I have been taking in the sites of Beijing the last few days and there are many of them! It was weird being back in a modern city. It took a bit to get use to again. I have been riding the subway and getting familiar with its many stops. Riding the subway is always a novelty for me.
I went to Yonghegong (Lama) Temple and saw the Big Buddha. The Buddha is 18m above ground and 8m below and it is carved from a single sandalwood tree trunk. It is huge and at least 5 m wide. They have all kinds of Buddha’s at that temple. I also went to the Confucious Temple. It was under construction and everything had scaffolding around it. Both of these are in Kirsty’s neighborhood. I ran into people I knew at the Temple from the Great Wall trip. So we hung out for the afternoon and evening and ate scorpion together. Yes that is right, I ate scorpion, tastes just like chicken.
I went to the Temple of Heaven. It is pretty spectacular. The grounds are beautiful with many tall trees and beautiful flowers. Not to mention the architecture of the temples and the echo wall. Got some good photos for math lessons there. The temples are wood and not a single nail was used in their construction. The symmetry and circumferences are spectacular. It is amazing to think they were constructed in the 15th century with such basic tools. The Chinese are talented people. There is amazing history just in architecture in Beijing.
At the Temple of Heaven older people were doing exercises, tai chi and playing hacky sac (Jian Zi). I played with them for awhile, they loved it. A lot of people go to the temples to hang out. The grounds are beautiful so why not.
It was Kirsty and Yuan Yuan’s neighbors last night together so we went out for dinner to a western restaurant in the neighborhood and took a walk through the park. In the park they have exercise equipment for people to use and there are numerous adults there working on their reflexology.
Today I had a huge day of walking. I took the subway to Tiananmen Square and walked from there back to Kirsty’s. I visited many attractions along the way. I left at 9 am and returned at 6pm. I went to the Forbidden City and saw the Emperor’s many buildings and collections. Again beautiful buildings. There was one building containing hundreds of cool clocks.
I went to Houhai a quant part of town with many pubs along the river. I also went to the Drum and Bell Towers.
Once off the main drag the streets are like alley ways and only a single lane if that. Everything from regular sized vehicles to donkeys go down them. It is spectacular to walk through the neighborhoods, weaving through the streets trying not to get lost.
Tomorrow I am going to Kirsty and Yuan Yuan’s school. A single male teacher, no kids won a bouncy castle for the day. He donated it to the school and they are having a fundraiser to raise money for an orphanage. Kids can buy tickets for 15 minutes of bouncing and I am going to man the bouncing castle for the day. The school is very, very close to the National Olympic Sports Centre and Olympic Park so we are going to check those places out also.
Check out my pictures of Beijing at the following link
http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahemoloney/Beijing
Wednesday 30 May 2007
Sunday 27 May 2007
The Great Wall China - Pictures and Videos
The Great Wall was amazing. I stayed at a large hostel right at the wall and was the only one there. I was in a room for 8 but I was the only one in the whole building. There were three hotel/hostels in the area and one of them had one other person staying at it. It was a girl from Australia. We had a beer together that night on the patio looking over at the Great Wall. The bar/patio was closed so we bought the beer from the shop and drank it on the patio. It was a deserted little town. All the shops were empty too. The accommodation, location and view were great, but I think most people just do a day trip to there. They are missing out. It was a three hour drive from Beijing and I got to climb the Great Wall twice then over two days, in two directions.
So the Great Wall. WOW! Man I have seen some cool things. I hiked 10km's yesterday in the heat (over 35 degrees). I had to buy 6 waters along the way from the harassing people selling stuff and walking with us. I did not mind them being there though, as I needed more water. Today no one bugged me or walked with me trying to sell things. It was a nice temperature today and there was a breeze.
The walk yesterday started in a forest and we hiked up a narrow trail to get to the wall. It was challenging. That area of the wall has not been restored and the walking was rough in parts. It is steep up and down and there are not nice steps to climb on. It was great. I did 18 towers yesterday and it took around 3 hours. I came down on a zip line over a gorge. Today I walked back up to the Wall and went the other direction and did the 13 towers you could do. Then it stops as it is not safe anymore. Today’s walk was on a restored part and had stone steps to climb. After yesterday is was not as authentic. But it was still amazing. The views were spectacular. I climbed to the highest tower. Today I walked at least 10km's. It was all up hill today and then I had to turn around and come back down. Yesterday we were dropped off in a town 10km's away and walked to Simatai were I stayed for the night. I went yesterday with a group of 20 or so. Today I went on my own.
