Laos & back again

The moment the guy sitting next to me fired up his laptop and started playing "You Are My African Queen", I knew we were in for an interesting trip.

It all started with a flight from Bangkok to Udon Thani, in Northern Thailand. Only an hour long, we were disembarking the plane when the guy decided he was going to try to get out first by pushing past everyone. I let it go thinking, "he must have somewhere really important to be". It turns out, that place was to once again sit beside us as on a bus ride from Udon Thani to the Thailand/Laos border. That's when he blasted the tunes from his laptop, at one point, handing it to me without saying a word. In my travels, I've had some interesting passengers sit beside me, including an old Nepali man who thought it perfectly ok to flip through my newspaper...while I was reading it...but this guy takes the cake. For the first 30 minutes, Meg and I were almost in hysterics...then it got old...then it got annoying...and finally the headaches set in.

Anyway, we crossed the border and it was only another 30 minute drive to the Laos capital city, Vientiane. Known as probably the most laid back capital in the world, Meg and I were loving the idea of going somewhere that was the complete opposite to fast paced life in Bangkok. Although there isn't a whole lot to see in Vientiane, we did check out the National museum (there were signs kindly asking that you not take the various machine guns on display - of which, anyone could have done quite easily), temples, and Mekong River. We met some interesting monks who were quite happy to converse with us, discussing their lives as monks and our homes in Canada.



The highlight of our trip came on Saturday, where we'd booked a private kayaking excursion down Nam Lik. It started with our guides teaching us some basics of 2-person kayaking, Meg took the front while I was in back. There weren't many rapids but there was one area that had a big dip and I rolled out the back. Thankfully, I was ok and having the river sweep me downstream was actually quite fun. Meg claims she didn't even know I was gone but I could have sworn she was laughing as she paddled away. :)



We stopped shortly after for lunch. Our guides cooked a fantastic meal over an open fire. Meg and I were both very impressed. Meanwhile, we enjoyed the wonderful scenery and swam in the river. Over lunch, I was fascinated as our guide told us about the bombings in Laos during the 60s-70s by the Americans. To this day, there are still thousands of UXOs (unexploded ordnance) throughout the country (primarily near the Vietnam border) and exploring unmarked paths is considered stupid - don't worry, we were careful not to stray from the roads. With our bellies full, we continued downstream for an hour until we came to a small village where mountain bikes were waiting for us. We proceed to bike through various villages for almost an hour. The children would get so excited, shouting greetings and waving. I would have liked to have stayed longer.



The next day, we explored more of Vientiane and had just enough time to grab a bite to eat at a nice restaurant. Unfortunately, we'd delayed going to an ATM and were without enough cash, fully expecting to use our Visa. However, the lines were all down, not even the ATMs were working so we hung our heads and gave them what cash we had, apologizing profusely. We were officially penniless backpackers. Eventually, we did find a working ATM and swung by the restaurant prior to leaving the city.



That evening, we had to catch a night train from the Laos/Thailand border to Bangkok. Meg has had the pleasure of riding the trains before, I had not, so we decided to give it a shot. It honestly wasn't that bad but there were some big delays and it ended up taking about 16hrs. Yikes!

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

Blue Elephant

As I was saying in our last post, Meg and I have been dining out - a lot! Most of the time, we stick to the street food which is extremely cheap and yummy. Occasionally, we'll treat ourselves to a fancy meal as we love trying new restaurants. We've dined at a ridiculous number of restaurants since we've been here though. Honestly, since we moved into our new apartment, we probably cook a meal once a week. The local food is too delicious to be playing around with cooking at home.

Here are a couple of pics of our recent excursion to the Blue Elephant, one of the few pricey Thai restaurants that also have international locations.

 

 

 

6 months later

I know, I know, we haven't posted on our blog in a month. There's no excuse...it was Meg's fault. ;) Just kidding. Both of us have had a lot going on as we moved to a new apartment, leaving behind the serviced apartment at the Ascott. The Ascott was great but the serviced apartment lifestyle didn't suit us as it's like living in a hotel room so it never felt like home. Now that we're in a apartment, we can change things around. Granted, it's already furnished but it's still more flexible.

Most surprising was the amount of stuff we've accumulated after 6 months of living here. I have no idea how we're going to get it back to Canada but we'll worry about that when the time comes - at this point, we're still not sure when that'll be exactly.



