TravelStream™ news feed for member suzettesp on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/suzettesp en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:26:35 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzettesp/1/1215653400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzettesp/1/1215653400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzettesp/1/1215653400/tpod.html Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:26:35 -0400 Not all who wander are lost...Follow me 'Round the World' in 2008: A Year in the Life of a girl, her backpack, Tevas, guidebook, imagination and sense of adventure.

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Bangkok, Thailand

My visa is set to arrive back at the Travel Agents office in my hotel at 6pm, and I'll be packed and ready to head off to India on the noon flight tomorrow! Wish me luck that it all goes well! I've been in this city for a loOOooOong time and I'm ready to give India a try.

Here are some random shots from my last few days tooling around the city.....next time I talk at cha I'll be in India!
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Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok! Hey doesn't this place look familiar? Yep, this is the third time I've been here since I arrived in Thailand on April 14th. And since I'm on my third 30-day tourist visa, and they don't allow a fourth (I got a nice note from the lady at the Myanmar border telling me so) I think it'll be my last...for now.

I've got no agenda in Bangkok on this visit except to get a new Indian visa, and a flight to India. That's it. Let's see what happens.

I actually got a 6 month Indian visa before I left home when I was in San Francisco, and I knew then that the visa started on the day it was issued. But at the time I thought this was a 2-3 month trip, so even though it started counting down on the 6 months upon issue, I never thought it'd be an issue. But here I am 5-ish months later, and it'll expire on July 21, just a couple few weeks from now. And seeing how this trip has been going so far, I have a hankering that a couple few weeks probably won't suffice for India.

So I'm going to pay for another one, whole new visa for India. Might as well'of not gotten the first one, but hey, I'll know for next time. So, I'll get another 6 month visa for India and we'll see how long I actually use it for.

Plus I must get the new visa so I don't abandon my Mom in Asia: As a huge bonus, because my trip has stretched so long, my Mom decided she misses me desperately and I've talked her into a visit! She is going to fly into Delhi on the 19th and stay for 10 days, and we'll see the Taj Mahal together. I figured it'd be in poor taste for me to pick up my Mom from the Delhi airport on the 19th and then leave the country on the 21st because my visa expired. She might not like that =)
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Chiang Mai, Thailand

I love this town. I've decided that just like Ubud in Indonesia, this is another place I need to come back to. I want to spend a good length of time here. For the past week (June 22 - 28) I've been living like a local. Shopping for produce at the local market, waving to the same lady that is always fishing in the town's moat, riding my motorbike up the same little sois (small roads) and passing the same monks walking to temple every day. I've gotten into a rhythm, just like I did in Ubud. The people here are so friendly and kind. The vibe is so laid back. I just love it here.
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Hang Dong District, Thailand

Today was fantastic - definitely a highlight of Thailand! The Patara Elephant Sanctuary is about 30km SW of Chiang Mai. They are a small independently owned farm that takes in 'retired', unwanted, abused and abandoned Elephants and gives them a safe place to live. They operate mainly on donations and by us guests who come to spend the day with the Elephants.

The farm in a conservation center and the elephants welfare is paramount. I say this specifically because there are so many different ways that Elephants are used in Thailand that are entirely not for the elephants benefit. There are even other elephant zoos in this area that are more like a circus atmosphere where the elephants put on a show painting with paintbrushes in their trunks and speaking for bananas. I asked around and did some homework on line and found this sanctuary highly recommended and a great way to spend a day with some elephants in their natural habitat. And man, I bit off a little more than I could chew on this one....

The day started at 7am when the van picked me up at my hotel. We arrived at the farm at 8:30 and walked about 20 minutes into the jungle. On they way we passed a vegetable farm that was subsidized by the government. Our guide told us that many farmers in northern Thailand (as well as Burma and Laos) were making their living growing poppies for heroine. They continued to do so because it wasn't profitable enough to raise any other crops, so the govn't started subsidizing and slowly but surely....

