Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Koh Phi Phi Pics
I was able to mail a couple of pics from the islands but his computer is not working so well. I'll publish and hope they show up.
Unfortunately I still can't get a wifi signal strong enough to backup my photos. So I'll just give a quick update. Out\r time on Koh Phi Phi Don was amazing. It was hard to believe I was in such a beautiful place. We are now in Krabi and the beautiy is her is pretty amazind\g as well. OUr hotel sits at the base of a sheer limestone cliff covered in tropical fauna. We took an excursion down to Railey the first day and climbed through caves, scampered up a steep hill side using ropes and tree vines to get up to an amazing view and beaching it out on a beach surrounded by cliffs and looking strainght out at other similar islands. One of the funny things that happened this day was while we wer climbing the hillside Cindy waited at he bottom. On our descent, Cara called out "my mom is surrounded by monkeys". When we got down they had ram sacked our backpacks for food but they only got my gum. Cindy tried to shoo they but they hissed at her and she backed off and let them have their way. Oh well no damage done.
The following day we went sea kayaking down a salt water river and into several caves. Very cool! We also explored the cave of the big headed ghost. A tale to tell later. Today we are headed to one of the national parks with multiple waterfalls.
The following day we went sea kayaking down a salt water river and into several caves. Very cool! We also explored the cave of the big headed ghost. A tale to tell later. Today we are headed to one of the national parks with multiple waterfalls.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Koh phi phi Don
If there is paradise this is it. As we were approaching these islands consisting of limestone cliffs jetting out of the ocean covered in tropical vegetation I was absolutely taken back by the beauty!! We arrived at the main pier and had to take a water taxi to get to out to our resort located on long beach. As we pulled in we were all taken back by where we actually were. They were individual huts on piers constructed into the hillside over looking Ton Sai bay.
The water is clear and the best color I can come up with to describe is azure. It is warm and full of colorful fish.
The view from our balcony overlooked the water and looked straight at phi phi lay (another limestone cliff island).
The first night was just soaking up the beauty. We dined at the blue moon, a restaurant by the water. We stayed and partied. The funny thing is our waiter couldn't understand that we wanted gin and lime schwepps. Instead he kept bringing us full glasses of straight gin and we would have to order the schwepps. We headed to the main beach at our place and watched a fire show.
The next morning we headed out for snorkeling at 7:00 with the taxi driver that brought us in. He told us that earlier is better to avoid the crowds. Although we hated our decision when the alarm went off at 6:30, once we got to our first spot and were the only ones there we were happy. We had our own private guide. It was great. First bay was to see the sharks. There was a bunch of them. They were moon sharks. There were a lot of other cool fish as well but there were also jelly fish. Unfortunately, Cara got stung.
After this he took us to another side of the island and we snorkeled there for awhile then off to a secluded beach just for a swim. On our way out he showed us the cliffs where they collect the birds nests for birds nest soup. The birds spin their nests from mucous and they collect these to make birds nest soup. Apparently this is a very expensive delicacy.
After returning from the early morning trip we settled down on the beach for the day. This was our own private beach for our resort. It is soft white sand. As soon as I entered the water there were all kinds of fish right there. Needles to say Cindy and I rented snorkel and masks for 50 baht. The coral was right off the beach area and the variety of fish there was amazing. One of the noticeable things is there were so many sea slugs lying around.
After the day on the beach, some of us took a water taxi into town and hiked up to the view point. This is one of the highest spots on the island and gave you a view of both bays and the small segment of land between them. The town of Phi Phi is built on this small segment.
The water is clear and the best color I can come up with to describe is azure. It is warm and full of colorful fish.
The view from our balcony overlooked the water and looked straight at phi phi lay (another limestone cliff island).
The first night was just soaking up the beauty. We dined at the blue moon, a restaurant by the water. We stayed and partied. The funny thing is our waiter couldn't understand that we wanted gin and lime schwepps. Instead he kept bringing us full glasses of straight gin and we would have to order the schwepps. We headed to the main beach at our place and watched a fire show.
The next morning we headed out for snorkeling at 7:00 with the taxi driver that brought us in. He told us that earlier is better to avoid the crowds. Although we hated our decision when the alarm went off at 6:30, once we got to our first spot and were the only ones there we were happy. We had our own private guide. It was great. First bay was to see the sharks. There was a bunch of them. They were moon sharks. There were a lot of other cool fish as well but there were also jelly fish. Unfortunately, Cara got stung.
