Thailand Trip 2007

Thailand trip pics available...

Sun, 13 May 2007 14:00:00 GMT

After a lot of culling etc we've finished playing with our pics we're uploading our pics.

If you want the short version the best of is here:

http://bronwenz.smugmug.com/gallery/2845629#152503668

and the rest can be found here:

http://bronwenz.smugmug.com/Vacation/298124

Fri - Sat - Last days

Fri, 11 May 2007 14:00:00 GMT

So we skipped the tigers, and watched 2 more movies...Next - Nicolas Cage which wasn't bad and Shooter - Marky Mark which filled in time. So now we're at the airport..and waiting for our flight like 4 hrs away..and then home. Been a great trip.

Wed 9 - Monkey Training Centre

Wed, 09 May 2007 14:00:00 GMT

So we slept in today..so there really wasn't much point in hiring a car. Instead we used the vouchers i'd snigged at the airport with free transportation to the monkey place. So we get the hotel to call for us and are booked for the 1pm pickup...yay...time for some breakfast/lunch before we go.

The place we're going to has the monkey training school, bungey jumping, and buggies. We're met in our transport by other small groups that are going buggying or bungying. By the time we get there we're considering the buggy rides but i've got a nasty sore on my leg that i'm trying to air so it scabs..and I really don't want to get dirt in it or rub it against the supplied overalls...so i'm not keen.

We go to the monkey place and get in a bit early so get to sit with the monkies etc before the show. The show is kinda corny but the monkies are very cute. They ride bikes, lift weights, do pushups, sit up, and pick coconuts. The move onto a find a number game...the trick being that 1/2 way through the monkey gives up and they get the audience to find the number. John gets picked and when he finally finds the number he gets his reward - a banana.

Then the monkey is selling "Monkey Balm" to the audience - 10 Baht a packet...we have no change and noone else is participating so we hand over a 20 and get 2 boxes....the guy next to us only has 100's. He fumbles around looking for something smaller..the monkey looking impatient. Eventually he hands over the 100..the monkey hands over 10 boxes.

We head back with some of the original group..who've just been bungy jumping and back to our hotel...to pack for an early flight in the moring...and to go to the night bazarre to get some shirts for john so we don't have to wash clothes again before leaving.

Thu 10 - Back to Bangkok - Spiderman 3 suxs.

Wed, 09 May 2007 14:00:00 GMT

So we fly into Bangkok again today..only a few days before our journey home. We're over temples and after something to do...so we go for a journey to the cinema to see Spiderman 3. The movie is crap by the way...so mushy and BORING!!!

The interesting bit was getting our tickets..they have 3 classes of tickets, and when you buy you pick your allocated seat. So there's opera..which are big cushy pairs right at the back of the cinema which are about $15 each. Then there's "honeymoon" which recline with the lifting arms (like at AMC at Sunnybank) which is the back 1/2 of the cinema..these are about $5 each and then there's standard..which is the stiff normal seats like you'd find at BCC at Carindale..these are the front 1/2 of the cinema...and they're about $3.60. Stuff is so cheap here...I love it :)

We also went to KFC...looking forward to some chippies...but they have fries here! And they're coleslaw is tuna and corn. So slightly different menu. There's a whole pile of HUGE shopping centres just near our hotel. It' like going to a department store but with all little shops..Level 2 - Menswear, Level 3 - Shoes, bags and accessories, Level 4 - Ladies fashion, Level 5 - Food. The place is packed for a thursday at about 2pm.

We're going to skip the tigers and just chill in our hotel tomorrow and maybe see another movie. Then might go to the crocodile farm the following afternoon on the way to the airport before our big flight home.

Sat 5 - Trek Day 1

Mon, 07 May 2007 14:00:00 GMT

So this morning we get picked up for the start of our 3 day jungle trek. It's raining so we'll be needing our raincoats...So after a 1 1/2 hr drive to Chiag Dao Nest we get our brekkie and organise our bags. We've culled down the medical supplies to only essientials and are taking 2 changes of clothes each..plus all the camera gear. So first it's a 40min ute ride with John and I swished in the front trying to be as unobtrusive as possible with the gear stick for the driver. Here we meet our first guide who takes us down a ridiculously steep driveway and wander through a village to a hut where we leave our stuff. Here we get 2 local guides to take us to the cave. I was thinking we go to a little cave and just check it out...how wrong was I.

