This and That

This has been a great week in Bangkok.  The city has been everything we had hoped for and then some.  It's been a rude awakening for the wallet however.  I am fairly certain I have spent more in Bangkok this week than I had the previous three week combined.

We have been taking it easy, exploring the many parks, wats, and downtown sights.  The weather has not cut us any slack, but we are getting used to it.  Today we decided to treat ourselves and spend our last night at a swanky hotel by the airport, enjoy the pool and relax before our 30 hour trek home.

As we are winding down here I cannot wait to come back.  It has really changed both Deirdre and I in a positive way and I definitely suggest for anyone who hasn't been here to give it a try.  The people are so amazing, the food has been wonderful and the weather is glorious. Now this may sound cheesy, but the hardest part about a vacation like this is simply committing to go.  So do it people!

We have had no issues with getting around, booking rooms, safety or keeping ourselves occupied.  I don't want to ramble on all day and I promise I am not getting paid by the Asian Tourism Board.

It's hard to express emotion and tone in text sometimes, but I hope that the joy and happiness that this trip has brought both Deirdre and I has really come through. 

It's been cool to know that the people Deirdre and I care about have been having so much fun reading our blog and enjoying the pictures.  I was intimidated at first with posting my writing and photos, but your positive comments really made it fun for me.

Well, I better get back to sipping my drink by the pool and enjoying one last afternoon of sunshine. 

The courtyard at our hotel in Bangkok

After three and a half weeks of disciplined eating, Deirdre finally cracks and has one her infamous veggie sandwiches

Heading downtown on the skytrain

One of the many canals in Bangkok

View of the city from the top of it's highest wats

Reclining buddha at Wat Pho

Wat Pho

One of the many temples at the Grand Palace

and another....

and another.... haha

We decided to take the ferry boats one last time

Deirdre roughing it for one last day

Take care,

CF

The best $1.50 I have ever spent

Before venturing out for the day, I figured I should take advantage of one of the many barbers in our neighbourhood.  I found this little place with cheesy Thai tunes rockin and it seemed to be quite empty.  Despite the wierdness of the woman wearing a face mask she did a great job.  Lot's of weird powders and stuff, but whatever works.  Deirdre also enjoyed this place as the A/C was cranked. What a great return on my 70baht ($1.50) investment.

Experiencing the Bangkok transit system was great treat.  It is a intricate system of ferry boats, vans, busses, subways and a state of the art skytrain.  We started by taking one of the express boats from one end of the city to another.  The virews of the Royal Palace, chinatown and various wats were amazing.  Needless to say, the water was quite polluted, but it served its purpose.  We transfered at the south pier onto one of the new skytrains. I was amazed at how simple, efficient, and clean the system was.  I think our Canadian cities could learn a lot from the way they do things here. 

After getting off at Siam station (central station) we entered Central World shopping centre.  This super mall looked like it was from the future and was absolutely immaculate.  After passing through metal detectors and taking a quick look around, it became quite obvious the volume of money that is spent in here.  I have never seen so many designer stores, fancy boutique shops and, well let's just say there were Lambroghini and Lotus stores selling their high end cars right in the mall!   This was pretty hard to compute when less that a one hour flight from here, children are dying in Laos due to no money for simple anti-biotics. 

What a strange world we live in.

What a great way to start the day

The infamous Koh San road, a.k.a backpackers heaven

Getting ready for breakfast at the JJ market

Bangkok public works cleaning the main streets

Deirdre was so pumped when we saw these little tacos for sale. Yeah not so much.  Turns out it was filled with marshmallow, with shredded carrot and green onion on top!  goo

View from the blue flag river taxi

Outside of Siam Station

The maze of escalators inside the Central World shopping centre

Me showing my displeasure for the "diver" Renaldo

Just in case you go to the mall with a few extra bucks...

Take care,

CF

It's Not The Heat, It's The Humidity

Well my friends, I wish I could say the same about Bangkok.  It is bloody toasty here.

It's hard to really describe this place.  I guess I would say New York City, mixed with a little Las Vegas and put it in the oven at 350 for 12 hours.  It is so hot here that Deirdre's hair was straight when she woke up this morning.

During our ride downtown from the airport we noticed a lot of people buzzing around and gathering in large numbers.  Streets were closed, riot police were on every corner and traffic was at a stand still.  We slowly realized that there was a massive Red Shirt protest. It was nine months to the day yesterday when Red Shirt members were killed and injured in a clash with police during a similar protest.  Needless to say this was an intimidating way to enter a new city.

Our hotel in the south of town is beautiful and Deirdre and I were so happy to find many of the ammenities we have been lacking the past three weeks.  We spent the night wandering through the infamous Ko San area where the people watching and madness is at insane levels.

