February 16 through 23, 2008

February 16 through 23, 2008

Explanation of pics is below...

Huay Kaew Waterfall






The temple with white memorials to Thai royalty








Doi Suthep field trip






These last three are actually from my birthday/Valentine's Day.





This past Saturday I taught one young student in the morning and then I chaperoned a field trip in the afternoon. The field trip was actually very nice, although young kids, young being below 8 years old, wear me out! Three teachers and nine students went on this trip to have a picnic at a waterfall, Huay Kaew Waterfall, and visit Doi Suthep, a Buddhist temple on the top of the nearest mountain to Chiang Mai. The waterfall was free and much more open to the public than the one Joey and I ventured to the weekend before. So it is a popular spot on a nice weekend around lunchtime. The school packed us lunches, ham and cheese croissant sandwiches (the French had some influence here), strawberries, tuna fish sandwiches, and some chips. The kids also brought food; one student’s family has a bakery so he brought some delicious cake.

But before, during and after lunch the students all had to play in the water. At least four students got wet, with several slipping into the water “accidentally” more than a few times. However, the students were all boys, so this wasn’t unexpected.

After playing in the water and eating, we packed up to continue up the mountain to Doi Suthep. Most of the students on the field trip were Korean, and they had never been to the temple. Korean students come to Thailand during their school breaks to learn English because English lessons are cheaper in Thailand than in Korea. So the temple was an eye opening experience for most of the students. And the 300 step up to the top wore them out briefly, which was nice. After the steps, the students were rewarded with ice cream bought up top. The people here love ice cream!

On Sunday, Joey and I had a bagel at a new breakfast spot. Mine was spinach with cream cheese. I haven’t had a bagel since the States, so it was a nice change from yogurt, cereal and fruit. After breakfast, we headed to two new temples outside the walled city. One temple had stark white memorials to past kings and queens of Thailand. The other temple was in the middle of a wooded area. The temple complex also had a few reservoirs on its borders. Both of these created several nice walks. The alters for the temple were underground, so we went through the tunnels to see the alters. This is atypical. The Thais are short, small people, so Joey and I had to be very careful about our heads. It was very easy to bump your noggin.

On our way from the wooded wat back to the main street we went by a few restaurants we would like to try at some point. One of them is a Mediterranean restaurant on a small soi. Once on the main road we headed to the city’s main university to cut through to another street. The campus is rather large, about the size of an average college campus in the States, and has some very nice looking academic and sports facilities. One of the unique things about the campus is its clock tower, which is located in the middle of a rotund.

Once on the other main road, we headed up the mountain to Huay Kaew waterfall. I went to this waterfall the day before, but I didn’t really get a chance to see it and Joey did not visit it at all. It was much more enjoyable to just be there with Joey instead of 11 other people. We scrambled up the waterfall with some cut fruit we bought from a vendor and enjoyed our snack while watching the water run over the cliffs above us. I had pineapple and Joey had watermelon. In the States I won’t eat pineapple, but I love the fresh pineapple here. I am not sure why, but the pineapple here just tastes better. I still won’t touch watermelon.

For a late lunch, we tried a new, wonderful place called Smoothie Blues just outside the walled city. There we had two different Mexican dishes (mine was a spinach enchilada that was great), a blue cheese green salad, a mixed fruit shake, and an ice cream milkshake. I think the meal was about $15 and it was delicious after a day of biking around the city.

In the evening, we ate our way through the Sunday Night Market and browsed through all the goods lining the streets. One of the more unique things we tried was a waffle in the shape of a fish, and the fish was stuffed with a chocolate mixture. It was delicious.

This week was full of work and preparations for our trip to Cambodia. I bought malaria pills, mosquito repellant and travel snacks. We even made brownies for the road. We leave on Monday for Cambodia, but first we travel to Bangkok to pick up Joey’s aunt, Gail. We fly down tomorrow to Bangkok.

February 14, 2008

Birthday and Valentine's Day Activities

For my birthday, Joey had a few things planned throughout the day. He made me breakfast and had a few treats waiting for me for lunch. He bought strawberries from a market and then melted chocolate to dip them in. Based on my nose, the first attempt to melt chocolate over the stove didn't go so well. The gas stove we use doesn't have “low” heat. The second attempt using the microwave was better. In addition to strawberries he had a lemon shake waiting for me, which was delicious.