For the past 3 weeks, my cousin Carolyn and her boyfriend...I mean, fiance, Dave (congrats again guys) visited Thailand for a vacation. Between all of their traveling, we got to hang out with them lots, going to various Thai restaurants and clubs. It was an awesome time! We were glad to see familiar faces and they ended up with some hilarious stories. I won't get into them here but let's just say that Dave is the male version of cousin Janice. 'Nuff said. ;) I love you Janice!



Our new neighbourhood is much more interesting than the business district of the Ascott. It's great to get up early Saturday morning and wander around, watching as the locals go about their daily routines. Now that we've been here for 6 months, we're accustom to the spicy thai foods and eat it regularly, even the dishes cooked by street vendors. Besides being delicious, it's also incredibly cheap. I'm talking less than $2 for an entire meal.



We're in the process of planning a couple of trips, one to Vietnam and another to Laos. We'll let everyone know once it's confirmed.

Songkran

Thailand celebrated its New Year, known as Songkran, from April 13th-15th so Meg and I went North to the city of Chiang Mai, supposedly the best place to go to celebrate. We were not disappointed. The city had practically doubled in size due to the festivities. There is a lot of tradition associated with Songkran but primary among them is the water splashing. Since the New Year occurs during the hottest time of the year when it can be as hot as 40°C, it is custom for everyone to douse everyone with water. It's definitely the largest water fight I've ever been involved in. From dusk til dawn for 3 days, people are armed with water guns and buckets, stationed on the side of the road with hoses, or driving around in pickup trucks with barrels of ice cold water, drenching everyone who crosses their path. I was in my glee and it did not take us long to join in the fun. Meg and I had our doubts about the cleanliness of the water since most of it came from a huge moat surrounding the old city - we tried not to think about it. Here is a picture of some kids swimming in the moat - you can see in the background the pickup trucks performing drive-bys.



We stayed at a guest house appropriately called "Riverview Lodge" because it is positioned next to the Mae Ping River. Despite the nice garden, pool, and decent accommodations, neither Meg nor I were impressed with the service so we were on the look out for other places to stay for future visits. It was located next to a massage studio where Meg and I got daily foot and Thai massages. :) Here's a shot of the back of the lodge with Meg sporting her traditional Songkran pants (a gift from our friend Oh):



During the evenings, we'd go to the night markets and bazaars which are better than those in Bangkok. Well, I guess that depends on what you're looking for. If you want fake goods, Bangkok is where you wanna be. However, if you're looking for locally made crafts than Chiang Mai seems to have a lot more of it. With Songkran going on, the streets were packed with hoards of people each night. Here is a typical scene when walking around any of the streets within Old Town:



We did our best to explore Chiang Mai but it was difficult with all the people. The temples were very busy, as Thais visited them to perform traditional Songkran rituals - I won't try to explain them as I don't fully understand the history or significance but it was interesting to observe.



And, of course, we dined at various locations around the city. Our favorite place for food was a Thai/Indian place called "Whole Earth". I had an Indian chicken curry-like dish with garlic naan which was one of the best meals I've had since being here. As for entertainment, "The Riverside" restaurant had live music and was in an open setting on the river which was very relaxing. Our last day there, we went to the Chiang Mai Zoo. None of the animals were particularly active, most likely due to the heat. As cool as they are, the leopards gave me the creeps as they eyed me with the same longing I gave to my delicious "Whole Earth" meal. The Giant Pandas were a treat to see and were very playful.

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed Chiang Mai, especially the Songkran festival portion of it. We hope to return soon so we can explore more of the city and surrounding area...maybe when it's a little cooler though.

Muay Thai training

I had my first taste of Muay Thai (i.e. Thai kick boxing) recently when I went to a training camp in Pattaya, which is a 2 hr drive from Bangkok. It was a fantastic complex with 4 rings and lots of trainers to teach you the basics one-on-one. On both days, there were 2 2-hr training sessions. It was a brutally hard workout but by the time it was over, I feel like I had a grasp of the various moves. The trainers were sure to clip me in the head or knee me in the ribs if ever my guard was down. Overall, I can't rave enough about the experience and how cool it was. Hopefully, I'll be able to go back sometime during the summer.

As for Pattaya, I didn't think it were possible to find a bigger party city than Bangkok. It is a city with numerous beach resorts and an obscene number of bars & clubs. Even the congestion of bars and people on George St. during Mardi Gras pales in comparision. If anyone is looking for a place to party 24/7, Pattaya is definitely that place.

