I came back to this massive city to acquire my Burmese visa. After a 20 hour bus journey from Southern Laos I spent about three hours in the Embassy just dropping off my paperwork (and sweating). But it worked and I'll pick up my visa tomorrow!
Laos was pretty great. I had expectations that I would love it infinitely, which I actually didn't, but I think my experience there was slightly tainted. In Luang Prabang I spent a couple days in the hospital with a friend who had gotten severely ill. The other days we went to a beautiful waterfall with cascading green pools of warm and welcoming water. And when Tess flew off to Singapore to seek proper medical care I hopped on the first bus to Vang Vieng, a beautiful small town where Westerner's go to party and tube. And buy buckets of alcohol that are very cheap. I had one really fun day of proper drinking then took off to the 4,000 islands in Southern Laos where the Mekong river splits up into (surprise) 4,000 islands. It was supposedly a place to go and relax, and that is exactly what we did. In fact there isn't anything to do there except relax. One day we rented bikes and biked to another island to see the second largest waterfall (by volume) in SE Asia. The other days we watched movies at Adams bar literally all day. It was fun though, the first time so far where I've done nothing with my day and it was pretty enjoyable. The food on the island was overpriced and extremely bland. And their currency - Kip - was so annoying it was unbelievable. 7,500 kip to 1 USD. Meals costed anywhere from 15,000 to 30,000 kip, and the bus ride costed 260,000 kip. So you feel like you're spending a bunch of money, taking out 700,000 kip from the ATM, but in reality its only about $90.
Now I'm back in Bangkok at the wonderful hostel WE Bangkok. Its clean, nice and has working AC. The showers are deluxe. Bangkok is HOT. The food is good though and there is a ton of diversity. The sky train is my favorite way to get around, its a metro system in the air so when its moving you feel like you're floating. The city is so big I will never conquer it all but I have to say this time around its growing on me.
But I am excited to get out of Thailand and go to Myanmar (Burma). After that, Cambodia!!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Friday, April 13, 2012
Songkran
The craziest holiday I've ever heard of! Officially the Thai New Years, this three day celebration makes people go wild. Traditionally Buddha statues are cleansed with holy water. In modern times, it is a huge water fight! Its acceptable to drench anyone and everyone with water, even small children and old people. It's really great. The concentration of partying happens at the gate of the old city which is where I spent all day yesterday. They set up huge stages with music and foam, and there was water fill up stations every few feet. No one was without water. The hostel owns a truck that they took us around in. We had three huge barrels of water that we would dispense with buckets onto every passerby. It was a blast!! Today the celebration continues at the hostel but Im off to get a $5 massage first. In a few days Im going to Laos with my friend Tess from Canada! We're going to Luang Prabang first. It's going to be a long bus ride but well worth it.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
New Hobby
MOTORBIKING!!!
SO fun. The best way I've discovered to see the country. Despite the fact that Tiffany and I had never ridden bikes before, we took off an a four day adventure called the Mae Hong Son loop and have loved it!! 1,000 kilometers and a few rain storms later, we made it safely. Have a long journey home tomorrow but its been worth the tribulations.
SO fun. The best way I've discovered to see the country. Despite the fact that Tiffany and I had never ridden bikes before, we took off an a four day adventure called the Mae Hong Son loop and have loved it!! 1,000 kilometers and a few rain storms later, we made it safely. Have a long journey home tomorrow but its been worth the tribulations.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Finally some nature..Thai Style
My first two days in Chiang Mai were a bit disorienting. I wasn't sure what to do with myself and I was a bit nervous about being on my own. There is tons to do here but it is mostly tours outside of the city that cost good $$. I was initially thrown off because I don't think the city is particularly attractive, contrary to what everyone told me. But all my fears were quickly diminished. I took a Thai cooking course that was awesome. I'll be making Pad Thai for the rest of my life. It was a really fun evening and I befriended a big group of Aussies that invited me to stay in Melborne! Makes visiting even more tempting.
