The Land of Thai part 2

Thanks for all the interest in part 1 of my Thailand adventure.  Clearly my lips swelling up to an abnormal size stole the show.  I'm glad everyone liked the story!

I want to note that while I am writing this blog, the water is currently turned off in my apartment.  So I welcome the brief journey back to Thailand as I remember the trip.  Makes me think of sunnier times...  Perhaps I'm supposed to learn something like "don't sweat the small stuff" or "only worry about things that are actually in your control (which is apparently not a lot of things."  I'm not sure.

Anyway... back to beautiful Thailand...

After Rochelle and I spent four nights on Koh Phi Phi, we took a ferry, then a van, then a train, then another train to get to Chiang Mai.  I think Chiang Mai was my favourite city... at least I liked it quite a lot more than Bangkok.

 Waiting for our night train

 This is the Surathani Station

 Rochelle and I sat across the aisle from each other, which was ok especially because no one sat across from either of us for awhile and the person didn't come until the beds were already made.  So we could stretch out a bit. 

 The train

 When you book an overnight train, your ticket will specify if your bed is the upper or the lower bed.  Which means the chairs fold down into the lower bed and then a compartment is pulled down from the ceiling unveiling the upper bed.  She and I both had the upper beds for our first night train.

I am very excited to be able to sleep on the train apparently... though in reality I was certain I was going to fall out.  There wasn't really much keeping me in the bed.

After we took the overnight train from Suranthani to Bangkok (which I rode without falling out of bed, into the aisle), we boarded ANOTHER train to go to Chiang Mai.  It was definitely the most travel we did in a consecutive period.  I did a lot of reading on this trip.  Which was admittedly awesome.  I read a total of 4 books.  I love vacation.

When we arrived in Chiang Mai our hotel had a shuttle waiting for us to take us to our lodging for the night.  We had signed up for an overnight elephant trek for one night with our TAT tour guide.  The hotel that we were at was the base for departing for the trek.  Apparently there was some kind of meeting that we missed because we got to Chiang Mai too late.  So early the next morning Rochelle went down (isn't she awesome?!) to find out what was going on.  Here is where we found out that we weren't going for one night, but two.  And... it was a lot more of an intensive trek than we had originally thought.  When someone says "elephant trek" to you, do you think the elephant is doing the trekking?  Because I did.  But instead we were going to ride the elephants, then trek up the mountain, stay overnight with the hill tribes, the next day climb up the mountain even further, stay another night with a different hill tribe area, walk down the mountain in the morning, and end the excursion with a ride down the river on bamboo rafts.

I think Rochelle was more excited than I was.  Don't get me wrong... I like hiking.  I do.  And I was excited to do this whole adventure in the jungle in Thailand!  But this sounded like camping... and I have had very little experience with that.  And not just camping... but hiking up the mountain to your campsite type of camping.  Hmmm...

But there was no turning back!  So I packed my backpack with overnight stuff for two nights to be spent in the Thai jungle and a group of 13 plus our guide set out on the journey.  There was a couple from Germany, a couple from France, a girl from Germany who was studying in Korea, four guys from the States, one guy from Wales, another from New Zealand (now living in Australia), and the two of us from Canada.  After driving out of the city a bit we stopped at the place where we were to ride the elephants.  I was most looking forward to this part.  This was on my list of absolute musts for visiting Thailand...

 I LOVE the baby elephants!  They're just so cute!  So this hut area on the left is where we boarded the elephants and sat two to a seat.  And then the handler sat on the head for the most part.

 Their eyes are so expressive.  I just wanted to give this one a hug.

 And we're off!

 This is one of my most favourite shots from Thailand... I was hoping to get the moment when his trunk touched my hand but it's still cool.

 Our elephant's handler.  He was also pretty handy with Rochelle... or at least held her hand for a bit.  I think he was in love...

 Feeding the elephant

 Our elephant really liked to go off the path... right here you can see him ripping bark off the trees to eat.  At one point he pulled down the branches of a tree that proceeded to land right one my head!  But I couldn't be mad at him...

Again... the baby ones are just so cute!  And this one looks like he is smiling!  I love it.