Sun 6 - Trek Day 2 - Another cave

Mon, 07 May 2007 14:00:00 GMT

We get up and are met with breakfast...too much food again...won't be complaining about being hungry. So today we go to see a tribal elder, a cave (no crawling this time) and sleep in the Karen village.

We meet our guides for the next 2 days. One speaks a few words of english and the other none at all. So off we set and get to this little village where we take a seat. The guys sit around smoking, and drinking tea. They've picked up some corn husks on the way and use them as cigarette papers. The local chickens etc are running around the woodstack looking for food.

We get some handmade bracelets which the elder (not sure what the correct term for him is) then puts on our wrists. They look a bit like friendship bracelets that were all the rage when i was in late primary school. Then we set off for the cave.

It's also quite big and we take a few pics using the available torch light..not sure how they'll turn out as the screen on the 350D isn't so great.

Then we trek on till we come across a clearing an this is where our guides make us lunch. They chop down some bamboo which they use to make us some plates and chop sticks. They prepare us a feast. All very yummy but way too much food.

Then we trek some more..up and down and up and down really steep hills. We did no training for this trek and i don't think it woulda helped..the hills are so steep woulda been better doing stair trainging or something. My calves, knees and tops of my thighs are so sore. We reach the village and dump our stuff in the hut and get changed.

We wander around and sit by the river and notice the school with volleyball nets, soccer ball and mini soccer nets. Later on we hear ppl playing so are keen to join in..no sport for almost 2 weeks :(

The volleyball nets aren't for volleyball..rather a round wicker type ball that is kicked and headed over the net..the little kids are playing that game. We go for soccer with the bigger boys..late teens i'm guessing. Within hte first 5 mins i trip in a massive hole chasing the ball and twang..there goes my left ankle....I'm hopping on the sideline while John's yelling "Are you playing or what"..so after i no longer feel like screaming in pain i hobble back on to play some more. The field is holely, rocky and just pretty much dangerous...but it's soccer :) These guys are soo good even the little 8 yr old has some seriuos ball skills. My foot is throbbing so i basically stand in front of the goal and get the ball pounded at me. At the end we're completely sweaty in our nice clean clothes...oh well.

Then it's off for another huge dinner. We're really tired so we're keen to get outta our wet clothes, put some dencorub on our legs and sleep. Our guides are trying to convince us we should let them pull our arms, legs and back to help them feel better...but we politely refuse. Eventually they leave and we're ready for bed...only moments later they're at our door wanting to play cards. John gets the job of saying no and we're off to sleep.

Mon 7 - Trek day 3 - final stretch

Mon, 07 May 2007 14:00:00 GMT

We get up pretty early for a huge breakfast..we're talking a whole watermelone, 3/4 loaf of bread + a huge dish of something else...my foot is so sore (I can hear my Mum saying "why do you play those silly games?") so i strap it up tight and hope for not too many hills.

So we set off...what's worse than hills for a sore ankle...crossing a river with round, slippery rocks. We cross this river not once...but probably 20 times...i seriously lost count. We'd cross, walk along the bank a bit and then have to cross again. It's still raining a bit so all the tracks are also really slippery.

We walk/cross the river for a few hours and then go cross-country till we reach a hut for lunch. Lots of food AGAIN..and then we're off. This strech is quite trecherous...really narrow footing and very slippery. By now the guides have worked out my ankle is sore so on a lot of the stupidly slippery stuff they help me across.

We reach a flat patch and they say we are almost at the end. So now i work on the theory that the sooner i finish the sooner i can not walk on my foot. So I decide it's time to walk through the pain..and go into fast walking mode...so i'm off with my foot throbbing..knowig that it'll be the end soon. I reach the road..yay...and then we wait at the driver's house an hour while he has lunch..doh!

Then it's an hour ride in the back of the ute back to Chiang Doa Nest. 1/2 way we say goodbye to our fantasic guides. We get to the nest and are greeted by the host who offers us towels, soap and shampoo so we can have a shower. We're sweaty, muddy and wet with sopping shoes so I feel like hugging her. So we have a nice hot shower (boy did that feel good) and then sit down at her restaurant for some coffee and grab some food while we wait for our ride back to Chiang Mai.

We say goodbye to our gracious host and thank her for a great trek (it was really good even though i did my ankle in and we walked through rain for 3 days). The good thing about it raining was we didn't have to walk through 40 degree heat..always a plus. Then it's close to a 2 hr ride in the back of a covered ute to our hotel. Then it's sleep time...so good to be in a bed etc after 3 days.

