Birthdays and Rancho Relaxo - Bangkok Style!

Bangkok weekend

Emma, Taylor, Katie and I at Route 66

This past weekend, December 15 and 16, I decided to stay in Bangkok. I was exhausted from all the travelling, and still not feeling great. On Wednesday, I had gone to the local hospital as I had had a fever for about 4 days. They took my temperature on arrival and I had a fever of about 101. I saw a doctor who thought I might have dengue fever, so I had to have a blood test. I was told to stay home from school the next day, and to come back for another blood test. Thursday, I was feeling quite a bit better – sleeping for 12 hours helped a lot. I went back to the hospital and after my second blood test, was informed I didn’t have dengue but just some virus, and the best treatment was to rest. By the time Friday rolled around, I was feeling a lot better, but still had a stomach ache. 

Saturday I had a nice lazy day around Phra Pradaeng. It was really nice not to get up and have to race off somewhere to catch a bus or whatnot. In the afternoon, I was also on a quest to buy shorts – I’ve lots a bit of weight there and my shorts are starting to fall down. Unfortunately, it seems that Thai people don’t have big bums, and the largest size I could find was like a 4. It’s confusing because you DO see thai women with larger hips and bums, but there must be a secret store they all go to... I wandered around the market without avail, and eventually went home.

I took the bus into Bangkok to meet Karima – some friends of mine were coming into town for a couple birthdays, so we were going to meet with them later. We decided to walk around her neighbourhood a bit. We found a stand that had a lot of shorts. The man working there measured my hips, and got me to try on a pair (over the shorts I had on). I was size XXL and he had about 3 pairs that would fit me. I bought 2 of them! Hooray! I also bought a clutch for going out later on. We had dinner at the mall, Central Lapphrao, and we shared Pad Thai and Som Tum (spicy papaya salad).

In the evening, we drank a bit at Karima’s with her roommate, Grace. My drink of choice (when I’m not drinking beer) has become Thai whiskey. I normally hate whiskey at home, but here, it’s the cheapest thing by far. The plan was to go to RCA, a big club district downtown. 

We arrived at RCA around 11 – basically it’s this road lined by different mega clubs. Was insane. We met up with Jake from OEG, and also saw Phillip, the OEG staff member who led our orientation. We decided to go to Route 66, the biggest club (as far as we could tell) on the road. The club consisted of 3 sub-clubs – it was gigantic. Cover was 300B, but this included almost 2 drinks worth of drink coupons. So not the worst thing in the world. My stomach was bothering me still, so I was taking it. We met up with Katie, Emma, Taylor, Laurence and some others from my orientation. The club was ludicrously crowded – you barely had room to dance. But it was still a fun/interesting experience. 

The next day, Karima and I went for our first Thai massage at a place in her neighbourhood. The place we went to was very nice, although no one spoke English really. I feel bad about expecting everyone to know English all the time, especially when I am the visitor to the country. I want to learn more Thai, and I think I need to just sit down and learn a bit every night, as well as practice when I can. ANYWAY we decided to get a 1 hour massage. It was SO NICE. They took us up to a room with dimmer lights – similar to a spa back home. They also gave us these loose linen/cotton shirts and pants to wear. Our masseuses also didn’t speak much English, so that was fun. Every once in a while, they would as us “Jep?” and we had no idea what they meant. Eventually, we figured out that it meant “pain/hurt”. Tee he... Thai massage, as far as I can tell, focuses more on large muscles, stretching and joints, instead of working out knots etc, like back home. It felt really nice. We received an entire body massage, which included them standing on our feet, cracking our backs, and a head massage. I think I even fell asleep for a bit at one point. Ahhhh... It cost us about 250B, which I think is pretty standard. Well worth it. 

After the massages, we had lunch at a restaurant near Karima, then I decided to head home – I was exhausted.  But it was really nice just to spend the weekend in town, especially with our big trip planned for new years/Christmas. And I definitely need to get more massages...

Winter is coming...

