Home At Last

I just wanted to quickly let everyone know that I made it home safe and sound. The trip from Bangkok to St.John's went very smoothly and was at times enjoyable...thanks to the executive class upgrade certificates I had. ;)

I landed in St.John's around 1am Sunday morning and managed to get a few hours of sleep. This morning, Louise made an amazing breakfast, my first hearty breakfast in over a year. Then it was off to Aunt Marion's for a Burridge dinner. Delicious! Finally, it was back to Louise's for stuffed baked salmon. I'm beginning to understand how Meaghan has been able to survive without Thai food for the last 2 months.

Sean

Homeward Bound

In a few short hours, I'll be on my way to Bangkok's International airport. For the last couple of days, I've been frantically trying to see everyone before I leave. Meg and I made some amazing friends while in Thailand and it is extremely difficult saying goodbye, especially considering I don't know when I'll see them again.

A couple of days ago, Bryan, Tui, and I went to a friend's apartment for a Christmas party. Oddly enough, her apartment overlooks Soi Cowboy, one of the infamous red light districts of Bangkok. Granted, with all the ambient neon light filling the room there was little need for any Christmas lights. Bye Serena! We'll see you in Italy. ;) Afterwards, Angus, Oh, Eumin, and I went clubbing. It was one of those 5am nights at Scratchdog. There's not much else to tell besides there was excessive drinking involved.

Yesterday, I made my way to AIS for a final farewell with all of my close AIS friends: Gwyn, Tuggy, Gor, Un, Bon, and Pui 1 (Pui 2 was no where to be found). It truly was a pleasure working (and playing) with them. I'd consider working at AIS simply for the fact that I'd enjoy the people so much. Last night, Tui, Bryan, Eumin and I went to Angus and Oh's new apartment. We started the evening with delightful food and dessert, then we watched a Thai movie called "The Letter"...sniff, so depressing.



Today, I made my final rounds. First of all, Tui, Bryan, and I went out for my last Thai lunch just before Bryan had to catch a flight to Vietnam. As usual, we enjoyed 6 of our favorite Thai dishes. Damn, have I mentioned how much I'm going to miss the food here!? Next, I met my friend Pin to go see the latest Tony Jaa movie, "Ong-Bak 2". There was no way I was leaving Thailand without seeing it, especially since it was released today. Crazy awesome martial arts - Tony Jaa is amazing! Afterwards, I met up with Tui again to drop off the remaining stuff from the apartment that they're most graciously taking off our hands (shipping everything was not an option). Tui said she's going to meet me on the street when I go to get a taxi to the airport this morning at 4am...we'll see if she's able to pull herself out of bed. :)

Finally, what's a proper departure without visiting Santica. So, off Angus, Oh, and I went, to our favorite stomping ground. Since it's the King's Birthday (and also Father's Day), there weren't many people around but it was still a great time. Now, I am putting the finishing touches on my packing and will leave for the airport in an hour. Good-bye Thailand! Until next time.

Sean

Trapped in Bangkok

At the moment, I'm not very confident that I'll be getting out of Bangkok by December 6th. A court ruling just dissolved 3 political parties, including the one in power, and banned the PM from politics for 5 years over fraud charges. So, the protesters have gotten what they wanted and will leave the airports, right? Not quite. Seems they want the ministers banned as well. Regardless, even if they did abandon the airports, it could take weeks for inspections and re-certifications to be completed. If I wait around, I may very well spend Christmas in Thailand.

My good friend Dave W emailed me to offer his support writing "something like this happens to me all the time." It's true, bad things just seem to happen to Dave. So much so that I firmly believe Murphy's law should be re-written to "if anything can go wrong, it will (happen to Dave)". He always had the most interesting adventures when he'd travel for work to the US or UK, I suppose I'm getting a taste of it.

On a brighter note, I just finished packing up my apartment. It was a daunting task, squeezing everything Meg and I had collected in the last year into 2 carry-ons and 3 checked bags but at least it's done. Now, if only I was able to go somewhere....



Sean

P.S. Aunt Marion, if I can't made it to your house for Sunday dinner, save me a plate. ;)

Change of Scenery

Life sure is funny. Just over a week ago, I called my sister Melanie to tell her I had both good and bad news. The good news? I'd just gotten a raise! The bad news. My company went under 2 days later. Oh, we laughed and we laughed. Mel and I have always had disturbed sense of humours.

I'm sure most people are aware of what happened to my company. By now, most of my co-workers have accepted positions with new companies and I'll be joining them soon enough. For the past 10 days, I've been cluing up things here in Southeast Asia, meeting with clients and partners. It is very unfortunate how everything turned out but I suppose that's the way these things go sometimes and the only thing to do is move on.

I fly home to St.John's on December 6th but I'll be spending the remaining week exploring opportunities with partners and the possibility that they may continue some of the work with our clients.

I had considered taking a vacation to Cambodia but that idea was quickly dismissed yesterday when the anti-government protesters stormed the Bangkok International Airport and brought all services to a halt. Today, they took over the domestic airport so unless I want to travel by bus or train, I'm not going anywhere. Honestly, it's not advisable as they have interrupted ground transportation in the past.

Not to worry though, I'm sure all of this will be sorted out by the time I have to leave. Until then, I have a number of friends to visit so I'll simply hang out with them and enjoy my last week in Bangkok.

Sean

Khon Kaen

This weekend past, I decided to get out of the city and check out more of rural Thailand. At the invitation of some Thai friends (Ann, Art, and Bee), I decided to meet up with them in Khon Kaen, a province in Northeastern Thailand (a.k.a. Isan). It was a great time as Khon Kaen sees few tourists. I met with my friends for a Vietnamese lunch on Saturday, going out with Art's parents who, like most Thai people, are extremely friendly. Afterwards, we visited a temple called Wat Nong Want Muang which I explored and enjoyed thoroughly. We checked out a few other lesser known sites and then went for dinner at a streetside vendor that was serving Isan food , including a delicious barbeque fish. Finally, it was off to a crowded local club called U-Bar, where I was the only foreigner. I got to meet lots of people though and my spoken Thai is gradually getting to a point where I can have basic conversations. I really want to explore more of Isan now, especially the province where Meg and my's friend Tui is from, Si Saket.