Where I went was not a heavy tourist area as the hiking is challenging and most people opt for an easier walk. It was spectacular. To think they brought all the rocks and mortar up the hills and that it goes on for 600km's. It was built to protect China from Mongolia and if there was a problem there are towers between the wall and Beijing that they would light on fire along the way to notify Beijing. It was a three hour drive from Beijing to get to the part of the wall that I climbed. It was spectacular to climb on.
I am in Beijing now staying with Kirsty and Yuan, her daughter (they are friends of a friend). They are great hostesses and have been so welcoming. Kirsty has been fabulous. She arranged the trip to the Great Wall for me. She did a great job, it was spectacular. Poor her, she worked on report cards, but she got them done. Way to go!
I flew from Vientiane to Bangkok on Thai Airways. It was an hour flight and I got a meal, salmon steak to boot. They also gave each female on the flight a purple orchid corsage. I then flew from Bangkok to Beijing on SriLankan Airlines no flowers, but I did get a free pack of playing cards.
Check out the photos at the following link and three videos. I had a request for more videos, so I am trying. Sorry there is a lot of wind noise in them. I hope they upload ok for you. I am an amateur.
http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahemoloney/GreatWallChina
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4612133817433624552
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9004130231350164791
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9004130231350164791
So the Great Wall. WOW! Man I have seen some cool things. I hiked 10km's yesterday in the heat (over 35 degrees). I had to buy 6 waters along the way from the harassing people selling stuff and walking with us. I did not mind them being there though, as I needed more water. Today no one bugged me or walked with me trying to sell things. It was a nice temperature today and there was a breeze.
The walk yesterday started in a forest and we hiked up a narrow trail to get to the wall. It was challenging. That area of the wall has not been restored and the walking was rough in parts. It is steep up and down and there are not nice steps to climb on. It was great. I did 18 towers yesterday and it took around 3 hours. I came down on a zip line over a gorge. Today I walked back up to the Wall and went the other direction and did the 13 towers you could do. Then it stops as it is not safe anymore. Today’s walk was on a restored part and had stone steps to climb. After yesterday is was not as authentic. But it was still amazing. The views were spectacular. I climbed to the highest tower. Today I walked at least 10km's. It was all up hill today and then I had to turn around and come back down. Yesterday we were dropped off in a town 10km's away and walked to Simatai were I stayed for the night. I went yesterday with a group of 20 or so. Today I went on my own.
Where I went was not a heavy tourist area as the hiking is challenging and most people opt for an easier walk. It was spectacular. To think they brought all the rocks and mortar up the hills and that it goes on for 600km's. It was built to protect China from Mongolia and if there was a problem there are towers between the wall and Beijing that they would light on fire along the way to notify Beijing. It was a three hour drive from Beijing to get to the part of the wall that I climbed. It was spectacular to climb on.
I am in Beijing now staying with Kirsty and Yuan, her daughter (they are friends of a friend). They are great hostesses and have been so welcoming. Kirsty has been fabulous. She arranged the trip to the Great Wall for me. She did a great job, it was spectacular. Poor her, she worked on report cards, but she got them done. Way to go!
I flew from Vientiane to Bangkok on Thai Airways. It was an hour flight and I got a meal, salmon steak to boot. They also gave each female on the flight a purple orchid corsage. I then flew from Bangkok to Beijing on SriLankan Airlines no flowers, but I did get a free pack of playing cards.
Check out the photos at the following link and three videos. I had a request for more videos, so I am trying. Sorry there is a lot of wind noise in them. I hope they upload ok for you. I am an amateur.
http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahemoloney/GreatWallChina
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4612133817433624552
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9004130231350164791
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9004130231350164791
Tuesday 22 May 2007
Vang Vieng - Laos Pictures
Click on the following link for pictures.
http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahemoloney/VangViengLaos
In Vang Vieng I have been doing the tourist thing. I was floating down the river in a large inner tube going from bar to bar and zip line and rope swing to the next. It was fun but I only managed two rope swings and did a face plant on the second one and that was the end of swinging for me. (No booze was not involved, I was not drinking.) It hurt, my jaw, teeth the back of my head and chest. I thought at first I must have broke my jaw with the impact but, then I came around. I am not as stiff today as I thought I would be. Bruises from hitting the water though.
Some people were doing the swings 20 times in a row. Some of the impacts were like mine, it must have been their beer lao (the brand of beer here) that was numbing their pain. There were some really drunk people and water and booze shouldn't mix. We started at 11am and finished at 6:30 pm, just one trip down the river with 5 stops out of a potential 25. When we got back there were only 20 out of 170 tubers back. If you were after 6pm you had to pay a $2 over time fee. We were aware of the time, unlike others and did not have to pay. Some people were still getting in after 8pm. You see the tuk, tuks come loaded with people and tubes, singing their way through the town, bringing their tubes back.
