THE ROAD FROM PAI TO CHAING MAI...

OUR ELEPHANT ADVENTURE WAS SHORT AND SWEET. WE BOOKED A PRIVATE ELEPHANT TOUR FOR THE FOUR OF US BUT IT WAS CUT SHORT, I WILL EXPLAIN A LITTLE LATER. HOW DO YOU RIDE AN ELEPHANT? WELL, MATTHEW GOT UP THE THAI WAY VIA THE ELEPHANT'S TRUNK, LANDING BACKWARDS ON THE BACK OF THE ELEPHANT, THEN TURNING AROUND TO FACE FORWARD. JENNY AND I CLIMBED THE STAIRS TO A PLATFORM THAT WAS HIGHER THAN THE ELEPHANT AND DID OUR BEST TO GRACEFULLY REMOVE OURSELVES FROM THE PLATFORM TO THE ELEPHANTS BACK. FIRST YOU SIT ON IT'S NECK, BRING YOUR LEGS UP AS FAR AS POSSIBLE. THE ELEPHANT PULLS IT'S EARS BACK AND TUCKS YOU IN. YOU LEAN FORWARD, PUT BOTH HANDS ON TOP OF ITS HEAD AND AWAY YOU GO! THE SCENERY WAS BASIC UNTIL WE REACHED THE MORE PLUSH PART OF THE JUNGLE BEGINNING. BUT, AT THAT POINT, JENNY'S PANIC TOOK OVER AND WE DECIDED TO TURN AROUND. NOW, YOU HAVE TO KNOW THAT I THINK MY SISTER IS FEARLESS, BUT APPARENTLY THAT IS UNTRUE WHEN IT COMES TO RIDING ELEPHANTS. SOME THINGS YOU JUST HAVE TO FIND OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF DOING IT. IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO AS WE WERE ALREADY FEELING THE EFFECTS OF BOW LEGGEDNESS. BUT A GREAT ADVENTURE NONE THE LESS. WE TOOK SOME FANTASTIC PICTURES AND HAVE A NEW FOUND RESPECT FOR THESE CREATURES.

LATER THAT DAY WE TOOK THE BUS FROM PAI TO CHAINGMAI. THIS IS A THREE HOUR TRIP UP THE MOUNTAIN, OER THE MOUNTAIN, DOWN THE MOUNTAIN WITH SWITCHBACKS AND NO AIR CONDITIONING ON THE UPHILL SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE BUS CANNOT MAKE THE SWITCHBACKS OR EXCELL WITH THE AIR ON. BUT, BEFORE WE LEFT PAI, WE HAD THE MINI BUS PICK US UP AT PAI MOUNTAIN LODGE SO THAT WE COULD SELFISHLY GET THE GOOD SEATS. IT HELPS TO KNOW SOMEONE WHO KNOWS THESE IMPORTANT DETAILS, OTHERWISE WE WOULD HAVE BEEN SITTING IN THE BACK WHERE IT WAS REALLY REALLY HOT AND SWEATING. AFTER PICKING US UP, THE MINI BUS WENT TO THE REGULAR BUS STATION WHERE THE OTHER TRAVELERS WERE WAITING AND GIVING US THE EVIL EYE BECAUSE WE HAD ALREADY ESTABLISHED OUR SEATS. A YOUNG FRENCH MAN INSISTED I GIVE UP MY SEAT TO HIM BECAUSE HE WAS FEELING THE EFFECTS OF A HANGOVER OR MAYBE FOOD POISONING. I CHEERFULLY TOLD HIM NO THANK YOU, I PLANNED AHEAD, HE DIDNT, I EAT CLEAN FOOD, HE DIDNT, I HAD A SEAT...HE DIDN'T. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT, HE CALLED ME AN ARROGANT AMERICAN, OR WAS THAT JENNY HE WAS TALkING TO??? I KNOW HOW HATEFUL THAT MAKES ME SOUND, BUT I WAS JUST AS HOT, SWEATY, UNCOMFORTABLE AS HE WAS. I THINK HE CHOSE ME BECAUSE I AM A WOMAN AND HE DID NOT WANT TO CONFRONT THE MEN TO GIVE UP THEIR SEATS. IN THE END MATTHEW WAS DIPLOMATIC ENOUGH TO OFFER HIM THE WINDOW SEAT FOR HALF THE RIDE WITH THEM SWITCHING AT THE SUMMIT STOP FOR SNACKS AND POTTY. JUST TO REDEEM MYSELF, NO ONE ON THE MINI BUS BOUGHT HIS STORY OR FELT COMPASSION FOR HIM SO IT WASN'T JUST ME BEING MEAN/AMERICAN.

I LOVE STAYING AT SRI PAT, IT IS VERY CLEAN, VERY FAMILY ORIENTED, THEY THINK AHEAD AND HANDLE LITTLE DETAILS UNEXPECTEDLY. I WOULD RECOMMEND IT HIGHLY IF IN CHAING MAI. AFTER OUR BUS TRIP, IT WAS NICE TO RETURN HERE. WE WENT RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET AFTER OUR TRIP OVER THE HILL FOR FRESH SUSHI AND PIGGED OUT.

I'M SURE IT'S KHARMIC RETRUBUTION, BUT THE FOLLOWING DAY I GOT SICK, NOT ON SUSHI, NOT FOOD POISONING, NOT BIRD FLU BUT JUST THE OLD FASHIONED FLU. MAYBE THE FRENCHMAN GAVE ME MORE THAN HIS KIND REGARDS??? THANKS TO MY SISTER, I RECEIVED ANTIBIOTICS AND IMMODIUM AND AM FEELING SLIGHTLY BETTER AFTER TWO DAYS OF NO FOOD, ONLY WATER.

JENNY, RON AND I WENT TO HONG DONG THE OTHER DAY TO SHOP FOR CERAMICS AND WOOD CARVINGS. IT WAS A HOT MISERABLE TRIP. IT COST 200 BAHT TO GET A RED BUS DOWN THERE BUT ONL.Y 12 BAHT EACH TO RETURN, WIERD BUT TRUE. WE ALSO WENT TO MAC OR MACRO WHICH IS LIKE COSTCO THAILAND OR WAL-MART THAILAND. IF A PERSON NEEDED AN AMERICAN FIX AFTER TRAVELING, THIS IS THE PLACE TO GO, I THOUGHT I WAS BACK HOME ALREADY!! WE SAW THE MOST FANTASTIC CAR, A MERCEDES ABOUT THE SIZE OF A PEANUT, THAT RUNS ON ALCOHOL. IT IS ONLY USE FOR COMUTER TRANSPORTATION, NO HILL DRIVING.

TOMORROW NIGHT MATTHEW AND I TAKE THE OVERNIGHT TRAIN TO BANGKOK. WE ARRIVE IN BANGKOK AT 6 AM THEN WILL TAKE ANOTHER LITTLE TRIP FOR ABOUT AN HOUR TO THE TEMPLE CALLED AUYATHAYA. AFTER THAT I THINK WE WILL JUST RELAX AND PACK UP FOR OUR TRIP HOME ON THE 21ST.

SEE YOU ALL SOON! love susie

Chiang Mai Simon Cabaret

So, yesterday Susie (Mom) and I went to Wat (temple) Doi Suthep. This is one of the more famous buddhist temples in Thialand. I finally got around to spelling "Chiang" and "buddhist" correctly =).


So, we got a great deal, 200 baht for both of us to take a ride up to the temple. Its about a 20 - 25 minute drive from our hotel, and most "red trucks" wont take anything less than 5 - 6 people at a time. We seem to have been lucky, as we didn't even have to haggle with this guy, and for 100 baht a person, its not a bad deal (2.25 or so per person)


One moment, there seems to be some kind of .. parade going by.... I dont have my Camera, but i'll BRB.


Its the internet though, so its not like you will ever know I stepped away =)

Ohh.. its a middle (or highschool, remember, it's so hard to tell ages here) band. Ok, they are gone now, and I can hear the Disco music on my Ipod.

So, for 100 baht each, it was worth the trip to get there when we wanted to. I'm very glad we didnt skip Doi Suthep, because it was amazing! I got my brother a Buddhist trinket that can be used as either a keychain, or more like they are here, as a necklace pendant. I'd say half the people I run into here wear them, they are very popular with the young Buddhists here.

I think its national walk down the road day for school kids. It must be every class out there.

So, after the Wat (temple), Susie started feeling the effects of Food Poisoning. Here, let me explain them: Hah, just kidding.

So, needless to say, she stayed in last night. Jenny and Ron went out to the China Man's house to get some Acupuncture, after visiting his shop for herbs and stuff for Rons arthritis.

