Expedition Thailand Part 5: Last Legs...Chiang Mai

We arrived in Chiang Mai on the Eve of the Eve of Songkran...which in Thai time means that it had already started.  From the bus station we snagged a saawng tao and made our way to Rita and Michelle's guest house where we'd meet up with Rita's parents.  Along the way we realized that the water fights had already begun as children with water guns attacked. We ran into Rita's parents outside their guest house and immediately took cover.  I repacked my valuables into a dry bag, and headed out on a search for the hostel I would be sharing with 8 other WT volunteers and friends they met along their travels.

Just a little background info about Songkran.  It is traditionally the Thai New Year Celebration, although Thailand has adopted the western tradition of changing the calendar on January 1. Thailand has held onto its numbering system as it is currently the year 2554 here in Thailand (hello from the future!). Anyway, Songkran involves washing the Buddha's and it is considered a way of rinsing away any sins from the previous year.  The festival has since evolved into a country-wide water fight, with Chiang Mai as the center of the party.

I made my way to the guesthouse and met up with the friends I hadn't seen in about a month.  We shared some travel stories and enjoyed each other's company.   Another one of our first stops was to arm ourselves with watery weapons.  There were choices galore from tiny guns outfitted with umbrellas, water guns with tank backpacks, water rockets, and buckets. We stocked up on a variety of weapons and readied ourselves for the next day.

We went out on the Eve of Songkran (the festival still hadn't officially started yet!) and all around the moat surrounding the Old City were people on sidewalks spraying anyone that came close.  We decided to scope out the situation from the quieter side of the street.  As we watched the revelers across the moat, I spotted a familiar face. Who could it be?  It was Martin, one of the friends we met in Railey!  I called across the moat, and he ran over, joining our crew for the remainder of the week.  Once we knew what was going on, we joined in on the water fight and were quickly soaked to the bone - including everything that was in my "dry" bag (everyone's phones, my camera, my bus ticket home, etc).  Unusually chilly during Thailand's hot season, we were actually freezing and decided to call it a night early to place all our items in a bag of rice...which was surprisingly difficult to find. (No worries, everyone's phones, and even my camera, all made a successful recovery eventually).

The next few days carried on much the same way, a blur of water.  Knowing Thai allowed us to take part in a more exciting part of Songran.  Thai people load up their trucks with water buckets and ice and stereos and drive around the moats.  We had researched how we might charter a truck for the day, but we soon realized with the slow traffic and knowing Thai, we could easily just hop on any truck that had some friendly people. It was great to see the entire city and tourists from the world over take part.  People young and old reveled together in the watery streets.

I did take one day to explore the surrounding area.  I met back up with Michelle, Rita, and her parents for a day of trekking.  We started off bamboo rafting down a river, took an elephant ride through the jungle, hiked through hill tribe villages, and swam in a waterfall.  It was a wonderful break from crazy Chiang Mai, and we really enjoyed getting to know our bamboo raft and elephant guides (again, thanks to knowing Thai). 

It was a great way to end 5 weeks of traveling around.  And man was I grateful to be finally home in NKP.  But little did I know, my travels wouldn't officially end there...

Friendly family who's truck we hopped on

Insanity

the moat surrounding the Old City

Expedition Thailand Part 4: Northbound: Bangkok - Chiang Mai

We landed in Bangkok at around 7 pm, just hours after we’d booked our flight (who’d have thunk you can still book a flight the same day you fly).  We headed straight to the backpacker paradise of Khao San Road.  While heading directly to Farang central isn’t typically my method of choice, we knew we’d be able to find food and beds and that the Taxi driver would know exactly where it was – and after sitting in traffic for a few hours, we knew we’d made the right choice.

Bangkok, this time around, actually made a better impression on me.  Maybe it was because we’d been there before and knew what to expect.  Maybe it was because, 3 weeks into our travels, we were used to being surrounded by foreigners.  Whatever it was, I enjoyed it.  We spent the day buying train tickets north, exploring the grand palace (except that it was closed because of yet another holiday) and crossing the river to Wat Arun.  We ended the day at Siam Square, the ritzy shopping center, hoping to catch a movie.  We walked into the theater area, didn’t recognize a single movie, didn’t know how to use the fancy ticket machines, and quickly opted to hit the basement aquarium instead.  It was really fun to explore the aquarium after we’d been scuba diving, because we could point out all the cool things we saw.