Along the river side are many little bamboo shack bars that pull you in with long bamboo sticks. It is quite the tourist attraction. I did not take my camera but met a girl who said she would pass on some photos in a few weeks. So stay tuned.
Off to watch an episode of Friends.
I am staying with a girl, Sonya from England. Our room is $4 a night, so $2 each. We found a new hotel today on the river with a pool and used their facilities for the day for $2. Got to catch up on writing my journal, reading and got some sun. We were the only ones there for the day, except when one lady who was there for an hour showed up. Hard to believe. Vang Vieng is a tiny, tiny town, with no street lights. The streets are lit though with neon signs advertising guest houses, places to eat and tours.
The places to eat have lounge areas and depending on your choice of t.v. shows you can watch Friends, Simpsons, Family Guy or movies all day and night (unitl 11:30pm) as everything in Laos closes then. They have pillows to lay on and small tables like coffee tables to eat at. A real backpacker town.
http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahemoloney/VangViengLaos
In Vang Vieng I have been doing the tourist thing. I was floating down the river in a large inner tube going from bar to bar and zip line and rope swing to the next. It was fun but I only managed two rope swings and did a face plant on the second one and that was the end of swinging for me. (No booze was not involved, I was not drinking.) It hurt, my jaw, teeth the back of my head and chest. I thought at first I must have broke my jaw with the impact but, then I came around. I am not as stiff today as I thought I would be. Bruises from hitting the water though.
Some people were doing the swings 20 times in a row. Some of the impacts were like mine, it must have been their beer lao (the brand of beer here) that was numbing their pain. There were some really drunk people and water and booze shouldn't mix. We started at 11am and finished at 6:30 pm, just one trip down the river with 5 stops out of a potential 25. When we got back there were only 20 out of 170 tubers back. If you were after 6pm you had to pay a $2 over time fee. We were aware of the time, unlike others and did not have to pay. Some people were still getting in after 8pm. You see the tuk, tuks come loaded with people and tubes, singing their way through the town, bringing their tubes back.
Along the river side are many little bamboo shack bars that pull you in with long bamboo sticks. It is quite the tourist attraction. I did not take my camera but met a girl who said she would pass on some photos in a few weeks. So stay tuned.
Off to watch an episode of Friends.
I am staying with a girl, Sonya from England. Our room is $4 a night, so $2 each. We found a new hotel today on the river with a pool and used their facilities for the day for $2. Got to catch up on writing my journal, reading and got some sun. We were the only ones there for the day, except when one lady who was there for an hour showed up. Hard to believe. Vang Vieng is a tiny, tiny town, with no street lights. The streets are lit though with neon signs advertising guest houses, places to eat and tours.
The places to eat have lounge areas and depending on your choice of t.v. shows you can watch Friends, Simpsons, Family Guy or movies all day and night (unitl 11:30pm) as everything in Laos closes then. They have pillows to lay on and small tables like coffee tables to eat at. A real backpacker town.
Saturday 19 May 2007
Gibbon Experience - Laos - Pictures and video
Wow, wicked, awesome! Just three words to describe the last week or so. I spent three days and two nights in the jungle. It was so cool. There were ten people in our group. We slept in tree houses. Six of us slept in tree house one and four in tree house three. The six of us that were in tree house one were all traveling on our own. So that was pretty neat and we got along so well. My stomach hurt have laughing so much. We entertained each other so well.
We started the adventure (The Gibbon Experience) off with a two or three hour ride out of town to the jungle. We went on an amazing road they are constructing and we were the only vehicle on it. I wonder if it is being made for trade with China? (Future research). Anyway. Then we got to a river and drove through it. The four wheel drive was switched on the land cruiser and we set off on the terribly rough, washed out dirt road into the jungle. I must tell you that we held our breath and did not cheer until we were out of the jungle on day three. We were warned that we may have to walk into the jungle and that it is a seven hour walk in. It poured rain the whole night before we went so we were holding our breath and praying we would not have to walk. Luckly we did not have to walk and the land cruiser made it in and out. The land cruiser only goes so far though and then you must hike for one and a half hours into the jungle. Talk about remote. There were no lights, no nothing. Once making it to the tree houses the views were spectacular and the sounds amazing. The hiking was involved, muddy and yes I was exposed to leeches. It is weird when pulling leeches off your shoes becomes second nature. Luckly I was spared from their sucking. Some of the others were not so lucky.
