My last day in Thailand went pretty well. I started the day off bright and early and went to a floating market. I once again felt like I was a adopted kid no one cared about because I was passed off to different vans before finding the right one who wanted the solo traveler. Perfect. So after our hour and a half drive we made it and drove around on a long tail speed boat. It was like walking down a normal market except on a boat, the vendors still yelled at you to buy their souvenirs. I enjoyed it though, it was cool and there were plenty of boats selling food and produce which was interesting. After my tour I walked around a bit and stumbled upon two baby elephants! They had some owners of course but they were so cute and the baby elephant grabbed a bag of whatever it was their owners had to feed them and passed me it. She/he was so cute I couldn't resist buying a bag and feeding it. I loved every second of it, probably one of my most favorite moments of my trip! I love elephants. After I went to a cobra show and it was amazing. They showed how dangerous the python is, I never knew its teeth were so sharp. Also they demonstrated how the mongoose is a danger to snakes, he kills them and eats them. Finally for the finale they had one man vs. 3 poisonous snakes. I can't remember what their names were but they were striped black and yellow and just looked straight up dangerous. He caught two with his hands and one with his mouth! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, I hate snakes. I was worried one would get bored with the show and slither over to the wall and climb over. Thankfully that didn't happen.
It's now 330 in the morning and I am going to grab some food and weigh my bag. Oh oh. Its madness, the music is still pumping and drunks are stumbling throughout the streets. The morning I arrived, at 5 am, people were still partying. No one sleeps until the sun comes up. I am sad to leave my adventure here in Asia, although it isn't quite done yet. I have to make my forty minute layover in Tokyo! Going to be an interesting day, if I don't sleep until I get home it will make for over 24 hours awake. Hopefully I make the layover and all goes well and the airplane food is decent..
Sunday, 31 July 2011
Saturday, 30 July 2011
Shop till you drop!
I crashed pretty early last night on account of being up nearly the entire night because of the wild ride. I woke up bright and early and enjoyed my free breakfast and lounged by the pool and read my book for a while. Finally I decided I should do something other then be a bag of lazy bones. So what do I do? Grab my wallet and a cab and head to the local weekend market of course!
I completely underestimated everything I had heard about this market. It had to be at least 3 city blocks in size and i managed to cruise through one third of it I think. I went at 12 and left at 530. My feet are exhausted. Here is a interesting tid bit. I have gone through 4 pairs of sandals on this trip so far. The first pair completely wore out and the next pair got stolen. The pair after that just vanished, I doubt anyone would have wanted to steal them, and my last most recent pair wore down to nothing pretty much. The sole of one of them had fallen off completely regardless of my attempts to super glue it back on. But that was an excuse to purchase another pair today, right?
Once I had my fill of the market and wall to wall people I just started walking in one direction hoping to come to a road so I could catch a cab. I came across a man selling puppies in a cage in the middle of the walkway. He had so many puppies in this cage and of all shapes and sizes. There was a little baby pug that I nearly bought, 6000 baht. Which happens to be only 200 dollars! He stole my heart right then and there. I decided against it because once back in Canada both the dog and I would most likely be without a home.
20 minutes later I managed to find a road but no cab driver seemed interesting in taking me to my destination. Every car I approached and asked to take me to Khaosan road, said no. Finally one guy agreed to take me. Although he almost forgot to start the meter. And then made me cough up 45 baht for a highway fee. And then, he took me to the wrong place. I really managed to find a winner of a cab driver. My total cab fee was 125 baht and I didn't have that so I gave him 525 and said change. He grabbed the money, stuffed it in his shirt and told me Khaosan road! I looked down the street and back at him and just thought wow you are crazy. He was not giving me my 400 baht change! I was not budging from his car and I told him that. He started out by giving me 300 back and I said no I want my money back and I will get change! Finally he coughed up another 90 and just kept pretending he magically knew no more English. What a guy.
It turns out I was only a ten minute walk from my hotel after a friendly local directed me in the right way to Khaosan road. Now I plan to investigate my inventory and pack it all up. Tomorrow I have to get up bright and early and we go on a tour to the local floating market. It is more of a tourist sight than a shopping sight, which I am thankful for because I doubt my bag can handle much more. It will be interesting to see what it weighs at the airport. It is only a 55 liter backpack and if I managed to overfill it enough to make it overweight I will almost be impressed with myself. Because only I, the queen of shopping, would be able to manage that. Although I think my mother could give me a run for my money. But like they say, I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!
