Crazy Americans Join MotorScooter Crowd in Chiang Mai

Well it didn't take us to long to jump right in and join the crowds of crazy motorscooter drivers. We rented a little 150cc scooter from a Dutch man named Yan for a mere $2.00 for 24 hours ... no that is not a typo. In no time we were flowing with the traffic and heading out to Doi Suthep, which is one of north Thailand's most sacred temple. The story goes something like this: the site was chosen by an honored Buddha mounted on a the back of a white elephant which wandered until it stopped and died on Doi Suthep. This is a big Thai tourist location for watching the sunset in addition to worshiping at the temple. For us, the most interesting part was the windy road up to the temple. We are still not sure why there is white line on the road as no one really seems to consider it a lane divider. To add to the excitement John had to remember to drive on the left side of the road. Always an adventure!
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Wats of Chiang Mai

We spent the day roaming the city, visiting various Wats, people watching, and of course, eating at the local markets. This one was actually at the temple itself and was very colorful.

Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai is a national treasure - a cultural symbol of nationhood (to quote the guide). This explains why during this holiday week the place is jam packed - guesthouses are full, trains are booked and there are crowds everywhere. We arrived after the weekend on the night of the 29th after a long, rock-n-rattling 10 hour train ride. We were not able to get an overnight train so were had to endure the ride wide-awake, naseua knocking on the door continuously. We have quickly discovered that we both get motion sickness quickly. I was prepared with crackers and dramine. Reading is out of the question so to pass some of the time we watched the last 2 movies we had stored on the IPOD. I'm sure the other passengers were wondering what we were laughing about as we watched Zohan on a 2"x4" screen.

We stayed at the Top North Guesthouse. Not anything special, simple room, holes in the concrete, mold in the bathroom, but big enough for a family of 4 and with air-conditioning (a benefit at night) all for 500 baht - the equivalent of 17 dollars. (That is for all nights but the first. We had our first experience of being overcharged by someone who books a room for you. We paid 800 baht in Bangkok for this room that when booked at the door cost 500. We also figured out we almost paid double for the train ticket bought from the same agent. Oh well - live and learn.). We spent our first day looking for a new guesthouse and getting oriented to the city which turned out to be much bigger than we expected.  After looking at many places we decided to just stay where we were - simply because we got lazy.

Pink Wheelies

Ayuthaya is the site of numerous historic temples which are scattered around the city so we decide the best way to view them is by bicycle. Pink cruisers to be exact.

We spent the day peddling between Wats, snapping away pictures of temples, and popping a few wheelies for good measure. Wat Mahathat (famously known for the Buddha head encased in tree roots), Wat Ratchaburana, Wat Phra Sisanphot, Wihara Phra Mongkon Bophit, Wat Chai Catamaran - just to name a few of the temples we visited. The most interesting of course were the ones we just happened upon while riding our pink peddles.

After a hard day of temple viewing we deservedly enjoyed a few beers on our riverside deck and watched the river activity - boats full of karaoke singers partying it up and tugboats pulling amazing barges - an interesting combination.

Ayuthaya - Unesco World Heritage Site

A short two hour train ride from Bangkok brings you to the Unesco World Heritage site of Ayuthaya the prior Thai capital which is encircled by rivers. We settled into a room at the Bann Kun Pra - a beautiful teak house on the riverfront with quaint rooms decorated with antiques, a large open balcony overlooking the river, friendly staff and an excellent riverside café. I loved this place! It was exactly what I had hoped to stay in while in Thailand and it was only 600 baht a night (about 17 dollars a night). 

Our first night in town we were aimlessly wandering the streets and we happened upon an amazing, let me repeat, AMAZING, night market. Unlike the Bangkok food markets we had seen, this market was not really frequented by tourists, in fact we could have counted on one hand how many other farangs (tourists) we saw there. We strolled through the entire length of the market, keeping an eye out for what we might want to try. Then we made our way back through the ever-growing crowd and started to order.

Communication was difficult here, as no one spoke English, but with some pointing and head nods, or shaking to imply “no” for those strange meats, I was able to order these delicious fresh spring rolls - the best I have had so far in Thailand. 


We ordered some pad thai, served in a banana leaf wrapped in newspaper, some potstickers and other dim sum type samplers along with some mango and sticky rice for dessert for John and found a seat at a small table behind the food stalls. What a find! Today has been a lucky day, the first hotel we look out far exceeds our expectations and then we find this unique and tasty market. I’m enjoying the move to Ayuthaya already. 