The hike was beautiful. We arrived at our tree house and were greated by the guides and a bear. Yes a bear cub. The Gibbon experience was created to stop poaching and our monies from paying for the experience goes to paying guards to protect the forest. So the guards caught a poacher who killed the bear’s mother and the cub is now living with the workers. They had one last year and after a year if took off and went back to the wild. This one too is free to go. When we were leaving it trekked out the hour and a half with us.
The zip lines! Between the tree houses there are zip lines. We would hook ourselves up and zip through the jungle. It was spectacular. There were about 20 different cables. Some were linked together by platforms on trees and others you have to again trek through the jungle to get to. One day we went to tree house five and it was a two hour trek through the jungle with a few zip lines in between to get there. One of the zip lines was 160 m high and 460 m long. It was so cool.
Our food was even brought in on zip lines. All of a sudden the tree would shake and incoming, food would arrive with a worker. The views on the zip lines were spectacular. It was so cool to look down and backwards. I recommend this to everyone. We entertained ourselves all day by swinging in the trees and trekking through the jungle.
One night we made fondue. We used one of the metal dishes over candle light to heat chocolate powder and condensed milk, which we then dipped our fruit in. We found the receipe in the guestbook of tree house one and we improvised with some lanterns and metal and made a stand for it to sit above the flame on. We were mighty proud of ourselves. There was running water in the tree houses from a natural spring that we could drink, but no electricity.
Laos is amazing and so beautiful. I would say it is the most beautiful country in South East Asia.
We took a slow boat down the river. It took two days, around eight hours each day on very erect wood seats with no leg room. Nicole (from Calgary) and I sat in the front seat both days so we had the most leg room. It was beautiful, so beautiful I only cracked out my book during a bit of rain when the tarps were down on the boat and we could not see out. We stopped the one night and stayed on the mainland. The town would be a ghost town if the boats didn’t stop there. It had electricity that came from individual generators and ours was shut off at midnight and started up at 6am, so no fan for sleeping. Between the initial starting point and the end result on the slow boat we only passed through maybe 12 villages that consisted of maybe 10 bamboo houses each. So there was a lot of trees and mountains to check out.
On day two we picked up a minority women with her 4 kids and young baby. One of the kids had a baby chicken in her hand for the journey. Can you say bird flu, again? We picked up so many locals on day two, all with young babies that sat in front of us, so we had to witness a lot of nursing for 8 hours.
Luang Prabang is a great town. With tons of French influence. The streets and buildings are lovely. A very quant little town with great food, service and excellent massages. Laos is gorgeous. The jungles, vegetation, rivers and views are all spectacular.
Check out the photos at the following link
http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahemoloney/GibbonExperienceAndLaos
Check out a video of me on the zip line by clicking the next link. Here's hoping you can view it. The quality is not great, but hopefully you get the idea.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6305227057839096726
We started the adventure (The Gibbon Experience) off with a two or three hour ride out of town to the jungle. We went on an amazing road they are constructing and we were the only vehicle on it. I wonder if it is being made for trade with China? (Future research). Anyway. Then we got to a river and drove through it. The four wheel drive was switched on the land cruiser and we set off on the terribly rough, washed out dirt road into the jungle. I must tell you that we held our breath and did not cheer until we were out of the jungle on day three. We were warned that we may have to walk into the jungle and that it is a seven hour walk in. It poured rain the whole night before we went so we were holding our breath and praying we would not have to walk. Luckly we did not have to walk and the land cruiser made it in and out. The land cruiser only goes so far though and then you must hike for one and a half hours into the jungle. Talk about remote. There were no lights, no nothing. Once making it to the tree houses the views were spectacular and the sounds amazing. The hiking was involved, muddy and yes I was exposed to leeches. It is weird when pulling leeches off your shoes becomes second nature. Luckly I was spared from their sucking. Some of the others were not so lucky.
The hike was beautiful. We arrived at our tree house and were greated by the guides and a bear. Yes a bear cub. The Gibbon experience was created to stop poaching and our monies from paying for the experience goes to paying guards to protect the forest. So the guards caught a poacher who killed the bear’s mother and the cub is now living with the workers. They had one last year and after a year if took off and went back to the wild. This one too is free to go. When we were leaving it trekked out the hour and a half with us.
The zip lines! Between the tree houses there are zip lines. We would hook ourselves up and zip through the jungle. It was spectacular. There were about 20 different cables. Some were linked together by platforms on trees and others you have to again trek through the jungle to get to. One day we went to tree house five and it was a two hour trek through the jungle with a few zip lines in between to get there. One of the zip lines was 160 m high and 460 m long. It was so cool.