Chiang mai

The weekend of December 8 & 9 was a long weekend – Monday the 10^th was constitution day. This holiday celebrates the adoption of the Thai constitution, thereby creating a constitutional monarchy. We had the day off school, so Karima and I decided to head up north to Chiang Mai. 

On Friday evening, I met Karima and we headed to the Mo Chit Bus Terminal. It was insanely busy – a lot of people travelling to the long weekend. We had purchased our tickets a few days prior, and many buses to Chiang Mai were already sold out. But we were able to get tickets on a 2^nd class bus: air-conditioning but no bathroom. Anyway, we arrived at the bus station with about 1.5 hours to spare. We had dinner at the bus station: mistake. Most of the food at the food court looked questionable, so we had chicken soup... It wasn’t great. We also fought our way through the 7-11 to buy snacks. The ride to Chiang Mai is 10 hours, so we wanted to be prepared. 

Our bus left around 9:00pm. I was pleasantly surprised by the bus – even though it was 2^nd class, it was still more comfortable than any greyhound back home. The seats reclined quite far (we were almost horizontal), we had lots of leg room, and we were provided with blankets. I had prepared to sleep like a champion (I normally don’t sleep well on buses and I didn’t want to be a zombie the next day). I brought my neck pillow, ear plugs and my eye cover. With all that, I was actually able to sleep quite well on the bus! I was quite happy about that! 

We arrived in Chiang Mai around 7:00am, and met up with a couple of Karima’s friends who were staying with us, Moses and Jeff. Jeff is ALSO from Ottawa – it’s crazy how many people I’ve met from Ottawa here! Anyway, we took a sawng-tao taxi to our guesthouse. In the morning, we wandered around the old city. The old city is known for its multitude of temples. We walked through 3 or 4 I believe, and they were all very neat. One had ruins that were 700 years old, I believe. Chiang Mai is a very beautiful city, and the weather is lovely. It’s a fair amount cooler/less humid than Bangkok, and the air is much fresher. 

In the afternoon, we decided to go to the Chiang Mai zoo. When we arrived, we noticed there were signs in English and Thai for the admission price: the sign in English listed a higher price. After a bit of arguing, we were able to enter for the “Thai” price. One really annoying thing about Thailand is that foreigners usually have to pay more than Thai people for various admissions: zoos, temples, national parks... It’s especially annoying when we live here and make a Thai salary. But, once we get our work permits, we’ve been told that if we show it, we should be able to get the Thai price. Anyway, the zoo was a lot of fun – I haven’t been to a zoo in ages. There were all the usual animals, elephants, giraffes, lions, flamingos, and whatnot. They had an otter enclosure, which I loved. They also had a neat bird habitat thing – kind of like the bio-dome in Montreal. Twas good times.

In the evening, we went to a restaurant that served Northern Thai cuisine – I had a tasty pork curry. We also stopped for Banana rote – very necessary! We met up with some people from OEG and headed to the night bazaar, where you can do lots of shopping. We met up with more people, and enjoyed some beers. After that, we went to meet a bunch of OEG people at a karaoke bar in the old city, called Elvis Loco. It was a lot of fun – I sang a couple songs from Grease, as well as Bohemian Rhapsody. Karima and I also shared one of those buckets of alcohol you can buy – good times! After much drinking, we all headed over to the main bar area, and went dancing in a bar called Zoey in Yellow. There was quite the crowd of orientation B people. Good times were had!

The next day, we decided to take a sawng-tao up Doi Sutep, a mountain that overlooks the city. On top of the mountain is Wat Phra Doi Sutep, another one of Thailand’s important temples. We were dropped off in the “town”, and took a few minutes to recover from the steep, windy road up the mountain. To get the temple, you have to walk up a massive staircase with these really neat snake guardians. \there are also vendors all along the way – we bought coconut ice cream. The boys bought ice cream sandwiches – literally ice cream in a bun. The temple was gorgeous – very ornate and beautifully decorated. There are also rows and rows of bells you can ring when you send off a prayer. There were some kids dressed up in traditional hill tribe garb, which was cute and neat. The view from the temple was spectacular – you could see the entire city and surrounding area. 