After this he took us to another side of the island and we snorkeled there for awhile then off to a secluded beach just for a swim. On our way out he showed us the cliffs where they collect the birds nests for birds nest soup. The birds spin their nests from mucous and they collect these to make birds nest soup. Apparently this is a very expensive delicacy.
After returning from the early morning trip we settled down on the beach for the day. This was our own private beach for our resort. It is soft white sand. As soon as I entered the water there were all kinds of fish right there. Needles to say Cindy and I rented snorkel and masks for 50 baht. The coral was right off the beach area and the variety of fish there was amazing. One of the noticeable things is there were so many sea slugs lying around.
After the day on the beach, some of us took a water taxi into town and hiked up to the view point. This is one of the highest spots on the island and gave you a view of both bays and the small segment of land between them. The town of Phi Phi is built on this small segment.
More to come later. Need to run.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Phuket day 2
Phuket day 2
Today was much cooler somewhere around 85 degrees I would guess. Again we spent the day at the beach while Drea, Sal and Matt went to a butterfly and insect museum. Cindy and I were able to have a very nice conversation with a local guy selling hand made tapestries. He pretty much confirmed what we have been witnessing since we got here, the Europeans are rude assholes. The Thais especially dislike the Russians and they like the Americans. From their perspective the Americans are happy and smiling and the Europeans are grumpy and mean.
While we were swimming we noticed we kept feeling these little stings. We wouldn't see nor feel anything touch us but definitely would feel a sudden sting. I spoke to a local and he said there are very little jelly fish with very long tentacles and that is what was getting us. In the afternoon as I was getting out of the ocean I saw a huge jelly fish in the shallow area. I kept clear but was able to stay near and watch it. It was probably 10" in diameter.
After day 2 at the beach we went back to the swim up bar for happy hour then out for another oil massage (oh my they are glorious).
Matt the girls and I then went out for Indian food then to a lady boy show. It was quite a production, singing, dance and comedy. One song included a lady boy dressed half as a man and half as a woman. It was pretty cool. It's a I g how georgous these "ladies" are but real freaky when they speak with a man's voice.
We then took one of the crazy lit up tuk tuks back home.
Today was much cooler somewhere around 85 degrees I would guess. Again we spent the day at the beach while Drea, Sal and Matt went to a butterfly and insect museum. Cindy and I were able to have a very nice conversation with a local guy selling hand made tapestries. He pretty much confirmed what we have been witnessing since we got here, the Europeans are rude assholes. The Thais especially dislike the Russians and they like the Americans. From their perspective the Americans are happy and smiling and the Europeans are grumpy and mean.
While we were swimming we noticed we kept feeling these little stings. We wouldn't see nor feel anything touch us but definitely would feel a sudden sting. I spoke to a local and he said there are very little jelly fish with very long tentacles and that is what was getting us. In the afternoon as I was getting out of the ocean I saw a huge jelly fish in the shallow area. I kept clear but was able to stay near and watch it. It was probably 10" in diameter.
After day 2 at the beach we went back to the swim up bar for happy hour then out for another oil massage (oh my they are glorious).
Matt the girls and I then went out for Indian food then to a lady boy show. It was quite a production, singing, dance and comedy. One song included a lady boy dressed half as a man and half as a woman. It was pretty cool. It's a I g how georgous these "ladies" are but real freaky when they speak with a man's voice.
We then took one of the crazy lit up tuk tuks back home.
Chaing Mai day 2
Chaing Mai day 2
The first full day we explored the old city of Chaing Mai. Chaing Mai means walled city and the old town is inside a wall (now crumbling) and a mote. We had a great brunch (cheese burger. It was time to take a break from Thai food) and they had a drink called a "little bastard", of course I had to get it! We then found a fish spa where hundreds of little fish nibbled off dead skin and smoothed our feet and legs. After the fish thing we got a massage. We headed out to explore more of the old town got a banana rotee and finish our day with a glass of wine at a really cute jungle bar.
Back to the hotel where we got picked up by a taxi arranged by Samart and flew to Phuket.
The first full day we explored the old city of Chaing Mai. Chaing Mai means walled city and the old town is inside a wall (now crumbling) and a mote. We had a great brunch (cheese burger. It was time to take a break from Thai food) and they had a drink called a "little bastard", of course I had to get it! We then found a fish spa where hundreds of little fish nibbled off dead skin and smoothed our feet and legs. After the fish thing we got a massage. We headed out to explore more of the old town got a banana rotee and finish our day with a glass of wine at a really cute jungle bar.