Sean

One Year Later

Gee, time sure does fly. It's hard to believe that it has been one year since Meg and I left St.John's to move to Thailand. During that time, we've been fortunate enough to travel throughout Thailand (although we still have to explore more of the beaches), Japan (Toyko is crazy awesome), Mayalsia (the jungles probably being our favorite trip to date), Laos (the most kicked back country in the world), and Vietnam (it's with good reason Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site). Every time we discuss our next trip, we find it difficult deciding where to go. I know too much history about Cambodia not to go but Meg is determined to see Tasmania. Stay tuned....

With only a month left before I head home, there is a lot to do to prepare. For one, Meg and I are desperately looking for new homes for our kitties Gahnomee and Chochie but so far we haven't had any takers. Perhaps it's time to bring them to Thailand. But who wouldn't want to take care of these cuties (picture here investigating their new kennel)!?! ;)



Yes, it does appear that Meg and I will be returning to Thailand in the New Year but not before enjoying the comforts of home with family and friends for an entire month. If anyone is looking for me, chances are you'll find me at Don Cherry's for wing night every Monday and Tuesday.

Sean

Monsoon Season

Monsoon season in Bangkok might be drawing to a close but it is going out with a bang. For the past couple of weeks, we've had torrential rainfall, resulting in streets flooded with black, oily water and bringing out the vermin from the depths of the sewers. Most often, we stay in the cozy confines of our apartment and enjoy the incredible thunder and lightning show but Tui was in an adventurous spirit today so off Tui, Bryan, and I went in search of lunch.



It only takes 15-20 minutes before the side streets start flooding. Sandals are a must as you can't expect to get anywhere without wading through some water. The deepest it got was about a foot.





Had we the appetite for it, we could have snack on the numerous cockroaches making a run for higher ground. They tend to cluster on the walls, wherever they can find a dry spot. Of course, there's no shortage of them running around your feet either but it's not so bad that you can't avoid them...almost.



Sean

Sean's Saturday

With Meg back in Canada, my "habit" of constantly working went into overdrive. Without Meg being here to gently remind me that I have to take time to relax (or eat for that matter), I rarely saw the light of day unless it was to attend meetings (which, thankfully, is quite often). After a couple of weeks, I realized I didn't fancy the idea of dying from malnutrition in front of my laptop and have since been making an effort to step away from my hermit lifestyle.

So, instead of waking up at 6am on a Saturday morning to work the daylight hours away, I've been getting out more with friends and taking time to relax by myself (ok, maybe I still work for a few hours but gimme a break, it's a gradual process). For instance, yesterday I spent my afternoon reading (just started "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini), playing guitar on my balcony (pictured below: a bit of a poser pic, I know), and then went out with friends for dinner to celebrate Tui's last day of work.



We went to the Tawandang Brew-House, a large German beer hall with great Thai food and impressive stage performers - whether its traditional Thai music and dance or an elaborate break dancing show, they have it all. For anyone coming to Bangkok for a visit, I highly recommend the place. By 10pm, people begin standing up at their tables to dance. The Thais love of relaxing and enjoying life to the fullist never ceases to amaze me. It's a good environment for me to be in.



Anyway, rest assured that I am healthy and have forsaken the vampiric existence of living in my bedroom, void of all light. :)

Sean

Halloween in Bangkok

Halloween isn't exactly a popular event in Thailand. From what I understand, it was introduced here for commercial purposes, another holiday for the malls to promote and profit from. Nonetheless, I wasn't going to let that stop me from dressing up and going out, even if I was the only person to do so.

A quick rummage through the closet didn't leave me with many options, it was a choice between being a samurai or...a samurai. So, I broke out the kimono I had bought from Tokyo last December, picked up a plastic sword from the mall, and voilà, instance samurai! (侍 in Japanese)

I ended up going to Muse, a popular Thai club. Unfortunately, very few people were dressed in costume. I would have gone to one of the more popular foreigner hangouts but Muse is just such a happenin' spot.



Sean - (a.k.a. Samurai Champloo's Jin)

Bangkok Theaters

Ya just gotta love the Bangkok theaters. Tui, Bryan, and I went to see "Tropic Thunder" recently (yes, it finally made it to Thailand) at the Nokia Theater in Siam Paragon. There are reclining couches instead of chairs, pillows and blankets, and people to bring you any food or beverages you might want. It's so comfortable that halfway through the movie Tui nodded off for 5 minutes. As for the movie itself, I loved it, especially Tom Cruise's crude character. I think my favorite scene was with the landmine...gold!



Sean

สวัสด

I just finished my last Thai language lesson. Meg and I have been taking weekly lessons since May but we have definitely not practiced as much as we should (isn't that always the case). I suppose we do know enough Thai to navigate Bangkok, order food, and have very basic conversations - and I mean BASIC!

Being a tonal language, meaning pitch defines the meaning of a word, it took awhile to train our ears to identify the tone being used (it's still very difficult to distinguish when speaking to Thais in ordinary conversation as they tend to speak quickly). And using the wrong tone can cause some major misunderstands. For example, "klay" spoken in a medium tone means "far" while spoken in a rising tone means "near". You get the idea.

Nonetheless, the Thai we have learned has made life easier in Thailand and, more importantly, gave us better insight into the wonderfully unique Thai culture. Next up, written Thai....

ฌอน (Sean)

STAcKeD

In terms of Thai cuisine, there's practically nothing that Meg and I cannot or will not eat. We absolutely love the food. I'm not sure how Meg is coping back in Canada at the moment without it. We eat out all the time! It's rare that we'll cook something ourselves. Since Meg left 2 weeks ago, I have yet to cook myself a meal. That changed tonight as I decided to stay in and break out a classic: STAcKeD - a.k.a Stove Top And Kraft Dinner.

When I was living in Ottawa 7 years ago with my cousin Chad, we took two of our favorite dishes, combined them, and added a little BBQ sauce for flavor. We cooked STAcKeD so often it warranted the acronym. It's probably a good thing I returned to NL when I did or Chad and I would have died from malnutrition.

I don't expect a repeat of the STAcKeD-only diet anytime soon, especially not when there's so much delicious Thai food outside my door. However, there is enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow...mmmmmmmmmmmmmm....



Sean

Motorcycle Diaries

Though my motorcycle adventure wasn't quite as extensive or life-changing as the biographical film "Motorcycle Diaries" about Che Guevara, it was nonetheless blog worthy.

Despite being extremely dangerous, there is definitely no faster way to get around Bangkok than taking a motorcycle taxi. While all the suckers wait for hours in their cars and tuk-tuks in horrible traffic jams, a motorcycle taxi weaves in and out, violating just about every traffic and safety law to ensure you get to your destination quickly. Though hazardous, Meg and I will sometimes take the motorcycles to go short distances.