It was so much fun!

So after "trekking" with the elephants (how misleading!) we actually started trekking up the mountain...

 This is a view down into the valley after already walking up a bit

 After awhile we stopped for a rest by this stream

 Walking through some farmland as well

 Then we got to this waterfall!  And we swam in it and everything...

 I hate chickens.  And yet in Thailand they were roaming around everywhere!  This was basically a trip of confronting my fears or discomforts: petting tigers, hiking up mountains, being around chickens, etc.

 This is the hut we stayed in the first night.

 That night the fire pit was a big hit.  Especially because there were two guitars that some of the tribe people had so two of the guys from our group played them around the fire.  It was great fun!

 Nop (sp?), our guide not only led us up the mountain, but also cooked for us for our meals.  Here was the first dinner..

 He's making green curry

 And man was it delicious!  Probably the fact that we were all so hungry from trekking made it taste as good as it was... but seriously... the best green curry I had in Thailand.

 After eating it was time for fun around the fire pit.

 When you sign up for something like this, you really never know what the people are going to be like on the journey with you.  But it was such a good group of people.  Everyone was really nice and even more than that, everyone was a lot of fun!  We definitely had a good time getting to know one another and chilling in the Thai jungle.

 For awhile, Nop took over some of the playing and singing.  One of the best parts of the night was when he was requesting different songs for the guys to play.  And one song he requested he called "Lemon Tree"... but no one knew what he was talking about!  We kept thinking "lemon tree... lemon tree... I don't know any song about a lemon tree..."!  Eventually some said... "let it be"?!?!  And that was it!  So he started singing "lemon tree" to the tune of "let it be" and it was the funniest thing.

 This was inside the sleeping hut.  That mat directly in front of the door was mine... so I was really grateful that no one tripped over me getting into bed!

 Mosquito netting is very important.  I'd like to tell you it was comfortable... but I would be lying.  Lets just say I slept because I was really tired...

 Coffee and tea before breakfast.  And Coke too.  It's nice to have options.

 Before we left this area, we got to tour a bit of the village.  We were with the Karen people, hill-tribe people who live near the Burma/Thai border.  This is a school and some of the kids in their school vests and skirts. 

 The other end of the school.

 Nop explained some of the interesting things of the Karen people, like how they are not Thai nor necessarily residents of another country.  They are very traditional and have tried to keep out of society largely.  He told us about their family structures, the schools, their religions, and so on.  It was fascinating.

 And then we went on trekking...

 Because of my sunburn from when we were on Koh Phi Phi, my skin would bubble like this when I was hot.  So when I was cool and resting, my skin looked normal.  As soon as I was hot, my skin all bubbled up on my limbs and basically any place I had a sunburn.  It was strange...

 Again with the chickens...  even when we stopped for lunch.

 I don't have photos of some of the more treacherous parts of the trek, especially because I was trying very hard to put one foot in front of the other and to not fall down the mountain.

 Our second home for thenight

 The second place was right beside this beautiful stream

 The hut where the family lived, and under the overhang we had our meals.  Up on the left you can see the outhouse.  I seriously wish I had taken a photo of inside the outhouse.  It was hilarious.  It was a squatter.  Basically I got really strong thighs by the end of this trip.

 Where we slept.

View from inside the hut, looking out.

I actually think the second night was almost more fun than the first.  Maybe it was because we became a lot more comfortable with one another.  Although we didn't have the guitars, Rochelle and I taught a couple campfire songs or games we knew and then we also ended up playing a card game with everyone that was super fun as well.  And really, the sleeping area at this site was awesome!  I slept so well!  Not long... but really soundly.  Oh... and I didn't shower for over three days.  I found that impressive as well.

The next day, after we hiked down the mountain and then got some lunch, we went on a bamboo raft journey.  It was awesome!  It was even pretty rough at certain points, which made it even more fun.  And we saw so many butterflies, water snakes, and other wildlife. 

 The guy directing the boat did so with just a really long bamboo stick that he used to push against rocks and the bottom of the river to keep us on track.  And he did so standing the whole time!  I opted for sitting.  It meant I remained on the raft as opposed to falling into snake infested waters.

