Last Week in Kazakhstan and Thailand's Train Ride

We have about 2 hours left on our 14 hour train ride to Chiang Mai from Bangkok. We decided to take the train instead of flying for several reasons. The first is cost. Together, we have about 100 kilos of baggage and Thai airlines only allow a passenger to have 15 kilos. So we each would have had to have paid a large sum for overweight baggage. The other reason is that we weren’t in a time crunch, so we could afford to take the slower, cheaper mode of transportation. Also, the Thai landscape is gorgeous and includes rice paddies, forests, small, inviting towns, warm air, thick forested mountains, and small paths running throughout the woods. The train is a nice way to see all of this.

As always though, there are a few lessons learned. The biggest one is book in advance to reserve a sleeping car. We didn’t know how to do this in Almaty, so we bought tickets a few hours before the last train of the day departed once in Bangkok. We could only get reclining chairs (they don’t recline much) in the AC car. This was ok, but not the best sleeping position.

The days leading up to our departure from Almaty were busy. I finalized a few syllabi for the film study class I taught last semester and helped with entrance exam checking. I also did research on CM and took care of the check-out process at KIMEP. It was similar to a scavenger hunt and much easier than I expected. So that was nice. Gulmira, the secretary, gave me a list of people that I had to visit and get their signatures. Some people took more effort than others, but overall it was pretty painless.

On Friday, my last day, most of the Language Center staff at KIMEP gathered in a conference room and thanked for me for time there and regretted that I was leaving. They also gave me some gorgeous Kazakh presents – a Kazak purse with a pastel colored thread pattern and a cell phone holder. Both are made out of the traditional Kazakh wool felt that is especially good for the cold winters. Evidently in some places up north, they make boots out of that felt. The boots are incredibly warm, resistant to some water, have no bottom sole, don’t slip on the ice, are cheap, and last a while. They don’t have those boots in Almaty because they are considered unfashionable and peasant-like. They sound pretty useful though; I might have worn them if I could have figured out how to obtain a pair.

In the evening, I had my final English Club with KIMEP. The theme was your favorite vacation. James and I gave short presentations about our most recent vacations, Bulgaria and Thailand respectively. We did some word play games and exercises as well as role plays with different travel scenarios. The participants then presented these scenarios to group, which was entertaining. Dinara and a few students also gave me a few thank you gifts, which were wonderful but unnecessary. My time with that group was very enjoyable and allowed me to see many different things in the Almaty area.

After English Club, Dinara invited EC helpers, Joey and me over to her apartment for tea. I made some brownies that afternoon to bring. So we headed over there for tea, desserts, dried fruits, photos and talking. I don’t think it was Joey’s ideal night, but he managed.

Saturday was busy with last minute packing, apartment cleaning, and visiting. Joey also went to the post office to check on a package that he has been expecting for the past month and half. It had come in early in the morning; just in time. Thank you northern PA!

As far as visits, we had lunch with Meeja, Jay, Aaron, and Alyson at the Ramstore cafeteria. They came directly from basketball practice, so were pretty hungry. We exchanged a few gifts and hope to keep in touch with them. They are expecting to leave Almaty within the next few months, which will be a nice change for them. They have lived there for about 2 years now. I hope they are transferred somewhere warmer with good schools for the kids. I also hope we can visit them, or they can visit us, in the future. They are a very nice family.

After lunch, Joey and I completed more cleaning and packing and I baked some sugar cookies for later that day. Around 4:15 pm we left to go to Yelena and Paul’s for lasagna. Paul made some very good lasagna and the company was wonderful. Paul has been in Kazakhstan a while; he served in the Peace Corps here. While serving, he met Yelena and they started dating and eventually got married. Yelena is from the northern part of Kazakhstan, near the Russian border, and told us about those warm felt boots. She has worked at KIMEP for a long time and Paul works at an environmental company.

After two servings of lasagna, two different Kazakh salads (both with mayo; they love it!), tea, the pink sugar cookies I made and chocolate, Joey and I excused ourselves, thanked our guests and got back to packing. Yelena and Paul kindly gave us each a hedgehog, which is the animal they collect. Mine is in the pattern of a Russian china piece. I am starting a collection now I guess because I have a cat figurine in a similar pattern.

Once back at the apartment, the real last minute packing started. Dinara and Gulnar were coming over later in the evening for more tea and snacks, so their visit was good motivation to get things done. Around 10 pm those two girls came by and we exchanged presents (Dinara made me a camel!), talked, and ate. They also wanted to see pictures of my family, home and Duke, so I showed them some of those. Around 11:30 pm we said our final goodbyes and Joey and I went to bed.

The next day we woke up around 6 am to get things tied together. The driver from KIMEP picked us up and took us to the airport. In the car, Joey and I said our final silent goodbyes to Almaty. The plane was only 30 minutes late this time, not the 10 hours as before, so that was a relief. We also only had to pay for 20 of our 38 overweight kilos. The airline staff was very lenient towards us about this, which was a nice break. We both got through migration without any problems and found a place to sit down for a while. The only downside about the Almaty airport experience was that is was COLD! The airport doors must have been open or something because I was in my coat and scarf the whole time I was sitting in the lounge.

The last few days in Almaty were pleasant. It even warmed up a bit, close to 30 F. J
Here are a few observations about the Kazakh people, after talking with people those last few days. Kazakhstanis identify themselves by their citizenship and nationality. There, a person’s identification card says both, citizenship: Kazakhstan, and nationality: Russian/Kazakh/Korean, etc. Your nationality is important and is a status symbol. When dealing with Paul, or other ex-pats in the country, the Kazakhstan government can’t quite understand why Americans don’t have a different nationality than their citizenship. For Americans, their nationality and citizenship are the same – American. They do not date back to their original ancestors. For me that would be a nightmare. I would have about five different nationalities listed.

Another thing I was told is that very little is manufactured in Almaty or Kazakhstan except natural resources, like oil, potassium, etc. They also make their own power, but most other goods are imported into the country. This helps explain the high costs of items.

While showing pictures, Gulnar made a good observation. One good way to recognize the uniqueness of your own culture is to visit another country. The people in that country want to hear all about your parties, family, lifestyle, etc. Only by explaining each of those things do you realize how beloved and distinct those features are to your culture.

Most people say they want to study abroad, for a masters, undergraduate, or anything else. I don’t actually know how many people do this. I suspect money is a restraining factor, but I don’t know. I am not sure where they would get the money if it isn’t. All the people aren’t extremely wealthy.

Joey and I have repeatedly experienced a cashier giving us back money and asking for exact change. Instead of accepting 2000 tenge for a 1234 tenge purchase, the cashier would pressure me for smaller bills, such as 1534 tenge. That way it was less work for the cashier in getting change together. The cashiers have even denied us a few items because we didn’t have exact change to buy them. This is extremely unusual to us as Americans, where no cashier would ever refuse money, even if they did have to give the customer back a lot of change.

Lying is something else that is prevalent. However, lying isn’t unique to Kazakhstan; it is found in most developing and developed countries. But there it is so widespread. My students would often tell me they were sick as a reason to skip class, but I would then see them walking around with friends, smoking, etc. I guess my students thought I was a little thick. I would confront a few students if this happened more than a few times.

