After this extremely long day, our bus pulled up to a --- drum roll please – Chinese restaurant for dinner. Since our group has 14 people, we have to sit at two separate tables. Understandably, the Floridians who came on the trip together always want to sit together so our table has turned out to always be us, Clay and Twila – the older couple from Palo Alto – and Marc and Cathy – the Jewish couple from Augora Hills. Obviously we’re the cool kids… and we all happen to be from California. GO BEARS. We’re very happy with the seating arrangements. Also, it is traditional in China for one person to order for the entire table. Luckily for us, there is a set menu and Ming, our tour guide, makes sure all the food arrives promptly and explains what everything is – which is key since we’d have no chance in hell of figuring it out otherwise. They eat weird things here… mostly pork and Lotus Flower. What the fuck is a lotus flower? Also, how is there so much pork to eat but no pigs anywhere. We haven’t seen one pig. But we’ve been served a hundred of them. Sketchball. Most of our meals have been really good…. Some have even been excellent… but a few have been what Ming told us Chinese people call “MA MA HOO HOO”. To be frank, this means “fair at best” but literally it means “Tiger Tiger Horse Horse”. Long story short: a man looked in the distance and saw what he thought was a tiger, another man looked at the same animal and thought it was a horse… they deflected their question of what they animal in the distance actually was to a wise man who said it was something between a horse and a tiger… therefore, MA MA HOO HOO. Get it?
Random announcement: During dinner Josh went to the bathroom and saw a cook leave without washing his hands. Thankfully, he decided to withhold this information from Lindsey for about a week…
After dinner we were given the option of attending a Kung Fu musical show called the Legend of Kung Fu. Obviously we were totally down. As we had learned in Thailand, it’s always better to go for the optional activity if possible. Luckily for us, the show was awesome. It had an English translation, so we could follow along and the acrobatics and Kung Fu elements of it were pretty stunning. Also, we got to sit in the third row. Not bad, China Spree, not bad. Haha.
we're so behind in our blogging... but we've decided this is a good thing....
-- lindsey and josh
Friday, April 11, 2008
Shirley You Can’t Be Serious
The next morning (Monday the 31st) we met our tour group in the lobby at 9 am. To be frank – which is a favorite expression of our national Tour Guide whose name is Ming (she’s fab, but more on her later) – we are not the typical demographic of people who go on the China Spree tours… we are 30 years younger than everyone else in our tour group. Literally. There are 8 people in our group from Florida. They have all been friends for 20 years and have traveled together many times before. They also all go camping in Florida together about once a month. The sum it up, we think they all voted for GW. (One of the guys tried to tell us that Al Gore was only interested in Global Warming because of all the money he was making by promoting his film… RIIIIIGGGHHHTTTT. Josh had to bite his tongue in order to avoid getting into a heated argument about that one. Another one of them, who in all fairness had a son who served in Iraq, which is obviously extremely Nobel and admirable, tried to Josh that there were many good reasons for the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy… Yeah. But, as long as we don’t talk politics or religion, they are very nice folks.) There are two other couples on the trip, both from California. Twila and Clayton are Josh’s favorites. They are an older couple from Palo Alto, and he went to Stanford, and she is on the board of Meals on Wheels (yeah Mom/Shana). But they are very fun and enjoy their bottle of wine at dinner every night. (We even found out that they have gone on the “Sideways” wine tour near Santa Barbara. In other words, they went to all the restaurants and wineries and hotels that were used in the movie… haha. The last couple is Marc and Cathy. They are from Augora Hills and the only other members of the tribe. We also share a love for the Dodgers and Lakers and have been updating each other on the sports scores. They are a lot of fun and at times have joined us in laughing at the other members of the group… sometimes you just have to laugh, right?
Overall… we’ve definitely been laughing our way through this country… the Chinese people have weird habits and do ridiculous things and there has been a lot of laughter, which is definitely the way to go. Even though it’s a little funny to be so much younger than the rest of our group, we feel really fortunate to be taking this trip at this time in our life. China’s influence on the world is increasing rapidly and it’s really eye opening to see what’s going on here first hand – both currently in the ever developing modern sections of China and also the inspiring show of history in this country. Also, when all the members of our tour were our age, no one was even being allowed to enter the country… not that anyone wanted to at the time…
As we mentioned before, Ming is our national tour guide – this means that she is our leader for the entire trip, traveling with us wherever we go. But, unlike our tour in Thailand where we had one guide the whole time, YAY SU, ChinaSpree always has a national guide, a local guide, a bus driver and many times a specific activity guide to lead us along. Shirley, our local tour guide in Beijing, was Lindsey’s age (they were both born in 1985, the year of the Ox, haha). FYI, Yosh was born in the year of the Dog. Go Roosters… (long story). Shirley was awesome and really informative… the first thing we did in Beijing with our group was go to Hutong – a Hutong is the Chinese name for the old fashioned Chinese neighborhood that sort of look like tenements… the Hutong we went to is still being lived in – as we mentioned before, many of them are being bulldozed – however it was rather touristy and set up for large groups to come visit. We were each given our own Rickshaw driver to take us around. The rickshaw is basically a tuk tuk without a motor… a poor guy on a bike has to ride with us sitting in a seat behind him… Like central park, but without the horse. We even had a blanket to put over our knees… it’s chilly in Beijing this time of year… In the Hutong we visited a Kindergarten and a Drum Tower with a panoramic view of the city. Then we had lunch at a local family’s home… this meant we ate around a little table in a bedroom. Even though a local woman was really cooking us all the food in her tiny kitchen, they were shuttling people in and out of there like nobody’s business… we’re realizing more and more how lucky we are to only have 14 people in our group… some tour groups have 40 or 50.. craziness. Also, Lindsey joined some elderly women in doing a little Hutong Dance and Josh was mesmerized by some of the retirees who were fiercely betting on their Mah Jong games… we still need to learn how to play.
After the Hutong, we went to Tiananmen Square where a ceremony for the Olympic torch had just been held, so we couldn’t actually walk on the square, but we walked around it… As many of you know, the square has a rather marred history because of the student uprisings that took place there… it’s the largest public square in the world and can hold 1 million people. (A small fraction of Beijing’s city population.) Everything in China seems to be the biggest, the longest or the largest… Then we entered the Forbidden City, walking through a gate with a huge picture of Chairman Mao hanging over us.
When we told Grandma Helen that we would be going to the Forbidden City (she was there with Grandpa Sidney in 1988) her response was that it was “very big”. After being there, we agree… “very big” is the best way to describe it. (“Repetitive” and “excessive” are also a close second and third.) It’s something like 110 acres and had over 8000 rooms. For many hundreds of years the only people that could go inside of it were the Emperor, the Empress, the concubines and their 30,000 servants. WTF. Honestly, it was cool, but some of the other attractions have been far more impressive. The coolest part of the Forbidden City was the garden, which was gorgeous. There was even a man made mountain that was made with gigantic rocks from the bottom of a lake. WHY? WHY? Regardless, if you’re ever in Beijing, the Forbidden City is a must…
Also, at the Forbidden City Lindsey found a Four Star public bathroom. Yes, sometimes they rate bathrooms here the same way we usually rate hotels. But since it’s unclear who actually assigns these stars it’s hard to really judge what they mean. The four star bathroom wasn’t much better quality than most of the other public ones… which is piss poor. Literally. Lindsey has decided that even though it’s undeniable that China’s stake is rising in the world, especially in terms of the economy, this country will never really be able to claim superiority over anyone until they get rid of all their fucking squat toilets. It’s one thing to have to squat while going to the bathroom in the woods on a camping trip of something, but there is no reason that nice hotels and restaurants should make you go squat in a bathroom. And we understand after being in Thailand that some developing countries just don’t have the means to put in western bathrooms everywhere… but Lindsey was actually in a bathroom that had an AUTOMATIC FLUSH SQUAT TOILET. What? WHAT? If they can take the time and energy to put in a sophisticated flushing system, we find it hard to believe they couldn’t’ve just upped the ante and got a western toilet. Apparently, Chinese people seem to think that squat toilets are a good thing… something about having your knees above your waist while you’re peeing is better for your circulation or that the squatting movement strengthens your back… honestly we have no clue what the benefits are except that it makes you want to get in and out of the bathroom as quickly as possible. Overall, the toilets are nasty and for better or worse Lindsey has gotten really good at never having to pee.
