jungle tours.  Then we are off to the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula to Montezuma.  We have rented a beach house for the week and our main adventure will be to learn to surf!  There is lots to explore in this area but I've decided to leave most of the itinerary open and we will decide when we get there.  Then we make our way back to San Jose and fly home.

Chapter Three - Costa Rica

Well our original plan was to go on a trip every two years, so much for the plan.  We have decided to take Serena and Alex and discover Central America.  Costa Rica was an obvious choice.  It is a short flight compared to South East Asia as we can only go for two weeks this time.  So we are off December 23rd.  Traveling at Christmas could prove to be interesting but that was the only time the girls had time off together.

We researched, planned and booked everything including the flights this time using the Internet.  It is a wonderful tool.  Because there are four of us this time I decided to try Hosteling for one of the two weeks.  However I do have standards so we have private rooms with our own bathroom in both of the Hostels I found.  According to my research this is quite a popular form of accommodation for budget travelers in Costa Rica.  Trip Advisor rates one as a 5 star hostel!!!  Can't wait to see what that means. Stay tuned for the Itinerary!

Our last day on Railay Beach

Well we were down to our last day before we flew back to Bangkok!  Wow time flys when you are having a blast.  No we were not doing the hike to the lagoon again.  We decided to spend the day on our favorite beach.  It was partly cloudy which is a good thing other wise it's too hot to be on the beach.  We found our favorite spot, read books, people watched, had our last fruit shake, swam in the sea and had a natural shower when a sudden rain cloud burst open without warning.  We had just enough time to put the books away so they didn't get soaked.  It was a pleasant rinse and then the sun came back out.  After about four hours we had had enough sun so headed back to the hotel to have our last cold beers, finish our sang som (Thai whiskey) and get packed.  Our flight was out of Krabi to Bangkok which meant one last long tail taxi over to the mainland and a regular taxi to the airport.

We have seen and done so much and enjoyed every minute of it.

I am so glad we purchased backpacks as they worked very well when getting to our remote destinations over rough roads and water and up a 125 steps.  Bill laughed when he saw a young fellow with his pack on his back and his girlfriends suitcase on his shoulder.  He gave me a look that said,  "in your dreams princess"!
 
In Summary, Thailand is the land of smiles, great food, a shoppers dream, fantastic scenery, history and culture.  Some places are very touristy but others are very tranquil and for the most part everything is beautiful. 

To our girls, thank you very much for being responsible young adults and looking after one another and your dog.  You handled a furnace breaking down, getting your own groceries, cooking your food, working and going to school.  What a team you make!

To everyone reading along, we hope you enjoyed our adventure and stories.  It's been a lot of fun learning how to blog and will be a great record of everything we did.

Stay tuned for our future plans!

Our last tour to the hot pools and emerald lake

We decided to take one more tour before we left as the forecast for the day was cloudy and cool. (not really beach weather).  So we choose a tour on the fly without doing much research or asking very many questions.  Big mistake.  It was very touristy and instead of being 1/2 day like we were told it ended up being a full day mostly of travelling between locations.  Oh well you win some, you loose some.  However we did get home in time to go for a swim in the pool.  After dinner we decided to see what our neighborhood bar was like.  It was located right at the base of our stairs and had very good music playing.  We sat at the bar and chatted with the bartender watching all the tropical drinks he was making.  The two sets of live music were very entertaining and it was interesting watching the people smoke dried fruit & tobacco from Shisha (Hookah) water pipes. We had never seen this before so asked the bartender what they were.  He said the pipes made the tobacco tastes sweet.  After the music ended the fire throwers took to the outdoor stage.  These guys were even better than the guys on Ko Phi Phi.  We stayed until the show ended and then let the young crowed dance the night away. 

                                                        

Kyaking the caverns

We booked a tour to go kayaking through the mangroves and into the caves and caverns on the mainland.  Off we were in the longboat over to   We jumped into another truck taxi and found out we had to travel for 55 minutes to our designation in the heat and humidity.  Oh well what the hell here we go again.  When we arrived we were loaded into double kayaks and given a few instructions on what to do.  Good thing we had idea of what we were suppose to do.  The couple from Bangkok were not so skilled.  About half way through the trip they tripped and landed in some awful looking canal water.  I threatened Bill with an inch of his life, there was to be no kayak tipping.  It was a little cloudy so the temperature was great for kayaking.  We traveled down the main canal looking down various different side canals wondering how in the world you would be able to find your way around.  They all looked the same and there were definitely no signage. We came up upon a series of bamboo on the water and the guide stopped to pull up a small canister.  Inside was a crab.  Apparently it was a crab farm.  They catch the crabs when they are small and they let them grow in the small cage until they were a certain size and then they were taken to market.  Our guide travelled with ease along the canals and then brought us to an amazing cave. It was very dark as we entered, but I didn't see any bats.  The stalagmites were amazing, we were back out on the canal heading to another cave.  This time we parked our kayaks and entered a national park where there were ancient tribal paintings and carvings along the cave walls.  There wasn't much history available but they were at least 1000 years old.  At the top of the cave there was a beautiful view point over the mangrove forest.  We were back in our boats and decided to continue past the start point to our third cave before lunch.  To enter this cave we almost had to duck to get through the entrance.  Once through the cave we entered a open cavern that was incredible.  The guide told us it was called xxx xxxx xxxx , which meant round, enclosed cave.  It was quite a paddle back as we were going against the tide. We arrived back to find our fellow paddlers safe and sound and dried off. We were served a very nice lunch   and then we headed off to another national park to have a fresh water swim in the river.  The fresh water felt wonderfully refreshing after being splashed with salt water all day.

Bill's hiking like he was 15 again

We decided to check out Phra Nang Beach and see if we could find the view point and lagoon.  As we headed out we noticed a bunch of rock climbers along the face of the cliff.  So we walked over to take a look.  Some of them were just learning and others were scaling huge rock faces.  They were all part of a climbing class.  It was very fascinating to watch them maneuver their bodies up the face of the rock.  After about an hour we headed over to the west side to check out the beach.  Along the path there was huge caverns, stalagmites, caves and monkeys and then we came through an opening onto a fabulous white beach surrounded by rock faces.  It was early so there were not too many people there yet.  We found a lovely spot in the shade on the sand and spent the next 4 hours people watching.  Around noon we decided to walk down the beach as we had seen people coming back with food and drinks.  As we got down the beach we realized the food vendors were set up in their long boats selling all kinds of food and drink.  We had an iced coffee and mango and sticky rice.  It was great, right on the beach.

 The tide was coming in and so were the the tour boats so the beach was getting smaller and smaller which meant it was getting rather crowded so we decided to pack up and see if we could find the path to the look out point.  It was described as a steep incline to the right.  OMG, they were not kidding.  When we had passed in on the way in I had seen the danger slippery when wet sign and thought it was a notice to keep people off.  When we returned this ended up being the path we were looking for.  There was a little hut with  benches opposite the steep incline.  We stopped and chatted with a group of three girls that were covered from head to toe in mud.  They had just returned from the lagoon.  I thought there is no way we are doing this so started to walk away.  Then Bill insisted that we give it a go, we changed our footwear and took some photos.  By this time there were people descending down the cliff.  Once they got down they were describing what is was like.  Well I guess this was pay back for the Zip lining as Bill was already on his way  thinking if these girls can do it, so can we.  I thought OMG, he is seriously going to do this.  As I listened and looked I realized that you had to climb a rock face with only a rope and your nerves to get you there.  Well you guessed it we were going.