I was on my own, so I ended up buying tickets for Simon Chiang Mai, a Cabaret on the skirt of the city. I was provided transportation from my Hotel, the Sri Pat Guest House (look it up, its great). I ended up sitting next to some Aussie girls on the bus, and we took seats in the second row, far right (there are stages on either side of the main, central stage). I cant begin to tell you how much fun I had. For those of you who are not familiar with Simon Cabaret, let me explain a little something to you:


These girls, the most beautiful girls I have seen in Asia, are all men. MEN. They have ALMOST all the right parts to be a woman, but they kept the original lower packaging.

When I say they are beautiful, I mean if I was standing in a bar, I would only dream of being able to talk to one of these girls. They are that pretty. You would never know these girls were boys. I cant wait to upload the pictures. I actually sneaked in my video camera, so that will be another video clip I'll have to upload when I get to the states. Ohh, if I was here for another night I'd probably go again, it was only 400 baht, including transportation, and no drink minimum, so no hidden fees. There was a 20 baht charge after the show to get your picture taken with one or two of the man-women, so I got my picture taken with two gorgious girls. Boys.

We got my mom some anti biotics, so she feels a little better this morning, but wont leave her room, for fear of not having a toilet. (Ewwww)

http://www.simonchiangmaicabaret.com/

http://www.thaiwaysmagazine.com/chiang_mai_ad/simon_chiang_mai/simon_chiang_mai.html

Matthew.

Look, Its supposed to be a zoo! and the Chang Mai night market

Today I took the day off, and went out alone, for a few different reasons. But thats another story =)

After doing some routing morning eating, and checking my email, blog, etc.. I was reading through my Lonely Planet guide book, and decided that the Chang Mai Zoo would be a good hit, as I love animals, and zoo's are always a good time. Almost.

To my severe disappointment, this zoo was in a multitude of states, from "operational" to "under construction" to "just plain empty". The first thing I saw when I got to the zoo were two roads, both leading up, steeply. I took the road on the right, and went through the Aviary. This was rather disappointing, because they basically had a few eagles, and some phesents (spelling). After this brief encounter, sidewalk split from the road and went into a small cave with cages of Pigeons. Ohh boy, now I know why the old City Wall outside the Internet Cafe' here is bird free. I'm glad I paid.... less than a dollar. =)

The sidewalk ended just outside the cave at a stairway leading down to the road. I have to say that most of the roads did not have sidewalks, or at least, the sidewalks did not follow the road. I followed the road, up, up, up. I was sweating bullets by the time I got to the ugly bears. Yeah, they were ugly. I love bears, but these were some hillbilly looking bears. If I had the map on me I'd tell you what kind of bears they were exactly. They had two large teeth they stuck out of thair mouths, and they stood on their hind legs as Thai visitors degradingly threw various candies and other assorted snacks at them, generally attempting to get a "hole in one" by landing a piece of food directly into the bears' mouth. Slightly degrading if you ask me. So after this display I moved on, and found about 6 empty displays, I guess you call them that, they are daytime living quarters of the animals, but like I said, they were empty. All the signs were in Thai, exept for the animal names, just below the Thai in English.

I was totally lost at this point, if you can look up a map of the Chang Mai Zoo online, you will see that it is a criss cross loopdy doo zig zag of seemingly all uphill roads. I always thought that story about walking up hill both ways in the snow to and from school to get home were fake, but now I see the storyteller must have lived in the Chang Mai zoo! =)

Its not really that bad, I'm just being pessimistic. Anyway, I continued on and found some more birds, and then, some excitement! Or so I thought. I found an Atrium? Filled with plants and birds!! And kids, lot and lots and lots of brightly colored school outfits glowing on small elementary kids. (perhaps early middleschool, asians really look young for their age). Anyway, they were EVERYWHERE. and my god, if you think the ever winding uphill roads were bad, this place had steps that looked like the 300 step hike up a remote temple. I'm not kidding either, this was totally ridiculous. If you had fallen from the top, you would be in some very serious trouble. I quickly left, fearing that I would pass out before I ever made it to the top of one of those stairs.

Later on, after getting lost once or twice, I found myself near the Panda display, but it seemed that they were charging extra for this exhibit, but perhaps it was something special. It was the middle of the day, and it gets HOT here, and with all the ashfault, I didnt stick around, I wanted out. This is easier said than done, as I ended up at the far end of the zoo, and kicked myself for ever going. On my journey back to the proper exit, I came across what looked like very hungry tiger. He was pacing back and forth an area about 6 feet long, he had more space, but he just kept going back and forth like he was just waiting for the fence to disappear so that he could eat the little kiddies up. (Ohh did I mention, at this point I assumed it was national take your schoolkids to the zoo day, I think every age group with neon clothing was there).

On the way out, I passed the Panda display again, and noticed there were come one-hump camels on the other side. They didnt look very excited to see me. I finally found the exit and left. In all, i payed alot more than I expected for the tuk tuk ride over, however the entrance fee was fair, considering this place was a mess. But I guess I'm glad I gave it a shot, It could have been really cool!

Uug. Im getting tired, so I'm going to cut it short. The Chang Mai night market is great, and i've been contiplating buying a nice travelers backpack for about..... 35 bucks! 1500 baht. Perhaps its 40 bucks, but anyway, its cheap. I got some other goodies, some t-shirts, etc.. so now my bag is full. I still need to get big E some fabrics, I've decided to keep the ones I have now! Hah.

I'll try to write whenever something exciting happens. Other than that its just going.

Matthew.

Easily Disgruntled.

This is the last time I'll use this peticular Internet Cafe'. Not only does it ONLY have Internet Explorer, but at the very end of typing my blog, IE Crashed and I lost all my work, so now I'm pissed off. I'll come back later and write it out.

PAI PAI AND MORE PAI

PAI, PAI AND MORE PAI

WE ARE STILL IN PAI AND THIS PLACE GROWS ON YOU A LITTLE MORE EVERY DAY. MATTHEW, I FEAR MAY FIND IT A LITTLE SLOW FOR HIS TASTES, BUT AFTER THE INITIAL SHOCK OF 1965 DREADLOCKS, BAD BOB MARLEY SHIRTS, UNWASHED BODIES, THE FAINT SMELL OF "SMOKE" IN THE AIR, IT GETS BETTER. YOU BEGIN TO REALIZE WHO THE LOCALS REALLY ARE AND WHO THE SHORT TIME VISITORS (LIKE OURSELVES) ARE. JENNY AND RON HAVE CERTAINLY MADE THEMSELVES KNOWN IN PAI AS THE SHOP OWNERS ALWAYS COME OUT FROM THE BACK OF THE STORE TO SAY HELLO AND GET INTRODUCED TO ME. VERY NICE.

IT WAS JENNY'S BIRTHDAY AND IT TOOK US THREE DAYS TO CELEBRATE, ONE EVENING TO PREPARE FOR THE REAL BIRTH DAY, THE BIRTHDAY ITSELF, AND ONE FINAL BLOW OUT BONFIRE TO END THE THIRD DAY! THE BONFIRE WAS EASILY 10' TALL AND WARMED UP THE ENTIRE BACK YARD. ALL THE LOCAL CHILDREN SANG SONGS AND HAD LITTLE DANCE ROUTINES PREPARED. THEN THE FUN BEGAN WHEN THEY, IN RETURN, EXPECTED US TO "PERFORM" A SONG AND DANCE FOR THEIR ENTERAINMENT. IT DID NOT MATTER THAT WE COULD NOT REMEMBER THE WORDS TO ANY ONE SONG OR THAT WE HAVE THE WORST VOICES THIS SIDE OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN AND DID THE SHIMMY, THE JERK AND THE WATUSSI TO DINAH SHORES' "MY MOMMA DONE TOLD ME..." (THE ONLY SINGLE SONG WE COULD REMEMBER HALF THE WORDS TO) JENNY ACTED AS LEAD SINGER AND I WAS HER BACK UP CHICK. A POOR PERFORMANCE BY US BUT ENJOYED BY THOSE WATCHING, OR SO IT APPEARED. ONE LITTLE BOY SANG A SOLO THAT PUT A TEAR IN OUR EYES AS IT WAS ALL VERY IMPROMPTU AND VERY INNOCENT AND SWEET.

