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Published: April 20th 2008
Hey everyone. It's been a crazy week or so since my last blog with all sorts of surreal stuff going on but I'm still loving it. Thailand has such a different vibe to China. It's called the "Land of Smiles" with good reason. I'll start where I left off....
DAY 24 - HONG KONG After spending 7 hours online updating my blog among other things I didn't have much of the day left and it was cloudy so I basically just explored a bit and got some Italian food before heading back to the craziness of the hostel to sleep.
DAY 25 - HONG KONG I had another day where I was working through my to do list; sending off postcards etc (let me know if you've received one). I then decided to go to Hong Kong Island itself and climb Victoria Peak. I probably should have used my map from the start but the extra legwork was fine by me. On the way up I used the longest escalator in the world! The view from the top could have been spectacular but it was annoying misty. I took the tram back down at an incredibly steep angle. In
the evening I met a random Canadian guy called Jeremy and he wanted to discuss history and politics with an Englishman so I was up for that straight away and went to the Irish Pub next door and talked about the decline of the British Empire and its implications for our national identity among other things! I tried to get an early night before the flight the next mroning but to no avail.
DAY 26 - HONG KONG - BANGKOK I only had a couple hours of sleep before waking up at 4.30am and catching the bus to the airport. There was a 90 minute delay but I didn't really mind since I was slightly out of it. I managed to avoid a scam when going out of the airport - I'm geting better at this travel lark! Someone offered me take me to my hotel for 1000 baht but I'd already read it should be 400 so I managed to find a much better price. =]
My first impressions of Bangkok were of how modern it is compared to my preconceptions of a dusty old city. It's still very hectic though. I just so happened to arrive
at the best time of the year - Songkran Festival (Thai New Year). The basic idea is that they welcome in the rainy season by having the biggest water fight in the world! After checking into my hotel I happened to meet a young lady called Tara who was also on my tour and we headed to Khao San Road where most of the backpackers hang out. It was an amazing sight with water being squirted everywhere. It just shows how laid-back the Thais are that they can have a massive event like this and have no trouble whatsoever. I just couldn't see it happening at home although that's partly because it wouldn't be 38 degrees! We returned to the hotel and dried out a little before meeting the group. It was a much more mixed group this time with people from the US, Australia and Ireland as well as a couple of girls from the UK. We went out for a meal before going for some drinks and ending up at a random club where a band played Thai rock covers and were actually pretty good.
DAY 27 - BANGKOK - NIGHT TRAIN In the morning we had
a boat trip amonst the canals of Bangkok which was surprisingly bumpy but rather pretty nonetheless. The highlight was feeding some ravenous fish. Next up we visited the Grand Palace and it really lives up to its title. It's simply magnificent. Thailand is 95%!B(MISSING)uddhist so it's very much an active place whenever you go to a temple and it permeates all layers of society. They sure know how to build a temple! Afterwards I decided to go back for more waterfighting and got totally saturated and rather strangely met a girl I knew from Cornwall. I had to get changed at the hotle before we went to catch a train to Chaing Mai. The trains here are much nicer than China with larger beds which convert from comfy seats. You even get served food if you want.
DAY 28 - CHIANG MAI We arrived in Chiang Mai relatively early and after a refreshing shower we went straight out on an orientation walk around the city. We went to a few temples, tried some food and observed some of the festivities before some of us heading for a massage. I went for a full body oil massage and it
really is full body. There's little they leave untouched but it seems to do the trick and I left feeling relaxed before joining in another water fight! The difference here is that Chaing Mai has a moat around the old city and the people use this water in the water fight as well as the more icy variety which does give a shock at times! Later on we went to the Night Bazaar to eat and did a little shopping.
DAY 29 - CHAING MAI - HILL TRIBE VILLAGES We left the city in the morning heading towards to hills for the start of our trek. On the way we stopped at a gorgeous waterfall where we bathed before stopping for a simple lunch. We had to go up a dirt track to reach the start of our trek. It was too strenuous although the heat was a major factor. We reached the Karen Tribe village and found it to be a totally different world. They have many customs alien to us and it was great to see an indigenous way of life. We just chilled out in the evening after the dinner cooked by our guide Ji and
his assisant Andy. Marshmallows round a fire = yum!
DAY 30 - HILL TRIBE VILLAGES This has to go down as one of the more surreal days in my life. We started trekking soon after breakfast and after 90 minutes a rash on the inside of my thighs (no, it doesn't go that far up) which I'd had for a few days got so bad I had to stop and have it bandaged to stop it rubbing. I managed to reach the base for the elephant trek still intact and even played a game with Andy which was a cross between volleyball and football. The elephant ride was amazing. It's such a strange senastion to have such a mammoth creature carry you. Going down slopes was certainly fun since we only had a slim rope in front of us to stop us falling! Will (an American guy) and I rode an elephant named "Big Momma" (in Thai). At the end of the elephant trek we had a short (but painful for me) walk to the next village where we were able to bathe in the river. A couple of kids from the village came and played with us and
one, named Wittia came back to the building where we were staying and caused much awwwwww-ing from all corners. Almost as cute as my cousins Ben and Oli but not quite! We played a slightly violent games of spoons before another delicious meal. The group really bonded at this point - for starters they'd all seen my legs!
DAY 31 - HILL TRIBE VILLAGES - CHIANG MAI I expected a morning of boating down the river and relaxation but the bamboo rafting was actually a lot of hard work. I was handed a bamboo stick to punt with and even if I wanted to sit down I would have got wet. Andy was on fine singing form with "No Woman, I Die" between various rapids where we had our work cut out to avoid falling in like the other two boats. By the time I got off the boat my legs were very sore and I could hardly walk. On the songthaew (a form of transport) we did some great karaoke which lifted my spirits until I could finally get to the hotel and clean water. We had a busy evening schedule going to Doi Suthep, a temple on
top of a hill overlooking the city before heading to the Night Market for some great food and what would have been great shopping if I could have managed more than a rather painful waddle! Nonetheless I helped Sammy and Naomi pick dresses before ambling back to the hotel where I collapse in a heap on my bed.
DAY 32 - CHIANG MAI - NIGHT TRAIN This was not a good day for me. The furthest I walked was to the pharmacy and back to get anti-biotics and some cream. I didn't really do anything all day until I got on the train where I just read up on what I may do next.
DAY 33 - BANGKOK We got into Bangkok at around 7am and headed to our original hotle where we had breakfast before I said goodbye to most of the group. I then headed to Khoa San Road with my backpack and found a decent enough room for 220 baht (under 4 quid). I met up with half my group for lunch before booking the next leg of my journey. In the evening I ate on my own before meeting Tara then Will to go out for the night. I got beaten by a 12 year old boy at a thumb war. It made me feel better that he beat 4 other guys around me! Later on I watched the Man United game in a bar before retiring to my room for the night. Luckily by this time my legs were much better - the anti-biotics seem to be kicking in.
That brings me up to today when I've just written my journal and updated stuff online! I'm in Bangkok for a couple more days now before getting a bus then boat to Koh Tao, an island off the East coast which is ideal for diving. I'm just hoping I'm more or less fully healed to make the most of it. Even if not I can enjoy some of the best beaches in the world! I hope everyone at home is well, please get in touch at jamiepett@hotmail.com if you like or go on my facebook profile for many more pictures.
Goodbye for now.
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Hannah
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haha full body massage eh? good thing you had that before you got that bitchy rash!! poor thing..still my mum made a comment at dinner (like we do as you know in the emery-wright hosuehold), that all these experiences must be toughening you up...to which i replied that you were pretty hardy you just don't look it. See I stood up for you :)