Going up wasn’t too bad as long as you had a death grip on the rope and used it to haul your ass from one foot hold to another in between huge roots and jagged rocks.  We climbed and climbed and climbed until I was completely soaked in sweat and covered in red dirt.  Once we reached the top we followed a narrow path for about 10 minutes out to a fantastic view point over looking East and West Railay.  It was incredible.  And the next thing I knew my crazy husband had decided to go to the lagoon.  This meant repelling down three major drops into a sea cavern.  I thought he had lost his mind.  But off we went.  We made it down the first one and past this massive tree into the fist level of the cavern.  As we approached the second descent we stopped to chat with a few of the YOUNG people waiting with us.  They had just come up.  They said the next drop was very steep and tricky but it was worth it.  I seriously had my doubts.  We had been following this hippy type couple who were climbing in bare feet at a pace that far exceeded ours and they were just ahead waiting to go down.  Up to this point these two appeared to have no fear.  However when they reached the top of the second drop it took them quite a while to start and then they just seem to drop into thin air.  We cautiously peered over the edge and watched the guy from Australia go down hanging from the rope.  Well that was enough for me, I thought I might be able to make it down but there was a huge chance I may not be able to haul my ass back out.  Alex’s little voice kept popping into my head as the last thing she said to me was be careful there are no hospitals in Railay.  It was at this point I called it quits and told Bill he could take a picture of the lagoon from where we were I was NOT going down any further.

   Thank God he agreed and we headed back up to the top of the cavern and then back down the rock face.  We made it back safely, drenched in sweat and dirt, but glad we made the effort.  It was an adventure, full of adrenaline, hard work stories to tell your kids about.  Hopefully the pictures turn out.  Afterwards we had to go back to the beach to rinse off.  I told that crazy husband of mine I was having two cold beer when we got back.  He told me I could have as many as I liked.  On our way back we booked a couple of tours, a Canoeing trip through the mangroves and caves and then a ½ day to the natural hot spring and pool.  Never a dull moment, there is so much to see and do.  I guess I will rest when I get home.  Good thing we are doing this before we are 50 and our bodies are still able. After relaxing for a bit, Bill starts telling me that we are going back on our last day to try the lagoon again. My comment, drop freaking dead!     

Travel to Railay Beach

We decided to take the early ferry out of Ko Phi Phi so we would arrive in plenty of time to explore our new location.  Our Hotel offered a free transfer via long tail at 8:30 am which allowed us about 20 minutes to purchase our ticket and jump aboard the ferry.  Our long boat operator assisted us in getting our ferry tickets and we were able to find a place on the upper deck floor against the railing on the side of the boat that was in the shade.  What a bonus we could dangle our feet overboard and gaze out to sea for 1.5 hours on our way to Krabi.  It was a beautiful sunny morning so it was quite enjoyable.  Once we arrived in Krabi, we went inside the pier and were greeted with many tour operators.  We purchased our long boat transfer to Railay Beach and walked back down to the water.  (note to self next time shop around for a ticket as I think we paid about double what we should have, oh well live and learn.)  All in all we traveled 1.5 hours by ferry and about 45 min by long boat for about $25 each.  We were dropped off on the beach and told our hotel was about a 15 min walk.  Now I was kicking myself for shopping too much as we each had 2 packs for a combined weight of 60-70 pounds for each of us.  We loaded up our packs and headed down the beach.  Thank God we had backpacks as wheeling luggage on the sand with all kinds of debris would not be fun.  By this time it was about 12 noon so I stopped at the first bar I saw and had a cold beer.  I don’t believe them when they tell you it’s a 15 min walk.  After our beer we headed down the beach.  The walk wasn’t too bad but then we saw the sign to the hotel and realized we had to climb at least 70 wooden stairs of all sizes straight up the rock.  Again thank God we had backpacks!!  So up we went, by the time we hit reception we were both dripping wet.  We checked in and started another climb up to our Villa.  When we finally arrive and turned around we had the most amazing view of the sea from our balcony.  I guess the climb was worth it.  It’s much easier without my 70 pound,pack, but once we leave we try not to make too many trips back. 

We set out to explore the area.  Railay Beach is actually a peninsula, with boat only access.  It has huge rock formations and is a favorite for the rock climbers.  It has three different beaches separated by mountains that protrude straight up from the sea.  Our hotel is located on Railay East which has  mangrove trees on the beach so it isn’t very nice.  However within about a 15 minute walk you can be on either of the two main beaches.  Today we went to Ton Sai Bay on the west side of the peninsula.  The beach was very large with beautiful flour like white sand.  However it was very busy and there was no shade to be had which meant it was smoking hot.  We walked down a ways and found a walking street back to the east side.  We did a bit of shopping on the way back to our hotel and then decided to check out our pool.  It was very nice and the deck overlooking the sea was in the shade.  We had picked up some brochures for tours in the area so spent some time looking them over.  It had been a long hot day so we went for dinner and had one of the best dinners we have had yet.  They do seafood BBQ’s, and this one was a huge kabob of veggies and seafood.  As well you had a salad bar before dinner.  Bill had red snapper and I had tuna.  They were both very yummy.  With full bellies we were not too long before we crashed for the night.

Long tail boat to Ko Phi Phi Lay

We hired a long tail boat to take us across the sea to Ko Phi Phi Lay which is an uninhabited small island about 15 minutes away.  It’s claim to fame is the film “The Beach” was filmed there.  Our resort had told us we had to go early as it gets very busy by about 10:30am.  So we left at 8:30 and arrived at “The Beach” within about 15 minutes.  We were in a wonderful little bay with only a few boats.  Our Captain anchored and we went for a snorkel around the bay.  The fish were amazing, very colorful and we saw different ones than we had at Khao Lak, but again the coral was bleached and not very colorful.  As we were heading out of the bay after snorkeling about 5 speed boats full of people arrived.  We continued around the island looking at the most amazing rock formations.  It was like nothing we have ever seen.  Huge cliffs of colorful rock formations coming out of the middle of the sea going straight up for hundreds of feet.   They were very rugged, it was as if lava had flowed upward out of the sea and froze as it entered the air.  As we rounded the southwest corner of the island we sailed into an inlet.  The Captain anchored again and pointed to a set of rickety looking steps.  He said “swim” and we said ok.  So we loaded some things into the dry bag and jumped in.  As we reached the steps grasping onto the ropes we were both bitten by fish (I think).  Anyway we made it up the stairs and into a cavern that lead to a path that went across the small island to the beach we had just come from.  By this time the tourists had definitely landed and there were hundreds of them.  By the time we walked 10 min to the beached there were about 50 speed boats, long tails, and privates boats all anchored and the beach was completely full and it was only 10:00am in the morning.  That was enough for us so we headed back to our boat.  The swim back was much more difficult as we were swimming against the current.  An ocean swimmer I am not, but we made it back safe and sound.  We continued along the island again in awe of everything we saw.  Along the east side of the island we again entered another inlet.  The water color was the brightest colors of blue and green I have ever seen.  The water wasn’t very deep and the bottom was all sand with crystal clear water..  We had the option to swim again but we choose to suntan on the boat.  As we left the Island there were all kinds of caves that looked like you could climb in if you were so inclined.  By this time there were a lot of boats all around the island.  Apparently they run tours from Phuket and Krabi.  So we headed back to our wonderful beach for an afternoon in the sun.  The weather has been perfect.  No rain, sun shine and a nice sea breeze to keep you cooled off enough to stand the heat. The landscape we are seeing is almost impossible to describe so I will attempt to include some pictures.  We should also have some pretty cool video that I will post on Facebook.  Our Internet is limited on the island.  We were purchasing it but they ran out of codes to sell so we are out of luck until we get to Railay Beach.   We have decided to leave first thing in the morning as there are a number of cool things to do in Railay Beach.  So we are schedule for another long tail boat at 8:30 and then the ferry to Krabi, another long tail to Railay Beach.  This will be our final destination prior to going back to Bangkok.