DID I TELL YOU I RENTED A MOTORCYLE? WELL, MATTHEW CALLS IT A SCOOTER. I THINK IF IT HAS TWO THIN WHEELS, SEPARATED BY A MOTOR AND A SEAT IT IS A MOTORCYCLE. REGARDLESS, I GOT 5 MINUTES OF INSTRUCTION AT BEST AND AN EMPTY TANK OF GAS AND I WAS OFF TO PARTS UNKNOWN. THE FREEDOM IT OFFERS ME IS APPRECIATED. RIDING ON THE REAR OF ANOTHER'S MOTORCYCLE IS NO MY IDEA OF FUN WHEN THE DRIVER OF SAID MOTORCYCLE TELLS YOU THEY LIED AND HAVE NEVER REALLY BEEN BEHIND THE STEERING COLUMN BEFORE. I THOUGHT I WOULD BE JUST AS SAFE UNDER MY OWN POWER AND COULD ONLY BLAME MYSELF IF I CRASHED AND BURNED. OF COURSE, IN MY EXCITEMENT AND LACK OF CONTROL OF THE MOTORCYCLE, I DROVE OFF WITHOUT MY FREE HELMET, NOT THAT ANYONE WEARES ONE...EVER. I MUST LOOK FOOLISH AS EVERYONE STOPS, POINTS AND BEGINS TO LAUGH AS I DRIVE THROUGH THE LITTLE VILLAGE. I AM DEVELOPING THICK SKIN AS VISITORS APPARENTLY ARE THE BRUNT OF MOST VILLAGERS ENTERTAINMENT/COMEDY. AND, WITH THE FARANG COMING AND GOING ON A DAILY BASIS, THEY HAVE TO LACK OF NEW ENTERTAINMENT AND THINGS TO FIND FUNNY.

I HURT MY KNEE IN SOME MYSTERIOUS WAY AND HAVE BEEN HOBBLING AROUND FOR 2-3 DAYS NOW. HAVING THE MOTORCYCLE ALLOWS ME TO GET FROM POINT A TO POINT B WITHOUT TOO MUCH FUSS. MATTHEW, HOWEVER, TAKES EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO MIMIC MY HOBBLING AND ADDS A FEW LITTLE HAND GESTURES TO MAKE ME REALLY LOOK STUPID. SO, I WENT TO THE LOCAL CHINESE DOCTOR AND HE GAVE ME MYSTERY PILLS AND MYSTERY GEL TO RUB ON MY LEG. MAYBE IT'S ALL IN MY HEAD, BUT I FEEL BETTER. UNLIKE MY WITCHDOCTER EXPERIENCE IN BALI, THIS GENTLEMAN DID NOT ADMINISTER THE MYSTERY MEDICINE BY SPITTING ON ME, BUT THAT IS ANOTHER STORY AND ONE I LOVE TO TELL, JUST ASK ME :)

MATTHEW HAS GIVEN UP ON ME AS I AM TAKING TOO LONG ANSWERING MY E-MAILS AND NOW THE BLOG AND HAS TAKEN A WALK, GIVING ME JUST ENOUGH TIME TO FINISH UP BEFORE HE RETURNS.

TODAY IS ELEPHANT TREK THROUGH THE JUNGLE AND ACROSS AND INTO THE PAI RIVER. WE HAVE ARRANGED ONE ELEPHANT PER PERSON WITH A GUIDE. THERE WILL BE NO WOODEN PLATFORM ON THE ELEPHANT, BUT RATHER WE GET TO SIT STRADDLED BEHIND THE ELEPHANT'S EARS ON THE BACK OF HIS NECK. THE GUIDE WILL WALK ALONG SIDE THE ELEPHANT. AFTER WE LEAVE THE JUNGLE BEGIND US, WE WILL TAKE THE ELEPHANTS FOR A SWIM AND US TOO. WE'RE HOPING THE WATER IS NO TOO COLD, BUT REGARDLESS, WE WILL GO WHERE THEY GO. CAN'T WAIT FOR THE PHOTOS ON THIS TREK!! JUST THINK, IN 50 PLUS YEARS, OUR GREAT GRANDCHILDREN WILL BE LOOKING AT OUR ELEPHANT TREK PICTURES AND THINKING WE ARE REAL ADVENTURERS, LIKE TARZAN AND JANE, OOOEEOOOOOAHHH, OOEEOOOOOAHHH! BUT, WHICH ONE OF US IS BOY AND WHO PLAYS THE PART OF CHEETAH? I WANT TO BE TARZAN...(MAYBE NEXT HALLOWEEN I COULD DRESS UP AS....)

TOMORROW ENDS OUR TIME IN PAI. JENRON HAS INFORMED ME THIS A.M. (VALENTINES DAY) THAT WE ARE OFFICIALLY SISTERS AND I MAY RETURN AT ANY TIME AND LIVE AT PAI MOUNTAIN LODGE. I AM HONORED. TOMORROW WE HEAD NORTH TO THE BURMA BORDER WHERE JENNY AND RON WILL RENEW THEIR VISAS, WE WILL GO INTO BURMA (MYINMAR). AFTERWARDS WE WILL RETURN TOO MAI SAI, THEN FURTHER SOUTH TO CHAING RAI, THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE OF THAILAND, BURMA AND LAOS, CHINA IS JUST A HOPE SKIP AND A JUMP AWAY. THEN AFTER CHAING RAI, WE WILL HAD SOUTH TO CHAING MAI TO END OUR TIME WITH JENNY AND RON. MATTHEW AND I WILL TRAVEL BY TRAIN SOUTH TO AUYATHAYA FOR ONE DAY OF TEMPLE TREKKING, THEN FINALLY TO BANGKOK TO RETURN TO AMERICA. THE TIME HAS FLOWN BY, I CANNOT BELIEVE I AM TALKING OF THE RETURN TRIP ALREADY. TRYING TO MAKE EACH DAY SPECIAL/PRECIOUS/MEMORIABLE. GLAD YOU ALL LIKED THE PICTURES, WE LOVED TAKING THEM. THE EXPERIENCE WITH MATTHEW HAS BEEN BEYOND MY EXPECTATIONS. LOVE SUSIE

I Ain't seen nothing yet!

Heh, arriving to Pai at 8 PM is rather interesting. This place is hopping, however, the same stigma as before applies, simply amplified.

I was thinking you had more time to post comments, but then I realized that it was very very early when I wrote my previous posts. I'll check again for your loving comments in the morning, here. Not much to do in town unless you're into the bar scene. =/

Matthew

Welcome to Pai, Thailand!

Free Plug:
http://www.paithailand.info/

I wish my hand was bigger, so that I could smack multiple people at once. I've also bought some thread, which I will use to tie together the recently cut-off dreadlocks I obtained from a burnt-out highschool dropout. I will then proceed to physically beat said hippy with my new "dreadlock whip". Actually the hippies are pretty much quiet, as I think loud noise interupts their "state of being" generally refered to as being "Confortably Numb".

Thanks alot, pink floyd.

As I drove by a group of neo-hippies, I overheard the following conversation:

"Yeah.. so, this party.. you know party? Yeah, so like do you know where this party is?"

Dude, you didn't get invited.



The town is not all hippies though, alot of .. muslims, or perhaps they are iranian? Anyway, the women all wear clothes all over their body, exept for their two eyes, and the men are all fat short and have dark beards. The women run the shops with random semi-US looking kitchen equipment, and other assorted goodies.

Well, I guess monday we are going to ride on an Elephant throught the jungle, and maybe a flat bamboo raft, Huckleberry Finn style, down the Pai River.

All in all, the surrounding village of Pai is STUNNING. The town-people remind me of one of the Abico Islands I visited when I was about 15-16. Replace all the Bohemians with Asians, and all the americans with random Europeans, with an ocasional American, and quite a few canadians, and you have Pai. Guess what is playing in the Internet Cafe?? Reggae. Again.

Its not so bad really, I just wanted to make you laugh. Dont worry, I dont smoke, period. Weed, Opium, whatever, I'm not into it. But this sure would be the place to be, if I was.



I can see why Ron and Jenny love the Pai Mountain Lodge so much. They have the most generous an fun-spirited host one could ask for, and belive me when I tell you that the view is FAR OUT. They get a 10 out of 10 on view. Does not get any better than this. They basically have the house, and the surrounding land to themselves, and can build / landscape as they see fit. No reason for them to leave, and they hardly do.


I've run out of funny things to say, so I guess I'll go now. I've got to find a long-haired hippy, as I need a whip for the Elephant.

Matthew

THE ROAD TO PAI...AND OTHER SORROWS...