Today, I jumped aboard and headed off to the Thai Immigration Bureau. As we neared our destination, a policeman standing outside a police station waved us over to the curb where he was already in the process of issuing a ticket to another motorcyclist. Our offense? I think it was because I wasn't wearing a helmet which a driver is required to provide and ensure the passenger wears. The policeman handed a ticket to the other motorcyclist who, upon seeing the fine, tried desperately to give it back, pleading that it was too much (please note that all dialogue occurred in Thai and this is my interpretation of what happened). Meanwhile, the policeman began issuing our ticket, attempting to ignore the other driver. At this point, a crowd had begun to take notice of our situation and gather - I was feeling ever-more uncomfortable. This did not stop the other driver from taking out his wallet and trying to bribe the policeman...in front of the crowd...in front of the police station. I could see the policeman was getting annoyed now as he firmly dismissed the other driver who slowly retreated to his motorcycle, mumbling under his breath.

Then it happened. The driver just couldn't let it go and probably made some vulgar comment about the cop's mother. I guess I'll never know what was said but the policeman reacted swiftly, grabbing the driver by the neck and literally dragging him into the police station. My driver and I kinda looked at each other and shrugged, glad to no longer be the center of attention, we took off.

P.S. If anyone tells Mom that I wasn't wearing a helmet on a motorcycle, I will vehemently deny it. :)

Sean

Thanksgiving

Although I'm missing Thanksgiving at home, I did go out for dinner at a friend's house yesterday with a number of my Thai friends. Well, it's more of a resort than a house. Located an hour northeast of Bangkok, it is nestled away in a quiet gated neighbourhood. Over the course of the evening, we enjoyed various Thai dishes, swimming in the pool, and gossiping about the latest Thai news. My Thai is still not at the point of being conversational so Tui and Nu spent a lot of time translating.



I brought my guitar along and spent an hour relaxing poolside. It honestly was like going to a resort.

On a side note, our kitties Gahnomee and Chochie will be moving to new homes very soon. They're going to split up for awhile until we return to St.John's - which I'm sure is fine by Gahnomee who is tortured endlessly by Chochie. :)

Sean

Bangkok Dangerous

No, I'm not referring to the movie "Bangkok Dangerous", I'm referring to the fact that things are heating up here in Bangkok again. Last night, anti-government protesters clashed with police, resulting in a couple of deaths and a couple hundred injuries (some of them very serious). My impression is that things aren't going to get better anytime soon. There is talk that the government might impose a curfew, making it illegal for people to gather in public in groups of more than 4 people. We shall see....

Below is a picture from Bangkok Post's website showing a scene from last night's violence. Not to worry though, I am making sure to stay well away from any of the protests.


Sean

HOME

After weeks of dreaming and wishing and hoping I am finally HOME. It's not that there was anything wrong with Bangkok...but I was just seriously homesick and needing a break from the big city.

The trip started with an almost tearful goodbye to Sean (we'd convinced ourselves that I was just going on "vacation" in order to keep me from starting my long journey sad and teary-eyed) at 6am. I flew to Hong Kong first and then boarded the LONGEST FLIGHT EVER. 14.5 hours is far too long for anyone to be expected to sit still.

Once I arrived in Toronto the excitement set in. People were speaking English! They were cranky and unhelpful! I was back in Canada! When I got to my gate it got even better. Newfie accents! Oil rig workers on the way back from Alberta! Ahhh home sweet home.

After a scary moment when we all thought the flight would be diverted to Halifax, the plane touched down in St. John's. And as is the case on most TO - St. John's flights, the cabin erupted in cheers and "woo hoo"s as soon as we landed. But the best part of the whole thing was stepping off the plane and feeling COLD instead of suffocating heat! Yay!

I'm still super jet lagged and constantly tired but that hasn't stopped me from starting in on my list of "things to do when I get home". I had a hot turkey sandwich with fries, dressing and gravy today (drooool) and went for a brief shop downtown. Tomorrow will be all about a drive to the ocean, signal hill, more downtown shopping and then of course, some serious time on George St.

Now, like Sean mentioned, the countdown is on. C'mon Dec. 6th!!!!

The Countdown Begins

I just got back to the apartment after seeing Meg off at the airport. Meg is heading home to St.John's a month early for a few reasons: 1) extending her Thai visa again would be a pain, 2) her return flight cannot be extended beyond Nov. 4th so she would have had to leave by then anyway, 3) if we do come back to Thailand in January, some additional time home would go a long way in combating homesickness, and 4) she's sick of being around me 24/7 (kidding!).

My flight home is scheduled for December 6th so the countdown is on for my return to the Rock. Can't wait! I'll be in St.John's for a couple of weeks and will then head to McIvers for Christmas and New Years.

P.S. Have a safe flight Meg!

Israel - Hospital stopover

It seems Meg and I are destined to visit numerous hospitals during our travels. Saturday night, after just finished having a late supper, I decided to call it a night since I had meetings in the morning. I hadn't even had a chance to fall asleep when I began to feel extremely itchy. Initially, I tried to ignore it but then I began to suspect I was being eaten alive by bugs. I got up to investigate and discovered that I had a dozen or more "bites" over my arms, back, and neck. After a quick hot shower to help relieve the itching, I tried to go to sleep again, knowing the hotel was fully booked so I wouldn't be able to change my room and that I had to get some sleep for my meetings in the morning (it was now 2am). This time, I used the "cover every inch of my body with clothing" strategy. However, it did not work and I once again was forced to get up to investigate. Unbelievably, I had more "bites" and patches of my face, arms, and body were beginning to swell (I couldn't speak properly)! I was now beginning to suspect that these weren't bites at all but that I was having an allergic reaction to something - perhaps the bed sheets but I've never been sensitive to anything like that before. I notified the hotel staff who arranged to have a taxi take me to the hospital. Due to the swelling, the doctor thought the reaction was more likely due to something I'd eaten (I have no idea what it could have been though) and hooked me up to an IV to put steroids into me to bring down the swelling. By 7am, with my prescription of amoxocyllin filled, I was back at the hotel, just long enough to sleep for almost an hour (I slept in a chair - wasn't taking anymore chances with that bed). By 8am, I got up and got ready for an entire day of meetings. The swelling and itching were gone for the most part so, aside from the lack of sleep, I was in pretty good shape.