As for presents, I got a lot of great things. The biggest gift however didn't work. Joey got me a larger memory card for my digital camera, but my camera is so old that it won't accept a memory card larger than what I already have. Unfortunately, the store he bought it from won't take it back. But I think he can get most of his money back by selling it online through eBay. Let's hope so! In addition to the memory card, I got The Economist, some oatmeal cookie mix to mix with my chocolate chips, candy, cookies, and the book Emma. Now, I have many good things to read and eat!

In addition to Joey's presents, school had some pizza for me and everyone wished me a good day. The people staying in our guesthouse for a long time and our landlady also wished me happy birthday. Our landlady even gave me a small cake. It was quite delicious. Speaking of our landlady, she has been wonderful. If we need anything for the kitchen, she will either bring down her own utensils or buy them for us. She also bought a small electric oven for me to use instead of the large gas oven, which is very nice. Needless to say, she has been very accommodating.

For dinner, Joey took me up to a restaurant in the nearby National Park. The restaurant didn't have the best food, but the scenery and view were amazing. The restaurant itself was mostly outside. It was similar to a tree house with trees and branches coming through the porch floor. Orchids adorned the trees trunks and candles were scattered throughout the restaurant. There was a waterfall right beside the restaurant and below the restaurant was a large reservoir. The best part though was the view. The lake created a clearing allowing clients to have a spectacular view of Chiang Mai. The lights of the city from the forested restaurant area were stunning.

To get to the restaurant, we went by the zoo and up into the mountains. I felt like I was being taken into the middle of nowhere. But that was not the case; we arrived to a very enjoyable place. To get down from this isolated place, we asked some restaurant patrons leaving to give us a lift. They were obliging and let us ride in the back of their truck. They dropped us off at the outskirts of town and then caught a bus to the middle of town where our bikes were waiting for us.

Joey had one more present for me that night. It was a flying lantern like we saw in Koh Phi Phi. But he personalized mine with writing and pictures. These lanterns are similar to a miniature hot air balloon. There is a wooden ring with rice paper connected to it that forms a large cylinder with the bottom open. The open bottom has an X going across it made of wire that is connected to the wooden hoop. You attach a large round fuel source to the metal X by more thin pieces wire. You then light the fuel source and let the balloon fill up with hot air. Eventually, the balloon floats away into the sky. These lanterns are gorgeous as they fly away. The fire doesn't destroy the balloon and goes out on its own. If someone finds the lantern, they can reuse it by buying more fuel.

February 8, 2008

Manathanon Waterfall

This past weekend, Joey and I went to a waterfall that we visited last December. Then, we only looked at the easy to access waterfall because of time limitations. But this time, we went on a hike to the other "levels" of the waterfall. These levels are other little falls of the same river. It is an interesting concept for a hike, but unfortunately none of the waterfalls were extremely large. They were nice and quaint though and the jungle entangling the areas around the water created a nice rainforest scene.

Like most of my ideas, nothing works out exactly as planned. We decided to ride our bikes to the zoo, where lots of buses wait to take tourists up the Doi Suthep, the Wat at the top of the mountain. But we didn't want to go all the way to Doi Suthep; we just wanted to go about ¾ of the way up to the National Park. So we negotiated a cheaper price and waited for the bus, aka song-tow, to have enough people to leave. Song-tows usually like to have at least 6 people before they make a trip.

The driver dropped us off at the selected site and we approached the National Park office to find out the cost of entry. For $12 we could go in through the road; locals had to pay half of that. We decided to skip the road and blaze a trail through the woods behind the office to avoid the fee.
This went surprisingly well and we found the main road again without a problem. We then followed that road for about three kilometers to reach the waterfall that we saw in December.

We hung out there for a little bit and then started on the hike to the other waterfall levels. We got to the second level without any problems, but from there we lost the trail for a little while. We tried one option, but that didn't go very far. It ran straight up a large rock that seemed very dangerous to climb. So we went retraced our steps and looked for another trail. On the other side of the river, we saw another trail going up the mountain. We took that one next.