The next day I took off on a three day trek up through northern Thailand. This was spectacular. I finally felt in my element hiking through the jungle. I was with a group of three lovely girls from Canada, Italy, and the Netherlands that were all living together in Hong Kong. They were a blast and made the trip for me. The people was a group of Malaysians that were interesting (slow) but very friendly. On the first day we hiked a bit, rode elephants for a half hour which was terrible! I was pretty excited for it, but once we got on I realized it is completely overrated and only for tourist amusement. They had strapped seats on the backs of the elephants which was sad and it was a very bumpy ride. Our seat was falling off to one side so I had to climb on the neck of the beast. That part was fun, except his skin was so rough it hurt and after a while it was just boring. Elephants, by the way, are incredibly slow and it makes absolutely no sense to ride them. They're smart, but dont wish to be trained and kept stopping to eat whenever they pleased. Luckily that was a very small portion of the day and we spent the following three hours hiking through the jungle until we reached a small pool with a waterfall and enjoyed cooling off there. Slept the night in a "village" (once again only there for tourist amusement) that was made completely out of bamboo. That night the skies opened and unleashed one of the biggest rain storms I've ever seen. The lightening alone woke me up dozens of times.
Day two: we hiked about an hour in the morning, had lunch, and everyone else went rafting. I stayed behind and continued hiking with Kamon a 29 Thai guide who spoke minimal English. We hiked for three hours up a HUGE hill. It was exhausting but the views on top were so incredible!! We stopped at a bat cave where monks actually come and live for a year or two while they're studying to be monks. Incredibly minimal lifestyle. They had a platform set up in the cave for meditation which for me would be so creepy but I suppose also relaxing. That night we slept in anther bamboo hut, although this time in an actual village. It reminded me of Central America, I loved it. The little kids were all staring and I started drawing and had them replicate my drawings in my notebook. Although the evening was a little lonely, it was nice hiking on my own because I went at my pace and got to do extra things like the bat cave.
Day three (today): we hiked to another waterfall, this time one you could slide down. It was great. The trails are so wild, we walked through farm properties and schools and at one point another elephant reserve so I was actually hiking in between elephants for about ten minutes. Most of the farmers in these villages grow cabbage (which reflects beautifully off the sun), coffee, bananas, and mangos. The second part of my day was supposed to be rafting but I doubted they would send me down alone. I was wrong. And it was terrifying. Not the rafting itself, but getting there. Perhaps it was the truck that had no windshield, windows, or mirrors. Or the fact that I could see the road beneath my feet because the car had holes. Or the passenger door that didn't shut properly. Most likely a combination of all factors. Luckily it was a short drive and within ten minutes we were there. It was hilarious, the guy stops the car and says we're here. But you couldnt see the river and there was no one else around. I actually thought for a moment I would be rafting alone. Then a kid hops out of the truck bed and carries the raft down the hill on his head. He looked 14 although claimed to be 18, and was wearing jeans and a tshirt, no lifejacket or helmet. Again luckily there was only one rapid right where we put in and we almost capsized!! We started surfing the wave which is something I've done before and loved, in the grand canyon and on the Tuolonme but with real guides and a full boat. This time it was an accident and he didn't know how to get us out and the boat was entirely filled with water. I was just lauughing and laughing it was so comically scary.
I got back this afternoon and Im quite exhausted. The sunday night market is happening, where they shut down a major street downtown and people set up booths of amazing and cheap items. I will do some damage on my budget tonight, I know it. Im waiting for it to be fully set up before I begin to tackle it. Tomorrow Im taking off with Tiffany, a girl I met at the hostel and we're renting motorbikes and driving to Pai and other northern cities of Thailand for a few days. Then we're coming back here for Songkran, Thai New Years. After that, Laos :D
The next day I took off on a three day trek up through northern Thailand. This was spectacular. I finally felt in my element hiking through the jungle. I was with a group of three lovely girls from Canada, Italy, and the Netherlands that were all living together in Hong Kong. They were a blast and made the trip for me. The people was a group of Malaysians that were interesting (slow) but very friendly. On the first day we hiked a bit, rode elephants for a half hour which was terrible! I was pretty excited for it, but once we got on I realized it is completely overrated and only for tourist amusement. They had strapped seats on the backs of the elephants which was sad and it was a very bumpy ride. Our seat was falling off to one side so I had to climb on the neck of the beast. That part was fun, except his skin was so rough it hurt and after a while it was just boring. Elephants, by the way, are incredibly slow and it makes absolutely no sense to ride them. They're smart, but dont wish to be trained and kept stopping to eat whenever they pleased. Luckily that was a very small portion of the day and we spent the following three hours hiking through the jungle until we reached a small pool with a waterfall and enjoyed cooling off there. Slept the night in a "village" (once again only there for tourist amusement) that was made completely out of bamboo. That night the skies opened and unleashed one of the biggest rain storms I've ever seen. The lightening alone woke me up dozens of times.