Chow for now

Day 3 Ko Phi Phi- Jungle treck

Well we decided that we had had enough sitting on the beach and found out that there was a view point we could hike to.  It was supposed to be about 1 hour.  So after breakfast we headed up the mountain to the top of the island.  We were basically hiking up a very tiny rutted dirt road.  The only signs were in Thai but after one wrong turn and a couple of queries we were on track.  We were basically in the jungle.  There were a few huts where people were living, roosters, one ugly bug (that I saw) a very interesting fresh water reservoir and what appeared to be a Thai version of condos.  As we reached the top we ran into two wild monkeys.  The male was on the road eating something.  We walked right past him but as we approached he started to growl.  I had read that you never stare down a monkey as they get aggressive so I told Bill not to look at him and we simply walked by.  Hopefully my photo turns out.  As we left the main road (ha ha) and onto a small dirt path we ran into another couple who told us we just had to follow the path for about 20 min.  Off we went and as we neared the top we came to “Cowboy Hill”  a small stand offering water, beer and snacks.  We opted for water.  By this point there were a few English signs pointing us to the top.  Once we got there we had a spectacular view of both Ko Phi Phi’s main beaches.  There was also a small guest house (not that I would stay there) and water.  We purchased water and spoke with another couple who were on there way to find Rotay beach.  So we thought what the hell a beach sounded good.  So off we went following the signs and the directions the fellow at the top had given us.  It started out not bad but next time I eves drop I should pay more attention to the people.  They were serious hikers in way better shape than we were.  I lost them within about 50ft and the path started to descend 50 ft per second as Bill put it.  It was about as wide as my body, full of roots, rocks and other debris.  I wasn’t about to go tumbling downward and I was hesitant about what to grab onto not knowing what I would be touching.  At one point I went to grab a tree trunk and it was like a cactus.  We eventually made it down to a beautiful beach.  Had a swim and sat down for a nice cold beer.  I was very thankful my husband had remembered to put some cash into his pocket before we headed out.  Moral of the day never leave without a bunch of cash.  You never know where you will end up.  This allowed us to catch a longboat back to our beach and not have to climb back up the descent we had come down.  I love you Honey!  The couple we were following hiked back up later in the afternoon.  We spent a lazy couple of hours on a backpackers beach, which made me realize, my backpack works great but I still like some luxury.  I was happy to get back to my villa later that day.  We tried to stay up and watch the fire throwers but by about 10:30 we were done.  We had booked a longboat for a 3 hour tour of Phi Phi Lay and had to be ready to go by 8:30 am.

Patong Beach - Phuket

We decided to check out of Poseidon at Khao Lak a day early and head to Phuket to see if we could find a new camera.  We picked a hotel off the Internet which we thought was in Phuket Town, turned out it was in Patong Beach.  We thought this was just a beach, however it turned out to be the biggest party area on the island of Phuket.  We arrived mid afternoon and a huge mall was within walking distance.  Bill was on a mission to find a new camera and we succeeded the first stop we made.  No screaming deals, but about the same price as we would have paid at home, but we have a huge memory card and the camera has way more functions than the old one.  He now could relax again, now we were off looking for a bag to put our suits in for the trip back.  We decided the street vendors would be our best option so we were off bartering again.  Our shopping was complete so we decided to check out the fresh food market.  Man if I could buy my fruit and veggies this fresh at home I would be in heaven.  We purchased some mangosteens and lemons and headed back to the hotel.

When we emerged again to go for dinner the street had filled with more people and motor bikes than you could have imagined.  We asked the hotel where a good Thai place was to eat and she gave us the name of a place on the map.  Bill thought it was a tourist trap, but we decided to try it anyway.  We walked the streets in an attempt to find it but eventually hired a taxi to take us there.  The crowds were incredible.  More people here than in Bangkok.  The restaurant was huge and full of tourists.  Go figure, but it looked interesting.  You choose you seafood and then they weighed it, charged you per 100g and then they cooked it for you.  They did not have any muscles so we changed our order to squid.  The prawns were OK, the squid was overcooked and like rubber but the pad Thai noodles were great.  We decided we could find our way back to the hotel on foot so off we went. 

What an experience, we ended up on a pedestrian street only, full of night clubs, sex shows, girly boys and people trying to sell you every sex act you could imagine.  The girly boys and show girls were on the street as well, all dressed up in their show garb wanting people to take pictures.  In hind sight we should have stopped and taken a few pictures but I was afraid we wouldn’t get out of there if we did.  There were so many people you couldn’t walk in a straight line you had to weave in and out of the crowds to make you way through.  We eventually made it out and back onto a normal street and back to our hotel safe and sound.

It is quite amazing to have that type of activity in a Buddhist society, however we have come to the conclusion that it is a foreign based activity strictly for the enjoyment of the foreign tourist which the Thai government allows to happen.  There did not appear to be too many locals taking part.

The next day Bill found a massage parlor across the street.  He decided we had an hour to kill so he had a neck and back massage and I had a pedicure and manicure. We travelled by ferry from Phuket to Ko Phi Phi.  The ferry ticket included a taxi transfer to the pier.  We were picked up at 12:05 and made our way around town until we had a full van.  We arrived at the pier about 5 minutes before the scheduled departure.  We queued up in the line up and we assured that in Thailand there never left people on the pier.  The boat would wait.  Sure enough we all boarded.  Piled our luggage in a great big pile on the floor and went inside to see if we could find a seat.  There were two levels inside but no seats to be had so we went back outside and up the ladder to see what was on the upper deck.  By this time you couldn’t move so we were committed to the upper deck.  As I reached the top all I could see were people sitting on the deck floor and there was only a few floor spaces left.  So up we went, sat down and started to laugh. I don’t think you could have fit another person on the boat.  We were packed in like sardines. 

Good thing it was cloudy because neither of us had our hats, we had no water and we were going to be sitting on the deck for 1.5 hours.  Another lesson learned.  Anyway you could purchase water and beer on board and the cloud cover remained throughout our journey.  The wind blew in your face and kept you cool and we just sat back and read our books.  Travel in Thailand is quite an experience.  We arrived safely and once we were off the boat we were met by a long boat taxi to take us to our resort.