This morning we braved the most notorious shopping market in the world, The Chatuchak Market.  The "JJ" market, as it is known to locals, has everything from clothes, art, furniture, pets, jewelry, antiques and textiles, fresh fruit....etc (you name it, they have it)  They say if you see something you like buy it! because you will NEVER find the same shop again.  We spent over five hours there and barely scratched the surface.

We had considered staying here for 3 nights then blasting off to the beaches in the south for the remainder of our travels, but after 24 hours in Bangkok this city has intrigued Deirdre and I in such a way that we may just stay put for the week.

Here are some photos from our last day in Chiang Mai.  I'll throw up some Bangkok photos as soon as my internal temperature returns to normal!

take care,

CF

Finally Heading South

After almost 3 weeks in the northern part of southeast asia, we are catching a morning flight tomorrow to Bangkok.  Only one week to work on our tans!

Chiang Mai is a beautiful city and has been a great introduction to Thailand.  We have been taking it easy the last few days, as both Deirdre and I have been feeling a little iffy on a few occaisons.  Nothing dramatic, just too much curry maybe!

We went for a long walk yesterday around the old part of town.  A lot of interesting shops, markets, and a lot of great restaurants.  I hate to say it, but the canal around the old quarter sort of reminded me of Ottawa.

We found a wat near our hotel with an amazing meditation style park behind it.  I never considered myself one to get into that sort of thing, but without even noticing, I was feeling very calm and worry free.  The timing was perfect as I had just learned that the Sens had traded one of our heart and soul players (no, not Mike Underwood) but Chris Kelly. I leave town for a few weeks and all hell breaks loose!  haha

Today Deirdre and I took a thai cooking class.  Both of us went into it feeling like we were hot shots when it came to spicy dishes. We were mistaken. The teacher was getting a kick watching how many peppers we were putting into our dishes and I am sure she was laughing even harder watching us eat it! At one point I thought of cutting my tongue off, and Deirdre went through more water than most do in a day. 

Sorry if my writing is lacking tonight.  I have had a long day and am feeling quite tired.

Here are some photos from the last few days,

Take care,

CF

Mahout training , swimming , goodbye Laos

I would like to preface this by thanking everyone who has e-mailed Deirdre and I wishing us safe travels, supporting us on our trip,as well as the positve comments towards the blog.  It has been great to hear for sure.

After hours of debating, Deirdre and I decided to do a one day Mahout training course north of L.P.  We are both against turning rescued elephants into a side show, however the company that we chose seemed to be the most committed and ethically sound regarding the treatment of their rescued Asian Elephants.

We were each assigned our own elephant for the day and learned how to communicate with them in order to ride, bathe, and feed the gentle beasts. 

It was an amazing experience and both Deirdre and I had a blast.

Yesterday we travelled to some natural water falls with a cool British couple we had met the day before.  The blue grey lagoons and swimming holes were something neither Deirdre nor I had ever seen before.  The swimming was fantastic and the company was great as well.

This morning we woke at the crack of dawn in order to witness the daily procession of  monks walking through the streets while townsfolk place balls of sticky rice (and other grub) into their begging bowls.  Although these processions occur all over Laos,  L.P's peaceful atmosphere and wat concentration make the ceremonies an especially interesting and romantic scene.  Unfortunately, the result has been a high number of tourists who do not respect the wishes of the monks  (no eye contact, no photos, maintain silence, participants kneel so as not to be higher than the monk setc) and the scene is uncomfortable for those who educated themselves in these rituals prior to participating.

This afternoon Deirdre and I left beautiful Laos for Chiang Mai, Thailand. What a difference a 1 hour flight can make!  There is a 7-11 beside our hotel, I had a tall mild coffee from Starbucks, and we are attending a bare knuckle kickboxing match tonight.  Welcome back to the "western" world!

Without a doubt, this will not be our last visit to Laos.

Enjoy the photos,

Off to the kickboxing match!

Take care,

CF

Glorious silence by 11

I have officially found the most relaxing place ever.  After 48 hours in Luang Prabang I am more relaxed than after our two weeks in Vietnam combined.

This magical and charming city is one of the most unique places in the word.  Time seems to stand still, cars and trucks are banned in the central area, monks float down the street, and silence reigns by 11pm.

The power can go off at any moment and none of the locals really seem to mind.  They are wonderful people who seem to be very happy and content with chilling and it is impossible to walk down the street without seeing someone taking a road-side "power nap" as dad calls it.

They say that this country is like Thailand 20 years ago, but with one new guest house popping up evey 18 days in L.P , let's hope the unique atmosphere can endure.

Claire and Conor, Deirdre and I can see why you loved this place so much and why it was one of the highlights of your Asia adventure.
Sorry, the internet is being sketchy, so no explainations of the pictures. 

take care,

CF