Our food was even brought in on zip lines. All of a sudden the tree would shake and incoming, food would arrive with a worker. The views on the zip lines were spectacular. It was so cool to look down and backwards. I recommend this to everyone. We entertained ourselves all day by swinging in the trees and trekking through the jungle.
One night we made fondue. We used one of the metal dishes over candle light to heat chocolate powder and condensed milk, which we then dipped our fruit in. We found the receipe in the guestbook of tree house one and we improvised with some lanterns and metal and made a stand for it to sit above the flame on. We were mighty proud of ourselves. There was running water in the tree houses from a natural spring that we could drink, but no electricity.
Laos is amazing and so beautiful. I would say it is the most beautiful country in South East Asia.
We took a slow boat down the river. It took two days, around eight hours each day on very erect wood seats with no leg room. Nicole (from Calgary) and I sat in the front seat both days so we had the most leg room. It was beautiful, so beautiful I only cracked out my book during a bit of rain when the tarps were down on the boat and we could not see out. We stopped the one night and stayed on the mainland. The town would be a ghost town if the boats didn’t stop there. It had electricity that came from individual generators and ours was shut off at midnight and started up at 6am, so no fan for sleeping. Between the initial starting point and the end result on the slow boat we only passed through maybe 12 villages that consisted of maybe 10 bamboo houses each. So there was a lot of trees and mountains to check out.
On day two we picked up a minority women with her 4 kids and young baby. One of the kids had a baby chicken in her hand for the journey. Can you say bird flu, again? We picked up so many locals on day two, all with young babies that sat in front of us, so we had to witness a lot of nursing for 8 hours.
Luang Prabang is a great town. With tons of French influence. The streets and buildings are lovely. A very quant little town with great food, service and excellent massages. Laos is gorgeous. The jungles, vegetation, rivers and views are all spectacular.
Check out the photos at the following link
http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahemoloney/GibbonExperienceAndLaos
Check out a video of me on the zip line by clicking the next link. Here's hoping you can view it. The quality is not great, but hopefully you get the idea.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6305227057839096726
Thursday 10 May 2007
Pai Thailand - pictures
Pai is a great town. Most people come for a couple of days and stay for weeks. It is a quant little town. I rented a moped (motorbike as they like to call it) for two days. It was a 100 baht a day and 80 baht a day for insurance. So for two days it basically cost $10. It is nice to be able to just hop on it and tour the countryside. My hotel is a little out of town, so the moped offers quick access to town also.
There are many waterfalls and pagodas to tour around and see, but I like when you round a corner and see and elephant. There are a few elephant camps (places where you can ride an elephant) around my hotel. So that was neat to see the elephants at the side of the road.
I went to one waterfall today and realized I was low on gas. I was in the hills and there was nothing around, so I was hoping I wouldn’t have to walk. I found a little village and asked about gas. I was given a litre of gas out of a liquor bottle and sent on my way. That was great; I was not looking forward to the walk.
The road to the waterfall was paved in parts and not in others. The road was more suited for a dirt bike then a moped and because of all the rain, roads were washed out. I decided to turn around on one dirt road as it was so badly washed out and the bike was going down. Not long after that it started to pour rain. Now I know what it’s like to ride through big mud puddles and be a kid and have mud from toe to thigh.
I had a good dirty day in the mud. It did not rain for long and I was dried out before making it back to town.
I met a woman who does Toro readings and reiki so I experienced that tonight, it was very interesting, ahhhh what the future holds…….
Check out more photos at the following link
http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahemoloney/PaiThailand
I am going to Laos tomorrow and will not have internet access for a few days. So take care. I will be swinging in the trees and sleeping in a tree house.
There are many waterfalls and pagodas to tour around and see, but I like when you round a corner and see and elephant. There are a few elephant camps (places where you can ride an elephant) around my hotel. So that was neat to see the elephants at the side of the road.
I went to one waterfall today and realized I was low on gas. I was in the hills and there was nothing around, so I was hoping I wouldn’t have to walk. I found a little village and asked about gas. I was given a litre of gas out of a liquor bottle and sent on my way. That was great; I was not looking forward to the walk.
The road to the waterfall was paved in parts and not in others. The road was more suited for a dirt bike then a moped and because of all the rain, roads were washed out. I decided to turn around on one dirt road as it was so badly washed out and the bike was going down. Not long after that it started to pour rain. Now I know what it’s like to ride through big mud puddles and be a kid and have mud from toe to thigh.
I had a good dirty day in the mud. It did not rain for long and I was dried out before making it back to town.