The next morning we headed back to the train station to catch our train to the northern-ish town of Phitsanulok. I love trains.  Taking trains in Greece and from Germany to the Czech Republic really established rail travel as my top choice.  You just get to see so much of the country that can’t be traveled by road.  We chugged through Ayuthaya and its ruins, rode past Lopburi’s monkey temple, and saw innumerable ricefields.

We got to Phitsanulok and I ran through the city trying to find a hotel, while Rita waited in the shade.  She’d come down with a flu-like something, and I wanted to get her to AC and a bed ASAP.  Turns out the maps in Lonely Planet stink (surprise surprise) and we’d gone past it.  I walked into a store and asked a few women where a hotel was.  I explained that my friend was sick and needed to find a place soon.  They jumped up and offered to take her to the hospital, but I politely declined.  While waiting, Michelle met a guy that offered to drive us in his pickup truck, and we made it safely. Of course, when I went to move the fan in the lobby, it chopped part of my finger off (not really, just a nice slice), and both Rita and I were “mai sabai” for the night.

With Rita’s illness, we decided to stay there and recuperate for a day. I was itching for an adventure and some alone time.  I’d seen a mosque on our way in, and decided to go check it out.  Most of the deep south of Thailand is Muslim, which has resulted in a lot of violence there, so I was intrigued to see how it was perceived here in the north.  Not to mention that traveling in Turkey and Egypt has inspired an interest in Islam for me.  I walked over and took a few pictures, but didn’t venture inside because I didn’t know what the protocol was.  It was then that I saw a woman in a hijab working at a pancake stand.  I walked over and started chatting with her, telling her that I was interested in the mosque.  She immediately closed her stand and took me inside with her.  She took me to children’s Islam classes that we being held inside and I explained to them what I was doing there.  She even snuck me into the main part of the mosque where women are usually not permitted.  All of our conversing happened in Thai, and I really enjoyed this wonderful cultural exchange that we shared. That afternoon I walked along the riverfront to the biggest temple in town, where they were preparing for Songkran.  It was a wonderful day of learning and experiencing.

The next day we bussed over to Sukhothai, where we would explore the ancient ruins there. The first afternoon in town, though, was reserved for relaxing and reading.  I had seen a sign at our bungalow that a nearby hotel allowed guests access to their swimming pool.  Of course, that was my destination to the afternoon.  I left Michelle and Rita and went on another adventure.  I was the only one in the pool for a while and enjoyed swimming laps.  Then a Thai mother and daughter showed up.  All the Thai people I know are deathly afraid of the water, so I immediately asked how they knew how to swim and what they did.  I ended up having a wonderful conversation with a woman from a province near NKP.  Her daughter learned how to swim at a private school as it was part of their gym classes.  I spent about an hour talking and playing with the young girl – I even taught her how to flip!  It was so nice to be back in the water and teaching swimming.  I know that one thing I’ll miss most about home this summer is working at the pools.

These two small experiences sum up exactly what I love about Thailand.  All the people are so friendly and you can just go up and start talking to them like it’s the most normal thing in the world.  It’s also why I love being able to speak at least a little Thai.  Had I been just another tourist, I wouldn’t have been able to communicate with these wonderful people. 

We headed to Sukhothai Historical Park the next day, and it was serene and beautiful.  We rented bikes and spent a few hours riding around the ruins and exploring them.  I wish I’d studied up on Thai history before visiting, but it was still a wonderful experience.

Next stop on our Journey:  Chiang Mai and the craziness that is Songkran!

At Wat Arun...the Grand Palace is right across the river in the background

Crossing the river to get to Wat Arun

Only in Thailand.  On the wall it says "Karaoke Saloon"

Khao San Road

The Mosque in Phitsanulok

Inside the mosque...Its simplicity is interesting to compare to the ones I've seen elsewhere

Riverfront Phitsanulok

Outside a temple in Phitsanulok

Sukhothai Historical Park

Man cleaning the ponds

Man, I wish my bike in NKP was like these ones :)

Expedition Thailand Part 3: Water Water Everywhere - Railay

After our liveaboard trip we decided to head to Railay, a peninsula that can only be reached by longtail boat because it is surrounded by limestone cliffs.  This place was pure paradise.  Soft beaches, warm water, absolutely gorgeous scenery - this place had it all.  You know what else it had? Rain, and lots of it.

