Tantalizing Thailand

Thailand has been an adventure.  It was broken up into three different parts as we crossed in and out of this country a few times so we decided to delay the post on this country until we were completely finished.

Thailand part one had us zip lining through the jungle canopy.  This was a lot of fun and definitely got the heart pumping.  The longest zip was just over 300m and we picked up a lot of speed.  The little Thai guy had a hard time stopping me (Dan) at the end of the 300m and I smashed into the tree.  Actually the guide and I smashed into the tree.  We also got an introduction to Bangkok.  This is a very big city with a lot going on. (More on this later as we only had one day to explore the city at this juncture).  On day two of this tour we quickly left Thailand.

Part two of Thailand had us returning to the country from Laos.  We were now in northern Thailand.  The pace here is a lot slower than it is in the central and south.  It might be due to its proximity to Laos.  We stopped at the White Temple.  There are a couple pictures here.  What makes these pictures special is the fact that two days after we left that area the temple was hit by a 6.2 earthquake and the top of the temple fell off.  We definitely lucked out by not being there at that time.  After experiencing Northern Thailand we got onto a night train to Bangkok.  Other than it stinking of urine the trip was uneventful.  Entering Bangkok for the second time with a little knowledge under our belt and a bit more time gave us a chance to really explore the city.  Highlights of the city were going to the sky bar where Hangover II was filmed.  This was exciting and gave us a great view of the city.  Lisa and I explored the various markets, restaurant streets and street shopping areas.  I even tried BBQ scorpion.  It was crunchy and I was told to avoid the claws as they could chip your teeth. 

Part three of Thailand had us meet our new group and head south.  This group was very different from the others in that Lisa and I were definitely the oldest people.   We definitely showed that we could keep up with them with no issues.  Again we took a night train.  This was by far the best train we have used so far.  We headed to the karst island on the south eastern part of the country in the Gulf of Thailand.  The first island was very basic and very beautiful.  The geckos were everywhere including our room.  One of them looked like a baby alligator.  We also had a chance to climb the mountains in the intense heat.  It was here that we had two tough nights sleeping as there was no AC and the temperature was very warm.  The next island was more touristy and the hotel had more amenities.  We have included pictures of the various things we saw and did.

We are still having a great time and the adventures never seem to stop.  Thailand was not that eventful but we did learn a lot.

Thailand Family Robinson

White Temple before the earthquake

Lisa in front of the White Temple

Lisa and Dan at the Sky Bar (Hangover II Bar)

Thailand skyline

Best sleeper train and our new group

View and hike on Koh Panang (Word of advice: don't hike in
38 degree temps if you don't like sweating a lot)

View of our Koh Panang beach 

Playing volleyball with our new group

Our Gecko roommate

One of the numerous temples

Anyone need a hand

The Happy Budda

Covering up before going into temples is a must

Selfie in front of one of the temples

Overlooking the waters of Koh Samui

Mummified Monk

Lisa Ziplining

Typical Asian Toilet and bucket to flush with (notice no toilet paper)
We have stories

Canals of Bangkok (much easier to get around as there is little traffic)

Protest area of Bangkok (we left two days before the protests erupted again)

Human fire display - that is a guy in the middle swinging it around.
(Here is an idea for Putty)

Laidback Laos

We are writing this blog as we take a slow boat up the Mekong River as we close out the last leg of our quick journey through Laos.  It is pronounced with or without the “s” and either way is acceptable. 

Laos is very different from the other countries we have visited.  Traffic seems to follow some sort of rules.  They don’t honk their horns and they do have some courtesy.  There is also more wealth here than anticipated.  Service on the other hand has taken a big step back.  It’s as if you are putting them out of their way to take a food order or pay for something.  This is very different from the other Asian countries we have visited and hence the “Laidback” moniker.  The other thing about Laos is that it is even hotter than the other countries (not that we thought that was possible).  Daytime highs are averaging in the upper 30’s low 40’s and add on the humidity and it is like being in a greenhouse all the time.

The first stop had us landing in Vientiane, the nation’s capital of 240 000 people which is much smaller than the cities elsewhere.  We only spent a night here before leaving the following day for Vang Vieng.  This is their adventure area of the country.  It was here that we took a 5 hour tube down the Nam Song River.  The river is dotted with bars along the way which heave out a line and drag you in if you want.  Our entire group decided that this would be a good idea and jumped at the opportunity.  It was a lot of fun.  We had an opportunity to mix it up with some of the local children who were also in the water and splashing was the order of the day.  The water quality was not that good and we do have stories on that as well.