We're clearly having a good time...

So that was our jungle trekking experience, complete with elephants, waterfalls, chickens, and bamboo rafts.  I have to say, I was really proud of myself for making it up and then down the mountain.  In my Toms.  I was clearly not prepared for how arduous a hike it was going to be.  But now I have a better sense of my limits... and I am apparently able to do more than I thought.  And without a shower.  It's almost like I was camping.

Only one more part of the journey to tell, and that would be the couple days we spent in Bangkok.  It was right over Lunar New Year (or Chinese New Year, as I always knew it to be).  So stay tuned for the last segment, which will come soon.

The Land of Thai part 1

I am officially back from my Thailand trip.  And other than putting away the last of the laundry I have done post-trip, I guess it's like I've never left!

I went with my friend, Rochelle, to Thailand from January 22-February 5.  It was one of the most random trips I have ever planned because other than the flight, Rochelle and I didn't plan a single thing.  We had all sorts of suggestions from people of places to go and of course we each had ideas of what we would like to see, but really we had nothing other than our flights and the first night in Bangkok figured out when we met up in Bangkok.  Rochelle's flight came in pretty late, so we started by staying the first night in Bangkok so we could take the next day to get our course figured out.  We knew we wanted time at the beach and time in more of the jungle area of Thailand.  So our trip would go from south to north.

Eventually we tracked down a Tourism Authority of Thailand office... definitely the way to go.  I haven't really done a ton of backpacking or world traveling, so we needed someone to help us figure out transportation and lodging that wasn't going to scam us.  And if you're like that too, then I definitely recommend TAT.  A lovely man there organized exactly what we wanted, at the price we wanted, and it was such a great experience for us over all.  The plan was to go down south to the island of Koh Phi Phi for some beach fun then travel north to Chiang Mai to enjoy the jungle and end our trip in Bangkok for a couple days to explore the capital. 

The first order of business was to get to a beach!  I was definitely feeling spent from school and Rochelle was exhausted from the travel just to get the Thailand, so we just wanted to be able to get somewhere and chill!  We took an overnight bus from Bangkok down to Krabi where we boarded a ferry that took us to the incredibly beautiful island of Koh Phi Phi!

 I love how blue the water is around the island!  The whole thing is really breathtaking...

 Yay for the beach!  And I was careful to not get any topless people in this shot!  That was definitely something interesting to get used to in Thailand.  I realized that in general Canada seems to be quite a conservative country.  Probably because we spend most months of the year bundled up instead of on the beach (especially in Edmonton!).  But nothing makes you feel more comfortable in a bathing suit than when everyone around you is in bathing suit... that's nice at least.

 This is the bay where the beach was on.  As well as a classic Rochelle shot in Thailand... smoothie in hand.

 Ah... paradise.  Before the sunburn.

God is sure creative.  It's overwhelming how beautiful our world is sometimes.  I couldn't help but feel so grateful to him for being able to see some of this world's natural beauty. 

Our accommodations was a place called Maneys.  They were just these little bungalows kind of up the hill away from the town in Koh Phi Phi.  Kind of a bit of a trek from the beach, but at least they were cute and really cool as the huts were kind of sheltered by the jungle.

 The inside

 The bathroom!  Very fascinating that there were these rocks that they just built the hut around basically.  I guess you can sit on it while you shower if you'd like

 The other end of the bathroom... it was quite large actually.  And another rock.

 

This isn't actually ours... ours was at a weird angle to take a picture of the front of.  But this one is identical, just facing a better direction. 

 Hanging out on the porch with my Kindle, water, and some snacks.  Gotta love Thailand.

 
There is a lot to do on Koh Phi Phi... like shopping, eating, swimming, snorkeling, diving, kayaking, thai massages (which were awesome!) etc etc.  If we would have had a ton more time I would have loved to go snorkeling or diving even.  But we definitely did a lot of activities as it was.  First, the pad thai on Koh Phi Phi was probably better than anywhere else I had pad thai in Thailand, so that was really nice.  So eating was definitely good!  One day Rochelle and I rented a kayak to paddle around the bay and get into some open water.  That was definitely fun... though intimidating the further out into the ocean we got.  You can tell I'm so from the mainland...

