Thailand says Hi !!

 

สิ่งที่คุณจากประเทศหรือไม่?  

                What country are you from? (heard every time you meet someone)

     First stop in Thailand was Bangkok – but this time we stayed in a totally different area of this big city. We stayed in the Old Towne area where it was very touristy. Wait a minute it was only tourists there!! We both couldn’t believe the different feel just by staying in a different part of the city. One night the boys all went out and of course the girls all gathered together for a night out as well. The first stop for us was a Lounge called Vertigo. It was on a rooftop 62 stories up and we were there to watch the sun set.

Me getting Vertigo

book ends at a restaurant

We also got to see a storm brewing and heading across the sky straight towards us but we did luck out – it waited until we were done. Our drinks were a fair price – only $14 a cocktail but the ambience was worth it. They also put out some nuts etc which had to be replenished regularly as there were 13 hungry females up there. Next we went to what we thought was going to be a LadyBoy show only to find out it was a brothel? show. I’ve never seen a performer look more weary or bored – no show biz in the show but what they could pull out of their pussy (mind the language) or make it do ie shoot ping pong balls, puff on a cigar, write stuff etc you get the picture. Well must admit we all said enough was enough especially as we saw many guys walked across to a room? with many girls following. We definitely had a laugh at ourselves later. No way can I do ping pong balls!! Need I say I don’t think I ever need to go to another show of this caliber!! Only to find out our boys went to another show but they saw string of 50 razor blades being extracted – I felt jipped – laugh!

    Russell and I met a teacher on a street corner and of course we were looking at a map – but he did give us some great information of things to see, without charging us!! We found a government tuktuk that would drive you around for 3 hours for only $1. Our driver was 55 years old and when Russell told him how old he was he was our friend for the day – in fact he toured us around for 5 hours for $1.00, pretty good deal.

Our 55 year old tuktuk driver

large wat on the river

 One afternoon a group of us went on a long-tailed boat through the canals of Bangkok. This gave us a different view of the city. I made a smart remark on how we just needed a beer to make it a cruise – one of our mates got the boat driver to stop and along came the beer. Anyway we had fun! The canals have a lock at the start to keep the water levels constant. If they didn’t with all the rain and flooding here, the whole canal system would have been flooded out. And many of the housing units along the canal wouldn’t take any rise in water level as they were already sinking. It is the rainy season but there have been over 90 deaths because of all the rain and flooding.

Denis coming back with the beer

heading into the lock for the trip through the canals

feeding thousands of fish in the canals - considered to be good luck

sunset on the canals

looking at the bridge on the way home with the long tail boat

      As we took the night train (yup more wine and cards with Keith & Sandra) we could see all the fields under water, even the train tracks at times. Chiang Mai is the expat capitol of Thailand. It’s a little higher in the hills and therefore a little cooler and less humid. A couple of us did take in a LadyBoy show here. We had done one on a previous trip and thought it quite worthwhile, comparable to a Las vegas style show.  A LadyBoy or Kathhoey refers to a biological boy who exhibits transgender behavior. I think we have all heard of Thailand and it’s beautiful LadyBoys. Facts: in a class of 50 students  5 – 20 could be transgender.  94% of Thais are Buddhist and they believe in the Law of Karma. If someone did something wrong (sexual transgression) in their past life they might be reincarnated as a transvestite or transgender person. The kathhoey should therefore be pitied rather than blamed. In Thailand even if the boy has the full operation he/she cannot change their legal status assigned at birth ie. Passport will say Mr. etc.  Anyway enough of that, this show had an excellent pre-show dinner buffet but the actual show was only our high school quality. Definitely not up to par with our last show but the LadyBoys still looked stunning.

the LadyBoy Show in Chiang Mai

   Our drive down to Kanchanburi was back in our beloved truck, Calypso. Really nice having the truck back again, and the room to move around in the back. This is the city with the Bridge over the River Kwai. We had our history lesson at the Hellfire Pass Memorial Burma – Thailand railway built by the Australians. The Thais had signed a treaty, very reluctantly with the Japanese. They wanted a railway built across to Burma for supplies, weapons etc. in WW 2 So the POW’s and Asians were forced to build the railway through the canyons, fields etc – over 500 kms. Actually they are still using 130 kms of it. Over 20% of the POW’s died making that rail line. They only had shovels and picks for digging through the rock. In fact they were working 24/7 and the fires lit in the bamboo casings filled with oil gave this canyon it’s name of Hellfire. We learned a lot and the Aussies did such a good job explaining it that I actually had tears listening to their audio-tapes. More Thai people died building the railway then did POW’s, some 19,000 asians and 1/5 of the POW's.

