Ko Chang Island

 From Village Home stay to the Beach

Jimmy and Lamia saw us off and we spent the day (not a night bus this time, but 8:00am to 7:00pm) getting to the town of Trat near the Cambodian boarder. We spent the night at a very simple but clean and safe hotel. In the morning we took a taxi to the ferry which took us to Ko Chang an island beach tourist spot. Thai islands are renowned for being beautiful so we had high expectations. Our first day did not live up to what we expected. We went to stay at a place recommended in the guide book. It was run down and a dead rat was by the front entrance to our bungalow. The ants moved it a few inches while we were there. The place was on a lagoon and was very swampy so the mosquitos were viscous. The bungalow was two story with the bathroom downstairs. The beach was a walk away and in front of the fancy resort next door. Dave and I left Anika at the computer in the office and went to find a better place to stay the next night. After a couple of stops we found something and booked it for the next night.

Once we got out of the Blue Lagoon (yep that was the name of the first place with the dead rat) and to KB Resort things started to turn around. Our new bungalow is between the beach and the pool. The place is well kept with gardeners working on it everyday which is kind of necessary in this tropical climate. Anika insisted on a do nothing the first day so we lounged around. We have done some exploring since but relaxing has become our new focus. I am sleeping better than I have in years.

We did hike to a rushing water fall the day after cracking thunder storms in the night. To give an example of how developed Thailand is in comparison to other developing countries we have been to let me describe the waterfall situation. It is in a national park so you pay an entrance fee (20b, less than a dollar for Thai's, 200b around 7$ for Foreigners) There is a visitors center that looks kept up with information in Thai and English. There is a well marked trail to the falls. In the morning the falls were closed because the water was so high and rough. By the time we got to them in the afternoon there were two park rangers at the falls making sure no one went to close. And they had rescue equipment. The water was still gushing and impressive. In our Latin American travels we have never seen anything this organized.

We took a kayak out on the ocean one day to a small island off the coast. Mostly we have been playing in the pool and in the ocean, which is the perfect temperature where you could stay in forever. Many days have been about eating, playing in the pool and ocean and reading or resting.

We went on another elephant experience this time a trek. We rode elephants through the forest, feed them and even bathed them in a stream. They like to be brushed on their big heads. On the trek we got to sit on the elephants head like a mahout. I am amazed by these creatures and how they communicate with their mahout. The jungle was beautiful. We saw rubber trees where they were extracting the rubber which I have never seen before. It looked kind of like collecting maple syrup. The other elephant experince we had was by accident. We got out of the ocean and looked down the beach. There were two baby elephants going into the ocean. We went over and watched them play in the water, rolling around and climbing on top of each other like little children. Then they decided they were done and got out. Their mahout ran after them yelling at them like two toddlers who weren't listening to him. Now that is something we would not see at home.

Lysa's big friend

Giving the elephant a scrub

 We learned some interesting facts about this island. Until 1999 there was no

road and like parts of Mexico you had to go from village to village by boat. The west coast got a road in 1999 and that sped up development. Then after the tsunami hit Phuket in 2004 much of the tourism was moved here. There was a boom for a while until 2008 when the world economic crisis cut downtime number of tourists. But the development kept going. It reminds me of parts of Hawaii and Mexico where there is just one resort /hotel after another along the coast. The road around the island is very narrow and it must be crazy in the busy season. We can not help but compare it to other places we have been and to wonder about other islands here. It seems your choices here are very touristy and built up or very undeveloped with not much to do, no in between. Planned development is not happening.

We have been here about ten days. There has been a lot of rain the last few days so we are ready to go. Tomorrow we leave for Cambodia and Angkor Wat for a four day three night tour. Then its back to Bangkok and on to Bali.

Last Thoughts on Chaing Mai and Memories of Lamia Home Stay

Bye Bye Chaing Mai

Some how it already feels long ago that we were in Chaing Mai. My favorite thing in Chaing Mai was the day Anika and I went to cooking school. It was so well organized and presented and I learned a lot about Thai culture. Going through the market with some one who could explain what everything was really great. I now know about the 15 kinds of rice for sale and why some are cheaper or more expensive than others, among other things. And that stuff I thought (or wanted to think) was fermented tofu is actually cooked chicken blood. Yum. Hopefully to can replicate what we made when we get home from the recipe book we got as part of the class.