On my teacher evaluations by students, they said I was strict and kind. Strictness is sometimes an unusual characteristic there for teachers to have. Most teachers are lenient on due dates, will re-grade things, etc. In the States that would never happen. No teacher re-grades things; that is unheard of. If you are late turning in homework, it doesn’t get graded unless you have a really good excuse. So I followed the procedures I grew up with and they were surprising to most KIMEP students.

I am not sure why, but whenever I walked outside I had a coughing attack. Never fail for the past month, as soon as I step outside I cough for a minute. I don’t know what it was in the air that caused that reaction, but I suspect it had to do with the air pollution and cold, dry air.

January 2008

SAYING GOODBYE
The past two weeks have been extremely exciting. Joey and I have decided to quit our jobs here in Kazakhstan and move to Thailand for a little bit. It is amazing to think that with the rent I have saved from living with Joey the past month and half (because my landlady abruptly kicked me out of my rented room at 10 pm) I can pay for one person’s entire living expenses for a month in Thailand. But, there are also many good things about Thailand besides prices. The people are friendly and generally smile, even the ones walking on the street. The restaurants are cheap, offer multinational cuisine, and good. I don’t have to wear 5 layers to walk to the grocery store and I have access to other SE Asian countries.

However, there are negatives about leaving Kazakhstan. The biggest negative is leaving the friends I have made at KIMEP. KIMEP differs from the outside environment, in the fact that people are very willing to help, talk, smile and be kind. My two favorite people at KIMEP have been Dinara, the EC organizer, and Yelena, my team leader for the course Academic Reading and Writing. Dinara and I have had many outdoor trips together and she has been especially helpful with transferring money and other logistics. Yelena has been a great mentor while I was learning how to be a teacher. She provided advice, was supportive and understood the difficulties of teaching KIMEP students. She also has an American husband, Paul, who has been friendly and showed concern about my well being. Other KIMEP staff have also provided or offered help and been willing to talk and relax to me. All of these efforts are appreciated. Thank you KIMEP.

I will also miss my private students, whom I have tutored since September. Two women in the same family, Lazzat and Salta, I had on average 6 hours a week per student. I taught them at their home for most of the time, so I was able to befriend household staff. I also enjoyed being in a nice home with a family environment. I didn’t have that anywhere else. They invited me to a dinner or two, which was a nice experience. My other regular student is Assel. I taught her at KIMEP for one hour a week. I didn’t get to know her as well because I had her less frequently, but I did learn a lot about Kazakh culture, the school system, and family life from her.

The goodbyes have been both sad and enjoyable. The past few weekends have been filled with farewell activities. Here is a brief description of what we have been up to:

JANUARY 11-13
Two weekends ago we had lots of activities. On Friday night, we went to a local bar to dance with Gulmira (KIMEP staff), Dinara and a few of her friends. All the women spoke English, so we had some good discussions while the band took breaks. The live band played international music, so it was enjoyable and good for dancing. No techno is played at the bar, which is a requirement for Joey and me. Our one experience at KIMEP with techno was enough for us.

Saturday, we had a few people over for dinner and games – a Uygur couple (David and Nargiz) originally from Kazakhstan but who have recently moved back to Kazakhstan after studying in the US, and the daughter of one of Joey’s co-workers. All were pleasant and good sports during our games. We had pizza, gnocchi, and chocolate cake for dinner. And we played spoons, or PIG, afterwards. I somehow lost that game, but it was SO close. See the pictures below.










On Sunday we had lunch with the family who we met in the airport waiting for our flight to Thailand in December 2007. Meeja, Jay, Allyson, and Aaron were wonderful hosts for us that afternoon. Meeja is Korean and cooked Korean dishes for us for lunch. Jay and the kids gave us a tour of their home, which is very nice. Jay works with USAID, so the government pays for their housing. It is very similar to a home in the US – two floors, dining room, living room, den, nice kitchen, etc. It was a nice change from the apartment. After lunch, we talked, showed Thailand pictures, played games, ate some snacks, etc. It was a very nice afternoon. I will miss them, even thought they are our newest Kazakhstan friends.






Them in Thailand!

That evening I went to my last Kazakh ballet, Sleeping Beauty, with Dinara and Gulnara (one of Dinara’s friends). After the pleasant performance, we went to Dinara’s for apple cake, karaoke and talking. For some reason, Joey had to “work” and missed the ballet and dessert.

POST OFFICE AND WEEKLY ACTIVITIES
During the week, I have had private students, revised syllabi for a few classes, revised entrance exams, etc. I have also been busy researching our move to Thailand.

This Tuesday we had another frustrating Kazakhstan experience. We wanted to ship our winter clothes back to the US because we wouldn’t need them in Thailand and we didn’t want to pay over weight fees. The airline we are flying on to Thailand ONLY allows 20 kilos per person; the number of bags is irrelevant. In pounds that is about 44 lbs, which is only one of our big suitcases. So we were going to have to pay a lot of over weight fees if we didn’t ship.

We did a post office scouting trip the week before with Nargiz, who speaks Russian. She was very helpful and patient during the whole process, which is definitely appreciated. On our scouting trip, the post office employees told us that it would cost about $4 per kilo. With at least 10 kilos to be shipped each that would be relatively cheap. We were ok with this option. Joey and I dumpster dived the days before shipping to find appropriate boxes. We reinforced, labeled and packed our boxes at home and then caught a taxi to the post office where Nargiz would meet us.

Nargiz came and we got in the packing line. This is where a postal woman goes through your entire package and itemizes everything. We got to the lady and asked her again how much each kilo would be to ship. This time, she said it be about $8 per kilo, plus additional costs for every ½ kilo over 10 kilos. This is in addition to a packaging fee and taxes. This was incredibly surprising and we told her that last week the price was half that.

With this information we decided to try another postal service in Kazakhstan. I stayed with our boxes while Joey and Nargiz went to the other shipping place. They came back about 30 minutes later with bad news – that place was even more expensive! It also was more expensive than what they said last week. Figures!

(Please keep in mind that Kazakhstan postal employees are rude, difficult and short-tempered during this whole process. Talking to them, let alone arguing with them, is painful, difficult and maddening.)

So, we decided to go with the least expensive option, Kazpost, even though we really didn’t want to. Lucky for me, I had to leave right about then to go to work. This is one of the few times I was happy to go to work. J Unfortunately, Joey and Nargiz had to stay and wait in line again.

Joey filled me in later in the afternoon about the process; here is a quick summary. Each of our boxes was about 14 kilos. There were numerous items in each box including gifts, sweaters, pants, coats, shoes, socks, etc. Once Joey and Nargiz got to the packing lady, the lady had to take out every item and weigh it. Nargiz then had to write in Russian the item and how much it weighed. Then the postal lady put the items back in the box. I had things organized in bags – sweater bag, gift bag, etc. Needless to say, the postal lady didn’t put the items back in the way she took them out. She then taped it up and put string around it. While this was going on, Joey and Nargiz copied the itemized, weighed list of things on two other forms. These are declaration forms used by who knows what agency, but I can guess the post office, customs control, and an extra for them to burn for fuel because of how cold it is here.

