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Published: August 26th 2008
Well time again has escaped me, and here I am only 5 short days before I head off to Australia. The meditation retreat is where I last left off so this is what I've been up too for the last 4 weeks...
The 3 days of silence were quite an experience to say the least! Actually I learned a lot about meditation, Buddhism, and also how much talking we do! My ears almost hurt from the silence after the mayhem of Hanoi. It was quite the spiritual experience as well, and I hope to be able to practice more meditation, but it is hard while traveling.
After the retreat I went on a Hill Tribe trek and white water rafting trip. It was a sausage party and me! 3 guys from Spain and 4 Lebanese guys from Belgium. They were all a lot of fun and I liked being the token female after all the girls I had been around volutneering (but I loved all ya gals too of course!!). After that I spent a couple more days just chillaxin' in Chiang Mai before heading back to Bangkok. I met up with the gang from Two Hills on the 4th of August, and enjoyed the 2 days we spent together. Due to our differences in itineraries we didn't spend as much time together as first planned which was disappointing, but nevertheless it was great to see them. My sister Kim arrived on the 5th and I was very stoked to see her. We spent the first night up till 3am chatting, catching up, having Singha, and Kim's first taste of "real" Thai food. Bangkok didn't let her down and we scarffed down some banana pancakes, Tom Yum (spicy prawn soup), Som Tam (spicy papaya salad), and Pad Thai! I introduced Kim to the tastes of street food and we never got sick so it must've been ok!! The next day we went to the Grand Palace and Wat Po (with the biggest reclining Buddha in the world!) which was quite impressive, and then the Two Hills gang headed off to Ko Samui and Kim and I headed to Hua Hin. There we had a great place to stay and also enjoyed our time on the beach. We met a great gal from New York who we hung out with. We also indulged ourselves on some top notch seafood including garlic scallops, Lobster thermidor, oodles and oodles of fresh prawns, deep fried fish, squid (aka cuttlefish) and many other fabulous things! The elasticized waist band was a great invention. ;p
After a few days there we were off again onto Ko Phangan, home of the infamous "full moon party"! There we had an absolutely gorgeous little bungalow, did I mention it was ocean-front, where the view from our door was a hammock and the sea! The beach wasn't the best but the resort had a pool which we used a lot, and again the Thai food was outstanding (anyone going to Ko Phangan has to try the food at Liberty in Ban Khai!). The next adventure was renting a motorbike...kinda like a vespa however neither one of us had ever riden one before so the little sister got brave (that'd be me!) and decided it would be a good way to get to Haad Rin (the main beach and the town on Ko Phangan) and also an easy way to move resorts instead of getting a taxi.
Well....maps aren't always very good at telling you changes in elevation nor the degree of bend in the road...remember helmuts are not worn, no driving lessons were undertook, and we were driving on the left hand side of the road. All these factors together equal one of the scariest experiences of either of our lives (read on to see that we actually topped this moment with another!). So basically it was the longest 8 km drive of our lives with hairpin turns and up and downhill grades of 20%, thankfully our brakes didn't fail. People drive like maniacs there and sometimes we couldn't see around the corner at all. Once on a particularly steep downhill section both of us were pretty scared so we pulled into a driveway to take a breather and someone's brakes failed and they crashed into us. We were stationary and were like deer in the headlights a bit! Luckily no one was hurt and there was no damage to either motorbike. After that, Kim got off and walked the rest of the way down the hill (did I mention I did all the driving...if someone would have had a video camera on my face, the video would be pretty hilarious in regards to facial expressions and the look of utter fear!). Then we were a little jittery, returned the damn bike, and went for a beer (or 2...).
The next day we booked an elephant safari and snorkel trip which was a highlight of Ko Phangan. We were the only ones on the tour so had lots of personal attention. The scenery was great, and although the water was too rough to snorkel for very long (and I am still healing from a nasty coral wound on my knee), we had a great time on Ko Phangan.
We took an overnight boat back to the mainland and Kim got her first experience with Asian-style squat toilets. She was a master by the end! Then we got a bus to Krabbi and my friend Phet (who Becky and I had met in Laos) picked us up and helped us find a place to stay. He owns a dive company and restaurant. Quite the jack of all trades he is! Actually his restaurant was destroyed in the Tsunami and is re-opening it in October in time for high season...anyone going to Krabi make sure you stop by The Seahorse restaurant in Ao Nang beach. Phet truly made our experience in Krabbi so much more and we even stayed there for 5 days, 2 days longer than originally planned. He took me out reef and cave diving (tres tres great!) and Kim went snorkeling while I was diving. I saw these hugmongous lobsters in the cave, lots of sea urchins, and lots of colorful fish and coral, amazing. He introduced us to a lot of his friends, and took us to local places to eat to really get a feel of true Thailand. He tooks lots of pics underwater and burned us a CD of them, drove us around, and was a great ambassador! He made that part of the trip and hopefully he will come and visit Canada so we can return the favor! Kim and I also went to a Thai cooking class in Krabi and so we will dazzle you all with our skills, if we can find the ingredients that is. It was a great review for me since I took my last class in May with Becky. Kim will get to practice until I get back and then we will feast on homemade Thai food....yum yumm!!