At 8:30 we arrived at the sleeping spot of our elephants. There are currently 10 elephants at the farm, but two were staying up at the mating spot high on the mountain (they stay there for three months at a time to try to get pregnant). There were nine of us guests at the farm that day so one of the couples shared the care of an elephant. This is a conservation center so there are never more than 10 guests per day.

In the morning we got a little education, then fed the elephants, gave them a dry and then wet bath. Then we starting trekking. I don't know if you've ever spent any time on a horse, my only reference here, but it sort of hurts your legs after a little bit. It's always hurts the inside of my knees because I am knock-kneed, the opposite of bow-legged which is ideal for hoarse-riding. Well, three hours of elephant riding on, ahem uneven terrain, hurts in all kinds of places, my thighs were like rocks the next day. Luckily I am in Thailand and am only minutes away from a massage at all times. Thank God.

Three hours of tracking on, ahem, uneven terrain though the jungle. Another bath in the afternoon before lunch. Then we had lunch on some rocks under an VERY inaccessible waterfall. Beautiful, unspoiled, and did I mention it was a little tricky getting there? Then lunch was over, we gave the elephants the left overs, and were off again. More trekking, this time through fields, rivers farms and even on some dirt roads through remote villages. A fantastic way to spend a day, and a nice place to spend your money. I can't recommend this highly enough. And don't get scared off by the sore body, the facilitator of the farm says they have baskets to put on the elephants for the less fit, older or disabled people to ride in. So everyone can participate here.





http://www.pataraelephantfarm.com/activities.html
http://www.pataraelephantfarm.com/ac_elephant1.html
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzettesp/1/1213893900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzettesp/1/1213893900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzettesp/1/1213893900/tpod.html Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:07:30 -0400 Not all who wander are lost...Follow me 'Round the World' in 2008: A Year in the Life of a girl, her backpack, Tevas, guidebook, imagination and sense of adventure.

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Mae Rim, Thailand

Today I spent the day at Tiger Kingdom in Mae Rim, its close to the Four Seasons and a little like it! I'm not used to seeing animal parks with five star bathrooms, and I was pleasantly surprised! It was only B300 ($9-ish US) to spend a half an hour playing with these little guys, unrestricted! Not the PC controls of the west, here it was just me playing in the nursery with the kids and one aid. She was great, taking pictures and even saved me at one point when one of the little guys got a little to familiar and wouldn't let go of a bite. There is a restaurant with seating surrounding the well laid out play area for the tigers. So after I played with the little ones I washed up and then had a nice lunch while watching the parents play and frolic in the play pen.

I took about a million pictures with the little guys (I only posted 17 of them here, but even that is too much sorry =) and then I took a million more of the mom and dad playing with a red ball in the pool and on some playground stumps and a balance beam made out of a big log. It was a blast to be so close to them and watch them play.

I could have spent another 30 minutes in the enclosure playing with the adults, but after the kids were so strong and sort of kicked my a$$ a bit, I thought I'd steer clear of the ones with the really big teeth. Totally fun way to spend and afternoon!
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Chiang Mai, Thailand

Chiang Mai Cooking School: Day 1: June 13th: Course 1
Tom Yam Goong: Thai Hot and Sour Prawn Soup
Gaeng Kheo Wan Gai: Green Curry with Chicken
Tord Man Plaa: Thai Style Fish Cakes
Phad Thai: Thai Fried Noodles
Nam Prik Ong: Minced Pork Northern Style Salad
Tab Tim Grob: Water Chestnuts with sugar syrup and coconut milk

So I love Thai food. It's so unique, the flavors are great and unlike any of the American/ Italian/ Mexican/ French and even Chinese food I'm used to eating back at home. I checked around and found this school came the most highly recommended, and I totally agree with everyones assessment. If you are in Chiang Mai and you like Thai food, this class is a fantastic way to spend a day - or a week! www.thaicookeryschool.com

They have six courses and each is a day long. I looked through all the course offerings and picked two days to go specifically because of the dishes being taught on those days; dishes I really wanted to learn. It was so much fun and I really learned a lot, we made the dishes listed below and got to keep a cook book with all the instructions for all six courses. The teachers were young and fun and very skilled and the food we made was SO great! We ate each dish as we prepared it, you don't need to eat breakfast before or dinner after class - this is enough food for a day! The classroom was really comfortable and the open air kitchen with a bunch of individual work stations was a trip to cook in!



Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School: Day 2: June 15th: Course 3
Tom Kha Gai: Chicken in coconut milk soup
Gaeng Phed Plaa: Red Curry with fish
Phad Hed Ruam Khao Pod Om: Fried Mixed mushrooms with baby corn
Raad Nah Muu: Fried big noodles with thick sauce and pork
Son Tam: Papaya Salad
Khanom Kluay: Steamed Banana Cake

We spent the morning at the market where 'Umm' (not sure if that is how you spell her name) our teacher showed us a whole bunch of different Thai vegetables, rices, noodles, etc. My favorite stop on the market tour was the noodle monger. His shop was right next to the butcher and their operation was really similar. The Noodle guy had piles and piles of 'uncut' sheets of noodles behind him. Some were made from rice, some from flour and some from bean sprouts (mung beans). When a customer came up, they told him which kind they wanted and how they wanted the noodles cut, then he used a big butches block and a cleaver to cut the folded noodle sheets into little spaghetti's or big wide noodles, or anything in between. He was lightening fast, and had the noodles off the block and into a bag before I was even able to understand what was happening. Can you imagine being able to get fresh made & cut noodles for supper every night? Yum!

We made a dish in the second day called Raad Nah (one of my all time favorites and why I chose course 2) which is thick rice noodles in a brown gravy with veg and your choice of meat. I always wanted to know how the heck they made the sauce, it's so good and before this class I wouldn't have had the first clue, but now I've made it myself and it's totally easy. Provided you have an Asian market nearby, and do they have fresh noodle mongers in the states? I'll have to check the yellow pages....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzettesp/1/1213203420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzettesp/1/1213203420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzettesp/1/1213203420/tpod.html Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:15:12 -0400 Not all who wander are lost...Follow me 'Round the World' in 2008: A Year in the Life of a girl, her backpack, Tevas, guidebook, imagination and sense of adventure.

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DonSao Island, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

I've made it a goal of mine to conduct myself as a traveler rather than a tourist this year away from home. I've tried to get to know people and learn about their days and lives rather than just seeing their sights and passing through. That's been at the forefront of my mind these months I've been in Asia and I'm getting better at it all the time. (Not so good in the beginning, but culture shock gets deadened when it's a daily experience for months on end. I can take things in stride now that would have scared or freaked me out a few months ago. I don't even run from spiders anymore =)

Then there are days like this one (which actually remind me how far I've come) when the best way to see something that is hard to see is to join a group tour and sit with a bunch of other pale foreigners wearing shorts and sun hats and carrying cameras. *sigh* So my tour through the golden triangle consisted of a van ride up, shuttling into a boat with a bunch of other foreigners, standing in lines with no local people in sight, and shuttling home on schedule(!!) in the same van.

The two retired Malaysian couples that I shared the van with were really nice and always accepted my sincere apologies when I kept them waiting for me at every stop. They swooped through each sight and got right back into the comfy AC seats. I rushed for them and never got to spend the time I would have as a traveler today, so today I was just a tourist, snapping shots and seeing things as if through a window at a zoo...only seeing the surface of things, but not understanding the inside. I can't wait until tomorrow when I might have a spontaneous conversation through broken English and sign language with a random person who will teach me something new and different than the world I know.

So the boat ride took us across the river to see Myanmar, but we couldn't get out of the boat. (I went into Myanmar on my own, with my guide, later at the border crossing on foot.) Then the boat took us to Laos (where we could get out of the boat) into a very conveniently placed shopping village filled with Laotian knick knacks all layed out on huge tables in wooden shacks for us to see. The village attache to the shopping huts wasn't more than a few more huts, lots of chickens running around, and kids playing in puddles in the mud. I wandered away from the shops to try to play with the kids, but they were so calloused that when I didn't give them the money they all asked of me, they all ran off. So I've been to Laos, but I wouldn't say that I've seen it at all.
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Tachilek, Myanmar