Once the forms are done and the package is taped, the postal lady has to put it in a bag, similar to a large pillow case. However, my box was so big that she had to sew 6 small bags together to make one. She did this by a machine, but it still took a while. Meanwhile, all the people in line were getting annoyed at how long this box was taking. They asked Joey how he could send so much stuff, etc. Joey eventually went to buy them candy bars to appease their complaints. However, I don’t think the people in line even saw the second box that had to get done after mine.

Once the bag covered the box, the postal lady has to hand-sew the bag closed and seal the bag with red sealing wax, like you see used in old movies. My box was finally packed. For about $11, I was ready to go to the next station - mailing.

However, before they could move on with mine, Joey’s box had to go through the exact same arduous process. Joey’s box got itemized, with each item weighed. Joey and Nargiz also had to copy the items twice on different forms. They had to wait for the lady to sew a new larger bag out of 6 bags for the box and get the red sealing wax put on the bag. Joey also had to pay about $11 for this packaging process. After approximately 2.5 hours, this process was done. Joey and Nargiz could now move on to the mailing station.

They took the packaged boxes to the next station and waited in line for about 30 minutes. Once at the counter, the postal lady said that Kazpost wouldn’t send our boxes. She said they were too big and heavy. Luckily, Nargiz was able to convince the lady to send them. I don’t know what Nargiz said to her, but I hope the lady felt some pity for them because they had gone through the whole packaging process and weren’t told there that the boxes couldn’t be sent. So maybe the mailing lady felt obligated to send them. I think Joey would have had to go to the hospital if the post office didn’t mail those boxes.

The lady asked if they wanted insurance. Joey asked how much it would be and the cost would be twice the price without insurance. By that point, Nargiz and Joey were ready to leave and Joey skipped the insurance. Instead, he just paid for the boxes to be sent to the US and got out (4 hours later). The boxes should be expected by our respective mothers in three to four weeks. Maybe my Dad will have his present by his birthday! But, I wouldn’t bet on it.

As you can tell, the Kazakhstan postal service, Kazpost, is the epitome of efficiency and customer service.

JANUARY 18-20
The following weekend, this past weekend, we went out to a club, Soho, with David and Nargiz to celebrate David’s birthday. The bar was ok, not my favorite, but worth a visit. The company was very pleasant and the bands were above average, by Kazakh standards. So it was a nice evening overall. Saturday was also Joey’s English Club. So we spent Friday night preparing for that and then Saturday preparing and leading it. The school provides no help organizing, so I try to help as much as possible. Sunday we watched a movie, grocery shopped and relaxed.

On Sunday we also booked flights for a trip to Cambodia! I can’t wait! It should be wonderful. We are going to Phnom Penh, the capitol, and Siem Reap, the area with Angkor Wat. Joey’s aunt is going to join us for this trip, which is wonderful. She is a friendly, easy-going person, who will fit in well with Joey’s and my travel style.

WEATHER
The most unique thing here in Kazakhstan is the weather. It is frigid, the coldest I have ever experienced in my entire life. You should know though, that I have purposefully lived below the Mason-Dixon Line my whole life. However, this winter isn’t just cold to me. It is also cold to the Almaty natives; some have told me this is the coldest winter they have had in 12 years. I guess it is fitting that fate puts me here just in time to experience this extreme weather. The high for the past month has not been above 23 F. When the sun isn’t out, it reaches the negatives. COLD!

THIS COMING WEEKEND
This weekend I have KIMEP’s English Club and then Joey, I and a few others will go to Dinara’s for goodbye tea and desserts. That should be a nice evening. Saturday morning we will say goodbye to Meeja and company and then in the evening we have been invited for lasagna at Yelena and Paul’s. Lasagna is difficult to make here, so I look forward to tasting his rendition. All time in between these activities will be spent packing, cleaning, completing resumes, etc. The next few days will be busy!

Thailand Trip Review

Below is a day by day of our trip to Thailand (it is pretty long, so be warned) as well as 30 of my favorite photos. Enjoy!


What a gorgeous country! Thailand’s tourism slogan is “Amazing Thailand,” and the country definitely lived up to it. The people are friendly, the countryside and beaches are phenomenal, the cities are bustling and contain multiple cultures and languages, the weather is unbeatable, and prices are cheap. Sounds like the exact opposite of KZ, right?

Day 1
We started our vacation in Bangkok, the capital of the country. The airport there is a year old, so the facility was clean and efficient. This is in stark contrast to the airport in Almaty. The airport there isn’t dirty, but it definitely isn’t efficient. Our plane was supposed to take off from KZ at 10 am on Dec. 19. Instead, our flight took off at 9 pm. The excuses for the 11 hour delay varied from we don’t have a crew, to the plane hasn’t arrived yet. I might have believed some of this stuff, except that I saw a crew standing right there ready to go with luggage, and I saw the plane we were supposed to fly right out the window. It is amazing what kind of lies KZ people will tell you.

Luckily, Joey and I befriended a family going to Thailand on the same flight. The couple had two kids, Alison who is about 11 and Aaron, who is about 7. Chatting, playing cards and UNO, sharing food, and commiserating together helped passed the time more enjoyably then us just hanging out by ourselves. We exchanged numbers before parting ways, so we might try to see them here in Almaty before too long.

Amin, a friend of mine from TTEMI, graciously put us up for the few nights we were in Bangkok. He didn’t realize we were going to arrive so late and we debated about waiting until later in the morning to wake him. But we needed to get some sleep, so we went to his apartment, arriving around 4:30 am. The flight took about 6 hours and BKK is one hour ahead of KZ. Amin was surprised by the 11 hour delay, but amiably woke up and showed us the ins and outs of the apartment. We all then went to bed.

Day 2
Joey and I woke up the next morning around 8:30 am and started our only full day in BKK. We walked the whole day and saw as much as possible of the city. This includes about 10 different, large wats (these are the temples Buddhists use to meditate and where practitioners give alms. Wats contain at least one Buddha, but usually more, multiple buildings, alms buckets, and bells or gongs. Monks take care of, and live in, these complexes.), the Grand Palace with the Emerald (really jade) Buddha (this palace is no longer used by royalty, so it is open to the public. We had a tour guide here who helpfully explained the history, symbolism, story panels about the White Monkey, and how the place is used today.), some interesting walking streets including Koh Shan Road and Soi Rattachamin (the later is my favorite, the former is Joey’s), the city’s main university, the royal barge museum, some intriguing neighborhoods off the beaten path with wonderful local flavor, numerous people cheaply selling goods like bamboo placemats, Buddha sculptures, different coins, ripped movies, books, and T-shirts, many multi-cultural restaurants, and even more local Thai food eateries. A few pictures of this day are below.

The Thai eating places have an interesting set up. The cooks set up shop on the open sidewalk. Sometimes they have tables and chairs you can use to eat, others have nothing. For a plate of Pad Thai, you can expect to pay all of 50 cents. A bottle of water is 20 cents and a coke is about 50 cents. You can easily eat like a king here for less than two dollars. But be careful when ordering. They like their food hot, so ask for not spicy. Even their not spicy is spicy.

