Just want to officially say that there will be no new entries to this blog until my next trip, whenever that may be (hopefully in december this year, if jo allows a break from thesis studio) *crosses fingers*
Till next time. ciao.
Sunday, August 29, 2004
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
photos are up!
just a sampling here. More on my yahoo =)
still have one more b/w roll with most of the sukhothai pictures inside...
still have one more b/w roll with most of the sukhothai pictures inside...
Friday, August 06, 2004
coming soon: photos!
yay! going to collect most of my photos later... hopefully there will be some I will not be too embarressed to put up =)
update 1: the travel insurance only provides for delays of more than 12 hours so it looks like I won't be getting anything from ntuc. sigh.
update 2: I had thought I would probably not hear from any of the people I met on the trip again, but I have gotten sms-es from Jen (the changmai girl in Kanchanaburi), a phone call from Kat (the thai girl I met at the airport), and emails from Masa (the jap guy from Sukhothai). And i think I am supposed to write to the woman from the bus to Kanchanaburi, but I don't even think she can read english and her address is all in thai script....
I want to go back to thailand.... and vietnam.. and cambodia... and laos... and myanmar...
next time.. heh heh heh....
update 1: the travel insurance only provides for delays of more than 12 hours so it looks like I won't be getting anything from ntuc. sigh.
update 2: I had thought I would probably not hear from any of the people I met on the trip again, but I have gotten sms-es from Jen (the changmai girl in Kanchanaburi), a phone call from Kat (the thai girl I met at the airport), and emails from Masa (the jap guy from Sukhothai). And i think I am supposed to write to the woman from the bus to Kanchanaburi, but I don't even think she can read english and her address is all in thai script....
I want to go back to thailand.... and vietnam.. and cambodia... and laos... and myanmar...
next time.. heh heh heh....
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
FINALLY! home.
warning: skip the next paragraph if you don't want to have to read a long incoherent rant.
The flight was delayed for 6.5h. At 11am I received a message from Air Asia (though apparently not everyone did; maybe they didn't provide their mobile numbers) telling me the 2.45 flight has been 're-timed' to 7.05pm. I was already on the train to the airport by that time, as the trains leave bkk at 11.15 and 11.45, and the next ones were at 2+pm, which would have been way too late for my flight. And so it transpired that I reached the airport at 12nn, then found out from the counter that the flight has now been delayed till 9.15pm! Argh! what was I going to do till then? If only I had not gone to Ayutheya and Bang Pa-in already: they would have made excellent daytrips, but then I figured I'd better not stray from the airport in case there were any changes.. anyone knows if there are any claims or something I can get for the delay? Cos instead of reaching senai at 6pm and taking public transport all the way home I got there at 12.45am today instead. Not to mention food and basically everything is expensive at the airport and they only gave us a snack voucher worth 70B (about enough for small fries and small soft drink, or a medium coffee), which I had to go up and ask for at about 3pm when I went to the counter again to make sure. And when I asked: can I just check in first or leave my baggage they simply told me to go to the airport service, which charges 90B per piece. Lucky I only had one backpack and my slingbag... grr.. they could have handled it better. I don't think my expectations are that high, esp considering what I paid for the ticket...
At JB, there was still, thankfully, a free shuttle to the city lounge, but beyond that, its taxi all the way. In the end transportation home from the airport cost me more than the flight. And I only reached home at 3am.
good things, however, did come out of this whole shebang:
1) The view of Bangkok and Malaysia at night. And flying at night. Really beautiful. The street lighting is orange while the houses/buildings use white light, so its looks like a sea of fire flowing through a field of diamonds. The transportation network stands out like a gorgeous version of the diagrams we've studied in geography or in widodo's classes. It's amazing how the darkness makes the city so much more enticing than it is in the day. Or rather, how the darkness makes the lights so beautiful. And when we fly above the sea of clouds to the clear sky above the stars are of course brilliant in their multitudes. And seeing the airport at night is nice too, esp when the spotlights of the airport are juxupositioned against a plane on the horizon and the fog...
2) at the check-in queue a nice Thai girl started talking to me. So now I had a companion for the flight. She's in the construction industry but apparently goes on short holidays in the region a lot. She also informed me that hair re-bonding is really cheap in Bangkok (abt a quarter of what they quoted me here, which is $110-140), and asked why I didn't do it there. I didn't know! Nobody told me... =(
3) I didn't have much ringget or sing dollars w me, so in an attempt to save money, I talked to other people on the shuttle and managed to get a group of 4 together: a japanese boy studying public finance who had to catch a flight home from changi at 6am, an indian australian who had friends here and who was really useful with sorting out the splitting of the taxi fares cos he's an accountant, and a filipino studying tourism here. It was nice chatting with them on the way back, finding out more about each other's countries... and laughing about trying to understand Thai English and their obmission of all 's's in their speech....
and I dare say I'm very familiar with Don Muang Bangkok International Airport by now. Have visited almost every toilet in there too.
Monday, July 26, 2004
Last night in Thailand
hmm... I just got a massage.... Actually all I want to do right now is sleep... The massage was fantastic.. I loved it when she twisted by whole body and I could hear the cracks go down my spine... The only painful parts were when she was working on places where I don't have much muscle.. Otherwise it, though not exactly relaxing, really loosened me up...
Today I only covered the Grand Palace, Temple of the Emerald Buddha (which turns out to be actually jade, but the guy who first found him was mistaken), and Wat Pho. I had thought the queen's quarters in Hanoi's Old Palace was unique, but turns out the porcelain inlay thingy is actually pretty widely used. It's still pretty, though. And those here are in much better condition since they didn't get bombed and the structures they are used in (mostly the prangs) are more grand. Too tired of the city to try to do anything else. Kind of looking forward to leaving, even if it's just trading one city for another. But then one is home after all.
This will probably be my last post while in Thailand. During this trip, at least. Will still post if I have any pictures I'm particularly proud of =)
I didn't get to go clubbing with masa after all. There was some miscommunication (the filming is outside Bangkok) and I didn't check my mail often enough and he tried to call but somehow Thai phones can never get through to mine. Wish I knew why... Is there something other than the +65 one has to add?
Tired.. Don't even feel like trying to socialise or shop or get food now...
Today I only covered the Grand Palace, Temple of the Emerald Buddha (which turns out to be actually jade, but the guy who first found him was mistaken), and Wat Pho. I had thought the queen's quarters in Hanoi's Old Palace was unique, but turns out the porcelain inlay thingy is actually pretty widely used. It's still pretty, though. And those here are in much better condition since they didn't get bombed and the structures they are used in (mostly the prangs) are more grand. Too tired of the city to try to do anything else. Kind of looking forward to leaving, even if it's just trading one city for another. But then one is home after all.
This will probably be my last post while in Thailand. During this trip, at least. Will still post if I have any pictures I'm particularly proud of =)
I didn't get to go clubbing with masa after all. There was some miscommunication (the filming is outside Bangkok) and I didn't check my mail often enough and he tried to call but somehow Thai phones can never get through to mine. Wish I knew why... Is there something other than the +65 one has to add?
Tired.. Don't even feel like trying to socialise or shop or get food now...
Sunday, July 25, 2004
a little more time to burn
got 20min left, so just want to note some things:
Signs in shop in chatukchak market:
- "Art is the lie that helps us to understand the truth" - Picasso
- "The sadness never goes away" - van Gogh's sucide note
- "I prayed to God, but the sky was empty" - Sylvia Plath
But they don't have shirts in ladies' sizes.. though most, if not all, of those are too small for me, and the men's are too big. So I'm stuck with the free size things.
Kanchanburi has street signs in the shape of a fish, and along a certain stretch they are named after countries who had POWs interned in the area. As diverse as Afganistan to Korea to some countries I've never heard of that sounds vaguely African or Middle Eastern. And of course there is a Singapore Road. I looked. And took a picture too. Unfortunately it's just a rather unassuming, nondescript lane.
Muay Thai fighters are all younger than me. Oldest I saw was only 22. Youngest looks 12, but I think he's 14. Very small sized. It looks painful, but elegant.
in Lumpini Park, an old thai chinese guy approached me. after some talking: "I go with you to boxing? I pay". of course i refused. After another while and more conversation: "after boxing you go home? Not going dancing? I take you. I pay." argh! and i thought he was just being nice at first. Now i know... "now you going to eat? I go with you?" ... "why not? give me one reason why not." I made myself scarce. It was a nice and very big park though. They even have a gym there with weights and all.
ok, out of time. ciao. =)
Signs in shop in chatukchak market:
- "Art is the lie that helps us to understand the truth" - Picasso
- "The sadness never goes away" - van Gogh's sucide note
- "I prayed to God, but the sky was empty" - Sylvia Plath
But they don't have shirts in ladies' sizes.. though most, if not all, of those are too small for me, and the men's are too big. So I'm stuck with the free size things.
Kanchanburi has street signs in the shape of a fish, and along a certain stretch they are named after countries who had POWs interned in the area. As diverse as Afganistan to Korea to some countries I've never heard of that sounds vaguely African or Middle Eastern. And of course there is a Singapore Road. I looked. And took a picture too. Unfortunately it's just a rather unassuming, nondescript lane.
