Khao Yai National Park!

Last weekend we took the entire high school to a 3 day camp an hour north of Bangkok. They went kayaking, "mountain biking", built rafts, completed the ropes course...it was a good time despite the fact that a lot of them didn't know how to ride a bike or swim, didn't like getting wet or sweaty or be in the sun...pretty much the exact opposite of my chilhood years! They showed up in high heeles and mini skirts - but by the end they were having water fights and dumping each other's kayaks into the flooded lakes.

Within an hour of returning from the trip, I headed off with Spencer on a 4 day weekend to Khao Yai National Park - a 3 hour bus ride to the town of Pak Chong, northeast of Bangkok. In Pak Chong we rented a motocy and drove into the National Park. Very big, very diverse, and very beautiful - loads of monkeys, guar, clouded leapord, tigers, elephants, sambar....

(Elephat Salt Lick 100m)

We met the monkeys right away - groups of them congregate on the roadsides, begging for food and watching cars go. Sometimes they sit in the middle of the road. I think this one had his thumb out...

(Look framiliar? This was the falls that good old Leo took a plung in in The Beach movie...and me, too)

We spent 3 days hiking and exploring rainforests, savannas, dry deciduous forests, and waterfalls. My whole body felt like "ahhhhhhhh!" - so nice to get out of the big city, away from the tourist trail, out of the pollution. Some hiking trails were well marked and followed rivers, others were very poorly marked and turned into adventures - sketchy maps and compass skills.

(a tree with many claw marks - obviously somebody's hideout! - a tiger?)

We did a bit of camping in the park. Unprepared, we rented a tent and asked -"how do we chooes a site?" - the park officials looked confused and pointed to the lawn where dozens and dozens of Thais had erected jumbles of tents. It was just like camping at Bliss Fest, only with no central stage, and more monkeys. And it was FREEZING up there - the first time I have been cold outside since I came to Thailand! We watched monkeys steal food from unsuspecting campers and, in the middle of the night, awoke to see a HUGE porccupine wandering past our tent. In the morning, the group of campers next to us shared their Thai-style breakfast with us - super-boiled-and-watery rice (kind of like cream of wheat) with various additions of sausages, fermented cabbage, scrambled eggs, and spices.

Khao Yai has a few great wildlife watching towers out in the middle of grasslands. One evening, we watched some wild dogs and a monitor (like a little aligator) from a tower, but alas - no elephants! Nightime wildlife spotlighting tours are very popular here, but instead of paying the 500 baht to go, we just drove behind one of the trucks on our motocy and got pretty much the same view!

We also visited the local market - tried some coconut-corn fritters and, of course, meat on a stick. Met a friendly monkey, whose name is "bad monkey" in Thai. She is 6 months old and her mother was killed - now she is living with a very nice woman but doesn't really like other women because of the smell (????). Here she is, eating a bean.

We also watched millions of bats fly out of a cave at exactly 6:00 (all of the locals will tell you...).

Thana City - on the outskirts of Bangkok

Here is the view from Thana City, where Spencer lives. You can see the little shacks that rim the lake where the Thais fish every morning during sun rise, and just behind them the huge mansions where other Thais live...or used to live before the stock market crash in 1997. Now many houses are abandoned because they believe that bad luck remains in a house where a family lost their fortune.

Ko Samet III

Yes, Ko Samet is a beautiful island! Yes, it is fun and relaxing to just hang out there for a weekend, leave all your cares behind, go swimming and hiking and eating good food!

So...we went back a 3rd time. This time we didn't kayak or rent a motocy, but hiked the trail that runs the length of the long, thin island. Here are some of the photos of our adventure:

We found a quiet little dock to do some diving off of, and net a nice Germany fellow who liked feeding bits of toilet paper to the fish - a sucker every time!

A fish trap, a "mystery floating stick", a cute dock to have lunch on, and the literal meaning of a house boat - good times, good times!

Island Hopping Part 2:

From Phuket, we took a bus back to Krabi the following day (Phuket is connected by a bridge to the mainland). Then, we took a longtail boat from Krabi north to Railay, which is a group of 4 beaches surrounded by huge limestone cliffs – the climbing mecca of Thailand. While Railay is not an island, there is no road that connects it to the rest of the world – everything comes in and out on longboats. The whole place really caters to the traveling-climber type who loves Bob Marley – mellow man! We found a little $4/night bungalow on Tonsai beach that was worth about $2.50 with holey mosquito nets, things scurrying across the floor, and the electricity only on from 6pm to 3am. Good times, good times.
























We went climbing on Thursday. Rented gear from Wee’s Climbing School – we just walked in and said, “we’d like some gear” and they said, “have you climbed before?” and we said, “Yep” and they handed it over! No signing forms, no proving skills…so we spent the early afternoon climbing along the beautiful cliff. I have not been climbing in TWO YEARS because of a wrist injury, so it felt amazing.