Back to the hotel where we got picked up by a taxi arranged by Samart and flew to Phuket.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Chaing Mai
The wifi connections here are pretty weak so I'm not having much luck downloading most photos. So unfortunately I can't shard one of the awesome pics were getting. I did however want to share the experience while on the train up to the Chaing Mai province.
As we continued to move through the country the poverty level is really striking . It is present pretty much through out the whole country, at least what we've seen, and the sanitary conditions are really what you would expect in a developing country. Yet the people seem for the most part very content. As we travelinorth up to Chaing Mai and the countryside is truly beautiful. It's pretty interesting as we traveled north thru the countryside, small impoverished villages are scattered throughout. One of the other things that is so apparent everywhere we have been is the huge population of ferrel dogs. They are everywhere, it really is very sad as many of the seem to have some kind of injury. One other thing that seems to be fairly consistent is the smell of smoke and/or diesel in the air.
Anyway, now we are in Chaing Mai and a whole different experience awaits. Last night we headed to the night market after cleaning up from handling tigers (a bit nerve racking I must say but now we can say we pet tigers). The night market was clearly the best market we have found. Everything from trinkets to high quality furnishings. There were a few places were live music was being performed and it filled the air with a pleasant vibe. After we spent a couple hours walking the market we found a hula bar/Indian restaraunt. We sat in an Indian dining pod shared multiple amazing dishes and then say relaxed and smoked a huka pipe. Great evening. Today we are off to explore Chaing Mai before heading for Phuket. All I can say is so far this is an amazing trip!
As we continued to move through the country the poverty level is really striking . It is present pretty much through out the whole country, at least what we've seen, and the sanitary conditions are really what you would expect in a developing country. Yet the people seem for the most part very content. As we travelinorth up to Chaing Mai and the countryside is truly beautiful. It's pretty interesting as we traveled north thru the countryside, small impoverished villages are scattered throughout. One of the other things that is so apparent everywhere we have been is the huge population of ferrel dogs. They are everywhere, it really is very sad as many of the seem to have some kind of injury. One other thing that seems to be fairly consistent is the smell of smoke and/or diesel in the air.
Anyway, now we are in Chaing Mai and a whole different experience awaits. Last night we headed to the night market after cleaning up from handling tigers (a bit nerve racking I must say but now we can say we pet tigers). The night market was clearly the best market we have found. Everything from trinkets to high quality furnishings. There were a few places were live music was being performed and it filled the air with a pleasant vibe. After we spent a couple hours walking the market we found a hula bar/Indian restaraunt. We sat in an Indian dining pod shared multiple amazing dishes and then say relaxed and smoked a huka pipe. Great evening. Today we are off to explore Chaing Mai before heading for Phuket. All I can say is so far this is an amazing trip!
Haven't been able to blog since we arrived at Spicy Villa. That place was amazing and really everything I'd hoped to experience in Thailand. I have been keeping notes as we go do I can summarize some of our experiences. The Spicy Villa, is bamboo huts built in the middle of an organic farm, and it is everything I wanted to experience from Thailand and then some. We all helped prepare amazing meals. Best food we've had yet. We cut up cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, eggplant, onions, basil, green beans, shallots cauliflower .... All grown right here. We made a paste with pestal and mortar made with peppers garlic shallots some kind of paste ginger etc. I got to cook over their wood stove. They prepared 7 main dishes out of all the veggies we chopped. Then all guests arrived and we all dined together. The people hear are amazingly friendly. Folks from the US, Peru, France holland and Thailand.
We started our journey by trekking though the jungle and the beauty is undescrible. Along the way we picked bubble leaves. You break them in half and can blow bubbles into the air. We ended up in a little village where we met with the locals that were weaving blankets, drying rice and just hanging out. Stopped at a market that you couldn't even tell was a market. There were a few candies cookies and other snacks and local drinks (super surgary). I bought several packs of cookies filled with chocolate and Carmel for 6 cents a pack. It seemed that each family had at least one pig several chickens and of course dogs. We learned that the family trades their daughter and a pig for a husband. The more pigs a family has the higher trading power the girl has. Once they we'd the husband must stay with the girls family for one to two years and work for the family.
After the village we continued our trek to a gorgeous waterfall where they cooked lunch for us consisting of sticky rice Steamed in bamboo over a fire, noodles, sardine stew(needless to say not my favorite) and a vegetable soup. We trekked another couple of hours back to spicy villa to finish the afternoon with a brisk cold shower.