 Unsuspecting Thai Man

After we had had our fill, we went back to the market for lunch, and then took a sawng tao back down the mountain. Our sawng tao was full, and I was seated at the very end. I was only a little worried about falling out! We talked a bit to the Thai ladies on the truck, they were very friendly! Once we arrived back in the city, we decided to explore the Sunday Walking Market at the Thae Phae Gate. Would could find just about anything there – clothes, jewelry, art, decorations, and whatnot. I didn’t see anything I really wanted, and I didn’t want to spend more money, so I didn’t buy anything. In the evening, we had dinner in the food section of the market. We then ran into some OEG people with a couple of British guys from their hostel. We had drinks at the Bamboo house, and were entertained by our hilarious waitress, who said things like Obama was her ex-husband. I wasn’t feeling that great buy this time, I had a stomach ache. After, we went to a reggae bar with love music, and danced for a bit. Jeff also wasn’t feeling well/had come down with a bad cold, so we didn’t stay out too late. 

Monday I woke up feeling pretty lousy. I hadn’t slept well, due to a fever. I was not looking forward to taking the bus, but I took some drugs and hoped for the best. My bus left about 9:00am – it look me a while to find a taxi that wasn’t charging a stupid amount to take me to the bus station. I hopped on the bus, and fell asleep pretty quickly. At one point, I was drifting off and had one of those twitches/spasms you get sometimes while falling asleep. Unfortunately, it caused me to smack the person sitting beside me with the back of my hand. I felt bad, but he just laughed (I think he realised what had happened, haha). I was fortunately able to sleep for a big chunk of it, and zoned out, listening to music. We arrived at the Bus Terminal around 8:00pm, and after picking a random direction to walk in, found the bus to take me back to Phra Pradaeng. Hooray! I was happy to see Chiang Mai, and hope to go back again when i do more travelling up north!

That episode where Lisa takes the bus by herself, Part 2

Sangkhlaburi

On Sunday, December 2, after a couple of nights it Kanchanaburi, it was time for me to make my way to Sangkhlaburi. Sangkhlaburi is one of the western-most cities in Thailand, and is quite close to the border with Myanmar. It is also known for its wilderness, and it’s a bit more off the beaten track. It is also near a whole bunch of national parks, such as the Khao Laem National Park.

I left Kanchanaburi pretty early – I decided to take a minibus/van as it would be a lot faster than the bus (which was supposed to take 5 hours but they always take longer than what it says in Lonely Planet). I caught the minivan by the bus station and was on my way at 8:45am (you get into the swing up early in Thailand. It’s also not as hot in the mornings...). The ride went pretty smoothly, but I did notice our driver was drinking Red Bull. This didn’t affect things much until we got to the last stretch of road to Sangkhlaburi. It was like to roads around my family’s cottage in the Laurentians but way worse – steep, and very windy. And our driver took them all at top speed. Needless to say I was feeling a bit queasy by the time we arrived. But it was a lovely drive through wilderness and national parks. 

In Sangkhlaburi, we were dropped off in the market. The town of Sangkhlaburi is quite small, there are a couple main roads, a few residential roads, and that’s about it. I had no idea how to get to my guest house, so after a bit of wandering, I hopped on another motorcycle taxi. It was a much nicer ride this time. I arrived at P Guest House, had lunch, and checked in. It was GORGEOUS. There was the main hotel building with the restaurant, but most of the rooms were on the lawn that led to the Khao Laem Reservoir. There was lots of grass, a few trees and some pretty stone chairs. My room was nothing special – bed and a fan – but the rest of the guest house was fantastic. 