Ch Ch Ch China (think Chia Pet)
We landed in Beijing late Saturday night (March 29th) after flying in from Bangkok. Our flight was pretty uneventful… we watched Wet Hot American summer on the plane – great movie, but even greater moment when the gay sex scene occurred right as the stewardess was trying to give Josh some apple juice. A W K W. Also, an Asian couple across the aisle from us was also watching their own home movies at full volume – we of course use our headphones – but they gave us the death stare when Josh asked them to turn the sound down… there are certain common courtesies that Chinese people seem to be lacking. For example, the concept of person space doesn’t seem to exist in this country. Maybe it’s cause there are 1.3 BILLION people here, but no one seems to mind jamming up against each other – especially in the public buses which literally drive down the street looking so full it seems like if just one more person tried to step on, someone would have to fall out of the window in order to accommodate them. (Speaking of which, we did see a Chinese man literally hanging out the window of a bus and eating corn on the cob while at a truck stop somewhere between Wuhan and Yichang – pictures to come.) Also, no one waits in line in this country… everyone just runs and cuts each other … especially in the bathroom. Well, the girls bathroom anyway. Lindsey will be waiting in line to use a stall and Chinese women will just swoop in front of her and steal the newly opened stall. (But that certainly isn’t the worst part of the public restrooms here… more on the nastiness of Chinese toilets later…)
Anyway, we land in Beijing – and unlike the last time we tried to take a cab to our Beijing Hotel we arrived without complication. Our hotel was in the heart of downtown Bejing – which doesn’t mean it’s close to anything since Beijing is so fucking huge – yes, that big – that it is impossible to walk anywhere. We tried… and failed miserably because at certain parts of the city the blocks are literally a ten minute walk apart (which makes the street maps very deceiving, because something can look like it’s only 3 blocks away, but you might end up walking for 35 minutes to get there) . This enormity makes sense though, seeing as how there are 17 million people in the city… if Beijing wasn’t huge there wouldn’t be room for everyone. Beijing is the capital of capital of China and in case you’ve been living under a rock, we should mention that it is also the host of 2008 summer Olympic Games. China could not be more excited about this. You can’t talk to anyone here without them bringing it up…
So our first full day was Sunday the 30th. The rest of our tour group wasn’t scheduled to arrive until that afternoon, so we had a free day to explore on our own. The first thing we did was ask the concierge where to get our digital pictures put onto a CD – he nicely drew a map for us, it was only 3 blocks away. 35 minutes later we ended up at the camera store, which was well disguised, if it weren’t for the oversized pictures of young children posed awkwardly hanging outside we might never have found it. Also, on the way there we were approached by some students who told us that they wanted to practice their English on us. The young boy and girl seemed very nice so we obliged and began talking. Soon thereafter, they invited us to look at their art exhibit, which was conveniently located near-by. (Has your red light gone off yet? Because ours certainly hadn’t… actually, in hindsight, Josh’s had but Lindsey was clueless). The students took us around the corner, into an apartment building and down four flights in an elevator (yes, we were on floor negative 4) and into a small room where their pictures were hanging. Everything started out innocently enough, they were showing us the work and explaining the meaning to us – EVERYTHING in China has a meaning: when in doubt it usually means either longevity, double happiness or good luck. Then, after making it clear that they wouldn’t pressure us into buying anything they asked us if we’d like to purchase something. (At this point, we knew it was sketch, but the art was honestly pretty good and so Lindsey was still intrigued – Josh was also playing along and trying to be nice, which confused Lindsey because she thoughts Josh actually liked the art as well.) It wasn’t until an older couple from New York City – who were also being shown the art exhibit but another pair of young students – leaned over to us and said “you don’t really believe they’re art students do you?” that our real red lights finally went off. Even though our art students quickly agreed to cut the price of their artwork in half and then in half again, we walked out without buying anything – in hindsight a very smart move.
Then we went to go have lunch at a Peking Duck restaurant – but unfortunately we showed up at 1:40 and the restaurant was taking a Spanish fiesta and closed for lunch at 1:30. Who knew? So we ventured around the corner and found a clean looking restaurant in a nice looking hotel. We ordered – Josh was thrilled to get some Kung Pow Chicken and the dumplings that Lindsey ordered are still the best she’s had (even after a week of Chinese meals). After eating, we took off to see the Bird’s Nest – which is the place where the opening ceremonies for the Olympics will be held, as well as other Olympic venues that were supposedly nearby (keep in mind, that in Beijing, nearby could mean 40 minutes away). After walking past the metro station a few times, we finally found it and successfully navigated our way to the proper station. Unfortunately for everyone who will be attending the Olympic games, the venues are a good 30 to 40 minute walk away from the nearest subway station. This is because the location of the games used to be very low income housing – or, more accurately non-income housing – but the government of China kicked those people out of their houses and bulldozed the site in order to build the venues for the games. The Chinese government seems to have a habit of kicking people out of their houses without asking. This is mostly due to the fact that in China people are unable to actually own any land. All of the land here belongs to the government, but people can buy the houses on top of the land to live in but only for a maximum of 70 years and they don’t have any right to protest if the government suddenly decides to kick them out – which is what happened in Beijing for the good of the Olympics: remember that as you watch the gymnastic competition this summer.
Since the metro was so far from the venues, we took a cab to see the Bird’s Nest… the driver dropped us off the middle of the construction site. The venue is certainly impressive, but they are nowhere near being done readying the surround area for the games. Knowing even the little that we do about the Chinese government we are certain that they will get their shit together in time – they don’t want to be embarrassed on the world’s stage. As if the situation in Tibet weren’t enough… BUT it might be interesting to explain that even though CNN and the rest of the world is reporting that there is still unrest in Tibet, the Chinese people are under the impression that everything is fine there and back to normal… if it weren’t for the “evil” Dali Lama who is urging on the protesters. However, CNN is reporting that the Dali Lama has said numerous times that the Olympic games should be held and that Tibet wants peaceful autonomy not independence from China… unfortunately Chinese people don’t get to watch CNN.
After seeing the Olympic venues – from a walking bridge that goes over the freeway since this is the closest we lay people could get to – we tried to walk back to our original metro stop – we swear it looked close on the map – but after about an hour of walking, we still hadn’t found it. We got in a cab and tried to get back there, but we found out that without the actual address written in Chinese it is impossible to get anywhere… we ended up being taken to the school of Economics. WE STILL DON’T KNOW WHY. After switching cabs, we finally made it back to our hotel – and Lindsey promptly ordered a banana split.
It was a long day after all… Good times.