The limestone had awesome holds and the view was spectacular. The start of one of the climbs was best through the little hole in the picture here. The above picture is the view from the top of the climb (later that night we stood on the beach and watched 2 base jumpers jump from those cliffs – not very high!!!) My forearms died almost immediately, however…and it started to rain.


This photo is the start of one of the climbs - best up and through a hole...I felt a little like a born again climber.









So, for the afternoon we went on a wet wet wet jungle hike between the beaches. Found an abandoned group of bungalows out in the middle of nowhere and picked a papaya from a tree…only to realize we were being watched by some guy in a yellow shirt across the clearing – creepy! We tried to hike to a hidden lagoon, but the sun was setting and the climbing was precarious (vertical rock in many parts, some fixed ropes, everything covered in red oozing mud), so we headed back down. Watched the sun set from a very beautiful beach with a large cave to the left side, then swam/waded all the way home holding the backpack out of the water, as the tide was coming in. The camera stayed dry the whole time…








Friday was Deep Water Soloing! This is where you go climbing on overhanging cliffs above water. You don’t climb with gear, only your shoes, and when you fall, you drop into the ocean. We went out to some neighboring islands with about 10 other climbers in 2 longtail boats. Very fun to clamber around, wet hands, wet shoes, on the face of the rock. Then, when you get to high or you can’t hold on anymore, you just drop down and splash in! We ate lunch – fried rice in metal containers – hanging out on a beach, did some snorkeling, then went back out for round 2.
When we came back to our bungalow we had been robbed - monkeys broke in, ate parts of the papaya, and went through the trash! Bad monkeys! Early the next morning, I heard scuttling in the wall by my head and looked over to see a giant claw coming through the wall! Bree suspects it was a scorpion - "They can kill you, you know?" - and I had no idea at the time, but we decided to switch bungalows.


As we were packing up, I carefully peeled a pumello to munch on and let it sitting out on the pourch. I looked over from the doorway and saw a monkey in the trash bin EATING THE REST OF MY PAPAYA and then, suddenly, a monkey scurried across the pourch and stole the pumello. The little jerk sat on the pourch of the next bungalow and ate it right in front of us! The nerve of some primates! I watched another monkey a few hours later sitting on a roof of another hut as a wooman sat below in a hammock. The monkey ran down the pole the hammock was tied to, stole her candy bar, and sat on the roof eating it - she never had a clue! Bad monkeys!





























So we moved to a beautiful bungalow in the jungle and went for another jungle walk back to the lagoon. This time we made it (less rain & more sunlight) and were rewarded with a muddy hole in the ground surrounded by 200 foot limestone cliffs on all sides. ("The journey is the destination"). We spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach and drinking large bottles of Chang at one of the many reggae-themed beach bars. Talked to some interesting people we had met the days before while climbing. Ate cheeseburgers and green curry.

Then Sunday was upon us and we took a longtail boat back to reality, took the plane back to Bangkok...I almost had a panick attack when I stopped by the grocery store to get a few things and spent 1 hour trying to muscle my way through what seemed like millions of Thias aimlessly strolling around the store. Ahhhhh! And the pollution - the noise, the air...welcome home to Bangkok! So I skipped out and headed to the spa - had a great thai massage and went to bed happy.

Island Hopping in Southern Thailand Part 1

Our 10 day break from school came at the perfect time – why don’t schools in the US have the same thing?!

Directly after school on Friday, Spencer and I flew down to Krabi, which is on the southern peninsula of Thailand just west of Phuket. Ahhhh…let the holiday begin!

On Saturday morning we took a water taxi out to Koh Pi Pi – the islands you can see on the map located between Krabi and Phuket. Koh Pi Pi is actually 2 islands, Leh and Don. You can stay on Don, but only visit Leh. Both are beautiful islands with tall cliffs, lots of caves, good diving/snorkeling, and beautiful sandy beaches. Both islands were hit very hard in the Tsunami and there is lots of rebuilding still going on. We stayed on Don the first night in a ritzy high-class 25$/night bungalow down by the beach.




We went for a beautiful night dive – tons of coral, nudibranchs, fish, sea fans. We turned off our flashlights and waved our arms around – explosions of green glowing phosphloresence!








On Sunday we rented a kayak and paddled out to Pi Pi Leh. A very beautiful island with huge soaring cliffs, lots of caves, and two deep harbors with white sandy beaches.

We explored caves littered with ghetto-rigged scaffolding made out of bamboo and vines that local Thais use to harvest swiftlet nests. These bird nests, built from dried bird spit, are made into bird nest soup, a delicacy throughout Asia. One bowl goes for thousands of dollars.










People live in these caves permanently to harvest the nests, a very dangerous occupation and some die each year - We even saw people sleeping in their beds in the cave! Later, we learned that these nests are so highly prized, many are guarded by men with guns; others are booby trapped with LAND MINES! Woops.