Our resort is fantastic.  It consists of little villas on stilts constructed on the mountain side.  We have A/C, a comfy king bed, hot shower, mini bar with fridge and a beautiful view of the sea off our private deck.  Heaven at last.  The beach is amazing and the staff very helpful.  We are here for 5 nights of rest and relaxation.

mojittos, full of all kinds of herbs.  They were BBQing for dinner so we chose a tumtim fish to try.  It was very tasty, full of chilies, limes and other unidentified spices.  During our diner the boys at the dive shop/bar next door put on a fire throwing show for us.  Twirling and throw sticks with fire on each end, doing the limbo under a fire stick getting as low as about 1 foot off the sand and then ending the show with a fire lit skipping rope.  It was very entertaining with the beautiful back drop of the see behind them.

Day two on Ko Phi Phi was a relaxing one.  We basically spent the day on the beach then headed up to cool off and have a beer before we went by long boat to the main beach for dinner.

The main beach a Ko Phi Phi is very busy with the pier traffic, dive shops and travel agents.  We wondered around for a few hours, purchased some supplies (beer, water, Thai whiskey, limes you know the basics), had some dinner and then headed back to our resort.  This is our 5 days of relaxing on the beach so not much to tell.  Other than it's smokin hot, the beach is gorgeous and thank god for A/C.

Next stop Khao Lak and the snorkel boat

Today we flew from Chiang Mai to Phuket and then jumped in a cab that was waiting for us and travelled north up the coast for approximately 1.5 hours to our next destination Poseidon  Bungalows.  Good thing the driver knew where he was going because we were off the main road about 2km and then down a dirt road to the Bungalows.  The resort was very simple, there were about 15 bungalows along the bay with the main restaurant near the entrance.  Our bungalow was a larger one and was rather quaint, but we were only going to be there two nights.  There were two beaches; one on the lagoon and the other out on the main sea.  We decided to check out the main beach so walked down the little path through the jungle and out onto this amazing beach.  I think if we really tried we might have found 10 people on the entire beach.  There was no problem finding a beach chair.  There were a number of small places along the beach offering massages, cold beer and some food.

The next morning we were having breakfast and two elephants with their trainers wondered down to the lagoon in front of the restaurant to have a dip.  Guess what - no camera.  Later in the day Bill went for a walk and happened to find them walking down the road.

Our first day was spent lazing on the beach, reading books, and attempting to body surf in the waves.  I managed to get slammed into the beach and get a suit full of sand.  Later in the day we decided to try a beach massage.  It was very cool listening to the waves crash in while getting your massage.  Bill thinks this is wonderful a full body massage every other day.

As we were trekking back and forth to the beach we noticed this awful screeching noise that sounded like radio interference, but only in certain spots.  We asked about it and found out that is was actually bugs that live in the trees that make this awful sound.  We never did actually see them, but they screech all day long.  Luckily they were not in the trees around our bungalow.  We had to be ready to leave by 6:45 am the next morning so we were packed and in bed early that night.

The next morning all 17 of us loaded into the back of a truck (kind of like the red cab) and headed out to the marina.  We boarded our boat and found a bunk located on the lower deck.  19 people sleeping in one compartment!  Thank God it was air conditioned (sort of).  Once we had our packs put away we went back up top where a long table and benches, a sun deck and coffee were located.  Our guide Daniel went through some safety procedures and explained that it would take 4 hours to get out to the Similan Islands.  He showed us where the sea sick meds were kept, but the sea was fairly calm so no one decided to take any.  About 30 min. out we were served the first of many wonderful meals.  At this point some of us were reaching for the pills.  I am proud to say I made it 3 days aboard a small vessel without chucking my cookies.  My Dad would be proud.  We were on board with 15 Swedes, most of them under the age of 25, but they all spoke some English so things were pretty good.  Our guide Daniel was awesome, he was full of stories and spoke English the entire time.
.
The Similan islands consists of 9 different islands.  Similan is the Thai word for nine.  Island number 1-3 were closed to the public for rehabilitation.  So we started our tour up at island # 9.  They usually start the tour on a different island located north of the Similan but our captain had been on the radio and apparently there were no mantarays there today due to the currents so it wasn't worth going.
 
The first afternoon we did 3 different snorkels.  Each of them quite different.  Our first time in the water was in a small bay with no current just so see how comfortable every one was in the water.  All the youngins were like fish go figure, but Bill and I did just fine.  The water was crystal clear, fairly warm and our gear was working great.  According to Daniel the coral had been bleached in the last year due to the higher than normal temperature of the water.  This meant that for the most part all the spectacular colors were gone. But the fish were still amazing to watch.  There were so many different kinds.  After we got out of the water I realized our camera was not working.  Good thing we had backed up all of our photos so far.  My name was mud as Bill had suggested that we purchase another camera before we left, just in case.  I didn't think this was necessary so we didn't.  Ya did I regret that decision.  Never again will I go away with only one camera.  Luckily our guide was taking loads of pictures and told us that he was making a DVD that could be purchased at the end of the tour.  Phew, at least we would have some pictures.  Even better ones that we could have taken ourselves as he was diving way down deep taking shots of things we didn't see.

Our Captain and boat boy Tip took wonderful care of all of us.  The Captain would assess the conditions of each location determining how strong the currents were and then decide if he though it was safe for us.  Tip operated the dingy boat that was in the water when ever we were snorkeling.  At anytime if we got tired we only had to give a signal and he would come pick us up.  Every time we were in the water all 4 crew members watched us and a head count was done after each time we were in the water.  Every time we went into the water we were swimming with the current, which makes it was more enjoyable, you just basically float (which is really easy in salt water) and the current takes you along.the route.  Each time we went into the water we saw something new.  Daniel spotted a blue spotted sting ray on the bottom of the sand,  He dove down and we floated above.  The sting ray just kind of hung out, swimming away and then stopping.  It was incredible to watch.  Another highlight was on day 3 when one of the young boys spotted a sea turtle.  Bill and I had just gotten into the boat so we watched from above and most of our group actually swam the the turtle.  At one point they were right in front of the boat and the turtle poked his head up.  It was pretty cool to watch, but they were exhausted when they got back as they were swimming against the current and were in the water for a long time.  Tip was out with the dingy the whole time making sure everyone was OK.  Daniel got a great video, so we now have a copy.  The scenery on these islands was like nothing we have ever seen before.  The rock formations gave each island it's name.  Old man island, Donald duck bay, monkey island.  On the west side of each island the trees were completely bent over and it look like someone had cut the tops off at about a 45 degree angle.  This is due to the high winds they get during the raining season.  It's amazing what mother nature can due.

On day two we were dropped off on a beach on island #8.  The sand on this beach was like nothing we have ever seen before.  It was like a mixture of salt and flour.  Kind of like the texture of home made play dough.  As you stepped into it it felt almost like pudding.  It was extremely hot that day so I was thinking it would be smoking hot when I stepped onto it but is wasn't.  It was very cool.   We walked around for a bit and then decided to go and play in the waves.  They were perfect for body surfing and if you got slammed into the beach it was so soft it wouldn't hurt.  So off we went.  It was great fun.  I actually got Bill to body surf.  We caught the wave together and road it into the beach.  He had such a big smile on his face and was laughing so hard he couldn't get up so got slammed with the next wave.  It was so cool.  As the waves were cresting you could see a whole wack of fish being brought into shore.  It was like riding the wave with the fish.   I would have loved to bring some sand home, but the Similan islands are a national park and you can't take anything off them except photos.  Just before sun set we hiked up to a view point had a beer and waited for the sun to set.  The view and the sunset were beautiful. 