Anyway, we land in Beijing – and unlike the last time we tried to take a cab to our Beijing Hotel we arrived without complication. Our hotel was in the heart of downtown Bejing – which doesn’t mean it’s close to anything since Beijing is so fucking huge – yes, that big – that it is impossible to walk anywhere. We tried… and failed miserably because at certain parts of the city the blocks are literally a ten minute walk apart (which makes the street maps very deceiving, because something can look like it’s only 3 blocks away, but you might end up walking for 35 minutes to get there) . This enormity makes sense though, seeing as how there are 17 million people in the city… if Beijing wasn’t huge there wouldn’t be room for everyone. Beijing is the capital of capital of China and in case you’ve been living under a rock, we should mention that it is also the host of 2008 summer Olympic Games. China could not be more excited about this. You can’t talk to anyone here without them bringing it up…
So our first full day was Sunday the 30th. The rest of our tour group wasn’t scheduled to arrive until that afternoon, so we had a free day to explore on our own. The first thing we did was ask the concierge where to get our digital pictures put onto a CD – he nicely drew a map for us, it was only 3 blocks away. 35 minutes later we ended up at the camera store, which was well disguised, if it weren’t for the oversized pictures of young children posed awkwardly hanging outside we might never have found it. Also, on the way there we were approached by some students who told us that they wanted to practice their English on us. The young boy and girl seemed very nice so we obliged and began talking. Soon thereafter, they invited us to look at their art exhibit, which was conveniently located near-by. (Has your red light gone off yet? Because ours certainly hadn’t… actually, in hindsight, Josh’s had but Lindsey was clueless). The students took us around the corner, into an apartment building and down four flights in an elevator (yes, we were on floor negative 4) and into a small room where their pictures were hanging. Everything started out innocently enough, they were showing us the work and explaining the meaning to us – EVERYTHING in China has a meaning: when in doubt it usually means either longevity, double happiness or good luck. Then, after making it clear that they wouldn’t pressure us into buying anything they asked us if we’d like to purchase something. (At this point, we knew it was sketch, but the art was honestly pretty good and so Lindsey was still intrigued – Josh was also playing along and trying to be nice, which confused Lindsey because she thoughts Josh actually liked the art as well.) It wasn’t until an older couple from New York City – who were also being shown the art exhibit but another pair of young students – leaned over to us and said “you don’t really believe they’re art students do you?” that our real red lights finally went off. Even though our art students quickly agreed to cut the price of their artwork in half and then in half again, we walked out without buying anything – in hindsight a very smart move.
Then we went to go have lunch at a Peking Duck restaurant – but unfortunately we showed up at 1:40 and the restaurant was taking a Spanish fiesta and closed for lunch at 1:30. Who knew? So we ventured around the corner and found a clean looking restaurant in a nice looking hotel. We ordered – Josh was thrilled to get some Kung Pow Chicken and the dumplings that Lindsey ordered are still the best she’s had (even after a week of Chinese meals). After eating, we took off to see the Bird’s Nest – which is the place where the opening ceremonies for the Olympics will be held, as well as other Olympic venues that were supposedly nearby (keep in mind, that in Beijing, nearby could mean 40 minutes away). After walking past the metro station a few times, we finally found it and successfully navigated our way to the proper station. Unfortunately for everyone who will be attending the Olympic games, the venues are a good 30 to 40 minute walk away from the nearest subway station. This is because the location of the games used to be very low income housing – or, more accurately non-income housing – but the government of China kicked those people out of their houses and bulldozed the site in order to build the venues for the games. The Chinese government seems to have a habit of kicking people out of their houses without asking. This is mostly due to the fact that in China people are unable to actually own any land. All of the land here belongs to the government, but people can buy the houses on top of the land to live in but only for a maximum of 70 years and they don’t have any right to protest if the government suddenly decides to kick them out – which is what happened in Beijing for the good of the Olympics: remember that as you watch the gymnastic competition this summer.
Since the metro was so far from the venues, we took a cab to see the Bird’s Nest… the driver dropped us off the middle of the construction site. The venue is certainly impressive, but they are nowhere near being done readying the surround area for the games. Knowing even the little that we do about the Chinese government we are certain that they will get their shit together in time – they don’t want to be embarrassed on the world’s stage. As if the situation in Tibet weren’t enough… BUT it might be interesting to explain that even though CNN and the rest of the world is reporting that there is still unrest in Tibet, the Chinese people are under the impression that everything is fine there and back to normal… if it weren’t for the “evil” Dali Lama who is urging on the protesters. However, CNN is reporting that the Dali Lama has said numerous times that the Olympic games should be held and that Tibet wants peaceful autonomy not independence from China… unfortunately Chinese people don’t get to watch CNN.
After seeing the Olympic venues – from a walking bridge that goes over the freeway since this is the closest we lay people could get to – we tried to walk back to our original metro stop – we swear it looked close on the map – but after about an hour of walking, we still hadn’t found it. We got in a cab and tried to get back there, but we found out that without the actual address written in Chinese it is impossible to get anywhere… we ended up being taken to the school of Economics. WE STILL DON’T KNOW WHY. After switching cabs, we finally made it back to our hotel – and Lindsey promptly ordered a banana split.
It was a long day after all… Good times.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
on a scale of one to perfect...
If we’ve learned one thing on this trip so far, it’s that if we have the chance to do something cool it’s always better to go out and do it no matter how tired we are. This lesson was once again re-enforced to us when we decided to go to see a show called “Phuket Fantasea” . The entire experience is billed as a “cultural theme park” and this it was. After taking a 45 minute cab ride we were dropped off at the Fantasea location which was a cross between the Dumbo ride at Disneyland, Ringling Brother’s Circus and the Orange County Fair. There were carnival games, street vendors, crazy stores with oversized things to take pictures with, a Wild Animal Exhibition including very sleepy Tigers, a chance to ride on elephants – which we passed on because it was too cheesy and we had the authentic experience already -- and the largest “International” Buffet room we’ve ever seen. Dinner was included with our tickets, Lindsey was happy to see Sushi and Josh ate too much Curry.
The show itself was about an hour and fifteen minutes long and consisted of a Magic show, crazy acrobats flying from the ceiling, traditional Thai dancing and fighting and a love scene which we thought would be boring but then in the middle of the song a bunch of roosters and then later goats took turns running across the stage in unison and it was amazing. The coolest part was the final number that consisted of at least 20 elephants dancing on the stage at the same time. Poor elephants, but great entertainment. Also, it should be noted that the people whose job it was too pick up the elephant shit while they were performing did an excellent job – however there was some elephant pee on the stage during the current call -- we couldn’t help but worrying for the safety of the cast.
The next morning we left our second hotel in Phuket and headed to our third and final destination: the JW Marriot Resort and Spa.
On a scale of one to perfect the JW Marriot would be somewhere above perfect. After three weeks of semi roughing it we were thrilled at the site of a kingsize bed and bathtub. The hotel itself was gorgeous and breathtaking. There were three pools (we only made it two) that overlooked the beach, rivaling and perhaps surpassing the luxury and awesomeness of any hotel we’ve ever stayed at. (Sorry Kea Lani) The coolest feature had to be the fact that there were two pet elephants that hung out through out the day with the guests. Dumbo, aged 2 is the baby elephant and Yum Yum is 6 and a newer addition to the resort. Not only could we feed the elephants and take pictures with them but we even had the rare opportunity to ride them IN THE OCEAN! One of the all time highlights of our trip so far – we know China will be pretty cool but we don’t see ourselves getting the chance to ride panda’s in the ocean. . .
The food at the JW Marriot was pricey, but amazing. Not only did Yosh get to eat at a Steak House but there was a 24 hour deli that had Bagels and Cream Cheese. There was some romance involved on the resort. On our last night in Thailand we arranged to have a romantic dinner for two in a hut on the beach overlooking the beautiful ocean and incredible sunset. Not only were our surroundings phenomenal but our four course menu entitled Passionately Grilled was superb with such favorites as grilled prawns with papaya, grilled Salmon over salad and a trio of grilled lamb chops, lobster and chicken. Potentially the best part was the fresh fruit plate for dessert – note: even though Josh was worried, during our 48 hours at the resort we gave up our strict “no raw fruits or vegetables or anything that could have touched water and not been cooked fully policy” since Lindsey figured it was too nice of hotel not to purify the contaminated Thai water. This even resulted in us being allowed to drink a pitcher of ice blended margaritas… with ice! Ahhh never underestimate how important ice is…
So our last night in Thailand couldn’t have been more wonderful… and it pretty much summed up how we’ve felt about our entire three weeks: we’ll never forget this vacation and we’ve had an absolute blast…. Anndd the best part is we’re only halfway done with our trip.