Muay Thai fighters are all younger than me. Oldest I saw was only 22. Youngest looks 12, but I think he's 14. Very small sized. It looks painful, but elegant.
in Lumpini Park, an old thai chinese guy approached me. after some talking: "I go with you to boxing? I pay". of course i refused. After another while and more conversation: "after boxing you go home? Not going dancing? I take you. I pay." argh! and i thought he was just being nice at first. Now i know... "now you going to eat? I go with you?" ... "why not? give me one reason why not." I made myself scarce. It was a nice and very big park though. They even have a gym there with weights and all.
ok, out of time. ciao. =)
chocolate donuts
today, i went about siam square, saw jim thompson's house, mbk, etc. Then went back to the guesthouse to get my stuff to move to khaosan, but it was raining so damm hard the whole afternoon that i was drenched and only made it to khaosan abt 4 plus. Next I went to Wat Arun, for sunset, but because of the rain it was less than spectacular. I will try for photos from across the river tomorrow morning though, on my way to Wat Po. And don't believe the guidebook when they say it's only open till 5.30pm. Even at 6.30pm people were going over and there were still large groups on the prang.
Nothing much to say since i hardly interacted with anyone today, except that the large crowds make you feel more alone. And in spite of what i said yesterday, I went back to the market. And you know what? I found the chocolate donuts within a half hour. Bought two. Then I saw another stall selling the same thing 5 minutes later. Where were all of them yesterday??! Nobody talks to me cos they all think I'm local. And a local actually thought i was the shopkeeper. (maybe i should just have nodded and taken the money...). Ah well, that's not as bad as farangs always thinking I'm the waitress/receptionist in the guesthouses.
Bangkok is very tiring and expensive. In the last guesthouse I stayed on the 3rd floor(120B) and thought that was bad, but now i'm on the 6th floor(150B). I think I'm only going to leave the room once a day and not come back unless its for the night... There's a nice chill space and restuarant downstairs though. Travel within the city is expensive, entrance fees are higher, food so far is not as nice(or maybe it's just harder to figure out which are the nice stalls here), and of course there's shopping. err.. Rav, wj, i have no idea what to get for you (it would be so much easier if you were females!) and i am seriously short of luggage space so don't get your expectations up =P
Being in a big city with lots of people who don't speak your language or think you don't speak theirs is making the loneliness come back.. Actually looking forward to going home (but not the transition in JB. argh.).
Nothing much to say since i hardly interacted with anyone today, except that the large crowds make you feel more alone. And in spite of what i said yesterday, I went back to the market. And you know what? I found the chocolate donuts within a half hour. Bought two. Then I saw another stall selling the same thing 5 minutes later. Where were all of them yesterday??! Nobody talks to me cos they all think I'm local. And a local actually thought i was the shopkeeper. (maybe i should just have nodded and taken the money...). Ah well, that's not as bad as farangs always thinking I'm the waitress/receptionist in the guesthouses.
Bangkok is very tiring and expensive. In the last guesthouse I stayed on the 3rd floor(120B) and thought that was bad, but now i'm on the 6th floor(150B). I think I'm only going to leave the room once a day and not come back unless its for the night... There's a nice chill space and restuarant downstairs though. Travel within the city is expensive, entrance fees are higher, food so far is not as nice(or maybe it's just harder to figure out which are the nice stalls here), and of course there's shopping. err.. Rav, wj, i have no idea what to get for you (it would be so much easier if you were females!) and i am seriously short of luggage space so don't get your expectations up =P
Being in a big city with lots of people who don't speak your language or think you don't speak theirs is making the loneliness come back.. Actually looking forward to going home (but not the transition in JB. argh.).
Saturday, July 24, 2004
before i retire...
ok, it's not all old fat men around here. Just saw some young ones. But have yet to see a female traveller around here...
and many thai men are good looking....
one night in Bangkok....
Bangkok.. is perhaps not for me.. I think I have been spoilt by the nice countryside with nice people, so much so that I'd almost forgotten that in the big city, there are are not so nice people... But that's ok i guess. For every jerk/pervert/asshole/#^%*& i meet i have met 10 nice people so, overall, Thailand is a great country to travel in. And of course everyone thinks I'm thai. I think even the singaporeans at chatukchak thought so. Only 1 person thought otherwise and she said hi to me in Japanese but stopped to talk when she realised i wasn't =) And the funny thing is, they think I'm thai thai, as opposed to thai chinese.
The problem with looking like a local is that people are less likely to stop and help you. So when i need help, like when the bus into BKK droped me at some obsure bus stop outside town, I tried to ask around to no availd, but found that just sitting there looking blur and with a map in your hand will eventually produce, in a very short time, an english speaking local who will help you and talk to you =))
The market.. I spent my first hour there just wandering aimlessly, feeling overwhelmed. And I saw so many things i wanted to get but thought: 'later', but half the time I won't be able to find the store again. And i spent the better part of an hour trying to re-find the stall with the chocolate donuts. Yes. JL, they were delicious indeed. No wonder the woman asked: "just one?" when i first bought it. Wish i bought 5 sticks instead of one now...
In the end i didn't buy much. There's too much to want and nothing i need. Though i had to exercise considerable self-restraint to stop myself from buying the slippers and t-shirts. Almost everything is actually available in s'pore, just more expensive. And my attempts at bargaining are really pathetic, not to mention half-hearted... So. No more market for me. Maybe khaosan on the last night...
Yesterday night i went to see the muay thai matches at Lumpini Stadium. Forgot to ask JL whihc are the seats to avoid. Took a guess, was sort of right. I was not in the thick of bookie/gambling action. At least not at first. But i was near enough that by the middle of the night they were all around me. Shouting, spitting, guesturing, exchanging large sums of money, standing, digging their toes into my butt.... A bit scary since i was probably the only lone female in the whole place, local or foreign. And the walk back to my guesthouse is rather dark. I have never appreciated security guards so much before this, and i am ever so grateful that a few buildings on the way hire them. 7-11s are great too. So many of them here. I just kept telling myself: just make it to the next 7-11... The foreigners staying around here are few, and most of them seem to be old and/or fat men. I don't know if it's the relative proximity to Patpong or the few gay bars/saunas around here. It's quieter than khaosan but i think i will move to backpacker's ghetto tomorrow. This place is a little too quiet and run down for my comfort...
Too tired to write more. Shall just write when i get back in another few days or tell you guys about the experiences I've had. Will have to write about the creepy old thai guy who tried to pick me up at the park... grr...
The problem with looking like a local is that people are less likely to stop and help you. So when i need help, like when the bus into BKK droped me at some obsure bus stop outside town, I tried to ask around to no availd, but found that just sitting there looking blur and with a map in your hand will eventually produce, in a very short time, an english speaking local who will help you and talk to you =))
The market.. I spent my first hour there just wandering aimlessly, feeling overwhelmed. And I saw so many things i wanted to get but thought: 'later', but half the time I won't be able to find the store again. And i spent the better part of an hour trying to re-find the stall with the chocolate donuts. Yes. JL, they were delicious indeed. No wonder the woman asked: "just one?" when i first bought it. Wish i bought 5 sticks instead of one now...
In the end i didn't buy much. There's too much to want and nothing i need. Though i had to exercise considerable self-restraint to stop myself from buying the slippers and t-shirts. Almost everything is actually available in s'pore, just more expensive. And my attempts at bargaining are really pathetic, not to mention half-hearted... So. No more market for me. Maybe khaosan on the last night...
Yesterday night i went to see the muay thai matches at Lumpini Stadium. Forgot to ask JL whihc are the seats to avoid. Took a guess, was sort of right. I was not in the thick of bookie/gambling action. At least not at first. But i was near enough that by the middle of the night they were all around me. Shouting, spitting, guesturing, exchanging large sums of money, standing, digging their toes into my butt.... A bit scary since i was probably the only lone female in the whole place, local or foreign. And the walk back to my guesthouse is rather dark. I have never appreciated security guards so much before this, and i am ever so grateful that a few buildings on the way hire them. 7-11s are great too. So many of them here. I just kept telling myself: just make it to the next 7-11... The foreigners staying around here are few, and most of them seem to be old and/or fat men. I don't know if it's the relative proximity to Patpong or the few gay bars/saunas around here. It's quieter than khaosan but i think i will move to backpacker's ghetto tomorrow. This place is a little too quiet and run down for my comfort...
Too tired to write more. Shall just write when i get back in another few days or tell you guys about the experiences I've had. Will have to write about the creepy old thai guy who tried to pick me up at the park... grr...
Thursday, July 22, 2004
big fish small fish
Erawan waterfalls is really beautiful. It has 7 tiers, lovely rock formations, the water is turqoise in colour, and there are lots of fish to swim with. But they nibble at you when you stop swimming. Small fish are ok, but when the big fish bite, i swear i can feel the teeth... It's the kind of place you cannot not visit when you are in the area... you have to see the photos, if i managed to capture even a bit of the magic there; i am at the moment incapable of describing it in a way that would do it justice.
Today's group was smaller: me, 2 dutch girls (them:"we rented bikes yesterday" guy:"a motorbike or a bicycle?" them:"we're dutch!), an austrian guy (only guy surrounded by 5 ladies in the back of a small jeep, poor thing, but has great sense of humor) and a german woman (5 mth pregnant and still gg to travel the rest of thailand..) who were a couple, and a french lady (animal conservationist/activist, here to spy on the 'tiger temple' (how do they make the tigers so docile? are they being drugged?), been travelling for 8 mths in africa, europe, indochina..). They're friendier and i had lots of fun with them. =))
finally met a singaporean at the falls. But he and his indonesian friend thought i was thai or indonesian/malay.. sigh.. i guess i have very 'versatile' looks.. he's a businessman in bangkok, taking a break..
last night at the guesthouse i chat with the australian guy for a while. He's here for a few days on the way to Taiwan to teach english. He doesn't know ANY mandarin. except 'hi hao', which doesn't really count. I am horrified, but he's the embodiment of the australian 'no worries' philosophy. He had taiwanese students while in brisbane (he's from UQ like me bro), and they've promised to take care of him there. For his sake i hope so.. i don't think I could survive in taiwan or china... btw there's another cute guy staying here. very quiet though, just sits and reads his book. Blond, curly hair, lean, always in loose jeans. The aussie and koreans make friends over beer. lots of it. the resturant closes, they bring it to the raft. sigh.
leaving for Bangkok tomorrow morning. Will probably try to meet up with one of the jap guys i met in Sukhothai (he just got a bit part in some thai movie?!) to go clubbing before i leave...
hmm.. i think i am getting better at this... meeting more people, talking a bit more...