In the afternoon, I walked over to the Mon Bridge – the longest wooden footbridge in Thailand. It leads from Sangkhlaburi to the “Mon Village” across part of the reservoir. The Mon are an ethnic group that live largely in Burma/Myanmar, near the border with Thailand. There has been conflicts with the Mon in Burma and in the northeastern states, and as a result, many Mon have fled to Thailand as refugees. Although some things are better in Thailand, they have fewer rights than native Thais. One example is their movement in the country is restricted, and they are only allowed in certain areas. While in the area, I drove through many immigration checkpoints for this purpose. We stopped at several during the trip from Kanchanaburi to Sangkhlaburi – I was worried at first because I only had a photocopy of my passport (and I wasn’t really sure what was going on). But the photocopy was fine, as it wasn’t me they were worried about  - it was any Mon people going where they weren’t supposed to.

ANYWAY the Mon village was neat – nothing too crazy. I went for a nice walk up to the temple and then went back to the guest house. For dinner, I went back to the market. The one downside of P guest house is their restaurant prices were quite steep. In the market, I bought some fruit and had banana and egg rotee – kind of like a fried crepe. SO GOOD! While I was eating my rotee, a little Thai boy came running over to play. He was so cute! He really liked my sunglasses and I made faces. Hehe. I still wasn’t really sure how to get back to the guest house, so I took another motorcycle taxi home. For the rest of the evening, I drank my 7-11 beer and read the 2^nd Game of Thrones book. It was great.

On Monday, I decided to get up early and watch the sun rise. It was very pretty! Later, I went on a tour/activity with P Guest House. There were 3 other people on the tour: 2 French Canadian ladies and a Malaysian man. I have met a fair number of Canadians here, by the way. Anyway, we first went for a boat ride on the reservoir. The Khao Laem reservoir was created due to the construction of the Vachiralongkorn Dam in 1983. As a result, the former town of Sangkhlaburi was flooded. One of the sights on the boat ride was the roof of the sunken temple, Wat Sam Prasop. We then rode the boat into the National Park. The scenery was beautiful – so green and lush. We also rode by some neat cliffs and rock formations. We saw several different types of birds.

We docked at a small Karen village (the Karen are one of Thailand’s hill tribes). We then went on an elephant ride through the forest. I was so happy to get back into nature, even on the back of an elephant. I was riding with the Malaysian man, and chatted about travelling in Asia and Canada. I also felt super proud of myself when the elephant mahout asked the Malaysian man if he spoke Thai, and I understand what he said. BAM! After an hour or so, we stopped for lunch (fried rice and pineapple) by the river.

After lunch, we were to go rafting on the river. First we had to walk to the stop where the rafts were. This included crossing the river several times – it wasn’t deep but the water was fast running and the rocks at the bottom were quite slippery. It was definitely an adventure – I think I enjoyed it a lot more than the other 3. I thought it was fun! I should also mention that our guides were Karen and didn’t speak English OR Thai. So we communicated through gestures and whistling-type noises.  We eventually made it to the rafts (made of bamboo) and set off down the river. We just stood there and our guides steered us – I was amazed I didn’t fall off! We reached a quieter spot and went for a swim. So nice... After we had enough, we were taken back to the village and hopped in the boat back to the guest house. I then walked to the Mon Village again, and saw the large pagoda at the other end of town.

The river we crossed and rafted down

The sunset was spectacular

On Tuesday, I decided to go to the 3 Pagodas pass, which is a border crossing with Myanmar. We aren’t allowed to leave the country before all our paper work is processed, but I thought it would be un to go – there’s also a market there. To get there, I took a sawng-tao from the “bus station” (read: patch of dirt with a place to sit) in Sangkhlaburi. The ride took about 40 minutes I think, and was beautiful. 3 Pagodas was neat, but there wasn’t much to do there. I walked around, checked out the market, but went back after only a couple hours. Back at the hotel, I went for a nice relaxing swim in the reservoir... that is before I was interrupted by an Australian soccer team of 18 year old boys. So much for relaxation! In the evening, I went to a nearby restaurant for dinner, and read more of my book.