The first three weeks have just flown by… but we’ve done so much in such a short time that it’s rather exhausting to look back on it all – and we have over 700 pictures to prove it.
We’ve ridden planes, trains, buses, taxis, bicycles, jet skis, songtaews, tuk tuks, go carts, bamboo rafts and, of course, elephants – both in and out of the ocean… despite any bug bites or missteps along the way we've really been able to soak up the culture and open our eyes to whole new part of the world. There have certainly been moments of crabbiness or frustration but mostly there's been fun and there's been laughter and there's been a lot of amazing moments to write home about... which is all we could really ever ask for -- and more. So now that we’ve sweated our way through the beautiful country of Thailand and we are ready to head off to China…
(truth be told: we’ve already spent four nights in Beijing and are heading off to Xi’an tomorrow… the cliff notes version of our time here is that we’ve visited the forbidden city, ti’annmen square, the summer palace, the temple of heaven and the place where the Olympic games will be held in August. We’ve climbed the great wall – which was spectacular – and we saw an incredible kung fu show… also, we’ve almost already exhausted our ability to eat any more Chinese food – which might be problematic in the very near future… but mostly we’ve just been having a great time and laughing our way through this awesome and puzzling country – there will be much more in-depth blog posts to follow… but we’ve just been having too much fun to sit and write it all down… )
Glad the Dodgers won their opener… go blue!!
-- Lindsey and Josh
The show itself was about an hour and fifteen minutes long and consisted of a Magic show, crazy acrobats flying from the ceiling, traditional Thai dancing and fighting and a love scene which we thought would be boring but then in the middle of the song a bunch of roosters and then later goats took turns running across the stage in unison and it was amazing. The coolest part was the final number that consisted of at least 20 elephants dancing on the stage at the same time. Poor elephants, but great entertainment. Also, it should be noted that the people whose job it was too pick up the elephant shit while they were performing did an excellent job – however there was some elephant pee on the stage during the current call -- we couldn’t help but worrying for the safety of the cast.
The next morning we left our second hotel in Phuket and headed to our third and final destination: the JW Marriot Resort and Spa.
On a scale of one to perfect the JW Marriot would be somewhere above perfect. After three weeks of semi roughing it we were thrilled at the site of a kingsize bed and bathtub. The hotel itself was gorgeous and breathtaking. There were three pools (we only made it two) that overlooked the beach, rivaling and perhaps surpassing the luxury and awesomeness of any hotel we’ve ever stayed at. (Sorry Kea Lani) The coolest feature had to be the fact that there were two pet elephants that hung out through out the day with the guests. Dumbo, aged 2 is the baby elephant and Yum Yum is 6 and a newer addition to the resort. Not only could we feed the elephants and take pictures with them but we even had the rare opportunity to ride them IN THE OCEAN! One of the all time highlights of our trip so far – we know China will be pretty cool but we don’t see ourselves getting the chance to ride panda’s in the ocean. . .
The food at the JW Marriot was pricey, but amazing. Not only did Yosh get to eat at a Steak House but there was a 24 hour deli that had Bagels and Cream Cheese. There was some romance involved on the resort. On our last night in Thailand we arranged to have a romantic dinner for two in a hut on the beach overlooking the beautiful ocean and incredible sunset. Not only were our surroundings phenomenal but our four course menu entitled Passionately Grilled was superb with such favorites as grilled prawns with papaya, grilled Salmon over salad and a trio of grilled lamb chops, lobster and chicken. Potentially the best part was the fresh fruit plate for dessert – note: even though Josh was worried, during our 48 hours at the resort we gave up our strict “no raw fruits or vegetables or anything that could have touched water and not been cooked fully policy” since Lindsey figured it was too nice of hotel not to purify the contaminated Thai water. This even resulted in us being allowed to drink a pitcher of ice blended margaritas… with ice! Ahhh never underestimate how important ice is…
So our last night in Thailand couldn’t have been more wonderful… and it pretty much summed up how we’ve felt about our entire three weeks: we’ll never forget this vacation and we’ve had an absolute blast…. Anndd the best part is we’re only halfway done with our trip.
The first three weeks have just flown by… but we’ve done so much in such a short time that it’s rather exhausting to look back on it all – and we have over 700 pictures to prove it.
We’ve ridden planes, trains, buses, taxis, bicycles, jet skis, songtaews, tuk tuks, go carts, bamboo rafts and, of course, elephants – both in and out of the ocean… despite any bug bites or missteps along the way we've really been able to soak up the culture and open our eyes to whole new part of the world. There have certainly been moments of crabbiness or frustration but mostly there's been fun and there's been laughter and there's been a lot of amazing moments to write home about... which is all we could really ever ask for -- and more. So now that we’ve sweated our way through the beautiful country of Thailand and we are ready to head off to China…
(truth be told: we’ve already spent four nights in Beijing and are heading off to Xi’an tomorrow… the cliff notes version of our time here is that we’ve visited the forbidden city, ti’annmen square, the summer palace, the temple of heaven and the place where the Olympic games will be held in August. We’ve climbed the great wall – which was spectacular – and we saw an incredible kung fu show… also, we’ve almost already exhausted our ability to eat any more Chinese food – which might be problematic in the very near future… but mostly we’ve just been having a great time and laughing our way through this awesome and puzzling country – there will be much more in-depth blog posts to follow… but we’ve just been having too much fun to sit and write it all down… )
Glad the Dodgers won their opener… go blue!!
-- Lindsey and Josh
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
bug bites and jet skis
So... when we last blogged we left you with the promise of more stories of beaches and snorkeling... we do have more stories of that... but the first couple are not exactly as lovely as we had hoped...
After leaving Krabi, we boarded a small boat, heading for Ko Yao Noi. We think the entire boat ride can be summed up by the fact that in order to board the boat we had to literally walk across a wooden plank that looked like it might snap apart at any moment... when Lindsey was told to walk onto the plank, she actually said out loud "you've got to be kidding" to which the older thai man replied, "no, it's very safe" -- yeahhhh righhhttt.
It should also be noted that the price of the hour-long boat ride, transporting us and all of our luggage, was three American dollars. Nice.
So we get to Ko Yao Noi, a very small Muslim island that is home to only about 3000 people. Needless to say there aren't many tourists on this island... we get to our guesthouse where we were staying in Bamboo huts right across the road from what looked like a lovely beach...
Not so much.
Although it was nice to be far away from throngs of tourists for a moment, our Bamboo huts were the most bug infested -- we had to sleep under a mosquito net which was totally ineffective since there were holes in it -- Lindsey ended up with ten bites on her feet alone and Josh had an even dozen on his left arm.
It was nearly two by the time we got the guesthouse and almost three by the time we had lunch... there weren't any activities planned for the day, so a bunch of our group decided to rent mopeds to cruise around the island -- since neither of us has an experience driving one, and Josh was way to afraid to learn on the fly, we decided to spend the afternoon hanging out at the beach... swimming and enjoying the sun, but...
It wasn't meant to be.
Apparently in Thailand low tide just doesn't mean that the tide goes out really far and the beach gets much longer. What actually happens is that the tide goes out really far and the beach, or what we thought was sand under the shallow water, gets revealed as actually being swamp-land disguised as sand. We ventured out into this "sand" to get out to the water... but quickly realized -- truthfully not quickly enough – that the sand was actually sinking under our feet in a mud-like fashion and we were being attacked by sharp shells and rocks. This wouldn’t’ve been so terrible is we could’ve just turned around and walked out of the swamp, but unfortunately out flip flops got stuck in the mud and then so did our feet and we were stranded in the swamp with nowhere to swim to clean off all the muddy sand that had accumulated somehow all over our body – especially on Josh’s back, no one knows how.