the bridge over the River Kwai - I must watch the  movie again

Hellfire Canyon monument built by the Australians

one of the bamboo lights on the side - giving the canyon it's name

   Then we visited the Buddha Tiger Temple. They have 98 tigers now that you can walk with and pet them and of course have your picture taken with them. If you want more just open your wallet and you can feed them and play with the cubs etc. Bengals tigers look mighty big when you are up close to them. One fact: there are more tigers in American homes than there are in the wilds of Asia. Anyone want a 200 kg tiger living with them in their house or apartment? I think they are crazy!! If Bengals mate with Siberian tigers the males are sterile! All these odd facts ey! Siberians only became their own species in 2004.

how smart is this monk?

big pussy cats

NO Russell it's not your meat supply

Next day we took a big tuktuk out to  7 tiers of waterfall basin. We had a great hike up them plus you could swim in all the pools to cool off. Water was nice and cool and very refreshing and fish to nibble at your feet.

one of the many waterfalls and pools

some waterfalls have many tiers

Colin and Wendy with Dr Fish - the fish clean up your dead skin - many pay big bucks for this

imagine these leaves in your house

   Lastly we had a holiday on our holiday out to Koh Samui for a week on the beach - swimming in the ocean daily. What a tough life ey?!!!

our hotel and Lamai Beach on Koh Samui

 All our mates are in different spots – we have one other couple on the same island, that we had to rent a motorbike to visit, and gallivant around with. Think Russell and I are quite into the motorbikes – in fact I don’t think we left a road on the island not explored. Plus we found a Lotus Tesco (read big grocery store with an England base) with clothing – like a Walmart Supercentre). Which meant we could have cooked chicken with salad and a glass of milk – to die for!!! In fact we had salad 5 out of 7 nights.

Nope - we didn't rent these beauties

largest family mover we saw was 4 kids with mom and dad

where are the seat belts = but then where is the car

   Next stop will be Malaysia and then Singapore. Basically only two weeks left on Odyssey truck and then we are on our own.

Hi from Cambodia

 Suosday,  Sok sabai chea tay?  ( Hello, how are you )

    We had the easiest border crossing yet. Wish they were all this easy!!!

a Cambodian with much character that joined us on our boat trip

       Our first impressions of Cambodia was wet – wet – wet. Water had flooded everywhere!!!  Most of the houses were all on stilts or had been banked up. Even the cows are trying to get out of the water, although the water buffalo were loving it! They are looking super healthy – just like pigs in mud. Although the cows look quite skinny in comparison, something about not being natively born in the country.

     The feeling in Phnom Penh (the capital) was very much laid back, hardly any horns blaring plus a lot less motor scooters. The city is built on the river’s edge with a great promenade. They are many visitors and very western appeal. After supper the one night we went for a fish cleansing of the feet. They offered free beer and for $3.00 so we had quite the giggle as it was very ticklish. You place your feet or other body parts you wish to be cleaned in a fish tank with 500 to 1000 hungry small fish. Plus the feet felt very smooth following, so all good.

    The first day we went to the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum.