I completely underestimated everything I had heard about this market. It had to be at least 3 city blocks in size and i managed to cruise through one third of it I think. I went at 12 and left at 530. My feet are exhausted. Here is a interesting tid bit. I have gone through 4 pairs of sandals on this trip so far. The first pair completely wore out and the next pair got stolen. The pair after that just vanished, I doubt anyone would have wanted to steal them, and my last most recent pair wore down to nothing pretty much. The sole of one of them had fallen off completely regardless of my attempts to super glue it back on. But that was an excuse to purchase another pair today, right?
Once I had my fill of the market and wall to wall people I just started walking in one direction hoping to come to a road so I could catch a cab. I came across a man selling puppies in a cage in the middle of the walkway. He had so many puppies in this cage and of all shapes and sizes. There was a little baby pug that I nearly bought, 6000 baht. Which happens to be only 200 dollars! He stole my heart right then and there. I decided against it because once back in Canada both the dog and I would most likely be without a home.
20 minutes later I managed to find a road but no cab driver seemed interesting in taking me to my destination. Every car I approached and asked to take me to Khaosan road, said no. Finally one guy agreed to take me. Although he almost forgot to start the meter. And then made me cough up 45 baht for a highway fee. And then, he took me to the wrong place. I really managed to find a winner of a cab driver. My total cab fee was 125 baht and I didn't have that so I gave him 525 and said change. He grabbed the money, stuffed it in his shirt and told me Khaosan road! I looked down the street and back at him and just thought wow you are crazy. He was not giving me my 400 baht change! I was not budging from his car and I told him that. He started out by giving me 300 back and I said no I want my money back and I will get change! Finally he coughed up another 90 and just kept pretending he magically knew no more English. What a guy.
It turns out I was only a ten minute walk from my hotel after a friendly local directed me in the right way to Khaosan road. Now I plan to investigate my inventory and pack it all up. Tomorrow I have to get up bright and early and we go on a tour to the local floating market. It is more of a tourist sight than a shopping sight, which I am thankful for because I doubt my bag can handle much more. It will be interesting to see what it weighs at the airport. It is only a 55 liter backpack and if I managed to overfill it enough to make it overweight I will almost be impressed with myself. Because only I, the queen of shopping, would be able to manage that. Although I think my mother could give me a run for my money. But like they say, I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!
Thursday, 28 July 2011
Rooftop pool, free breakfast, great location - life is good :)
I made it to Bangkok in one piece! The bus ride was interesting, my day started out great though. I enjoyed the beach one last day and then hung out at the hotel waiting for my shuttle to the bus station. While I was waiting I met a young kid who didn't look much older than me. We started talking and he turned out to be from London but he left home when he was 15. He has been to over 20 countries and that blew my mind! He then told me he just came from China, where he had been living for 1 year. Well of course I am curious how he supports himself and all this traveling, and I got a interesting answer. It turns out he is a "hustler". I didn't ask anymore about that. Then he told me he is a DJ as well and got paid a ton of money in the UK but blew it all. He only worked illegal clubs too, no legal normal clubs, the kind where you can get every drug imaginable. I took this as my cue to discontinue conversation with the kid and put some space between us.
I met another dude who was Irish and living in Australia. He had been traveling for 3 weeks and had a bag the size of my carry on backpack. Speaking of backpacks, mine might actually be close to overweight. He even agreed and nearly fell over when he offered to carry it to the van and I gladly let him. Along with my 100 pound backpack I have a bag of Aspen's too, which isn't the lightest thing either. I am going to be jacked if I keep carrying these bags around. Anyway it made the bus trip more enjoyable knowing someone on it. We stopped at 8 for some supper and I tried some random pork mixture with rice that turned out to be quite good. But I was midway eating it and the bus driver is already rounding people up to get back on the bus! I shoveled as much rice as I could in my mouth and had to leave my half eaten plate. I was choked, but there was a super cute dog hanging around the place so I hope he got my leftovers.