Sleeping on a boat is quite an experience.  The first night the sea was quite rough, so we climbed into our bunk ( I actually think is was like a coffin) and attempted to get some sleep.  At first I was on the outside but each time a wave came my body would rock and I started to feel sea sick.  We switched places and if I put my back up against the wall of the boat I felt better.  It was kind of like having the bed spins after a long night of drinking and you put your foot on the floor to stop the bed from spinning.  Lets just say it's been a long time since I had to do that and it wasn't fun.  Needless to say no one got much sleep that night.  The second night was much calmer and not so hot to we did manage to get some sleep.  That part of the experience I could have done without.

Again the food was incredible.  These two woman (mama Sue and her helper, Daniel called her mama because she took such good care of him and all of us) prepared the most delicious dishes in this small little galley.  No two dishes were served twice.  We were talking with Daniel about deep fried bananas and poof there appeared as our afternoon snack.  We had fresh fruit with every meal and they even managed to keep the beer cold for all three days.


Over all it was a great adventure, however this prairie girl was awfully glad to put her feet on dry land.  After being on a boat for three days and needing a camera we decided to head to Phuket instead of staying in Khoa Lak for another day.

Our last day in Chiang Mai

After a fun filled day yesterday we decided to just take it easy today.  We used the local laundry service across from the Hotel, way better than a Laundromat, you drop it off, they clean it, fold it and you pick it up 24 hours later for about $5.  Amazing service.

I met a fellow in the lobby of the hotel this morning who was an acupuncturist from Austria.  He was in Chiang Mai taking a month long course on Thai massage.  I asked him where the best place to get a massage from and he recommended a spa just around the corner from the ITM school.  Bill and I decided to splurge and book a spa massage.

I must say there is quite a variance in massage techniques depending on which area of Thailand you are in and what type of facility you are using.  So far we have had 4 different massages.  The first one was in Bangkok and it was very painful (however we had just travelled 30 hours so we might have been a little stiff).  This massage concentrated on our back and shoulder area and was in a small massage parlor next to our hotel.  The cost of 300 baht for an hour.  The next one was at our hotel in Chiang Mai.  It was much gentler and worked mainly on our calves and thighs.  Both of these were Thai massages, this one was a whole 250 baht [$6].  Next we decided on a small spa in Chiang Mai, but opted for an oil massage this time.  It was very relaxing and the oil felt wonderful all over your body.  This one was 400 baht.  The last one was at the spa the Austrian recommended.  The front of the spa was deceiving and did not look like much, but when we entered we were pleasantly surprised.  It was wonderful.  They gave us a herbal tea to drink and soaked our feet in basins of cool water cleaning our feet with herbs and spices, such as turmeric, galangan, lime, as well as a salt scrub.  She then sprayed our feet with a galangan spray which was suppose to relax your feet.  The Thai massage was quite gentle but firm and they did a number of stretching techniques involving upper body twists and leg stretches.  I don't think Bill's calf's will be the same.  But you do feel wonderful afterwards.  At the end of this treatment we were seated downstairs and given a snack of passion fruit and another herbal drink.  It was a wonderful experience and well worth the 660 baht for the hour and half.

Since this day we have also had a Thai massage on the beach at Poseidon in Khao Lak.  I must say Bill and I both preferred being pampered in the spa the best.  However each massage has left us feeling very relaxed and rejuvenated.  The Thai people certainly know how to take care of themselves.

Later that night we went for a walk and tried spring rolls from one of the vendors.  They were very tasty.  We then  had a wonderful meal in the restaurant around the corner trying new dishes and each time loving all of them.  Bill was on the hunt for deep fried bananas for desert, but the street vendors were not cooking them.  He would have to wait.

Chiang Mia was a wonderful city, however the pollution was terrible due to the number of motor bikes and red cabs.  All in all we had a great time making our way around seeing the sights, shopping and talking to people.

Next stop is Khao Lak and our snorkel boat.

Chiang Mai - Day 7 Ziplining at Flight of the Gibbon

OMG, what an incredible day!  It was so much fun.  I am still having a hard time believing all the things we did.  Our guide Cashe was fantastic.  He had a great sense of humor and went above and beyond to make our three hour trip through the jungle tree tops a great adventure.  We were lucky enough to see one Gibbon high in a tree top but my camera zoom was not strong enough to capture a photo.

We were picked up at our hotel by an air conditioned van and were joined by a couple from Dubai, a family from Sydney and a young fellow from Shanghai.  We then travelled approximately 1 hour out of Chiang Mai up into the mountains.  We stopped at a beautiful waterfall and hiked in about 1km to the top,  Most of the trail was steps made out of stone, so we were climbing in elevation quite quickly.  I can't remember the last time I have climbed so many stairs.  But the stream and waterfall were very peaceful and we were the only ones on the trail.  The air quality greatly improved since we had left the city so that was a nice change.

After our hike we jumped back into the van and went back to the Gibbon office to sign our lives away and get fitted into our zip line gear.  Not a flattering outfit but very safe, helmet and all.  We were then taken by van to the starting point where our guide Chashe gave us three safety points:
1.  don't hang onto to the zip line
2,  keep your feet up when arriving at a platform
3.  only the guides unclip your safety strap
Then we were off to our first of 18 rides.  Kat, the gal from Dubai was pretty frightened, I think her boyfriend Rob had convinced her to come and when she saw what was going to happen, she was not impressed, he was cut off for the rest of their vacation.  Anyway she was a good sport and the guides had fun teasing her through out our trip.  We had two guides with us one at each end of the zip line platform.  Cashe always went first and they caught each of us as we landed.  The first one was just a short one to get everyone used to riding.  The scenery was spectacular, we were almost at the tree tops riding through.  Each ride was a little bit different, some were short, some were long.  They have the longest ride in the world at 800 M in length, it was so long you couldn't see the landing.  They put a different cartridge and extra safety straps on us for the 800 m ride and transferred the equipment back by a motorized pulley system.  By this time they had figured out that I loved the thrill and was not afraid so the guide gave me an extra push off and I went flying down this line rotating around getting a 360 degree view.  However they miss judged my speed and I came flying into the landing knocking over Cashe sending both of us flying into the safety net behind.  It was a good thing I was coming in backwards and didn't see it coming or I may have shit my pants.  I think my travel mates were a little shocked to say the least and Bill missed it all because I went first.  But I wasn't hurt and all was good.  I just thought it was a blast to free fall at that speed.  (samples of our videos are on face book).  Bill was a trooper, he didn't even scream like a girl as he flew through the jungle.  As long as you didn't look down you didn't realize exactly how high up you were.  At one point the guide missed me on the landing (on purpose) and I went sailing back down the line.  The only way for me to get back was for Cashe to come and get me and pull me back by hand.  He was working hard, I told him he should have chosen a lighter person to do this to, he just laughed.