I have to admit, I've heard the term "golden triangle' used nearly everyplace I've been to; There's one in Australia, in India, in Kuala Lumpur, and even in the States, probably many more. This Southeast Asian Golden Triangle is defined by the borders of three countries where two rivers converge. Myanmar (Burma), Laos, and Thailand can all be seen at the same time when you are standing at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong rivers. What makes this triangle infamous are the drugs that pass through it. Most of the heroin circulating our world comes from Myanmar and has passed through this triangle.* The opium is grown by farmers up in Myanmar, brought by donkey caravan to refineries along the Thailand-Burma border, turned into heroine, transported across the border in Thailand, down to Bangkok and then to everywhere.

I was surprised to learn when I was booking this day trip that I could even go into Myanmar! Myanmar has been all over the news (as I'm sure you guys all know) because of the devastation caused by last months Cyclone Nargis. And right along with news of the cyclone was news on how all these ships and planes with aid from all over the world were stuck outside the borders awaiting permission to get to the people who need it. So now it's been a little over a month since the disaster, there are something like 130,000 fatalities reported, and my travel agent says I can go in. I'll believe it when I see it, but it was true. Ok, so the truth is that foreigners are allowed in through the northern border, but only if they relinquish their passport at the border, get a temporary paper Myanmar passport, and leave the country before nightfall. Which is what I did (I got my passport back when I left the country.) Because I didn't have much time in Myanmar I didn't get to explore more than the border city, which mostly consisted of shopping stalls filled with black market goods that Thai's cross the border to buy cheaply. (My guide who crossed the border with me actually had a shopping list of stuff to get for her friends and family...Prada bag, DVDs, CDs, batteries, etc.) So I wish I could say I got to see the place, but really all I got to see was the same scene I can see at home on Canal Street in Manhattan, lots of cheap knock-offs for sale.

In Myanmar they drive on the other side of the road from Thailand, and their language and alphabet are different. I learned a couple words while I was there and hey now I've been in a country ruled by a military dictatorship. That's a first. I've recently learned a little more about Myanmar's history, here's what I think I know now. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as head of her party, was overwhelmingly democratically elected in parliamentary elections. The military junta, however, canceled the 1990 election results, refused to step down, has refused to let her party assume power and has kept her under house arrest. In Myanmar there is a basic struggle for democratic values against a military junta that refuses to recognize basic human rights.

*Myanmar is second only to Afghanistan for the export of heroin.
Info from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Triangle_(Southeast_Asia)
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Chiang Rai, Thailand

The Padaung people are actually from eastern Burma, close to the Thailand border. A few families of Padaung have settled temporarily as refugees in Thailand. They escaped from the Kaya State in Burma to Thailand in the mid 1900's. They belong to the Karenni sub-group of the Karen People, who are still fighting for their independence in Burma.

Many though not all of the Padaung women wear brass rings (actually one long brass coil) around their necks which distort the growth of their collarbones and make them look as if they have long necks - which they don't. The brass coil doesn't actually stretch their necks but in fact squash the vertebrae and collar bones. A woman generally has about 20-25 rings or loops around her neck, they are first put on when the girls are 5 or 6 years old, and each year the coil is replaced and an additional loop is added. It's a culturally based practice, and traditionally men choose women who have the most rings as the most attractive for marriage. The ladies look absolutely stunning, they are so beautiful.

Not as prominent, but just as intriguing are the rings on the arms and the legs. The rings on the arms are worn on the forearm from the wrist to the elbow and the legs are worn from the ankles to the knees, and cloth coverings are kept over most of these rings, from the shins down to the ankles.

Here's the weird bit. All the Long Neck "villages" in Thailand are established with government help and tourists are definitely kept in mind when planning them out, they aren't managed by the Padaung people themselves. Some of the ladies are illegal immigrants in Thailand (not official refugees) and are vulnerable to exploitation. The "villages" are basically set up as shopping stalls set up with the Long Neck ladies as the stall holders. There entrance fee at the roadside made it feel a little like we were about to enter a human zoo.