On Wednesday, it was time to head back to Phra Pradaeng. I was wuite sad to leave the beautiful scenery and the clean air... But all vacations have to come to an end, right? Wednesday (December 5) is also a holiday in Thailand. It is the King’s Birthday, which is also Father’s Day. It’s probably one of the biggest, if not THE biggest holiday in Thailand. Many cities have parades or fairs, and everyone wears yellow (the King’s colour).  But buses were running as usual, and I didn’t get a chance to participate. Oh well.

 Anyway, I got up early, checked out and walked to the market to catch a minivan. I had decided to split up the journey by taking one minibus to Kanchanaburi, and from there, another to Bangkok. It was about the same price and faster. On the way to Kanchanaburi, I was with a few Mon families. They were really nice – one offered me some of their snacks: dried prunes coated with sugar. Not my favourite but I wanted to be polite. I offered them some cookies, but they turned them down. The ride back was uneventful, except for a couple moments. At one point, one of the kids in the van threw up (due to the crazy roads) so we had to pull over while the driver literally hosed down the van. But it got rid of the smell! Another time, we stopped at an immigration checkpoint and they made some of the Mon people get out, and also told me to get out. I started to panic a bit, thinking “Oh crap. I hope my photocopy is ok. I’m sure they don’t speak English. What if they ask me questions? WHAT AM I GOING TO DO???). But the immigration officer took one look at my “passport” and sent me back to the van. Phew! All the other immigration checkpoint went smoothly for me, as well as for everyone else in the van.

I arrived back in Bangkok around 4, and from there took another bus home. I finally feel comfortable with the Bangkok public transportation. I know which buses go to where I live, and were/how to catch them. Hooray!

All in all, it was a really fun adventure. Just what I needed. Travelling solo went pretty smoothly as well – it was nice to get away from constantly being surrounded by the people of Bangkok. I would like to go back at some point and do some real hiking!

That episode where Lisa takes the bus by herself

 

Now begins the tale of my first extended travelling stint and also my first travelling stint done solo. A few weeks ago, the other foreign teachers and myself found out we had this past Monday off, as the students had some kind of Buddhist test. We also had Wednesday off as it was Father’s Day/the King’s Birthday – in Thailand, Mother’s and Father’s Day are celebrated on the Queen and King’s birthdays. We were also given Tuesday off, so we could go travelling. I decided to take a trip to Sangkhlaburi and Kanchanaburi in Western Thailand. These areas promised lots of wilderness and outdoor activities. I really wanted to go somewhere green and not a city or beach town.

Friday night, I left for Kanchanaburi. I went to Kanchanaburi with the OEG orientation, and thought it was beautiful. It would also be a great place to stop to break up the journey to Sangkhlaburi. I looked up how to get to the Southern Bus Terminal in Bangkok, as this was supposedly where the most buses left for Kanchanaburi. MISTAKE. Getting there was the worst. I had to take one bus, and was dropped off in the wrong spot – I asked the driver to let me know when we got to “Ban Mo” stop. However, she told me to get off and Khao San (where all the backpackers go) and I didn’t realise until it was too late. Fortunately, the other bus I needed passed by pretty close, and I was able to find the stop. On that bus, I didn’t know where I was going and after a long time of driving into what I left was the middle of nowhere, I started to panic a bit. I tried to get off and take a taxi but the attendant and driver told me to stay on. So I did... And eventually we arrived at the bus station. Relief! There I bought a ticket to Kanchanaburi on the 6:20pm bus. Now, buses don’t really have a schedule but I thought it wouldn’t leave TOO far off. We didn’t leave until after 7:30pm. I was not pleased. But I eventually got on a bus. 

The bus ride took a looooong time. It stopped a lot to pick up people on the way going short distances. I arrived in Kanchanaburi around 10:30pm, and decided to walk in the direction of the hotel/guest house area. I stopped in a few places on the way to check out rooms, but they were too expensive. After walking for about half an hour, I gave up and took a taxi to the hotel area. The driver took me to a place listed in LP that was pretty cheap, and in a nice location. He also called the owner (...who was asleep... oops) but I was able to find a room. Hooray!