Today's group was smaller: me, 2 dutch girls (them:"we rented bikes yesterday" guy:"a motorbike or a bicycle?" them:"we're dutch!), an austrian guy (only guy surrounded by 5 ladies in the back of a small jeep, poor thing, but has great sense of humor) and a german woman (5 mth pregnant and still gg to travel the rest of thailand..) who were a couple, and a french lady (animal conservationist/activist, here to spy on the 'tiger temple' (how do they make the tigers so docile? are they being drugged?), been travelling for 8 mths in africa, europe, indochina..). They're friendier and i had lots of fun with them. =))
finally met a singaporean at the falls. But he and his indonesian friend thought i was thai or indonesian/malay.. sigh.. i guess i have very 'versatile' looks.. he's a businessman in bangkok, taking a break..
last night at the guesthouse i chat with the australian guy for a while. He's here for a few days on the way to Taiwan to teach english. He doesn't know ANY mandarin. except 'hi hao', which doesn't really count. I am horrified, but he's the embodiment of the australian 'no worries' philosophy. He had taiwanese students while in brisbane (he's from UQ like me bro), and they've promised to take care of him there. For his sake i hope so.. i don't think I could survive in taiwan or china... btw there's another cute guy staying here. very quiet though, just sits and reads his book. Blond, curly hair, lean, always in loose jeans. The aussie and koreans make friends over beer. lots of it. the resturant closes, they bring it to the raft. sigh.
leaving for Bangkok tomorrow morning. Will probably try to meet up with one of the jap guys i met in Sukhothai (he just got a bit part in some thai movie?!) to go clubbing before i leave...
hmm.. i think i am getting better at this... meeting more people, talking a bit more...
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
really nua-ing
today i got out of bed at 1pm cos i got hungry. The room on a raft didn't help with the hangover either. Sangkhlaburi is now offically out of the intinery and i wil stay here until friday morning, when i go back to bangkok.
Why? yesterday i tried to book a tour but the one I wanted was not avaliable that day so i went for another one instead. Good choice cos
1) I had not planned to see the hot springs but it turned out to be really relaxing. Nothing much to look at but I'm not complaining. Didn't bring swim stuff there but the driver lent me the shorts he was about to put on and i just went in that and my bra (thank goodness it was the one non-holey one i brought)... i have a feeling i looked a bit silly next to the ang moh women's bikinis but the locals were all much friendier to me than them. I'm sure I was the only one to smile at them for one, and i was consequently the only one they smiled at and waved to as we were leaving. Its also here that i started smiling at then talking to the rest a little. Apparently they were cool at first cos they all thought i was another guide or the guide's friend.
2) Went on the train ride over the bridge over the river kwai.
3) Hellfire pass.
4) Met lots of other people. 1 retired thai teacher, friendly to me. Offered me banana chips at the small waterfall then bought me some fried yam thing at the bridge. 1 strange, very excitable, very gay and self confessed 'eccentric' chinese guy from Shanghai. We lost him at the bridge and just went off without him. 2 belgians. The woman was friendly to me, and after that the guy too. Must eat french fries if i go to belgium. Apparently v v difficult for architects to find work there though. 2 londoners. a couple again. not very friendly, but the woman has an incredible head for numbers. Think she memorised all the numbers she saw at the museum about the building of the railway. 2 dutch and one thai. The thai is jenny, the girlfriend of one of them, from changmai. The 2 men are best friends. The driver was nice to me too. He not just lent me his shorts to swim in but also picked flowers for me to put in my hair while we were in the Hellfire Pass museum.
On the train back i talked to jen, asked her about changmai, then meet her, my guide (this little lady who looks like a 16 year old student but is actually 30 with 3 kids) and another guide ricky from the same company whose group we met halfway, for dinner and drinks after. Jen has had quite an interesting life story and it was something to hear her talk about the prostitutes around thailand, why she only goes for farang, her experience travelling for the past year, her fustration with the possessive bf... ricky also has sad story as we found out after he had a couple. Can't hold his drink. He had been abandoned by his japanese girlfriend after 3 years. anyway the guides work for 15/16 days at a time, then get a day off. Earn more then the usual shop assistant but i guess it can be tiring. You'll never guess when you watch them work though. And i was probably the only foreigner in the very nice pub. garden setting with live band. Building looks very jap modern. At the end it was only me and jen left, we went to another bar, think we were both very high, then she sent me back to my guesthouse.
More on jenny and my night out: She's been here quite a few times, and the night before she was at one of the pubs and as it was a slow night, started a conversation with a woman who she recognised as having been interviewed for some thai newspaper some time ago. Born in poor family, prostituted herself to earn money for younger siblings, met an angmoh, got set up with him as in married and had kids, then husband mysteriously disappears for ages, she again sells her body to get money for the kids, got set up with another rich angmoh with big house and all, but continues to do what she does cos she apparently enjoys it now (!). First hubby suddenly writes to her, turns out he's in jail... you know, I may have missed some stuff (like the whole point or the order of the story) out in the haze of alcohol, but i remember what struck me was the reported answer her kids had when asked how they felt about their mother's occupation. It was so.. matter of fact. Something about she did it for us, they understand that. I met the woman later, but she was busy. Lots of white men at the bar.
As we left the last bar Jen complains that 'even the ladyboy' is going to get laid, but nobody approached us. sigh. maybe it's cos we were so obviously drunk. or maybe its cos i was, as jen noted a bit pointedly at the start of the evening, dressed so 'backpacker'. or maybe it's cos she was so all over me. I guess all the kissing hugging and holding of her cig for her can be misleading, except i had to grab her phone in the middle to assure her bf that yes, she's still with me and we're safe and having safe fun...
And ricky the other guide was a bit scary. I'm so glad jen was with me. I mean, he was nice, good looking in an indian movie star kind of way, but he kept looking at me with that 'i'm interested/you're the one' look. Maybe it's just me, but hey, the rest of the girls agreed. My guide was definately trying to set the two of us up, and maybe that's why she left so fast after dinner, so I was glad jen was there to buffer, and i really appreciated her 'i'm not leaving you before he does' statement.
So that's why I am going to end up spending 3.5 days here instead of 1.5. =) Have booked another tour (public transport much cheaper but i'm feeling tired..) to erawen falls for tomorrow. And I like the view from my room and from my guesthouse' restuarant/chill area. can see the fields and mountains and the neighbour paddle to the rushes on the other side of the river to fish. They are a family of abt 5: husband, wife, kids and grandma. I can see through their rafthouse and everything in it. They sit on the edge and bathe together. This area is apparently one of the poorest parts of town since you don't need to pay rent to stay on the river (which is prob why the rooms on the raft are so cheap). It's a simple lifestyle. Not easy, but somehow idyllic, at least to a city girl like me. Though the 'disco-boats' that pass by every once in a while really spoil the mood, not to mention my sleep at night.
This place is really quiet compared to the more popular guesthouses. Only problem is its unpopular for a reason. ETs, you will freak out if you had to stay here cos the raft is overridden with lizards. as in they literally cover the walls and when you walk pass you hear a loud scurrying as they run to hide. Not in the room though. And the toilet/shower is pathetic. But i'll rather this then the nice but farang infested Jolly frog guesthouse i went to for dinner yesterday.
I have a neighbour. or rather, i had one. I saw from the guestbook when i got here that he's from new zealand. But all I saw of him the past two days were his feet sticking out of his hammock and his boots outside his door. See, when I'm up in the morning he's sleeping in his room, and when i get back in the late aft/evening/any other time of day he's in the hammock. I couldn't decide whether to approach and say hi or not. So when i woke up this morning and his hammock was not there, i was quite disappointed. Then i saw this guy in the restuarant/reception about to leave, thought, 'ooh, cute guy', looked down, and... it's the boots! now i wish i'd talked him him on the very first day. shallow, yeah, so shoot me. The present neighbours don't seem as friendly. One jap-looking middle aged man sitting at the corner table eating peanut and drinking beer who didn't respond or even smile back when i greeted him. A middle-aged couple: asian (thai? he speaks the language) man and french woman. I smile at the woman. She smiles back. =) A pair of korean boys. Somehow i don't feel any affinity for anything korean. The guestbook says there's an austrialian guy around.
Oh, and i ate chicken. satay. It was offered by jen and smelt great and I didn't want to be rude. Tasted great too.
Why? yesterday i tried to book a tour but the one I wanted was not avaliable that day so i went for another one instead. Good choice cos
1) I had not planned to see the hot springs but it turned out to be really relaxing. Nothing much to look at but I'm not complaining. Didn't bring swim stuff there but the driver lent me the shorts he was about to put on and i just went in that and my bra (thank goodness it was the one non-holey one i brought)... i have a feeling i looked a bit silly next to the ang moh women's bikinis but the locals were all much friendier to me than them. I'm sure I was the only one to smile at them for one, and i was consequently the only one they smiled at and waved to as we were leaving. Its also here that i started smiling at then talking to the rest a little. Apparently they were cool at first cos they all thought i was another guide or the guide's friend.
2) Went on the train ride over the bridge over the river kwai.
3) Hellfire pass.