The office where my meetings were located was close to the West Bank border. You could easily see a number of the settlements and the fence that runs along the border. I thought it was very interesting that the Jewish and Muslim settlements were so close to each other. Also, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, was celebrated at sundown on Monday so the clients at the office extended an invitation to Trevor (my boss) and I to attend a company toast - it was welcoming to be a part of a Jewish tradition.

By the time I got to the airport for my flight back to Bangkok that evening, I was ready to drop. It did not help matters that I had to go through f@&king El Al security again, being asked the same questions by four different agents before I even got to the ticket counter. I'm all for security but you'd think they'd make it slightly more efficient. Anyway, after "politely" voicing my annoyance and cursing vigorously in my head for 3 hours, I eventually got to my gate. In the future, instead of the direct El Al flight between Tel Aviv and Bangkok, I will try a different one-stop airline, even if it takes longer (that just goes to show how much El Al pi$$ed me off and what 48 hours of sleep deprivation will do to me).

Despite my trip to the hospital and the difficulty with the airline, Israel itself is a very beautiful country. I regret not making it to Jerusalem and will be sure to make time for it the next time I'm in Tel Aviv. There are a lot of concerns over safety when traveling to Israel but I never felt the need to be nervous so if anyone would like to travel there, I would highly recommend it - just be sure to take the direct Air Canada flight from Toronto instead of El Al....

Israel - Flight with El Al

This morning I arrived in Tel Aviv, part of a last minute work trip. I caught a direct flight from Bangkok with Israel's national airline, El Al. Known for their tight security, I got the opportunity to experience it first hand. Even before getting to the check-in counter, El Al security drilled me for 15 minutes. Angus and Meg had dropped me off and were waiting for me, to which security asked, "who are they and how long have you known them?"

Once I got to my boarding gate, security brought me to a small room, privately searched all of my luggage, thoroughly checked my clothes/shoes, and drilled me with more questions. I guess I had a unabomber look going or something.

The flight was uneventful. I simply dozed in and out of sleep. It was a nasty 12-hour flight, I think it takes so long because El Al has to avoid the airspace of various Arab nations.

Currently, I'm settled away in my hotel. My room overlooks the beach on the Mediterranean Sea were numerous people are enjoying various water activities (kite surfing looks like SO much fun!). My first impressions of Israel? Let's just say that Adam Sandler's new movie, "You Don't Mess With The Zohan" is not as inaccurate as you'd probably think. Exaggerated, yes, but not completely inaccurate. Beach tennis ("matkot") is very popular here. :)

The Nutcracker

Bangkok's 10th annual International Festival of Music and Dance is now underway! There are a lot of performances that I'd love to take in (such as the Paul Taylor Contemporary Dance Co. from New York), but since I'm outta here in a week I only had time for one - and I chose a classic - the Nutcracker.

Although it was a little strange to be watching a Christmas show in the middle of September, the show was spectacular. Performed by the Russian Bashkir State Ballet Theatre and accompanied by a full orchestra, the music and incredible dancers certainly got me wishing for snow and presents under the tree. I was a little blindsided by the hot sun and heat when I left the theater!

It was nice to get a touch of culture here in the big city. As I've mentioned before there's not much to choose from in the way of music or the arts here in BKK. So, this interesting festival was a nice surprise. Of course, I attended alone - Sean couldn't handle 2 hours of ballet and it seems my Thai girl friends weren't much into it either ;) But regardless, I enjoyed the show and was happy to be able to catch an international festival like this before heading back home.

I've gotta work on my triple axel landing

To our great surprise, there are a couple of ice skating rinks in Bangkok. Meg and I have been wanting to check one out awhile so today we finally packed our woolen socks and set off. We went to Esplanade Mall where the Sub-Zero Ice Skate Club is located (http://www.subzeroiceskateclub.com/main.html).

The size of the rink was our first disappointment and the fact that it was crowded did not help matters. Some of the rinks we've made in our backyards were almost as big (Justin, Jamie, and I have even made some that were bigger). Also, there was a couple centimeters of water on the ice. Nonetheless, we haven't had the luxury of skating since April '07, so we decided to give it a shot.

The next hurdle was renting skates. The only skates they had that were big enough to fit us were figure skates. So, for the first time in my life, I donned a pair. The word "uncomfortable" was an understatement. They looked and felt like someone took a brightly colored sock and attached a blade to the bottom.



I managed to pitifully shuffle around the rink three times before I had to retire. Oh well, I suppose I could buy a decent pair of hockey skates but it doesn't seem worth it, especially if I can't get out for a game of hockey. That will have to wait until I go home in December. :)

Just another crazy night in Bangkok

We decided on Friday to head to one of our favorite spots in Bangkok - a really laid back, beautiful community dinner theater where you can eat great food alongside the river, drink nice wine and watch some really interesting performances, including a Thai acrobat who has trained in Canada with Cirque Du Soleil.

So off we go into the crazy traffic that is Bangkok on a Friday night. We expected to get stuck so we left a full hour in advance of our reservation. Luckily, the first taxi we hailed agreed to take us to this slightly out of the way spot. But not quite so luckily, the driver was actually a policeman...yes, a policeman in full uniform driving a taxi...we thought this was a little strange...

But stranger things were about to happen. First he tells us he really needs to go to the bathroom and pulls off into this tiny, dark gas station on the side of the road. As he's getting out of the car I nervously check his hip to see if there is a gun holstered there...luckily he'd put it away somewhere when he switched from law-enforcement duty to driving duty ;) (Bangkok cops are known to wear their guns always - even at the end of a shift when having a few beers with friends - it's always a shock to us to see cops drinking in full uniform with guns at the ready...).

Although I was thinking he was gone to get his buddies from the back of the building to come out and hold us up or something, he returned to the car without incident and kept driving. But it wasn't long before the next strange thing happened. The Cop/Cabbie started a lively conversation about money and salaries. It wasn't long before he was insisting that we tell him how much money Sean makes...he wanted to know if he got paid in Dollars or Baht - how much he made - which company paid him, etc. etc. We were avoiding answering and sort of acting like we couldn't understand his questions and so to help us along the guy pulled out his cell phone so we could TYPE IN THE AMOUNT! Clearly he didn't want there to be any confusion. With our limited knowledge of average Thai salaries (which, sadly are MUCH lower than any North American salary) we made up a number and passed it back. Turns out we didn't do a very good job - it was still about 3 times higher than what the cop said he made.