Amin was feeling sick that evening, so he stayed in for dinner. We went to the night bazaar. The night bazaars in Thailand are the street stalls on an expanded scale. Just like the street stalls, everything is sold here. Pashminas, Polo shirts, North Face bags, lamps, candles, soap carved and colored into delicate orchids, shoes, etc. are all sold for a bargain price. But you get a better bargain if you haggle. Generally, we would ask for 50% of what they want and go from there. If we did this, we might not be over paying, but even then who knows. Joey and I like looking at all the things we could buy. It was amazing how much stuff there was. KZ has nothing like that.

After the night bazaar, we headed back to Amin’s neighborhood. We grabbed a bite to eat and then went to meet Amin at his place. He and a friend of his took us to one of the red light districts in BKK that evening. The place we went was Soi Cowboy, which is named such because of the US soldiers during the Vietnam War who were frequent visitors to the street. The area is exactly what you might think – street lined with bars, strip clubs, etc. We went into one place to have the experience. That was enough.

Day 3
The next day we flew to Chiang Mai in the afternoon, so we got up around 7:30 am to get out in the city. We explored some other areas of BKK; we saw more wats, royal buildings, parks, and Chinatown (this is evidently the largest Chinatown outside of China itself). Around 1:30 pm, we headed back to Amin’s to pack and get a cab to the airport that has domestic flights. BKK has two airports. The new one is for international flights, the old one is for domestic flights; so be careful when booking your flights. Late that afternoon we arrived in Chiang Mai. Our flight was surprisingly on-time.

Chiang Mai is the “capital of the North.” In the past, Chiang Mai was the capital of the ruling government in that part of present-day Thailand. Because of this, the city is surrounded by a moat and high, thick, protective, brick walls. Now, most of the walls have deteriorated, but the corners and the gates to the city remain. The moat is now paved and filled with water when needed. Despite these alterations, the city remains an enchanting place.

We had a hotel that night, so we went there to check in and put down our luggage. Almost immediately though we were out the door and walking the streets. The Chiang Mai night bazaar was right out the door and in full swing, so we wandered through the bazaar. This bazaar covers about 4 blocks, if not more, and has all the stuff the other bazaars have, but for better prices. This city is the place to shop when you are buying presents.

While wandering we got a flyer about a Mauy Thai fight, one of the things Joey wanted to see while here. So we asked for directions and tried to find the place. We didn’t have any luck, so we asked an English speaking Chiang Mai native about the place. He told us to get a Tuk Tuk (aka a three-wheeled, open air taxi without a meter). We did and found the place successfully. We arrived a little early, so we walked around the surrounding area until we found somewhere to eat. Local Thai food was the choice, and a good choice at that.

We found our way back to the arena and got our seats. We stayed for about 5 matches, 7 were on the line-up. The first two matches were boys, about 45 kg each. They start their kids fighting at an early age here I guess. The next matches were older boys, about 15 years each I would think. The last few matches were young men.

The rules for where you can hit vary depending on your age. The little boys were not allowed to hit the face, head or groin. These rules became more relaxed as the males got older. In general, the fighters use their knees and try to jab them into their opponent’s ribs. Balance is an essential skill for this movement. Punches are uncommon. And even if a fighter is in the net most of the time, he still might win. It isn’t like American boxing.
Before each match, each fighter performs a ritual to praise the gods and their homeland. The ritual seals out bad spirits and asks for protection, and win, from the good spirits. This ritual takes 5 to 10 minutes and is a way to give thanks and warm up. It is interesting to watch.

The match had many foreigners there, but there were also some Thais. The Thais bet on the matches, so that section was a little more rowdy and exciting. We left a little early and got a Tuk Tuk back to the hotel. We wandered around the night bazaar a bit more and then headed to bed.

Day 4
After talking to a few people at the Muay Thai match, we realized that we were paying too much for our hotel. So we checked out the next morning and searched for another place. We wanted to get a room at a guesthouse called Gap’s House, located on a side street in the main part of the city. The place doesn’t take reservations, so it is first come, first served. Luckily, the place had rooms so we grabbed one. Instead of paying $50/night, we were paying $20, and Gap’s House has a lot more character.

By the time we were settled in there, it was noon. We then decided to explore the city and inquire about renting a car. I wanted to see the nearby National Park, Doi Inthanon. A magazine raved about its waterfalls and hikes. CM is a more intimate BKK. Unlike BKK, we covered most of CM that afternoon. Like in BKK, there were numerous wats, parks, open-air food markets with fresh fruit, veggies, meat, and flowers, and side stalls with goods and fruit shakes. We also rented a car for three days. Joey thinks the car belonged to someone who volunteered to rent out their car for a few days. I am not so sure about this, but it wouldn’t surprise me.

For dinner, we went to an Italian place in the outskirts of town. We crossed the moat and another river farther outside the city. The restaurant was on this last river we crossed. It was pricey for Thailand, but still cheap compared to the US or KZ. I had crab-stuffed ravioli with an alfredo sauce, and Joey had a red sauce on noodles with crab meat. If you can’t tell, we both like seafood, but we don’t get it in KZ often. So in Thailand we tried to get as much of it as possible. For dessert, we had ice cream in various forms. I had a REAL chocolate milkshake and Joey had an ice cream sundae. Everything was delicious.

After our late dinner, we walked back to the main part of town. While walking, we found another large open air market that had more of a local feel, and it was cheaper. We browsed here for a while and then continued on our way home. Joey stopped in at the other night bazaar for a bit more shopping and I went back to our guesthouse.

Day 5
Today we woke up early to explore part of the city before we got our car at 10 am. Nothing unusual was seen, but it was nice to see the city wake up. We had breakfast at our guesthouse and then waited for the car. I went to a travel agency quickly to see if they could help us find a room on Koh Phi Phi, the island that was our next destination. They worked on that while we went to the National Park.

Around 10:30 am our car shows up. After signing the paperwork and making sure we had some sort of insurance, (I’m sure it was useless though) we were off. Joey had the first driving experience. It took a while to get use to driving on the left and driving a car with the wheel on the right. For me, the first few miles were nerve racking to say the least. But he did a fine job. I acted as navigator and together we headed south for about 70 km. It took us a while to get out of the suburbs of CM, but after that the highway was quick. Overall, the drive there took about 1.5 hours. We had a decent map of the northern highways, so that was helpful.

We found the first and most impressive waterfall, Mae Ya, in the Park. It was pretty. See the pictures below. We viewed the waterfall from the traditional viewpoint and then I wanted to cross over the river to get the other side’s view. It took a while to find a good place to cross, but finally we did it. I thought the crossing was worth it. On the way back across the river we decided to find another route across farther down the river. We hiked a bit through the forest on the edge of the water. We found a place that looked shallow and crossed there. Unfortunately, the place was also slippery and who do you think went in the water? Good old me had a fall. Nothing too bad resulted because of the fall, such as broken bones or camera. I just had wet shorts and shirt for a while. I also lost my sunglasses. But Joey got a good laugh out of it, so it was worth it. He said it looked like I suddenly just wanted to sit down. And so I did.

