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Published: July 22nd 2009
hey people,
so we haven't been proof-reading these, but we just glanced at the last one, and YIKES.... haven't written that poorly since the 1st grade! sorry (this may not be much better)!
anyway, back to the adventure...
we last left you in hua hin, the king's residence.
we spent our first day catching up on laundry, writing to you good folks, and walking along the beach.that night we had dinner at the local market (shrimps off of a grill), and watched people crowd around a video of michael jackson live in bucarest.
a word on michael jackson:
laugh all ya want people, but we're still sad! everywhere we go, michael songs and videos are playing though. we actually walked by someone's home/shop where a vid was playing and when we peaked at the screen, the father pulled out two stools so that we could watch with them. eveyone seems to be watching the bucarest concert, which for those who don't know, or those that do, is the one where he springs out of the stage in the beginning. SIGK, INCREDIBLE, BRILLIANT!
the next day, we rented a motorbike and rode out to a national park (we write down the names to all of these places and then don't bring them to the internet cafe's...DOI!).... oh, dorota has it on her camera.... khao sam roi yod national park!! haha... depending on the sign, the spellings of all these things vary.
anyhoo... we rode through the countryside and almost ran out of gas (the first time this day). squeaked into a petrol station on fumes, and continued to the park. we went to a cave hike (there are quite a few actually). you can rent a boat for 300 baht (around $9), which will take you around the mountain to the main climb, but we, in our quest for independence and cheapness, climbed the mountain. keep in mind people, it's consistantly around 32-33 celcious... which translates to roughly 93 degrees or so in american speak (or as i like to think of as normal!) and it's humid!
so... we schlepped up the hill and down to a beach, then walked to the next climb. this whole thing is listed as 1km.... BULLOCKS! these people do this constantly! anyway, the next sign says 431m... going straight up... again... BULLOCKS! we climbed and climbed... came across a thai family... FROM LONG BEACH... and right about when we were almost reduced to two (attractive) piles of salt, we descended into the first part of the cave.
this cave is special since it has two giant sink holes in the ceiling, and a previous king had visited. anyway, stunning!!!! like no other cave we've seen. huge, with a tiny forest thriving under the sink holes. there's a tiny temple and we recorded various parts of the cave's reverb and ciccadas. on the way out, we came across a bunch of langurs (monkey like creatures) traveling overhead in the canopy. amazing treat! then it was back up and out... ugh!
along the way, we came across some locals. one was strumming a guitar that was badly out of tune. adam tuned it, strummed a quick dity, and on we went.
we rode around the marshes and passed more caves, and then we had lunch at the heart of the park, surrounded by the langurs. very very cute, with lots of cool photos to follow.
we then hiked another little mountain trail to see a viewpoint. another deceiving measurment, 320m (argh... shakes fist!), up through jagged rock. the view was freakin' spectacular though! adam noticed a very ominous set of clouds coming in our direction. he pointed out that he is a novice motorbike rider, and that the bike had a bald front tire. dorota wasn't too concerned and continued to pose for photos from different angles of the view. then the thundercracks began... dorota still had hope that this was far off in the distance (despite the drizzle). adam, however continued to plea to descend and leave.
eventually we climbed down slowly and right as we reached the bike, the big rain began. we thought we might get in front of it, as we could see the edge of the storm. no such luck. the rain pelted us, feeling like hail, as we wove through herds of cattle running in the street. we spotted a tiny, rusty overhang off the road, and rode the motorbike right into the little space between two benches. not such a novice after all!
we sat for around 15 minutes, with dorota filming the occasion. we suited up in our goofy, plastic panchos and set out (don't worry mothers, the hard rain passed us by). the rain soon ceased, and the road quickly dried, and we pulled over to pull off out panchos and once again look cool. the local thai's in the field were amused.
we came across a local market on the way back to hua hin. a word on markets:
huge markets in bangkok and chiang mai are crowded, overwhelming tourist traps, stocked with mass produced crap like cheap ac/dc tshirts or lighters. local markets however, are a really cool way to sample interesting (and cheap) food among the local population.
so... we stopped at this tiny market, where there were absolutely no tourists. the locals were quite perplexed by our presence, which made it a much more fun experience. this way we were all exotic to each other. a number of locals actually would come over and touch our arms and warmly show their excitment that we were there and trying their delicacies. this would never happen in bangkok! we tried a number of strange (to us) treats, and rode away feeling very happy and satisfied.
then we realized that the road back to hua hin was closed for construction, with no detour signs. it was getting dark and we were almost out of gas, AGAIN!
we eventually figured it out, and with bugs and tears in his eyes (and a runny nose), adam pulled the bike into hua hin, and we stumbled off to eat and plan the next part of the journey.
the next day we took a train (3rd class... whoohoo!) for five hours to chompun, which is a small coastal town. we weren't in town early enought to catch a boat to the island of ko tao, so we got a room, booked our boat tickets, and hit the market! dorota bought (and actually ate) a squid on a stick. adam actually took a bite. spicey!
we also found a stand with salads in a bag. since fresh veggies are not common here, we bought two. then some other local food and a banana roti (pancake type desert). all for less than four bucks!
we met a traveler from germany, who made us rethink our opinions on cambodia. he spent the last three weeks traveling across the country and loved it. the only town he didn't like was battambong, which is the place we were. seems we may have split a little prematurely. oh well, we're still having a good time.
got up this morning, took a 2 hour boat ride (they played michael jackson videos.. ha!) to ko tao. it's been raining all day though. we got a little bungalo (happy to simplify!) by the beach, and here we are. tomorrow depends on the weather, but we hope to snorkel.
anyway, as usual, we love and miss you folks!
cyndi, if we find duct tape, we'll follow your sage advice!
a/d
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meryl
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Hi, voyagers
I awoke to pastel sunflowers . Then I envisioned your stories, as I read them. Caves sound inspiring ( unlike the hot climb or squid treat!) Looking foward to snorkel update. We saw a sea lion at Ventura bay, chomping down a silver fish, as it tossed fish head to awaiting sea gulls.It ( fish tid bits) flew over a kayak with a little girl and her dad awestroke. I pasteled colors of a sunrise, after rooster's crow alerted me. then I painted it. All well here. sorry we missed your call-way home from harbor-Lon's phone was silent. All our love to you. mommy