A.S.I.A. No being crabby in Krabi III

April 28th, 2010 Krabi, Thailand

On the death march to Tonsai

Another cloudy morning found us on the beach waiting for a longtail boat to take us to the famed Rai Leh beach--an island the bay known for it's scenery and rock climbing.  We decided to explore a bit while we waited for the sun to come and headed off to find Tonsai beach on the other side of the island.  What started as a nice hike past the local monkeys and through a little town quickly turned into a death march through a jungle in every literal sense of the word.  I kept pushing us to keep going, but as we ascended what appeared to be an endless vertical path up the side of a mountain Mom put her foot down.  I think the heat and humidity mixed with dehydration and the constant buzz of what were surely malarial mosquitoes had gotten to my head and I realized it probably wasn't actually worth it to make us continue on--especially if we got to the beach and it wasn't that great.  So back we headed to the main beach which looked even more like paradise as we settled our sweaty bodies into some beach front adirondacks. 

  

Karst formations

 

Longtail boats take you to Rai Leh from the mainland



Rai  Leh really is incredible as you gaze out on the luminous green water (the sun had come out at this point and everything was vibrant) and see limestone protrusions dotting the horizon while behind you local adventure-seekers are emerging from the jungle clinging to the island's similarly formed cliffs (some with and some without ropes.)  Top that off with an ice cold drink and life is a 10 out of 10.  We headed back to the resort after lunch and spent the afternoon doing what we do best: reading, lounging and swimming at the pool-with grade A service from the lovely Ming.

 That night hunger got the best of us and we found ourselves at a new restaurant called Jesaeo for dinner.  It was owned by a group of extremely welcoming Indian/Pakistani people who made our dinner all the more pleasant.  Within 5 minutes our waiter, Forkas, was chatting us up (using his well honed English) to learn about where we were from, our trip, etc. and was more than happy to let us know that he was here working for his cousin and so appreciative for the opportunity, etc.  As we were eating our amazing food-pizzas, pastas, curries-Dahbal, the owner himself, came over and spent a fair amount of time talking with us before making the rounds to the other tables.  It's really impressive to see that kind of service as most places you venture in Thailand are very much sit, eat, order, pay, leave.  Granted, we were in a pretty touristed place it was still a great meal.  On the way back we stopped by a couple travel agencies and booked a speedboat trip for the next day and off we went to bed.



Even though you want to stop marching...you march on (until you realize it's not worth marching anymore): there's no being crabby in Krabi.





A.S.I.A.: No being crabby in Krabi II

April 27, 2010
Krabi, Thailand

Unfortunately our prayers went unanswered and we awoke to more gray skies. No worries though, a day is always an adventure with Mom and Soup! We headed over to the breakfast buffet and, as we’ve become so good at, ate our fill of the various western/Thai dishes before making our way for a stroll through town. Ao Nang itself is really just a main street lined with shops, restaurants and guest houses on one side and the beach and Andaman Sea on the other—can’t beat the ocean while you’re shopping and eating!

As we made our way up and down it began to pour, so we jumped through the first doorway we could find and there, at Dragon Restaurant, we sat out the storm. It may not seem like we were really getting up to a whole lot, but if I were able to record some of the hilarious conversations we had during our stints in various restaurants/shops, you would understand what filled our time. Finally, everything cleared up and we made our way to meet Ming back at the pool. She was faithfully there with new tropical drinks for us to try and plenty of conversation to be had. Our routine lead us back to the room for some post happy hour snacks, more news and off we went to dinner.

Unsure where to eat tonight we walked into town and examined some menus here and there. We ended up at Ao Ning restaurant where wound up eating some really good food (my pizza was awesome!) We decided that it was time for Mom and Sue to experience their first Thai foot massage after all our walking today. Our feet lead us to a small massage ‘shop’ down an alley near our hotel. I use the word ‘shop’ lightly as we literally entered a small room with sliding glass doors and 4 mattresses— we started laughing at our situation and hoped we were only in store for a massage! The ladies were very nice and got started on our feet; my lady was putting Tiger Balm lotion on my legs and stopped, looked up at me and said ‘Mista, I wax your regs (legs)?’ We burst out laughing and I kindly told her I was going to have to pass on that for tonight.

Things were going well and we were chatting and relaxing until suddenly Sue and I heard a THUD next to us. We turned our heads to witness Mom gasping for breath as this 4’ 9” Thai woman was tossing her around like a rag doll. It’s pretty common for the masseuses to spend some time on your neck and head during a foot massage, but Mom was discovering an elasticity that none of us (including herself) knew she had. One second she would be lying next to us and the next she’d be in the air with one foot touching her head and her arms twisted in a pretzel formation. Not wanting to be rude Sue and I somehow kept our laughs inside, but the second we got through the sliding doors the 3 of us were rolling on the ground in hysterics. For those of you who know my mom you can see why the image of her being bent around like a trapeze artist would be so funny, especially her facial expressions—well it’s really funny to see it happen to anyone!

