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Published: November 18th 2009
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Summary So much has happened since we left Phnom Penh, Cambodia for Bangkok, Thailand. We spent two nights in bustling Khao San road, which is known for its embarrassingly high concentration of white people, the largest collection of Anglos this side of the Pacific. While the area was bereft of legitimate Thai culture, it did offer very cheap eats, including dollar Pad Thai, which became an immediate "go-to".
Chiang Mai, Thailand After the two nights in Bangkok and some cheap theatre, we headed North to Chiang Mai on a 12hr bus arriving at 6am. Having only an hour or so, we quickly changed and packed a bag for a two day trek in the surrounding hills of the city.
Our trek took us first to see a snake show, to an orchid farm, then we were off to actually begin our three and a half hour trek up a mountain to spend the night with a hilltribe village. Our overnight was pretty pleasant, and included a free show. After taking a dozen hits from his marijuana pipe and washing them down with several beers, our guide kindly treated us to his, err, interesting renditions of popular American music. The playlist varied
from the predictable Bob Marley tunes, to the just plain awkward love ballad; Poison's "Every Rose Have A Torn". It was after his last Willie Nelson song when one of his strings broke and put a crude ending to his swallow's song. For the rest of the evening we enjoyed the view of lanterns being released skyward, fireworks in the distance, and some of the brightest stars we've seen.
The next day was chock full of fun. We trekked downhill to a waterfall for a quick dip, then further down to hitch a ride on the back of a real live elephant who would not stop pestering us to feed her bananas. Bribing the creature was the only way to keep the thing going forward without tossing us over the cliff to our right. After elephant riding, we went white water rafting and somehow managed to hang up on every boulder possible. Our new guide proved as spacey as our last, and had a hard time distinguishing between right, left, or any direction for that matter. The four of us paddled in different directions well enough to make us go down most of the rapids backwards. We ended the trip
Setting a bad example
Char enabling the elephant's begging on a bamboo raft downriver where our tuktuk was waiting to take us back to town.
The day after our trek, we went ziplining through the jungle on a tour called "Flight of The Gibbon". There were fifteen different ziplines and high points to rappel from. It was all fun, but we didn't have to do much at all. Even the rappelling was handled by the guides. Even though I would have liked to do some of the dirty work, it was nice to be in good hands. Oh, and for those that don't know, ziplining involves hooking up to a cable strung between two trees and gliding across while suspended in a harness. We all had a great time, but it wasn't nearly as exciting as our time in Vietnam.
For everyone in Fairbanks, you'll be interested to know that while in Chiang Mai we stumbled upon a familiar yet totally unexpected piece of home. Noah, Sheena, Charla, and I were walking around one of the nightly markets in Chiang Mai looking for a place to eat, when we inadvertently walked into "Lemongrass"! I looked inside and recognized one of the waiters who had served at the
Ms. Magoo
Char's attempt to bribe our elephant. It took about 43 bananas to get us back safely. Fairbanks location a couple of year ago. It turns out that we had found the sister restaurant to our favorite Thai place in Fairbanks. The food turned out as excellent as we expected. It was really great to have familiar dishes with the freshest Thai ingredients instead of substitutes. It was like discovering Thai food all over again.
Leaving Chiang Mai a day later, we hopped on another overnight bus back to Bangkok. With just a couple of broken hours of sleep, we ventured out to one of the biggest outdoor markets in the world, "Chatichuk". The place was sprawling, with vendors of every type. We spent about 11 hours there, and accomplished our goal of getting some gift shopping done. Exhausted, we slept in the next day and arranged for another Southward bus to Ko Lanta, where we were to meet back up with Sheena and Noah. The bus ride was typical, not quite enough room, sporadic air conditioning, and a timely stop at a roadside feeding trough fit for only the most masochistic eaters.
Ko Lanta, Thailand By the grace of God, we made it unscathed and "unhepatitised" to a cozy beach side bungalow where we've
been for the last two days. Yesterday we rented motos and headed to one of the Southern beaches for an afternoon of sun and bodysurfing. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we're planning on taking a snorkeling day trip around four nearby islands. We'll keep you posted.
Love to all, C&C
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paige
non-member comment
Amazing
What an amazing ride you are both on. You are really educating those of us that have never been past Seattle. Sounds like you are really having fun. -22 last night and supposed to get to -30 tonight. You are not missing a thing. Char, I heard a noise the other day in the hall that reminded me of your jingle bell boots. We sure do miss you here. Stay safe and I will wait to get my postcard when you return. Love Paige