THE FERN RESORT IS BEAUTIFUL. I GOT MOST OF MY BEST PHOTOS THERE. IT WAS CALM AND PEACEFUL, BUT TOO SLOW FOR MATTHEW. A GREAT PLACE TO MAKE THE WORLD STOP IF THAT IS WHAT YOU WANT. THE ROOMS WERE CLEAN AND FANTASTIC RIGHT ON THE CREEK. AT NIGHT I OPENED UP MY SLIDING DOOR AND LISTENED TO THE SOUND OF THE CREEK. JENNY AND RON THOUGHT THEY WOULD ROMANTICALLY BURN A CANDLE IN THEIR ROOM. SOMEHOW JENNY'S PANTS CAUGHT FIRE AND BURNED HOLES CLEAR THROUGH. IMAGINE OUR SURPRISE WHEN WE FOUND HER PANTS HANGING OVER THE RAILING THE NEXT MORNING. I SMELLED SMOKE THE NIGHT BEFORE, BUT THOUGHT IT WAS SOME LOCAL BURNING TRASH OR A BONFIRE SO GAVE IT NO THOUGHT. THE FEREN LODGE IS RIGHT ON THE BURMA BORDER WHERE THERE IS CURRENTLY FIGHTING BETWEEN THE THAI ARMY AND BURMEESE ARMY FOR WHERE THE BORDER SHOULD BE. MAE HONG SON WAS A VERY CLEAN TOWN. EVERYONE WAS VERY HELPFUL AND FRIENDLY. WE BOOKED A MINI VAN TO TAKE US TO PAI VS GOING BY THE LOCAL "RED" BUS WITH THE LOCALS, CHICKENS, GOATS AND ASSORTED CHILDREN. THE REAL REASONWE DID NOT TAKE THE RED BUS WAS WE WANTED TO GET TO PAI SOONER VS ALOT LATER. JENNY AND RON WERE VERY HOMESICK AT THIS POINT. THE DEAL WITHOUR MINI VAN TRIP WAS THAT IT INCLUDED A TRIP TO THE KAREN TRIBE OR LONG NECK PEOPLE AND COFFIN CAVES AT A GREAT BARGAIN PRICE. THEY TOOK US TO THE LONG NECK VILLAGE FIRST.... IT WAS LIKE DISNEYLAND'S VERSION OF WHAT A KAREN TRIBE MIGHT LOOK LIKE. VERY DISAPPOINTING, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOUKNOW YOU ARE SO CLOSE TO THE REAL THING AND YOU GET THIS VERSION. WE TOOK A FEW PHOTOS, PURCHASED A FEW LITTLE THINGS, USED THE SQUAT TOILET (IT WOULD, ON THOSE OCCASSIONS, BE VERY NICE TO BE "MANLY" EQUIPPED AS SQUATTING IS NOT MY THING WHEN POTTY SEAT IS OLDER THAN ME...) HOWEVER, THEY WERE CLEAN SMELLING,BUT UNATTRACTIVE TO LOOK AT.

THE RIDE WAS WINDING AND LONG ALONG THE RIDGE TOP OF A MOUNTAIN. OFF TO THE RIGHT WAS A SHEER DROP TO THE VALLEY BELOW. OFF TO THE LEFT WAS A SHEER DROP TO THE BURMEESE VALLEY BELOW. BEAUTIFUL SCENERY. MATTHEW GOT TO SIT UP FRONT WITH THE DRIVER, A GOOD SEAT CHOICE. I HAD TWO SEATS TO MYSELF IN THE MIDDLE, THEN JENNY AND RON BEHIND ME. I SLID FROM SIDE TO SIDE AT EVERY CORNER AS THERE WERE NO SEAT BELTS.

NEXT WE GO TO THE COFFIN CAVES. THERE ARE ACTUALLY THREE CAVES. YOU CAN HIKE OR GO BY RAFT BETWEEN THE FIRST TWO CAVES, BUT THE LAST CAVE, WHERE THE HANGING COFFINS ARE, YOUR ONLY OPTION IS TO GO BY FLAT RAFT. THE RAFT TAKES YOU INSIDE THE CAVE AND THROUGH IT.

WE WERE TIRED AND HUNGRY WHEN WE ARRIVED IN PAI AS NONE OF US HAD ANYTHING SINCE BREAKFAST AND IT WAS DINNER TIME. THE DOGS, JENRON AND ASSORTED WORKERS ALL CAME TO MEET AND GREET US HAPPILY. FOOD CAME QUICKLY. THE PAI MOUNTAIN LODGE IS VERY RUSTIC, VERY CLEAN, THEFOOD FANTSTIC AND WE FEELCOMPLETELY SAFE AND HAPPY HERE. MATTHEW QUICKLY WON THE HEART OF JENRON WHO,WITHIN HOURS GAVE HIM THE KEYS TO THE MOTORCYCLE. HE WAS THE ONLY ONE WITH ENOUGH ENERGY TO GO INTO THE TOWN OF PAI THAT NIGHT BUT HE ONLY LASTED UNTIL 7:30 PM WHEN HE RETURNED AND WE ALL CRASHED FOR THE NIGHT.

MY CABIN HAS EVERYTHING A GIRL COULD WANT...WHEN THE LIGHT IS ON IN MY BEDROOM, I CAN SEE CLEARLY WITHOUT TURNING ON THE LIGHTS IN ANY OTHER PART OF THE CABIN BECAUSE THE LIGHT SHINES THROUGH THE WALL BOARDS INTO EACH ROOM, KIND OF LIKE VERTICAL LIGHT STICKS SHINING THROUGH. THE SHOWER IS THE ENTIRE BATHROOM... WHEN YOU SHOWER, THERE IS NO SEPARATE ROOM, YOU SHOWER NEXT TO THE TOILET AND SINK, EVERYTHING GETS WET AND THE GREY WATER COLLECTS AT THE FAR END OF THE BATHROOM FLOOR AND POURS DIRECTLY ONTO THE GROUND UNDER THE CABIN. I HAVE A TELEVISION WITH EIGHT CHANNELS...ONLY ONE WORKS,BUT IT OFFERS YOU EIGHT! OH WELL, LUCKY ME, I LIKE JAPANESE TELEVISION, I CAN MAKE UP MY OWN STORY.

TODAY MATTHEW IS TEACHING ME TO DRIVE THE MOTORCYCLE. HE SAYS HE IS TIRED OF DRIVING MY VOLUMPTIOUS BUTT INTO TOWN THREE TIMES A DAY. MONDAY WE ARE GOING SWIMMING WITH THE ELEPHANTS IN THE RIVER. LATER INTHE WEEK WE GO FLAT RAFTING DOWN THE RIVER ( ???).

PAI IS DEFINITELY A THROWBACK TO 1965 BOB MARLEYVILLE, BOB MARLEY MUSIC, BOB MARLEY DREDLOCKS, HIPPIE HAIR, PETOULIE OIL, MARAJUANA EVERWHERE, THEY TRY TO FLAG YOU DOWN INTHE FIELDS TO OFFER YOU SMOKE EVERYTIME YOU PASS BY. YESTERDAY THERE WAS A MAN WALKING DOWN THE STREED WITH A NASAL INHALER STUFFED UP HIS NOSE ACTING AS IF THIS IS NORMAL AND I'MSURE IT IS FOR HIM.

THERE ARE THREE WAYS TO GET TO PAI, WE HAVE TRIED THEM ALL. I DO NOT EVER WANT TO GO THROUGH THE ORCHARD SHORTCUT AGAIN...JUST IN CASE YOU ARE READING THIS MATTHEW...NEVER AGAIN. SO FAR TRAFFIC HAS BEEN FAIRLY LIGHT, WE ONLY HAD ONE NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE SO FAR,SO ARE FEELING QUITE LUCKY AT THIS POINT. I DO, HOWEVER, HAVE TO REMIND MATTHEW TO STAY ON THE THAI SIDE OF THE ROAD NOT THE AMERICAN SIDE. HARD HABBIT TO BREAK...

GOING FOR BREAKFAST NOW...MORE LATER, AFTER THE ELEPHANT TREK/SWIM. YAHOO! SUSIE

Photos are up, some still uploading

Enjoy. No descriptions yet, no time, and dont have MT3 photo gallery setup. Time is money on these computers, so its quick and dirty. 35% photo of original, hope you enjoy. ADSL speeds, so bleh, best I can do ATM.

Living Stop Sign, Pia, and Motorscooters!

Two days ago we flew into Mae Hong Son, and checked into the Fern Eco Lodge. I've never been so bored in my life. If your looking for a Photo-op, this is the place to be, but be prepaired for face-gouging slowness, or as I like to say, a "living stop sign". Furthermore, this was not really a Thai place, but a mix of Burmese, Japanese, and Thai cultures mixed into a well thought-0ut landscape. The service was "amatuer", and was honestly stated as part of the package, however, the to-do list was just lame. Basically, you have to go to town, find a touring company, and get a package. No out-of-camp tours. However there is supposed to be a 2 hour hike to a waterfall. Perhaps I just didnt want to be there. It was a little too slow for me.

Jenny and Ron had some kind of problem with the staff snickering at the large amount of food they ordered, and were quite offended by the staff. This resulted in our 1 night stay, and quick departure. I'm pleased to be gone, it was, like I said, too slow for me anyway. However over all, if your looking for a QUIET place to relax, then this is the place for you. I guess alot of Thai tourists go there.

