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Published: October 29th 2005
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Calm before the storm
This was after a small bit of rain and before the massive deluge Been a bit lazy with blogging... so i'll catch you up.
Wednesday night Ido and I went to the Riverside- the great bar I was at a few days earlier featuring 2 simultaneous cover bands at opposite ends of a huge bar. This bar is the first i've seen here with draft beer... which was much welcome.
The funny thing was that next to our pitcher of Singha they put a bucket of ice... and made sure our glasses were full of ice before filling them every few minutes. Yes this is strange, but the end result is an ice cold beer every time (albeit sometimes watered down). And cold is always good out here... lately temperatures have been hovering around 85 degrees during the day and very humid and just a tad cooler at night. I find that two showers are necessary each day to deal with the constant accumulation of stickyness.
We went back to our favorite roadside bar for another beer after the Riverside closed, and wandered a couple blocks to find a bunch of Thais playing "Poochie ball". (I'm not actually sure that's what its called, but Ido said this is a very popular
Another cooking course
My second cooking course with 3 fun Irish ladies. Enjoying some great Phat Thai chicken. game in Brazil that is catchin' on around the world). It's basically volleyball except that you can use anything BUT your hands and the net is lower. These guys were AMAZING... They were doing these crazy rainbow kicks and slams and spikes... all with their feet. We sat for a while and watched.
The night was concluded with a nice hot bowl of noodle soup for both of us. Thai noodle soup is basically some kind of rice noodles (thin, thick, etc.) with a clear chicken/beef broth, fresh vegetables (sprouts, coriander, spring onions) and some awesome spices. It was perfect at 3 in the morning...
The following day I took my second cooking course, and learned to cook a mean Phat Thai (I promise to master this when I get home and make it for everyone).
Friday was awesome. During the day I went mountain biking on nearby Doi Thusep- the same mountain where the temple is that I visited by motorbike a few days earlier. Another American and I were guided by the owner of the shop down the hardest and most technical trail from the summit. We suited up in full protective gear- elbow and
Scootering Thai Style
A common site in Thailand... I've seen an entire family (4-5 people) on a scooter... even small dogs. knee pads, helmet and chest plate! I thought this was ridiculous at the time, but was very glad later on.
The trail was 95% pure downhill riding over a million rocks, roots, fallen trees, through fields of plants, a local hill tribe village, stream... 3500 feet to the bottom. It was definitely the hardest, most techical 3 hours of riding i've ever done. I completely left the bike at least 5 times (that I can remember) landing in vegetation, on rocks, hugging trees etc. I ate a bit a Thai dirt... but it was FUN!
We finished the day of riding with a great South Indian Vegetarian meal (My first non-thai meal since i've been here!). Back at my hostel I closed my eyes for a nap, and saw all the rocks and trees rushing at me... was a bit tough to fall asleep at first!
I got a much deserved full-body oil massage later that evening which was great. The place was great and very professional. Upon entering they soaked and scrubbed my feet before the massage! ha.
Last night Ido and I hit the Riverside yet again, and met up with 3 British lassies
Body armor
Suiting up for my mountain bike ride (Kelly, Leah, and Nicola) we'd met on Wednesday. Another great cover band, yeah! We then hit the "Tiny Bar" near our hostel where the sign read "Not recommended by Lonely Planet"..... we enjoyed reading that. Was like a bar in a closet with a bathroom attached and seating on the street. Leah taught us the art of the flaming sambuca shot, and we laughed and talked till the wee hours of the night.
Today I dropped Ido at the airport by motor scooter and hit a few random local markets before taking a nap. I love the street and market food here... I've tried to eat as many different things as possible... I kinda just look for a crowded stall and then hit it. My favorite treats by far are those with coconut cream in them... yumm! I love coconut. Street food is all the rage here. Motorbikes just pull up to roadside stands, and with engine still running pick up a quick lunch, dinner for the family, or quick treat. Fabulous... and sure beats American fast food.
At one stall I enjoyed "Loose"- which is a cocunut based red chili sauce ladeled over think rice noodles (25
Notchanon the monk
The monk from "Monk Chat" cents). The cook spoke not a word of english, and I picked up "farang bla bla bla" when she spoke. A lady eating lunch with her daughter explained that the cook was suprised that a foreigner could eat this food because most find it WAY too spicy. Their loss- it was delicious, and yes very spicy.
In the afternoon I found Wat Chedi Lang, the most important local Buddhist temple. The main complex dates back to the 14th century. They had free "Monk Chat" sessions where you could sit down with a monk and chat it up... and I did just that. I got to meet Notchanon, a 26 year old local monk who spoke great english and was full of smiles and information on his religion.
We talked about Buddhism, comparative religion, meditation, and life for over an hour. It was incredibly interesting and enlightening.
Tonight I made it to a local craft market which was really great. Very few tourists... just Thais walking around enjoying food, music, and buying trinkets here and there. On my second pass through it started to rain... a little bit at first. Usually it rains here for maybe 10-20 minutes..
Just now
Sorry for the crappy photo... this was just before I stepped into the internet place... a couple Aussies wading through the water in the street And it did.. and stopped. Everyone started walking around again, and some stalls re-opened.
Then it started again... and man did it rain! It felt like a Monsoon hit us all of a sudden. I stood with a number of locals under a roof watching the street fill with water. I'm not sure how long it rained for, but it was harder than anything i've ever seen. Within minutes the street was flooded and the vendors scurried to grab their stuff and leave. I sat in a nearby shop just taking it all in.
After a couple hours and a break in the storm... I managed to grab a free ride with a Malaysian couple on a tuk-tuk (3-wheeled taxi) through the flooded street back to the area of my hostel. That's where the fun began. The moat surrounding the old city where I'm staying was completely filled, and many of the streets here are now flooded in 6 inches or more of water. I took off my sneaks and just waded over here to find my internet fix.
Hoping that my hostel room is also not under water... crossing my fingers here.
Tomorrow morning I fly to Bangkok... more to come from there.
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