4) Met lots of other people. 1 retired thai teacher, friendly to me. Offered me banana chips at the small waterfall then bought me some fried yam thing at the bridge. 1 strange, very excitable, very gay and self confessed 'eccentric' chinese guy from Shanghai. We lost him at the bridge and just went off without him. 2 belgians. The woman was friendly to me, and after that the guy too. Must eat french fries if i go to belgium. Apparently v v difficult for architects to find work there though. 2 londoners. a couple again. not very friendly, but the woman has an incredible head for numbers. Think she memorised all the numbers she saw at the museum about the building of the railway. 2 dutch and one thai. The thai is jenny, the girlfriend of one of them, from changmai. The 2 men are best friends. The driver was nice to me too. He not just lent me his shorts to swim in but also picked flowers for me to put in my hair while we were in the Hellfire Pass museum.
On the train back i talked to jen, asked her about changmai, then meet her, my guide (this little lady who looks like a 16 year old student but is actually 30 with 3 kids) and another guide ricky from the same company whose group we met halfway, for dinner and drinks after. Jen has had quite an interesting life story and it was something to hear her talk about the prostitutes around thailand, why she only goes for farang, her experience travelling for the past year, her fustration with the possessive bf... ricky also has sad story as we found out after he had a couple. Can't hold his drink. He had been abandoned by his japanese girlfriend after 3 years. anyway the guides work for 15/16 days at a time, then get a day off. Earn more then the usual shop assistant but i guess it can be tiring. You'll never guess when you watch them work though. And i was probably the only foreigner in the very nice pub. garden setting with live band. Building looks very jap modern. At the end it was only me and jen left, we went to another bar, think we were both very high, then she sent me back to my guesthouse.
More on jenny and my night out: She's been here quite a few times, and the night before she was at one of the pubs and as it was a slow night, started a conversation with a woman who she recognised as having been interviewed for some thai newspaper some time ago. Born in poor family, prostituted herself to earn money for younger siblings, met an angmoh, got set up with him as in married and had kids, then husband mysteriously disappears for ages, she again sells her body to get money for the kids, got set up with another rich angmoh with big house and all, but continues to do what she does cos she apparently enjoys it now (!). First hubby suddenly writes to her, turns out he's in jail... you know, I may have missed some stuff (like the whole point or the order of the story) out in the haze of alcohol, but i remember what struck me was the reported answer her kids had when asked how they felt about their mother's occupation. It was so.. matter of fact. Something about she did it for us, they understand that. I met the woman later, but she was busy. Lots of white men at the bar.
As we left the last bar Jen complains that 'even the ladyboy' is going to get laid, but nobody approached us. sigh. maybe it's cos we were so obviously drunk. or maybe its cos i was, as jen noted a bit pointedly at the start of the evening, dressed so 'backpacker'. or maybe it's cos she was so all over me. I guess all the kissing hugging and holding of her cig for her can be misleading, except i had to grab her phone in the middle to assure her bf that yes, she's still with me and we're safe and having safe fun...
And ricky the other guide was a bit scary. I'm so glad jen was with me. I mean, he was nice, good looking in an indian movie star kind of way, but he kept looking at me with that 'i'm interested/you're the one' look. Maybe it's just me, but hey, the rest of the girls agreed. My guide was definately trying to set the two of us up, and maybe that's why she left so fast after dinner, so I was glad jen was there to buffer, and i really appreciated her 'i'm not leaving you before he does' statement.
So that's why I am going to end up spending 3.5 days here instead of 1.5. =) Have booked another tour (public transport much cheaper but i'm feeling tired..) to erawen falls for tomorrow. And I like the view from my room and from my guesthouse' restuarant/chill area. can see the fields and mountains and the neighbour paddle to the rushes on the other side of the river to fish. They are a family of abt 5: husband, wife, kids and grandma. I can see through their rafthouse and everything in it. They sit on the edge and bathe together. This area is apparently one of the poorest parts of town since you don't need to pay rent to stay on the river (which is prob why the rooms on the raft are so cheap). It's a simple lifestyle. Not easy, but somehow idyllic, at least to a city girl like me. Though the 'disco-boats' that pass by every once in a while really spoil the mood, not to mention my sleep at night.
This place is really quiet compared to the more popular guesthouses. Only problem is its unpopular for a reason. ETs, you will freak out if you had to stay here cos the raft is overridden with lizards. as in they literally cover the walls and when you walk pass you hear a loud scurrying as they run to hide. Not in the room though. And the toilet/shower is pathetic. But i'll rather this then the nice but farang infested Jolly frog guesthouse i went to for dinner yesterday.
I have a neighbour. or rather, i had one. I saw from the guestbook when i got here that he's from new zealand. But all I saw of him the past two days were his feet sticking out of his hammock and his boots outside his door. See, when I'm up in the morning he's sleeping in his room, and when i get back in the late aft/evening/any other time of day he's in the hammock. I couldn't decide whether to approach and say hi or not. So when i woke up this morning and his hammock was not there, i was quite disappointed. Then i saw this guy in the restuarant/reception about to leave, thought, 'ooh, cute guy', looked down, and... it's the boots! now i wish i'd talked him him on the very first day. shallow, yeah, so shoot me. The present neighbours don't seem as friendly. One jap-looking middle aged man sitting at the corner table eating peanut and drinking beer who didn't respond or even smile back when i greeted him. A middle-aged couple: asian (thai? he speaks the language) man and french woman. I smile at the woman. She smiles back. =) A pair of korean boys. Somehow i don't feel any affinity for anything korean. The guestbook says there's an austrialian guy around.
Oh, and i ate chicken. satay. It was offered by jen and smelt great and I didn't want to be rude. Tasted great too.
Monday, July 19, 2004
into the madding crowd
Just escaped from the HORDES of tourists at the River Kwai bridge. Lots of chinese, hongkies, koreans. When all the shopkeepers at the other end of the bridge know mandarin (xia lai ma! xia lai ma!) and there are elephants and peacocks ready for photographs, you know its not good... Not to mention the big restuarants and 'night market' selling jade and gold by the riverside. I was thinking of catching the sunset but turns out one of the few trains that pass come along at this time hence the tour buses. Made it very hard to walk across the bridge. And why do i always have to be the one to give way and stand on the very dangerous edge of the track?
Also saw the Jeath Museum, various cemetaries/memorials to the POWs, etc.. It's a good change from all the wat-ting I've been doing so far. Some nice epitaphs: "There was no harvest. The armies came and trampled the corn", "he died that others may live", "Your sacrifice was not in vain", "A star shines over a silent grave; of a son we loved but could not save",... lots of very touching ones..
I got here about 1-plus. Was lying on my bed (60B only!) deciding on my route for the day when i suddenly thought i got dizzy. Very dizzy. Room spinning round dizzy.
Then I realised that a boat just passed and the rooms are on a floating raft. Hope i don't get seasick at night...
Transfer of buses from aytheya-supanburi-kanchanaburi was effortless. And i really reccommend PS guesthouse in ayutheya. Bathroom really really sucks but its very personal. On the bus from supanburi a woman got on and sat next to me, tried to speak to me in thai. I exercised my 'phoot thai mai dai" and she proceeded to attempt to talk to (or at) me for the next 1.5 hours in very very broken limited and mangled english.. interesting experience but very tiring cos of the language barrier. At one point i even pretended to be asleep just to get a break. She made me eat some fruit (sala?) and i don't like fruits but couldn't possibly refuse and she even insisted on paying my fare.. ended up exchanging addresses and telephone numbers with her. Hers all written in thai though.
Will try to book (a rather expensive but convienient) tour to go the rest of the sites around here tomorrow. Then can go Sangkhlaburi on wed-thur or fri =)
And those who want presents/gifts, I'll do it in Bangkok. Shopping lists should reach me by Friday night latest too.
Time to look for dinner.. ciao!
Also saw the Jeath Museum, various cemetaries/memorials to the POWs, etc.. It's a good change from all the wat-ting I've been doing so far. Some nice epitaphs: "There was no harvest. The armies came and trampled the corn", "he died that others may live", "Your sacrifice was not in vain", "A star shines over a silent grave; of a son we loved but could not save",... lots of very touching ones..
I got here about 1-plus. Was lying on my bed (60B only!) deciding on my route for the day when i suddenly thought i got dizzy. Very dizzy. Room spinning round dizzy.
Then I realised that a boat just passed and the rooms are on a floating raft. Hope i don't get seasick at night...
Transfer of buses from aytheya-supanburi-kanchanaburi was effortless. And i really reccommend PS guesthouse in ayutheya. Bathroom really really sucks but its very personal. On the bus from supanburi a woman got on and sat next to me, tried to speak to me in thai. I exercised my 'phoot thai mai dai" and she proceeded to attempt to talk to (or at) me for the next 1.5 hours in very very broken limited and mangled english.. interesting experience but very tiring cos of the language barrier. At one point i even pretended to be asleep just to get a break. She made me eat some fruit (sala?) and i don't like fruits but couldn't possibly refuse and she even insisted on paying my fare.. ended up exchanging addresses and telephone numbers with her. Hers all written in thai though.
Will try to book (a rather expensive but convienient) tour to go the rest of the sites around here tomorrow. Then can go Sangkhlaburi on wed-thur or fri =)
And those who want presents/gifts, I'll do it in Bangkok. Shopping lists should reach me by Friday night latest too.
Time to look for dinner.. ciao!
Sunday, July 18, 2004
cats and dogs
I'm back in ayutheya! the plan was to get on the 7.50 bus, get here by 1pm, then take the bus to Supanburi and connect to kanchanaburi. But then i woke up late and got on the 8.50 bus instead, which was damn slow n there was a traffic jam halfway which meant i would miss the bus to kanchanaburi... But i did manage, by today, to experience all the different kinds of transport: foot, bicycle, ordinary bus, 2nd class bus, first class bus(more ex but with drinks, lunch n suited up bus lady), and motorbike =) Meet a Japanese lady on the bus. I offered her a sweet. She's 30+, busy working woman, and traveling in Thailand for a week alone. Been to south America, Europe, china among others.. I wonder if I can be like that next time...