Pit Stop before Heading North

We were ready to head north and we wanted a place centrally located where we could leave a bag behind and easily retrieve it on our way south again in February. We thought the Sukhumvit area would be more centrally located to transportation as it was on the Skytrain route, but as it turned out it was no more convenient than Kho San Road for the train station. We stayed at the historic Atlanta hotel, down a seemingly quiet street in an area lined with bigger hotels like the Marriot. Of course, this was the also the red-light district. There were plenty of available girls on Kho San Road but here the “availability” was a little more blatant and the girls were dressed a little more “provocative” shall we say. It was very interesting to see how accepted this profession was in a culture where it was thought of as disrespectful to have bare shoulders or shorts or a skirt above the knee when visiting a temple or Wat. Of course the fact that several major hotels catering to business clients are located conveniently in the red light district was a tad disturbing. 

Our hotel, the Atlanta (which had a prominent sign SEX TOURIST NOT WELCOME”) had a beautiful old lobby with an art deco flair. The rooms were nothing special, but the staff was friendly and they agreed to keep our bag for 2 months. Hopefully it will be there when we return as we are both leaving behind our hiking shoes and John is opting to leave behind his sleeping bag as we don’t expect too many cold locations as we make a loop around SE Asia. We had hoped to get overnight train tickets here heading north to Chiang Mai and starting our big loop of SE Asia, but the holidays have thrown a wrench into our plans - no train tickets available and the embassy is closed for a week so we cannot get our Vietnam visas either.   Time already for a new game plan. 

Street Vendors on Every Corner

One thing is for sure, you won’t go hungry in Bangkok. There seems to be street vendors selling every type of food lining the streets. Some are more “local” than others, I’m not even sure what it is they are selling, but typically you can find some pad thai or chicken satay. Christmas day was spent wandering around the area, shopping a bit, watching the people and partaking in the ever booming massage business - we both had foot massages for $5 each, John’s first massage ever! Then we found a very hip segment of street, with live music playing, lounge chairs, cheap Tiger beer and good food vendors.

Happy Holidays.

Christmas Eve Kho San Road Style

“Lion dances” around a Christmas tree, Santa handing gifts to the kids, a thai boxing demonstration by boxers age 12 and up, traditional thai dancing and of course, karaoke of Christmas carols by a beautiful “ladyboy” -- this was Christmas eve on Kho San Road. We randomly happened upon this event and stood around watching for hours. A high ranking official (we think it may have been the police commissioner) was handing out token gifts for the photo-op and some reason they focused on John who became the focus of the paparazzi. Wish we had had the opportunity to look for the local newspaper the next day as John likely made the paper … “Chief of Police extends Christmas welcome to Tourist with strange looking facial hair.”

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Vegas Meets New Orleans - Kho San Road, Bangkok

A wide bar and souvenir shop lined pedestrian only street, interspersed with guesthouses on top or behind the bars, flashing neon signs, thousands of tourists roaming about, touts trying to get you into their bar by claims of strong cheap drinks (and they don’t ask for id) - this was the Bangkok that greeted us as we aimlessly walked down Kho San Road looking for a place to stay. Our backpacks gave away the fact that we had just arrived, or maybe it was that eye-popping look of shock that I wore …this is where we were going to spend a few days? Our intended guesthouse was full so we randomly found one, a bit more pricey than we expected but still under $25 U.S dollars and decided we had to brave the crowd and get a bite to eat. Kho San Road was a thriving backpacker ghetto, a bit much for me, but just a few streets over the atmosphere, although still loud, hectic, crowded and crazy, was a bit mellower and shall I say, more refined … no touts trying to get you drunk, you could handle that task all by yourself. In the morning, the area was a different place altogether, all the street vendors were gone, the crowds were thinner and cars were allowed.

We spent our first day visiting some of the sights of Bangkok, which included taking a river taxi on the Chao Phraya river over to the Wat Pho, the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok which dates from the 16th century and houses a massive gold reclining Buddha, 46meters long and 15 meters high, reflecting the passing of the Buddha into nirvana. The outer wall of the temple is "protected" by massive rock giants which reflect proverbs of Kloang Lokantini(and made great photographic models). 