They were definitely on display for us, but my guide assured me that because of their refugee status they don't have to pay taxes and they money i spend with them will go directly to their families. And though they do tailor the village to the tourists, it's a safe place to live and they are able to earn a good living from selling their crafts to us. They need all the help they can get.

I stopped at at least a dozen huts in the village and bought a little something at each. The thing that grabbed me, that I hadn't thought of, was the weight and length of the brass on these tiny women. I chose a scarf hanging from one woman's display, and unfortunately didn't have the right change for her. So she had to get up from her seated weaving position, when she bent forward to slide her legs to the ground, it looked like she was going to topple over. The rings are REALLY heavy and make the girls top heavy and unbalanced, very awkward for moving around. Plus, when she was looking in her change purse for me, she had to hold it up to her face because she couldn't bend her neck to look down to her lap. These ladies never take off the rings, even to sleep. Just once a year they remove them to add another coil.

Here is more info on the villages: http://www.chiangdao.com/chiangmai/karenlongneck.htm
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Chiang Mai, Thailand

So I arrived in Chiang Mai on the 30th at about noon (my overnight train was delayed) and from then through today, June 8th, I've been chilling. Just chilling. Nine solid days of no sight seeing, no challenging my boundaries, no packing and carrying stuff, no big decisions on where and what to do next, no paperwork for permission to go wherever and do whatever, no coordination, no negotiation, no planning, no reading brochures, no stress, no nuthin'.

I've been chilling by the pool, sleeping in, getting massages, watching movies in my air-conditioned room on HBO, getting room service, eating in the same handful of restaurants that are close to my hotel, and that's about it. On Friday I rented a scooter for an indefinite number of days and ventured out past my immediate neighborhood in the Old City of Chiang Mai. I found the local cinema and saw The Other Boleyn Sister, and then on Sat I went back and saw Sex In the City. I even had a burger and fries for dinner on Sat. Heaven. I'm living like I live here, not like I'm traveling. It's a bonafide vacation from the past three months of constant travel in Asia.

I haven't even been thinking about what I wanted to do next, or what there is to do in Chiang Mai. I guess I needed a little time off from my trip. It's about the three month mark that I've been on the road, going, going, going and I think I might have burnt out a bit. Perhaps the pace I established was a little much.

In one of the guide books I read about taking a round the world trip, the author advised booking down time into your tour, and I didn't do that. Even at home you have weekends off to lounge and rest. Everyday can't be about doing something brand new and on the edge, some days have to be about laundry and resting, and cleaning your gear. And it doesn't matter that there is this incredible, foreign, exotic thing right down the street that you might never see again, because well, sometimes you have to do laundry. And that thing will be there when you are clean and rested.

So, well, I guess down time happened to me and now I feel great. I wasn't sick or anything, just pooped I guess. I can be a bit stubborn and single minded when I have a task ahead of me, and I think for the past three months I've been on 'experience the world and don't miss a thing' duty. I think I've decided in the past nine days that if I'm going to live in Asia for 8 or 10 months, then I need to live like I live here, not like I'm passing through each place. This adventure might have been planned as a 2 month sprint at the outset, but it's a marathon now, and I need to adjust my pace.

But now my tanks are full, I'm rested and re-charged. I've got an even better tan than I did before, and so now I'm taking my first look at Chiang Mai and what there is to do here. I've heard so much about this place, I am ready to go see what all the hub-ub is about! Wish me luck!

PS. Just because I feel the need to justify myself spending nine days and not accomplishing or producing anything. It's not like I was staying at the Four Seasons living it up, for most all of that time I was living well under $20 a day. (Scooter $4.65/day, Hotel $9.40/night, Massages $6/hr, Avg Eats $3.50/meal) I'm still in the first third of the budget I've set aside for the trip and learning how to save money all the time. Not sure why I felt like I had to put this disclaimer here, but just didn't want to give the impression I'm just sitting on my ass, not working or learning, because I've got millions in the bank and I can. Hmmm, not sure why I felt the need to say that either. Maybe it's the contrast in western wealth to much of poverty I've seen here. Maybe after I get a little more enlightened over here I won't feel the need to justify any of my actions, be them purposeful or not.
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