Archives for March 2010

I came home a year older.

It was a happy coincidence that my birthday fell during our semester break. I really can’t think of a better way to celebrate my 25th birthday than by having an exciting Thai adventure. The only trouble was… I couldn’t keep track of the date! Nearing the end of the trip I kept having to double check with Molly what day we were on. I was pretty sure on the afternoon of the 8th that it was my birthday… but, no.

Our last morning at the beach Molly and I woke up early to catch our ride back to the ferry. It took me a few hours to realize it… but… ding ding ding! It was my birthday!

We spent the first half of the day on a ferry and a plane making our way back to Bangkok. We returned to our first hostel to a very welcoming staff. It was nice to see familiar faces! After getting cleaned up a bit (like I said, no showers at the beach)… we headed into town to explore our options for our last day in Thailand.

Strangely… we ended up in a mall. I hope that if you know me, you know that I’m not so much the mall type. I’d much rather eat at a hole in the wall restaurant than a food court. But now I have to admit that I was in awe of the food options we found! We went to a section of the mall known as Food Avenue (I think). You get a little gift card type deal as you enter and then you are free to visit food vendors from all over the world. Molly and I settled on some Mexican food which I’ve strangely come to like over the past few years after a lifetime of abhorring it. [Don’t get too excited family, I’m not ready to take the Villa off my x-list yet!] Molly was very sweet to treat me and let me choose the dessert. It was a difficult decision that I never really made… I just ordered two!

After lunch we did a bit of shopping… trying to finish picking out a few things for friends and family. Then we headed to the Jim Thompson house where I received another little birthday gift. Jim Thompson was an American that came to Thailand and helped to jumpstart the Thai silk industry. He was also a collector of Thai artifacts and a Thai culture enthusiast. Visitors are welcome to tour his house and view his collection. AND… if visitors happen to be under 25 they get a discount. The sweet cashier decided that I qualified.

Later in the evening we wandered back towards Khao San Road for some birthday massages. While I enjoyed some street noodles, Molly became obsessed with documenting that certain kind of traveler you’ll find on Khao San.

We tried our own Khao San looks in the taxi.

Early the next morning we flew out of Bangkok back towards the Middle East. It was a wonderful and exhausting experience! Novelty snack post coming soon!

xo, jill

White and sandy, please!

After our adventurous stay in Chiang Mai, Molly and I were ready for some beach time. We took a flight from Bangkok to Trat in the eastern most corner of Thailand. From there we took a very expensive taxi and a ferry to the island, Ko Chang.

We picked a guesthouse offering huts in an area of the island called, Lonely Beach [misnomer!]. The Sunflower not only offers easy access to all the local bars, it’s also nestled between the numerous tattoo parlors as well! Not our scene.

Despite feeling a bit disappointed with our location, we headed out to the beach. Unfortunately, on Molly’s first dash into the water something nasty down there sliced up her foot. This officially put us on a relaxation only schedule for the next few days. Which was harder than you might expect.

While poking around a bit, we noticed some signage for a guesthouse located in a more remote area of the island. Early the next morning we jumped into the tiny jump seats of a truck and headed out to Treehouse Long Beach.

Um… we didn’t exactly realize that this little stretch of the island is nearly impossible to reach. It took an hour (or more?) to reach our destination and some extreme 4×4 driving. The road was completely washed out in places… As we were driving in I was pretty puzzled as to how we’d ever get back out again… and in time to catch the ferry to catch our flight back to Bangkok. I can’t not think about these things!

Thankfully, this guesthouse turned out to be much more of the experience we were hoping to enjoy. A hut on the beach for 350 baht [35 dirham or less than $10] a night [split between two people], no electricity before 6pm, white sandy beach, no tourist traps… and um, no showers…

We spent our time reading on the beach, sleeping on the beach, and taking some forays into the tealy blue water.