Rather than take the river taxi back to our hotel we decided to walk and we ran into an amazing park - several groups of men playing rattan ball (like hackysack) at the entrance, runners and walkers circling the park, all in the same direction, yoga, ti chi, and mediation in separate garden areas all lead by loudspeaker direction, but the big draw was the aerobic class the size of a basketball court lead by a hyper-energetic Thai woman dressed in a yellow unitard to the sounds of pumping techno music. I’m not sure anyone was really following her steps but they were all out there, every age, shape and size, getting their exercise. Although we could not muster up the nerve to join in, we had a blast just watching.

Namaste Kathmandu, Sawadee Bangkok

Our flight out of Kathmandu was scheduled for December 22. We spent our last 2 days in Kathmandu - shopping and eating. Even though we were limited on space, and we just started the trip, I really wanted a singing bowl from Nepal. After shopping around and trying many of them out - which involves rubbing a wooden mallet around the rim of the bowl which is made of brass until it starts humming - we chose a hand made bowl that had just the right pitch to its sound. We also picked up some prayer flags for our yard, a thanka painting, and a small pashmina scarf. Then we gave our warm gloves to the trekking company so other guests, or the guides or porters can use them and off to the airport we go.

But, not so fast. The Bangkok airport seizure had been over for more then two weeks but somehow we were still being affected by it. We got to the airport three hours early, only to find out our Thai Air flight from Kathmandu to Bangkok had been cancelled as a result of Thai having to cutback on the number of flights from all airports. Thai Air is based in Bangkok - I can’t imagine how much money they lost due to the airport closure for over 10 days. One more night in Kathmandu, Thai Air put us up in a nice hotel and gave us a voucher for food and transport. The next morning, back to the airport, then on to Bangkok. Vote for best airline still goes to Thai Air - free in flight meals (and tasty), free movies, legroom for a normal person, and service … yes, service.

Energy Conservation the Hard Way

Conservation - how do you make limited resources last for a longer period - we know small things make a difference, the type of light bulb you use, turning off your lights and appliances when you are not using them, if you have an a/c using it sparingly. But what if there just was NO electricity when you flipped that switch on. Remember the “brown outs” we had back a few years ago in California? Electricity was shut off for a short period during high use periods. Of course hospitals and certain other establishments were exempt, thus it was a “brown out” rather than “black out’. What if that limited time was more than half of the day - how would your life change? When we arrived in Kathmandu in early December the country was dealing with severe problems at the power plants resulting in power being shut off for about 2 -3 hours a day. Two weeks later when we arrived back in Kathmandu after our trek the “black outs” were up to 7 - 10 hours a day and there had been an announcement that next month it would be 18 hours per day. Can you imagine? Of course they try to give you notice as to what time, but nothing follows the schedule in Nepal so the timeframes mean very little. The bigger hotels and businesses have small generators they turn on. But most cannot afford to run these all the time. Many of the tourist shops share a generator - plugging in only when someone is in the shop, but many are essentially unable to sell their goods, since their shops are very small, crammed with all types of goods and very dark - so without light, the potential customer cannot really exam that pashima scarf, Kashmir rug, wood carving, or local gem. The electricity shortage is putting everyone out of business. One shopowner dropped his price by almost 2/3rds pleading with us to just buy something as he needed the money. Unfortunately, as we were traveling for an extended period with just our backpacks, we didn’t have any space to spare for souveniers. An article in the Kathmandu Post explained that the electricity plants were unable to keep up with demand due. to low water levels (needed to run hydroelectric plants) and old systems that are in desperate need of repair. No new plants had been built for years due to civil unrest and more than half of the power was provided by India. There didn’t seem to be a good solution, but something needed to be done. Some assert politics were playing a role here The basic fact remained demand exceeded supply. On our trek we saw several small villages taking advantage of their vast water supply with small hydroelectric generators supplying local power. These mountain villages were also utilizing solar dishes that looked like satellite dishes to heat and boil water. The smaller remote villages seemed to understand that they were on their own and needed to be resourceful.

For those in the cities the fate is uncertain. The last we read as we left Nepal was that the Nepalise Electric Company office had been taken over by student protesters who hurned off all the electricity in hopes it would get the government to find a resolution. How would your life change without electricity? I know that I would not be able to write to all of you via this blog, nor would I be able to pay my bills online, withdraw money from the ATM or take that luxurious hot shower. Just a little food for thought...