We proceeded to the car to explore the rest of the Park. We stopped at another waterfall and did a short hike and then went to the visitor’s center. The VC wasn’t helpful, so our stop was brief. We tried to find a cave, but that effort was unsuccessful. It was getting to be later in the afternoon so we made our way to the peak. The Park contains the highest peak in Thailand, about 2,500 m. I think Almaty is higher than that.

On the way to the peak, we stopped at the Stuppas that honor the King and Queen of Thailand. They sit on large hills in the mountains and overlook the countryside. I can’t say I was super impressed with them, but that is ok. The view was nice from the hills. After 3 more km we were at the top. The top had a nice view, a neat montane, cloud forest hike, and the top-secret government neutron-monitoring facility. It was an interesting mix of science up there, physics and ecology.

After admiring the highest point and several remembrance sites up there, we headed back down the mountain to another hike I wanted to do. The hike went through the cloud forest, by a waterfall, out onto an alpine grassland, past some large, jagged, limestone rocks, through a red rhododendron forest (only Thailand has red rhododendrons), and then back into the cloud forest. We did this hike late in the afternoon, so it was getting to be sunset. We also did the hike quickly because of the limited light. However, this hike was definitely the highlight of the day. The views were amazing and the forest was a neat place to hike through. It reminded me a lot of Costa Rica. Lots of good photos result from this hike, but all of them are not posted.

That hike was our last jaunt in the National Park. It was dark when we got back, so we headed home. We stopped for dinner outside CM at a street food market. It was one of my favorite dinner places because of the local flare. I was the driver back down the mountain. What an experience, driving on the left with a funny car on curvy mountain roads and in an urban environment.

We got back to the guesthouse around 9 pm and found a place to park. It was incredibly difficult to find a place, and we couldn’t figure out why until we remembered that it was Sunday night. Sunday has a special night bazaar. For this bazaar, the city closes down the main street and 6 or 7 side streets for all the vendors. After parking and putting our stuff down, we headed out to wander the streets. What an experience! We thought the regular night bazaars were fun, but those are nothing compared to the Sunday bazaar. The goods are nicer, but the stuff remains cheap. There are street performers, and everyone is out. For the eighth time this trip, we were flabbergasted with all the activity.

We headed back to our room after a while to get some sleep. We weren’t even able to cover all the streets, and we were walking around for two hours.

Day 6 – Christmas Eve

We woke up early to grab breakfast and stop by the travel agent to see if she found any rooms at Koh Phi Phi before we headed out to the countryside. The travel agent didn’t have any luck with the room, but that was somewhat expected. Based on other people’s reports, we would be able to find something once we got there.

After those details, we headed to the northeast. We wanted to complete a loop in the rural, northern part of Thailand and see Chiang Rai (the second largest city in the north after Chiang Mai) and the Golden Triangle (where Burma, Laos and Thailand meet along the Mekong River). We took the larger looking roads on the map; however, this didn’t mean much. The first road we were on was good for about 60 km and then construction started, so it turned to bumpy pavement and then dirt. After a while it was back to decent asphalt. The driver had to be very attentive to the road at all times. I liked letting someone else drive in front of me. I was gracious enough to let them be the road’s guinea pig.

Our first stop was the small town of Chiang Doa. It is a small, rural town about 70 km north of CM. We walked along the main street and the river a little while, but not much was there. We did see some men making long, bamboo rafts on the river, which was interesting. There was also a pedestrian suspension bridge that crossed the river. We of course had to walk over that. We also went to the caves in that area. They were disappointing, although unique. The cave was in a wat complex and had Buddhas scattered throughout the path inside. To get into the deeper parts of the cave, you had to do a private tour. Based on what we saw, the people on those tours didn’t seem too happy. We skipped out on that.

After Chiang Dao we headed to another small town call Phrao. Good luck pronouncing it. We could never get it right. We arrived right as the large morning market was closing down, so we didn’t see that part of the town. Instead, we headed to the more permanent market and restaurant area. We found lunch there and walked the neighborhoods a bit.

Finding food in the smaller towns is trickier than in the larger cities because fewer people speak English. I usually stuck with the pointing method for what someone else was eating. I wasn’t too picky here. Joey would try to talk to them. Sometimes he was successful, but usually not. He then resorted to Pad Thai. Joey had a lot of Pad Thai this trip.

The smaller cities have a nice feel to them. They don’t have all the cars and tourists running around, which gave us a better idea of what life is like for Thais without the tourism industry. The people remained friendly and helpful, even if they weren’t able to speak English.

After Phrao, we hit the road again. The next stop was Chiang Rai. After about 3 hours in the car, we arrived. But the car ride itself was an adventure. The countryside is gorgeous. Large rice fields cover the plains; I have a few good pics of this. The mountains are sometimes terraced for agriculture, but primarily remain forested. This is much better for the environment and greatly reduces erosion. Rocks jut out of the mountain sides and the views of the countryside below are breath-taking. However, the driver shouldn’t look at those views too much. Those mountain roads are tricky – lots of curves, and ascents and descents.

The mountains also house the Hillside tribes. These tribes are considered the original Thais that have kept the most of their culture. They originate from several areas, including Laos, China, and Burma. One unique tribe in the area is the Long-Necks. In this tribe, the women put metal rings around their necks as they grow older, which gradually elongates their necks. This is a sign of beauty in the tribe I guess. We never saw these people. If you hire a guide, you can go on a trek in the mountains to see these tribes. Joey and I didn’t do this. We heard it was contrived, so we skipped it.

After the drive, our next hurdle was finding a place to stay in Chiang Rai. We didn’t have anything reserved, so we went to a few places recommended from Frommer’s (we picked the book up in CM. KZ didn’t have a copy in English) and other tourists, who we stopped on the street and asked. After a good hour and half of searching, we checked into a suitable guesthouse. Thanks to our search, we saw a good amount of the city and had a general idea of the urban lay out.

After dropping our bags in the hotel, we headed out to explore the city. We went to an Italian place for dinner and then browsed the night bazaar. Chiang Rai has nothing on Chiang Mai. CM is far better. Unlike CM, the people in CR don’t barter. Thus, the prices are much higher.

We found an open air food court and bought fruit shakes for dessert. I noticed one man with an NCSU ball cap on, so I approached him after we finished our shakes. The man was sitting with about 5 other people. They were very amiable and welcomed another North Carolinian to the table. As it turns out, two of the people were from NC. So we chatted with them for a while. One (Bill) claimed to have invented the Carolina Skiff, a very popular boat in NC. He then sold the company and has since traveled the world. The other was a travel agent in Raleigh and dropped names like candy. So I am not sure how genuine their outrageous stories were, but they were nice enough.

After this conversation, we headed to the local Christian church. They had a Christmas Eve party going on with music, free food, and games. We watched the festivities for a while and then headed back to the guesthouse for some sleep.