I think I may have slept a total of 2 hours on the 12 hour bus ride so I am sure I will crash tonight. It wasn't too bad I just cannot sleep with the bus swaying all over the place and slowing down and speeding up like we are off roading or something. It was easy to grab a taxi and get to my destination when we arrived to the bus station, which was lovely. He took me to a interesting hotel though. It was pretty run down and after a quick evaluation I decided to head up the street to find a new place. Luckily it wasn't too far to find a beautiful place.
My hotel I ended up getting is fabulous! I am totally spoiling myself for the last three days here. There is a rooftop pool that has a bar and massages offered. My room has all the great perks like TV, fridge, AC, etc. And did I mention breakfast is included? Perfect, I am planning to take full advantage of that one! Today is going to be a laid back day since my lack of sleep the night before. I am going to check the streets out and probably hit the pool up for awhile. Tomorrow I want to go to the Chatuchak weekend market. Its this massive market that locals put on every weekend and it is so large it takes a day to get through. My kind of place, imagine all the goodies I can find in there. Although I have to remind myself not to overdo it since I am already lacking in the space department. Sunday I plan to go to the Bang Nampheung market. Its a floating market where local Thai farmers sell their produce and it is a authentic experience. It will be a great way to spend my last day.
I met another dude who was Irish and living in Australia. He had been traveling for 3 weeks and had a bag the size of my carry on backpack. Speaking of backpacks, mine might actually be close to overweight. He even agreed and nearly fell over when he offered to carry it to the van and I gladly let him. Along with my 100 pound backpack I have a bag of Aspen's too, which isn't the lightest thing either. I am going to be jacked if I keep carrying these bags around. Anyway it made the bus trip more enjoyable knowing someone on it. We stopped at 8 for some supper and I tried some random pork mixture with rice that turned out to be quite good. But I was midway eating it and the bus driver is already rounding people up to get back on the bus! I shoveled as much rice as I could in my mouth and had to leave my half eaten plate. I was choked, but there was a super cute dog hanging around the place so I hope he got my leftovers.
I think I may have slept a total of 2 hours on the 12 hour bus ride so I am sure I will crash tonight. It wasn't too bad I just cannot sleep with the bus swaying all over the place and slowing down and speeding up like we are off roading or something. It was easy to grab a taxi and get to my destination when we arrived to the bus station, which was lovely. He took me to a interesting hotel though. It was pretty run down and after a quick evaluation I decided to head up the street to find a new place. Luckily it wasn't too far to find a beautiful place.
My hotel I ended up getting is fabulous! I am totally spoiling myself for the last three days here. There is a rooftop pool that has a bar and massages offered. My room has all the great perks like TV, fridge, AC, etc. And did I mention breakfast is included? Perfect, I am planning to take full advantage of that one! Today is going to be a laid back day since my lack of sleep the night before. I am going to check the streets out and probably hit the pool up for awhile. Tomorrow I want to go to the Chatuchak weekend market. Its this massive market that locals put on every weekend and it is so large it takes a day to get through. My kind of place, imagine all the goodies I can find in there. Although I have to remind myself not to overdo it since I am already lacking in the space department. Sunday I plan to go to the Bang Nampheung market. Its a floating market where local Thai farmers sell their produce and it is a authentic experience. It will be a great way to spend my last day.
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Shake it baby, shake it!
So its been a while since I have updated this good ol blog of mine, but i don't even know where to start. I ended up staying in Patong right up until I leave to go to Bangkok tomorrow. Aspen, that lucky devil, got to fly out to Bali this morning for a extended two week vacation. I would have loved to join but I think my mother would have turned into a crazy woman and actually flown over to Asia and dragged me home. I didn't want to take my chances so here I am sitting in a internet cafe and about to head to our local street stand for supper. Phuket is a beautiful island although it has rained a ton.
One day we rented scooters and drove all over again and found some beautiful waterfalls. I really enjoy driving around on scooters, its quite the adrenaline rush here weaving in and out of traffic. That took us an entire day nearly looking for these things and finally finding them. At the first waterfall we had to hike way up to find the top of it and i didn't wear the best shoes for hiking. I almost fell a few times. Thats why they call me grace back at home.