Sticky keyboard, slow typing. =(

Yesterday we took a 4 hour bus tour from Mae Hong Son to Pia, and along the way saw the "long neck tribe". What a joke. They only wear these things for show now. When I think long-neck I think 20th century National Geographic. This was like any other tourist shop, but with a 200 baht cover charge. Plus tip for photos. Bleh. We didn't stay long. Our next stop was the LOD caves, I've no idea what that stands for, but we never made it inside. Just a potty break. We got a good deal on the tour, because really we just wanted to go to Pai, but Susie (Mom) wanted to go see the Long Necks ( I did too ) so, everyone got what they wanted.

The road to Pai was 4 hours (3 on direct no-stop route) and full of GREAT scenery. Parts of the roads where filled with rocks from the rainy seasons' record rainfall, causing alot of landslides. These were being cleaned up by road crews, and only caused minimal delay.


The bus ride, I must say, has so far been the highlight of my cultural adventure. I saw more of what Thailand really is in that 4 hours, than any until now.

We arrived at the Pai Mountain Lodge at about.. 5?? Not sure.. the sign going in said "___ ____ Lodge", the rest being covered in bushes. The owner has no real need of guests, and had more land that any other Thai I've met. We are the only guests at the lodge, and its AMAZING. Covered in Banana, Papiya, Mango, and Rubber trees. Rubber trees are mandatory for a % of land for owners with a large amount of land. Thailand is the #1 exporter of Rubber, or Rubber goods, or something with the word "rubber" in it. =)

Our host, who's name I cant begin to spell correctly, I call her Ch en ron "Chen-ron" is a little lady, slightly older, but very hospitable, and very hard working! She made us a great dinner, and this moprning an american breakfast, however I've become quite accustomed to Thai Cuisean. Thai food is really amazing.

Marty, YOU HAVE TO COME TO THAILAND.

JB - I would love to backpack thailand with you, if you were interested, its so easy to get around, its funny.

I've noticed this trip my biggest mistake is over packing. I've worn about 3 outfits, getting the two washed while wearing the 3rd. The rest of my clothes sit in my suitcase. I wear mostly Thia clothes I've bought here.

Time to go, talk to you later!



P.S. Picture directory is empty, and passowrd is just for private irectory. I cant upload pictures because its just too slow, and I dont have software installed to thumbnail them, but in Chang Mai on the 15th of febuary I will spend ALL DAY uploading all the pictures, I really do promise!!!!!!!!!!!!




Matthew!

WE FLY CHAING MAI AND BEYOND...

MATTHEW AND I LEFT BANGKOK FOR A ONE HOUR FLIGHT UP TO CHAING MAI. HAD WE TRAVELED BY TRAIN AS ORIGINALLY PLANNED, IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN 12 HOURS, ABOUT THE SAME FOR A BUS TRIP UP NORTH, SO YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW SLOW THE TRAIN/BUS TRAVEL. FLYING IS BETTER WHEN YOU HAVE LIMITED TIME.

JENNY AND RON WERE AT THE AIRPORT TO GREET US. WHILE WE WERE TRYING TO PULL OUR VERY LARGE OVER STUFFED BAGS OFF THE BAGGAGE THINGIE, I COULD STAND IT NO LONGER AND RAN THROUGH THE GATES TO HUG THEM BOTH. THE GUARDS VERY POLITELY ESCORTED BE BACK SO I COULD GO THROUGH THE NORMAL PROCESS OF CHECK-IN, ETC. OOPS....

AFTER CHECK IN TO OUR VERY LOVELY AND VERY CLEAN SRI PAT HOME STAY, WE WENT TO THE SUNDAY ONLY NIGHT MARKET AND IT WAS FANTASTIC, EVEN BEYOND MY HOPES OR EXPECTATIONS. IT WAS MUCH SMALLER THAN THE WEEKEND MARKET MATTHEW AND I WENT TO IN BANGKOK, BUT THE PRICES PUT IT TO SHAME. I PURCHASED MOST OF THE NEXT TWO YEARS CHRISTMAS, BIRTHDAY, ETC. GIFTS PLUS MADE PURCHASES FOR FRIENDS. JENNY AND RON POOPED OUR EARLY AND WAITED IN A VERY BEAUTIFUL, TREE LINED TUNNEL LIKE OUTDOOR RESTAURANT. WHEN WE POOPED OUT, WE MET THEM THERE FOR SOME WINE/BEER AND A CHANCE TO ALLOW OUR FEET TO REST. WHILE THERE AT THE RESTAURANT, WE HAD RING SIDE SEATS TO A PROTEST GAINST THAILAND'S PRIME MINISTER OR HIS ASSISTANT, WHICH THEY WANT OUSTED. GLAD I WAS NOT ON THE STREET AT THE TIME, THEY WERE VERY SERIOUS!!

MY FEET RIVAL THE SIZE OF LOCAL ELEPHANTS. JET LAG HAS NOT BOTHERED ME RELATED TO SLEEPING, BUT IT HAS TAKEN IT'S TOLL ON MY WATER RETENTION, WHICH LIMITS MY KEEPING UP WITH MATTHEW AND THAT DOES NOT MAKE ME HAPPY. MATTHEW IS HIGH ENERGY, AND KEEPS ME GOING, COMPARED TO JENNY AND RON, I AM HIGH ENERGY AND KEEP THEM GOING, SO ALL IN ALL WE ARE A GOOD TRAVELING MIX. PLUS THE FACT THAT WE ALL ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO SHOP AND EAT, WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR??

YESTERDAY, WE ALL HAD BREAKFAST AT THE HOTEL, FRIED RICE WITH VEGETABLES AND SCRAMBLED EGGS INCLUDED, CUCUMBERS AND TOMATOES ON THE SIDE AND, THANK GOD, CAPUCINO (NO NESCAFE). THE ORANGE JUICE HAD TO BE PURCHASED FROM DOWN THE STREET, BUT WAS FRESH SQUEEZED. LATER THAT MORNING WE CHECKED OUT TWO TAILORS FOR MATTHEW TO CONSIDER PURCHASING A SUIT. I BELIEVE HE TOLD YOU THE SCAM TO GO TO THE "GOVERNMENT TAILOR SCHOOL" WHICH WE ALL BELIEVE IS NOT REALLY A SCHOOL BUT SIMPLY ANOTHER TAILOR SHOP WHOSE PRICES DID NOT PROVE TO BE CHEEPER AND THEN, TO TOP IT OFF, THE MAN GOT MAD WHEN WE SAID WE WANTED TO THINK IT OVER, YIKES!!

WE ATE OUR WAY THROUGH THE DAY, WE WALKED A LITTLE, STOPPED FOR FRESH STRAWBERRY SHAKES THAT WERE SO FLAVORFUL THAT I COULD CRY, THE BEST SOUP IN THE WORLD...TOM YOUNG GUNG, A VERY SPICY, FLAVORFUL, SWEET BUT SOUR SOUP. YOUR TASTE BUDS DO NOT KNOW WHICH DIRECTION TO GO IN, IT IS SUCH A SURPRISE TO YOUR MOUTH. WE ARE CONSIDERING GOING TO THE COOKING SCHOOL HERE IN CHAINGMAI OR MAYBE WAIT UNTIL PAI SO THAT WE CAN LEARN HOW TO MAKE THIS SOUP FROM SCRATCH. APPARENTLY THE INGREDIENTS ARE ALL AVAILABLE RIGHT AT THE LOCAL SAFEWAY, YIPPEE!!

WE HAVE ALL POOPED OUT AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER DURING THIS TRIP DUE TO PURE EXHAUSTION. LAST NIGHT WAS MATTHEW'S TURN. WHEN WE RETURNED FROM OUR DAY OF WALKING, SHOPPING, EATING, WE DECIDED TO GET A FOOT MASSAGE, BUT MATTHEW DECIDED TO TAKE A LITTLE NAP AND SO DID RON. MATTHEW NEVER REVIVED UNTIL THE NEXT MORNING. BUT, BOY DID HE MISS OUT ON THE EXCITEMENT AND HE'S KICKING HIMSELF NOW....