 My toes were on the beach and now in the kayak...

I want to maintain that although in this shot it looks like Rochelle is doing all the work, I definitely paddled that kayak!!  It was fun!

I was super pumped to find a Dr. Fish place on Koh Phi Phi as well!  This was seriously one of the weirdest experiences I have ever had!  Basically what you do is scrub off all the contaminants on your skin on your lower leg and foot (like sunscreen, oils, etc) and then put your feet in a fish tank where these tiny fish come and eat the dead skin off your body.  It's so weird!  It feels like there's these little shocks covering your feet.  Plus the fact that it is just plain freaky to watch the fish swarm to your body and to let them eat you!

 Eek!  Here they come!

 Man was it ticklish!  I kept screeching... it was so weird!

 Every time you moved the fish would swim away and then just come back in a few moments when you stop squirming.  But it was soooooooooo hard to remain still!

 I'm trying really hard to maintain a smile that is not screaming... (plus you can see my sunburn pretty good on my face, haha)

I seriously recommend this though.  At least just to experience it!  One of the strangest yet coolest experiences.

So when I think Thailand, I am definitely going to think about sunburns unfortunately.  The sun was just so intensely hot!  Different than what I am used to in a summer.  And one of the weirdest things happened to me, that really pictures are just not going to show justice to.  I actually burned my lips (as well as most of the other exposed areas of my body).  One night I kind of noticed my lips were tingling and felt a little swollen.  I asked Rochelle if they looked weird and she said just kind of red or something.  So we were watching a movie and during the course of the movie I noticed my lips were getting tighter and felt blistery or something.  By the time the movie was finished my bottom lip had swelled up!  Like Angelina Jolie style!  And by the morning my lips were definitely twice, if not three times the size of normal!  It was the weirdest thing that had ever happened to my lips!  Luckily, after a quick visit to the pharmacy (where the girl behind the counter literally flinched when I unveiled my bottom lip) things got under control...

 Ok this is what I look like normally (especially after traveling overnight on a bus... so not hot by any means.  You all better appreciate that I am showing really unflattering photos of myself for the sake of a good story...)

 After a a couple hours of watching a movie my lip is seriously larger...

 By the morning it was even bigger!  And I had a really really difficult time drinking and talking.  It was so ridiculous!

At least I can still maintain my sense of humour! 

Ok... that's Part 1 of Thailand.  You'll get the Chiang Mai and Bangkok parts another time.  Maybe tomorrow if I'm feeling on the ball.  Thanks for reading!  And here's a tip... go to Thailand!

2011 at last

It has been ridiculously long since I have written a blog post... so let me start by saying Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all who read this!  I can't believe it's already well into January of 2011!  That just doesn't seem right.

Yet I am perfectly happy to say goodbye to 2010.  It was probably one of the consistently most difficult years of my life.  Which was part of the reason I needed a change.  I needed some kind of jolt in my life and moving to Korea seemed to be it.  I have never struggled more in my relationship with God or my sense of direction or with some of my personal issues.  So goodbye 2010... time for a new year.

I think part of the reason I haven't written a blog in the last little bit, especially since New Years, is that this has been an admittedly difficult stretch in Korea.  Even now I am glancing up warily at my thermostat in the room because it is flashing a red light that means there is some kind of problem.  And this is after a repairman was in my house most of the day fixing my boiler issues.  And this is after he was already here on Sunday.  And already here two weeks ago.  January has been the month of issues with my heat.  Korea is actually colder than usual.  Dahye, a fellow English Center worker at my school, was telling me that it hasn't been this cold, this consistently in Boeun for over 10 years.  That partnered with the fact that I have a boiler to heat my floors and water that uses oil  (which is a very old way of heating), as well as an old apartment in general, has made for an interesting past few weeks.  Plus I washed a bunch of laundry by hand tonight because my pipes are frozen for the clothes washer.  Alas... it has to unfreeze sometime...