I met a woman who does Toro readings and reiki so I experienced that tonight, it was very interesting, ahhhh what the future holds…….
Check out more photos at the following link
http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahemoloney/PaiThailand
I am going to Laos tomorrow and will not have internet access for a few days. So take care. I will be swinging in the trees and sleeping in a tree house.
Tuesday 8 May 2007
Elephant Ride - Pictures - Chiang Mai - Thailand
Had an amazing action packed day yesterday. I went on an excursion that consisted of a visit to a village where the “Long neck” tribe lives, an elephant ride for an hour, a caged cable ride over the river, lunch, two hour trek to a waterfall, white water rafting and bamboo rafting.
The long necks were very interesting to check out. Only girls have the wire around their necks and they get it on at age five. Originally it was to prevent tigers from attacking their necks. Now it is for tradition and beauty. Every two years they take it off for cleaning.
There were eight people on my tour and I was the only one that paid to do the Long neck tour part. So I was the only tourist in the village as it is the slow season.
I went for an hour long elephant ride through the jungle it was great. There were two people on each elephant. Oh yes all the people on my tour were French, all from France, though they did not know each other.
We took turns sitting on the front of the elephant it was great. Better than the basket. However the elephant had coarse hairs that were prickly on the legs. Its ears kept flapping my legs as it was swatting flies.
We rode across the river in a cage on a cable line, had lunch and trekked through the jungle to get to a waterfall. The terrain was really rough and my running shoes were slippery when climbing over the large rocks.
We went white water rafting. It was stunning going through the jungle on the river with a few rapids here and there. Then we switched to a bamboo raft to finish the trip.
I then was dropped off in the town to catch the local bus to Pai instead of going an hour back to Chiang Mai and then to Pai. I was to catch the bus on the way through. It already went through. So the guides talked to the rice shop owner who said a mini bus will be going through in half an hour, so I should wait.
I waited with the rice shop owner who was having a swally with the local police man who was in uniform. The cop took a fancy to me and made sure I got on the mini bus ok and that I was set. Me and 12 Thai’s in a mini bus (van). At least we had our own seat unlike that mini bus in Cambodia I took a picture of.
98km’s and three hours latter on the curviest road I have been on in my life we made it to Pai. The guide book says go on an empty stomach if you get motion sickness and for good reason. There was not a single straight stretch. It was crazy. The scenery was breathtaking though. Through the mountains, no towns or lights, just forest and jungle as the sun was setting. I wish I could have captured it in a picture, but too many turns.
I arrived in Pai in the dark and was not met for the first time by a convoy of people offering rides. So I set out walking. The town has a population of 3000 people and it is lovely. I asked an Irish guy at the stop light where Paddy Fields was and he did not know. Kim had suggested that place to me. He drove over to a shop and asked a guy who said the general direction. So the Irish man offered me a ride on his motorbike. I hopped on with my backpacks and was off over the bridge. I was glad I had a ride, it was a far walk, but we were not able to find it in the dark. I opted for another place close by and set out today to find it. As it turns out I will stay where I am as it is a really nice place for cheap. The room is massive, has a bathroom, with hot water, toilet paper and a shower curtain. Hot water and shower curtain I have not had in a long time and Thailand does not supply toilet paper. They use a “bum gun” a hose to spray themselves off and then pull up their pants, with a wet butt. Toilet paper is easily assessable in shops, so I just carry it with me, as do most travelers. It is the low season so my room was a steal.
Pai is an amazing town to just chill out in. I will enjoy one of the many hammocks for the next few days before heading to Laos for the Gibbon Experience.
Check out the following link for pictures of my elephant excursion.
http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahemoloney/ElephantRide
The long necks were very interesting to check out. Only girls have the wire around their necks and they get it on at age five. Originally it was to prevent tigers from attacking their necks. Now it is for tradition and beauty. Every two years they take it off for cleaning.
There were eight people on my tour and I was the only one that paid to do the Long neck tour part. So I was the only tourist in the village as it is the slow season.
I went for an hour long elephant ride through the jungle it was great. There were two people on each elephant. Oh yes all the people on my tour were French, all from France, though they did not know each other.
We took turns sitting on the front of the elephant it was great. Better than the basket. However the elephant had coarse hairs that were prickly on the legs. Its ears kept flapping my legs as it was swatting flies.
We rode across the river in a cage on a cable line, had lunch and trekked through the jungle to get to a waterfall. The terrain was really rough and my running shoes were slippery when climbing over the large rocks.
We went white water rafting. It was stunning going through the jungle on the river with a few rapids here and there. Then we switched to a bamboo raft to finish the trip.
