Thursday 12 September 2013

Revamped itinerary

Whew, after numerous attempts, managed to get some photos on the blog for Thailand and now may be able to go back and add some to the previous blogs so watch this space! Also might be able to improve the presentation by using a different template.

Have mentioned to a few folk that when trying to switch the travel dates to Japan with the Philippines it wasn't possible which made me rethink the trip to Japan and realise that it wasn't fair to land on the Nakahashis when they had just moved to near Sendai, their house needs attention and they're looking for work.

Meanwhile, my friends in KL have let me stay on longer with them and have helped me to plan an alterative trip to Sarawak for 8 days. From there it's possible to fly directly to Manila and then Perth by transitting through Singapore (after 3 weeks there once there's no need to return) and  rather than doing a stopover which takes me to 16 October.  This will all work out cheaper than going to Japan but hopefully in the future I can visit Japan in the spring for the blossom and see how my friends have settled into their new home and hopefully work.

From Perth hope to cross over to Melbourne, Adelaide and then Sydney taking about 2 months. From there it's over to NZ for 3months leaving 2 months to travel in the US and to Thetis Island, off Vancouver Island, to see my nephew who starts at a theological college soon for 6 months.  Need to be back in London by the end of April and, if not "travelled out", may spend May travelling home via various friends and relatives.  Remember if any of my trip appeals to you let me know we could team up.  Can hardly take in that it's been nearly 5 months of travelling already.

Thanks to all of you who have been in touch keeping me up to date with local and national news. Some messages may have got stuck in my old email box as when travelling I'm using a gmail address (acraig56@gmail.com) but think I will continue to use this even when home although I have been able to contact some of you through Facebook.

Thailand Tales

The "kindness to strangers" theme continued in Thailand through
Thai English speakers interpreting for me on long bus trips; helping with  my luggage after my accident; accompanying me to the post office to help me post more parcels and directing to me to the right bus/station after being misdirected.

However when rating kindness, my friends, Jan and Bob, came up trumps as they helped me to recuperate after falling out of a white water raft and badly bruising my right hip and side on the rocks (had been enjoying the experience up until then in very scenic area) when they themselves had just moved house and were settling back into life in Thailand. They also helped me be more aware of and thankful for God's protection and help on my travels. It was good to visit a few of the many churches with them as they have watched them being formed and grow over the last 30 years.

They gave me a lift to Bangkok and encouraged me to join them at an OMF guesthouse on the beach which they were managing for a week. Wow, I only once remember staying right on the beach and that was at Achmelvich YH.  After the busyness of Bangkok it was so quiet and soothing to fall asleep to the noise of waves lapping on the shore. It was almost like having a private beach. 

The white sand, 3 rocks offshore, shells and jellyfish (small to large, clear with darker tubes inside) reminded me of North Berwick except the water was warm and there were coconut palms. 
As "fresh" markets are few and far between in Scotland I enjoy wandering through then in other countries, usually finding something to photograph.
With so many more exotic fruits and veg being imported to UK I
was amazed at just how many fruits and veg were new to me in Thailand -suppose soft fruits aren't so easy to export. (Still waiting to see watermelons growing.) Most leaves and flowers are used for cooking (banana leaves in particular are used for plates, wrapping and displays)

as well as many things which move. Saw tubs of live frogs, skinned and flat packed frogs ready to cook and pairs of cooked frogs on skewers.  Eating frogs legs long ago in Edinburgh was easier than seeing eyes staring at you from the stick so didn't succumb to buying them. Two other tourists encouraged me to try silk worms and crickets
 

but the silk worm didn't taste so good and the cricket was just crunchy.  Plucked but not cooked chickens were displayed on top of cages containing live ones. With 2 fellow travellers experienced a hot pot one evening (a metal semi-sphere upturned in a bowl of water over a pot of charcoal) and, once we realised the need to melt fat on top first to prevent burning, we cooked a selection of  meats, veg and noodles more successfully. It reminded me of fondues.  
Tried drinking from a coconut, eating dragon fruit which is such a dark pink with white or black seeds but not so tasty and sampled Thai ice cream-more like fruit sorbet. 

Also enjoy exploring other types of markets especially if there's a bargain to be had but the weekend night markets in Chiang Mai were even a challenge for me. After 6 hours I still hadn't seen everything and by then it was midnight so I conceded defeat and with my few bargains tried to find my way back to the hostel which took longer than I'd remembered as the streets in the old city are like a maze. Some folk from the hilltribes dressed in their national costumes with very ornate
headgear sell their crafts at these markets and passed through some of their villages with their wooden houses on stilts en route to white water rafting.