Isaan - Northeast Thailand

And finally! The update on my much-talked-about trip to Northeast Thailand, better known as Isaan. Although, I can hardly remember it now! ;) Just kidding.

Well, we started off with an overnight train trip to get to the Isaan region. Gotta say, the train isn't really my thing, but there is always a light at the end of the tunnel! In this case, lots of beautiful silk! After a little sleep and relaxation at the hotel, the fun began! Our first stop was a silk producing co-op known to be much more developed than others. We met with the organizer who set-up this co-op to help local women from various villages earn good wages and supplement their family's income. It was really amazing to see how textile products get made. Seriously. Who knew that a woman actually weaved each strand of silk together? Like, EACH strand. It's really crazy. Check this out:

After this visit (and the shopping that ensued) we traveled to another, less developed village nearby. I was excited about this one because I had seen their products before and was absolutely in love with them!

This group uses two different parts of the silk cocoon to weave their scarves. One is the regular part that most weavers use; it's very fine and smooth. But they also use a thicker, more coarse part of the cocoon that ends up as a beautiful, thick, cozy type of fabric! Love. It. Clearly I bought one even though it will be of absolutely no use to me until I'm back to -20 degree temperatures.

The coolest part of this place was just walking around the village. These people have the most exotic fruit just growing all over the place! In the yards, along the streets! It's really amazing. We had mango's, star fruit and a whole bunch of other things I don't know the names of. But they were all really good. We also got to see how silk worms are grown and how they pull the thread from the cocoons! We even got to try! I'm an expert now...


And here are all the yummy scarves! Should have mentioned the Ikat dyeing...so much to tell! To get the pattern you see on the blue wrap in the foreground the women basically use a very complicated form of tie-dying. They dye all the silk one color and then wrap plastic around certain parts of it (before it's woven!) and dye it all again. They do this as many times as there are colors in the design and then basically fit the pieces together like a puzzle when they weave it. I couldn't believe it! Who knew that this stuff was literally HAND done, start to finish.


The second day was spent in the silver-making village of Surin province. This is where the very last master craftsman of a specific style of Khmer silver jewelry lives and works. He's literally the very last person who can do this particular type of craft and is just now working to pass his knowledge on through a program endorsed by the Royal Family. We got a chance to see the groups melt the silver, form it into hundreds of tiny beads, hand-carve the beads and eventually string them together to make gorgeous jewelry. Then I got to make my own earrings to match the necklace I picked out! They also served us the most incredible vegetarian lunch - Tui had been raving about the food all week prior to the trip and I was NOT disappointed! :)

We took a break from visiting villages for a couple of hours so that we could see the ruins of a famous Hindu temple called Phnom Peng. At the height of the site you can actually see the mountains of Cambodia! Wild! Here's me posing for the camera :)

Finally, on our third and final day, we ventured into yet another weaving village. This one, like all the others, had something really unique to teach us. This particular group uses only natural dye for their silk products. Which means the amazing colors come from various leaves, tree bark, flowers, etc. We actually watched them boil a whole bunch of tree bark and then dye a TONNE of silk an amazing bright orange! After the demonstration they walked through the village with us to show where each color comes from. Here's a green that I liked a lot along with the leaf they use to get the color:

So basically this trip consisted of me saying "Seriously?!?!" a whole lot. I also bought a lot ;) I mean, how could I not?! After seeing the women stitch and weave and dye and design all by hand in the backyards of their little bamboo homes practically in the middle of nowhere. I was basically in awe. Hopefully I'll get to go on another trip really soon! There are so many places and groups to see! Not to mention silk products to buy...

Here's all the rest of my pics...you'll be able to see all the stuff I just rambled on about ;)

Oprah

Ok People. I've just discovered the absolute best part of changing apartments: Satellite. No joke. As I write this I'm watching Oprah for the first time in 5 months. And you just cannot understand the joy it brings me. Commercial break's over! ;)

I'm a terrible Blogger

To the few (very few :-P) who check this blog for updates regularly, I apologize. I've been a very bad blogger lately. Life is more hectic now that i actually have to work (shesh!). And that work has me on the road quite regularly. I've also recently lost a dear loved one...my 7 year old computer. She took her last breath a few weeks ago leaving me stranded with no reliable means of communicating with you! I have some very exciting things to tell you about though, or at least I think they are very exciting, such as my recent trip to Northeast Thailand and our impending move to (yet another) apartment. We're also heading up North this Sunday for the Thai New Year (Songkran Festival) and will of course have much to report about that! However, at the moment I am at work. Just stealing a few moments to say hello :)

Indonesian corruption

Since moving to Southeast Asia, Meg and I have heard rumours about the rampant corruption in just about every government institution. Not that Canada's government is squeaky clean or anything but I don't think it's quite as prevalent as it is here.