Now, in general it's not uncommon for Thais to ask questions about salary and how much things cost, etc. It's not taboo here like it is in many other parts of the world. But the fact that this was already a strange encounter paired with this guy's insistence and our knowledge that foreigners are often seen as rich, easy targets got me really nervous. We were getting closer to our destination and I just wanted to hurry up and get out of this car!

But since nothing is ever easy in Bangkok things kept getting worse. Instead of taking us straight to the restaurant the guy took us on the "tourist route" (this means that the taxi driver takes you on the longest most complex route possible in order to drive the meter up and make you pay more). Normally we would have argued and directed the guy to go the proper way - but with a policeman at the wheel we were a little hesitant to start giving orders (you have to understand that cops in Thailand are not like cops in Canada. They do not provide any sense of safety or reassurance. Instead they're quite scary given the amount of corruption that exists in the system).

Finally the driver admitted that he really didn't know where he was going and pulled over to ask for directions. And then a few blocks later he did the same. As he got back in to the car he exclaimed that now he knew! and quickly started to back up....RIGHT INTO A MOTORCYCLE with a man and a little girl on it! YES, the cop ran over a motorcycle. Of course the poor victim looked furious, until he saw who was getting out of the car...as far as we could see the cop didn't really do anything about it. Just jumped out to make sure they were ok and quickly got back in and started off again.

Thankfully we were just about at our destination. One short drive down a small road and the restaurant came into view. We couldn't get out of the car quickly enough! The rest of the night I was sort of in shock about what had happened. Truthfully, it's the only time since we've been living here that I actually felt scared. Sure, people sometimes try to scam you out of a few bucks, take you the long way, or try to trick you into their cousins tailor/gem shop - but none of that is really harmful. This time I really did think that we were going to be brought to a dark alley and held up at gun point! Maybe i was over-reacting. Things that are normal here just seem So foreign to us sometimes! It's hard not to be shocked by it and even a little scared when you don't really know what's going on or if it's acceptable or not. The whole time in the car we really wanted to call one of our Thai friends to see what we should do - but the cop spoke enough English that he would have known what we were talking about.

So just another story to add to our growing list of "crazy things that have happened in Thailand". It's times like this that we're really happy we've kept up with this blog - a few years from now we'll be able to look back and laugh at all the insane things that we've experienced this year...

Flood!

There's a flood happening right outside our window! Ok, it's not the "stock up on bottled water, canned food and then evacuate" kind of flood. But still, the streets are FULL of water.

I heard the thunder storm happening while at work. Now that it's the rainy season it usually rains really hard for at least 30 minutes each day. This is generally accompanied by the loudest thunder I've ever heard and wild, crazy lighting! It's quite a lot of fun while sitting at home comfortably in your pjs. Not so much fun while at work wondering how your going to get home. It's like the tropical version of a blizzard.

Thankfully I have a wonderful, chivalrous boyfriend ;) I attempted the walk back home on my own. The rain had lightened up a lot and I had an umbrella. But when I got to the first place where I had to cross a street I realized I was screwed. The water had flooded all the streets right up to the sidewalk. And clearly there was no WAY I was wading through that - forget about my leather sandals - there could have been any number of scary rodents/slithery things in there! When I called Sean wondering what I was going to do he said he'd come get me and bring flip flops. Yay! Better yet, when he arrived he offered to piggyback me across the deep parts - to the cheers of a group of people in a passing tuk tuk. Sweeeeet ;)

Next time I'll get some pictures - i'm sure this won't be the last bout of crazy rain.

State of Emergency

The political situation in Thailand is beginning to heat up. Anti-government protestors (People's Alliance for Democracy, or PAD) claiming the current government committed electorial fraud in December and that Thai prime minister Samak is simply a proxy for his ousted predecessor Thaksin have been peacefully protesting for the last couple of months for the government to step down. Recently, mobs of protestors took over various government buildings (Ministry of Education, etc) and shutdown domestic airports throughout Thailand (not the international airport though). The first violence occurred early yesterday morning when pro- and anti-government supporters clashed. One person was killed and at least 40 were seriously injured. The government issued a state of emergency, making public gatherings illegal. In response, state enterprise labour unions that support PAD have threaten to disrupt public services (water, electricity, transportation, telephones, etc) today for all government buildings or ministry homes.

With all that said, Meg and I are fine. The protests are isolated to the government buildings, which we are sure to avoid. If anyone would like to keep an eye on the situation, the Canadian Government Foreign Affairs department has a travel advisory website that is regularly updated - http://www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/report-en.asp?country=290000. Also, we are in contact with the embassy here and they are sending us updates on the situation.

Personaally, I think the situation has reached a point of no return, meaning something has to happen. PAD is not going to back down so unless the government does resign then things will probably escalate. Regardless, I don't think we are in any danger - as long as we don't partake in the demonstrations.

Ayutthaya

After spending far too many consecutive weeks (months?) in the concrete jungle of Bangkok, Sean and I decided to get away from it all for a weekend. Our destination? Ayutthaya - the ancient capital city of Siam (basically Thailand before it was called Thailand - side note - in Thai the country is not actually called Thailand. It's called Krung Thep. Why does it have a different English name? Apparently Japan isn't really called Japan in Japanese either! I find that so strange...).

We had heard that this small city was very beautiful. It's home to many very old temples that exist partially in ruin (since an attack and sacking by the Burmese in 1767) and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To make it even better we booked two nights at a resort and spa on the outside of town. It turned out to be perfect! Our big balcony had a jacuzzi and overlooked gorgeous rice paddy fields - definitely a perfect antidote to smog and traffic.



On Saturday morning, after eating breakfast outdoors on our balcony, we took off to explore the city. The first thing we did was rent bicycles. We'd read that it was a great way to see the city and enjoy the fresh air - so $3 later we were not-so-comfortably riding down the road on much-too-small bikes. But we got used to them quickly and had a blast.



Our first temple stop was at Wat Phra Mahathat, a complex at the center of the city that was built in the 14th century. Most of the grounds were blissfully deserted, except for the area that is home to a large tree with a Buddha head embedded into it. This combination of the sacred image and nature is considered very auspicious and thus, this site is very famous.




Afterward, we biked through a nearby park and found a place to stop for lunch. It was extremely hot and we could tell it was just getting hotter so our next adventure was to find a hat for Sean so he didn't burn his newly short-haired head.