This one was more successful. We were able to get to level 5 or 6. But we again lost the trail and this time we were unable to find it. The levels we did see were enjoyable, and it is too bad that the trail disappeared on us. But by this time we were ready to head home, so we were ok with losing the trail.

We walked the three kilometers back to the highway, and took another shortcut to circumvent the Park gatehouse. This shortcut was more painful than the first. I had lots of needles in my skin after this one. Once on the highway, we tried to get a song-tow, but that didn't work. Instead a car driven by French people picked us up and took us down the mountain to the zoo.
It was very nice of them. I tried my limited French, but was pretty unsuccessful. I was able to show one of the passengers my photos, so she understood where we had been.

From the zoo we biked back to the guesthouse and took showers. I had to get all those needles off of me! The waterfall excursion was a nice afternoon, but not exactly what I expected.

Guesthouse
I told you last time that we rented a room in a guesthouse. We are still doing that, but the first room we had was temporary. Another person was in "our" room, so we were waiting for them to leave. In the meantime, we got a nice large room to stay in.

This week we moved into our new room. It is considerably smaller than our original room, so we are have to readjust to the smaller size. Too bad we didn't move from small to large! That would have been much easier. However, we have managed to rearrange furniture and put suitcases on top of and inside one another, so we have enough room.

We continue to cook. Last night was breaded chicken and veggies; the nights before were Mexican. So, we have been able to maintain a relatively varied menu, which is nice. I like Thai food, but I couldn’t stand it 3 times a day, 7 days a week.

Flower Festival, 2/1-2/3

The Flower Festival, 2/1-2/3























Last weekend was a big weekend here in Chiang Mai. It was the flower festival. There was a parade with flotillas where every inch was covered by natural materials, from flowers to rice. Flowers dominated the foliage for the flotillas, but the varieties of flowers used were enormous. I saw orange, yellow, purple, and red mums, purple, white, yellow and green orchids, white, purple, and yellow irises, red and white roses, a green inflated ball with spikes on the outside, and other assorted greenery. The shapes the Thais covered and formed with these flowers were breathtaking. Shapes of Thai women and men were decorated; temples were created; and of course there were more than a few statues of Buddha. On each flotilla during the parade rode a contestant for the Flower Festival Queen. These women were dressed in bright colored, long skirts and patterned tops. The Thais are conservative when dressing, so little to no shoulders or leg was shown.

I didn't actually see the whole parade, but I did catch a glimpse. The destination of the parade was the city park and all of the flotillas parked on the street outside the park. The city closed off about a block of streets for this event. On one side of the street were countless vendors selling all the Thai foods – fried spring rolls, fruit shakes, grilled squid and chicken, noodle dishes, teas, a refried bean stuffed roll, Thai-style doughnuts, grilled worms and other insects, various nuts and fruits, and loads of other things. It was a good place to pick up lunch or dinner, which we did.

On the other side of the street were flowers. The first half was devoted to flower/ plant vendors. They sold orchids for $5, when you would buy the same orchid in the States for $20 or $30. They also had many other plants and flowers to buy. For the second half, they had orchids that had entered a contest for the most beautiful. All these orchids were hanging under a canopy that was roped off, so viewers couldn't go under or close to them. Viewers could walk beside the roped off flowers though. The collection was amazing and was a popular place for photos. In addition, the festival organizers had a few scenes with flowers where people could sit down among the orchids and have their picture taken. Joey and I did this.

In the evening, there was a series of bands, dancers and singers performing. Joey and I stayed for a few of these routines. Most performances were done in the traditional Thai style, so I enjoyed seeing the colorful dresses and headdresses. In general the Thai style of dancing is slow and subtle. So they weren't exactly action packed performances, but they were interesting nonetheless. Most performers were in grade school, so lots of parents and families were in the crowd.

I will post photos after I have found my camera cable. Sorry!