We arrived just as the clouds started floating in and quickly trekked across the peninsula to the cheaper side where the beach was muddy and covered in mangroves.  We hiked the stairs up to the bungalows that had been recommended and immediately agreed to stay there.  We sat on the porch and in the hammock watching the rain pour down around us.  It was then that we met our next travel friend, Kevin.  It was approximately 4 pm as he left the bungalow next door, walked by, and casually greeted us with a "good morning."  We laughed it off and wondered who this kid was.  Little did we know that the very next night he'd invite us to join him for dinner and we'd be spending the next 9 days coming up with adventures with him and his French friend Martin. We had an early dinner at the bungalows' indian restaurant (my new favorite cuisine) and called it an early night.

We awoke in the morning and quickly agreed we would not be spending another night in our soggy bungalow, as cute as it was.  We were out of the door by 8 am and made it into another bungalow with more substantial walls just as the rain started for that day.  Whenever there was a respite from the deluge, we'd rush out, explore a bit, and run back to shelter in the pouring rain.  This went on for about 4 days, until the day we'd been planning to leave when the sun finally peeked through the clouds. The rain wreaked havoc on our laundry intentions (no dryers in Thailand), and slowed the healing of my poor infected toe that got chewed up from the scuba fins (I prefer to say that I got attacked by a triggerfish - hey it ALMOST happened!) But we didn't let the rain dampen our spirits.

We spent one whole day watching movies and playing Skip-Bo before we decided that we would not be stuck inside and we'd be happy braving the rain.  We spent a few hours each day exploring the caves that littered the 3 beaches around the peninsula.  Finally, when the rain stopped for a few hours Kevin, Rita, and I rented a Kayak for a few hours and explored the same caves from the water.  We would kayak through islands and have to duck our heads to keep them safe from the rocks. It was the one "I'm not leaving Railay until I do this" activity that I had in mind and it definitely lived up to my expectations.

When the sun finally came out the next day, we decided that we'd take a hike up to the lagoon and the viewpoint that Martin had suggested.  We had walked by the trailhead a few times and completely dismissed the idea due to the fact that it was basically rock-climbing in mud.   Eventually though, we were convinced to do it, and my toe was finally able to fit comfortably inside my sneakers.  It was an interesting and slippery hike, that was probably not the safest to do, but the views at the top were more than worth it.  We could see the entire peninsula and all the cliffs.  After standing in awe for a while at the view, we headed down to where the lagoon was.  At one point we had to repel down an incredibly steep hill that was covered in mud.  Unfortunately because the trail was so sketchy we couldn't get to the lagoon itself, but we made it to where we could see it between the rocks. We eventually made it to solid ground, but not without getting covered head to toe in red mud.  In short, it was awesome.

The rest of our time in Railay was pretty uneventful as we were finally able to enjoy the beaches - and all the monkeys that hang out on them.  We ended up extending our stay even a few days longer so we would be able to enjoy the sun.  That, and we'd heard a number of differing accounts about the state of the roads we'd need to take.  We knew Koh Tao had needed to be evacuated because of the flooding, the railroad had been washed away at one point, and our friends had been picked up by the Thai Navy as they were trying to travel north - so we didn't want to risk traveling until we knew that it was safe.  Even so, we ended up catching a flight from Krabi to Bangkok because we couldn't get a clear answer about the roads.

Railay is a place that I know I will go back to one day.  There was always something to do, even in torrential downpours, and it was probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.  We met a number of wonderful people, including a couple from Australia who invited us to come visit and stay with them anytime,  Ida and Tim from Norway who were traveling around the world, Sebastian from Germany, Marco from Israel, and of course our buddies Kevin and Martin.  Kevin was headed back to Canada, and Martin was headed north, but Railay wasn't going to be the last place we saw him...

The main shopping street - impacts from the flood

the view from our hike!

The hike at its least steep part..."DANGER. slippery area ahead"...yep.

beautiful sunsets

absolutely stunning

caves everywhere!

we kayaked all around here

longboats take travelers to and from Railay

so. much. rain.

cliffs behind our bungalow

Michelle, Rita, and I with our new friends Sebastian, Martin, and Kevin

monkeys visited everyday!