We spent the afternoon seeing more temples and just enjoying the quiet city. Sean's favorite spot was Wat Ratburana...you could walk right to the top of the huge chedi and look down into the crypt where a family's treasure was once buried with two of their sons (much of this gold was later stolen and sold on the black market - but we did see some of it in the museum).



In the evening we rented a tuk tuk to show us around at night - many of the temple complexes are illuminated in the dark and we wanted to see the effect. At one point we could see bats flying from the towers and there was lighting striking all around...it was reeeeealy creepy.

The next morning we were booked into the spa for some massage and relaxation before the trip home. After our two hour session (ahhhhh) we took a last minute dip in the pool (anything to prolong our time in this paradise) before packing up and hitting the train station.



At one point I asked Sean if we could move to Ayutthaya - I figured he could commute to Bangkok every day, right?! It's only an hour and a half!!! He wasn't quite so enthused by the idea ;) But either way, we had a great weekend and were glad to get back to nature for just a few days.

Happy Birthday Tui!

Our close friend Tui celebrated her 27th birthday on Sunday, August 24th. We all decided to head out for glow bowling and dinner. Tui was in perfect form...except for the one time when the ball kinda slipped out of her hand and flew in the opposite direction. Angus dominated the scoreboard and his theory of "drinking improves your bowling game" was backed by the strong correlation between my score versus alcohol consumption. I fear I will have to retire from bowling else I develop a drinking problem. Also, it deserves mentioning that Meg beat me in our first game...pre-alcohol, I might add. :)

Aunt Marion departs

After 4 busy but fun-filled weeks, Aunt Marion has departed for home. She is at Bangkok International waiting to board her flight at the moment and has 41 hours of travelling before she touches down in St.John's. For the last week, she was hopping all over Thailand and even managed to make it to Malaysia but I won't get into the details of here trip as I'm sure she is eager to tell everyone herself. I will say that she has some great stories, pictures, and souvenirs. Honestly, I'm quite sure she cleaned out some of the vendors. :) Oh, and her dresses look fantastic! If only she can make it through LAX without someone riffling through her luggage and stealing them...which she is very concerned over after the jewellery theft at LAX in '95. :)

It was a real pleasure having Aunt Marion stay with us and I think she really enjoyed her adventures. Hint, hint to anyone else interested in visiting....

Anyway, I will add one picture, Aunt Marion captaining a river raft (literally, a "raft") near Chiangmai. I hear there were no survivors when the captain suddenly abandoned ship (just kidding).

A Familiar Face

I spent a couple of hours today with an old friend of mine from high school who happened to be passing through Bangkok (ok, "happened to be passing through Bangkok" is a weird thing to say). It was SO great to see a familiar face and catch up with an old friend. One of the strangest things about living here is that you just never, ever run into people you know - not like at home. So it was great to have as much of a "run in" as is possible in this gigantic, crazy city!

It was by sheer luck that I found out she would be here. Thank gawd for Facebook ;) We both kept saying how strange it was to be meeting up after all these years in a faraway country that neither of us had ever expected to be in. But however it happened, we were happy to be catching up. It was really great to hear all about her travels and to tell her about mine. Also, she was able to commiserate with me about some of the annoying things that happen while traveling so far away from home!

In the end I wished she was staying longer - although just having her here was making me even more homesick! And a little nostalgic for those long ago high school days ;)

Anybody else want to drop in for a visit??? We have an extra bedroom! :)

Mother's Day in Thailand

Yesterday, Thailand celebrated Mother's Day which coincides with the Queen's Birthday. What better way to show our appreciation than to tag along with Angus and Oh on a road trip to visit Oh's family. We drove an hour east of Bangkok to where Oh's family lives. It is a quiet fishing village, located next to the ocean and surrounded by amazing mangrove trees. All the homes are built on stilts, the traditional Thai architecture, since flooding is very common. It was great to meet Oh's family who are all extremely friendly. We then drove to a nearby temple - visiting a temple on Mother's Day is a common tradition. It was built on top of the water, beautifully decorated and crowded with people.




After spending a little more time with Oh's family, we departed for Pattaya. For all its hype, Pattaya is overrated. The beach is crowded, you're constantly assaulted by people trying to sell their wares, and there exists an element of sleaze that would make Patpong (Bangkok's famous red light district) blush. Nonetheless, Meg hadn't been there before so we decided to stop by for supper. To celebrate Mother's Day, the main street that runs parallel to the beach was shutdown for a parade.



Finally, it was time for the drive back to Bangkok. On the way, we stopped by a food stand to buy snacks. All we had to do was pull over to the shoulder of the highway. That is one thing I love about Southeast Asia, no matter where you go, it is easy to find fresh fruit.

Sex and the City on Oprah

Second most exciting Sex and the City moment from the past 3 months: today was the Asian premiere of the Oprah show that aired many months ago in N.American (you lucky jerks)with ALL 4 lovely ladies + Mr. Big. So. Exciting. (if you can't guess, the first most exciting moment was the actual movie). If I had known it was going to be on, I would have prepared myself with Cosmos (although, coincidentally, I did have a Cosmo last night on top of the State Tower with Sean and Marion...first one I've had in months...I should have known The Ladies were somewhere nearby). Drink or no drink, it was pretty awesome.

A personal note to Mark, Adam, and Crystal - can't wait for our Christmas movie screening! Many many cosmos and laughs to come!

Rediscovering Tuk Tuks

Since moving to Bangkok, both Sean and I have learned to be weary of the very many ways local scam artists try to trick you out of your money. One of the tried and true methods is for tuk tuks and taxis to charge exorbitant amounts of money for transport. While the taxis have a meter than you can insist upon, there's no real guidelines for tuk tuks...you just have to go by what you think is fair.

Because of all the unfair attempts to part us from our money, usually followed by eye rolling and/or angry Thai muttering when we turn our backs, we've pretty much given up using tuk tuks. They're also really smelly and bad for the environment. Oh and the drivers drive like maniacs. BUT despite all this, I thought I'd better give Marion a try on one. You know, so she could get the real Bangkok experience.

So this is when my rediscovery occurred. We approached a tuk tuk driver and I told him where we were going and asked how much (all in Thai which is bound to result in a little more respect from him). To my surprise he gave what seemed like a fair price, so we hopped aboard and took off for home. Once we arrived he eagerly gave me my change (without me having to hassle him for it) and then happily let Marion take a few pictures. Turns out, not all tuk tuk drivers are mean scammers. I'm sure MOST are, but not all :) So thank you to our happy tuk tuk driver for helping me rediscover the fun of this crazy and unique method of transport!