I also found out in Chain Mai that Dave can be a shop - a - holic. Who knew, at home it is almost impossible to shop with him as he just wants to go in, get what you need and get out, no looking around. But he went nuts in the night market in Chaing Mai. He bought 6 pairs of pants, 2 shirts and a new day pack, and more. I lost count and I did not join him and Anika on every shopping outing. I did buy a couple of things but I was overwhelmed by all the choices. We sent our first package home form Chaing Mai of stuff we have accumulated but don't want to carry. I hope it really gets there as we sent it regular Thai air mail which they say should take a month.

Dave also got a massage in Chaing Mai that it has taken him almost two weeks to recover from. He asked for firm and this small woman almost brought him to tears he said. Hopefully he will say more in his blog. Anika and I got manicures and pedicure and foot massage instead. I almost fell asleep in the chair.

I expected toenjoy Chaing Mai more based on what others had told me about their advetures here. But I still prefer Lampang to anywhere else we have been.

Lamai Guest House

Well it was a long hall to get there, a night bus from 8:30pm till 8:00am or so. Then a lay over at the beautiful Kohrat bus station till 11:30 and finally another bus to Si Da. Si Da is basically a cross roads of two highways. Jimmy from the home-stay was supposed to pick us up there. So we waited. We had called him and tried to call several more times on our new Nokia cell phone. Only once did it seem like some one picked up and may have heard us. Anyway after two hours Jimmy shows up. And he gives us a hard time about not being where we were supposed to be when we were supposed to be and the route we took to get there and this and that. Not a great start. Jimmy is from Wales and has been living in Thailand for 15 years. We figured out he's about 58 or so. So we spent a week almost hearing his take on every thing Thai as we shared his home with him, his wife Lamia and their two daughters.

They live in Kophet the village where Lamai grew up. Kophet is a very small village of about 700-800 people although most people of working age no longer live there. They live in Taiwan, Singapore or a big Thai city where they can make more money. But their parents and children live in the village. The main economy of the village used to be rice farming. Rice farming is still very important but its labor intensive and mostly old people are left to do it. The best part about being in the village was that it was quiet and slow. It was also beautiful. After three cities in a row I really liked taking a walk after dinner passing the rice paddies and watching the fire flies come out.

We were there for six nights. Some of the highlights were:

Phimi a ruin that was part of the Angkor Wat Khmer era. It was started in 900AD and completed in 1200, although thing were added and changed after that as well.

We went to the zoo and water park in Korhat. Everyone else was Thai and it was clear they did not see many foreign tourists here. I am not a zoo person but this was a great zoo. Almost all the animals had large outdoor enclosures. It was nothing like zoos I have seen in other “developing” countries. (But then Thailand is much more developed than many of the developing countries I have visited.)

We learned to weave baskets from bamboo from one of the two men in the village who still does it by hand. He also weaves all the fish traps used to catch fish from the rice paddies.

We learned about silk weaving and wove a scarf. Spending two days in the silk weaving village with the women who continue a dying art was the highlight of the time at the home stay for me. We observed the entire process fomr sild moth cacoon to finished product. We even ate the caterpillars that are in the cacoon like they do, not very tasty or bad, sort of salty, I don't feel the need to eat more. It took all day to weave one scarf 16 in by four ft. It takes focus and more energy than I imagined. I am sending the scarf I made home and I hope it gets there or I will be really sad. Our teacher who you can see in the photo was chewing and spitting beetle nut all day. At one point her back was bothering her so I gave her a little massage. She talked (like many people here) to me on and off all day even though I couldn't understand a word.

We visited the village school. Lots to say about this of course, but I think it will have to be another entry.

We walked around the village and observed village life; planting rice, hearding cows, kids playing after school etc.

I think we all liked the home stay overall. But we got tired of Jimmy's smoking and opinion on everything Thai. He doesn't eat Thai food or speak the language and after 15 years that seems unfortunate. His opinions were some times interesting but he seemed to enjoy telling us about every negative thing that could happen in Thailand from political corruption, to traffic accidents, to tourist fatalities of various kinds. 

Next stop Ko Chang island and the beach!