About half way through we had to walk up the mountain about 1km straight up through switchbacks past a spirit house( this is where the Thai make their offerings to the good spirits to keep them safe) and up to the next series of zip lines.  Cashe kept up the excitement, energy and fun throughout each ride making it thrilling every time. At one point they lowered me off the platform and swung me side to side before letting me go.  This caused me to swing along the zip line narrowly missing trees and barely making the landing platform. But at no time did we feel unsafe.  They were very professional and knew what they were doing.  Near the end we had to repel down two different platforms to get to the bottom.  The first one was 15ft and they hooked up some sort of a pulley system and lowered us down. We chose the speed.  Fast is the only way to go.  On the final repel, Bill and I were going to go done side by side as there were 2 ropes, they lowered Bill about 10 feet and he hung there waiting while they hooked me up. We had chose to free fall [fast as possible], but as they hooked me up, Cashe asked me if I wanted to go down head first.  I said sure, thinking he was joking.  Well the joke was on me. They let me go as Bill was hanging there with the camera running. 

Once down we were given a well deserved drink (beer or water), guess what we chose, too bad they didn't offer something stronger.  We took some last pictures and then headed back to the office.  We were then fed a wonderful Thai lunch and then transported back to Chiange Mai.  It was an awesome adventure, one that we will never forget and have some incredible video to share with everyone.

We arrived back at the hotel a little tired and sore so decided to have a rest and then look for a place to eat.  It was raining slightly so we decided to just walk around our guesthouse to see what we could find.  We ended up at this wonderful little place that had great food.  Needless to say we were in bed early, dreaming of zip lines.

Chiang Mai - Day 6

Today started out leisurely with a coffee in bed and no specific plans for the day.  I must say our little lap top has come in very handy.  I spent a few hours on the net looking for interesting things to do in the area.  We decided that we would do a short trip up to Doi Suthep.  Doi is Mountain in Thai.  So we flagged down a red taxi and bartered a trip with him, jumped in the back and we were off.  It was fairly early in the morning so traffic was somewhat lighter.  However this allowed our taxi driver to drive like a mad man.  Bill had both feet braced and we were hanging onto the handrail for dear life.  The road up the mountain was narrow, windy and steep.  It did have lines marking the lanes but Thai drivers don't pay much attention to them.  At one point we were going around a curve passing another taxi and there was one in the oncoming lane.  There's no stopping them, they simply all move over and all three go by.  I quit looking after that and trusted the good spirits were on our side and we would be safe.
 

Phew we made it to the Wat (Temple) Phrathat.  In order to reach the temple we had to climb 300 steps.  It was Sunday afternoon so there were 1000's of people coming to pray.  The view would have been amazing but it was hazy.  Thai temples are very beautiful.  Down we went - 300 stairs and back out to our driver.  Between him and his English speaking friend we negotiated the next 8 km up the mountain to see the Tribal Village and the Palace.

The Tribal Village was incredible.  There was a museum which explained the history of the "long necked woman"  These are the Thai woman that were gold rings around their necks which makes there necks appear  3 times as long as normal.  This is achieved by putting pressure on the ribs by the rings which compresses the collar bone and rib cage.  This slopes the shoulders downward creating what appears to be a longer neck.  They actually don't stretch their necks.  There was a beautiful waterfall and garden in the middle of the village.  Tribal vendors lined the pathway selling their wares of silk scarfs, silver and many other trinkets.  We spent some time wondering around the gardens and enjoying some fresh air (so to speak).  All of their houses were built in tears up the mountain side.

Our next stop was the Palace.  Once we arrived we had to rent sarongs as we were both wearing shorts, which is not allowed.  The Palace had a very beautiful rose garden surrounding it as well as many other types of flowers.  We were not actually allowed inside the buildings we could just view them and wonder through the gardens.

On the way down we stopped at a waterfall.  Due to it being Sunday afternoon it was very busy with the locals enjoying family time along the creek.  We didn't stay long as we were headed to the Sunday Market.

The Sunday night market was suppose to be the mother of all markets so we arrived early in an attempt to avoid the crowds.  We had a Thai fruit shake and watched the vendors set up their stalls.  There are so many vendors and people they shut down at least 4-5 square blocks in the old city.  The crowds weren't too bad at first but within 45 minutes you could barely move.  The products being sold were not what we were looking for and the crowds were starting to get to us so we hired a tuk tuk and headed to the Night Bizarre instead.  Because it was still early and the Sunday Market was in full swing there were very few people at the Night  Bizarre which made shopping quite enjoyable and the merchants quite willing to barter.  Our shopping trip was a successful one and Bill has decided it will be a long time until he goes to another market.

We discovered Thai Whiskey at our cooking class so stopped for a nice refreshing drink.  Thai whiskey is nothing like ours, it is quite sweet and you drink it with lime juice and sprite.  So much for my red wine, it's very expensive here and not very good.  So you learn to drink with the locals;  Thai beer in the daytime and whiskey at night.  Then you crash after a long day of sightseeing and crawl into bed.

Chiang Mai - Day 5

Hi from Chiang Mai.

Day 4 was spent travelling between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. We were suppose to take the overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai however when we went to the train station with Get to purchase our tickets we were told the train was full.  So we decided to fly instead. 

Our guesthouse in Chiang Mai - Baan Kong Rao is quite unique, clean and has very friendly staff however it is a little out of the way so it takes a bit to get to things.  Our first day was spent getting to know our way around.  We went exploring on Friday and found a wonderful air conditioned mall that had at least 4 shoe stores.  By the end of the first hour I even had Bill shopping for shoes.  The prices are exceptional, I purchased a pair of really cool pumps and a purse for less than $15 Cnd.  We stopped at 7/11 and purchased beer and water for our mini fridge and headed back to the guesthouse for our first massage.

We decided to try another Thai massage.  It was amazing how different it was from the one in Bangkok.  But apparently each region has it's own style.  The one in Bangkok was an extremely deep muscle massage that concentrated mainly on your back and neck.  The one in Chiang Mai was much lighter and she worked mainly on your legs.  So it all balanced out and was wonderful.  We wondered down the road and found a great place to each dinner, however you have to have your wits about you as there are no sidewalks and motor bikes, vehicles, tuk tuks and red cabs drive in all directions.  You have to keep reminding yourself to look left instead of right when crossing the street.  There are no rules, you just dash across when you think it's safe.  I watched a little old lady zigzag through traffic with her arms full, barely able to walk, but some how she made it.  Traffic is crazy, but we have yet to see an accident here.

On Saturday we booked a full day cooking class at Thai Kitchen Cooking School.  They came and picked us up at the guesthouse and then picked up 6 additional people who joined us.  One young couple was from Austria, another from Germany and two young lads from Australia.  We had a menu of 21 items of which we were able to choose 7 each.  Bill and I each chose different dishes so we got to try 14 different dishes. We started off with an authentic fresh market tour where our guide Tubtim explained all of the different vegetables, and ingredients we would be using.  The merchants then filled our woven baskets with products and we were off to the cooking school.  When we arrived we were served coffee and the cooking stations were explained.