We couldn’t stop laughing all the way back to the resort and even into bed. What started and ended as a foot massage for Sue and me was actually a lesson in gymnastic flexibility for Mom :)

Even if you're discovering new muscles and tendons you never knew you had: No being crabby in Krabi

A.S.I.A: No being crabby in Krabi

April 26th, 2010

Krabi, Thailand (southern)

 

SVC Bungalow (our Krabi home)

Stepping off a plane onto the tarmac surrounded by palm trees and tropical sea breeze never gets old. We had arrived safe and sound at Krabi’s Airport and, although it wasn’t the sunniest day, we were ready for a break from the hustle and bustle of the city. A bus brought us first to Krabi Town and then to the doorstep of our home for the next few days: Krabi Resort at Ao Nang Beach. It’s a really beautiful resort with a hotel, big swimming pool and loads of various bungalows scattered around the manicured grounds. We were taken by golf cart to our bungalow which turned out to be a bit smaller than we had imagined (aka the roll-away bed was literally at the foot of the main bed) so Mom did what she does so well and got us upgraded to the SVC Bungalow (whatever that means) complete with separate living room and view of the sea.

Ao Nang Beach, Krabi

As it was cloudy we headed up to the pool for happy hour where we met Ming, a staff member who took a quick liking to the three of us. It’s still up in the air as to whether or not she is a lady boy, but one thing is for sure: she is one of the nicest people I’ve met. We sat around talking for awhile and learned about Ming and her family until we realized we were starving. Ming recommended us a restaurant down the road called Wangsai where we headed after a quick shower and BBC news update (Soup loves the news!) The restaurant was within walking distance and had a beautiful view of the sea and the sunset which was the perfect backdrop for a seafood dinner. Mom and Sue got to witness another Thailand-ism at the restaurant when mom tried to order the white snapper off the menu and the simple response was just ‘no have.’ I always laugh when this happen as there is no explanation for why, just ‘no have.’ Then the waiters usually stare at you rather than suggesting something else that they do have, so as Soup and I were laughing Mom tried ordering the Red Snapper…’Have.’ Phew, that was a relief as I’ve definitely been to places where you ask for 4 or 5 things and they ‘no have’ and you finally are just like ‘what do you have?!’

Weary travelers that we were, we decided to head back and put our feet up at the hotel. We hit the sack with hopes of a sun-filled beach day tomorrow!

Even if it's raining: No being crabby in Krabi

A.S.I.A: The Willage

April 25th, 2010
Bangkok, Thailand

Day 3 was upon us before we knew it and there we were gorging ourselves on the breakfast buffet we had become such fans of. After breakfast we headed out to Bang Phli to visit my village and school-it was really fun to get to show off where I’d been spending the majority of my time for the past few months and I think Mom and Sue had fun putting a picture to the stories. It was funny seeing their reactions to the construction on the road to school and the NASA-rocket ship sound my ceiling fan made. We strolled around in the heat after meeting P. Pen and made our way to P. Jiep (Smoothie Lady)—Mom and Sue are such good sports as I’m not sure there are many moms who would be excited walking around in the midday Thai heat. After a brief look through the gates at home we hopped in a taxi and made our way to Chatuchak (JJ Market) for an afternoon of shopping and people watching.

Per usual the place was an absolute zoo filled with every person, thing and animal one could imagine. I had to take them through to the animal section where we ooohed and aahed at the squirrels in frilly dresses and the miniature puppies and kittens wrestling in their pens. We made our way through the maze of stalls and vendors and were able to pick up some souvenirs before reaching our literal boiling point and heading to the outside world for a cool drink and a nice stool. The people watching at JJ is probably the best Asia has to offer—for those of you familiar with the MN State Fair (and how much I love it) it’s like sitting on a bench and sitting open-mouthed at all the, uh, interesting people walking past. I had a pretty hilarious time explaining the concept of the ladyboy to Mom and Sue and we had some fun trying to pick them out of the crowd. Our favorite spectacle, though, was a funkily dressed woman and her Chihuahua who was dressed to the nines; it was wearing a studded denim jacket with cut off jean shorts, a bling bling collar and 4 little denim Chuck Taylors to top it all off. Maybe it was the heat, but we couldn’t stop laughing especially when Sue snapped a shot of the ordeal! It reminded us of the time I was studying abroad in Spain and the two of them came to visit and Soup asked a crotchety old woman if she could take a picture because she reminded her of someone!

That evening we went on a wild goose to book airline tickets for the following day when we would be heading off to Krabi for a relaxing beach holiday. Day 3: Success.

A.S.I.A.: Ann and Sue do Kanchanaburi

April 24, 2010 (Ann and Sue-Day 2)

Kanchanaburi and Bangkok, Thailand

We decided to make a day trip to Kanchanaburi on day 2 to see some countryside and get some fresh air outside the city. Despite the rain, we made our way to the bus station after another gluttonous buffet and got all settled for the couple hour journey to one of my favorite places. We were lucky to find a tour company that was willing to let us hire a driver for the day and be back in time for the bus to the city and away we we went to our first destination.