Anyway, I have been in Jakarta (located in Indonesia) for the last few days on business. Friday night, I was in a taxi with some co-workers, heading back to our hotel after being out to dinner with some clients. We were stopped at a police roadblock on a practically deserted road, void of much traffic. They asked for our passports. Ten minutes later, the policeman returned, speaking in very broken English. We couldn't quite understand what he was saying but it was evident there was a problem. Apparently, it required a "fee" before our ids would be returned.

So, it wasn't exactly the most comfortable situation I've ever been in. We suspect the cabbie might have been paid a kickback for talking an alternate route back to the hotel which conveniently had a police roadblock. Anyway, everything eventually worked out...although my wallet is a little lighter.

Akha Hilltribe Village

Last week I went on my first trip for work (I know I haven't mentioned much about work on the blog...but basically I'm loving it!). My co-worker Tui and I set off for a Northern Hilltribe Village settled by Akha Tribes-people about 50 years ago when they immigrated from Southern China. The purpose of this visit was to survey the community and determine its viability as a community-based tourism destination (this is all part of a country-wide community-based tourism development project).

So basically, I had no idea what to expect. I knew we'd be staying in a homestay accommodation (literally, someone's home) but really didn't know what facilities we'd have. I was trying to remain optimistic ;)

Upon arrival in the village I was faced with a number of interesting facts:
- The Akha people speak the Akha language. Only a few people in the village speak Thai and absolutely nobody speaks any English. This made me, the only Westerner for miles, twice removed from any conversation or translation.
- The homes are made from bamboo and grass...'nuff said.
- The villagers' food roams freely around the community. I'm talking cows, chickens, pigs, etc. Just walking around the streets...
- There's no running water. At all. Talk about suddenly really missing those things you generally take for granted!

So anyway, I spent two solid days in a state of serious shock. But I did manage to enjoy myself as well! It was like being in a different world - watching the women in their traditional dress, seeing the kids running around completely carefree, eating food that had not only been gathered from the surrounding forest but then cooked over a fire in the bamboo home. Crazy!

I really don't think I've digested the whole experience yet - I'll need some more time to put it all in perspective. Thankfully I took hundreds of pictures to remind myself of things I probably missed while in my shocked state! Here are just a few:

This is the home we stayed in. Notice the pig under the patio...


The woman of the house wearing her traditional headdress and jewelery (they wear this every day! And most sleep in it as well)

Her husband, carrying their granddaughter.

Me and Tui with a group of performers that put off a traditional show for us! They're wearing the ceremonial dress used for special occasions. I should mention that these outfits are not something of the past - they're still worn throughout the year on auspicious days and for special ceremonies.


You can see many more pictures here. Enjoy! And wish me luck for my next trip - I leave on Monday!

The Cat Came Back

Like something out of a Disney movie - Gahnomee has returned! Kitty mommy Crystal just called to tell me the fantastic news! After running away back on December 1st, she is now in her usual hiding place...under Crystal's bed. I have to admit, I was beginning to give up hope - I mean it was 4 months!!! However, some nice elderly lady has been feeding Gahnomee regularly and wasn't aware that anyway was looking for her, until now. YAY!!!!!!!!!

Sports

Ok, I have no idea how the Thais do it (or anyone else who subjects themselves to playing sports in 35°C heat, for that matter)! For the last month or so, I have been playing outdoor futsal every Sunday afternoon. It's ridiculously hot and quickly saps the energy from you but the Thais don't seem to mind nearly as much. I might have to try playing with one of those hydration backpacks so I can constantly drink water as I'm playing.

I didn't think it could get any hotter...until I went looking for somewhere to play basketball Saturday morning. 9am I set off to Lumpini Park where I was sure I'd be able to find a court. Sure enough, it didn't take me long to track one down. There were already 15 or more people at the outdoor court playing pickup. They quickly asked me to sub in. Brutal! Even in the morning, it was about 30°C. By 10am, everyone was calling it quits. Turns out they start playing 7am on Sat and Sun because by 9am it's just too hot. Once again, the hydration pack doesn't seem like such a crazy idea.