Day 7 – Christmas
We woke up early to make Christmas calls to family and get money from a bank. Joey’s ATM card didn’t work there, so he had to go to a bank and get money from them. We found an internet café with Skype and proceeded to give our best Christmas wishes to friends and family. It was still Christmas Eve in the US. I caught my family at Gramma’s in Eureka opening presents, so I talked to my parents, brother, Gramma and aunt Sue. I then called my sister Liz, who wasn’t able to make it down because of work, to wish her a give Merry Christmas from the other side of the world.

Joey then made Christmas calls to his family and friends. He also caught them opening presents together at his Granmom’s. So he talked to a slew of people as well.

Santa visited and gave me the fourth season of Scrubs. This is a good thing. We are almost through with the 3rd season.

After the calls and walking around the city a bit more, we check out of our hotel and hit the road. Next stop was the Mekong River and the Golden Triangle. It took about an hour to get to Chiang Sean, a cute small town on the Mekong about 8 km from the Golden Triangle. I almost wished we had stayed there the night before, but CR was worth a stop. At Chiang Sean, we grabbed a snack at the local market – Thai spring rolls and a fruit shake – and took a gander at the mighty Mekong. It was very large, and seemed low. We visited Thailand during the drier part of the year.

We traveled the 8 km to the Golden Triangle and got out for a stroll. There are lots of touristy things – restaurants, temples, stores, and boat rides. We fell for the boat ride. The people we talked to in CR recommended the boat ride. For $12, the boat ride wasn’t bad, but Joey quickly lost interest. I had more patience with it. We took a long-tail boat (a low-in the water, small, skinny boat that is powered by a small motor whose rotor is very long, about 4 feet) on the Mekong which took us to see a casino in Burma up close, and an island supposedly part of Laos. However, the island didn’t require a visa. You pay 75 cents and you are in. Kinda sketchy I guess. The boat driver dropped us off there, where stalls were set up selling goods. The inhabitants of the island are another tribe. Nothing too exciting here, but it was neat to see their animals – monkeys and an Asian bear – and rudimentary homes. After 45 minutes on the Laotian island, we headed back to Thailand.

From there we headed to Mae Sean, a border town with Burma. Here, tourists and foreigners make a border crossing. You can only stay in Thailand for 30 days on a tourist visa, so to extend their stay people will go to Burma for a few days or a few hours. We saw the crossing into Burma, a bridge with immigration control officers, and then toured the market briefly. I bought some dried strawberries (they are good!) and a new pair of sunglasses. We were going to get lunch/dinner, but we didn’t find anything that peaked our interest.

Finding food can be either exciting or a chore. Sometimes you want something quick, easy and familiar, and that can be hard to find in a foreign country. That day was a day when we wanted something quick and easy. We didn’t find it, so we skipped out. However, with me not eating is a bad idea. I get EXTREMELY CRANKY if I don’t eat, so the car ride back for Joey might not have been the most enjoyable.

It was around 3:30 pm at that point and we had a long car ride in front of us. So we hopped in the car, with me as the driver, and we headed back to CM. Like I said before, the mountain roads are a bit challenging and desolate. Very few towns are on these roads. We were about 35 km in on a 70 km road between two towns when I realized that we needed gas very badly. The light was flashing. Joey wanted to get gas on the road, so I didn’t get it in Mae Sean. I was kicking myself for listening to him. I continued to drive on the road, irritated. I was going to be furious if we ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere in Thailand. Not only did I want to get gas before we left, but I was pretty hungry. Joey really wasn’t going to like me. Lucky for him (and for me I guess), we came upon a small mom and pop gas station where we got a few liters of gas. A little while later, we reached a decent sized town and filled up there. Joey was saved from a really angry Amanda.

I finished up the drive, and we arrived in CM about 6 hours later. For the last hour and half we listened to an awful Christmas radio show in English. The host would take Christmas song requests, but often wouldn’t have the first or second song requested. She might have the third requested song. However, you still might not get what you requested. Often the completely wrong song would be played. Joey called in one time, and it took us three times to find a song she had. However, she later found our second request and played that. But the version of the song was horrendous, so we didn’t win on that one.

That night we got a late bite to eat and had a drink at a bar with some local Americans hanging out. It was a nice change to see people hanging out and having fun. We don’t see that too often in KZ.

Day 7
This was our last full day in CM. We still had the car until 10 am that morning, so we woke up early to go to the biggest forest temple in the area – Doi Suthrep. It was less than inspiring, but we can say we did it. It is on the top of the highest hill close to CM. Evidently, the king of CM at the time wanted to build a temple but he didn’t know where. To determine the location, he put a Buddha on one of his white elephants and let the elephant roam the country. The elephant wandered around for a few days and finally came to this spot on the top of the mountain. There the elephant did three counter-clockwise turns and blew his trunk. That was the sign, and the king built the temple there. The temple has 300 steps to climb to get to the top. I liked the bells here the most. They also had a pretty orchid display.

Like I said, neither Joey nor I were impressed with the temple, so it didn’t take us long to see it. We has some extra time on our hands so we decided to stop at a waterfall we saw on our way up. The waterfall made the trip worthwhile. It was gorgeous in the early morning. By that time, it was around 9 am so we headed back to the guesthouse to return the car and get breakfast.

The one thing left that I kinda wanted to do in CM was a cooking class. Joey wanted to go rafting. The cooking class was easier to arrange on such late notice, so we did that. We reserved spots in a class that afternoon. The class taught us how to make 5 Thai dishes and we were able to have a big column of fire come out of our stir fry pans. Joey has a neat video of this on his site, I think. So that was neat. We also got to eat all of our dishes for dinner.

Before the cooking class, we had Mexican for lunch (something you don’t get in KZ) and walked parts of the city we hadn’t explored yet. I also read my book a little.

That evening, after the cooking class and fire show, we went to the CM night bazaar to do some gift shopping. It was a lucrative trip to the bazaar.

Day 8
We had an early flight out of CM, so we were up before light and heading to the airport. Our flight schedule had us stop in BKK for a few hours and then head down to the beaches. We also had to switch airports during our lay over in BKK, from the domestic airport to the international airport. Poor planning on our part, but it worked out.

The most frustrating thing in BKK that day was the fact that we kept seeing these stores and food places to eat at the international airport but we couldn’t figure out how to get to the area. We asked about 15 different staff members and no one could tell us how to get there. We finally gave up, but it was incredibly irritating. Only later, on our flight leaving BKK for KZ, did we realize that to get to that “forbidden” area you had to go into a certain set of departure gates – gates we didn’t have access to.

We arrived in Karbi (the beaches) after our flight. The flight was late, so we missed our bus to Koh Sok, which is the National Park I wanted to visit. So we had to come up with another plan. We hastily decided to get on a bus and go to Railay Beach. To get there we had to go to Ao Nang Beach by bus and then by boat to Railay. So we went to Ao Nang Beach and got some dinner; then we caught a boat.

Railay would have been a fine place to go, but unfortunately, we didn’t get off the long-tail boat at the right place. We got off a bit too early, at Ton Sai Beach. Railay is more of a resort type beach. Ton Sai is more of a backpacker beach. Not the same thing, by any stretch of the imagination. However, we realized our mistake too late. It was getting dark and we needed somewhere to sleep. We got a cheap (about $10/night) bungalow with a fan and outside bathroom for the night on Ton Sai. We were able to walk the beach at low tide to reach Railay. So we did that in the evening. We were unhappy about our mistake.