I then was dropped off in the town to catch the local bus to Pai instead of going an hour back to Chiang Mai and then to Pai. I was to catch the bus on the way through. It already went through. So the guides talked to the rice shop owner who said a mini bus will be going through in half an hour, so I should wait.
I waited with the rice shop owner who was having a swally with the local police man who was in uniform. The cop took a fancy to me and made sure I got on the mini bus ok and that I was set. Me and 12 Thai’s in a mini bus (van). At least we had our own seat unlike that mini bus in Cambodia I took a picture of.
98km’s and three hours latter on the curviest road I have been on in my life we made it to Pai. The guide book says go on an empty stomach if you get motion sickness and for good reason. There was not a single straight stretch. It was crazy. The scenery was breathtaking though. Through the mountains, no towns or lights, just forest and jungle as the sun was setting. I wish I could have captured it in a picture, but too many turns.
I arrived in Pai in the dark and was not met for the first time by a convoy of people offering rides. So I set out walking. The town has a population of 3000 people and it is lovely. I asked an Irish guy at the stop light where Paddy Fields was and he did not know. Kim had suggested that place to me. He drove over to a shop and asked a guy who said the general direction. So the Irish man offered me a ride on his motorbike. I hopped on with my backpacks and was off over the bridge. I was glad I had a ride, it was a far walk, but we were not able to find it in the dark. I opted for another place close by and set out today to find it. As it turns out I will stay where I am as it is a really nice place for cheap. The room is massive, has a bathroom, with hot water, toilet paper and a shower curtain. Hot water and shower curtain I have not had in a long time and Thailand does not supply toilet paper. They use a “bum gun” a hose to spray themselves off and then pull up their pants, with a wet butt. Toilet paper is easily assessable in shops, so I just carry it with me, as do most travelers. It is the low season so my room was a steal.
Pai is an amazing town to just chill out in. I will enjoy one of the many hammocks for the next few days before heading to Laos for the Gibbon Experience.
Check out the following link for pictures of my elephant excursion.
http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahemoloney/ElephantRide
Sunday 6 May 2007
Thai Cooking Course - Pictures - Chang Mai Thailand
What a great way to spend a raining day. I did a Thai cooking course today. It poured rain all day so it was a great activity. The course was awesome. There were eight people in the class and we got to make six individual dishes and eat our creations.
The school was in a Thai home and each person had there own element on a gas range to work at. We did lots of chopping, mashing and stiring. It was really good and we got a colour receipe book to take home.
Ricky and Terry you would have loved it and Grace the sue chef (chopping queen) you too would have enjoyed it. The food I made was so flavorful. Hopefully I will be able to repeat it at home.
Going trecking tomorrow, white water rafting, bamboo rafting and elephant riding. It should be a full day.
Link to pictures of the cooking class and a night market.
http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahemoloney/CookingCourseChangMai
The school was in a Thai home and each person had there own element on a gas range to work at. We did lots of chopping, mashing and stiring. It was really good and we got a colour receipe book to take home.
Ricky and Terry you would have loved it and Grace the sue chef (chopping queen) you too would have enjoyed it. The food I made was so flavorful. Hopefully I will be able to repeat it at home.
Going trecking tomorrow, white water rafting, bamboo rafting and elephant riding. It should be a full day.
Link to pictures of the cooking class and a night market.
http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahemoloney/CookingCourseChangMai
Saturday 5 May 2007
Chang Mai
I flew today from the south (Surat Thani) to the north (Chang Mai), via Bangkok. I had to take two flights and only had 50 minutes between them. On Air Asia you are not assigned seats, so I was given a sticker to wear that said "guest" and was told to seat at the front. I was told that when I got off the plane my bag would be brought to me. Sure enough I walked out of the plane and down the steps and a guy was there waiting with my bag.
All the passengers were loaded onto a bus that taken to the arrivals area of the airport. I was met there by an Air Asia employee and escorted through the airport to the check in area. I had to recheck in for the second flight. While we were walking there (really quickly) the guy was on his walkie talkie getting me checked in on the second flight. At the desk I was given my boarding pass and told to run to the gate. In the morning the airport was so small the boarding passes were handwritten, now I was at Bangkok an international electronic airport. I made it to the gate with time to spare, even enough time to read for a (short) while. There service was excellent. Last summer I missed a flight in LA and there was an hour and a half between those flights. I ended up having to wait for 7 1/2 hours for the next flight. No escort in that case.