March is the beginning of the "hot season" but temperatures are expected to rise even more in April. I might have to dust off my ping pong paddle and retreat indoors....

Free the Fish

This past weekend, Gwyn and his girlfriend Bea took Meg and I out to see more of Bangkok. Gwyn works for AIS, the largest telecommunications operator here in Thailand, and one of Consilient's clients, so we work together daily. We left at 9am for a fish market, located near the Chao Phraya river.  There were hundreds of live fish there and we ended up buying about 20 (Gwyn and Bea bought about 40).



However, we didn't buy the fish to eat.  Instead, we bought them to set free in the river.  Buddhists in Thailand consider such an act of kindness as reflecting good on them for this life and their next (i.e. karma & reincarnation).   So, off we went with our fish to one of the piers along the river.   There were literally thousands of fish in this part of the river as people quite often feed them.  And we did exactly that - we bought some fish food and started the feeding.  I hope the fish we released managed to get some of our food!



Afterwards, Gwyn and Bea took us to a number of temples and shrines.  Some of them (not the one in the picture below though) were completely unknown to toursits so it was a treat to see places of worship without the throngs of people.



Finally, we ended off our tour day with lunch at a riverside restaurant where we sampled some delicious Thai food.  The spicy scallops with cashew nut were particularly delicious!


 

Beautiful Malaysia

Meg and I just got back from a trip to Peninsular Malaysia (as opposed to the part of Malaysia on the island of Borneo) and had an amazing time! Meg spent the last month planning a vacation to coincide with the deadline to renew her visa which required us to leave Thailand. So, last Thursday, we packed our bags and headed for the airport. We knew it was going to be an interesting trip when the Brit ahead of us in the check-in counter line was stinking drunk and bleeding all over the place from his foot. Luckily for him, security was good about his relentless barrage of profanities and escorted him to a chair where he could sleep it off.



2 hours later, we'd landed in Kuala Lumpur and spent the day exploring the Petronas Towers (the world's tallest twin towers) and Chinatown market. As cool as Kuala Lumpur was, we were eager to get out of the city and explore the countryside. The following day, we had a hectic morning at the Thai embassy submitting an application for Meg's visa. By noon though, we were on the road to the Cameron Highlands. The first 2 hours were fine highway driving but the last hour was comprised of sickening twists and turns overlooking seemingly bottomless gorges. The fact that our driver was speeding along at 70 kms/hr did little to prevent the onset of nausea. As cars whipped around blind corners in the wrong lane, their strategy was to beep their horn as a warning. I think I passed out at some point.



In the end, it was worth it though as our inn was situated next to a lake, high in the hills. We woke early the next morning and went to the BOH Tea Plantation where we wandered the fields of tea trees and had a tour of their factory. At over 5000 feet above sea level, a mist hung over the hills under mid-morning and made for the perfect setting as we enjoyed sampling our fresh tea.



We then had our cabbie drop us off at a hiking trail that went through the jungle. It started out poorly as there wasn't much of a trail, just a steep embankment just begging for us to plummet down. Slowly, but surely, we made our way in, although we had our doubts as to whether we were on the right trail or not. Eventually, it turned into a decent path and we were able to enjoy the scenery. The shade provided by the canopy 40 feet above us made for perfect hiking conditions. 90 minutes later, we were out of the jungle and quickly made our way to a nearby town for lunch. Mmmmmm...Indian food at its finest!



Later that afternoon, we gathered our gear and took another 2+ hour cab to the West coast where we caught a ferry to Pangkok Island Beach Resort. We arrived just in time to enjoy supper and an ocean sunset from the beach. It was like Christmas morning when we woke and quickly headed for the beach for some fun in the sun. We weren't disappointed. The beach was deserted and remained so for most of the day. The water was ridiculously hot. So much so that I had to go out until the water reached my neck before the temperature was cool enough for my liking. I tried snorkeling but the fine sand in the water made for poor visibility. Excitement at the beach peaked while we were enjoying ourselves on boogy boards (Andrew and Krista, we were thinking of you) and suddenly Meg was viciously attacked by a small jellyfish! I saved her though, David Hasselhoff style, and only her pinkie finger suffered. You'd be surprised how much a coconut drink can cheer a woman up.



We had an early rise the next day as we were going to Ipoh for a 9 hour trek. Our tour guide picked us up from our hotel in Ipoh at 1pm and we drove to a mangrove forest. It was so cool to walk through the mangroves. Our guide made the experience even better as he was very friendly and knowledgeable. Before long, rain was pouring down all around us but what's a walk though the rain forest without the rain!?