Turns out… my worries as to how we would get back to civilization were founded. We needed to leave the guesthouse at 7am to make our ferry and flight. Our guesthouse taxi makes one run per day… at 8am. The other option was to pay them for a special run at four times the price… in addition to the taxi fee we’d already prepaid at the airport for our return trip. On a whim we decided to walk over to the only other guesthouse in the vacinity. The proprietor there agreed to let us tag along while he drove his kids to school. He’d take us to the ferry station for only double the price of our original ride in. Not a bad deal.

The ride wasn’t smooth [in the back of a pickup truck] but it deposited us at the ferry station with plenty of time to make our flight. Thank goodness!

At all.

There’s a certain romance about train travel. Overnight train travel especially has an allure to it. I mean, until you actually do it.

We booked an overnight train from Chiang Mai back down to Bangkok in order to make a flight out to the beach the next morning.

The food on board was expensive and not so delicious. We could have easily split one serving and saved some money and waste.

Then the cockroaches appeared. With neither of us wanting to sleep in the bottom bunk (closest to the bugs), we settled the matter with an Uno tournament. I’m quite happy to report (and was even happier in the moment) that I emerged the champion. I honestly don’t know if victory has been any sweeter…

And here’s another photo from the trip that always makes me laugh.

I fell asleep and there’s Molly taking photos of herself. Ok… I actually just tricked Molly into making it look like that… but I still think it’s funny!

I’m glad we took the sleeper train… but I don’t think I’d do it again… in Thailand. I’m still keen on having a Darjeeling Limited experience, but I guess I need to go to India for that.

xo, jill

I apologize for the crotch shots.

Our last day in Chiang Mai was another one filled with adventure. We booked a ziplining trip with Flight of the Gibbon. Much like our previous mornings, Molly and I were picked up in a van and driven about an hour outside of the city. This morning in particular brought us high up in the mountainous rainforest. Because of the high altitude’s chilly air, it was recommended that we wear long pants. The only long pants I brought with me were leggings. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves as to why this was a bad idea. Luckily for you, I edited the worst of the worst out.

But really, you can’t look too bad in helmets and body harnesses… right?

And maybe you’re thinking… “Oh no! Ziplining? Heights? I hope it goes better than rock climbing!” because that’s exactly what Molly and I were thinking that morning. And seeing signs like this didn’t do much to assuage my nerves.

I think you could best describe our guides with the word, “goofballs.” I let it slip that I was just a tiny bit afraid of heights and they pounced. Granted, everyone in our group got the “Oh no! Wait!” trick shouted after them just as the guide pushed us down the line… but I think they especially enjoyed the scare tactics with me. I did have a few more bumpy rides than my counterparts. Watch one of them here:

(my favorite part of this video is where Molly’s lands the camera at the very end… laugh every time)

Fortunately, the goofing around made it easier to relax… and really increased the level of excitement. I responded much better to the adrenaline rush of ziplining than I did the anxious fear of rock climbing.

Basically, ziplining is fantastic! Flight of the Gibbon has the process down. The guides know exactly when to have you pose for photos… they even take over your camera and do all the work for you. I would wholeheartedly recommend using Flight of the Gibbon if you’re ever in need of a Chiang Mai adventure.

One of the sillier lines was called “The Tiger Tail.” Instead of being strapped in from your chest, you are attached to the line from your backside. At the end of the line you crash into a giant net which led our guides to yelling out, “SPIDERMAN!!!” … it was pretty fun.

In case you’re wondering about Molly’s experience… I think it’s safe to say the woman showed no fear. She even attempted to flip upside down on one of the lines!

Here’s a little video of her:

I think our enjoyment was also heightened by our group. Everyone was quite jovial. There was a couple from Oregon, two friends from the UK, and a lone German.

The end of our adventure included a hike to a waterfall and a nice lunch.

The van was kind enough to drop us off at the train station so we were all set to go aboard the overnight train back to Bangkok… an adventure in itself!

xo, jill