Ultimately, we did make it out of the swamp and vowed never to return again. Ha. (More on that later.)
So our entire group was out riding around the island and we were left with no good beach and no ocean to swim in and nothing to do on this tiny island except count our bug bites… (Lindsey left and then came back.)
That night we had dinner at our guesthouse, which was really the only place to eat on the entire island. Basically we just ate sweet and sour chicken at every meal.
The next morning, after being bitten all night – and yes, this did prompt many “Charlie bite me” impressions and variations – and, no there was no heat for the shower and the water inexplicably smelled like eggs – we took off with our group on a small wooden boat, heading out for more swimming and snorkeling. Our captain looked like the Thai version of Captain Jack Sparrow.
The best part of the day was being able to get to very small beaches and lagoons that were mostly empty except for our little group. It was absolutely gorgeous… paradise. We ended up having lunch on a little beach – no more than 20 feet wide and probably 100 feet long. Half the island was in the shade, perfect for an after-lunch nap, and there were caves to swim in and explore. Were it not for the sea lice that somehow found a way to always bite us after about ten minutes of being in the water, it would’ve been absolutely perfect.
When we got back to our beach, it was low tide again. (Uh oh) Our captain let us out as close to shore as possible… but this was still on the wrong side of the sandy swamp, making our entire group wade through it on our way back to shore. There was a lot of unhappiness and cut up feet after that unnecessary adventure.
After a shower and a beer, Lindsey finally got a ride around the island. Michael, one of the Australians from our first tour, happily took her out on the back of his bike. He drove like a very responsible adult. Haha. He even showed off the spot where Jules, one of the girls on our trip, had actually almost driven her bike off of the dock the day before – which, despite the inability to actually spend the previous afternoon swimming in the ocean confirmed our decision not to rent a moped. Jules was mostly unharmed – except for a bruise and nasty cut on her leg… but it could’ve been much worse and there are still skid marks in the cement near the dock on Ko Yao Noi island to prove it.
The next day we finally left the island, taking another boat trip to Phuket island, which is the largest and most touristy island in Thailand. This didn’t bother us since we are tourist and were happy to have beach chairs and umbrellas set up on the beach. Also, this time our hotel was really nice, the nicest we’d stayed in so far. It was big and clean and had air conditioning and warm showers. Amazingness.
The first beach we stayed at is called Karon, which was big and beautiful and full of people. There were people selling their wares on the beach – everything from brushes to remove sand, which made sense to us, to ice cream cones, which made more sense to Lindsey, to whistles made of bamboo, which really didn’t make much sense at all – but, for the record, we did see him sell at least one of them.
There was also a banana boat on the beach as well as parasailing and jet skiing. When we arrived to sign up to go jet skiing, we were asked to pay immediately and to sign away all liability, including any damage to the jet ski or ourselves. Lindsey was thrilled – Josh was nervous. Lindsey drove because Josh couldn’t see very well without his glasses. It was only half an hour – but it was awesome. Almost as much fun as the last time Lindsey paid a sketchy guy on a beach to ride his jet ski (Ya Acapulco. Hi Michelle!)
That night we had dinner with our group at the night market. Night markets primarily sell food – Thai food – and are usually only slightly sketchy. Even though before dinner we had professed that we were going to eat “anything but Thai food” we ended up joining our group in indulging in the local cuisine. Although we’ve been in Thailand for almost three weeks now, and have eaten our share of very good Thai food, we hadn’t eaten the street food… it all started with BBQ chicken on a stick, followed by spring rolls filled with potatoes and noodles, pad Thai, a sausage and even a banana and chocolate pancake for dessert… it was good. But Lindsey is still burping the sausage and it all might not have ended up sitting so well with either one of us. Yay for our first and last adventure with the street food in Thai land.
Later that night we got some hour -long Thai massages and headed to bed. The next day we had an entire day off just to relax and chill on the beach. We slept in late, got down to the beach, bought two beach chairs and an umbrella (6 American dollars for the whole day), and spent the rest of our time relaxing and swimming in the ocean. It was beautiful – but don’t worry Dad/Chuck: there are better waves in Santa Monica.
That night was our last with our tour group. We couldn’t believe it had flown by so quickly. Su, our amazing tour guide had organized an excursion for us to go see the Simon Cabaret. The cabaret featured an extensive cast of Ladyboys aka Thai drag queens, lip-synching to their favorite tunes which included a Dreamgirls medley, random songs in Chinese, Dina Ross’s I Will Survive, and our personal favorite (hi Don) Tina Turner singing Simply The Best. During one of the other numbers, which was a Thai song we had never heard of, one of the ladyboys came out into the crowd and planted a big kiss on Josh’s check. Don’t worry, he whispered “sorry” in Josh’s ear before doing so – and there is an amazing video of the event coming soon.
After the show, the Ladyboys assembled outside, still in costume, to take photos. They all seemed really eager to have their picture taken, calling people over to them. Of course we wanted to get one with Tina Turner, which we did and it’s awesome. But after the picture she turned to Josh and asked for a tip. Josh went to pull a 20 baht note out of his pocket, when Tina demanded a 100 baht. Even though 100 baht is only about 3 US dollars it is comparatively a lot to ask for. When Josh said he only had 20 baht, Tina got mad. Josh asked if she wanted the 20 or not and she indignantly said no. So we walked away and she didn’t get a tip – we think she really liked us.
Since that night was our last, after the show we took off to near-by Patong Beach, the party center of Phuket to have some more drinks and enjoy our last night together. Besides being a little dirty the biggest problem with Patong is that it is full of Thai prostitutes. There was a gross display of way too old men carting around way too young girls. Since all the bars seemed to be brothels we picked one and headed inside. It was awkward. There were scantily clad Thai girls pole dancing on the bars… also, it should be known that if you’re in a Thai brothel and a Thai girl asks you to play connect four, you might as well hand over some money right away because she intends to kick your ass in the game and make you pay for it… we still can’t decide if Connect Four is a game that allows anyone to cheat… there was also a weird game going on involving hitting a nail into a large wooden block with a really thin, weirdly shaped hammer. Apparently it was a race. No one really knows what was going on…
After realizing that maybe our little group was slightly out of place in this brothel we took off to find a more normal bar. We found an Aussie bar that had no prostitutes and went to drink there. Michael, our resident Aussie was very upset that this “Aussie Bar” was playing a football (soccer) game rather than Aussie rules – he wanted to complain the management. But, the soccer game was Chelsea versus Arsenal, which apparently is a very big deal. Chelsea won 2-1. Woo hoo. (Go Dodgers)
And that was the end of our tour… we said to goodbye to our group and are now on our own at a resort in Phuket. We are staying at the south east corner of the island at a nice hotel and we will moving to an even nicer hotel the day after tomorrow for our last two nights in Thailand.
The most eventful thing that has happened to us since leaving the tour involves Josh and some ear wax. Basically, Monday night after Lindsey pointed out that Josh had a lot of ear wax in his ears Josh used a Q-Tip (why?? WHY??) to clean his right ear and ended up pushing the wax further into it. He thought he may be going deaf. He is not. But it was quite an uncomfortable sleep for him since it felt like he had a cotton ball wedged in his right ear. This morning we talked to the people at our hotel about going to the hospital. They were very helpful, arranging a car for us to get there and making an appointment for Josh with the ear, nose and throat doctor at the international hospital. The hospital was very clean and much nicer than we expected. We didn’t have to wait very long and Josh was examined by a little Chinese doctor who spoke English and proceeded to quickly decide that Josh has an ear infection in both ears and then pull huge amounts of ear wax out of them with a little metal sucking device. Josh was very brave… (seriously) and walked away with clean ears and some ear drops. Good times. However he cannot put his ears underwater for our last few days at the beach. He’ll survive…
This afternoon we came back to the hotel and had Thai massages on the beach and then ordered room service for dinner and watched Little Miss Sunshine on the dvd player in our room…
Altogether we have four more nights in Thailand, all of which we will be spending on Phuket island, before we fly from Phuket to Bangkok and then directly from Bangkok to Beijing. We are getting really excited about China – Lindsey is currently reading a Traveler’s History of the country and obsessing over her Lonely Planet China…
Lots of love,
Lindsey and Josh
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Is it good for the blog?
