The Conclusion


Advertisement
Canada's flag
North America » Canada » British Columbia
April 25th 2007
Published: April 25th 2007
Edit Blog Post

After being back in Canada for almost a month now, I've decided to conclude my travels with this final blog. My last blog had me in Chiang Mai waiting on a bus ride to Pai. The day after I posted that blog I got on the bus and made my way up to the renowned hippy spot, Pai. The bus ride was intense, with twisting corners and blind passes, and I can say that the second half of the trip was much worse than the first, maybe due to the greasy plate of Pai Thai I indulged in at the halfway point.

I was expecting a lot out of Pai I think, maybe because of it's reputation for being an old hippy community. However, unbeknown to those reading my blogs, my travellers insurance had run out (yes, even while I was on an IV in Laos), and this posed a serious problem in Pai, a problem I had anticipated. See, everyone who's been to Pai absolutely raves about how everyone has their own mopeds, how cheap these mopeds are, and how great the surrounding area was. Well, it was true, everyone did have their own mopeds, they were exceptionally cheap, and people I spoke to while there did have some good things to say about the region. I did the responsible thing and chose not to rent one, although I was tempted, that is, until I saw the multitude of people who were injured daily in moped accidents. Right, but Pai did meet some of the other expectations i had created for it. It was quaint, quiet, and had a lot of character. I rented a bamboo bungalow not far from the river for only 3 dollars. I think it may have been my most ghetto accomidation, with a shabby little porch, a leaf thatched roof and a mattress on the floor. Yet, I had a ceratin affinity for it. So, without a moped to scoot about in, I spent a lot of time at my bungalow reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and brushing up on my spoken Thai, while the rest of my time was spent wandering the streets of this small town.

I'll admit, it was a pretty good town to wander around in, and while not big, it had a lot to offer, well, at least in terms of eateries. One night I bumped into a couple of guys I had met in Mong Ngoi, two guys from Victoria. They had met their dad in Chiang Mai and driven up to Pai. We had dinner and a few beers, which was nice, and I discovered that their dad works for Uvic as the head of the international education department. He was actually in Thailand trying to establish some new programs. This was a great opportunity to clarify a few things about being a Canadian student abroad. The next day we were hoping to celebrate St. Patricks day. I had a few beers and ate at this amazing outdoor kitchen, but at about 10 o'clock everything shut down. Next day I'm hearing about all these great parties that went on. Apparently about 20 minute walk out of the city center is where the bars are, of course most people drive there on their mopeds, oh, look at me, I've got a moped. Well, to be honest, I was a little bored and slightly jealous of the people crusing around, although it seemed the surrounding areas weren't quite as cool as people had been suggesting, so I decided I'd head back to Chiang Mai. That day while eating I read the bangkok post, a thai newspaper written in english, which was saying how the entire north was having forrest fires. I guess that would explain the black ashes falling on me for the past 4 or 5 days while i sat out and read my book. Yeah, they were saying that in Chiang Mai they were past critical levels of ash in the air, but they were just doing something about it then. Crazy guys. Oh right, which reminds me...

One night in Pai a few of us were sitting around a fire we had made within our bungalow grounds, when from accross the river comes this older buddy (apparently the owner of the hostel accross the way). So he comes up to us and says, "The Farmers aren't allowed to slash and burn their fields, what makes you think you can have a fire" and goes on to complain to the manager. Haha, it was just so stupid, our little fire wasn't going to do anything. I don't even think it was creating enough smoke to reach his side of the river. Needless to say, we razzed the buddy a whole lot as he was walking away. Oh ya, and I took a speak Thai course.

I kinda knew what would happen when I went to take the lesson. She'd start off at a level a lot lower than I was at, and it would be a waste of my time. Well, I enter this lady's house, completely nervous, and she talks blathering to me in Thai. Okay, I can produce my own sentances alright, and I can listen in context, but she was speaking quite fast. So, she asks me if I'm having fun in Thai, which is funny, cause I've never heard that phrase until she asked it, and since I don't know the few phrases she throws at me, she figures I know nothing. So, with that, the intro to thai lesson begins. I did end up learning an extra word or two, and it really gave me a chance to see where I was at. At least I was past what she considered entry level Thai. Yee Haw.