I am staying in a very nice place. It almost makes me want to stay 2 nights instead of one. Facilities not half as good as the ones before but it's cheap, actually has single rooms, is run by an ang moh english teacher and has very friendly, overly friendly staff. I wanted to go out to walk but was waylaid by the woman. Checked in, she gave me a map n explained every site to me even though i tried to tell her i'd already been here, gave me a drink (water w thai herds, available free 24h there) and thai version of popcorn (lao horng n w a lot of honey), made in sit in what passes as the garden (very hot, come sit in the garden!), gave me a fan and offered to let me follow her to the night market for dinner... The house boy or student or whoever was looking at me very sympathetically.. The house (its more a house than the manufactured guesthouses everyone stays at) has lots of cats and dogs! The dogs are either disabled, diseased or just look mangled. I think they are strays they took in. One beautiful white cat and another yellow one. 4 2-month old yellow kittens still shaky on their legs and looking very wary of the dogs. Super cute. Spent an hour just playing with them. Oh and the toilet here is the first one so far with toilet paper.
I'm getting better at this I think.. Have hardly touched the book i brought to read, much less the notes (what was i thinking?!).
Have yet to meet another singaporean since I parted ways with JL. No malaysians either. Lots of Japanese, as you might have guessed. A thai guy at sukhothai looked at me, very puzzled, and asked, "why you don't speak thai?".
And am i weird if I feel superbly flattered when someone says I am 'eccentric' for travelling alone even though it might not neccessarily have been meant as a compliment? =)
On the songthraew to Sukhothai bus terminal I tried to open my bottle of water and somehow managed to slash it all over me. The ang moh kid sitting opposite me was very amused. I guess the fact that i was wearing what K1 calls my 'splat' shirt didn't help. That said i think its wonderful how the germans (so far its been just germans) bring their young kids out here to backpack.
So. That's it. Nothing much happening today.
I am staying in a very nice place. It almost makes me want to stay 2 nights instead of one. Facilities not half as good as the ones before but it's cheap, actually has single rooms, is run by an ang moh english teacher and has very friendly, overly friendly staff. I wanted to go out to walk but was waylaid by the woman. Checked in, she gave me a map n explained every site to me even though i tried to tell her i'd already been here, gave me a drink (water w thai herds, available free 24h there) and thai version of popcorn (lao horng n w a lot of honey), made in sit in what passes as the garden (very hot, come sit in the garden!), gave me a fan and offered to let me follow her to the night market for dinner... The house boy or student or whoever was looking at me very sympathetically.. The house (its more a house than the manufactured guesthouses everyone stays at) has lots of cats and dogs! The dogs are either disabled, diseased or just look mangled. I think they are strays they took in. One beautiful white cat and another yellow one. 4 2-month old yellow kittens still shaky on their legs and looking very wary of the dogs. Super cute. Spent an hour just playing with them. Oh and the toilet here is the first one so far with toilet paper.
I'm getting better at this I think.. Have hardly touched the book i brought to read, much less the notes (what was i thinking?!).
Have yet to meet another singaporean since I parted ways with JL. No malaysians either. Lots of Japanese, as you might have guessed. A thai guy at sukhothai looked at me, very puzzled, and asked, "why you don't speak thai?".
And am i weird if I feel superbly flattered when someone says I am 'eccentric' for travelling alone even though it might not neccessarily have been meant as a compliment? =)
On the songthraew to Sukhothai bus terminal I tried to open my bottle of water and somehow managed to slash it all over me. The ang moh kid sitting opposite me was very amused. I guess the fact that i was wearing what K1 calls my 'splat' shirt didn't help. That said i think its wonderful how the germans (so far its been just germans) bring their young kids out here to backpack.
So. That's it. Nothing much happening today.
Saturday, July 17, 2004
si satchanalai
that's where i was for most of the day. It's about 1.5h from sukhothai, and relatively deserted. Less than 10 backpackers and the occasional bunch of locals. And 2 tour buses. Some of the sites i went to are so deserted (2-5km away from the main complex- which seemed close enough until i started cycling) that everyone looked surpised to see me. The attendent will either not be there or sleeping and the paths everywhere are overgrown. Explanatary signages in the middle of a bush or covered with leaves. Very nice. I got moo-ed at by the cows, chased by a dog, nearly ran over a snake (it was small n i wasn't looking down till it moved), cycled with the singing neighbourhood boys for a stretch and saw lots of chickens crossing the road. I believe it's either to join their friends or maybe they thought there's better food over there. Nice view of river along the road too. Unfortunately it was drizzling so i didn't want to stop to photograph it.
The best part was this wat on a hill (mountain of fire?-wat for fire worship). I was really quite tired n butt v pain after all the cycling on the v bumpy v dusty roads and when i saw the stairs i almost didn't want to go up... But then i walked closer and found that it was really quite magical... imagine filtered sunlight, a long long flight of steps made of a reddish hue-d stone riddled with holes, mossy and overgrown with weeds, and small white butterflies dancing just above the steps all the way up, interpersed with yellow butterflies and some of more vibrant and complex patterns... sigh... and a lovely ruin of a wat with some dead white trees on top...
There's another wat where they found human skeletons and it's exhibited there. except there was a very dusty bench in front of the excavation/research center's entrance. But I managed to peer in through the again very dusty window and see the pits and the skeletons. They kind of look like those fossils in rock except human shaped. Very cool...
And of course i took longer at the place then most people, and as its super ulu in the first place, i ended up waiting by the side of the main road in the middle of nowhere for half an hour hoping for a bus and wondering if i will have to start hitch-hiking.. then i flagged the bus too late and had to run for it. Just glad they stopped for me.. And everyone thought i was thai! Think locals don't have to pay for some temples but i always go up to pay and they always look surprised but my cover's too easily blown so didn't want to cheat =P Also i don't get hasseled the way the farangs do.
sardines. I'm quite sure that's what he meant cos a lot more was said then what i wrote, but of course he didn't ask outright (!) so no need to do the death stare. I just smile.. always smile..
Nights getting a bit better. Maybe i'm getting used to it..maybe its cos more lone travellers at the non-guidebook listed place i'm staying at then before when it was all couples (the men are always nicer then the women. sigh).
Travelling alone is good. Own time own target, no worries. Trying to decide between changmai and kanchanaburi for next (and prob last before bangkok) destination. HY mentioned there's a lot of nua-ing here.. of course.. by abt 3 or 4pm i get tired and just bum ard town. And can't sleep at night so hard to get up v early. Spent yesterday evening watching the local fitness freaks at the park dancing to english pop. I guess aunties everywhere are the same =)
bird flu. I really don't feel the bird flu here. People still carrying on eating as usual, but i haven't had chicken unless accidentally. Confirm will have chicken craving by the time i get back. The chicken here looks really good btw. Been keeping updated on the situation by reading Bangkok Post here and the Straits Times online. Don't worry folks, it should be safe to meet me when i get back =)
The best part was this wat on a hill (mountain of fire?-wat for fire worship). I was really quite tired n butt v pain after all the cycling on the v bumpy v dusty roads and when i saw the stairs i almost didn't want to go up... But then i walked closer and found that it was really quite magical... imagine filtered sunlight, a long long flight of steps made of a reddish hue-d stone riddled with holes, mossy and overgrown with weeds, and small white butterflies dancing just above the steps all the way up, interpersed with yellow butterflies and some of more vibrant and complex patterns... sigh... and a lovely ruin of a wat with some dead white trees on top...
There's another wat where they found human skeletons and it's exhibited there. except there was a very dusty bench in front of the excavation/research center's entrance. But I managed to peer in through the again very dusty window and see the pits and the skeletons. They kind of look like those fossils in rock except human shaped. Very cool...
And of course i took longer at the place then most people, and as its super ulu in the first place, i ended up waiting by the side of the main road in the middle of nowhere for half an hour hoping for a bus and wondering if i will have to start hitch-hiking.. then i flagged the bus too late and had to run for it. Just glad they stopped for me.. And everyone thought i was thai! Think locals don't have to pay for some temples but i always go up to pay and they always look surprised but my cover's too easily blown so didn't want to cheat =P Also i don't get hasseled the way the farangs do.
sardines. I'm quite sure that's what he meant cos a lot more was said then what i wrote, but of course he didn't ask outright (!) so no need to do the death stare. I just smile.. always smile..
Nights getting a bit better. Maybe i'm getting used to it..maybe its cos more lone travellers at the non-guidebook listed place i'm staying at then before when it was all couples (the men are always nicer then the women. sigh).
Travelling alone is good. Own time own target, no worries. Trying to decide between changmai and kanchanaburi for next (and prob last before bangkok) destination. HY mentioned there's a lot of nua-ing here.. of course.. by abt 3 or 4pm i get tired and just bum ard town. And can't sleep at night so hard to get up v early. Spent yesterday evening watching the local fitness freaks at the park dancing to english pop. I guess aunties everywhere are the same =)
bird flu. I really don't feel the bird flu here. People still carrying on eating as usual, but i haven't had chicken unless accidentally. Confirm will have chicken craving by the time i get back. The chicken here looks really good btw. Been keeping updated on the situation by reading Bangkok Post here and the Straits Times online. Don't worry folks, it should be safe to meet me when i get back =)
Friday, July 16, 2004
a can of sardines
argh! i spent 15min typing and then the stupid comp hung! grr.. its damm slow n 2.5 times more ex than ayutheya. All the internet shops here claim to be 'fastest internet in sukhothai', but it seems like they are competing to be the slowest instead!
any, summary of what i typed (too lazy to do it again)
- read your comments
- yahli i was thinking this is prob how you feel in germany too!
