Monday, 26 December 2011

Reality Check In Cambodia

The bus ride from Bangkok to Cambodia was an adventure. Switched buses prior to the border, handed over my passport to a stranger (everyone else did too), take another bus to the consulate office, get passport back with a visa stamp.  Go to another "office"  stand  in line for what I'm not entirely sure as no one says anything, they just herd you like cattle.  Get another stamp,  hear what sounds like a gunshot. Go on another bus, then in a cab. 2-3 hour cab ride later arrive at Yellow Guest House.  I'm in another world,  the staff are friendly, they speak English, it's cheap (2 beds, air con, shower, toilet, tv for 10$/night) and they offer free tuk tuk service...
Spent some time at the markets and downtown Siem Reap.  The markets are like a maze and after awhile it all begins to look same same but different.  The people are friendly and unlike Thailand the tuk tuk drivers are more interested in conversing with you rather than trying to sell you something.  A boy about 7 or 8 asks me where I'm from, he then begins to spout out facts about Canada;  population, prime minister, capital.  I'm a sucker I give him a dollar, I know it's rehearsed but...
Woke up the next am at 4am to see Angkor Wat, in the lobby I see the owners and their families asleep on the floor :( and   here I am thinking I'm roughing it, by backpacking.
Angkor Wat was built in the 12th century,  the 8th wonder of the world and is the largest standing religious structure in the world. I don't consider myself a history buff but even I was impressed. Walking around Angkor Wat and the other temples (too many to name) I encounter so many kids. All of them have been prepped from a young age to become an effective street peddler. 1$ US is equivalent to their fathers 12 hour work days. It's so hard to say no but I can't buy everything.  I end up purchasing a bracelet and handing out a few dollar bills here and there, it doesn't feel like enough.
I leave Siem Reap a better person, I'm not sure what my future holds but I can be certain that I will do more and be more. "Be the change, you hope to see in the world..."

Monday, 19 December 2011

Turtle Island aka Koh Tao

The journey to Koh Tao was by a ferry, it was terrible.  I don't know where the term "smooth sailing" came from cause I have yet to encounter a smooth boat ride, unless you count the boat ride to Koh Phangan where I was knocked out on Valium.  We arrive to a swarm of taxi drivers and decide as a group we will walk to the hotel.  After a couple of steep hills and 1 downward hill we arrive, all drenched in sweat.  
Later that night we venture out to Hat Sai Ri.  Its beautiful and has a super chilled out vibe.  The road is like an average sized sidewalk back home, here it's a sidewalk/road for scooter, atv's, and the odd truck.  We decide a massage is in order and head into one of the many shops.  In the other massage shops we went to there was always some privacy, in this one however not so much.  There are a bunch of mats on the ground with some Barry White style music playing in the background.  With nothing but a towel covering me I get an oil rub down 2 mats away from Andy, whom is passed right out. Not so private but best massage yet. 
Next night we go bowling and mini golfing.  There's a guy at the end of the lanes who rolls the ball back to you and sets up your pins, if you knock any down... Which I didn't, I was consistently getting gutter balls or hitting one or 2 pins.
Couple days later Andy leaves, goodbyes suck. If you let him he could strategize an epic party night similar to those shown in the Hangover movies. 

Stacy and I decide to hike to the next place, were getting stronger from carrying our packs so it's not as dreadful. We arrive to Wind Beach Resort which is right on the beach, however the tides are so high during the days it's difficult to find a decent spot. I hate our room, there's no a/c (I've been spoiled so far), it's dirty, and it's right next to bar so dint even try to go to sleep early.  We meet up with Sabrina for supper and get to know one another. She is our age been traveling since September, went to Indonesia, Philippines, and is staying in Koh Tao for a month. 
We do a snorkeling tour the next day which was so incredible, it's like peeking into another world.   Later Stacy, Sabrina and I have supper (the most amazing BBQ shish kabob) and watch the fire show.   Ahh the fire show, words can't explain how much I love watching ripped Thai guys do crazy stuff with fire.  Probably some of the sexiest guys I've seen on this trip.  I decide a bamboo tattoo is a good idea so the 3 of us go to one shop but the guy seems wasted so we try find another. Sabrina knows where the "fire guys" get there tattoos and since I was inspecting their bodies in great detail, I feel it's a safe place to go.  Getting a tattoo on the foot is painful, 20 minutes and 1000$ baht later its done. I love it. That night we do a repeat if the night before: BBQ at seashells, live music at lotus bar, while on the beach.  Then the fire boys come and put on a spectacular show till midnight. Then we dance on the beach and sip buckets of sang som and peach ice tea.
The next am Stacy and I race to pack and get ready.  Another lesson learned, always pack the night before.  We just make it and are able to say goodbye to Sabrina...  It was terrible we all had tears.  Goodbyes really do suck.
Next stop Bangkok