Lampang and on to Chang Mai

Lampang
We just spent four wonderful days in Lampang. It is about the size of the city of Santa Cruz. The guest house recommended by my friend Howard was great, just our speed. Lots of families and older travelers, very mellow, right on the river. Our first day was just recovery from the all night bus. The next day we went to the Elephant conservation center that I wrote about in my last blog. Day three we had our first Thai massage and herbal sauna, which I should really let Dave, the massage expert, describe in his blog. We also checked out some of the teak architecture in Lampang. There are buildings that look like they came right out of a movie about Indochina at the turn of the century. That night there was the "walking street" basically a street fair. Food, crafts and everything else for sale. Full of locals. Anika was in heaven for the first time because there were tons of things for sale really cheap that hit her idea of stylish and cool. There were so many food choices it was hard to choose. There was also massage and fortune telling, buddhist amulets (these are very popular), crafts, clothing, household items, live music etc. It was kind of like street fair at home but it seemed like the entire town came out.

Our last day in Lampang we took a driver and went to several places. The first stop was at a very old Wat under renovation. For some reason there were a bunch of older Thai ladies hanging out there. They were very welcoming and cute. 

The next stop was a cotton weaving village. Last we got to Chae Som National park. It was high up in the mountains and was well developed and maintained. We did a short hike us a waterfall with six pools. We met a Thai man as we hiked up who told us some history of the park. He explained only the royal family had access until about 20 years ago when the queen made it a park. He showed me where they came in by helicopter before there was a road. He knew about this because he used to be the helicopter pilot for the royal family when he was in the Thai air force. Now he works for Air Thailand.

After the waterfall we went over to the hot springs. The best thing here, beside the great water to soak in, was watching the Thai families cook eggs in the hot springs in little baskets. then they ate them as part of picnics.

We opted for the public hot springs and had them all to ourselves for 20 Baht, less than a dollar, for unlimited time. You know how we like hot water!
It was very relaxing.

So far Lampang is my favorite place we have been.







On to Chaing Mai
We have been here four days. It is more touristy with shops selling tour to the hill tribes and treks, restaurants and other services for tourists every where. The city is much bigger than Lampang. Kind of a larger version of Fourtuna near Arenal in Costa Rica. There has been a lot of rain so we have not been able to do everything we might want to. But we did get both 4$ and 70 $ massages at two different places. The more expensive one was better, beautiful setting and very attentive practitioners. It was at the Oasis spa and we had a three part treatment. First Thai massage, very physical, limb manipulation deep point work and stretching. then came a hot herbal compress, I loved this part. And last a warm oil aroma therapy massage. It took two hours. I was very relaxed afterwards. Anika had a facial and a milk bath.

Yesterday Anika and I did took an all day Thai cooking class. You got to pick what you made, so we made sure to pick different things and learn more. They also took us to the market where we learned about the ingredients. The teachers were a brother and sister team and the school is in their family home. Its set up really well with individual cooking stations under an awning outside, an indoor eating area and an indoor demonstration area right out of a cooking show, mirror on the ceiling and everything. They walk you through all the steps even suggesting substitutions if you can't get certain ingredients at home. The class was small only 6 of us; a French father and 20 something daughter, a couple, guy English, girl German (and a teacher) and us. We also got a recipe book with everything everyone cooked in it. We ate and cooked all day 9:30-3:30! It was one of the best things we have done here so far.

Today Dave and I went to the most famous temple here which is up a mountain a little outside of the city. Now as Anika, who didn't come, has started saying, "you've seen one Wat you've seen them all."
(A wat in a temple) There is some truth to what she says and there are temples every where it seems. But this wat was built in the 13th century and it was beautiful and had a good feeling. There was a lot of activity going on. Tourists milling about, Thai groups listening to chanting, monks welcoming people who come there to study Vipasana meditation. Tomorrow is mother's day here which is a national holiday. Banks, schools,  and the post office are closed like at home. We think one of the things we saw at the wat was a ceremony to honor mothers.

After Bangkok

So Dave wrote about our first days in Bangkok so you can go to his blog at hotwatertravels.blogspot.com and see some photos and hear about that. I am going to write about what happened next. But first let me just say the food is amazing. We have not had a bad meal yet. I always liked Thai food but now I really am impressed. I also like the weather (hot and humid) and the people are very laid back and calm. Enough of the generalities.