However, Joey became even unhappier about our mistake when he got sick. Food poisoning hit him. He was up during various parts of the night trying to clean his system of the bad food. We think it was the undercooked bacon he ate on the pizza. I don’t like bacon, so I didn’t have it. I was saved this time.

Day 9
The next morning, Joey was not feeling well, so I went to explore Railay Beach. The tides worked out for me on the trip over, but didn’t work out for me on the way back. I got my shoes wet. Oh well. Railay Beach is small. I saw a cave there, but wasn’t able to do the hike that went to another beach and cave. I didn’t have enough time. Instead of that hike, I headed back to check on Joey.

He was feeling a little better, but still not great. He wanted to leave the island, and I wasn’t going to say no. So we packed up and headed off to catch a boat from Railay to Koh Phi Phi, our next stop. I had the spectacular idea (lots of sarcasm here) of hiking to Railay from Ton Sai with our bags. On the map, the hike looked pretty short. I don’t think I was wrong about the distance, but I was wrong about the elevation changes. I thought it would be pretty flat. I was VERY wrong. It was hilly and mosquito infested.

Despite this, the hike might have been passably ok if Joey was feeling well. But it was really not a good idea since Joey wasn’t feeling well. He was cursing the situation the whole time. Unlike me, he didn’t have a backpack to carry his stuff around in. He just had a duffle bag. That isn’t good for hiking up mountains. And like I said, he was sick. So this was a bad call on my part. Probably the worst decision I made that trip. I felt very badly about this, but I didn’t know it was going to be so hilly.

However, he survived even though he thought he was going to die at one point. We finally reached the boat launch. I made him drop his bags and look at the cave quickly before the boat ride. I think he threw up in that cave.

After the hike and cave adventure, I bought us boat tickets to Koh Phi Phi. We had to take a long-tail boat from Railay to the main land, a bus from that spot to the pier in Karbi, and then a larger boat from Karbi to Ko Phi Phi. On this trip, we were with an unusual English guy. He was nice enough, but very party-party. He assured us that we would find a place to stay once we reached Ko Phi Phi. So that was nice. Joey was feeling a little better after the first boat ride, so I went and grabbed some lunch and a drink for him. After the bus ride, Joey had a few hours to lie down at the pier. So that was good. The boat arrived a few hours late and finally we boarded. We sat outside on the back. Joey was able to lie down, so that was also helpful. It was a pleasant boat ride that took about 1.5 hours.

The islands we passed were gorgeous, like the rest of the beach area. Large limestone cliffs towered over the land or abutted the sea. The sea was a clear turquoise blue. Big Almaty Lake has nothing against the Andaman Sea of Thailand. The forest on the islands, or main land, was usually thick with lots of vines and typical rainforest trees. It was a striking jungle.

We arrived at Ko Phi Phi around 5 pm and again had to find housing quickly before it got dark. Luckily, lots of Thais are there bugging you about a place to stay. We let one guy direct us to an accommodations-finding place, and he located a bungalow for us for about $40/night. Considering this was the highest of peak season there, this wasn’t so bad. So we took it sight unseen. It was a bit of a gamble, and we might have paid too much, but Joey was feeling bad and I wasn’t up for dragging him all over the island so we could find a cheaper place to stay. We took the bungalow.

The bungalow was really fine. It was clean, had a nice bathroom (no hot water though), a fan, a good amount of room inside, and a nice sitting porch. It was also off the main drag, so it was quiet. Joey went to bed almost immediately and I went out to explore the island. I checked email, walked around, and found some dinner for Joey and me. Joey had a potato pancake, while I ate curry. Sleep quickly followed dinner.

Prices are highest at the beaches. I suspect this is because they are so isolated and everything has to come over by boat. Also, it could be because it was peak season and prices go up then. The locals aren’t dumb. Prices are next highest in Bangkok. Then comes CM, which is pretty cheap, and then the rural towns. The prices there are the cheapest.

Day 10
Joey was feeling better on day 2 of his sickness, but still not 100 percent. So I went for a morning hike to the top of the mountain along a newly created road. I wound up at the top in a recently built housing complex. It looked like it was going to be a tourist housing area with beach house style accommodations. It looked nice with fresh coats of paint. Thais were building a large retention pond/lake at the bottom of the area. The area sloped down, following the contours of the mountain, which allowed for another fantastic view of the island and ocean.

After that morning hike, I went back to the bungalow and picked up Joey. We got some breakfast and walked around the island, exploring the different beaches and shops. We trekked up to the viewpoints of the island. They were worth the effort, although the hikes took a good bit of energy from Joey. I went a little farther to the sunset/sunrise point and was rewarded for the effort. The views were spectacular. After the hikes, we headed back to the bungalow to relax a bit.

I headed out to find lunch and go to the beach after reading a bit inside. For lunch, I made a big mistake. This actually might have been a bigger mistake than that hike with Joey. I was debating on a fruit shake or curry. I got curry. I should have gotten the fruit shake. I got the curry to go and I headed to the beach. I ate it there, and then Joey came up to me feeling totally back to normal. We swam in the ocean and then decided to hike to another beach, Long Beach.

The beach was worth the hike, and the hike was enjoyable. The walk was along the sea, over a few rocks and through the jungle. The beach itself was clean, white and relaxing. The water was wonderful. We went for a quick swim, dried-off, people watched and then enjoyed the sunset. We headed back shortly after. It was on the hike back that I started to feel bad. The curry wasn’t sitting too well with me. It looked like food poisoning wasn’t through with us. It hit me this time. I threw up on the hike back home and spent the rest of the night trying to get the food out of my system.

Joey went out to explore the island that night, so that was good. We just switched roles.

Day 11
I stayed in bed most of the day. I got out of the bungalow for a fruit drink at a book store during the afternoon and to check email in the evening. That was it. Joey got out a bit more that day.

While paradise is a nice place for fun, it isn’t the best place for being sick. I felt horrible for wasting the whole day inside. But I couldn’t really help it.

Day 12 - Last day of 2007
I still wasn’t feeling 100 percent, but I was feeling better. It was our last day on Ko Phi Phi, so we decided to get some breakfast and book a sunset boat tour for the afternoon.

Ko Phi Phi is really several islands. The main island, Ko Phi Phi Don, is shaped like a dumbbell. The really skinny area is beach, shops and boats. The tsunami ripped this area apart, but it is mostly rebuilt now. TTEMI actually helped build the escape paths for the island for when the next tsunami hits. Amin helped with this project.

Construction continues all over the island. The larger areas are mountains with jungles that extend to the beach. One side of the dumbbell isn’t heavily inhabited. The other side had Joey and my bungalow. That side also had the new tourist resort that I found on my morning hike.

Ko Phi Phi Lei is the smaller island and is uninhabited. It is a National Park and where the film The Beach was made. Ko Phi Phi Lei is even more stunning than Ko Phi Phi Don. It has more secluded lagoons and beaches and neat cliffs and caves that abut the sea. The water is clearer and the fish, when snorkeling, are more abundant.