Mom and Sue Elephant Riding

Upon arrival at a local elephant camp we were greeted by sunshine and some very friendly mahouts (elephant trainers) waiting to load us up onto our large Pachyderm friends. It was hilarious watching Mom and Sue bobbing up and down on the back of the elephant as their mahout had it doing tricks and showing off. My pairing, however, was a bit of a dud as the mahout didn't say a word and didn't have my little fella do any tricks...not that it would have anyway as it's main focus was trying to go offroad and forage for leaves amdist the farthest reaches of the trail. No worries though, I don't think many people can say that they've ridden on the back of an elephant more than once in a lifetime :)

Mom and Sue rafting down the River Kwai



After dismounting we traded our 4 legged friends for a bamboo raft and began our trip down the River Kwai. There aren't many things more peaceful than sitting in the sun with your legs dangling in the cool water as you stare out at jungle-covered mountains against the bright sky. Our boat paddler decided to show off a bit for us and pulled over to a bank where he proceeded to climb up a mangrove tree and swing and flip from a well-used vine as we cheered him on. Our driver was waiting for us at the end and we made our way into town for a visit to the market and the infamous Bridge over the River Kwai. It still amazes me that so much history is involved with the bridge and that so many people lost their lives building it over and over again. I think the coolest part is that the bridge is still in use by the railways and that tourists are able to walk across it and look at the speedy current of the waters below through its slatted framwork.



The Bridge over the River Kwai



Another eventful day came to an end as we headed to catch a bus back; don't worry, Mom and Sue got to fully experience Thai transportation as the bus was delayed. We made the best of our situation though and got some handmade spring rolls and local drinks to tide us over as we waited...and waited...and waited. Yea, it was really delayed, but in the end we made it home safe and sound and ready for our cozy beds.



A.S.I.A. (Ann and Sue in Asia)

**Disclaimer: These are stories from over a year ago, but still fresh in my mind.  I will make a real effort to catch this blog up...***

Bangkok, Thailand

April 23, 2010

So let's bear in mind (bare in mind?) that these next few tales of travel occurred over a year ago, but nevertheless they remain a huge part of my experience over here in Thailand and I'm really looking forward to finally catching up and completing my journey...not to mention I still have a huge amount of recent posts to put up too. Well it's better late than never, so let's begin from the first day that Mom and Sue woke up in BKK.

I made my way into the city after having made sure that Mom and Sue got to the Century Park hotel alright the night before (I was crossing my fingers that they weren't aware of the red shirt bombs that targeted the BTS as their plane was landing!) It was surreal to have them visiting me and it took a few minutes to realize that they were actually here! After dropping my stuff off in the room and about 10349803298 hugs we made our way down to a glorious breakfast buffet filled with all the luxuries of western eating that I hadn't had in months--needless to say I ate myself sick.

Fresh off the 20+ hour trek I was impressed that they were so excited to hit the ground running. We decided on a day of Bangkok sightseeing and had the hotel arrange us a car to take us to the Chao Praya river for a longboat tour of the canals. I'd been on rides like this before, but never in BKK and it was really eye opening to hit the backwaters and motor our way through the watery neighborhoods where people literally live off the river (swimming, bathing, washing, cooking, fishing, boating, etc.) We got dropped off at the pier near to the Grand Palace and realized how unbelievably hot it was when the river's breeze wasn't blowing in our faces.

As we were making our way to the entrance to the Grand Palace, we were approached by a tuk tuk who told us that the palace was closed until later in the afternoon due to a Buddhist holiday. He said that he would take us around to see some sites and then bring us back when the processions were over. When he said the price of the tour (60 baht) I had a really bad feeling about it as I wasn't aware of a holiday and when I asked him which holiday it was he couldn't give me an actual name--I was a bit wary since being cheated in the Great Cambodian border incident of March 2010. We debated for a bit, but in the end I decided it would be better for us to see for ourselves if the palace was actually closed! Good thing we did, because it was definitely not closed and the tuk tuk was definitely a tout (I read later in the Lonely Planet guide that that exact tout is very common and tourists usually end up at some gem store where they are more or less forced to buy jewelry) Thailand-0 and Minnesota-1

It was literally the one of the hottest days I'd been through in Thailand, but there the 3 of us were traipsing around the non-air conditioned grounds of the Grand Palace. Having been there before I tried to draw on some memories of what the different temples/buildings/paintings represented, but it was difficult to process thought through the incessant pouring of sweat. Still, it is a really really impressive and beautiful place to visit with each wat covered in shimmering squares of glass and porcelain and each individual painting and sculpture telling a piece of the very intricate history and lore of Thailand and Buddhism. After Mom and Sue almost passed out in the Temple of the Emerald Buddha it was a unanimous decision to take a cab back to the hotel. Thailand-1 and Minnesota-1

After a shower and a much needed leg up, we felt refreshed. We decided to make our way to the lobby for a nice happy hour and some snacks. I can't describe how great it is to have visitors and just sit and talk (in English) about familiar topics and get totally caught up on everything that's been going on at home (hint hint to any of you who haven't come over here yet!) We made our way to Ajarn Place for dinner, a hole in the wall Thai restaurant our friends at the hotel desk recommended to us, and indulged on some pretty good food before hitting the hay. Day 1: Success.