Afterwards, we went to a small fishing village for a snack consisting of cooked sea snails and fried baby squid. And, yes, Meg enjoyed both dishes - even if she had to close her eyes before popping them into her mouth.



With our bellies full, we drove to another fishing village and boarded a small 20 footer (quite similar to our dory, just a shade bigger). We made our way downstream on the river, enjoying the monkeys' crazy antics as we went. Much to my disappointment, we didn't see any crocs, although neither Meg nor our boat driver seemed eager to encounter one - especially considering that they can be as big as 16 ft, 2500+ lbs. We continued into the open ocean where fish farms were anchored. Touring the fish farm proved challenging as we had to walk along slippery planks. The dogs didn't seem to mind it though. Neither did the guy we saw rowing from one fish farm to another in half of a barrel - I kid you not.



Finally, it was back to the river where we watched hundreds of fireflies light up the night. This may have been the highlight of our trip. We enjoyed a quick supper in town and headed back to Ipoh for a well-deserved sleep. The next morning, we drove back to Kuala Lumpur in time to pick up Meg's visa, do some shopping, and catch our flight back to Bangkok. Whew!



You can find more pictures posted here.

Newfoundland Liberation Army invades BKK

This morning as I was waking through the grocery store in the kind of daze that shelf after shelf of Asian food I don't understand and packaging I can't read puts me in, I absent-mindedly turned a corner and came face-to-face with possibly the last thing I ever thought I'd see in a Thai grocery store: a Republic of Newfoundland t-shirt.

My first reaction to this miracle involved jumping up and down and saying "OH MY GOD" very loudly while smiling like a maniac and possibly hugging the girl. In the end I settled for a simple, "wow, are you from Newfoundland?" (I still don't think this hid my excitement...)

In the end I found out that the girl and her mother are actually from New Brunswick but her father lives in Paradise. She'd picked up the shirt during a visit. Wild! We discussed the difficulty of buying groceries in Asia, our respective travels and "why we're here" stories. Turns out they've traveled and lived all over! I laughed when she asked if this was my first Asian experience and then went on to tell me how this was "seriously Asian" whereas a place like Hong Kong is only "light Asia"...perhaps we should have started there!

We had a great chat and they gave me their contact details so I could get in touch anytime. We may get together for coffee (or something) soon :) Maybe she'll know of a secret grocery store where I can buy Tetley Tea...Hmmmmmm

Patravadi Theatre

On Saturday I randomly came across a write-up for a local theatre in the the paper called Patravadi. The article was about an international dance performance that was on that evening so I logged onto their website to check out the details. I was really excited when I saw that it was an entire arts complex with performing arts school, restaurant with evening performances, and a number of different performance spaces. The website was also in English. This is a good thing. It means the locals want us there ;)

I was so intrigued that I convinced Sean that we should head over there for dinner. I made a reservation for dinner during the evening show and we hopped in a cab to find the place.

We weren't that surprised when the cab driver turned down a very small Soi (side street) and made his way around several corners before we saw lights and people. By the time we found the restaurant and were seated at our table I knew this was the kind of place I'd like! The restaurant had really great modern, minimalist decor and a relaxed atmosphere. When we walked in there was a cellist playing in the center of the room, in the center of all the diners. We were seated at a table practically on top of the Chao Praya river (the window spaces on the back wall were all open-air and the building was built out over the river). The whole place had kind of an LSPU Hall vibe...very much a community theatre group.

The rest of the night was fantastic. We were entertained by Thai drummers, dancers, singers and even an acrobat! All were students of the school. The food was fantastic and half-way through we found out that the proceeds from the meals go towards student scholarships (that's when I ordered my second glass of wine...it was for a good cause!). We also discovered that they have a student who is currently in Canada training with Cirque Du Soleil! He or she will be back next month and will be performing a new show at the theatre. Clearly we'll be back again.

Of all the great things we've seen in Bangkok this was really one of my favorites. It was the kind of local place where tourists are accepted but not harassed and where you get a glimpse of the fact that this gigantic, cosmopolitan, metropolis is actually just a community of regular ol' people! Truly fantastic evening! And just to make it a little bit better, as we were leaving later in the night Sean observed that this little, tiny Soi was perhaps the quietest place we've ever been in Bangkok! We relished those few minutes of near-silence before we emerged on the main road and were jerked back to reality.