Another day was interesting when we walked around the town and Aspen did some last minute shopping to send home with me. The street vendors were ridiculous! They seemed so much more obnoxious than usual. One guy took a notice that I have a unique walk and shouted after me, SHAKE IT BABY SHAKE IT! I wanted to turn around and go give him a peice of my mind but luckly for him I kept walking. Another lady insisted Aspen and I were so beautiful that she should massage us. Uh, no thank you cause if you think we are THAT beautiful i am not sure where your hands will wander to. On a separate day she yelled at us, Ausie Ausie Ausie, Oye Oye Oye!! I think every Thai individual thinks were are Australians. I just agree now, not even correcting them.
Yesterday we went swimming on the beach and two guys started talking to us. They asked our ages and we told them to guess and they thought 21, we didn't correct them. And we didn't correct them when they asked where we went and aspen told them everywhere in Thailand. They asked how we liked this random town I never even heard of and aspen said we loved it. I was having a hard time keeping a straight face.
Today was good too, considering aspen left to Bali, i wasn't even lonely. I couldn't fall asleep after she left at 3 this morning so i watched some movies and then went to the mall and did a little shopping. After i had my very first facial! I am not sure i enjoyed it though, or maybe next time i'll let them know they don't need to remove the blackheads on my face. It felt like she was digging in there with a knife! But the massage portion was lovely and i could suffer through that again. I walked around a bit because the sun was out and now that brings us full circle with me sitting in the internet cafe. I'll have to get a couple more blogs in about my solo traveling experience and the flight home, which will be interesting. I have a 40 minute layover in Tokyo (the largest airport in the world) to switch flights. Wish me luck in making it! Back to Bangkok tomorrow, oh the craziness of the big city again!
One day we rented scooters and drove all over again and found some beautiful waterfalls. I really enjoy driving around on scooters, its quite the adrenaline rush here weaving in and out of traffic. That took us an entire day nearly looking for these things and finally finding them. At the first waterfall we had to hike way up to find the top of it and i didn't wear the best shoes for hiking. I almost fell a few times. Thats why they call me grace back at home.
Another day was interesting when we walked around the town and Aspen did some last minute shopping to send home with me. The street vendors were ridiculous! They seemed so much more obnoxious than usual. One guy took a notice that I have a unique walk and shouted after me, SHAKE IT BABY SHAKE IT! I wanted to turn around and go give him a peice of my mind but luckly for him I kept walking. Another lady insisted Aspen and I were so beautiful that she should massage us. Uh, no thank you cause if you think we are THAT beautiful i am not sure where your hands will wander to. On a separate day she yelled at us, Ausie Ausie Ausie, Oye Oye Oye!! I think every Thai individual thinks were are Australians. I just agree now, not even correcting them.
Yesterday we went swimming on the beach and two guys started talking to us. They asked our ages and we told them to guess and they thought 21, we didn't correct them. And we didn't correct them when they asked where we went and aspen told them everywhere in Thailand. They asked how we liked this random town I never even heard of and aspen said we loved it. I was having a hard time keeping a straight face.
Today was good too, considering aspen left to Bali, i wasn't even lonely. I couldn't fall asleep after she left at 3 this morning so i watched some movies and then went to the mall and did a little shopping. After i had my very first facial! I am not sure i enjoyed it though, or maybe next time i'll let them know they don't need to remove the blackheads on my face. It felt like she was digging in there with a knife! But the massage portion was lovely and i could suffer through that again. I walked around a bit because the sun was out and now that brings us full circle with me sitting in the internet cafe. I'll have to get a couple more blogs in about my solo traveling experience and the flight home, which will be interesting. I have a 40 minute layover in Tokyo (the largest airport in the world) to switch flights. Wish me luck in making it! Back to Bangkok tomorrow, oh the craziness of the big city again!
Thursday, 21 July 2011
Be the change you want to see in the world
Recently i have started to catch myself up on worldly affairs since i began my travels just over 2 months ago. I read an article discusing the famine in somalia and it hit home for me. I am not quite sure why to be honest. Maybe it has to do with a book i read earlier on my trip discusing somalia in the early 90's and the political unrest along with droughts killed many people. The us and the un were working in the country to keep peace and help the starvin people but after two black hawk helicopters were shot down, the groups withdrew from the country. Now somalia is suffering from one of the worst hungery emergency of the generation and the un is affraid to go in and help the starving people out of fear for their safety.