Before the lesson I had dropped by mag off at the bus depot, and after the lesson I caught the bus down to Chiang Mai. I spent a few more days in Chiang Mai, staying at the Banana guesthuose again. I tried a dish there this time, Kao Soi I believe it was called. It was so spicy, and so delicious, I couldn't stop eating it. Unfortunately it reaped some painful reprecussions on my stomach. I don't recall exaclty what I did in Chiang Mai, but I imagine it consited mainly of walking around, using the internet (for dirt cheap), and saving money. I'm pretty sure I only stayed for a day or two, then I made my way back to Bangkok for my final few days.

Bangkok, I love it, you know it. Went to what I'm gonna now call, "my hostel", and checked it, luckily they had a room. It's funny, whenever I recommend others to go there, they never have rooms, but whenever I show up, yup, always one available. The bus arrived at Khao San around 5 am, and I loved it, because on my walk to my guesthouse I saw the most classic Khao San people ever. The next few days were spent shopping mainly. I went over to MBK a few times, once I caught a movie, 300, and the second time I was there primarily for shopping. Once I went across the way from Khao San over to Ton Buri, did a little shopping were the Thai peoples shop. Another day I went out to the weekend market, where I scored some sweet deals and managed to navigate around to most of the areas of interest. Met up with a friend of mine, Jibsy, and she took me out to Sukumvit, which is the other popular area with backpackers and hostels in Bangkok. We also went out to a pub near my hostel, which has a little story behind it. Ever morning I would wake up to the sound of music, sometimes classics, sometimes the Thai version of happy birthday, but this music would always hit my room. Thing is, it never made any sense, there wasn't really any bars or pubs nearby. Then, on my final night, I look up and realize there's a third story bar with live music right across from my hostel. So I tell Jibsy we gotta scrap our other plans and check the place out. I'm so gald we did, it was amazing. They were a great cover band and the small seated croud was in an uproar. A nice night to end my trip on. Next morning I was obviously in a scramble, trying to get my things together and do some last minute shopping. By 4 o'clock I was on the plane and making my way down to Singapore.

I'll admit, my flight over to Asia was one of the most daunting travel experiences I had. On the way back, with my newly aquired travelling skills, it was a breeze. It's all about the resource management. So, a few hours after take off in Bangkok, we were touching down in Singapore. The airport is rather impressive, with a slew of restraunts, free xbox 360 booths, free internet, and a free theatre. So, I watched a movie and played some games, before passing out on the floor for a few hours. Somewhere along the line I was made aware that the timezone in Singapore is an hour ahead of Bangkok. Please, if anyone can explain this to me, do so, as Singapore is geographically to the west of Bangkok. So, after getting a little lucky with the time, I was on my next flight. It was alright, slept for about an hour off the bat then spent the rest of the flight watching movies. Then, the touchdown back in Canada.

It's cold here. I could tell just by seeing the snow capped mountains in the distances as we descended into Vancouver. After a brief search by customs (They were actually very friendly and helpful), I was a free man. I bumbled around the airport for a while, without any Canadian money, looking for a friend who was supposed to meet me. I got a hold of them and they had forgot, which really worked out for me anyway, as I sort of wanted to finish the last leg of my travel alone. I stood outside the airport in my shorts and tee-shirt for a while, sipping on a coffee and enjoying the fresh crisp Vancouver air, then hopped on a bus and made my way downtown.

For the next week I visited friends in Vancouver and Victoria, before making my way down to see my mom, and finally ending my trip in my hometown. I came back on Easter weekend, which meant a lot of people were in town. It was good to see some familiar faces and I got a warm reception.

Since then, well, I've been fighting off boredom. After spending every day adventuring about, and seeing new things, it's tough being in a small town without much to do. I start a new job in a week or so, and I'm looking forward to that. Gotta save some money, you know, and then who know what, maybe you'll all be tuning in for series of new travel blogs sometime in the near future.

Advertisement



26th April 2007

Welcome home
Hey Brodus...so glad you finished off your blog....it needed an ending and you did it justice....Very interesting reading......So glad to have you back on Canadian soil safe and sound.....also happy you had such a wonderful adventure and got to experiance so many exciting things....also meet so many new friends. Welcome back we missed you.Love Dad and Donna
14th May 2007

The End
Well, it's been a great ride that I'm happy to say I've kept up with the whole way. It was also nice to be part of the final leg of your journey, travelling down the highway to meet back up with your mom. This was cool. Go on another trip, keep another blog, I'm looking forward to it. You put so much effort and description into these things that it feels like I've been there. Well, that's all from me. See you again soon.

Tot: 0.227s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 11; qc: 55; dbt: 0.0656s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.2mb