We then went to Ko Phi Phi for 2 nights and it was really beautiful there. The sand on Maya Bay (where they filmed the movie "The Beach") was unreal...like powder. Post-card perfect turquoise water. Although the Bay was incredibly busy and very touristy, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. We did more snorkeling although there were so many boats that again it was really rough and not easy to see stuff. But we met a great gal from Holland and 2 guys from New Zealand who we partied it up with later that night. The damage from the Tsunami was really bad in Ko Phi Phi and it was still apparent. A lot has been re-built but you can still see the rubble. We visited the Memorial Garden for those who died and it was of course sad. It will be interesting to go back to see the progress over time.
Our trip from Phi Phi down to Hat Yai was the event that topped our scary experience on the motorbike. It was a 1.5 hour boat to the mainland (no prob), then a 4 hour terrifying ride to Hat Yai. It was in what they call a mini bus...or more like a minivan with seats for 10 and the driver. The driver was careening around turns like Groat Road at about 120km/hr. The 2 girls sitting in the front were white we when stopped for a break. I yelled at the driver to slow down but he ignored, and even laughed at me. It was so so aweful. I had gotten used to crazy driving, no seatbelts, and no following the rules of the road after 4 months in asia, but this was something else. I was a tad nauseated and Kim and I were bracing ourselves on the seat in front of us. We had, no lie, probably 25 near misses. We were the only ones getting out in Hat Yai after 4 harrowing hours. Some people were going all the way down to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia which was another 8 hours...I couldn't even imagine. If that was me, I would have gotten out and found another way. So after that hair-raising experience Kim and I were pretty shaken up and were not too intersted to get into another van down to Malaysia so we shopped around and found a real bus for the next day. Then we went for a much needed massage and a few beers as well. We met some of the most amazing people from Malaysia on the bus to Ipoh, Malaysia. A couple behind us who lived in Ipoh (where the bus was heading) and they arranged for us to get the bus onwards that night to the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. Kim and I think that someone was looking out for us and sent us those amazing people.
We arrived in Tanae Rata in the Cameron Highlands after freezing our butts off on the bus (put on a sweater, socks (with sandals, yeah!)) only to discover that it wasn't just the air con that was on too high, it really was cold there. We were much higher altitude and it had been raining so it was really chilly. I actually wore pants and socks to bed, and we asked for extra blankets! I guess it is a good intro to Australia since it will be chilly there for the spring. We had an amazing time in the Cameron Highlands. It was so great to have some new foods to try (lots of Indian and Chinese people in Malaysia) and also new scenary from the beach (i know, I sound spoiled...lol). We went on a great Country side tour which included a tea plantation, a honey farm, strawberry farm, an orchid/rose garden, and an insect/butterfly garden. It was really relaxed and we saw some of the most gorgeous tropical flowers and some very interesting tropical bugs. Kim, being the science teacher, took it all in and took tons and tons of photos of all the cool insects, lizards, butterflies, and flowers. We also saw the factory where they make the tea which was very interesting, and then sampled the tea...anyone who sees Kim ask her to make some tea for you from Boh...so so smooth, rich tasting...I am now a bit of a tea snob, thai food snob, and beach snob...I will admit it freely!
The next day we went on a 5 hour jungle trek. this was no walk in the woods on a marked path, it was some serious cutting through the jungle. We didn't see any animals, but definately some very cool plants and bugs. One of the plants leaves would close together when you touched it as a defense mechanism. Again very cool for the science geeks Kim and I are. Tropical plants, animals, amphibians, and insects are something totally different than what we get in frosty Alberta. Our guide on the trek was the most fit 65 year old man I have ever met. We couldn't keep up! He was very knowledgable and enthusiastic. He took quite the shine to Kim and he kept wanting to hold her hand and help her down the steep parts! It was actually really funny. It was pretty wet and slippery from the rain so we were pretty muddy and tired when we got back. The guide also showed us this plant which may be where wicker is from, and he made us bracelets, and made a crown for his Kimmy (LOL!!!).
We arrived in Kuala Lumpur on sunday night and went out to celebrate my upcoming b-day this week. So we had a really great dinner and then went out to a Reggae bar for drinks. We ended up meeting some more great people and stayed out until after 3am! So we were feeling a tad rough yesterday morning but did finish up the last of Kim shopping and a bit of sightseeing here before I escorted her to the airport last night. It was pretty emotional to say goodbye. Thanks Kim for an absolutely amazing trip, great quality sister time, and for sharing my love of travel. We are already planning a return trip to Indonesia in 2 years since we didn't get there on this trip.
Wow...that was long...sorry for the eye strain! I know my hands are sore and my neck cramped from all this computer time today! Kim will post some pictures up on both of our facebooks when she gets home and recovers from her jet lag. Crazy girl has to work the next day after she gets back!
I am still in Kuala Lumpur (or rather KL) until thursday then will go on to Melaka and down to Singapore for my flight to Melbourne Austrailia on sunday (august 31). So farewell from Asia...it's been quite the ride, but I am looking forward to the next adventure on a new continent!!
over and out in Asia....Carla :o)
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Michelle Abbott
non-member comment
wow
Wow Carla...you are an amazing blog writer!! I laughed out loud reading your blog, as you are able to see the lighter side after all the scares you both had, and had tears in my eyes reading some parts too! Definately LOL when picturing your facial expressions on the motorbike, with Kim walking down behind you....too funny, but understandably not so funny at the time. I am so proud of you! And so glad you and Kim got to spend time travelling together! Miss you and love you lots! P.S. - the other day Deric asked "does Aunty Carla have her SUV in Thailand?'....too cute!....betch wish you did after the motorcycle and mini bus experiences!