So we took the night VIP bus from Bangkok to Lamprang. It left at 8:00pm. Seats recline, they bring you water and snacks, there's a nice lady in a uniform waiting on you, (They love uniforms here.), its as comfortable as a bus can get. I want to sleep but I can't so I read and then finally start to doze off. Of course once I am some what asleep we stop and the nice lady says we should get off to eat. Everyone gets off the bus. Dave wakes up and we decide we should do what the lady says. Anika is so asleep we don't want to wake her. So we leave her on the bus. We get off and wander the terminal in a stupor. It is small so this take about five minutes. We then turn around to get back on the bus. The bus is gone. In its place are four other buses saying they are going to the same place but none of them are our bus. It feels like a Twilight zone episode. Our kid is on the bus. We left our kid on the bus and the bus is gone. We are dazed, its 1:00 am and no one speaks English. We both just keep repeating that we can't believe this is happening and the bus has to come back, but I am feeling like the worst parent on the planet. Finally we figure out the bus went to get gas and us coming back. Then I go into "oh my god what if she wakes up and we aren't there" mode. Finally the bus comes back and we get on and Anika has slept through the whole thing. If any one knows our "boat ride from hell" story from one of our many Mexico trips, where Anika slept through the scariest boat ride ever, they know we should not have been surprised about this. We are delirious with laughter, maybe hysterical is a better word as we recover from the scare.

We arrive at the Riverside Hotel in Lamprang at 4:30am. Luckily the gate is open but not so lucky no one is awake. So we wait until 7:00, watch the sun rise over the river. When the restaurant opens we eat breakfast and then we need to wait to check in to our room, dozing and reading, taking a walk around the neighborhood, until 11:45 when we get to our room and collapse in our beds. No more night buses is all I can say and hope.

We have been here two days now and it is much nicer for us than Bangkok. The town is manageable for walking and exploring. Today we went out of town to the Elephant Conservation Center. Elephants have been revered in this part of the world for centuries. In Sri Lanka they have been protected since the 12th century, just to give you an idea. But due to habitat destruction and the banning of logging ( the main work they did ) they are very endangered. This center does education and breading, has a hospital and gives tours. We saw a demonstration of how the elephants and their mahouts/trainers work together, took a ride (one of my dreams fulfilled), fed them, saw a brand new baby and just watched them all doing their thing. It was great. For me the highlight of the trip so far, besides the food. Maybe photos next time. We haven't been gone a week yet (Hawaii doesn't count) and it feels like we have been here a long time. Tomorrow I hope to get my first Thai massage and see the largest teak structure in the world.

Queen's Bath, Kauai, HI

This is where we went a few days a go in Kauai. It is called Queen's bath just like another similar place on the Big Island. Maybe there is one on every island. It was a beautiful clear day. After a steep hike along a stream, you come out where the stream turns into a water fall emptying into the ocean at an inlet. From there you hike a bit more to this natural bathings spot filled with sea water. There are fish in the pool. Its deep enough in some areas that brave (or crazy) people dive in from the rocks. We stayed quite a while swimming and people watching. We also spotted a turtle in the ocean just over the cliff edge from the pool.

But the really amazing sight was on the way back. At the inlet where you turn to start the path along the stream, where there's the waterfall, we saw four sea turtles. I have seen one or two together but never four. They were of varying sizes, small to very large. They seemed to be feeding on something on the cliff edge under the water. We watched them for a long time and even got some pretty good video of them (which was lost in the external hard drive break down I would rather not write about).

Let me sum up the Hawaii experience since we have moved on. It was a great move to go some where some what familiar to recover form preparing and finish up things we still needed to do. The best part was seeing our friends Paula and Ward every day and getting to spend time with them in a place that they love. The timing was also good because my mom had to have surgery and being in Hawaii it was super easy to talk to her and my brother about how it all went. She did great and hopefully the cancer is all gone. In addition to the fantastic Queen's bath turtle day we had a good snorkeling experience, and went to a lot of lovely beaches. Oh and for Anika's birthday dinner we went to an excellent dinner at a restaurant called Postcards. We also had some challenging days as a family with tempers and emotions flaring as each of us let out what ever anxieties we had/have about being away for a year.

I could spend time filling you in on all the logistics we took care of in Hawaii, including many too many hours dealing with technology, but I won't. Now the "real" trip begins and we are off to Thailand.