{Update: Jan 11, 2009 black outs have increased to 16 hours per day and the government is projecting these will stay in effect for the next 5 years.}

Pokara

We were not able to get a flight out of Jomson early, but we left the next day. Our hotel in Pokara, Hotel Kantipur, arranged by the trekking company, was quite nice. We decided we would stay here 2 days and then take the bus back to Kathmandu. Saroj would head out in the morning. Pokara was bigger than I expected but it was a much mellower version than Kathmandu. It had plenty of handicraft shops, restaurants and hip bars.  As well as views of Machapuchare (Fishtail) mountain which we also saw from the plan.  We took a canoe across the lake and then hiked to the Peace Pagoda. It was a great place to unwind and relax a bit after the trek and before immersing ourselves back into the hectic-ness of Kathmandu.

Prayer Wheels and Mani Stones

No reputable report on trekking in Nepal would be complete without some mention of the prayer wheels and mani stones that can be found throughout the region. Most villages have a welcome gate, essentially a big archway, sometimes with prayer wheels in the columns. Usually at the center of town is a collection of prayer wheels. The most basic can be simple rusted cans, others are more decorative either by carvings or paintings. Inscribed on them is - om mani padma ohm which is also a chant repeated over and over. As you pass by them, always with your right side towards them, you spin the wheels (which may have a scripture inside with the verse) in order to be blessed and have good luck. The spinning action multiplies your blessings. 

Similar inscriptions are found on mani stones that are found along the trail in various locations. These are usually stacked together.  

Another interesting tidbit is about the burial mounds. These look like chortens but are different. In the villages (at least the ones we passed) when someone dies you consult the sharman who tells you where you need to bury the dead - an auspicious place - so that the spirit will move on to its next position (on the path to full enlightenment). The sharman also tells the family how to dispose of the body, i.e. cremation, burial or air (via vultures).   Namaste.

Jomson Chilli Powder

Thump, thump, thump. The sound of a stone mallet smashing together a recipe of dried local chillis, salt and spices until they are pulverized into a beautiful, but potent, chilly power. This was the sounds and sights outside the bedroom window of our teahouse. He continued pounding the chilly mixture all day, only stopping to eat and sip on home brewed rice beer (not very tasty, just a straight alcohol flavor, yes…I did try it.). That night, we joined the family for a beer and some local Nepalize tv around the dinning table covered with a heavy fabric cloth which draped down to your knees enclosing a small bucket of hot coals for warmth. The next day began again … thump, thump, thump.

Final Trek Day

We were scheduled to take 2 more days to get to Jomsom where we would catch a flight out to Pokara, but we had heard from other trekkers that it was easily possible to make it in one day. So we changed our plan and head directly to Jomson. It was fairly easy going, some of the way on a dirt road and part on a rocky riverbed. The wind picked up slightly in the afternoon (which is why the guide typically likes to split the journey into 2 days) but not really that bad. We made it into Jomson early in the afternoon and walked through the entire village to our teahouse which was within walking distance of the airstrip. We were going to try to get on an earlier flight and our guide went off to see if he could arrange that. Sahadev was to head out early as he had to walk the rest of the way rather than fly. It would take him 2 days. Typically this would take trekkers 4 days. We were happy to be flying the rest of the way.

Who Said the Hard Part Was Over?

When it comes to trekking, I hate the downhill! As we crouched under the prayer flags to head to the other side and proceed down we saw what was to come. The trail was steep, loose, and treacherous. It continued that way for as far as you could possibly see. My knees ached just thinking about the next several hours. I even considered whether I could just sit and slide down the mountain, but that did not look feasible. So off we went, for the next 4 hours it was down, down, down. Thank god for hiking sticks, but I could have used a big travel mountain bike. When we arrived in the next village we were greeted by calls from our trekking friends who were a bit surprised to see us. Based on John’s condition at high camp they thought we were going to go back down and rest for a day. We had a few hours to relax and then joined some of the group for dinner at our teahouse. This side of the pass was much more barren, apparently like Tibet.

Thorong La Pass - 17,769'

We made it! The gods have really been good to us. The sun is out and there has been hardly any wind to speak of. We are told that the Thorong La pass is the world’s highest pass at 5416 meters (17,775 feet). After many “false” summits we finally turn a corner and can see the millions of pray flags hanging from the official signpost. We are exhausted, but elated, already the air feels thicker just with the anticipation of heading down. It has been extremely cold and at times very uncomfortable (especially for John) but the views have been magnificent all day and … WE MADE IT! Thank you Saroj and Sahadev for helping us and carrying our bags!