Day two: we hiked about an hour in the morning, had lunch, and everyone else went rafting. I stayed behind and continued hiking with Kamon a 29 Thai guide who spoke minimal English. We hiked for three hours up a HUGE hill. It was exhausting but the views on top were so incredible!! We stopped at a bat cave where monks actually come and live for a year or two while they're studying to be monks. Incredibly minimal lifestyle. They had a platform set up in the cave for meditation which for me would be so creepy but I suppose also relaxing. That night we slept in anther bamboo hut, although this time in an actual village. It reminded me of Central America, I loved it. The little kids were all staring and I started drawing and had them replicate my drawings in my notebook. Although the evening was a little lonely, it was nice hiking on my own because I went at my pace and got to do extra things like the bat cave.
Day three (today): we hiked to another waterfall, this time one you could slide down. It was great. The trails are so wild, we walked through farm properties and schools and at one point another elephant reserve so I was actually hiking in between elephants for about ten minutes. Most of the farmers in these villages grow cabbage (which reflects beautifully off the sun), coffee, bananas, and mangos. The second part of my day was supposed to be rafting but I doubted they would send me down alone. I was wrong. And it was terrifying. Not the rafting itself, but getting there. Perhaps it was the truck that had no windshield, windows, or mirrors. Or the fact that I could see the road beneath my feet because the car had holes. Or the passenger door that didn't shut properly. Most likely a combination of all factors. Luckily it was a short drive and within ten minutes we were there. It was hilarious, the guy stops the car and says we're here. But you couldnt see the river and there was no one else around. I actually thought for a moment I would be rafting alone. Then a kid hops out of the truck bed and carries the raft down the hill on his head. He looked 14 although claimed to be 18, and was wearing jeans and a tshirt, no lifejacket or helmet. Again luckily there was only one rapid right where we put in and we almost capsized!! We started surfing the wave which is something I've done before and loved, in the grand canyon and on the Tuolonme but with real guides and a full boat. This time it was an accident and he didn't know how to get us out and the boat was entirely filled with water. I was just lauughing and laughing it was so comically scary.
I got back this afternoon and Im quite exhausted. The sunday night market is happening, where they shut down a major street downtown and people set up booths of amazing and cheap items. I will do some damage on my budget tonight, I know it. Im waiting for it to be fully set up before I begin to tackle it. Tomorrow Im taking off with Tiffany, a girl I met at the hostel and we're renting motorbikes and driving to Pai and other northern cities of Thailand for a few days. Then we're coming back here for Songkran, Thai New Years. After that, Laos :D
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Meditation..
The meditation retreat did not go as planned. It was SO challenging, I ended up leaving early because I was unhappy. Our daily schedule was as such:
5am wake up
530 dharma talk with our Teacher Monk
7 breakfast
11 lunch (no eating allowed after this)
2 pm report to monk
6 pm chanting
930 must be sleeping (I was alseep by 9)/
It was mainly silent, I didnt speak for about 24 hours and felt crazy. Finally I broke the silence and talked to a younger girl there, who happened to be from San Jose, CA. She and her friend were only staying until the 5th and I immediatly decided to leave early with them. All the meals were supposed to be vegetarian but they all had a mysterious meat substance! I was very hungry, and I finally lost it this morning when the breakfast had what looked like steak in it. I decided immediatley to leave today, on the 4th.
The retreat was at a temple outside of Chiang Mai city, very far up on the hill. The other people there were of all ages, I was the youngest, many 30 year olds, and a couple older people. Mainly white although not American. Our living situations were nice, we each got private rooms in dormitories for men and women. During the day there was NOTHING to do but meditate, which is clearly the point, but hard to do when you've never really meditated before! The experience I have had has all been guided which is much more enjoyable. We were not allowed to read or sing or talk unless necessary. I thought it would be much different and I am feeling better already that I left. Shout out to Elena, I would not have survived without my pistachios :)
So I left this morning and came to Chiang Mai which is where I'll be for the next two weeks. I am staying at Deejai Backpackers Hostel where Megan stayed and recommended. It is very cute. The owner informed me already they're going to have a huge Songkran party and they're fully booked for the holiday. Im really excited.
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