was a high school that Polpot turned into a prison - note all the barbed wire

a Memorial to the many that had died during this time

all the body parts were dug up from the mass graves and were placed

 according to age in layers/shelves in the memorial

Here they have devoted the whole museum for the world to see and hopefully will never have the same repeated. Polpot became president in 1975 – taking the country to communism. He had gone to university in France (where he didn’t do well in his studies) but had joined the communism régime. On returning to Cambodia as a teacher he had ample time to teach his beliefs to all the students. The main thing being the difference in pay scales between the farm workers – and how hard they worked for small money and the educated people that just sat at desks and got paid more money. So when he came into power all the doctors, lawyers, teachers, anyone with an education were tortured and killed. They even took people that wore glasses because that meant they were educated or if your hands felt soft as that meant you didn’t work manually. Then he even killed his army generals and right down to the farmer soldiers in the end.  They figure he killed between 1 ½ to as high as 3 million people – depending on whose figures you use. They were only 7 million people in Cambodia at that time. Many people in Cambodia didn’t even know what was happening let alone the outside world as he wouldn’t allow visitors in for the four years he was in power. This has left the country very poor and without any leadership. There are only 3 survivors of S21 prison and the trial finally starts this fall after 40 years. This was a very condensed version but you can get the picture – right? Because all the educated people were killed and that whole age group gone Cambodia has had a hard time catching up in the world. Education still doesn’t seem to be a priority as many can’t afford to send their kids to go to school. There are many kids that are begging on the streets. One good thing the country does do free child medical care for those that can’t pay.

    We found many mini markets and one very nicely done – that was quite large but very organized in how it was set up with a more western stocking of merchandise.

defried tarantula on offer - a couple did try it said once was enough!!

grasshoppers, larvae, ants, etc. sorry the pic is sideways oops!

     We stopped in at Siem Reap to see the ancient Angkor, #8 wonder in the world.

ancient Angkor in the setting sun

Oh course it is very impressive but I think we loved the smaller ones the best. There are 26 kms of different wots, temples and capital cities inside the perimeter. It had a very strategic position in the 6^th century. It bordered the Great Lake, supply of water, fish and fertile soil. It controlled the sea routes to Mekong Delta (which grows 80 meters a year with silt that makes it always look muddy yellow) and the Gulf of Thailand. The temple that appealed to us the most was called Ta Prohm. Here they decided not to remove all the trees as they were reworking the remnants but let all the trees stand as they were growing over all the walls and fences etc. The place just looked really neat, a great crumbly pile of stones.

tree roots taking over the crumblies

our mode of transportation through Angkor

   Then four of us hired a tuktuk to drive us 38 kms out to the Tonle Sap lake - it grows 5 times its size in the wet season. Here we went by boat out to the floating village of Kampong – a permanent community of about 3,000 that have their houses on stilts. Some stilts are 10 meters higher than the ground level to accommodate the rise in lake level.

Kampong Khleang the village on stilts

the road being flooded out this time of the year

They sit in water for half the year and the other half one can drive right out to the area with the houses standing up tall. The kids were all jumping in the water or running up the beams under the house or the dog balancing on the beams to get a drink of water. The farmed animals are in pens above the water line. What a life, but our question was where does the sewer go? The pipe goes straight into the water from under the bathroom but does it really go anywhere?? We found it very interesting and had a nice lunch out there.

children using house supports as their playground

kids swimming

adaptibility to a water world by everyone including the animals

even the pigs

where are the lifejackets mom??

note the color of water where the river meets the lake

Tonle Sap Lake- largest lake in southeast Asia

   Then we had a quick stop at the landmine museum. Between the fight with Polpot and the Vietnamese there are land mines everywhere. The country was bombed for 10 years during the Vietnam war. This group is still dismantling them but they are getting buried deeper and more rusty now, therefore very dangerous to deactivate. They believe there are still over 6 million mines out there in the woods. Kids are still having them explode while they are playing. In another words don’t step off of the path, even to go wee or you may lose the leg you are standing on. We saw many people and kids with lost body parts.

many different types of landmines along with weaponary

 We finished of the day with great margaritas ($1.50 ) and Mexican food - the first since leaving home and I loved it!!!  

separating the rice plants to be planted in the fields

delivering your pottery wares

   Next stop Thailand!!!  