Last year i went to nairobi kenya and i volunteered 6 weeks in an orphanage. I don't think i had a large epiphany after leaving or a real life changing experience but after reading about somalia i realized something has to be done. The UN needs 300 million dollars within the next two months. Thats a large chunk of change but really if everyone helped a little, that would really spread the cost out. I am well aware that there are problems here in north america but unlike third world countries, we have many tools available to help us get on our feet. I am not trying to downplay the problems here though i just feel like somalia really needs the world right now.
A famine is offcially declared when 2 adults or 4 children out of 10 000 people die every day. Now medicine hat has around 70 000 people, give or take a few thousand. Thats 14 adulta dying every day or 28 children. Mortality rates in somalia are 3 times the level of the emergency ceiling. So many people are dying everyday and they are fleeing to neighbouring countries where refugee camps are overflowing.
In my personal opinion you can't just give a starving man a bunch of food, because sooner or later that food will run out. You need to give him te tools he needs to keep sustaining himself after the food you have given him has run out. But right now enormous amounts of people are dying and lanourished and they need food to get on their feet and then they will be healthy enough to learn skills or the methods to sustain themselves.
I want to do something to help. I am just one person but everyone is just one person but if everyone in the world thought that way nothing would ever change in the world. I just want to ask anyone out there who is reading this for ideas. Ideas to help, most likely raise money. Ideas to help make a change. I feel like i am stumbling around in the darkness but its te first step to bring awareness of this issue and my plan. If you want to read more about the famine you can on this website:
http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110720/ap_on_re_af/af_east_africa_drought
If you guys have any comments or suggestions, leave them on my page or email me them. My email is crembowski@hotmail.com. Thanks everyone!
Last year i went to nairobi kenya and i volunteered 6 weeks in an orphanage. I don't think i had a large epiphany after leaving or a real life changing experience but after reading about somalia i realized something has to be done. The UN needs 300 million dollars within the next two months. Thats a large chunk of change but really if everyone helped a little, that would really spread the cost out. I am well aware that there are problems here in north america but unlike third world countries, we have many tools available to help us get on our feet. I am not trying to downplay the problems here though i just feel like somalia really needs the world right now.
A famine is offcially declared when 2 adults or 4 children out of 10 000 people die every day. Now medicine hat has around 70 000 people, give or take a few thousand. Thats 14 adulta dying every day or 28 children. Mortality rates in somalia are 3 times the level of the emergency ceiling. So many people are dying everyday and they are fleeing to neighbouring countries where refugee camps are overflowing.
In my personal opinion you can't just give a starving man a bunch of food, because sooner or later that food will run out. You need to give him te tools he needs to keep sustaining himself after the food you have given him has run out. But right now enormous amounts of people are dying and lanourished and they need food to get on their feet and then they will be healthy enough to learn skills or the methods to sustain themselves.
I want to do something to help. I am just one person but everyone is just one person but if everyone in the world thought that way nothing would ever change in the world. I just want to ask anyone out there who is reading this for ideas. Ideas to help, most likely raise money. Ideas to help make a change. I feel like i am stumbling around in the darkness but its te first step to bring awareness of this issue and my plan. If you want to read more about the famine you can on this website:
http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110720/ap_on_re_af/af_east_africa_drought
If you guys have any comments or suggestions, leave them on my page or email me them. My email is crembowski@hotmail.com. Thanks everyone!
Sunday, 17 July 2011
Sunburnt with two weeks to go!
Thats right, weather took a turn for the better finally! It was a beautiful sunny day and we rented scooter and explored the island. Hense, being outside all day and my body was not used to all that vitamin D again so i have a nice red tinge to my brown skin. I had a hard time at first remembering that you need to drive on the left side but I got used to it and had a great time with no accidents!