- and now i understand why the woman i saw in borobodur last year was so unfriendly. It's hard to balance between a 'i may be a lone woman traveller but don't mess with me' look, and a 'I'm friendly and harmless, be nice to me' look. And the former is somehow easier (and safer!) and gets a bit hard to break out off after a while...
- complaining about unfriendly/condescending farangs
- my day in sukhothai old city and cycling through the very deserted countryside alone looking for isolated wats.
- the idiot songthraew driver who tried to bully me.
and now to the sardines part. I was hanging out last night n this morning with two japs (they only just met on the road too) and one of the shop assistants. All interesting ppl. too much to type. The local guy was using the analogy of a dog n a can of sardines. where dog=him, and sardines=me. He pushed the can towards me. No way i'll open the can for him. But one of the jap guys was very easy to talk to. In fact it ended up only the two of us drinking and talking after the other 2 went off to various clubs with other women. Asked a lot of questions abt s'pore (which he really liked, apparently) and chinese history n literature. I was very very pai-seh to be unable to really answer his questions well.. esp the chinese part.. he's also on the move indefinately. very interesting. Unfort they left for changmai today after being here for 5 days (what can you do in 5 days here?!). I think he got a bit drunk...
extending stay in sukhothai by a day to go Si Satchanalai tml. Didn't move guesthouse. too lazy plus paiseh after making friends with the shop guy. But the day has been spolit by the stupid driver..
And i somehow lost the chain, lock and key to the bike i rented in the old city. sigh.. backtracked so many times to look but no gold. Very tired from the day of cycling now.
any, summary of what i typed (too lazy to do it again)
- read your comments
- yahli i was thinking this is prob how you feel in germany too!
- and now i understand why the woman i saw in borobodur last year was so unfriendly. It's hard to balance between a 'i may be a lone woman traveller but don't mess with me' look, and a 'I'm friendly and harmless, be nice to me' look. And the former is somehow easier (and safer!) and gets a bit hard to break out off after a while...
- complaining about unfriendly/condescending farangs
- my day in sukhothai old city and cycling through the very deserted countryside alone looking for isolated wats.
- the idiot songthraew driver who tried to bully me.
and now to the sardines part. I was hanging out last night n this morning with two japs (they only just met on the road too) and one of the shop assistants. All interesting ppl. too much to type. The local guy was using the analogy of a dog n a can of sardines. where dog=him, and sardines=me. He pushed the can towards me. No way i'll open the can for him. But one of the jap guys was very easy to talk to. In fact it ended up only the two of us drinking and talking after the other 2 went off to various clubs with other women. Asked a lot of questions abt s'pore (which he really liked, apparently) and chinese history n literature. I was very very pai-seh to be unable to really answer his questions well.. esp the chinese part.. he's also on the move indefinately. very interesting. Unfort they left for changmai today after being here for 5 days (what can you do in 5 days here?!). I think he got a bit drunk...
extending stay in sukhothai by a day to go Si Satchanalai tml. Didn't move guesthouse. too lazy plus paiseh after making friends with the shop guy. But the day has been spolit by the stupid driver..
And i somehow lost the chain, lock and key to the bike i rented in the old city. sigh.. backtracked so many times to look but no gold. Very tired from the day of cycling now.
Thursday, July 15, 2004
sukhothai
This trip has its ups and downs... the nights are lonely =P but the sightseeing and walking around and being on the move and meeting nice people is great. I just really hate the part when I get to a new place and have to deal with the touristy places/ppl who tout and make you pay more for rides, trying to find guesthouses etc. I don't feel like i have much bargaining power cos lone girl and there are v few backpackers ard. The place i'm at now not v good think i will try to move tml morning before i head to sukhothai historical park...
Loneliness. Definately more pronounced at night. Especially when one is lying in a small dark room with 2 beds/1 huge bed (many of these places don't seem to have single rooms so i'm paying for 2!) trying not to imagine things.
Spent 6 hours on the bus here. got here about 3.30pm, too late to see the sites. It's a rather boring town actually. Very typical m'sian small town-like. Nothing much to do. The bus here was FULL. But all the people i met from ayutheya bus terminal until i got off here were nice. People pointed me to the bus when it came, moved to give me a seat, told me when there was a lunch/toilet break, offered me sweets... i felt very safe. lots of kids to entertain meself with, women, monks.. All in all thailand is a much safer place than indonesia or even malaysia. Fairly easy to get around, even easier if you are willing to pay a bit more. I'm quite sure everyone thought i was thai until they tried to speak to me. sigh. I don't think i'll ever get the thai language. Whenever i want to speak somehow i end up thinking the bahasa version of what i want to say instead.
Scenery on the way was alright. Again, typical. Not as pretty as the javanese landscape nor half as spectacular as chinese ones. Passed through lots of small towns. It seems that there are tourist attractions in every town and village, if the signs by the road are any indication (not signs pointing to wats, those are a dime a dozen here, but signs with the 'i' that has english words: tourist attraction).
And one thing sukhothai has that ayutheya doesn't: english newspapers!! unfort i bought the first one i say which is not the bangkok post. ah well.. better than nothing. Derth of internet places here though. I don't think i will hang around here longer than i have to. Rather tempting to go to mae sot(burmese border!) and umpang(beautiful highlands!) but maybe not alone and not this time since i didn't bring trekking stuff. May even cut sangkhlaburi out cos there are really few people moving round and it's rather way out. Hopefully kanchanaburi is the kind of place to linger at..
Loneliness. Definately more pronounced at night. Especially when one is lying in a small dark room with 2 beds/1 huge bed (many of these places don't seem to have single rooms so i'm paying for 2!) trying not to imagine things.
Spent 6 hours on the bus here. got here about 3.30pm, too late to see the sites. It's a rather boring town actually. Very typical m'sian small town-like. Nothing much to do. The bus here was FULL. But all the people i met from ayutheya bus terminal until i got off here were nice. People pointed me to the bus when it came, moved to give me a seat, told me when there was a lunch/toilet break, offered me sweets... i felt very safe. lots of kids to entertain meself with, women, monks.. All in all thailand is a much safer place than indonesia or even malaysia. Fairly easy to get around, even easier if you are willing to pay a bit more. I'm quite sure everyone thought i was thai until they tried to speak to me. sigh. I don't think i'll ever get the thai language. Whenever i want to speak somehow i end up thinking the bahasa version of what i want to say instead.
Scenery on the way was alright. Again, typical. Not as pretty as the javanese landscape nor half as spectacular as chinese ones. Passed through lots of small towns. It seems that there are tourist attractions in every town and village, if the signs by the road are any indication (not signs pointing to wats, those are a dime a dozen here, but signs with the 'i' that has english words: tourist attraction).
And one thing sukhothai has that ayutheya doesn't: english newspapers!! unfort i bought the first one i say which is not the bangkok post. ah well.. better than nothing. Derth of internet places here though. I don't think i will hang around here longer than i have to. Rather tempting to go to mae sot(burmese border!) and umpang(beautiful highlands!) but maybe not alone and not this time since i didn't bring trekking stuff. May even cut sangkhlaburi out cos there are really few people moving round and it's rather way out. Hopefully kanchanaburi is the kind of place to linger at..
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
wats wats and more wats.... what?
spent the day sightseeing. morning on a tuk tuk to see the sites off the island. Shared with a couple from israel at first but think they're the get down-see-snap-go kind.. I like to take my time... but then the guy was charging us by the hour (i think he thinks i am rich! argh!!)... they got off halfway. Weren't very friendly. Then near the reclining buddha I met this canadian guy who's been on the road for 6 months till an indefinate time. his last day in SE asia. trained in visual arts/graphic design and was funding his trip by proceeds he got from selling his paintings back home in canada and teaching english in asia whenever he ran out of money.. quite cool.. finally a nice person to talk to, but i took too much time and had to cut the ride to golden mount. Decided to walk around the old palace grounds and environs first, then crossed the river to wat na phra nam. Stopped by the very dusty roadside and managed to order noodles.
Apparently mii naam does not quite cut it when ordering cos there are namy kinds of noodle soup! I just smiled and nodded to what every she said and got mi-fen with fishball, fishcake, ba-chor and cha-siew. The works I guess.
The thais have no idea what conservation is!! I hate seeing the too new too bright bricks on the old. And the plastering! how fake can you get? The replacement buddhas for those they've put in the museum are so plastic (made of concrete, but you know what i mean)! And the tourists at the bigger more famous sites... not that many: i can still get photos with nobody inside, but i prefer to have a site all to myself and a few others =P In general quite nice though.. There are ruins everywhere, much like rome. Wats are not as well preserved (or rather they tried too hard with them) as those in Java though...
Was planning to stay here 3 days including a day trip to lopburi but I'm a bit wat-ed out already. So much so that I don't eel like making the little bit of effort to see those major sites that I missed..Just want to sit in the guesthouse and nua.. probably should just take the bus to sukhothai tml... to see more ruins and wats.. the two weeks is beginning to feel too long already... I'm tired... and lazy to look for food but i refuse to eat expensive tourist food at the guest house.. to market to market tonight again..
Apparently mii naam does not quite cut it when ordering cos there are namy kinds of noodle soup! I just smiled and nodded to what every she said and got mi-fen with fishball, fishcake, ba-chor and cha-siew. The works I guess.
The thais have no idea what conservation is!! I hate seeing the too new too bright bricks on the old. And the plastering! how fake can you get? The replacement buddhas for those they've put in the museum are so plastic (made of concrete, but you know what i mean)! And the tourists at the bigger more famous sites... not that many: i can still get photos with nobody inside, but i prefer to have a site all to myself and a few others =P In general quite nice though.. There are ruins everywhere, much like rome. Wats are not as well preserved (or rather they tried too hard with them) as those in Java though...