WE WENT TO THE LOCAL NIGHT MARKET LAST NIGHT, MORE FABULOUS FINDS/BUYS AND BOY ARE THE GIRLS BACK HOME GOING TOLOVE ME :) ...
ON OUR RETURN TO OUR HOTEL WE DECIDED TO STOP FOR A DRINK OF WATER, SHAKE, BEER AND WHEN LEAVING THE RESTAURANT WE HIT THE LIGHT CHANGE BUTTON. ALL TRAFFIC STOPPED, WE STARTED TO WALK ACROSS THE CROSSWALK, BUT ONE TUK TUK DRIVE RAN THE RED LIGHT AND ALMOST HIT RON. THE TUK TUK DRIVER CONTINUED ON AROUND THE CORNER LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED. WHEN WE ROUNDED THE CORNER, HE WAS PARKED OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND THOUGH WE WERE JUST ANOTHER SET OF CUSTOMERS. HOWEVER....JENNY GAVE HIM, IN SHORT ORDER, A PIECE OF HER MIND IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS. HE GRABBED A PIPE HE WAS CARRYING AND BANGED IT AGAINS HIS EXHAUST PIPE IN HOPE OF SCARING US. RON APPROACHED HIM AND TOLD HIM THERE WAS NO NEED TO GET PHYSICAL AND POINTED OUT HE WAS OUTNUMBERED BY THREE ANGRY PEOPLE. TO MAKE THE STORY SHORT, IT STARTED TO ESCALATE BUT SUDDELY HE REALIZED WE WERE SERIOUSLY GOING TO TAKE DOWN HIS TUK TUK NUMBER AND CALL THE POLICE. WE POINTED OUT HE DID NOT APPEAR TO HAVE A PROPER LICENSE. AT THIS POINT HE, AS HE FLIPPED US OFF, DECIDED TO LEAVE. WE RETURNED TO THE HOTEL AND CALLED THE POLICE. I COULD STAY AWAKE NO LONGER AND GAVE IN TO SLEEP. SO, THE FINAL CHAPTER OF THIS STORY WILL BE A SURPRISE TO ME AS WELL :)

THIS A.M. MATTHEW AND I ARE UP EARLY AND WALKING THE STREETS TAKING PICTURES AND CHATTING UP STRANGE AND WONDERFUL PEOPLE AND OF COURSE, WRITING OUR BLOG ENTRIES AS I HAVE BEEN REMISS FOR A FEW DAYS. WE ARE OFF NOW, AFTER A NICE CUP OF CAPUCINO TO FIND BREAKFAST AND THEN RETURN TO THE HOTEL TO WAKE UP JENNY AND RON.

TODAY WE GO TO DOI SUTHUP, A TEMPLE AT THE TOP OF A MOUNTAIN IN HOPES OF BEAUTIFUL PICTURES AND WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE. LATER WE WILL RETURN FOR, OF COURSE, MORE NIGHT MARKET SHOPPING AND THEN TO THE FAMOUS SIMON CABARET, WHERE MEN DRESS AS WOMEN AND THERE ARE NO WOMEN IN THE PERFORMANCE, YOU FIGURE IT OUT HOW TO TELL THE LITTLE ONES.... HA HA.

THAT'S IT FOR NOW AS WE CAN NOT WAIT ANY LONGER FOR FOOD. LOVE SUSIE

Oops, missed the part about the

Monks, I'll write it this afternoon, see ya!

Matthew.

Monks, and the "Morning after" feeling

I had my first fitting for a suit yesterday. I figured, what the heck? A custom tailored jacket, pants and shirt is under 200$, and made with quality materials. You cant find a price like that in the states. I have to go back today for a second fitting, and then I'm not sure where it goes from there. I assume there needs to be 3 fittings, but I'm no tailor.

Other than that, It yesterday was a day of roaming around, sitting on the top (covered with a pillow) of a tuk-tuk battery (we crammed 4 people into one) and I ended up sitting next to the driver, and putting his seat pillow on top of the battery terminals and hanging my feet outside (sounds mild, but try hanging your feet out of anything in Thai traffic).

On our first Tailor attempt, we asked .. I think a shop owner, but I'm not sure, where a Government Tailor was, as they are supposed to be very cheap, under 100$, and good materials. This is due to the fact that they are in-training, but I'm sure the suits are still very nice. So this shop owner sent us on a tuk-tuk to his "Government Tailor", which ended up being nothing more than a pushy Indian tailor, and while his products were indeed fine quality, his attitude sucked. We quickly decided I didn't need a suit THAT bad, so we moved on.

We window shopped for a while, and found a few nice shops, one of which had some very nice, 100% silk placemats for about 6$ (360 Baht). What a deal!! I'm probably going back today to get some, but I have their website and can always order, if shipping and taxes are not killer.


After that, we went to eat at a river side resturant / bar, and we had .. I forget the name, but its a very spicy soup with lemon grass, some herbs, mine had chicken, and some other stuff. Anyway, it was FANTASTIC. Susie and the others ate the Shrimp soup version. These both come in very large bowls, typically Thai families order what they want and share amongst themselves. Susie, Ron and I also had some fantastic Strawberry Milkshakes, fresh from town. There are huge amounts of strawberries here at the moment.

After that, we did some walking, then we took (no pun indended, hardy har har) a tuk-tuk to another tailor, and I desided to buy a suit. I dont like the suit I have, its a JC Penny special, and, well poop.

This tailor is one Jenny uses alot for shirts and such, and was alot more friendly. I went with a nice Ash Grey, very dark, and a Blue shirt, with little white scratches in them. Sue knows what the Tailor term for that is, but I have no idea. I'd ask, but, again, they are all asleep.


JET-LAG.

After the tailor, we went to a nice Cafe' and Resturant, and had some Phad Thai. The first time they brought my dish, after asking for Chicken, I received Chicken and Shrimp, the small ones, hard to see. You have to watch for that here, because shrimp are a huge part of the seafood diet here, and used in almost everything. Susie / Ron / Jenny desided to keep this dish for themselves, and I received a Chicken-only dish. Fantastic.

We left the Cafe', and traveled into a Fabric shop, and Jenny and Ron bought a gorgious cashmear (spelling?) bed cover set, complete with two matching square pillow cases and two normal. I almost bought a Silk / Cashmear set in Fiery Rust and gold. I will return on the 16th when I have more money (payday!) and if its still there, I'll get it. Its simply gorgious, elegant, and super-amazing to look at.


After that, I went home, crashed, and woke up this time at midnight, and forcing myself to sleep, i woke up at 4 AM. I resisted this time and made it til 5:00 AM.

Its almost 7 AM now, and Im going back to the hotel. I'll get susie to write more, she's been SLACKING. Perhaps Jenny and Ron would like to post some stuff too.


How is BOB?? Did he drill his brain out with an electric hammer drill?? I would have.

TTYL.

Matthew.

Goodbye Bangkok, Hello Chaing Mai, Jenny and Ron!!

Yesterday Susan and I flew out of Bangkok and into Chang Mai, thailands second biggest city. This city is not only big, but is home to religious icons from a multitude of countries. As I sit here and type, I can see the wall that used to surround old Chaing Mia. I can also see a bit of the mote that accompanied the wall. Its about 6:47 AM, and I've been up since 4:30. Its funny, because there are a few street vendors out at that time, but I still cannot find the will to eat from most of them. 7-11 is very popular here, but I hate going near them because its seems so american. I ended up just walking the streets for a hour and a half. Its not bad, but now I know why the monks stay in the street, and dont use the sidewalks. Acutally, I think I knew a while ago =)


This place we are staying, the Sri Pat Guest House, is fantastic! This place is so warm and cozy, and so pretty to look at, I dont want to leave! I will upload pictures in a bit, and because I do not have a gallery system setup, I will start naming folders under the /thialand/ directory to things like "Bangkok streets" or "Chaing Mai Flower Festival" so you can follow along without direct picture links.

Last night we went out to a special sunday market. I guess it goes on for about a mile, but I can't imaging travelling it, I've already bought so much stuff, its GREAT. I'll need to buy a second check-in suitcase to put all this stuff in. Sooner or later we are going to a Thai Cooking School, so I'll keep you informed on that.

I'm anxiously awaiting the move to Mae Hong Son (spelling?) and Pai, as I came to Thailand with the thoughts of Banana Trees / Waterfalls and Outdoor Adventures. I have to say however that I find Thai City life quite exciting! The culture here is very very kind, and although I am clearly the "Farang" (read: Tourist), I find that we are generally welcomed with wide open arms.

I'm back and forth this morning, so try and stay with me. Yesterday, after the plane flight to Chang Mai, and some sushi/beer, we opted for a nice oil massage. This would be the second Massage I have recieved in thailand, and they are amazing! The first one cost about 2k baht at the Bangkok hotel, and lasted 2 hours. It was done in a nice private room with enya style background music. Fantastic. The second one cost 400 Baht, including a 100 Baht tip!! Cheap!!!


That massage lasted for about 1 1/2 hours, and was equally as good, and at 1/4th the cost, I have to say it was by far the better deal. This one was done by Chang Mai locals, and was a little less private, as I shared a room with Ron, however being such an attractive older man, I guess I didnt.......... wait wait. No, what I mean to say is that I didnt look his way and he didn't look mine, so it was all good. Besides, at 300 Baht (without tip), you cant ask for much more. (*cough*)

Heh, so anyway, These girls were CUTE! I have to say that I've never seen a larger majority of attractive young ladies, and now I can clearly understand why so many people come to asian countries to find their brides. I'm on the prowl for my Thai wife, too.