Plus I am firmly past the honeymoon stage of living in a different culture.  This is nothing new for anyone who has lived in another country.  There's that point you hit where the language barrier bothers you more or you wish you understood what was happening around you or the culturally different perspective of your co-worker is just all the more difficult.

Yet there are still great things... so before this blog entry becomes sounding "woe is me" (which is not my intention at all!) lets talk about life in Korea in December and January with a positive spin...

First of all... snow!  There has been a lot of snow in Korea.  Not as much as Canada (yes Edmontonians, you take the cake for snowfall), but still quite a bit.

 

Snow!  It's so pretty when it falls.

 Dahye is covered!

 But we're enjoying it!

 It's very difficult to take a picture looking into the snow...

I was anticipating Christmas to be a difficult time alone in a foreign land.  And it definitely was... but not as hard as I was anticipating, and that's due to my wonderful friends in Boeun!  First there was the Christmas Eve extravaganza at Leonard and Michelle's.  Complete with a white elephant exchange, a potluck, and lots of laughs.  (Thanks Betty for letting me take photos with/use photos from your camera as mine died...)

 What's in the present?  It's always important to shake it to see...  Plus I am sporting a lovely scarf you could get when purchasing a cake from Paris Baguette.  Also very festive.

 Me and Laura at Leonard and Michelle's

 Me and Betty

Simon's enjoying the food... so is Joey!  (Joey on the left, Simon on the right)

 Korean bakeries seriously have the most decorative cakes!

 The dessert spread

 Leonard, Angela and Joey enjoying some good Christmasy conversation.  Now I'm just assuming it was Christmasy, what with it being Christmas Eve and all.

 Laura even made a cake from scratch!  Way better than the store bought ones

 The gifts... let the exchange begin

 Joey, Simon, Michelle, Laura and I

 Chris originally unwrapped my gift... lucky guy!  But apparently he didn't think so because he took advantage of the game and exchanged it with someone else.  I'll try not to take it personally Chris.  I still think the hat looks good.  Hopefully Joey does too because he ended up with it.

 The "best" gift was Simon's, which Laura unfortunately opened.  Apparently monkey headdresses are not her favourite things... but they're everywhere in Korea!

Simon could just not understand what Laura's problem with the hat was... clearly he's enjoying wearing it.

I really am so thankful for that Christmas Eve party.  It's always better in my books to do something surrounded with good people.  So thanks again Leonard and Michelle for hosting us!

Christmas morning/early afternoon was filled with Skyping for me.  I think I sat in the same chair for close to 6 hours when it was all said and done.  But it was great to be able to connect with friends and family from home.  I may not have been home for Christmas but it was the next best thing.  Plus Chris and Betty gave me a wonderful present of breakfast!  What great neighbours they are...

 Eggs Benedict by Chris

And it truly was a White Christmas!  It snowed for a good portion of the day, which made it feel more like home.

 Showing off some Canadian pride

For Betty, who is from Hawaii, a White Christmas was a particular treat!  For me... just felt right.

For New Years, the plan was to get a group from Boeun and go to Seoul.  Unfortunately, Simon became quite ill and had to forgo the New Years Seoul adventure and stay home.  Which became a good thing because Laura also got sick that night.  I'm sure I've told many of you of the Seoul adventure, which was not quite the greatest traveling experience I have ever had.  It included getting yelled out of a taxi by a cab driver, being lost and unable to find Chris and Betty, several lost items in general... the list could go on.  Needless to say it did not inspire many moments we wanted to capture with photos to save for prosperity.  But I did take three gems...

 This place is actually "Steff Hotdog"... interesting...

 I love this sign for the toilets.  It's very clear that it's not just for women and men... but women and men who really really really have to go.

Oh Betty... the classic V with the random statues at the bus station.  Good times in Seoul...

I wish I had more from New Years, but that will have to do for now.

This coming weekend I am going to Thailand for a two week (much needed!!!) vacation!  I'm so excited to thaw out on a beach and get some distance from work and boiler issues.  I can't wait!  So check back after February 5th for updates on what Thailand was like.  I'm thinking it's going to be wonderful.