We met at 5:30 pm for our 7:30 train because the traffic in Bangkok can sometimes be very bad... we got to the train station at 5:45...
After waiting for an hour in the hot and sweaty train station--the air conditioning wasn't working and we couldn't get a seat next to the fan -- we met with our group and carried our five heavy bags through the station to board the furthest train.
We then walked through the hectic train car... and ran into our first travel hiccup--
apparently Intrepid, our tour company, had booked the tickets on an earlier train, but hadn't bother to tell our trip leader.
So there we were, 13 of us, in the Bangkok train station without tickets to get to Krabi in the south of Thailand...
Su, our amazing leader, quickly rectified the situation -- putting us in cabs and sending us to the bes station. Btw -- the bus station is way nicer than the train station, way cleaner and actually had working air conditioner. We ended up booking a VIP bus to drive us to Krabi -- which actually got us there quicker than if we were to have taken the train... weird, but good luck.
The bus itself really wasn't so bad -- even though Lindsey had a minor panic attack once getting on board, Josh assured her that it would all be okay... at least it wasn't an airplane. Luckily we were able to sleep the whole time -- thank you ambien.
Also... throughout the whole hectic ordeal, Josh pointed out that even if missing our train wasn't so good for smooth sailing at least it was "good for the blog". (Note: If you haven't seen the documentary film Darius Goes West -- go watch it now. If you have -- it's kind of like when the bus breaks down but then the chihuahua starts praying... something like that. haha.)
The next morning, we arrived in Krabi and checked into our guesthouse, which is nice and clean and a ten minute walk from an amazing beach. It's pretty much been a parade of amazing beaches so far... white sand, clear/warm water... and even more incredible scenery.
We spent our first afternoon in Krabi on the beach -- Lindsey got a slight sunburn on her arms after falling asleep in the sun which she really did think was actually the shade.
Later, we were driven to a beach near-by where we're staying to go horsebacking riding on our own... we ended up each having our own horse, Josh rode Diamond and Lindsey rode Magnum, and our own Thai tour guide who was practically pulling our horses along the beach. The beach was absolutely empty and the sun was setting... we walked along the shoreline and enjoyed the view. :)
Last night we had dinner at a kind of touristy Thai restaurant, but ended up with the best sweet and sour chicken ever. Nice. After dinner we headed to the pharmacy to buy some aloe vera for the said sunburn when it literally started to pour. There was crazy lightening and pouring rain for about half an hour. We killed some time in the pharmacy -- there was a little thai boy inside who wasn't wearing any pants -- hmmm. Then we went to get some ice cream, well Lindsey got ice cream, while Josh ate a banana.
Today we spent the whole day on a speed boat driving around to different little islands, swimming and snorkeling. Some of the snorkel spots were better than others -- but we saw some incredible fish. Our boat driver had a loaf of bread to attract them to the boat... We also got to go to one of the beaches on an island called Phi Phi where the movie "The Beach" was actually filmed. It was pretty spectacular -- crawling with tourists, but for good reason.
We think we managed to avoid getting another sunburn today -- we wore shirts the whole time.
We're heading off to a small island off the coast tomorrow called Ko Yo Noi (we think) for two nights... more stories about beaches and snorkeling to come...
xoxo,
Lindsey and Josh
After waiting for an hour in the hot and sweaty train station--the air conditioning wasn't working and we couldn't get a seat next to the fan -- we met with our group and carried our five heavy bags through the station to board the furthest train.
We then walked through the hectic train car... and ran into our first travel hiccup--
apparently Intrepid, our tour company, had booked the tickets on an earlier train, but hadn't bother to tell our trip leader.
So there we were, 13 of us, in the Bangkok train station without tickets to get to Krabi in the south of Thailand...
Su, our amazing leader, quickly rectified the situation -- putting us in cabs and sending us to the bes station. Btw -- the bus station is way nicer than the train station, way cleaner and actually had working air conditioner. We ended up booking a VIP bus to drive us to Krabi -- which actually got us there quicker than if we were to have taken the train... weird, but good luck.
The bus itself really wasn't so bad -- even though Lindsey had a minor panic attack once getting on board, Josh assured her that it would all be okay... at least it wasn't an airplane. Luckily we were able to sleep the whole time -- thank you ambien.
Also... throughout the whole hectic ordeal, Josh pointed out that even if missing our train wasn't so good for smooth sailing at least it was "good for the blog". (Note: If you haven't seen the documentary film Darius Goes West -- go watch it now. If you have -- it's kind of like when the bus breaks down but then the chihuahua starts praying... something like that. haha.)
The next morning, we arrived in Krabi and checked into our guesthouse, which is nice and clean and a ten minute walk from an amazing beach. It's pretty much been a parade of amazing beaches so far... white sand, clear/warm water... and even more incredible scenery.
We spent our first afternoon in Krabi on the beach -- Lindsey got a slight sunburn on her arms after falling asleep in the sun which she really did think was actually the shade.
Later, we were driven to a beach near-by where we're staying to go horsebacking riding on our own... we ended up each having our own horse, Josh rode Diamond and Lindsey rode Magnum, and our own Thai tour guide who was practically pulling our horses along the beach. The beach was absolutely empty and the sun was setting... we walked along the shoreline and enjoyed the view. :)
Last night we had dinner at a kind of touristy Thai restaurant, but ended up with the best sweet and sour chicken ever. Nice. After dinner we headed to the pharmacy to buy some aloe vera for the said sunburn when it literally started to pour. There was crazy lightening and pouring rain for about half an hour. We killed some time in the pharmacy -- there was a little thai boy inside who wasn't wearing any pants -- hmmm. Then we went to get some ice cream, well Lindsey got ice cream, while Josh ate a banana.
Today we spent the whole day on a speed boat driving around to different little islands, swimming and snorkeling. Some of the snorkel spots were better than others -- but we saw some incredible fish. Our boat driver had a loaf of bread to attract them to the boat... We also got to go to one of the beaches on an island called Phi Phi where the movie "The Beach" was actually filmed. It was pretty spectacular -- crawling with tourists, but for good reason.
We think we managed to avoid getting another sunburn today -- we wore shirts the whole time.
We're heading off to a small island off the coast tomorrow called Ko Yo Noi (we think) for two nights... more stories about beaches and snorkeling to come...
xoxo,
Lindsey and Josh
Monday, March 17, 2008
"smells like bangkok" or "smells like teen spirit in an irish pub"
so we made it back to bangkok on the overnight train...
it really wasn't as bad as we thought it was going to be (which is good because we have another one tonight to get down to Krabi, the first of the three beach areas we're going to in the south)... but mostly the train was good because a) we bought subway sandwiches to eat -- our most expensive meal so far fyi -- and b) because we watched Rudy on my laptop. So clutch...
we got into Bangkok at 7 in the morning and headed back to our hotel to say goodbye to our first group. Everyone expect Michael, one of the Australians, is heading off on their own adventures... it was kind of sad to have to say goodbye to everyone, since we'd bonded a lot already, but our new group seems like a lot of fun too and we're looking forward to getting down to the beaches with them.