Again we helped a little with dinner prep and had a fabulous dinner. We then played a game with the owner and some of the other guests in the main hut. The game was a thinking game where you had to name either a state in alphabetical order or a country in a particular region. If you missed on your turn you got a black smear from the cooking pan on your face and a shot of moonshine. Lots of fun and laughs. The owner is such an awesome guy!!
The next day we started by going deeper into the jungle and wound up at a temple that was quite intriguing. There was a large staircase encased with a large snake, which again was very intricate. The stair case rose quite a distance where multiple Buddhas terraces and a temple rested at various levels at the top. We learned that there is a Buddha for each day of the week. They each have a different pose and different meaning. There is the story of Buddha from his birth to his enlightenment presented in art work at the top.
We then boarded a long bamboo raft and floated down the Mae wang river. What a hoot. Of course our guide was a joker, as many Thais seem to be. He certainly made sure we got wet and made us believe there was a crocodile in the river. The river and surrounding rocks and fauna was gorgeous. We had dinner riverside then off to the elephants
When we got there we were all so excited to see the most adorable baby elephant. She was a real rebel. It was so cute! We then boarded our own elephant, bare back, and rode thru the streets of a small village. We then went to the river and the elephants brought us in. They obeyed every command the handlers said, and of course the handlers picked on the young girls. They commanded the elephants to lie down and drea's dipped her head in and drea went into the river. The fun was on. All the kids elephants were dipping the kids in. My elephant only layed in the river so I sat on top with my legs dangling in in river. It appeared the handlers made sure the moms were handled more gently. It was great fun!
Tonight's guests around the "table" consisted of folks from France , China, holland and some of the originals that we have partied with for the last few nights. Samaritan then sat with us and told riddles for about two hours. We laughed, drank tea and beer until we were all too tired. Another awesome day at Spicy Villa.
We started our journey by trekking though the jungle and the beauty is undescrible. Along the way we picked bubble leaves. You break them in half and can blow bubbles into the air. We ended up in a little village where we met with the locals that were weaving blankets, drying rice and just hanging out. Stopped at a market that you couldn't even tell was a market. There were a few candies cookies and other snacks and local drinks (super surgary). I bought several packs of cookies filled with chocolate and Carmel for 6 cents a pack. It seemed that each family had at least one pig several chickens and of course dogs. We learned that the family trades their daughter and a pig for a husband. The more pigs a family has the higher trading power the girl has. Once they we'd the husband must stay with the girls family for one to two years and work for the family.
After the village we continued our trek to a gorgeous waterfall where they cooked lunch for us consisting of sticky rice Steamed in bamboo over a fire, noodles, sardine stew(needless to say not my favorite) and a vegetable soup. We trekked another couple of hours back to spicy villa to finish the afternoon with a brisk cold shower.
Again we helped a little with dinner prep and had a fabulous dinner. We then played a game with the owner and some of the other guests in the main hut. The game was a thinking game where you had to name either a state in alphabetical order or a country in a particular region. If you missed on your turn you got a black smear from the cooking pan on your face and a shot of moonshine. Lots of fun and laughs. The owner is such an awesome guy!!
The next day we started by going deeper into the jungle and wound up at a temple that was quite intriguing. There was a large staircase encased with a large snake, which again was very intricate. The stair case rose quite a distance where multiple Buddhas terraces and a temple rested at various levels at the top. We learned that there is a Buddha for each day of the week. They each have a different pose and different meaning. There is the story of Buddha from his birth to his enlightenment presented in art work at the top.
We then boarded a long bamboo raft and floated down the Mae wang river. What a hoot. Of course our guide was a joker, as many Thais seem to be. He certainly made sure we got wet and made us believe there was a crocodile in the river. The river and surrounding rocks and fauna was gorgeous. We had dinner riverside then off to the elephants
When we got there we were all so excited to see the most adorable baby elephant. She was a real rebel. It was so cute! We then boarded our own elephant, bare back, and rode thru the streets of a small village. We then went to the river and the elephants brought us in. They obeyed every command the handlers said, and of course the handlers picked on the young girls. They commanded the elephants to lie down and drea's dipped her head in and drea went into the river. The fun was on. All the kids elephants were dipping the kids in. My elephant only layed in the river so I sat on top with my legs dangling in in river. It appeared the handlers made sure the moms were handled more gently. It was great fun!
Tonight's guests around the "table" consisted of folks from France , China, holland and some of the originals that we have partied with for the last few nights. Samaritan then sat with us and told riddles for about two hours. We laughed, drank tea and beer until we were all too tired. Another awesome day at Spicy Villa.
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