Tuesday, 13 December 2011

Koh Phangan part 2

Unlike the other places I've been to in Thailand, Phangan is filled with tourists and seems very westernized. It's hard to find street food here which is a shame cause it's amazing. I tried my first fruit shake here just fruit no mushrooms, still amazing.  Most of the restaurants show movies at night, obviously the Hangover 2 is a huge hit.  We have run into people that we have met along the way, 'tis a small world. 
We gear up for the best party in the world (according to CNN) by taking it easy. We then begin the pre full moon party ritual of painting, a little pre drinking, and putting together our outfits.  Some where a little more out there than others (I'm talking about you, Andy). Off to sunrise beach we go, literally hundreds of people walk with us, a road is even shut down to scooters, which in my opinion should always be the case.   Once at the beach we are greeted by thousands of party goers. Drink some buckets, mingle with the  crowd, and watch the fire shows.  We meet other Canadians on the beach and feel instantly connected, if only by the country we are from. It's a great night, nothing beats a party on the beach in my opinion. One side of the beach is playing house music, and the other hip hop, I am in music heaven. I last till 6:30am after drinking 2.5 buckets I think that's impressive. A bucket is a sand pail filled with a mickey of your choice of alcohol, can of pop, and a bottle of red bull.
The next day the town is dead, we see a few people still staggering about.  The following day we check out some waterfalls, which I assume are much more impressive during the wet season, but still amazing.  Also see an elephant and a monkey, but there chained up so it's reminiscent of a zoo. We decide to check out the aftermath of the beach the full moon party is held on...  2 days later there still cleaning it up, makes you feel a bit like an ass.  If your reading this, take note don't litter.  The world is a beautiful place.
Next stop Koh Tao...

Sunday, 11 December 2011

Koh Phangan

While waiting for our ride to Koh Phangan we see Bobby, he comes over and has a beer and plays 20 questions. A car arrives at our hostel for us, no words are exchanged we just get in and trust that we are going to where we need. 30 minutes later we are dropped off at what we assume to be a bus station. We get some more amazing street food and wait. We all laugh at the fact that we are not even sketched out a bit, just going with the flow. 2 hours later a bus arrives with air conditioning :) We hop on and head back to Surat Thani. While on the bus ride we get bored, Andy dares I to sit in the bus bathroom for 3 minutes for 1000$ baht, obviously I do it. Let me tell you it is at least +45 in that bathroom. We check out the scenery and play some tunes. 4 hour later we arrive in Surat Thani the bus driver drops off on the side of the street and a tuk tuk comes to whisk away to the ferry. We arrive at the port and the tuk tuk demands 80$ baht each I again am tired of getting jerked around so I say no and walk away (I wasn't stiffing him it was included in the original price). He says nothing and goes off. We again wait for about 2 hours with our new Australian friend. At 10pm we get on the sleep ferry which is literally like 50 mats spread on a floor, we all pop some Valium and get some sleep. 7 hours later we are in Koh Phangan. We go to out hostel which is a bungalow on the beach. Not the best hostel, but its got the best vibe. We spend the night chilling with a Nigel(50 year old from London), Andy (22 year old from Switzerland) and some girls from London. Its a great night.
The following day we leave for Haad Rin, home of the full moon party. Shockingly another tuk tuk driver screws us around and we end up having to walk like an hour in the heat with our packs to our hostel.
Let me tell you the walk was worth it, the hostel has a typical westernized bathroom, overlooks the gulf of Thailand, has a/c and a hammock :)
The first night we head to magic mountain and try this happy shake...turns out its a mushroom shake, so that was an interesting experience to say the least, what a trip.
Last night we checked out some Muay Thai fights which are intense and tonight well tonight is the full moon party!!!