Stop three was in Luang Prabang.  Here we did and entire day tour through the area.  The morning had us climbing a waterfall in the rain.  This made for some interesting challenges.  After we made our way to the bear rescue centre.  It is here that the country of Laos takes all the bears (Moon Bears) they have confiscated from the poachers who are trying to take them to China or use them for various things and try and bring them back to health.  It is great that they are trying to do this.  The afternoon had us at an elephant rehabilitation centre.  The elephants have been rescued from work camps where they are worked and beaten to death.  We all got chances to ride them.  I (Dan) got an opportunity to ride one into the Mekong River and give her a bath.  I don’t know who got a bigger bath.  I now know what it is like to get sprayed by an elephant numerous times. 

We have then taken a slow boat up the Mekong River, a lot slower than we would have liked.  The boat kept breaking down and they have to stop to repair the engine.  On the second day the boat broke down twice before the engine caught fire and burned the drive belt leaving us stranded.   Their plan was to see if another boat came along and could take us the remaining 6 ½ hours to our destination.  After banging against the rocks on the side of the river for an hour and a half there was a public boat that stopped and had room for us.  Riding the public boat added to the adventure and there are more stories to tell then there is room here.  Highlights of the public boat trip are that it had to stop to fix its engine as it was also heating up, we had to make random stops literally in the middle of nowhere to let people off on the shore (there were no paths, no roads and no signs of civilization just forest) 

The reason for the two day boat adventure was a home stay stop mid-way through.  This was definitely an experience we will not soon forget.  The boat stopped just before sunset at this little remote village –the only way in or out was by boat.  We exited the boat to find out where we were staying for the night.  Lisa and I could not stay in the same house (even though we were married) because it would anger the spirits.  We could have stayed had we paid the spirits $600 and given then a chicken and a pig.  I guess even spirits have their price.  Needless to say we spent the night in two separate houses.  Keep in mind there is no electricity, which means no fans and it was hot –sweaty stinking hot.  I had the luxury of sleeping on Barney blanket.  The toilet facilities were also very basic.  There was no toilet paper and even if we had some we were not allowed to use it.  There was a bucket of water and you had to use your hand to clean.  We all held it until we got back on the boat the next morning.  Five o’clock didn’t come early enough for any of us.  Lisa had a rough go as the house she was in had a cooking fire going below her house which made it even warmer and very smoky.  She had to use her inhaler for the first time this trip. 

After arriving late because of all the boat breakdowns we had to race to the Thailand border as it closes at 8:00 pm.  We just made it otherwise we would have been a day behind.

Still having fun but getting a little tired.  We will be looking forward to a day break from travel to rest for a day before our next journey begins.

Laos Family Robinson  

Panoramic view from our Bungalow and the Limestone Mountains

Enjoying good company and great scenery in Vang Vieng (until the storm)

Daily rains and thunderstorms in Laos

Typical Laos Landscape

Moon (Asiatic Black) Bear rescued from poachers.  A bit smaller than our black bears.

Cool flowers

Getting ready to climb the edge of the waterfalls.

Crossing the river above the falls.

Feeding the elephants sugar cane (Elephants were rescued from a logging camp)

Enjoying an elephant ride along the river.

Dan getting on the elephant to take it for a bath (unfortunately
he go on backwards and had to turn around)

Heading into the Mekong River for a bath (both were equally wet coming out)
Dan got sprayed by the elephant numerous times (Yum, elephant boogers)

Lisa bathing one of the elephants with Dan on the elephant

Coming out of the river sort of clean.

Riding up the Mekong River

Our private tour boat before it broke down. 

Views along the river

Farms where they slash and burn the hills (rebuild their houses) and try
and plant a crop before the soil washes away

Freight traffic on the Mekong River

Wild Water Buffalo at the rivers edge

Local Fishermen and kids along the river

The village we stayed in.

Lisa's accommodations for the night.

Lisa's house (Dan's was a bit more sketch than this)

Local kids (no diapers needed here)

Locals playing a cross between soccer, volleyball and badminton
at the local school

Typical houses in the village (reed mat walls, bamboo stick floors covered
with reed mats and tin roofs

Leaving our broken boat.

Lisa and Dan tubing down the river