At this time of year Thailand was very green with many plantations of bananas, coconut palms, sugar beet, paddy fields (hadn't remembered rice being bright green), mangoes, papayas, rambutans (not orangutans) to name but a few. In the paddy fields gangs of folk under coolie hats would be bent over working on the rice.  Although oxen and water buffalos pulled carts there were some tractors and combines in use which has a knock on effect on labour and costs.  Central Thailand is famous for it's water buffalos and host large markets there.  Wandered through an orchid house but many folk have orchids growing in their garden. I love the way they plant hanging gardens on tree trunks and branches and so many of the flowering shrubs and trees have beautiful perfume.  The Thai are very good at displaying  food, flowers and plants and doing topiary.


Around Chiang Mai, in the North, it was more touristy with plenty of opportunities for extreme sports and close encounters with animals.  Learned how to ride, feed and wash an elephant after overcoming the initial fear of riding bareback so high off the ground. The elephants had peach coloured ears with dark spots and thick bristles around their heads. I was disappointed that they didn't hose me down although we apparently needed another command for them to do so.  Later on at the beach resorts I saw monkeys in the wild for the 1st time - or had I seen them in Kenya?
One troupe were small baboon types which were quite aggressive but responded to a Burmese tourist who pointed a magazine at them until it was snatched away by one of them. (Don't think he wanted to read it as he was holding it upside down.)

The other troupe were spectacle monkeys (white circles round eyes) which were more placid but were getting fed daily by humans. There were baby monkeys in both troupes and it was interesting to watch the interaction with the mothers who made sure they were securely clinging under them before they swung off. Saw butterflies of all sizes and colours in butterfly world, but mostly in the countryside and gardens where they flitted around so much it was hard to film them. Spotted a few different birds: hoopoes; fantails; flycatchers; egrets and spotted redshanks (or were they stilts?) amongst some more familiar species.

With Thailand being a Buddhist country there were plenty of opportunites to visit wats and stuppas and shrines can be seen in many gardens or at street corners. Some of the statues look so menacing that I couldn't bring myself to film them.  In Bangkok there is a very ornate palace which took a few hours to visit once we'd crossed the city by MRT, BTS and ferry taking another few hours on a good tranport system in the midst of  myriad of  rickshaws and motorbikes.  Artists were touching up some of the intricate art work on the walls with very fine brushes and using a stick with a padded head to support their arms. Wow, that must take some patience and precision. Here too was the Queen's Silk Museum where I discovered that silk comes from the worm's cocoon and is not spun like the thread from a spider.  Everyone, not just children, was ushered through to the activity room where you could dress in Thai costume so why would Pedro, my Brazilian companion for the day, not dress up? Also visited a massive reclining Buddha in a nearby wat where again I could appreciate the art work but find it hard to understand the attraction in worshipping statues. Had to take shelter here when there was a massive thunder and lightening storm - the nearest place being just outside the mens' toilets. Some enterprising folk were paddling around trying to sell us umbrellas and/or plastic raincoats despite seeing my umbrella.  Think that must have been the biggest storm I've experienced. The thunder was so loud and the flashes of lightening so bright that it made you wince. Also noticed that white t-shirts become see through in the rain but was able to double up the sarong, given to me by receptionist at the hostel to act as a skirt in the palace/wat, to make a dress and thus keep my dignity. 

Found a new art and cultural centre in Bangkok where the art exhibition tho' entitled "Crossstitch" was a multimedia exhibition by Thai youngsters. The centre was also exhibiting photography for "the blinds" (plastercasts of the photos for them to feel) and hosting a free short video and film festival so watched 1.5 hours of a variety of films (introduced to bee boxing in one) directed by Singaporeans.

Managed to fit in a visit to a small touristy floating market mainly selling seafood for lunches but giving me an idea of how they live in the houses on stilts and use the canal - spotted someone moving house by barge.

Was surpised that the traffic in Bangkok was less crazy than in China and only experienced motorbikes on the pavement on one occasion. Visited some giant supermarkets and Boots but not Tescos altho' they were there. Shopping in these stores felt liked I'd been tranported back home.

Thailand is also home to limestone caves and it was amazing to see the network/formations in one, along with the bats. It seemed to be undersold to tourists as it was a case of hire a torch for a DIY tour. Some of the caves are around the shoreline and it was fun crawling through one trying to avoid being slashed by the razor sharp barnacles on the rocks whilst trying to spot underwater life.
Enjoyed beachcombing for shells but had to choose a small selection for sending
home. What enormous oyster shells they have and beautifully patterned and shaped shells. Did wonder if some of the pearly pieces could be used to make jewellery once back home.

Before I knew it the 30 day visa allowance for Thailand was running out so I wrenched myself away from the idyllic beach resort and took an overnight bus (seats reclined to bed) and day bus (given a food pack and shown films like on flights), so much more comfortable than ones in UK, down to my friends in KL. Malaysia here I come...