Here are a couple of the pictures!

Aunt Marion is finally here!

After months of anticipation, Aunt Marion (one of Dad's sisters) finally arrived in Bangkok yesterday evening, having flown in from Hong Kong where she'd been touring for the last four days. Immediately, Meg and I took her out for her first Thai meal at one of the first restaurants (and still one of our favorites) we went to when arriving here. It was delicious - Aunt Mare was not disappointed and took an instant liking to the spicy cuisine. Aunt Mare proceeded to tell us about her luxurious executive class flight from Toronto and the exciting adventures in Hong Kong. Basically, she was one of those "first classers" that Meg and I would glare at from our economy seats during our 16hr flight from Toronto....grrr. :)

This morning, we took Aunt Mare to the heart of tourism in Thailand. After a short boat ride up the Chao Praya river, our first stop was Wat Pho, a temple housing Thailand's largest reclining Buddha (depicting the passing of the Buddha). Here is a shot of Meg and Aunt Mare just inside the main building where the reclining Buddha is located.



Next up, the Grand Palace. This former residence of the monarchy is also known to house the Emerald Buddha. According to local tour guides, it is made completely from a single piece of jade. The grounds of the Grand Palace are quite amazing, with beautiful architecture dating back a couple of hundred years. Dress codes are very strict - no sleeveless shirts, shorts, or sandels.



Finally, with a quick walk through the amulet market, which sells numerous holy talismans, we grabbed a cab back home. We've had some crazy cabbies before and none have ever been bothered by the police but this guy was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got busted for reckless driving - honestly, there is no other kind of driving in Thailand.

Rockin' with MiG Ayesa

We Will Rock You, the Queen musical, TOTALLY ROCKS!!!! We went to the second last show of the international tour last Saturday night and had a really awesome time. I wanted to stand up and dance for most of the show and Sean said that every time he looked at me I had a huge smile on my face and was all wide-eyed. It was really great. Have I said that already?

For those of you who were not obsessed with Rockstar: INXS when it was on t.v., MiG Ayesa made it to the final three but was eventually beat out by that guy who won...what was his name??? No idea...although I did see him front INXS when they played Mile One in St. John's. ANYWAY, point is, MiG was on that show but BEFORE that he was playing the lead in this musical during the London production. Thankfully, he continued in this role during the international show. I've re-kindled a little crush on him now that I've seen him rock through Queen's discography...but Sean understands. He thought he was awesome too ;)

Surprisingly, a lot of the songs they did I knew and loved, but had no idea they were by Queen! LOL. I kept saying to Sean "Queen wrote THIS?!". It was great though, because at first I wasn't sure if I'd know much of the music. We tried to buy the c.d. after the show, but they didn't have any. I'll have to track it down online - I've had those songs in my head all week!

Well anyway, enough gushing from me. I get really excited about musicals - I just love them. So much fun! It was disappointing at first when we realized that Bangkok really doesn't have much in the way of concerts, musicals, theater, etc. But this performance made up for the previous 8 months of missing the arts.

Next up: Mamma Mai the movie...can't possibly beat the stage show, but i'm sure it'll be entertaining.

APAC travel

Last week, I had to do some travel for work to Jakarta and then Kuala Lumpur. Meg accompanied me to KL since she had to renew her Thai visa. The trip didn't start out as well as we'd hoped when Meg lost her wallet on the plane. Luckily, we've hoping to get it back this week as the airline did find it.

Our couple of days there were uneventful for the most part. Meg might disagree with that statement though as she spent most of her time shopping. This was very exciting for her since finding clothes in Thailand is very difficult for foreigners (the Thais are so tiny). We snapped more pics of the Petronas Twin Towers - considering the number of times we've seen them, I think we have pics from every angle. Here is Meg trying out a popular Asian pose:



Besides Meg's shopping, the only touristy thing we did was to go to the Batu Caves, a very popular Hindu shrine located 15km to the north of KL (probably one of the most popular outside of India). It involved climbing 272 steps, which were quite steep.



As if the hike weren't treacherous enough, there were macaque monkeys running up and down the steps trying to get food from people. I even saw one violently grab at a woman's sari although she laughed off the assault. So don't let this innocent looking monkey fool you....

Queen & Avril

First off, the exciting news: the international production of We Will Rock You (the musical based on Queen's songs) is coming to Bangkok this month, and we have tickets! Woot woot. Going to be super awesome fun times. Unfortunately, for a big city, Bangkok is definitely lacking in major productions, concerts, theater, etc. So this will be the first big show we've seen since being here. Very exciting.

Now for the bad news: Avril Lavigne is doing a bunch of Asian Dates on her latest world tour but is skipping over Thailand :( And the funny thing is she's playing in St. John's for two nights and then going directly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - the city we're in right now! So we'll miss her in St. John's and in Malaysia. What's up with that? Maybe I could convince her otherwise, you know, Canadian to Canadian...and then she could bring me some treats from home...hmmmmm, I wonder ;)

Emma sitting

This weekend, Angus and Oh went to Singapore so Meg and I had the exciting opportunity to puppy sit Emma, their Pekingese. It was great having a pet running around the apartment again as we dearly miss our fun-loving cats (thanks Crystal for being a kitty mommy) and crazy Hershey. Emma did not disappoint. Despite her small stature, she keep us busy doing laps around the apartment. And who would have thought the little ball of fur loved vegetables so much?! Not me. But here she is, dragging around some long green beans, which she devoured in a matter of seconds.

The Name Game

Sean and I have lots of nicknames for each other...but the latest is definitely blog-worthy. We were our for lunch with Tui and Bryan when I happened to ask about the Thai word for chillies. Tui responded "Prik". Bryan and I immediately giggled....yes, giggled. C'mon! It's funny! And so, somehow we ended up calling Sean Khun Prik for the rest of lunch (Khun is formality - sort of equal to Mr.).

That night we had our Thai lesson. By some strange coincidence our teacher asked us if we'd been given Thai nicknames yet (it's very common to have a short nickname). I sort of laughed but said no. But then Sean spoke up and said "Yeah, actualy, Meg started calling me Prik today!". The teachers eyes lit up..."Prik! Chillie! Like, you're spicy!!!!". LOL! We tried to hide the laughter and just nodded along. For the rest of the lesson she referred to him as Khun Prik. And yes, I laughed every time. Our friends are loving this. Tui now calls him P'Prik - basically Big Prik. LOL!!!!!