In the morning, I looked around the guest house a bit - it was called Blue Star Guest House by the way. It was in a beautiful spot, right on a run off river from the main river, if that makes any sense. They had a board walk and cabins that were right on the water. It was gorgeous, as was the rest of the city – it is surrounded by mountains and forests.

That day, I decided to go to the Hellfire Pass Memorial/Museum. Hellfire Pass is on the former “Death Railway” built in World War 2 to connect Burma/Myanmar to Thailand. The Japanese needed this railroad to ship materials from Burma to Thailand and the rest of South East Asia. The bulk of construction occurred in 1943, and was carried out by misled Asian workers and Australian, British and Dutch POWs. Conditions on the railway were terrible: workers worked long hours in awful conditions, were treated despicably by the Japanese, and suffered from disease and beatings.

Hellfire Pass is about 80km northwest of Kanchanaburi city, but it easily accessible from the 8203 bus that runs from Kanchanaburi to Sangkhlaburi. 

So I hopped on the bus, as asked the driver to tell me when we got to the stop. The drive was very beautiful through the small towns and the mountains. After about two hours, the bus driver waved at me, and I got off, at the right stop and everything! You have to walk a bit to the museum, but it wasn’t far. The museum was very beautifully maintained, and you could get a free map of the area and an audio guide. First, I walked around the actual museum. After, I went on the walking trail that runs on the former railway. The path led through Hellfire Pass: a massive cutting through a hill in the jungle. The cutting was made largely by hand, with the hammers & taps, and dynamite. It was given the name Hellfire Pass because during the “Speedo” period of rapid building, the POWs would work through the night, and the torch flames gave the feeling of being in hell.

At the pass, there were several memorial plaques and monuments. It felt kind of surreal being there and imagining what it was like during the war. A bit eerie. I also walked further down the railway bed (along the walking trail) and saw the other smaller cuttings, and sites of bridges, like the “Deck of Cards” 3-tiered bridge. My family has a cottage in the Laurentian Mountains in Quebec, and we often go skiing and walking on a former railway path called the Aerobic Corridor. If it wasn’t for the tropical plants and whatnot, I could have sworn I was on the Aerobic Corridor – it was the rocks and the look of much of the trail. And the fact that it was a POW forced labour camp... It was an odd feeling. It was a very beautiful walk, with the mountains and the valley in view. 

 Hellfire Pass

 Walking Trail

Memorial at the Museum 

In the afternoon, I was able to catch the bus back to Kanchanaburi. The bus stop was a wooden hut thing with a yellow roof. I had to wait for about 30 minutes, but eventually the bus came. I awkwardly hailed it, and it came careening towards the side of the road. It slowed down, and the back attendant beckoned me. The bus was still moving as I stepped on, and accelerated as soon as I had a foot on the step. That was fun. But I survived. 

In the evening, I decided to walk to the Bridge to look in the market/shops there for a pair of flip flops. I then decided to walk to the railway station, as there was a night market there. The walk took a loooong time. Also, most people in Kanachanaburi (and in Thailand in general), don’t walk places, so the sidewalks were empty, which was a bit intimidating. I also was chased by a dog-monster (you can read about dog-monsters here - item #5). I was walking along and it burst out of the shadows, barking viciously. I was terrified and started to run. It followed me still, and I was just debating whether it was better to keep running, or stand my ground and take a whack at it with my bag with my shoes in it, when a some Thais called it off. Phew! All the other dogs have been much friendlier. 

After about an hour of walking, I arrived at the night market. However, there were not food stalls that served a full meal. I decided I was tired of walking, so I took my first motorcycle taxi back to my hotel. It was a bit scary – lots of swerving and sudden stops. I was white-knuckling the grips on the back of the seat. But I made it back, and went for dinner at a restaurant in the hotel area with some very nice Thai people working there. 

The next day, I got up early and took a mini-bus to Sangkhlaburi. I have noticed that the mini-buses are usually faster, as they don’t stop as often and move faster. But I shall right more about Sangkhlaburi in my next post! Until next time!