Expedition Thailand Part 2: Liveaboard Dive Trip to the Surin and Similan Islands

When we arrived back in Surat Thani, we were met with a frantic search to find Peter within the 20 minutes before our bus left.  Our bus left from the new bus station, which was also called Bus Station 2.  Peter’s bus arrived at Bus Station 2, but it wasn’t the new one.  The word for “new” is “mai” which is also the word for “no” and the word to use when asking questions in general.  I think it’s clear that finding Peter was not easy.  Thankfully we managed to ask the bus driver to wait for our friend and Peter strolled up with seconds to spare.

We were headed back to the other side of the Thai coast, with Khao Lak as our destination.  Having loved Scuba diving so much, we decided to look for a 3 or 4 day liveaboard headed to the famed Surin and Similan islands.  Peter, an experienced scuba diver, had waited for us all to get certified to begin his vacation underwater.  The town of Khao Lak was not at all impressive – I’d go so far as to say that it was the Hampton Beach of Thailand.  But it was the best place for liveaboards so we found a place to crash for the night and went off in search of dive shops. 

We knew exactly what we wanted in terms of our liveaboard.  We wanted a relatively small boat that would be departing within the next 2 days.  Many dive shops would also keep their boat out at sea, with divers coming and going every day depending on how many days they wanted to dive.  We wanted to be sure we’d be with the same people for the duration of our trip, which was actually very hard to find within our very limited price range.  During our search, the rain started pouring and we became more and more discouraged with every shop we entered. Feeling defeated we opted to check one more shop before packing it in and heading either down to Railay or back to Koh Tao.  Then we entered Liquid Adventure.  Their trip was leaving the following evening and had everything else we wanted.  The shop had a great atmosphere and we immediately signed our lives away. 

Ben and Zach managed to join Rita, Peter, and I just in time for the trip.  We boarded the boat with excitement and became even more enthusiastic when we learned more about the boat and what our trip would entail. 

Having had mediocre dive conditions on Koh Tao, we had no idea what to expect when we awoke at our first dive site in the Surin Islands.  We made an easy descent and could see for what felt like miles around us.  The corals were more colorful and the fish more plentiful than any of us could have imagined. We came up from that dive even more astonished than we’d been during our course, and we knew we were in for an incredible few days.  Each dive seemed more impressive than the last and we experienced such thrills from all we saw.  We dove at a site with a swim through which tested our buoyancy skills, and we did a wreck dive covered in lionfish that tested our nerves. We dove the famous Richelieau Rock, a pinnacle covered in purple soft corals near the Burma marine border, which was discovered by none other than Jacques Cousteau. We also did two night dives that scared us all shit-less as we had no idea what to expect, but we were so enthralled with what we’d seen all of our fears melted away.

We saw countless creatures as well with our most impressive sights being a leopard shark, a juvenile angelfish and a manta ray, which I spotted in the deep while each and every one of my comrades searched for tiny creatures in the corals. I spent a good minute try to signal for the manta ray – which looks like awkward flailing about – but to no avail.  I was the only member of my group to witness this magnificent animal, but the sighting was verified from other groups aboard the boat.  Other creatures we saw in abundance were pufferfish, boxfish, angelfish, triggerfish, butterfly fish, clownfish, giant blue starfish, parrotfish, and limitless others. 

It was a remarkable 3 days filled with 14 dives – totally worth breaking my travel budget for this trip.  We met incredible people from around the world – Sweden, India, Germany, etc.  The trip had been sold to us as “eat, sleep, dive, eat, sleep, dive” and that’s exactly what it was.  Each and every day we’d wake up, have a quick breakfast, dive, eat a real breakfast, nap, dive, eat lunch, nap, dive, eat a snack, nap, night dive, eat dinner, sleep. We hated having to leave the boat and wished we’d been able to spend our entire vacation on the liveaboard. But we knew that even more adventures were awaiting us.

Rita and I on the boat

Ridding the boat of evil spirits as we set off

Surin Islands

This might be Koh Bon?

Life on the boat

One of many dive briefs...

Peforming the Buddy Check PADI high-five...Divemaster Dave would have been so proud...

The group on our last dive

Lionfish on the Bon Soon Wreck Dive