We drove down to some small towns down the coast, karen and kata. Kata is known for its surfing and i was eager to try. I have been surfing once in mexico but the waves were pretty small. These waves were close to four or five feet tall. I managed to get up once but other than that i just got worked over in the waves. It was exhausting and my body was getting so sore so i finally called it quits. Right then a huge wave came and dragged me into shore, i got tossed around in the water so bad. I finally get out of the water and headed in to drop of my rented surf board. Well turns out when i was being dragged in and tossed around in the waves my knee connected with my surfboard, rather forcefully and went right through. My five dollar surfboard turned into a 35 dollar surfboard just like that. As well, i have the evidence on my banged up knees. It should have been obvious something happened when i walked out of the water and my knee was split open. I didn't put thetwo together though.
So all my surfboard demolishing gave me a appetite and we drove around looking for food. There was a great little restaurant on the side of a hill with a great view that we stopped at. I had some of the best pad thai i have had on this trip.
When we left we decided to head back to patong because the sunburn was setting in. We ended up going on quite the drive and got a little lost. Eventually we found patong again and our hotel. I took a lovely cold shower to ease the pain of my crispy skin and then we found out vin diesal was in town! And not just in town but down the road getting a tatoo! We went searching for him but got side tracked by a few bars and ended up going there instead. It was an interesting night to say the least. Its sunny again today! And my poor body is so sore so it will be a great day to take it easy on the beach or drive the scooters around some more!
We drove down to some small towns down the coast, karen and kata. Kata is known for its surfing and i was eager to try. I have been surfing once in mexico but the waves were pretty small. These waves were close to four or five feet tall. I managed to get up once but other than that i just got worked over in the waves. It was exhausting and my body was getting so sore so i finally called it quits. Right then a huge wave came and dragged me into shore, i got tossed around in the water so bad. I finally get out of the water and headed in to drop of my rented surf board. Well turns out when i was being dragged in and tossed around in the waves my knee connected with my surfboard, rather forcefully and went right through. My five dollar surfboard turned into a 35 dollar surfboard just like that. As well, i have the evidence on my banged up knees. It should have been obvious something happened when i walked out of the water and my knee was split open. I didn't put thetwo together though.
So all my surfboard demolishing gave me a appetite and we drove around looking for food. There was a great little restaurant on the side of a hill with a great view that we stopped at. I had some of the best pad thai i have had on this trip.
When we left we decided to head back to patong because the sunburn was setting in. We ended up going on quite the drive and got a little lost. Eventually we found patong again and our hotel. I took a lovely cold shower to ease the pain of my crispy skin and then we found out vin diesal was in town! And not just in town but down the road getting a tatoo! We went searching for him but got side tracked by a few bars and ended up going there instead. It was an interesting night to say the least. Its sunny again today! And my poor body is so sore so it will be a great day to take it easy on the beach or drive the scooters around some more!
Friday, 15 July 2011
So Phuket has really lived up to the rainy season standard
I have been in Patong on Phuket island for nearly four days and sadly the rain hasn't let up. A rainy day isn't so bad and I knew we had our trip planned for the rainy season but so far at any of the other stops along the way it rains for a hour or two in te afternoon and passes so you can continue to enjoy outdoor activities. Not so much here, as a result i have resorted to shopping to keep me busy. Not a good alternative let me tell ya. My bag is full already and now i have a bag of goodies next to it and i have to attempt to fit them in!
I may have a addiction to shoes, thanks mom for that, and those suckers are the hardest thing to compact down in your bag! And you can't layer them on like clothes! Its all worth it though, even if i have to tell my kids one day the reason i am humpback is from my shoe addiction weighing my bag down while i backpacked through southeast asia.
I had the opportunity the other night to meet a very nice old couple from Bali and try a new thai fruit! I was waiting at a fruit stand to grab my daily dose of watermelon and this old asian man grabs a random fruit off the cart and insists i eat it. Well first i dont even know what part of this fruit is edible, it looks like a plum with green rubbery leaves attached, almost like a mini eggplant. I just politely refused telling him i was sticking to my watermelon. He was very pushy and insisted i would like it and if i didn't he would eat it. I eventually gave in, for this guys sake. He stuck his thumb into it and ripped it in half and told me to try the white middle that looked like a mini orange. It was actually very sweet and i enjoyed it! The old man was throughly pleased and then his wife told me to come to Bali. Perfect, now i have connections in indonesia!