Lookout dad! I'm bringing one home!

There is a very large population of Monks here, and I belive that Chang Mai is the religious capital of Thailand, however, I could be mistaken.

It's getting light outside, and I had better go wake the others (slowpokes) so I'll talk to you all later! There is so much that I dont write about, It's hard to keep up!

More pictures and a more organized system coming soon.


Matthew.

By popular demand

I have edited all my posts and removed my favorite F word. I hope this will allow for a broader reader base. Sorry about my potty mouth, lets blame it on the dog.

Bangkok Video Tour

Important announcement >>>>


After haggling my mother to get on one of these cross-stiching motorcycles for about an hour (sucker) I finally convinced her that driving around bangkok weilding a video camera was the only real way to show you the full effect of Bangkok traffic. This video is unedited, and unavailable =)

Bwahaha... Its huge, I must find a better place to upload, or wait until the end of our trip, as its raw footage, and I cannot afford the bandwidth on pirates-lair.com (read: my dad can't afford the bandwidth, I hi-jacked his domain for dump site)

but I promise I will get this video out to you guys as soon as things settle down a touch and I can actually upload it.

We fly out to Chang Mai tomorrow around 12 pm EST, so 12 noon here.

Talk to you later.

Matthew (snappy-fingers)

A TRIP UP THE CHAO PHRYA RIVER, CHINA TOWN, TUK TUKS AND MORE

I LOVE TRAVELING UP AND DOWN THE CHAO PHRYA RIVER. WHEN IT IS HOT AND MUGGY, IT IS A WONDERFUL WAY TO COOL OFF. WAS THE WATER MUCKY WITH QUESTIONABLE FLOATING THINGS? YES, BUT I HAVE A TENDENCY TO OVER LOOK THESE DETAILS FOR THE BIGGER PICTURE. I AM NOT, HOWEVER, MAKING MATTHEW WRONG. DON'T MISUNDERSTAND. MATTHEW SEES THINGS IN DETAIL, SOMETHING I AM GLAD OF, AS HE CONSTANTLY POINTS OUT THOSE DETAILS TO ME AS I BLISSFULLY GO FROM PLACE TO PLACE IN WORLD OF VACATION BLISS. "EVERYTHIGN IS BEAUTIFUL...IN IT'S OWN WAY....LA LA LA LA LAAAA LA.

THE SKYTRAIN IS A WONDERFUL WAY TO TRAVEL IN BANGKOK, WISH MOST OTHER CITIES, INCLUDING THOSE IN THE USA HAD THEM. THEY ARE FAST, CLEAN, EFFICIENT AND GETS YOU JUST ABOUT ANYWHERE YOU WANT TO GO IN THIS BIG CITY OR AT LEAST CLOSE TO IT. I LOVE THE WALK TO THE SKYTRAIN. THE STREETS ARE ALREADY FILLED WITH VENDORS, THE SMELL IS SPICY, EVERYONE IS OFFERING YOU TRANSPORT FOR A PRICE AND IT'S BUSY BUSY BUSY ALREADY. WE WALKED TO THE LOCAL STARBUCKS, THANK GOD FOR GOOD COFFEE. MOST PLACES HERE OFFER YOU THEIR VERSION OF COFFEE....NESCAFE, NO REALLY, NESCAFE. GOD AWFUL AND WOULD NOT RECOMMEND IT. WE CHAT UP A VERY NICE BRITTISH MAN WHO CAME HERE ON BUSINESS AND THREE MONTHS LATER JUST CANNOT BRING HIMSELF TO RETURN....DO YOU THINK HE STILL HAS A JOB? HE GAVE US THE NAME OF A GREAT LITTLE JAZZ BAR NOT FAR FROM OUR HOTEL AND CLEAR DIRECTIONS TO CHINA TOWN. I LOVE BEING ON VACATION, EVERYONE IS SO CHEERFUL TO HELP YOU FIND YOUR WAY, OR MAYBE I'M BEING CHEERFUL AND THEY ARE JUST BEING POLITE, WHO KNOWS.

I HAVE, UNFORTUNATELY, DECIDED THAT JAPANESE TRAVELERS ARE THE RUDEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. NOW, THIS IS MY PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE ONLY AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED ANYTHING BUT MY LIMITED OPINION. BUT, WHEN CONSISTENTLY THEY DO NOT COVER THEIR MOUTHS WHEN THEY SNEEZE BUT RATHER LEAN TOWARD YOU AND DO SO ON YOUR ARM...THIS DOES NOT MAKE ME A HAPPY WOMAN. OR, WHEN YOU GETTING BREAKFAST AND THE TONGS ARE RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU AND YOU ARE REACHING FOR THEM AND THIS MAN REACHES OVER THE COMMUNITY FOOD, REACHES ACROSS IN FRONT OF YOU TO DIVE FOR THE TONGS TO GRAB UP 95% OF THE BACON BEFORE YOU GET A CHANCE TO PICK YOUR 2-3 PEICES THEN LOOKS AT YOU LIKE "HA HA I GOT THERE FIRST WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?" SNOTTY SMIRK, I GET A LITTLE VERBAL AND ASK HIM IN MY BEST JAPANESE "MOTHER OF GOD, ARE YOU A LITTLE HUNGRY?" THEY GET OFFENDED?

OK, BUT I DIGRES ON OUR DAILY TRAVELS. AND....BECAUSE MATTHEW IS CURRENTLY LOOKING OVER MY SHOULDER SAYING AS HE SNAPS HIS FINGERS LET'S GO LET'S GO LET'S GO, I WILL MAKE THE REST OF MY ENTRY SHORT AND SWEET.

WE WENT TO CHINA TOWN, WE WALKED THE ALLEYS, SOME VERY QUESTIONABLE AND AT ONE POINT HE SAID LET'S TURN AROUND IT LOOKS A LITTLE DICY HERE...HE WAS PROBABLY RIGHT, BUT I COULDN'T IGNORE THE "TEXTURE". WE NEVER REALLY GOT THE THE BEST PART OF CHINA TOWN AS WE GO SO HOT AND SWEATY AND NEEDED TO GET OUT OF THE PEOPLE FILLED NARROW SIDEWALKS. THE TUK TUK RIDE WAS WORSE THAN MATTHEW SAID....BUT WE LAUGHED AND LAUGHED THROUGH IT ALL. WHEN WASHING OUT MY CLOTHES LAST NIGHT, I SWEAR THEY ALL OOZED A BLACK SILT, I'M SURE FROM THE EXHAUST THAT SETTLED ON US, CAN YOU IMAGINE OUR INSIDES? WE'RE PROBABLY PRESERVED FOR 100 YEARS.

TONIGHT WE GO TO THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT JUST TO SAY WE DID SO, I KNOW IT'S A LITTLE TWISTED, BUT WHAT CAN I SAY? DID I TELL YOU ABOUT THE BOTTLE OF WINE I PURCHASED WITH AN ENTIRE SNAKE INSIDE? TWISTED, FUN...WHATEVER.

OK HE'S BACK, SO I REALLY HAVE TO GO NOW... LOVE SUSIE

HOW TO LOSE 20 POUNDS IN 24 HOURS...

HOW DO YOU LOSE 20 POUNDS IN 24 HOURS? SPEND THE DAY WITH MATHEW....
LOVE SUSIE

Ready for a new day

Well until last night I only had 4 hours of real sleep, and had been drinking on and off, so that should explain my slightly grumpy attitude in my last post. I've had a good nights sleep and am ready for a new day =)

keep you informed late!

Photos

For the short term, photos will be dumped to http://www.pirates-lair.com/thailand as blogspot does not provide us with the storage space needed to show you our pictures. I'll try to link them at the bottom of my posts, so you know what photos go with what blog entry, but feel free to look around.

Massage, The worlds DIRTIEST river, China Town, and muffler-sucking contest.

So it all started off nice, a walk down the main street, we are in some province that I can't pronounce, or even remember, in downtown bangkok. We are at the Ambassator hotel, if you want to look it up.