Hello from Vietnam

in  Vietnamese    Xin chào

    Our introduction to Vietnam ended up being on a sleeper bus. Two things happened, one, we had to leave our truck, calypso in Laos, because one cannot drive a right hand drive vehicle in Vietnam or Cambodia. The second was we ended up not going to the National Park for 2 nights before we left Laos because of very wet roads so ended up spending one more night in Vientiane and then took this sleeper bus. Therefore our visa and our day of arrival would match.  Now we had seen these sleeper buses all through China and we were kinda excited about it. So very optimistically we jumped onboard, but we ended up at the back of the bus. We got the last 3 top seats/sleepers sharing with Emily our fellow American. We thought we would kinda of party on the bus as it took off at 7:30 pm – then the lights were out at 8:00 pm. (…but we’re not really tired yet!)  Now our sleepers were next to the bathroom – did I mention they were RIGHT next door to the bathroom – am not sure when they were last cleaned let alone emptied!!! Using good judgment I decided not to drink much water on this part of the trip! When one of us rolled over – all three of us had to roll over but we were also taller and bigger than the Vietnamese and we just didn’t fit in their little cubicle. Can’t you just see us, knees bent up over our ears etc. But the worst was we ended up stopping just before the border to Laos as the border wasn’t open yet. Unbeknown to us, the bus driver has a bed in the hotel for the 4 hours and leaves us on the bus. But no driver - no key - no air con and therefore we were sweating like stuck pigs in 30 minutes. When we couldn’t take anymore we got up to be outside where it was slightly cooler. Another 10 buses had arrived and all those people were also wondering what in the heck we were all doing – locals and the tourists alike! Anyway we were at the border nice and early, had our $60 visas with us and then got charged a $1 stamping fee for the passport - go figure! Russell and I vowed no more sleeper buses for us.

view up the aisle

now picture me inbetween Russell and Emily

   Our first stop was a town called Vinh – not much to see and do but did have great beer sold in draught form – 6 of us found that right quick – but had a heck of a time finding a restaurant anywhere nearby.  Next stop being Hanoi and I have to say we stayed in the Backpackers Hanoi hostel and wow it’s the best one I have ever stayed in.  They even had fish and chips and hamburgers – some say they were delicious.

trying Vietnamese Nacho's -  a little different than ours back home

 We did try the hamburgers on the deck with free beer and met a lot of neat people. The hostel is in the old towne area and was a lot of fun to explore. But we are definitely back in the noisy beeping of horns like China. I don’t think we realized how quiet Laos was until we left it. Crossing the street was a real challenge, you move slowly and the motorcycles and taxis flow around you. Went to a water puppet show that I am sure was very tricky to do and don’t quite know how they did it – but with the language barrier it did lose a little as we couldn’t follow the story.

   Then we did a two day boat trip to Ha Long bay and what a treat.  The area was beautiful with a thousand or more islands to navigate around, a national heritage area. The ocean was clean and very swimmable. I was the second to jump off the roof and as I was expecting cooler water what a pleasant surprise.  We did some kayaking and meandering through the caves, a little bit of wine on the deck – talking with friends, watching the stars etc.  What more could one ask for. Oh yah, I didn’t mention food – it was awesome as well.

Ha Long Bay with all it's islands

sunset

    Then the crew did another overnight sleeper bus to Hue but 6 of us opted for the overnight train instead. While we were playing cards, drinking wine and having cheese and crackers we got a text message from the crew – the worst ever sleeper bus!! Think we made the right decision! While in Hue we went out to the DMZ zone. Sure glad we did as we learnt a lot and saw a lot. It really put the War in Nam in a bit better perspective. Toured the tunnels too - 300 up to 500 at times were hiding here for up to 6 years. Longest time was 5 days/nights at a time without day light – usually they came out at night to farm and fish. There were 17 babies born in the tunnels.  There is ventilation and water wells in there as well. Can’t believe how well built they were. The bottom tunnels were 30 meters deep, with two other shallower systems.  With Agent Orange sprayed everywhere they are still having birth defects 3 generations later. There are 72 graveyards, where many are buried as unknown soldiers. There a couple of psychics in Hanoi that  are trying to match up families with their loved ones, according to our guide, they have had some success.

in the tunnels at DMZ

whole families in one cubby hole

graveyards with graves marked unknown soldiers

   Still trying to get the bus situation right as we rode by day bus ( no place to put our packsacks)  to a city called Hoi An – leg room was very cramped but we are taller than the Vietnamese – right? This area is well known for the tailoring and also making shoes. Of course we all got on the bandwagon and ordered stuff but it was addictive as well, before you knew it one ordered another dress or top. I even got new custom made capri’s and tops.( they copied what I had made for our previous trip) What a treat -something new to wear! Couldn’t find any at home before we left as it was still early spring