Was planning to stay here 3 days including a day trip to lopburi but I'm a bit wat-ed out already. So much so that I don't eel like making the little bit of effort to see those major sites that I missed..Just want to sit in the guesthouse and nua.. probably should just take the bus to sukhothai tml... to see more ruins and wats.. the two weeks is beginning to feel too long already... I'm tired... and lazy to look for food but i refuse to eat expensive tourist food at the guest house.. to market to market tonight again..
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
the second post of the day
alright! i decided to buy another 30min online. Its only 20B/hour.
The journey to Senai airport is not as easy as it sounds. Don't believe what they say on the website.. It's troublesome and tiring (unless, of course, you take a cab..) and I underestimated the time needed to get there (yes, edith, you can gloat) and barely made it to check in. And air asia seats are quite cramped. OK for asian girls, but must have been hell for the men and the farangs. When they say 'now everyone can fly'? They're right. From market-sounding aunties to middle-aged business type uncles to families with kids to the disabled to young couples to ang-moh backpackers. And even the malaysian flies join in. It's a free seating flight, so it'll be good to be kiasu for once and rush to the gate the moment it opens. I sort of walked to it instead (but at least i didn't sit and wait it out the way i usu do) and got a window seat, but at the back near the toilet and kitchen. So i alternately got smells from the toilet and whiffs from the kitchen...
The flight proper was nice though. Does air asia fly lower than major airlines? Land looked nearer. I love the way the land and/or the sea blends into the sky. Its as though earth and sky were on the same plane, and if i sail far enough into the distance, I can reach the land of the clouds...
Bangkok traffic is not as bad as i had thought it would be, but i would try to avoid using the roads when i get back. The river and mrt and my own two feet are probably better ways to get around. I had a hell of a time trying to meet JL at the wild orchid inn. Its not listed in my guidebook cos its not exactly low low budget and its deep in and off a side road off the main road... very nicely done place though.. Spent most of the night in the area eating and shopping. I'm eyeing many things already...
Khao Sarn Road... I guess i sort of like the buzz and energy.... BUT I'm not comfortable with it. The drunkedness and apparently utter disrespect for local culture. The supremacy of the ang-moh and his pre-conceived ecpectations. It's the same as any backpackers ghetto anywhere, and I don't like it. It must be admitted, however, that it's easier for me to stay there. More comfortable, safer in a way, because of the sheer number of people and the lack of expectations of you.
I wonder if people who come to thailand and just stay on khaosan and follow their lonely planet think they've seen thailand. They may have seen about as much of it as the people. they aren't very friendly and don't look like they're interested in talking to anyone besides other whites. They certainly aren't interested in talking to me... They're probably just as bad as those who come and stay in 5 star hotels and sit in an AC tour bus all the way. I'm sure there arev lots of people who are not like that, but its hard to tell from what i saw last night.. And scarily, i fear i may be like that too... but i'm trying.. really...
I wrote a lot more in my journal, but i guess i wrote it all out already. Not much steam left..
now back to room to nua a while, then walk to night market for dinner.. and I think i've just spent my first ayutheya sunset in an internet shop.. but weather was not good anyway. Cloudy and they were buring things near the wat so lots of smoke..
The journey to Senai airport is not as easy as it sounds. Don't believe what they say on the website.. It's troublesome and tiring (unless, of course, you take a cab..) and I underestimated the time needed to get there (yes, edith, you can gloat) and barely made it to check in. And air asia seats are quite cramped. OK for asian girls, but must have been hell for the men and the farangs. When they say 'now everyone can fly'? They're right. From market-sounding aunties to middle-aged business type uncles to families with kids to the disabled to young couples to ang-moh backpackers. And even the malaysian flies join in. It's a free seating flight, so it'll be good to be kiasu for once and rush to the gate the moment it opens. I sort of walked to it instead (but at least i didn't sit and wait it out the way i usu do) and got a window seat, but at the back near the toilet and kitchen. So i alternately got smells from the toilet and whiffs from the kitchen...
The flight proper was nice though. Does air asia fly lower than major airlines? Land looked nearer. I love the way the land and/or the sea blends into the sky. Its as though earth and sky were on the same plane, and if i sail far enough into the distance, I can reach the land of the clouds...
Bangkok traffic is not as bad as i had thought it would be, but i would try to avoid using the roads when i get back. The river and mrt and my own two feet are probably better ways to get around. I had a hell of a time trying to meet JL at the wild orchid inn. Its not listed in my guidebook cos its not exactly low low budget and its deep in and off a side road off the main road... very nicely done place though.. Spent most of the night in the area eating and shopping. I'm eyeing many things already...
Khao Sarn Road... I guess i sort of like the buzz and energy.... BUT I'm not comfortable with it. The drunkedness and apparently utter disrespect for local culture. The supremacy of the ang-moh and his pre-conceived ecpectations. It's the same as any backpackers ghetto anywhere, and I don't like it. It must be admitted, however, that it's easier for me to stay there. More comfortable, safer in a way, because of the sheer number of people and the lack of expectations of you.
I wonder if people who come to thailand and just stay on khaosan and follow their lonely planet think they've seen thailand. They may have seen about as much of it as the people. they aren't very friendly and don't look like they're interested in talking to anyone besides other whites. They certainly aren't interested in talking to me... They're probably just as bad as those who come and stay in 5 star hotels and sit in an AC tour bus all the way. I'm sure there arev lots of people who are not like that, but its hard to tell from what i saw last night.. And scarily, i fear i may be like that too... but i'm trying.. really...
I wrote a lot more in my journal, but i guess i wrote it all out already. Not much steam left..
now back to room to nua a while, then walk to night market for dinner.. and I think i've just spent my first ayutheya sunset in an internet shop.. but weather was not good anyway. Cloudy and they were buring things near the wat so lots of smoke..
yes, I'm still alive...
the keyboard is slightly weird.. it has thai letters on it.. and since i've always been the kind to look at the keyboard as i type, it's pretty confusing, esp as some of the english letters are a little worn out...
I'm now in Ayutheya, staying at Ayutheya Guesthouse. It's not the cheapest at 150B, considering it's a shared bath, but the place is pretty nice and I was really too sian to walk around looking for a cheaper place. Strangly the one i wanted was full. Think it's due to their agressive marketing strategy at the pier and too many guidebook reccommendations. I may try out another place with 100B rooms but i may be too lazy to move =P
I got here about 1 plus. Got my room, slacked in it a bit, then managed to drag myself out at about 3pm. Mainly because i haven't had lunch. Did not feel like sitting with ang-mohs/farangs so I decided to walk in the market and down some side road, where i saw a lady from a shop buying from a cart selling mii naam (noodle soup). So i stopped and ordered. The guy was really nice and made me put a bit of all the seasonings on the tray. I still don't know what some opf them are, but the noodles sure tasted good. And the seamtress in the shop i was outside let me sit on their bench and even gave me a glass of cold water =)) Yes, i know, its a small thing, but it made me happy cos they were all smiles. I don't think they see tourists down their street very often.
Of course, so far, not a day has passed without me doing something very me. I err.. got off at the wrong train station. One stop before. But it did have a few attractions, so i visited the Summer Palace then managed to rush back in time for the next train.
This afternoon I also visited 2 wats, but then got lazy so I am now near the guesthouse typing this.. I'm got to learn to organise my thoughts.This takes too long to type..
People are generally nice. Lone backpackers are quite friendly to another lone backerpacker, and we all smile and greet one another as we pass. Though there are very few foreigners here actually. So far, I've been mistaken for thai and japanese. Got to practice my thai... and at the station i mistakenly got off at? Talked to a nice guy working there for a while. Apparently he worked in Japan for a year. His english is quite good too.
Next session: comparing Thailand and Indonesia, the road/flight to Bangkok, and just what i think of the culture at Khaosan...
I'm now in Ayutheya, staying at Ayutheya Guesthouse. It's not the cheapest at 150B, considering it's a shared bath, but the place is pretty nice and I was really too sian to walk around looking for a cheaper place. Strangly the one i wanted was full. Think it's due to their agressive marketing strategy at the pier and too many guidebook reccommendations. I may try out another place with 100B rooms but i may be too lazy to move =P
I got here about 1 plus. Got my room, slacked in it a bit, then managed to drag myself out at about 3pm. Mainly because i haven't had lunch. Did not feel like sitting with ang-mohs/farangs so I decided to walk in the market and down some side road, where i saw a lady from a shop buying from a cart selling mii naam (noodle soup). So i stopped and ordered. The guy was really nice and made me put a bit of all the seasonings on the tray. I still don't know what some opf them are, but the noodles sure tasted good. And the seamtress in the shop i was outside let me sit on their bench and even gave me a glass of cold water =)) Yes, i know, its a small thing, but it made me happy cos they were all smiles. I don't think they see tourists down their street very often.
Of course, so far, not a day has passed without me doing something very me. I err.. got off at the wrong train station. One stop before. But it did have a few attractions, so i visited the Summer Palace then managed to rush back in time for the next train.
This afternoon I also visited 2 wats, but then got lazy so I am now near the guesthouse typing this.. I'm got to learn to organise my thoughts.This takes too long to type..
People are generally nice. Lone backpackers are quite friendly to another lone backerpacker, and we all smile and greet one another as we pass. Though there are very few foreigners here actually. So far, I've been mistaken for thai and japanese. Got to practice my thai... and at the station i mistakenly got off at? Talked to a nice guy working there for a while. Apparently he worked in Japan for a year. His english is quite good too.
Next session: comparing Thailand and Indonesia, the road/flight to Bangkok, and just what i think of the culture at Khaosan...