Each of us had our own wok over a gas burner.  We started each dish at the prep table and then moved to the cooking stations to finish them off.  Each of the instructors taught us step by step how to prepare the ingredients and then how to cook them.  We started with Stir Fried Noodles, then we made two different curry paste and curry dishes.  Our favorite was the Massaman and Panang Curry. Both very different from one another but very good.  Next we made Fried Cashew nuts with chicken and Sweet and Sour mixed vegetables.  We sat on a traditional Thai table (on the floor) and ate the two dishes with steamed rice.  We enjoyed our classmates and had about 1 hour to get to know them and swap travel stories.  The Europeans were able to speak English so conversation was very easy.  Bill even got to brush up on his German as they switched back and forth.  After our break we were back in the kitchen, this time preparing Papaya salad and Spring rolls.  Papaya salad was made with a young green papays that you shredded with a peeler.  Most Thai dishes include a chili.  The smaller the chili the hotter they are.  Therefore I was only using 1 tiny Chile pepper about 3/4 of an inch long by 1/4 inch round.
Bill's spring rolls turned out great, but I didn't particularly like the salad.  Next we made two different kinds of soup.  Prawn with coconut milk soup and hot and sour prawn soup.  Both were very yummy however by this time we were getting rather full and we still had dessert.  Bill picked black sticky rice pudding with thick coconut cream and I picked sticky rice with mango.  We learned that sticky rice must be soaked for at least 6 hours or preferably over night.  Then the white rice is steamed rather than boiled.  I think I might have to invest in a rice cooker.  The black rice pudding was very similar to what we had had in Bali, I've decided I love coconut cream.  Too bad it's so expensive at home.

By the end of the day we were all stuffed, had made some new friends and learned a great deal about Thai cooking techniques.  Our biggest challenge will be to find the ingredients we need once we are back in Canada.  However we did purchase some chili paste in the market.  We also were given a great little cook book with all of the recipes. As a departing gift,  we had a Thai shooter [a shot of Thai whiskey, lime juice and sprite]. The Aussies were great sports, but were chomping at the bit to get going for a beer or 4.  All in all it was a fantastic day,  I can't wait to try our new acquired talents out when we get home.




In Chiang Mai, the cheapest form of travel is called a "red cab"  this is a small truck that has a tall metal canopy with open windows and no end gate, you just step onto an extended bumper an into the back of the truck.  It has two benches that run along the length of the box and hand rails on the roof.  You barter for you fare and jump in the back and hang on for dear life.  It's great fun except for the exhaust fumes.  Anyway we arrived at the spa and opted for a full body oil massage.  It was very relaxing.  Thai massage is deep and attempts to lengthen your mussels.  This one cost us 400 bahts for an hour.  (that's about $15 Cnd.)  Bill was attempting 1 a day however we just haven't had enough time.

We ended the night by having a fried banana pancake with chocolate and a fresh fruit shake.  The shakes were amazing however we haven't been able to match Tong's banana pancake.  How can you tell we love to eat and try new food.  We decided Thailand is all about food and massages, what a great combination.

Bangkok Day 3 - Train and Floating Market / Fishing Village/ Night Tour

Wow what an amazing Day.  The owner of the tour company, Tong was our tour guide today and every review I read is true and then some.  She is full of energy, knowledge and will do her best to make your day one of the best days you have ever had.  We started the day at 7:00 am when she picked us up.  We travelled to a fresh food market which is called the train market.  Simply because it is located directly on the train tracks, literally.  All of the merchants have their products on tables that have wheels and canopies that they lower.  When the train whistles (which it does 8 times a day), they have 3 minutes to pull their tables in and lower their canopy's just enough for the train to go by, they put products that are low to the ground about 2 inches from the tracks and tier the rest of their stuff so they don't have to move too much. People scramble into any small opening they can find to get out of the way of the train, I was standing within inches of the train watching it go by.  It is only about 5 cars long and is a passenger train so it only takes a few minutes and then everything is put back and the market continues.  It was completely wild.  I asked Tong why they set up on the tracks and she said it was because they didn't have to pay rent for their stalls.  We saw all kinds of different strange live fish in shallow pans with just enough water to keep them wet, raw and cooked frogs, and other food we did not know.  We did however purchase some of our spices such as shrimp paste and chilies. We had the sweetest pineapple I have ever tasted.  It was about the size of an apple on a stick.

We then jumped back into the car and continued to the Floating Market.  This is one of the only authentic markets on the water canals that is left.  It is more of a show for the tourists and a reminder of the the Thai heritage. it is not a practical way to market their goods thus prices are a little higher than other markets but the Thai people want to keep it alive as it was a way of life for them. Tong hired us a boat which was paddled by her regular boat driver.  (some boats have engines but they are loud and smelling)  The entrance was very crowed but as we made our way through the boats started to disperse.  Tong has many friends on the water selling their wares and asked if we could help support the market by buying a few things. We found some really cool things that we bought for the kids and we found spices that are very expensive at home but are really cheap here [saffron and anise]. We stopped constantly to sample all the food.  It was incredible.  We told her she should rename her tour the eating tour.  She laughed and said not all her clients are willing to eat like we were.  We said bring it on, and so she did, we ate until we could eat no more.  The deep fried bananas wrapped with coconut flour were to die for, we also had plain fried bananas, pork satay, chicken wings, two different kinds of soup, one sweet, one hot and spicy.  Both soups had small pork balls covered in batter which Tong told Bill were pork testicles.  The guy in the boat next to us just about choked on his soup. Our fancy ice coffee in a bag with a straw was our next favorite, we drank and ate and Tong fed her favorite dogs the food that we could not finish [she's such a humanitarian and animal lover] as we meandered through canals that the large tour companies don't take their patrons through.  We finished the tour with coconut pancakes that were awesome too.




We hopped back into the car and headed for our next tour to the Fishing Village.  We stopped at a roadside fruit stand where Tong bought over ripe bananas to feed the monkeys we were going to see in the mangrove forest. Once we arrived we jumped into a longboat and headed into the mangrove forest, the government is working to rehab the estuary because over the years the forest had been slowly destroyed, the monkeys food supply is very low so they are starving.  Our driver cut the engine and started to whoop and within minutes the monkeys started to descend on us.  We broke the bananas in half so more monkeys had a chance to eat.  They were a little aggressive at first but as we kept feeding them they settled down.  If they got up on the boat the driver used a slingshot with no amo to scare them off.  We went to four different areas to feed different groups.  We then headed out to the sea and were toured around the fish farms.  Each farm had a little hut on stilts that the fisherman used.  Tong took us to see an oyster farm.  It was a series of bamboo sticks criss crossed to form a box, row by row.  They had strings with rocks tied to them that the oyster attaches to and grows for a year before they are harvested.  They also fish clams and mud crabs.  We passed a woman covered from head to toe in a blue suit.  Only her eyes were showing.  She was submerged in the water digging in the mud for clams.  Tong said she would do this for approximately 5 hours a day.  We then continued on until we came to Tong's stilted hut.  We climbed aboard and were served a delicious seafood lunch, consisting of prawns, crab, a fish cooked with lemon grass, ginger and garlic, sticky rice and mango, cold beer.  We sat out in the middle of the sea and enjoyed the sites and sounds. It was very peaceful and relaxing.

On our way home, I had mentioned to Tong I was looking for some silver jewelery.  She said no problem, one of her friends was a wholesaler.  She would give her a call and see if her shop was open.  We stopped on our way back and I got the deal of my life on silver jewelery.  Bill was getting a little nervous until I showed him I was spending less than $75.Cnd, then he even started shopping! Bill thought we should be importing and going into the silver business at home. From there, Tong wanted us to try one more thing, a fried banana pancake, Bill was hesitant until she told him it had chocolate on top.  He was in and away we went down to the street vendors.  Again it was to die for.  I'm having trouble picking my favorite.