Patong, Phuket

Next on our itinerary is Phuket. To get there we are taking the overnight train which arrives in Surat Thani at 3 am and then a 4 hour bus ride to Phuket. Around 6pm the turn all the seats on the train into beds so we can sleep. Not the best sleep but as someone who is backpacking you take what you can get. 3 am we arrive at the train station and are ushered into another tuk tuk and driven to a bus station. We are all a little sketched out but its 3 am so we are in no position to argue. We arrive at the bus station and purchase a ticket to Phuket which costs us 680$ baht (Train was 800$ baht) and chill with some older German dudes till 7:20am. Bus arrives we depart picking up some other people along the way. We learn that our friends on the bus paid 1/2 of what we paid...sweet. Lesson learned again - don't trust the tuk tuk driver. This bus trip is one I will hopefully forget but not soon enough. After stopping for mystery meat on the side of the road and the air conditioning not working combined with the fact that no one on the bus has had a shower in like 24 hours, I contemplate ditching my companions and getting the hell off the bus. I decide to stick it out and realize I'm going a bit crazy.  Once in Phuket the bus driver attempted to drop me, Stacy and Andy off at some hotel.  Um hell no, everyone on the bus bands together and we stage an occupy the bus, noone gets off until he takes us to Patong. After much arguing and paying him 100$ baht he relents and drives us to Patong. Once in Patong he attempts to drop us all off at another shady hotel. By this time I have had it, I firmly tell him to get back in the driver seat and drive us to the beach, he does :)
Another tuk tuk ride later we arrive at out bungalow. We shower and then head out. Patong is famous for its night life so we head to Baang La Road. I play a game of hammering in a nail (harder then you think) and we head to Jasmine's Bar and meet the owner Bobby. He is amazing and understands English very well and better yet doesn't attempt to screw us around. So we chill there for a while and then head to a ping pong show... The ping pong show is a show in which women extract things from their vagina's (razor blades, ping pong balls, gold fish). I wish I never saw it but my curiosity got the best of me.
We decide its time to leave Phuket and head to Koh Phangan home of the full moon party. We wheel and deal and score a overnight ferry ticket and bus ride for 600$ baht from a street travel agent.
Bring on the next adventure...

Bangkok

So after a 1.5 hour flight to Vancouver, 13.5 hour flight to Hong Kong and a 2.5 hour flight to Bangkok I arrived.  Already I could see the language barrier would be an issue as almost everything was in Thai, I was again reminded of the language barrier while going through customs.  I go to pick up my luggage and who do I see but Stacy (my other travel companion) what a relief that was.  We wait till 3am  (were on Bangkok time now) for Andy and the 3 of us head off to our hostel.
The following day we venture off, first to the MBK mall which is 5 floors and every floor is like the first.  Then we take our first tuk tuk ride to The Grand Palace and encounter scam #1 some guy in a suit stands by the Grand Palace telling us it is closed as the monks are praying sounds believable until you see monks everywhere and people heading into the Palace.  We bid farewell to the con artist and head inside.  The Grand Palace is a thing of beauty, truly amazing.  Later on in the evening we head to Khao San Road.  It reminds me of Whyte Ave on steroids.  Everything you could want or need is on that road, alcohol, clothes, food, shelter and even sex.  We sit down and share a few buckets of whiskey, red bull and coke.  Have some amazing pad thai and make some friends. We arrive back to the hostel much later to find that we have a new roommate.  Whom we will remember as London, never did learn her real name.
By the next day were ready to leave Bangkok its busy and were all craving the beach we put on our packs and head outside to hail a taxi to the train station.  Most of the taxi's don't stop for us and if they do they drive away when we ask to go to the train station.  We are forced to take another tuk tuk, and by this time we have all developed a love hate relationship with the tuk tuk driver.
Next stop Phuket.