Blogs from Asia - page 15572

Sain bain uu Well, it's amazing what a little communist vigour can do for one's spirit! We've had a very interesting few days, and despite the total lack of hot water for almost a week, we're doing better.School began last Thursday with quite the fanfare...two opening ceremonies, complete with a matronly, portly-bottomed Russian MC, cute kids doing Russian song and dance routines, balloons floating off into the sky (pollute the city a bit more, kids!) and some pretty serious uniforms (suits and stilettos), set off by the hundreds of bunches of flowers held by the kids for their new teachers. (We got none, as we're not class teachers, and felt suffieciently hard-done-by). Although the Russian songs were undeniably cute, our favourite part was incidentally the only Mongolian performance. A girl performed the national dance, which was ... read more

Chiang Mai, a further 100k North of Sukothai is an attractive city of 200 thousand and has a pleasantly cosmopolitan feel to it. We spent a couple of days exploring the city where we visited markets, had a Thai massage and went on a cooking course. From here we started a three day trek through the Doi Inthahon (Thailand's largest mountain) National Park. It was great fun as we walked through pristine tropical forest, punted downriver on bamboo rafts, took another elephant ride, and visited a couple of hill tribe villages where life was very basic. ... read more

Predictable title I know but it had to be done! Well we have now arrived safely in Thailand and are waiting for our flight to Koh Samui. Last night we splurged a bit and booked into a hotel which had a swimming pool, gym and spa for about ten pounds each for the night including breakfast and transfers. We tested out our mosquito nets out last night as although we probably didn't need them we though it was best to test it when it didn't matter! We ventured out into the local area (our hotel was close to the airport ready to meet out friends today) and attempted to try out our limited thai and had a local meal of fried rice grren curry with beef which was very nice. The heat here is a very ... read more

Hey all, I am in Phuket now and since it is the low season and after the tsunami the area which is usually very touristy is a bit closer to normal. In fact there aren't that many people here and it is a bit of a buyers market, but still expensive for Thailand. Last night I splurged and stayed in a 4 star hotel with pool, waterfall, free buffet breakfast and very nice rooms for 37 USD. Tonight I am staying in an airconditioned room on the beach in a 2 or 3 star place with a great view for 10 usd which is right next to the place I am learning scuba. It isn't near too much, but I am renting a scooter so I can get around for a little less than 4 USD ... read more

Tomorrow is Ganesha's birthday. Ganesha is a very popular god here, the first one that people pray to. So if there's a big temple, there will usually be a shrine for Ganesha before the other shrines. Religion here is inseparable from everyday life and, like everything else in India, is full of colour and life. It's amazing to see how stereotypes of the old collide with ideas of the new here. People walking down the street, doing shoppping or going to work will stop to bow and pray before a shrine on the side of their street before picking up their belongings and heading on their way again. Men with the string slung across their body (a sign of a brahmin) and a dhoti (white cloth wrapped around like a skirt) will leave a temple and ... read more