    Then the motorbike brigade came out – four bikes this time touring through the country side. Absolutely love having the freedom to go where you want to – even if you haven’t a clue where that is. At one red light, a local also on a bike told us to visit her little town to see Marble mtn.  So off we went and ended up taking an elevator up to the top of a limestone rock mountain (hill) and saw many pagodas there as well as  caves with some Buddha’s in them. They were in great shape and the cleanest yet. We then drove on to Da Nang for lunch, once one of the biggest American air-force bases in the far east. When it was closed down, the economy hit rock bottom as expected. Beautiful beach there called China Beach. On the way back to Hoi An, we ended up with a great view of the ocean and therefore it definitely was the next stop.  The water was really warm and nobody was there except for us. Can’t believe how the coastline is building up though – might not leave much for the locals to enjoy. Found a neat restaurant with balcony over the river which had to die for meals. It had a saying on a billboard outside  SLOW TO COOK, SLOW TO EAT, LONG TO LIVE  which suited us to a T. What an excellent way to finish off a great day.

Colin, Wendy, Russell, Denis, Sally, Sandra and Keith

limestone cave at Marble Mtn

we are getting smarter as we decided not to brave riding over this bridge

sunset at the beach before heading back closer to home for our supper

   Another bus to another place. This bus had no air con and it is really hot and humid still. We were all quite pleased when we pulled over at a gas station and he crawled under the bus – we are thinking he is going to fix the air con, right – nope – fixing the horn as it wasn’t beeping loud enough!!  In fact it did sound whimpy! – but they can’t drive without a horn which they use constantly.  We arrived at a place called Jungle Beach.  We knew it was owned by a French Canadian so we were ready to like it before we even got there.  Then we met the owner the first night and then the question, where in Canada are you from, where in BC – well it is a small world, he moved from Quebec to Wycliffe. Who would have figured ey! He has owned this beach front for the last 10 years and is building it up. The beach is a great place to chill out and relax. The phosphorescence happens every night in the ocean water with the din flagellates lighting up Russell’s chest hairs. He was quite brilliant! There was enough room on the beach that I’m sure we all went skinny dipping at least once. (guess I have to speak for ourselves) Went for a walk up to the local waterfall and they forgot to put the water in it and we were there in the rainy season too.

Denis and Stephen drinking the booze out of buckets - each tent group came up with a skit and name for their concoction to be enjoyed at the beach using your own straw - some were great some were different!!!

                                                   looking good after a couple of buckets

fresh chickens? at least 50 of them

must have sold all his wares

                                                                        need a hat?

if no bike or motorbike you'll see the females carrying these all over town

     Driving to Ho Chi Minh (south Vietnamese still call it Saigon) we saw fields of dragon fruit all ripening. They had hundreds of crates for sale of course, for a lot cheaper than we can buy them at home.  Arriving in the city, we realized with the beeping and business that Saigon does have over 4 million motorbikes. Sidewalks are not made for walking – they are the parking lots and crosswalks are there in name only. The motorbikes carry everything from bakery to pipes, animals, baskets, food well … anything you can think of big or small.  We toured the War Ruminants Museum and now got the N. Vietnamese side or rather the winner’s side and their story. Felt really different for us as we always just hear the American side.

Russell trying out a AKAK gun on display

amazing machinery still intact

 Had a tour of the Mekong Delta area watching them making rice paper, noodles and crisps, coconut candy and had a Vietnamese girl in her outfit row us up some canals – then I tried to row our boat – it was harder than it looked as I headed straight for the mangroves on the side of the canal. My fellow passengers asked me to retire – the nerve! We also boated past the floating market where all the fruits and vegetables are sold. The boats advertize their produce by placing a sample on their mast.  All in all made for a nice day out of the city.

making the edible rice paper

Vietnamese rowing the boat

haven't quite got the stance or a good sense of direction

Russell's back into snakes but this python weighs about 200 lbs.

Food for thought:

 There is a difference between knowledge and wisdom.

Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.

Wisdom is knowing not to put the tomato in a fruit salad.

Have been on malaria pills for a wee while but haven’t seen any mozzies. The locals certainly don’t take any medication. But my kids keep telling me to play it safe so we are still on them.

celebration float

see you all again in Cambodia