Tue 8 - handicraft village

Mon, 07 May 2007 14:00:00 GMT

Today we get a private tour to the handicraft villages in Chiang Mai. Our guide has forgotten us so the hotel rings him for us. Works out well as it gives us some time to grab breakfast. There's somethig wrong with his van...it keeps beeping like there's a door open..oh well.

So we visit a silk factory, silverware factory, umberella factory and lacquerware factory. All give you a little intro to show you how they make the products and then you're in the store. There's lots of cool stuff, all hand made with lots of detail etc. I buy a couple of small things that will fit in my bag and won't break. If you're a shopper you could spend forever here...there's so many different things you could buy.

Then it's back to the hotel and our guide gives us the trip for 1/2 price for fogetting about us. Some lunch and now at the internet cafe.

Only 4 days to go...tomorrow we're going to attempt to hire a car to go the the monkey training centre..could be an interesting experience.

Tue 1 - Elephant Stay last day - Day 3

Thu, 03 May 2007 14:00:00 GMT

After the excitement of a new baby elephant last night everyone slept in. So with nobody in sight I did a bit of a wander around the camp. It's raining today so the day spot for the elephants has turned to mush.

So we don't move the elephants today..we just clean up around them. Still do our rides and a light scrub.

We set up Google Analytics for ewa on the elephant stay site yesterday so been looking at the 1 day of stats of that with her. We also set up a message board, a subscribe page and some image links people can put on their site to show their support. So that's what the red elephant on the side of our blog is (in case anyone was wondering).

It's been an awesome experience and it's always inspiring to talk to people who are so passionate about what they do. Big thanks to Michelle, Ewa, the rest of the staff and of course the elephants for a great experience.

So after the afternoon ride, it's time to say goodbye and hug the babies one last time before we have a shower and go to our hotel for the night. We had planned to take pics of the ruins tonight but we are just so tired we decide to pike...there will be other ruins..for sure.

Wed 2 - Lop buri - Monkey City

Thu, 03 May 2007 14:00:00 GMT

Michelle and Ewa recommended going to Lop buri - 1 hr north on the train from Ayutthaya. I love monkies so off we went. We're running late for the 8:37 train and there's no tuk-tuk in sight. We arrive at the station at 8:36 and grab a ticket and think we've just missed the train only to find out the 8:37 has broken down and not sure how long till it arrives. The 9:37 arrives but we're unable to switch as it's already full..so we wait some more. We decide to ditch our hotel in Bangkok and stay another night in Ayutthaya so we still have time to go to Lop Buri and take pics of the temples.

Finally at 10:50 the train arrives and we're off...it's packed...and there's ppl constantly walking up the aisle selling food and drinks. We arrive at Lop Buri and try to buy a ticket back only to discover that tickets are only available 30 mins before the train..doh.

So we grab a peddle car around the city.first making a stop at the bank to break some money...The bank teller doesn't speak english but works out what we wanted..so we break 2 x 1000 notes..into 100's and 1 into 20's..man that's a lot of notes.

They take us a couple of places and then to Monkey Palace. Here the monkeys roam the streets. Imagine wherever you would see pigeons in brisbane, there are monkies. They are swinging on powerlines, jumping on cars and generally being naughty. We go into the palace to take some closeups of the monkies...refusing to buy food as we don't want them on us for fear of rabis and the big needles associated with it.

I get John to grab my zoom lens..and this is where we learn..don't bend down. 3 monkies run up and jump on John and try to eat the nob on his hat. The attendant chases the monkies away and then gives us a stick to fend them off.

So I take a few pics and John goes to chase a monkey away and then it grabs the stick...he starts to swing it..the monkey puts 2nd hand on the stick and starts to climb..eventually he drops it and the monkey runs off with it...very cheeky.

After awhile it drops it and wanders off. John then goes to grab it and it's a race..to see who can get there first...John wins. We go into the enclosure to get away from the monkeys..so we're behind bars looking out at them. There are so many little babies..with mothers holding their tails so they don't run off.

Outside I stand in one place for more than 5 seconds and the playful monkey jumps on me...hard to work out how to get the little bugger off. Eventually he just jumps.

So we wander around the town and back to the train station and back to Ayutthaya.