Monday, July 12, 2004
before i leave...
I will be leaving later today for Senai airport and Bangkok =) one problem with travelling alone is that you can't rely on other people to bring things or share things.. and i do have a history of forgetting to bring/buy important things like handphone charger and insurance (as LH can attest: she's probably used to getting frantic calls from me from the airport about this), among others. Incidentally I almost forgot about insurance this time too. And LH's not around. BUT i just realised that I can get it online =) If my bro had let me use the computer earlier (and yesterday too!) it would have spared me a lot of worry.. grr..
Still wondering if it's neccessary to bring one more presentable set of clothes in the unlikely case I'll want to dine in a nicer restuarant or go clubbing or something. Otherwise I've packed fairly lightly. The usual 48l backpack I carry is far too big so I'll just be using a BIG schoolbag sized imitation Northface backpack with my nike slingbag as a daypack. By the end of the trip the paper(toilet, packet tissues, wets, and photocopied guidebks) will prob be gone, leaving just enough space for shopping and gifts in Bangkok. *grin* I've got it all planned...
Had my Thai language crash course from et(she suggested this herself! the other one will be known as ET =P) today. Needless to say I was a less than perfect student. I'm not too keen on learning, since i just know I'll never remember most of it. In fact, over dinner with lw, I was asked what are the thai numbers and i err.. totally forgot... sorry, et....
oh, ET shall not be joining me at any point on the trip after all. And i might cut down on the number of places i go to, and just see everything else at a more relaxed pace. We'll see...
Thailand, here i come!
Still wondering if it's neccessary to bring one more presentable set of clothes in the unlikely case I'll want to dine in a nicer restuarant or go clubbing or something. Otherwise I've packed fairly lightly. The usual 48l backpack I carry is far too big so I'll just be using a BIG schoolbag sized imitation Northface backpack with my nike slingbag as a daypack. By the end of the trip the paper(toilet, packet tissues, wets, and photocopied guidebks) will prob be gone, leaving just enough space for shopping and gifts in Bangkok. *grin* I've got it all planned...
Had my Thai language crash course from et(she suggested this herself! the other one will be known as ET =P) today. Needless to say I was a less than perfect student. I'm not too keen on learning, since i just know I'll never remember most of it. In fact, over dinner with lw, I was asked what are the thai numbers and i err.. totally forgot... sorry, et....
oh, ET shall not be joining me at any point on the trip after all. And i might cut down on the number of places i go to, and just see everything else at a more relaxed pace. We'll see...
Thailand, here i come!
Friday, July 09, 2004
independent travel for women
I was looking for tips for the independent (aka solo) woman traveller and along the pages of actual tips, i came across one woman's thoughts on the idea of it:
but don't worry, it's not just me trying to justify my actions. Here's a more balanced article, but the conclusion is the same:
more tips here, here, here, and..
My advocacy of traveling solo is more about what the adventurer experiences internally, then about what others think or say. Traveling alone is about seeing the things you want to see, without waiting for others to be ready. It is about making all of the decisions and taking responsibility for the outcomes. It is about reaching out to other travelers and the locals, and learning that there are some amazing, interesting people out there. It is about being lonely sometimes - and knowing you can survive it. It is about not being afraid to be a woman alone, in a world that tells you that you need a man to protect you.
but don't worry, it's not just me trying to justify my actions. Here's a more balanced article, but the conclusion is the same:
It is worth it; it's like no other type of travel. Your senses soak up the rawness of the environment, from the slight rustle of the wind to the smell of pine trees after the rain. "When you're traveling alone, all the impressions, everything you experience, is unfiltered by anyone else's comments or preconceived ideas," says Marybeth Bond, editor of "Travelers' Tales: A Woman's World," a collection of travel stories by women. "So you are bombarded with everything. This allows you the freedom to experience the world unfiltered. The result is that you are living intensely, you are very much more tuned into your own impressions because you aren't bouncing them off anyone else."
more tips here, here, here, and..
Thursday, July 08, 2004
phoot Thai mai dai
That means "I can't speak Thai", according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand's very helpful and informative site. Important phrase, that is. Must find out how to pronounce that properly and commit it to memory. Also found out that I will miss the Buddhist Lent celebrations by about four days.
over at Lonely Planet, I begin to have doubts about traveling alone again:
and these are just from the introduction to the site. Sigh. I'm definitely going to take them seriously, especially as they seem to be the most updated site online, with a little info and warning about the unrest in the south. Most sites also note malaria as a significant problem, esp in the Kanchanaburi region, so I'll be going to the pharmacy later to get my malaria pills. Hope its not too late to start the course (2 weeks before, right? Its too late then, but better late than never).
speaking of courses, I'll get back to the subject of language. The younger ET has offered to attempt to teach me a little Thai. I suppose the combination of my known antisocial tendencies coupled with my weakness in languages can be rather worrying...
over at Lonely Planet, I begin to have doubts about traveling alone again:
Although Thailand is a safe destination, travellers should be aware of occasional violence and banditry in some border areas, petty theft in cities and resort areas, and security issues on public transport, particularly those affecting women travelling on their own.and a sentence down:
In Bangkok, unlicensed taxis, recognisable by their black and white licence plates, should be avoided. This is most relevant for solo women travellers arriving at night....
and these are just from the introduction to the site. Sigh. I'm definitely going to take them seriously, especially as they seem to be the most updated site online, with a little info and warning about the unrest in the south. Most sites also note malaria as a significant problem, esp in the Kanchanaburi region, so I'll be going to the pharmacy later to get my malaria pills. Hope its not too late to start the course (2 weeks before, right? Its too late then, but better late than never).
speaking of courses, I'll get back to the subject of language. The younger ET has offered to attempt to teach me a little Thai. I suppose the combination of my known antisocial tendencies coupled with my weakness in languages can be rather worrying...
updates
1) i will stay in Bangkok the first night.
2) the elder ET is thinking of joining in the last part of the trip. I may skip Sangkhlaburi should that be the case since it doesn't seem to be on the route of most travellers (though that does make it more enticing as a destination..). Instead i will go to Ko Chang for some bumming on the beach. *grin*
ah well.. we'll see how that goes.. though it would be nice to have someone to do the bargaining for me at the markets: I am always torn between feeling bad about lowering their profits by what to me is a few cents and feeling pissed that they are overcharging me.
3)i forgot to mention that the underground in Bangkok finally opened earlier this week, and they'll be charging flat rates of 10B until August! The cheapskate in me is rejoicing...
2) the elder ET is thinking of joining in the last part of the trip. I may skip Sangkhlaburi should that be the case since it doesn't seem to be on the route of most travellers (though that does make it more enticing as a destination..). Instead i will go to Ko Chang for some bumming on the beach. *grin*
ah well.. we'll see how that goes.. though it would be nice to have someone to do the bargaining for me at the markets: I am always torn between feeling bad about lowering their profits by what to me is a few cents and feeling pissed that they are overcharging me.
3)i forgot to mention that the underground in Bangkok finally opened earlier this week, and they'll be charging flat rates of 10B until August! The cheapskate in me is rejoicing...
Tuesday, July 06, 2004
the abbreviated itinery
subject to local conditions (ie if i like the place i'll stay longer) and suggestions from locals and fellow travellers. Names only places I'll be staying overnight in.
12jul-14jul Ayuttheya
14jul-16jul Sukhothai
16jul-20jul Kanchanaburi
20jul-22jul Sangkhlaburi
22jul-27jul Bangkok
Things may be pushed back one day if i stay the first night in Bangkok instead to meet jl and to book a room for the last few nights. I was wondering what to do in Bangkok for 5 days at the end anyway so that should be good..
12jul-14jul Ayuttheya
14jul-16jul Sukhothai
16jul-20jul Kanchanaburi
20jul-22jul Sangkhlaburi
22jul-27jul Bangkok
Things may be pushed back one day if i stay the first night in Bangkok instead to meet jl and to book a room for the last few nights. I was wondering what to do in Bangkok for 5 days at the end anyway so that should be good..
aha!
Yes! I'll be on the loose in less than a week's time. Shall be inflicting myself upon the hapless people of central Thailand for about 2 weeks.
*shudder*
Hey, it's scary for me too. =) It would be even scarier for my parents if they knew I'll be traveling alone but I've kindly decided to spare them that burden. Of course I'll be sparing myself their wrath at the same time =P Anyway, I hope to be able to check in often, if not everyday, and I will at least send an SMS to someone back home if I get stuck somewhere remote or without internet access. So.. you guys check up on me if I'm silent too long ok?
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I just realised that it would be great if I could upload my photos of the trip as I go along. Unfortunately I plan to bring the old reliable (though conspicuous) 35mm film SLR instead so that won't be possible. Maybe I'll add the photos when I get home instead...
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Oh great. The news just reported that a few thousand chickens have died of bird flu in Ayutthaya, where I happen to be going... oh well.. somehow I don't think that's going to affect my diet really..
*shudder*
Hey, it's scary for me too. =) It would be even scarier for my parents if they knew I'll be traveling alone but I've kindly decided to spare them that burden. Of course I'll be sparing myself their wrath at the same time =P Anyway, I hope to be able to check in often, if not everyday, and I will at least send an SMS to someone back home if I get stuck somewhere remote or without internet access. So.. you guys check up on me if I'm silent too long ok?
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I just realised that it would be great if I could upload my photos of the trip as I go along. Unfortunately I plan to bring the old reliable (though conspicuous) 35mm film SLR instead so that won't be possible. Maybe I'll add the photos when I get home instead...
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Oh great. The news just reported that a few thousand chickens have died of bird flu in Ayutthaya, where I happen to be going... oh well.. somehow I don't think that's going to affect my diet really..
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