Anyway, we are walking around and decide to hit up the exceptionally cheap Sky Train, an overhead rail system that is fast, clean, and CHEAP. The rest of bangkok is just fast and cheap. Still being groggy, I'm not sure how it happened, but we ended up walking around after getting off the train at the end of the line, that lead us near a river. It seemed piller after piller, there was a strange dog licking itself, or a homeless man licking a dog, or perhaps the dog was licking the homeless man, I'm not really sure. Anyway, I cant tell you how DIRTY this area was, there were .. steps of some sort going into a small "bath" system under these pillers (pillers for the Sky Train) and there were cement slabs in the middle of the Baths, where these people were sleeping (homeless, one would assume) .. but all I could pay attention to were the steps that lead into these baths, and the pools of nasty, murky brown/grey water with enough trash to choke a billy goat. So at the end of these baths, one might even call them drainage cannals, but the steps make me think its some type of ..... dare I say it.. bath. Anyway, at the end of these baths, there are metal grates, typical of a drainage canal blocking the flow of trash in and out of the baths, and pretty much covered in polution/sea lillys. At the end of this system was a river. A very big river. Like, the main river. Wow. Now I know where the trash came from. We ended up taking a boat up the river, and thank god it was a high-walled boat. Sitting at the side nearest the water, I was terrified that a single drop of this FILTH would touch me, and I was quite prepaired to immediatly find a hospital and get every shot known to man if even a single drop touched me. My mom thought I was over reacting, but you have no idea how nasty this river is. Its.. nasty. I was quite pleased to hear our stop was #5, and came up pretty quickly, landing us smack-dab in the middle of Bangkok China Town. This is a very cool place, if your into that sort of thing. Strange fish/seafood vendors line the streets, selling soups that look like they were simply dipped into the river and had "meat" added. But I will say I had a great time. So to move along, we found ourselves at "The Princess" or something like that, a fancy mall/hotel/office space rental all in a 5 story building. After cooling off in the lounge for a bit, we wandered back outside and started looking for something to eat. I think what I mean to say is we started looking for something GOOD to eat. I had earlier eaten about 8 bird-eggs, cooked like chicken eggs usually are, and they were good, but much smaller. Great w/ salt and pepper.

So to get to the fun part of my story, we ended up hailing a tuk-tuk (3 wheeled vehicle with a centered driver and two back seats in "bench" form, ie just a long bench seat.

unknown to us, were were about to take a 30 minute drive with a large exhaust pipe shoved down either of our throats at every second. I cant tell you how much exhaust we sucked down. Every time a bus went by, we practally had our shirts over our faces. The equivelent of dirt-bikes line the streets, and drive in and out of traffic like a cross-stitch contest, no kidding. I saw 1 accident and Im shocked to hell no one died in our 30 minutes of muffler sucking. I wont be taking any more tuk-tuk rides longer than 5 min.

WHY DID I GIVE BIRTH TO THIS CHILD....???

OK NOW MY VERSION OF OUR AIRPORT MEETING. I WAS DUTIFULLY AT THE AIRPORT, WITH A DRIVER AND A VERY NICE MERCEDES TO PICK UP MY SON WHO I HAVE NOT SEEN IN WAY TOO LONG. BUT...WAS HE THERE? DID HE GO TO THE ARRIVAL PORT AT THE AIRPORT...?? NO, HE DID NOT. HE WAS, IN FACT, ESCORTING A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG WOMAN THROUGH THE AIRPORT IN SEARCH OF A FRIEND WHILE HIS MOTHER WAITED, WAITED, WAITED. SO, I WENT THROUGH THE WHOLE RAINBOW OF EMOTIONS...EXCITED....ANXIOUS....WORRY....THEN THE "WHY DID I EVER GIVE BIRTH TO THIS DELINQUENT CHILD... YOU KNOW, A FULL RANGE OF EMOTIONS. BUT, NOT TO SOUND TOO BITCHY AND TO GIVE HIM CREDIT HE DID FINALLY CHECK INTO THE INFO DESK AND HAVE ME PAGED. THEY PEELED ME OFF THE ROOF AND I CHEERFULLY WENT TO MEET HIM.

WE HAD A NICE, TALKATIVE TRIP INTO DOWNTOWN BANGKOK, CHECKED HIM IN TO HIS ROOM THEN OUR DRIVER...YOU KNOW, A GUY WHO KNOWS A GUY...TOOK US TO A RESTAURANT HIS COUSIN OWNED...YOU KNOW HOW THAT WORKED OUT IM SURE. WE STAYED FOR 1 MINUTE, TOLD HIM WE WERE TOO TIRED AND HE TOOK US BACK TO THE HOTEL. WE SNUCK OUT THE BACK DOOR AND WALKED THE STREETS OF BANGKOK, DRINKING SINGHA BEER AND EATING MYSTERY MEAT OFF A STICK FROM A STREET VENDOR. MATTHEW WAS OFFERED MARRIAGE FROM AT LEAST 3 GIRLS, VERY CUTE ONES, TOO. I, HOWEVER, HAVE BRUISES FROM BEING PUSHED ASIDE BY THESE SAME WOMEN, WHO, WHEN THEY FOUND OUT I WAS JUST HIS MOTHER, WAS AN OBSTICAL TO THEIR FUTURE GREEN CARD....

BUT, LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY TRIP OVER...IT WASN'T TOO BAD. I LEFT AT MIDNIGHT, SLEPT 4 (COUNT THEM) FOUR HOURS, AWAKE FOR ONE, SLEPT FOR TWO, AWAKE FOR ONE, SLEPT FOR TWO. I CANNOT COMPLAIN, EXCEPT FOR THE SCREEMING CHILD THREE ROWS AHEAD OF ME AND THE FIDGITY SCREEMING CHILD A FEW ROWS BEHIND ME.

I ARRIVED IN BANGKOK AT 11:30, IMMEDIATELY WEN TO THE HOTEL, HAD A TWO HOUR MASSAGE, TOOK A NAP, EXPLORED OUR NEIGHBORHOOD FOR TWO HOURS, HAD A NICE DINNER, DRANK A LITTLE BEER AND THEN WENT TO THE AIRPORT (STORY ABOVE SO I WON'T REPEAT MYSELF)

ALL IN ALL IT HAS BEEN A GREAT START TO A GREAT TRIP/ADVENTURE. OH, SPECIAL THANKS TO MY NEW BEST FRIEND SHANNON WHO COVERED MY OVERDRAFT WHEN I PULLED TOO MUCH MONEY FROM THE ATM AT THE AIRPORT, BUT THEN THAT IS ANOTHER STORY.

LOVE TO ALL, SUSIE

Ouch. My Face Hurts.

After .... I actually have no idea how long, but it was at least 20+ hours of travel time, and alot more if you count layovers, and I DO. Trust me, sitting in an airport wing is just as bad as sitting on the plane.

Out of chicago I was on a 747-sardine can. Any illusions about a "upstairs lounge" are just that, illusions, or flashbacks, if you will.
In today's econemy its all about the $ buck, so our friends at the corporate office have desided to replace our lounge with "buissiness" class seating. Basically seats and a small podium w/ a light. Thats great.


So anyway, I spent most of my time at the back of the plane, in a small empty pass-through for the attendants, it was nice to stand, and there were alot of little snacks. It was not until the end of my flight that I realized alchohol was free.

Tokyo is a neat place, exept for the fact that I never actually got to see it. The airport is like.. 25+ miles from downtown. But the sushi and sake in the airport was FANTASTIC, however expensive.

So anyway, I got to Bangkok at about 11:30 PM in whatever time zone this is, I really have no idea. After about an hour I finally got through customs, etc.. it was painless, but the wait sucked, AC was hardly on, and we were all a touch groggy.

My adventures in the downstairs airport were interesting, Taxi drivers are not allowed to harrass you until a specific part of the airport is reached. Banking services and hotel/taxi reservations are available well before this, so you dont get too harassed.

At first, I was unable to find my Mother, who was apparently drinking heavily with this strange man fro.. ohh just kidding. I really could not find her at first, and with $100 in Baht, i still had no idea what to do with it. I see now its alot easier than I had first though. Looking at the OTHER side of the bill i see numbers that I can understand.

500 1000 100 50 20 etc... not in that order.



So, about 1 30 or 2 AM we get to the hotel, drop off our bags, and hit the town (fork that, I didnt take a bajillion hour plane flight just to sleep)


Mmmm a few beers later, we found ourselves sitting at this great little street vendor, selling beef? and Chicken? and Pork? on a stick. I had about 6 beef? skewers, and damn, they are good. They came with a little pepper, green and fresh, and damn hot. Also a pineapple sliver, all grilled over an unsanitary.... pit thingy.

Anyway, its the morning, and I need coffee, so forgive the spelling. Its 12 hours difference exactly, so its 10 PM EST, and 10 AM bankok time zone.

Im hungover, and going out for some coffee. Have a great day! I have the funniest video to show you all, its us in a tuk-tuk driving down the wrong side of the road into on-coming traffic (this is the norm) and well, i was not sober.



Love you guys, and enjoy work without me, I'll be checking my.... hah, no I wont.

Matthew