Settling back in post western company and 24 hours in Bangkok

After Andy and I returned from Hua Hin, he had about a day left in Thailand.  He relaxed and I had to go to school.  It was a little strange, and unceremonious as goodbyes go, but he left in a van from Rayong to the airport in Bangkok at 9PM on a Monday to catch a 5:45AM flight for the following morning to go back home.  After we said goodbye and I watched his van pull away from the market near my apartment, I was extremeley sad.  I didn't really know what to do with my emotions so everything sort of came out in a flood of tears the last two days he was here and after he left.  I'd realized how comfortable it was to have the Western company when for so long I had been on my own and sort of making my own way.  It was so refreshing to be able to share my stories and thougths with someone who really understands where those thoughts were coming from.

After a few weeks I was back on my feet and looking forward to the next exciting goings-on to lift my spirits.  The weekend after Andy left I went to Bangkok to meet up with my friend Donna who I'd met a few months ago.  Her boyfriend was visiting her so they were in the middle of their traveling time together.  I went to Bangkok with one of my friends and co-workers Huang, one of the Chinese teachers at school.  Her and I are the same age and we have a good time swapping stories about America and China.  When we arrived at Victory Monument, she headed toward a hotel where a Chinese group wedding was taking place that she had to attend, and I headed toward Banglamphu- the backpackers stomping groups in Bangkok.  I would meet up with Donna and her boyfriend Nathan later that evening. 

The taxi dropped me off at Khao San Road, the main thoroughfare through Banglamphu, and I wandered in the direction of Donna's guesthouse.  I hadn't been to Khao San Road. since I stayed in Bangkok on my own after Petey left- in September- so it was fun to be back to a place I knew.  It was much nicer to be there in the day light hours.  At night Khao San Road gets crazy packed and dance music starts blasting over every bars' speakers so your body just feels like its pulsating as you walk down the street.  During the day it's a bit more relaxed and you can take a better look at what's being sold in the sidewalk stalls and shops.

After I checked into my guesthouse I walked to a nearby restuarant and ordered a pot of tea and read a book.  I was nearly finished with 'Siddhartha' bye Herman Hesse, so  I was eager to dive back into it.  I've always struggled with being alone- I'm so painfully a people person that being alone is strange sometimes- so this was some of my planned 'alone' time.  I realized I needed to relish in being alone and enjoy solitude- even if I might be surrounded by people.  I flew through the pages and the tea in no time and soon it was time to meet with Donna and Nathan for dinner.

We had a lovely time at dinner and chatted until the later evening hours.  We made plans to go to Chatuchak Market for Sunday and I was very excited about that.  I had planned to go to Chatuchak- or 'JJ Market' when I was in Bangkok before, but alas, malarial/dengue fever symptoms kept me in bed in my guesthouse.  It's hard to describe Chatuchak- it's so massive!  You can buy anything there- from clothes to furniture to rabbits and dogs.  The market is most active on Saturdays and Sundays, and some parts of the market are open during the week.  There are many components to the market- part of is a mall, parts are outdoor stalls and tables with various wares, and some partially enclosed shops.  A woman named Nancy Chandler has made two amazing maps that I know of for Thailand.  One for Chiang Mai and the other for Bangkok.  In the Bangkok map she made a map for Chatuchak Market- it's that intense and huge.  It is best to go to the market with a plan of what you want to buy so you can go to the right areas and really take your time to browse.  Of course walking around is just fine as well, but rest assured you will get very tired pretty quickly by just wandering.

Locals and foreigners fill the market and make for a diverse crowd.  The market is so vast, truly.  I wish I were a better writer/blogger at this point to better describe the experience, but it really is just something you need to see for yourself.  As soon as you enter from the street you are overwhelmed with directions to go- left down this narrow little pathway with little tables and chairs crowded together to create a mini coffee shop?  That diagonal path leading ahead and to the right to a posh jewelry store?  To the right- the wide street with loads of shops on either side and handfuls of vendors with make-shift stalls in the mix of it all?  The possibilities are endless. Once you pick a direction you may not find that same shop you started at.  Soon you'll end up jumping over wet piles of food waste to get a closer look at a guinea pig, or craning your neck above the heads in front of you to see if the scarf table ahead has anything different from the last scarf vendor.  Decisions decisions...