After our goodbyes, we went to take care of some essentials -- mainly doing the most laundry and shipping home a box of stuff -- including our suits and all the presents we've purchased so far. Then, we headed to Bangkok's weekend market, which was huge and full of craft stalls and t-shirt stalls and any sort of vendor you could ever want... it was nice for a while until we accidentally stumbled into the "animal section" of the market. At first there were some cute puppies... but then there were hundreds more puppies in very small cages and literally hundreds of bunny rabbits and fish and turtles... it was like the most unsanitary pet store ever... in our attempt to get away from the grossness we found dozens of roosters stuck in cages and ultimately stumbled on what looked like a cock fighting ring -- needless to say we didn't wait to find out if it actually was a cock fighting ring... instead we got out of there as quickly as possibly and jumped in a cab back to the hotel.
Even though our cab was metered - a rarity in bangkok -- our cab driver drove us in circles, but luckily we've reached the point where we knew we were getting ripped off and called him on it... even though we've only been in thailand for about ten days, we're already starting to get a feeling for the way things work around here -- and how to protect ourselves... so that's comforting. And we're even starting to get used to the heat and all the weird street smells -- well, actually we're just starting to brace ourselves for the heat and the smells -- we dunno if we could ever really get used to it...
When we got back to the hotel, we passed out for about two hours, a much needed nap. At 6 pm we met our new tour group. Pretty much everyone has already been touring in the north of Thailand, like us, and is now ready for a relaxing beach vacation. Even though we have a new tour group, Su is still our leader, so that is awesome.
After our meeting, we headed out to dinner with Michael and two of the other new girls on our trip. We made our way to an Irish pub -- because Paul and Danielle, friends from our last tour, told us that there was an awesome cover band there. After dinner - steak and beer - we headed upstairs for more beer and lots of music along with Michael and our new friend Jules, a british girl who had just landed in bangkok hours before...
The band really was awesome -- they played everything from Red Hot Chile Peppers to Areosmith to Nirvana... hence the smells like teen spirit bit... we were out pretty late and were so drunk on our short walk home that we didn't seem to be phased by the fact that there was a elephant standing in a street. Good times...
this morning, Su took our group on a tour of a really cool temple, Wat Arun (note: the temple was really cool, decorated with Chinese mosaic pieces and the central pagoda was very tall... we could climb up about half way to the top but the catch was that the stairs were really tall and narrow, practically going straight up and down like an awkward thai concrete ladder -- the way up was fine, but coming down Lindsey suddenly got scared of heights while Josh was brave and went down first. Let the record show that Josh is not a wimp.) and now we've just had a free afternoon to repack our bags, write this blog most, take showers and buy more subway sandwhiches before heading off to catch our next overnight train.
Don't worry... we're watching back to the future on this one...
- Lindsey and Josh
it really wasn't as bad as we thought it was going to be (which is good because we have another one tonight to get down to Krabi, the first of the three beach areas we're going to in the south)... but mostly the train was good because a) we bought subway sandwiches to eat -- our most expensive meal so far fyi -- and b) because we watched Rudy on my laptop. So clutch...
we got into Bangkok at 7 in the morning and headed back to our hotel to say goodbye to our first group. Everyone expect Michael, one of the Australians, is heading off on their own adventures... it was kind of sad to have to say goodbye to everyone, since we'd bonded a lot already, but our new group seems like a lot of fun too and we're looking forward to getting down to the beaches with them.
After our goodbyes, we went to take care of some essentials -- mainly doing the most laundry and shipping home a box of stuff -- including our suits and all the presents we've purchased so far. Then, we headed to Bangkok's weekend market, which was huge and full of craft stalls and t-shirt stalls and any sort of vendor you could ever want... it was nice for a while until we accidentally stumbled into the "animal section" of the market. At first there were some cute puppies... but then there were hundreds more puppies in very small cages and literally hundreds of bunny rabbits and fish and turtles... it was like the most unsanitary pet store ever... in our attempt to get away from the grossness we found dozens of roosters stuck in cages and ultimately stumbled on what looked like a cock fighting ring -- needless to say we didn't wait to find out if it actually was a cock fighting ring... instead we got out of there as quickly as possibly and jumped in a cab back to the hotel.
Even though our cab was metered - a rarity in bangkok -- our cab driver drove us in circles, but luckily we've reached the point where we knew we were getting ripped off and called him on it... even though we've only been in thailand for about ten days, we're already starting to get a feeling for the way things work around here -- and how to protect ourselves... so that's comforting. And we're even starting to get used to the heat and all the weird street smells -- well, actually we're just starting to brace ourselves for the heat and the smells -- we dunno if we could ever really get used to it...
When we got back to the hotel, we passed out for about two hours, a much needed nap. At 6 pm we met our new tour group. Pretty much everyone has already been touring in the north of Thailand, like us, and is now ready for a relaxing beach vacation. Even though we have a new tour group, Su is still our leader, so that is awesome.
After our meeting, we headed out to dinner with Michael and two of the other new girls on our trip. We made our way to an Irish pub -- because Paul and Danielle, friends from our last tour, told us that there was an awesome cover band there. After dinner - steak and beer - we headed upstairs for more beer and lots of music along with Michael and our new friend Jules, a british girl who had just landed in bangkok hours before...
The band really was awesome -- they played everything from Red Hot Chile Peppers to Areosmith to Nirvana... hence the smells like teen spirit bit... we were out pretty late and were so drunk on our short walk home that we didn't seem to be phased by the fact that there was a elephant standing in a street. Good times...
this morning, Su took our group on a tour of a really cool temple, Wat Arun (note: the temple was really cool, decorated with Chinese mosaic pieces and the central pagoda was very tall... we could climb up about half way to the top but the catch was that the stairs were really tall and narrow, practically going straight up and down like an awkward thai concrete ladder -- the way up was fine, but coming down Lindsey suddenly got scared of heights while Josh was brave and went down first. Let the record show that Josh is not a wimp.) and now we've just had a free afternoon to repack our bags, write this blog most, take showers and buy more subway sandwhiches before heading off to catch our next overnight train.
Don't worry... we're watching back to the future on this one...
- Lindsey and Josh
Sunday, March 16, 2008
"we want pictures!!"
We've been getting some requsts for pictures, so here's a very small sample of what we've been up to lately... (it took a really long time to upload them, so i'm sorry there aren't more)
Lindsey and Josh having dinner at the night market in Chiang Mai...
chillen with an elephant...
woman with bananas...
Josh and his new friend...
Lindsey and Josh having dinner at the night market in Chiang Mai...
chillen with an elephant...
woman with bananas...
Josh and his new friend...
Lindsey and a baby elephant...
stay tuned for more....
-- Lindsey and Josh
stay tuned for more....
-- Lindsey and Josh
Saturday, March 15, 2008
why don’t we know how to bargain?
We got to Chiang Mai Wednesday afternoon after our home stay...
After a totally crucial shower -- actually, everyday we get to shower is a totally crucial shower - we headed into the city to look around... Chiang Mai is way cooler and much more pleasant than Bangkok. It's kind of like what Bangkok wishes it could be... but it's too dirty and over populated. Kind of like the difference between NYC and lovely los angeles (kidding. kind of.)
We quickly decided it was time for Josh to obtain some tailor made suits and shirts. Josh got two suits and six shirts. Lindsey then decided to join the fun and get a new Grey Suit and two lovely fitted shirts.
We had to go back a few times to tweek the suits and make sure everything fit properly, but our tailor was very accommodating and really fast. (If you're ever in Chiang Mai, and you need a suit, we know a guy.) In the end, they look great -- don't worry mom(s).
That evening, we went to the Doi Suthep Temple where there is a panoramic view of Chiang Mai. We got their just in time for the sunset. However... upon arriving at the temple -- which was on top of a hill that took the longest windiest road to get up to -- we were greeted with 306 steps. 306!! Josh wanted to take the escalator but Lindsey made him push through it. When we got to the top, some of the other people on the tour were talking about how there was an escalator and Josh quickly said, " I know, Lindsey wouldn't let me take it" to which one replied, "Josh, you're so lazy, you didn't even come biking today." Touche.