Love learning Thai! So many funny moments and misunderstandings! hehe.

Karaoke Superstar

Sean has created quite the name for himself over here. He's now well-regarded as a karaoke superstar among my (female) co-workers. After our first karaoke night out he earned the nickname Sean Bon Jovi for his rendition of It's My Life - a performance that apparently warranted a standing ovation and lots and lots of high-pitched screams. Our friends Tui and Bryan solidified the nickname when they put it in chocolate for Sean's 30th birthday:


This past weekend we were again invited to karaoke. With his new hair cut and clean-shaven look I knew Sean was going to knock em' dead, as they say. Tui echoed this thought when, upon seeing him the day before the karaoke night said "Wow Sean. You look good in black! You should definitely wear that tomorrow night - the girls will love it!" or something along those lines ;)

Sure enough, Sean was once again a Thai karaoke superstar. Unfortunately I didn't get video of the Bon Jovi (my mission for next time). But I did catch him rapping...check out the video. But first up is Bryan singing his favorite Thai song Mai Chai, Mai Chai (No, No). Look how much fun he's having!!!!!




And finally...a group shot :)

A New Woman

No, I haven't started dating someone else. Meg recently got all of her hair chopped off and has a completely new look. It looks fantastic! I had to blog about it to show her off. :)



P.S. Happy Canada Day everyone!

Halong Bay Birthday

Well, it's official. On June 17th, I turned the big 3-0. I'd like to think that as I write this I am a little wiser than I was 4 days ago but I doubt that's the case. :)

To celebrate the occasion, Meg and I decided to go to Halong Bay in Vietnam, a Unesco World Heritage Site. I've been itching to get out on the water and a cruise through beautiful Halong Bay sounded perfect.

We flew into Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, on Sunday morning and went straight to our hotel, located in the Old Quarter of the city. I never thought I'd experience traffic as insane as Bangkok or Jakarta but Hanoi is the winner, hands down. Particularly, the Old Quarter is a pedestrian's worst nightmare, with it's narrow, winding streets, the millions of motorbikes wizzing by makes crossing the road seem like an episode of Fear Factor (except Hanoi is much more dangerous). As if the sheer amount of traffic wasn't bad enough, there don't seem to be any traffic laws. Yes, there is the occasional street sign or, less frequently, traffic light, but no one obeys them. Heck, from what we observed, quite often people have difficulty agreeing which side of the road to drive on. It is a tangled mass of weaving traffic with relentless beeping to basically say "heads up, I'm coming through" - a fruitless activity considering everyone is doing the same. Yet, despite the madness, somehow the Vietnamese have it figured out.

We spent our first day in Hanoi exploring this insanity, making our way to Hoan Kiem Lake, Ngoc Son Temple, and exploring the numerous small shops throughout the Old Quarter. One thing we noticed right away was the aggressive way you're approached by street vendors. Whatever they're selling, they don't take no for an answer, following us for a block or two. And despite our polite refusals, they'd often walked away muttering under their breath and glaring. One woman selling bananas forced her traditional Vietnamese hat and goods onto Meg for a photo op - after which she demanded money, of course. By this time, we were looking forward to getting out of the city.

The next day, we were off to Halong Bay. We boarded a junk ship (meaning a ship of Chinese design, not a piece of crap boat) in Halong City and began our tour of the bay. There's little I can say to describe the splendor of the thousands of limestone karsts and islands. Words and pictures don't do them justice. We stopped at one of the islands to explore some caves and then went for a swim. My favorite part was when we dropped anchor for the evening and were jumping from the 3 story junk into the refreshing waters.





We awoke Tuesday morning with a spectacular view from our cabin. What a way to wake up on my 30th birthday! We spent the entire day kayaking and swimming. It was fantastic! That evening, we arrived at Cat Ba Island, where we stayed for 2 nights at Sunrise Resort. The surf on the beach was awesome and I spent most of my time bodysurfing. Meg gave it a shot but her bikini wasn't exactly built for it and she ended up mooning every Vietnamese on the beach. I was in tears with laughter as wave after wave kept knocking her over.





By Thursday afternoon, we were off to Hanoi once again. We dined at a gourmet Vietnamese restaurant called Wild Rice for supper. I love Vietnamese food and this place was a real treat. Our last day in Vietnam was spent exploring the city, sampling the local cuisine, and touring around in a rickshaw. We stopped by the Temple of Literature which was dedicated in honour of Confucius in 1070!

Halong Bay was definitely the highlight of the trip for us. While Hanoi is interesting, I think it can only be enjoyed in small doses, then it just gets overwhelming. We wish we could have seen more of the country-side, as the little we did see is gorgeous - perhaps a return trip is in order. :)

For more pictures of our trip, check them out here.

Chiang Mai Rescue

As Meg wrote in the last post, after being admitted to the Chiang Mai hospital upon coming down with a nasty bacterial infection, I flew in Wednesday morning to take care of her. Originally, the plan had been for me to fly in Friday night so we could spend Meg's birthday weekend in Chiang Mai. However, since she was incredibly sick and all alone, I went as soon as possible. After resting for a couple of days, she was released from the hospital but still not feeling particularly well so we decided to check into a hotel so she could rest further. Her birthday on Friday was a quiet one, with Meg venturing out just long enough for a birthday supper.

By Saturday, our friends Tui and Bryan were both in town and had rented a car. Since Meg was still recovering and there was no way she'd be able to do the adventure tour we'd originally planned, the four of us decided to drive around and check out a few sites. We drove southwest for an hour to the small town of Chom Throng where we had a peaceful lunch beside a beautiful lake. From there we began the long climb through the mountains until we reached the summit of Doi Inthanon which is the highest point in Thailand, at 2565m above sea level. Thankfully, we were able to drive to the very top - no walking was required. :)



This time of year, a mist blankets the mountains so we couldn't see much of the surrounding area but the jungle was amazing! We got some great pictures which you can check out here.



By Sunday, Meg was feeling much better so we decided to head to a temple located on a mountain near Chiang Mai, called Doi Suthep. The drive to the summit was spectacular, with great views of the city but once at the top it was difficult to see much through the mist. The last leg to the top involved a 300 step climb - and no, I did not carry Meg. :)



So, despite Meg's unexpected illness, we still managed to enjoy ourselves in Chiang Mai and Meg had a great birthday. We flew back to Bangkok on Sunday evening and Meg is almost completely recovered.