We jumped in the car again and were on our way to the Tailors for our first suit fitting.  They had been working approximately 24 hours on our suits and were ready for a fitting.  By now it was rush hour and the traffic was incredible like I've never seen before.  However Tong is a pro and she weaved in and out and we made it in record time.  That was the end of our day with Tong and I have to say she was amazing, we had a super day taking in many sights and experiences we will never forget.  She is a wonderful lady who knows and loves to take care of her clients.  Once we were done with our fitting, the tailor's sent us home in their van.  We had about 45 minutes to shower change and then Tong's employee, Ben, was picking us up to do Bangkok by night.
We were off again by Sky train to Pat Pong, the red light district.  Ben warned us to stay together, keep ours eyes open, my hand on my purse which should be in front, and to watch out for pick pockets and girly boys [boys dressed as girls, you really had to look to tell them apart].  He also told us that the people at the doors of the show would be most interested in Bill and would try and entice him into their bars, they were showing him menu's of any type of sex favorites that you could imagine. The entrances to the brothel type bars were flanked by a huge night market. As you walked through the market you could see into the shows and I decided it wasn't something I wanted no part of.  So once we got through the market we headed out to China town for a bite to eat and a drink.  This time we took the subway.  After that we went to the Flower market which was just setting up for the night.  It normally starts at 3:30 am and runs all night.  We had to be careful not to get in the way of the vendors bringing in their product by the dolly full.  The flowers were incredible.  I have never seen so many varieties in one place.  We spent a short time walking around but by this time we were getting rather tired.  So we jump in a cab and headed back to the hotel.

Well what a day, we went hard for 17 hours, we were exhausted and had seen alot.  The next day we had our final suit fitting and then we had a flight to Chiang Mai.

Cheers from  Bangkok!

Day 2 - City tour

"Get" was our tour guide today.  What a wonderful lady.  We jumped on the sky train and travelled downtown toward the river transferring between train lines.  We then travelled by public boat from the main pier to the Grand Palace.  What a spectacular place.  Thai people love their King and all that he represents.  The Grand Palace is made up of various buildings within the compound each representing something different.  Once we were finished Get hired a "Tuk Tuk"  to take us to a private pier were  we hired a long boat to take us up one of Bangkok's main canals.  There are many canals that are still used by the locals to get around.  The water was very rough and dirty due to the boat traffic.  The boat drivers are very skilled and manage to dock these boats at the piers without too much difficulty.  We then went to Wat Phoe the temple of the reclining Buda.  This was very impressive.  Buda was huge and covered in gold leaf.  By this time the crowds were becoming intense and we both had had our fill of temples.

We had a delicious lunch in a small restaurant across the street and then decided we should go to the train station to book our train for Thursday.  Guess what the train were full so we ended up booking a flight to Chaing Mai.  Oh well I guess i will have to ride the train another time.  After this was all taken care of we decided to find a Tailor to get suits made.

"Get" recommended one and about 1 hour later we had been measured up and the suits were being cut as we left the store.  Our first fitting is tomorrow afternoon and they will be done by Thursday morning before our flights leave.  wow what service.  I can't wait to see them.

Our dinner tonight was at a place called "cabbage and condoms"  I know it's a weired combination for a name but it is run by a non-profit organization that promotes safe sex and family planning.  The owners philosophy was that in order for family planning to work condoms had to be as recognized and as available as your everyday veggie at the market.  Instead of mints after dinner we received condoms.

We Made it

Hi from Bangkok!

It took us approximately 30 hours from Kelowna counting lay overs and flight delays.  But it is all good now.  Our hotel is wonderful; a small boutique style place about 1/2 block off the main road.  They call side roads "Soi" s in Thailand.  So we are located on Soi 19.  We crashed for a few hours and then started to explore Bangkok.

Day 1  -  we decided we needed to stretch our legs and get the blood flowing again so set out on foot to see what the shopping was like.  Things were pretty quiet compared to all the reports I had read, but later I realized this was because everyone was still on their New Years Holidays and no one was working, driving or shopping for that matter.  Well we didn't find any screaming deals so we decided to head back to the hotel and find a Thai massage.  And find one we did!  The place the hotel recommended was booked solid so we just picked one off the street that looked safe and took the plunge.  It was fantastic, however my muscles were screaming for the whole hour.  This was a full body massage with a woman who used her elbow and body weight on me and the gal doing Bill was walking on his back using her heel.  She worked every muscle in my body with extra work on my neck and shoulders because they were the tightest.  She then twisted my body in all directions and finished off with a full scalp massage.  We were pretty much wet noodles when our hour was up.  All of this for only 300 bahts ($10).

We thought we would take a nap but no time.  We had a bicycle tour of Sukhumwit (the area we were staying in)  So we headed out for another walk to find the office of the bike company.  We ended up being a bit early so stopped by a neighborhood hang out for a quick Thai beer.  Not sure this was such a good idea in hind sight.  We arrived at the bike shop, got fitted for our bikes, checked the brakes and headed out.  RIGHT ONTO THE MAIN STREET IN BANGKOK!  Now you know why the beer wasn't such a good idea.  They drive on the left over here which means you also ride on the left.  Thank God it was still a national holiday and traffic was light.  Our tour guide ON was fabulous.  We were the only two on the tour so she took us all over.  Our first stop was at one of the street vendors for a snack on some wonderful spring rolls.  Then we were off again.  Winding through the side streets as darkness fell.  Bangkok has street lights but they don't turn them on.  So the only light we had was the oncoming traffic's head lights.  Perfect!  We travelled through the slum area where people live and work in a space not much bigger than the size of a single car garage.  They were factory workers working on tailored suit orders.  I'm sure they slept underneath their sewing machines.  Most Thai people do not have cooking facilities in their homes so they rely on the street vendors to eat.  Hence the vast number of street vendors.  In the middle of the dark little road way "On" stopped at a street vendor who was selling food as well as Thai whiskey.  The gal poured two shots for Bill and I and we watched her cook a meal for a motor bike taxi driver and then we were off.  Navigating through dark alleys, dealing with Bangkok traffic on the main roads and trying to stay to the left after two shots of Thai whiskey!  But I am happy to report we had no mishaps.  We then travelled through one of Bangkok's many night markets and were amazed at all the things that were for sale.  Live fish in baskets, pigs being butchard on a table, chilies, limes and then we were told we could not take pictures through the next section as the men were gambling.  On our tour guide was fantastic, she was very careful and made sure we knew which direction we were going well in advance.  However she was unable to highlight the pot holes and rough roads because you just couldn't see them in the dark. A little bit different from our nice bike paths in Canada.

Near the end of the tour we stopped at a cluster of street vendors for dinner.  We sat down at a table outside and On went around to the vendors and purchased a variety of dishes for us to eat.  Most were good and when I wasn't sure what it was I let Bill eat it first, then I decided I wasn't going to eat chicken liver and funny looking egg in the soup.  He's a brave man.  The mango desert was my favorite.  On told us many stories about Thai customs.  By the end of the meal we were very full and the lack of sleep was catching up to us so we headed back to the bike office and then back to the hotel.

All in all is was an adventurous first day.