Thailand - First week, Feb. 2008

Joey and I have been here for about a week and we have done a lot of things within that time. We have found a place to live, a long-stay guesthouse inside the moat of Chiang Mai. I have a full-time job teaching English; Joey has a part-time job. We bought bikes for transportation. We opted for the pedal type even though motor bikes are very poplar here. Part of the reason why we have pedal bikes is because of my brief, yet memorable, experience with a motor bike this week. The explanation for this is further down.

The Guest House
The apartment/guesthouse search took about a week. That was plenty long for me; however, Joey would have kept at it for a while longer I think. Part of the reason why I wanted to go ahead and get a place is because we will only be here 2.5 months and I wanted to get our living place settled quickly. I will have plenty of apartment searching adventures when I get back to the States.

When searching for a place, we had a few requirements. Some of those requirements were odd by Thai standards. The first requirement was a clean, safe area and room. The second thing was a fan; we hear it gets pretty hot here in March and April. The third thing was a kitchen, or at least a fridge with the possibility of adding a hot plate. This last necessity is unusual here. Very few apartment rooms, which foreigners can rent, have kitchens. If they do have kitchens, they are double, if not triple, the price of a non-kitchen containing unit. The reason for the no kitchen units is because the Thai food on the street is very cheap. I like Thai food, but I didn’t want it every day two or three times a day. That would be overkill.

We looked at both apartments and houses. There are several ways to look for a place to live – real estate agents (not too helpful based on feedback from locals), ads (a good method, but often you are too late), word of mouth (difficult if you don’t know too many people), and driving around the neighborhood that you want to live in and looking for signs that say “For Sale/Rent.” We tried all four options, but none found us the right place. We walked/drove in a tuk tuk around the areas we wanted to live in and found nothing quite right. The best place for us we discovered a day after arrival; it was actually a few meters from our initial room. That made the move nice.

Our final decision is a place called J’s Guesthouse. So far, it has been a great place to live. We have a good size room with a fridge and free internet. We pay for the room and electricity, but have no garbage or water fees. The electric fees are more than other places and I suspect this recoups the owner for no water fees. Downstairs has a decently stocked kitchen with a gas oven and stove. We have cooked the past few nights and most things seem to work. The internet is good, although I have to update and scan my computer an excessive amount because of how long I have been offline.

The Job
My job is nothing special, but it helps pay the bills. I work at a language school right outside the city. It is about a 20 minute bike ride away; so it isn’t bad. It is good exercise and the weather is nice. I can’t complain, expect perhaps for all the crazy Asian drivers on the road. And even that I am getting use to.

The (Motor) Bike
Originally Joey and I were going to rent motorbikes for our time here. We spent a day or so looking around the city and pricing our options. We found a place to rent them for about $800/month, which was a good deal. We paid for a month’s rental and a safety deposit, and were off to try out our bikes. As soon as I got on, I had a queasy, unnerving feeling. I knew I definitely needed to practice. I tried going up and down the straight street; that worked pretty well. The road wasn’t too busy, so I was ok. The problem occurred when I tried to turn. I managed to scrape the whole side of a car. I guess I didn’t feel comfortable turning the bike sharply yet. I didn’t even notice the scratch; I was too worried about the bike and surviving. Joey told me about the scratches later. I headed back to the place of rental to pick up Joey and leave my accident.

With Joey on his bike and also feeling a bit unnerved, we headed out on a trail run. We wanted a place without people and cars, but that is impossible here. So we tried a straight away with relatively few people and cars. We knew then and there that we wanted to get off of those bikes and get our money back. Or at least I knew that. I did not want to spend anymore time on that bike than necessary. So we took the shortest route possible to the place of rental. We were almost there. I was SO close. I just needed to made one right (the rights here are like a left in the US – they drive on the other side of the street here) turn to get back to the place.

But I couldn’t make that turn sharp enough. Instead of making it on to the correct side of the road, I went a little too far and managed to run into a line of parked motorbikes. I hit one and then four others went down like dominos. The bikes’ owners came running over, talking, examining the damage, etc. I was just trying to stop the bike from doing anymore damage. Eventually I turned it off. I was stunned by the experience. Joey and the bike rental shop owner came over and helped appease the worried owners. I just wanted to leave the scene of the accident and sit down.