Other smaller islands also make up this chain, but we did not get a chance to visit them. These islands are even smaller and more secluded. If I had not gotten sick, we would have rented kayaks and explored those islands and other beaches on Ko Phi Phi Don. It is really too bad I got sick.

The rest of the morning, I slept in hopes that I would feel great for the boat trip. I did feel good for almost the entire trip. We saw monkeys on Monkey Beach and snorkeled for about an hour in a lagoon on Ko Phi Phi Lei. The fish were stunning. Some highlights were parrot fish, clown fish, a needle shaped fish about 3 feet long, and a pair of 5 inch long needle shaped fish that swam perpendicular to the ground’s surface. The coral reef was interesting, with my favorite ground-dwelling creature being a clam whose insides were turquoise and hot pink. This was the first time that Joey had ever snorkeled. I didn’t realize this until afterwards. I would have pushed him harder to go snorkeling while I was sick that full day. But he had a great time I think and did very well.

We saw a large cave on the side of one of the cliffs by the sea. This cave is where natives live and collect a special species of sparrow’s nest. The nest is made from the sparrow’s spit and varies in color – pink, yellow, and black. One color is coveted more than the other, but I forget which it is. The Thais sell the nests to the Chinese who use it in medicines. The nests are VERY expensive, at least $1,000/nest; the nests aren’t large.

The last boat stop was another lagoon. The deal here was you jump in, swim to the cliff’s side and then go through a small opening in the cliff. Once you are through, you hike a short distance across the island to the beach where The Beach was filmed, Maya Bay. It was kind of a neat way to get to Maya Bay. To get through the cliff, it was best to swim, not stand and walk like some tried to do. The rocks were sharp and the waves weren’t kind to people standing. If you swam, you could grab onto a rope and guide yourself along. After getting through the cliff, we walked on sharp rocks to get to the beach. Not too pleasant, but it wasn’t too far. Once at the beach, you hiked through the jungle a bit and passed the ranger’s station (remember this is a National Park). After the ranger’s station, you reached the beach. Again, it was beautiful. The beach was enclosed by tall, sheer, white cliffs. On top of the cliffs was a jungle. Two other small beaches existed among the cliffs, but those were the only things that disturbed the cliff walls. The water was clear, warm, and blue. There were a good number of people there, but that didn’t really matter. It was an impressive area nonetheless.

The beaches have certain areas marked for swimming, so boats don’t hurt people. Joey and I swam to the end of this marked off area and then walked the beach. It was then time to get back on the boat, so we grabbed a sea kayak and paddled back to the tour boat. It was a great little adventure.

Once back on the boat, we were ready for some food. The crew provided us with stir fried rice with veggies. It was a welcome snack after the swimming and kayaking of the afternoon. During dinner, we saw the sun setting. It was a bit cloudy before, so we were worried about getting a good view. But our view turned out to be more than acceptable. It was a nice close to the trip.

One other thing that Ko Phi Phi is known for is diving. This might have been something I would have done, had it not been for getting sick. But, lots of diving places are on the island for anyone who is interested.

That night was New Year’s Eve. We showered and went out to find dinner. Most places were booked, but a few would take people later in the evening. We weren’t starving, so we went back to the bungalow, packed (we left the next day), rested a bit and then went out for dinner. We ate at a Swedish place, which was decent, but not great. It was Swedish food. After dinner, we walked over to the beach with the bars, and people watched.

The drink of the night was a mixed drink in a beach pail. You buy it on the side of the street and it usually consists of a bottle of alcohol (whiskey, vodka, rum, etc.), a mixer (like Coke), Red Bull and maybe something else. You pour it all together and there you go, your own hang over for the next day. I stayed away from these. Joey got one to give it whirl. He got about ¼ of the way through.

The most interesting thing of the night was these lanterns that people would light and then release into the air. They were mini-hot air balloons with a candle in them. It was a cloth bag that had a metal rim on the open bottom and an oil pot in the middle, held up by that metal rim. The oil pot was lit, while the cloth bag was held out of the way of the flame. The heat would be captured in the bag and eventually fill the bag, causing the bag to lift out of the holder’s hands. It would then float away into the night. They were brilliant, although I thought they had to be horrible for the environment. (The sea, while gorgeous, had a good amount of trash in it.)

Fireworks ended the night. There were lots of these. After the fireworks, I was beat and headed home. Joey walked me home and then stayed up a bit more enjoying the evening.

Overall, the day was a nice way to end 2007 and bring in 2008.

Day 13 – First day of 2008
We left the island that day at 9 am. We caught our boat and then paid an outrageous sum for a taxi ride to the airport. We didn’t have much choice in this unfortunately, because we were running short on time. We then boarded our plane back to BKK.

We arrived in BKK around 3:30 pm, and went to Amin’s. We again were staying with Amin. After walking around Amin’s neighborhood a bit, we met up with Amin for dinner at a fancy food court. This was easier than a restaurant because of differing food restrictions. After the food court, we met Amin’s girlfriend and went to another red light district area. This time the attraction was guys who had had sex changes. Interesting.

After that adventure, Amin headed home to get some sleep and Joey and I headed to the near by shopping stalls to buy gifts. We walked around, browsed and bought a few things. Soon we headed back to Amin’s, via the Skytrain (BKK’s subway), to get some sleep.

Day 14 – Our last day
Our last day was spent buying last minute gifts on our favorite streets in BKK – Koh Shan Road and Soi Rattachamin. Things are cheap and good quality along these streets. After shopping, we walked around BKK one last time. The King’s sister was coming to the Grand Palace, so people lined the streets hoping to catch a glimpse of her. We tried to get out of that area as quickly as possible.

We then took a taxi back to Amin’s neighborhood and walked that area one last time. Joey finally got his fast food – McDonald’s. He talked about fast food the whole trip but never got any. He would complain when he didn’t have any, even though a day ago he had the opportunity to get some. So I’m glad he finally got some fast food. He also did some last minute shopping.

I headed back to Amin’s to start packing and buy a few travel snacks. Joey arrived shortly after and soon we were ready to go to the airport. This was around 3:30 pm, so we had a nice day in BKK before the flight.

The flight was only delayed an hour this time, so that was good. We got into KZ around 3:30 am. It was 10 F when we arrived in KZ. It was a pleasant 80 F in BKK. Quite a temperature difference don’t you think? We expected one of us to get sick because of the temperature difference. And one of us did – me.

Day 15 through 17 – Recovery days in Almaty
I taught in the afternoon on the day we got back, but luckily that gave me all morning to sleep. We did laundry that afternoon and the following few days. We also enjoyed cooking our own food. Despite the fact that is can be a hassle sometimes, I still like being able to make my own food. I also checked email a bit and called home.

The next few days were holidays in KZ, so we had a few days to readjust to KZ. That was nice. Most of the days were spent doing laundry, checking email, calling family, reading and for me, recovering from being sick. It is still cold here.



So that is it. If you made it all the way to the end, I am impressed. If you still want more details, check out Joey’s blog. He has a different spin on the trip. He also has some wonderful movies. I won't tell you how many hours he spent fiddling with them, but you should definitely check them out.

Happy New Year everyone!