Here's the website if you'd like to check it out: http://www.patravaditheatre.com/ Stay tuned for my report of the upcoming Cirque-trained acrobat! And now for a few pics since we haven't posted any in a while :)

Waterside Restaurant b-day celebration

Despite Sean being quite sick with the flu (again!) we peeled ourselves off the couch last night to attend his co-worker's birthday celebration at Waterside Restaurant. It was an eventful night from the start! I knew the evening wasn't going to go smoothly when we jumped in a cab and saw the clock: 5:45...dinner was at 6. In St. John's this is ample time to get to your chosen restaurant, but in Bangkok, at rush hour, on a Friday, it's not enough time to get to the end of the block let alone a restaurant that's "very, very far", according to the hotel staff.

35 minutes later we had finally completed the circle around the block that put us in the correct lane to get up onto the expressway. I'm not kidding. 35 minutes to turn around. With traffic like this you'd think the Thais would be quite an up-tight bunch. How they stay calm and patient (and avoid road rage), I'll never understand.

Once we hit the highway we were doing ok. Traffic was still heavy but at least we were moving. Regular cell phone updates with the group of co-workers put us at ease - they were stuck in traffic as well.

Fast forward 1 hour, 15 mins (making our total travel time 1 hour 50 mins and costing us a fat sum of $9 including a good tip) and here we are...or so we thought. The cab driver dropped us off at a restaurant that had absolutely no sign of Sean's co-workers or the name "Waterside". Great. Into another taxi, further down the road again, finally, Waterside! Off we go to find the group of people that are no doubt waiting on us, hungry and impatient. Wrong! The co-workers are STILL not here. Whew! 1 hour and 30 mins late, we're sure we've lost our table...but then again, they must have provisions for this (Sean has been told that wedding invites always state that dinner is an hour earlier than it's actually scheduled for since people are so often late).

A few minutes later the rest of the group showed up and we were quickly seated without a problem. Time to start the party! And this is my favorite part...the part where all the Thais eagerly flip through the menus and start ordering dish after dish after dish! The frantic speaking in that tonal, Asian drawl and all the hand-motions get me really pumped! And I love not having to decide what to eat (although they always offer to let us pick). No matter what shows up, it's always tasty.

So a few minutes later the delicious food starts to arrive along with a gigantic "tower" of beer (a compromise between a pitcher and a keg). I think we're all in need of refreshment after the looooooong drive. Chung Gao! (cheers!) They are all amazed at our advanced grasp of the Thai language ;)

The rest of our dinner is a mix of Sean and I learning some Thai and helping the group practice their English. I made a surprise discovery when one of the guys offered me a beer refill and I happily replied "sure!". The group kind of gasped and giggled while he looked a little taken aback. Apparently "sure" in Thai means something entirely different! (The most modest of the group described it as meaning "evil" but I'm pretty sure it was a little more harsh) LOL! I'll have to keep that in mind - I have no idea how many people I've offended in the last 4 months!

Sean's Thai practice came in the form of karaoke later in the evening. His co-worker S caught him trying to sing along with the Thai words (the Roman script was on screen along with the Thai script) and so quickly passed the mic over. He took it without fear and continued with his garbled Thai pronunciation! They loved it! Great entertainment :)

All in all the great food and company more than made up for the long trek to get there. Sean's co-worker Gwyn dropped us off in a central area so we could get home easily. Total travel time home: 20 minutes.

Malaysia Itinerary

Our trip to Malaysia is only 13 days away and we're getting more and more excited! I thought I'd post our itinerary here so you could check out some of the places we'll be visiting, if interested. When we come back we'll tell you all about the experience and of course post lots of pictures! But for now, here's some info:

Day 1: Fly into Kuala Lumpur (KL) and spend the afternoon/evening exploring.

Day 2: Get up early and hit the Thai embassy in hopes of renewing my visa so that I can get back into Thailand...fingers crossed ;) Then we'll head north to the Cameron Highlands, a place that all the local SE Asianers warn us is very boring and quiet, but ok if you're "into nature". Our response to that is "EXCELLENT!" Funny how you don't notice what you have until a foreigner comes in and tells you how fabulous it is. We'll stay at The Lakehouse - a major splurge that I'm incredibly excited about.