Today as i was shopping in the various street vendors tents it started downpouring, like buckets, and i was trapped under a tent. I started talking with a couple of ladies from australia and they were so interesting! The one lady just had her retirement party and here she is traveling around thailand! The other lady was traveling for three months, going to ireland and iceland as well as thailand. Couple of gems, and they insisted i try a facial because they apparently are the most wonderful things. As well as a foot massage. I could give the foot massage a try as long as they stay at my feet and don't go wandering up my leg like previous massages. But a facial could be right up my ally.
Then tonight in an effort to kill my bordomness i headed to the mall to find the local movie theater. What a maze. Their malls are just strangely laid out and by the time i found the theater all the movies had started. I walked around and found a asian supermarket and got some fruits and veggies. I saw cherries and almost bought them but they were on a tiny little plate and nearly 30 dollars! Talk about expensive imported fruit. I wandered over to imported foods and found so much stuff you can find back home. Priced outragiously of course. Cheese strings were a dollar each! I gave up on finding any american food but settled for some fresh baked banana muffins, almost gave my mom a run for her homemade banana bread. Just kidding gail ;)
That brings us full circle with me now planning to get off this island. I plan to leave in a couple days and most likely head back to koh samui or down to railay. I found some decent priced guesthouses and bungalows in railay and really want to go down and see it. It is known for its rock climbing as well as kayaking and great scenery. There is one place where you can go climbing that has super deep water below the cliffs so people just climb without ropes and if you lose your footing you just get a little wet. That sounds totally cool! Or the hiking sounds great too. So that is my plan of action because i do not want to spend my last two weeks in thailand in a hotel room watching tv hoping for the rain to pass.
I may have a addiction to shoes, thanks mom for that, and those suckers are the hardest thing to compact down in your bag! And you can't layer them on like clothes! Its all worth it though, even if i have to tell my kids one day the reason i am humpback is from my shoe addiction weighing my bag down while i backpacked through southeast asia.
I had the opportunity the other night to meet a very nice old couple from Bali and try a new thai fruit! I was waiting at a fruit stand to grab my daily dose of watermelon and this old asian man grabs a random fruit off the cart and insists i eat it. Well first i dont even know what part of this fruit is edible, it looks like a plum with green rubbery leaves attached, almost like a mini eggplant. I just politely refused telling him i was sticking to my watermelon. He was very pushy and insisted i would like it and if i didn't he would eat it. I eventually gave in, for this guys sake. He stuck his thumb into it and ripped it in half and told me to try the white middle that looked like a mini orange. It was actually very sweet and i enjoyed it! The old man was throughly pleased and then his wife told me to come to Bali. Perfect, now i have connections in indonesia!
Today as i was shopping in the various street vendors tents it started downpouring, like buckets, and i was trapped under a tent. I started talking with a couple of ladies from australia and they were so interesting! The one lady just had her retirement party and here she is traveling around thailand! The other lady was traveling for three months, going to ireland and iceland as well as thailand. Couple of gems, and they insisted i try a facial because they apparently are the most wonderful things. As well as a foot massage. I could give the foot massage a try as long as they stay at my feet and don't go wandering up my leg like previous massages. But a facial could be right up my ally.
Then tonight in an effort to kill my bordomness i headed to the mall to find the local movie theater. What a maze. Their malls are just strangely laid out and by the time i found the theater all the movies had started. I walked around and found a asian supermarket and got some fruits and veggies. I saw cherries and almost bought them but they were on a tiny little plate and nearly 30 dollars! Talk about expensive imported fruit. I wandered over to imported foods and found so much stuff you can find back home. Priced outragiously of course. Cheese strings were a dollar each! I gave up on finding any american food but settled for some fresh baked banana muffins, almost gave my mom a run for her homemade banana bread. Just kidding gail ;)
That brings us full circle with me now planning to get off this island. I plan to leave in a couple days and most likely head back to koh samui or down to railay. I found some decent priced guesthouses and bungalows in railay and really want to go down and see it. It is known for its rock climbing as well as kayaking and great scenery. There is one place where you can go climbing that has super deep water below the cliffs so people just climb without ropes and if you lose your footing you just get a little wet. That sounds totally cool! Or the hiking sounds great too. So that is my plan of action because i do not want to spend my last two weeks in thailand in a hotel room watching tv hoping for the rain to pass.
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