The bike shop owner was very nice about helping assuage the concerns of owners’ with now-damaged bikes. He said he would fix them all in his shop. Joey took me to the bike rental place and found a place for me to sit down. I was shaking and hardly able to talk. I was scared out of my mind. It was hard for me to imagine all the damage I did, and I only had the motorbike for about 20 minutes. Luckily, I wasn’t incredibly hurt. The biggest things were large, deep bruises up and down my legs. So, I got off rather cheaply considering the accident.

The bikes didn’t get off so cheaply. Three bikes had knocked off mirrors, another bike had a dented exhaust pipe and my bike was all messed up. However, with about $125 all those problems could be fixed. I gladly paid the money and got out of there. The bike rental owner was kind enough to give us back all our money, except for the repair costs. Now, I try to avoid that street and in particular that area of the street. I guess I am a little embarrassed. J

I told me dad about my inability to turn the motorbike. He said, “Amanda, why couldn’t you turn it?” I told him I didn’t know, but I felt like I was going to fall over all the time. I guess a father should teach his daughter how to ride a motorbike, even if it isn’t the most practical or safe thing to do in the States.

In Thailand, the motorbike is the choice mode of transportation. I think they start driving them at the age of 5. By the age of 20 they can switch motorbike gears with their feet, talk on the phone, and hold a drink all at the same time while driving.

The (Pedal) Bike - My Bike
Needless to say, after that experience there was no way I was going to drive a motorbike here. It was decided – a pedal bike would be just fine. So, we priced those out the following day. I couldn’t do it that afternoon due to my recently acquired bruises. I found someone who could get them for us. They are cheap, as Joey will tell you, somewhat flimsy, also Joey will tell you this, and brightly colored. For me, they are perfect.

Mine is a fire engine red with a basket and seat on the back for a kid. I have a red lock and couldn’t be happier. We paid about $60 for each bike, but we were swindled. They should have been about $5 cheaper/bike. People will take advantage of you everywhere. At least here, they do it with a smile and it only costs about $10. In Almaty, they do it with a frown and it costs about $100.

Other Activities
Besides those big ticket things, Joey and I have continued to explore the city and surrounding areas. We explored the daily markets a bit more and browsed our favorite Sunday night market again. We haven’t visited many of the temples again, but I am sure we will do that later when we have more time or visitors.

I am also hoping to get into jogging again here. The climate is more suitable here than in Almaty, although Chiang Mai has its fair share of poor air quality. We are going to attempt jogging here tomorrow morning.

Another thing I hope Joey and I can do before long is explore the waterfall that we found on our last day with the rented car. We weren’t able to thoroughly investigate the area and nature trails, so I would like to do that soon. I would also like to visit the other waterfall in the area that we didn’t get a chance to see.

There are tons of other things that I hope we are able to do, but the list above will suffice for now. CM is a nice city with tons of stuff to do.

We have made a few ex-pat friends through the ex-pat meetings here. They are VERY friendly and VERY helpful. They are always willing to help out if needed, which is a wonderful thing to have.

Visitors
Thailand is a popular place to visit. I think we have four people coming to visit us during our short stay. Gail, Joey’s aunt, starts off the visitors. She arrives on Feb. 25 and will accompany us on our trip to Cambodia for a week. She will then come back in Chiang Mai with Joey and me for a week or so. Next is my sister, Liz. She arrives at the end of March and accompanies us on our trip to Laos for a week. She then spends time in Chiang Mai and I will go down to Bangkok with her to make sure she sees the big sights there. Almost immediately after Liz we have two friends from Kazakhstan coming to visit us – David and Nagiza. For only having 2.5 months here, we will have a lot of guests I think. And I welcome them all! Thailand, Chiang Mai in particular, is a wonderful vacation spot.

Departure date
My departure date from Thailand is April 17. I arrive on the 18th in Wilmington, NC - home, sweet home. I leave right after the much anticipated Thai New Year, where all the locals throw water balloons at the tourists. It sounds like a wonderful time with lots of parties and outside activities. J It should be a good way to end our stay here.

That is it for now. Hope all is well with everyone. Send me an email when you get a chance.