Thialand, finally!!

We are currently in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It is about 5 hours north of Bangkok by car or a nice 1 hour flight. We left Siem Reap, Cambodia on "planes, trains and automobiles" kind of itinerary. Brem, our guide, picked us up from our hotel around 0630 and dropped us off at the airport. We had a 2 hour flight to Kuala Lumpur, a 3 hour layover and a one hour flight to Phuket, Thialand. There was a flight from KL to Krabi, which is where we are staying, but it left KL before we arrived there so we had to fly to Phuket. From airport in Phuket it was a 45 minute taxi ride to the bus terminal; the bus to Krabi left at 1800. We bought our "ticket" for the taxi/minibus and piled in. Then we sat. We didnt realizet that the driver was waiting to fill the van. so we waited and waited. finally around 455 we pulled out and took off. Its a 45 minute ride to Phuket town and the bus terminal. Then we pulled off the road and into their main office and were asked to get out and go inside. we went inside an were questioned where we were headed. we told the guy asking and he told us to get back in the van. apparently this whole sequence of events was to determine all the stops required of the people in the van. i was starting to worry that we were not going to make it to the bus terminal. we left the taxi office around 515. Who knows what kind of schedule the bus would be on. Needless to say, we were the first people dropped off and we walked over to the terminal with about 10 minutes to spare. we purchased our tickets for 150 baht (about 5 bucks) for the 3 hour ride and realized that the bus didnt actually leave until 1830.

i hadnt been feeling all that well since we left Cambodia; thinking the greasy, spicey asian food was finally starting to get to me, so i hit the restroom. First off, just like most other countries, you have to pay to use public rest rooms. But what i didnt expect was an authentic eastern toilet. Imagine walking into a stall and seeing essentially a large toilet bowl embedded in the floor with places for your feet on either side. To "flush" this thing, there is a constantly flowing basin in the corner with a small tupperware container that you dunk into the basin and pour into the toilet. And you have to pay for something like this. Oh, i dont know if i would shake anyone's hand out here becuase lets just say it pays to carry wipes with you. It was probably one of the most foul experiences i have ever had in my life and i had to pay money for it!! Welcome to Thialand!

Our bus was relatively comfortable; it was a modern double decker with TVs blasting Asian teeniebopper kareokee music videos. They were on for the entire 3 hour ride...this is the one time i valued carrying my ipod. We were dropped in Krabi town and jumped in a tuk tuk for the 25 minute ride to the boat dock. It was 930 pm.

We got to the dock and found 5 local boys hanging out under a large roofed structure. they were the crew. We asked if we could buy a pair of tickets, "Sure, you need to wait for 6 more so we can fill the boat". sounds familiar. its like 1015 (a little later because the taxi driver needed to sop for gas) and all we could think of is...Who the heck else is going to be showing up? We were fairly tired from travelling and waiting all day and just wanted to head to bed. "relax man" is what we were told. Then the rain came, and not just rain, but like a friggen typhoon or something. our backpacks were almost swept away, well not really, but it was the hardest rain i have seen since i left the Arizona monsoons behind. So we waited for it to subside and then told him we would pay for the whole boat so we could just get on our way. 24 dollars later we were on the boat and being sprayed with ocean mist on the way to our hotel.

We arrived to a totally dark beach landing. no dock. We were met by the security guard for the hotel, since the staff had all left the area and were all most likely sleeping soundly in their beds. We were finally in our room around 1145pm. It was a long day to say the least.

While in Raliay Beach we took a speedboat out to the Phi Phi islands for some snorkeling. A lot of the reef was still trying to regenerate after the psunami; there were patches of new corals popping up but there definitely was a lot damaged. there were fish around, but i doubt as much as you would expect within a healthy coral reef ecosystem. We also rented a kayak and paddled around and over to an area named Tonsai Beach. It is a big climbing area and is festooned with backpacker type accomodations. the smell of marijuana was baked into all of the buildings and it was being smoke pretty freely by tourists and staff. We were pretty suprised at how busy the entire area was being the low/wet season. the Phi Phi ilsands reminded was like Disneyland; there were people everywhere. It is a beautiful setting so i understand, but i couldnt imagine it in high season. We left wanting more time in the islands, but really wanted to get away from the tourists. Its wierd saying that, but i guess everyone wants their own private Asia. We add a population increase of 2 to everywhere we go, so we shouldnt really complain.

We arrived in Chiang Mai pretty easily from Phuket. Short 1 hour flight to Bangkok and a 1 hour flight north to Chiang Mai. There was a great Sunday outdoor market that we were able to paruse when we arrived. Lots of neat crafts and this cute little Hilltribe dancer showing her stuff. "Old CM" is a walled city with 1-2 gates on each side. most everywhere you would like to go is accessible by tuk tuk for 40-50 baht (33 baht/dollar), so its cheap to get around if you dont want to walk. We visited an elephant conservation camp. There were demonstrations of elephants playing football (soccer in the US), painting with paint brushes, and demonstrating their traditional labor usage. We hopped aboard one for a 1 hour romp through the jungle. Man they are huge once you get so close!! We visited the nursery which held a 1 month old and her mother. she was the size of a horse and had the energy, curiosity and rambunctiosness of a puppy. Afterwards, Jan wanted to check out some of the local crafts, so she did a little shopping. Yesterday we walked around an area rich in silver shops. it was interesting to see many of the pendants and beads that she uses in her jewelry designs. The silver is about 1/3 of the price. Last night we checked out a Mauy Thai (kick boxing) event. It was pretty entertaining. They are fierce! Today we visited one of the most visited temples in Norther Thialand, Doi Suthep. After climbing some 306 steps to the top we were rewarded with some amazing views of the city and of course of the beautiful buddhist temple. it was built in the 1300s and doesnt look a day over 700 years old. there was acutally scaffolding up around the entire temple; renovations. Tonight we wathched a cultural show which highlighted many traditional Thai and Thai Hilltribe dancing. Wouldnt you know, that same little girl from the market was in once of the dances and was selling little wooden frogs afterwards. We had to buy one from her after.

Cant believe we will be home in about 5 days. It will be nice to hit our soft bed and play with Dublin. We miss him! Our friends and neighbors are priceless for watching over him while we were away. Thanks Gina, John, Rob and Jeff!!