Day 3: Today we get to explore all those "boring" tea plantations and rolling hills. There are lots of hiking paths through the hills and waterfalls to visit, not to mention fresh tea and scones that are served at the plantations themselves! In the early evening we'll travel east to get to Lamut Jetty where we'll catch a ferry over to Pangkor Island and check in at the Pangkor Island Beach Resort

Day 4: Ahhhhhhhh....beach......

Day 5: Catch the ferry back to Lamut Jetty and then cab it to a small town called Ipoh. We'll just have time to check into our hotel and have lunch before we meet up with our tour guide for our Bagan Krian Mangrove and FireFly Night Safari!!!! Cannot explain my excitement about this! The tour group is an eco-tourism, community-based group so they will be taking us off-the-beaten track and away from the ever-present touristy crap (for lack of a better word!)

Day 6: Today we hit the road back to KL. We'll have time to pick up my visa and check out a couple of sights before our flight back to BKK.

So there it is! I can't wait to write again with stories and pictures of this adventure. Until then...

ThaiCraft Fair

On Saturday I volunteered at a ThaiCraft fair for the first time. The ThaiCraft Organization is a fair trade group that promotes, sells and exports crafts handmade by village artisans all across Thailand (you can check out their website for more info: www.thaicraft.org). The craft fairs they hold each month are wildly popular among the ex-patriot community in Thailand and are renowned for quality products and fascinating artisan demonstrations. It is a very unique setting as the foreign shoppers get to interact directly with the Thai producers, and in many cases learn about the history of the handicrafts being sold and the villages they come from.

I met some really interesting people at the fair and saw all kinds of amazing Thai products. I was working with a jewelry designer at her booth, which I obviously loved! There were about four of us working there including girls from the US, Japan and Thailand; truly a multi-cultural bunch!

Before the fair opened I heard stories of past fairs where people lined up outside the door to get in. I wasn't sure I believed them. But sure enough, at 10:00 when the doors opened we witnessed a rush of about 30 Japanese ladies literally running into the room! They went directly to a table near ours that was selling body lotions and soaps - obviously they'd been here before - and proceeded to fill their baskets with 5, 10, 15 bottles of the stuff! They were practically fighting each other for it! We stood in awe at the jewelry booth and wondered if the lotions contained some miracle anti-aging magic (later when I went to check out the phenomenon they were completely sold out...figures).

Once that particular craziness died down, the fair was non-stop busy for a couple of hours. I happily sold jewelry all morning and secretly picked out the pieces I wanted ;) When Sean showed up in the afternoon he helped me decide on a beautiful necklace and then we browsed through the rest of the fair. We picked up some great items and left the fair quite happy. Even Sean, who is definitely not a shopper, liked the experience of reading about the artisans and where exactly the products came from. It really is a nice change from the factory-made souvenirs that you can buy from pushy touts on every street corner. We know that when we buy these products for ourselves and the people back home (yes, we've been actively buying gifts ;) our money is supporting the Thai people who operate ethical businesses and local economies in remote villages.

I'm looking forward to next month's fair and the coming weeks when I'll be doing a little marketing consulting for the organization. Stay tuned...

SEA tour

It has been awhile since I've had a chance to write on our blog. For the last 2 weeks, I've been traveling around SEA (Southeast Asia) for work. It started with a trip to Singapore, then back to Bangkok for the weekend, followed by a trip to Jakarta (in Indonesia), back to Bangkok for the weekend, and then Singapore again. Jakarta was an interesting city. Initially, I was somewhat nervous on account of the terrorist bombings they had in Jakarta in 2003 and Bali in 2002 & 2005 but everything went smoothly. Once I got settled in, I was able to enjoy the city and its people. The food isn't quite as spicy as Thai - I loved the roasted lamb served at a roadside vendor. Delicious! The day I was to leave Jakarta, there was torrential rainfall which resulted in a lot of flooding - the highway was more of a river than a road. By the time I got to the airport, it was shutdown and my flight was delayed for 5 hours.

During the weekends when I returned to Bangkok, Meg and I tried to get out and experience more of Bangkok. We went to the Chatuchak Weekend Market for the first time. It's a ridiculously huge market full of vendors selling everything you could possibly imagine. After a couple of hours of looking around, we called it quits - the heat was just too much. We also ventured to Ko Kret ("Pottery island"), a refuge of the Mon tribes who still practice Mon Pottery - baked red clay with carvings. It was somewhat disappointing because we'd hoped to witness the process of making the pottery but instead the island was quite similar to the numerous markets throughout Bangkok. It seems we'll have to venture a little further to truly experience the Thai culture without the tourist trap element.