We spent most of Sunday exploring Pi Pi Leh, kayaking into half-submerged caves, snorkeling, exploring beaches. The movie The Beach (Leonardo Decaprio) was filmed at one of the beaches here, and the cave part of the movie shot at another part. Very beautiful, but a bit exploited by tourism at this point.






















That night we stayed in a tiny rustic bungalow at the top of a hill, overlooking Pi Pi Leh. You could lounge in the hammock, eat snacks, and watch the longtail boats zoom back and forth…

On Monday Spencer and I took another water taxi over to Phuket – a big touristy island sort of like the Miami Beach of Thailand. Lots of development, hotels, retired Europeans sauntering around in banana hammocks. We found a little piece of solitude at Fantasy Hill Bungalows at the edge of Kata Beach (on the western side of Phuket). We were hoping for surf (what Kata is known for), but the water was perfectly calm. Instead, we swam out to the nearest island and snorkeled around it. Watched 2 octapi, saw lots of tropical fish and sea cucumbers, coral, sea fans…hiked up onto the island and found a clearing in the brush where it looked like someone had been growing things…left before we looked too closely. That night we sat at the edge of the beach swilling wine and orange juice and people watching. We ate at an Indian restaurant – the best naan and butter chicken and dahl ever! I have been craving a lot of Indian food since moving to Thailand – that and sushi. Almost more so than Thai food, which I eat every day.

Sunday was full of diving. Went out in a giant boat with so many divers we needed 3 diver masters! A 2 day dive – the first was at King Cruiser, a passenger ferry that ran aground (perhaps for insurance money?) halfway out to Koh Pi Pi. I am used to diving in the icy great lakes, so the amount of life, the visibility, and the warmth on this wreck seemed extraordinary. I was a little concerned about diving with so many other people, but it turned out to be great fun to see all of the bubbles rising to the surface as I waited at my decompression stop. The second dive was at Shark Point – the reef that King Cruiser hit when it sank. Very impressive diving – a chain of 7 mounds that you can explore, with a stiff current heading in one direction, so we could let ourselves float past all of the giant sea fans, fish, lobster…we saw a sleeping leapord shark!

My Home Turf....

This weekend I stayed around Bangkok - did the shopping I've been putting off form months (finally bought a clothes line to dry my clothes on...finally bought a garbage can) and worked on an article stemming from my thesis that I should have finished last summer. Here are a few pictures of my turf, starting at my apartment, and then walking down to the BTS - the skytrain that takes you around the city.









My *very* humble abode, where I sleep sometimes, cook once in a while, and that's about it.













Street vendors are everywhere! Most are on wheels so they can move around.


















The broom/duster vender guy bikes all over with his wares...










3 people on a little scooter is a pretty regular thing - I've seen a family of 5 pile on - mom and dad and 3 kids hanging on!






Many very poor people work construction. They work for months building a big house or an apartment building and they usually live on site - put up these temporary shacks made out of corrugated metal and wood...then one day you wake up and the whole community is gone and just their trash is left. Here is one of those spots along the road...






Motorcycle taxi drivers...most women sit side-saddle. The hard core ladies never hold on and make a point of talking on the mobile, like this one!











The BTS station by my house.













Look at those Flying Falongs...hockey in Bangkok?!?

This weekend I went to Koh Samet AGAIN! This time 13 other teachers from ASB went as well – a big party. Once again, we took an unlit speedboat taxi from the mainland to the island, flying through the darkness. Once again they dropped us right at our beach and we wadded to shore. Friday night we all drank buckets on the beach and danced and danced and tried our best to say “one smart fellow he felt smart, 2 smart fellows, they both felt smart” which is a favorite of mine…at 2am we went swimming in the waves – pretty convenient with the bar being right on the beach. Some got a little crazier than others….

We stayed in little bungalows right next to the beach again, and it was so nice to wake up in the morning and look out on the ocean. Most of the teachers hung out on the beach all day, playing soccer or getting massages. Spencer and I rented a kayak and explored south of where we were staying. We found an absolutely (as cheesy as it sounds) magical beach that was practically deserted, but found it was actually the beach front to a group of little bungalows hidden under the forest canopy that you can rent. While exploring, I found the biggest spider I have ever seen hanging from its web 10 feet up in the trees.
That night we all piled in a taxi – which is a pickup with benches in the back – and drove out to a restaurant standing on pillars out in the bay. You have to stand out on the dock and ring a big bell, and then one of the waiters jumps on a raft, pulls it over to the mainland, and picks you up at the dock.












This is the waiter heading over to pick us up - and then all 13 of us climbing on!



Once at the restaurant, you sit on cushions on the floor around big glass-topped tables, with your legs dangling above the water through a hole in the floor. And we ate and we ate and we drank and we drank. Good fun. They also had a little aquatic animal farm with crabs, baby sea turtles, and sharks. I’m not sure if they were raising them to release or eat or…



Afterwards, we headed back to the beach by our bungalows and sat in the sand, drinking (you guessed it) buckets, playing guitars and singing. My backpacking guitar definitely came in handy…Another wonderful, relaxing weekend.