That night, we had dinner at a local outdoor market -- we found a pita and humus stand and went with it. Then we went to the Night Market because Chiang Mai is famous for its shopping. Every night at 6PM there are about ten blocks that turn into night markets with hundreds of little stands that sell everything and anything over and over again. There is anything from fake Lacoste Polos to Fake Bags to wood carvings to Buddhas to anything with an elephant on it, to watches and jewelry. Lindsey held up her Tiffany’s bracelet to the fake one that it barely resembled, to which the man tried to tell her it was real and could give her a great price.
We really cleaned up, buying t-shirts, matching chubby figures - so cool! - chopsticks, pashminas, an over-priced hat that Josh is still bitter about not being able to bargain down for and Thai Foot messages. (Well, that doesn’t really count as part of the night market, but we did get them overlooking the night market to relax.)
The next morning we woke up to go Bamboo rafting. This means that Lindsey finally convinced Josh to get over his fear of getting injured. It did help that Lindsey had agreed to the Thai Boxing that night and that Josh was assured that he could sit down the entire time on the raft on the very “Lazy” river without drowning or the possibility of falling in. (This was all true.) Although there was an influx of children playing in the river that did not speak a word of English, but were able to say “No Wet, No Fun” and splash cold water on us as we rode past.
All together the Bamboo rafting was a blast. Our guide did all the work, we sat and look at the jungle like atmosphere. At a couple points we could see elephants. Notice a theme?
(It might be worth noting that Lindsey got a pedicure in the afternoon. Also, we had subway sandwiches for lunch - which was by far the most expensive meal we've had so far.)
That night we headed off with out group to go see some Thai boxing matches. We even had "ring side" seats... which is funny cause it was a very small stadium and the view from the bleachers would've been just as good. But the it was really a lot of fun. Lindsey was skeptical but really got into it after a while... there were six different matches that we watched, each had five rounds. The last round even had a Scottish boxer in it, but he got his ass kicked -- or more literally, his left shoulder which was black and blue from getting kicked so many times by his Thai opponent.
After the fighting, we headed back to the night market area and decided to actually join our group for a night of drinking... good times. Let's just say we started out by drinking at an irish pub and the night ended at a karaoke bar slash brothel (literally) where Josh did an awe-inspiring rendition of Hit Me Baby One More Time. (Have you heard him do it? It's "good fun" as the rest of group likes to say.)
No one knows how, but after being out til almost 4 last night, we were up and packed and ready to go go-kart racing by 930 this morning. We headed off with three of the guys in our group, the two aussies and the irishman, to the go-kart track. We only rode for about 12 minutes, but Josh decided it was the longest 12 minutes he'd had since taking the bar... It was really fun though. We opted for the sensible "fast" karts while our group mates got the "super fast" ones -- needless to say they all lapped us many times as we made our way around the track. Let the record show: Lindsey also lapped Josh twice. It's cool... he didn't want to get hurt.
Then we walked around the old city of Chiang Mai for about an hour and saw some more cool temples... but once you've seen a few they just all sort of start to look the same...
Tonight we take the night train back to Bangkok... wish us luck.
We will be meeting up with some new group members before we head down to the south of Thailand (the beaches) for two weeks....
YAY
-- Lindsey and Josh
After a totally crucial shower -- actually, everyday we get to shower is a totally crucial shower - we headed into the city to look around... Chiang Mai is way cooler and much more pleasant than Bangkok. It's kind of like what Bangkok wishes it could be... but it's too dirty and over populated. Kind of like the difference between NYC and lovely los angeles (kidding. kind of.)
We quickly decided it was time for Josh to obtain some tailor made suits and shirts. Josh got two suits and six shirts. Lindsey then decided to join the fun and get a new Grey Suit and two lovely fitted shirts.
We had to go back a few times to tweek the suits and make sure everything fit properly, but our tailor was very accommodating and really fast. (If you're ever in Chiang Mai, and you need a suit, we know a guy.) In the end, they look great -- don't worry mom(s).
That evening, we went to the Doi Suthep Temple where there is a panoramic view of Chiang Mai. We got their just in time for the sunset. However... upon arriving at the temple -- which was on top of a hill that took the longest windiest road to get up to -- we were greeted with 306 steps. 306!! Josh wanted to take the escalator but Lindsey made him push through it. When we got to the top, some of the other people on the tour were talking about how there was an escalator and Josh quickly said, " I know, Lindsey wouldn't let me take it" to which one replied, "Josh, you're so lazy, you didn't even come biking today." Touche.
That night, we had dinner at a local outdoor market -- we found a pita and humus stand and went with it. Then we went to the Night Market because Chiang Mai is famous for its shopping. Every night at 6PM there are about ten blocks that turn into night markets with hundreds of little stands that sell everything and anything over and over again. There is anything from fake Lacoste Polos to Fake Bags to wood carvings to Buddhas to anything with an elephant on it, to watches and jewelry. Lindsey held up her Tiffany’s bracelet to the fake one that it barely resembled, to which the man tried to tell her it was real and could give her a great price.
We really cleaned up, buying t-shirts, matching chubby figures - so cool! - chopsticks, pashminas, an over-priced hat that Josh is still bitter about not being able to bargain down for and Thai Foot messages. (Well, that doesn’t really count as part of the night market, but we did get them overlooking the night market to relax.)
The next morning we woke up to go Bamboo rafting. This means that Lindsey finally convinced Josh to get over his fear of getting injured. It did help that Lindsey had agreed to the Thai Boxing that night and that Josh was assured that he could sit down the entire time on the raft on the very “Lazy” river without drowning or the possibility of falling in. (This was all true.) Although there was an influx of children playing in the river that did not speak a word of English, but were able to say “No Wet, No Fun” and splash cold water on us as we rode past.
All together the Bamboo rafting was a blast. Our guide did all the work, we sat and look at the jungle like atmosphere. At a couple points we could see elephants. Notice a theme?
(It might be worth noting that Lindsey got a pedicure in the afternoon. Also, we had subway sandwiches for lunch - which was by far the most expensive meal we've had so far.)
That night we headed off with out group to go see some Thai boxing matches. We even had "ring side" seats... which is funny cause it was a very small stadium and the view from the bleachers would've been just as good. But the it was really a lot of fun. Lindsey was skeptical but really got into it after a while... there were six different matches that we watched, each had five rounds. The last round even had a Scottish boxer in it, but he got his ass kicked -- or more literally, his left shoulder which was black and blue from getting kicked so many times by his Thai opponent.
After the fighting, we headed back to the night market area and decided to actually join our group for a night of drinking... good times. Let's just say we started out by drinking at an irish pub and the night ended at a karaoke bar slash brothel (literally) where Josh did an awe-inspiring rendition of Hit Me Baby One More Time. (Have you heard him do it? It's "good fun" as the rest of group likes to say.)
No one knows how, but after being out til almost 4 last night, we were up and packed and ready to go go-kart racing by 930 this morning. We headed off with three of the guys in our group, the two aussies and the irishman, to the go-kart track. We only rode for about 12 minutes, but Josh decided it was the longest 12 minutes he'd had since taking the bar... It was really fun though. We opted for the sensible "fast" karts while our group mates got the "super fast" ones -- needless to say they all lapped us many times as we made our way around the track. Let the record show: Lindsey also lapped Josh twice. It's cool... he didn't want to get hurt.
Then we walked around the old city of Chiang Mai for about an hour and saw some more cool temples... but once you've seen a few they just all sort of start to look the same...
Tonight we take the night train back to Bangkok... wish us luck.
We will be meeting up with some new group members before we head down to the south of Thailand (the beaches) for two weeks....
YAY
-- Lindsey and Josh
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