After my last accomadation I have a new standard for rooms. The toilet must flush. My last bungalow had a regular looking toilet, but it did not have a flush option. You had to fill a bucket with water and put it down the fancy looking, really a plane old one holer. It stunk so that is my new standard if the room has a toilet, it must flush. Some rooms have a common or shared bathroom incase you were wondering.
I am in Chang Mai now and will be doing a Thai cooking class and hopefully doing a trek and elephant ride. Hopefully the rain will hold off for it. There has been a lot of rain. I am taking in a large weekend market tomorrow. I ate my way through the night market last night, trying the local shakes and desserts. I passed on the bugs that were for sale. Fried cockroaches, worms, crickets etc.
All the passengers were loaded onto a bus that taken to the arrivals area of the airport. I was met there by an Air Asia employee and escorted through the airport to the check in area. I had to recheck in for the second flight. While we were walking there (really quickly) the guy was on his walkie talkie getting me checked in on the second flight. At the desk I was given my boarding pass and told to run to the gate. In the morning the airport was so small the boarding passes were handwritten, now I was at Bangkok an international electronic airport. I made it to the gate with time to spare, even enough time to read for a (short) while. There service was excellent. Last summer I missed a flight in LA and there was an hour and a half between those flights. I ended up having to wait for 7 1/2 hours for the next flight. No escort in that case.
After my last accomadation I have a new standard for rooms. The toilet must flush. My last bungalow had a regular looking toilet, but it did not have a flush option. You had to fill a bucket with water and put it down the fancy looking, really a plane old one holer. It stunk so that is my new standard if the room has a toilet, it must flush. Some rooms have a common or shared bathroom incase you were wondering.
I am in Chang Mai now and will be doing a Thai cooking class and hopefully doing a trek and elephant ride. Hopefully the rain will hold off for it. There has been a lot of rain. I am taking in a large weekend market tomorrow. I ate my way through the night market last night, trying the local shakes and desserts. I passed on the bugs that were for sale. Fried cockroaches, worms, crickets etc.
Wednesday 2 May 2007
Full moon party and pictures
Well the full moon party was something to experience. The place I was staying at had a buffet dinner for the guests which was great and they decorated the place up nice. I helped in the afternoon with some of the flowers.
The evening brought rain and tons of wet, drunk and high people. It was interesting to people watch. I hope the rumor I heard that 5 people drowned was just that, a rumor. There were life guards on duty and they manned a sleep area on the beach as well. In the morning I saw them making people get out of the water but in the evening I did not see this, it was dark though.
People were drinking out of “buckets,” (kid’s sand pails). You could buy a mickie and mix for around $10. The bucket left a large surface area at the top and some poor souls were getting there drinks spiked and passing out. The woman I was with on the ferry this morning saw two people drugged this way last night. She said “well they say that is why they call it a party, because you are taking risks.” I bet some people when they wake up will not be wishing they took last night’s risk.
It was interesting man the amount of people and the dancing. It was cool to experience and I am glad I am here to report about it.
I also saw a dirty middle age man pick up a prostitute and take her to a “room.” Oh the things we see. Oh an of course the “lady boys” that Thailand is known for are good for watching also.
I am now in Koh Samui another island in the south of Thailand. I took a ferry this afternoon to try out these beaches. It is raining here a lot and there are a lot of thunderstorms. It is said that global warming has moved the monsoon season up. Hopefully the rain will hold off until the evenings.
Link to pictures
http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahemoloney/Thailand
The evening brought rain and tons of wet, drunk and high people. It was interesting to people watch. I hope the rumor I heard that 5 people drowned was just that, a rumor. There were life guards on duty and they manned a sleep area on the beach as well. In the morning I saw them making people get out of the water but in the evening I did not see this, it was dark though.
People were drinking out of “buckets,” (kid’s sand pails). You could buy a mickie and mix for around $10. The bucket left a large surface area at the top and some poor souls were getting there drinks spiked and passing out. The woman I was with on the ferry this morning saw two people drugged this way last night. She said “well they say that is why they call it a party, because you are taking risks.” I bet some people when they wake up will not be wishing they took last night’s risk.
It was interesting man the amount of people and the dancing. It was cool to experience and I am glad I am here to report about it.
I also saw a dirty middle age man pick up a prostitute and take her to a “room.” Oh the things we see. Oh an of course the “lady boys” that Thailand is known for are good for watching also.
I am now in Koh Samui another island in the south of Thailand. I took a ferry this afternoon to try out these beaches. It is raining here a lot and there are a lot of thunderstorms. It is said that global warming has moved the monsoon season up. Hopefully the rain will hold off until the evenings.
Link to pictures
http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahemoloney/Thailand
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