Here are just a few photos of the market to help you get a taste of what it's like.

Want some fresh coconut?  The vendors will just pluck one off the pile for you, hack open the top which their machete and pop a straw in there for you.  Yum.

Packed shops back to back

The bluegrass music restaurant and shop! 

Get yer cowboy boots!

I'm not really sure if he was carrying any sort of tune, but he was cute and very enthusiastic about the pipes he was playing.  I had to snap this photo.

Chatuchak is so big- you can get a ride on the shuttle.

Me and Donna parting ways

All the entrances are labeled and numbered which sort of helps with navigation of the market...

Hua Hin- Part 3 of the Gina and Andy Adventures

Well here it is February and I'm still catching up on January.  Oh well.

The last trip or adventure Andy and I took together while he was here was to Hua Hin.  Hua Hin is south of Bangkok by about 2 1/2 hours and was the original beach travel destination in Thailand, so it is quite popular.  This means there are always a lot of people and it is pretty well developed.  However, the beaches are nice, and we of course found some rocks to climb on.  We did about a day and half of adventure bouldering near Khao Takiab.  Khao Takiab is the mountain on top of which sits a temple complex and a very large standing Buddha.  All of the temples and temple buildings are very picturesque especially because it all overlooks the sea.  While walking around looking for the boulders we'd seen pictures of we were greeted by an intense amount of macaques.  As soon as we looked up the road that led to the temple we saw more and more macaques appear out of nowhere, and as they began to stare at use and walk toward us, we immediately turned around.  It felt like we were in Planet of the Apes.  Very eery.

Khao Takiab temple and buddhas.  It's amazing no macaques made it in this shot.

Khao Takiab- bouldering is all to the right past the trees.  

Nevertheless, we found the boulders and did some exploring.  Then we hit the quieter of the two popular beaches and had a nice time sitting in the late afternoon sunlight looking at the beautiful Mt. Khao Takiab which for the most part is unclimbable.  Which is a shame- there is so much potential there.

The guesthouse we stayed in was really homey and reminded me so much of my summers as a kid at Union Pier, Michigan.  The guesthouse is built on stilts over the water.  We fell asleep and woke up to the sound of waves crashing against the shore.  It was really wonderful.

Meo blue- 'meo' means cat and blue because she has blue eyes. such a cute kitty who loves getting pets.  she lives at Bird Guesthouse where we stayed.

One night my friends Teresa and Wat Chai joined us from nearby Pranburi for a delicious dinner.  It was nice to have some company for dinner, and I'd really wanted Andy to meet these two friends of mine because they have been so helpful in my adjustment to life in Thailand.  Wat Chai is Thai, so he has been very kind in enlightening me in all things Thai, and he taught us all sorts of words for the foods were eating.  I like eating with Wat Chai because he'll order things I haven't yet tried because I have no idea what it is.

Wat Chai, Teresa, Yok- one of Wat Chai's students and the two sun-loving farangs out for dinner

We arrived in Hua Hin on a Thursday morning and left on Sunday afternoon.  It was short trip, but very memorable and for our last little adventure together before Andy returned to the States.   We had a lovely time.  Some time in the sun, some time on some rocks, and some time walking the markets and Night Bazaar to buy gifts and take pictures.  For our last dinner in Hua Hin we decided to live the High Life and order lobster.  Hua Hin has seafood a plenty, so we couldn't pass up some lobster.  I'm very glad we went there, and I'm excited to go back and explore surrounding areas like Pranburi- there's some climbing there too...so of course I have to check that out!

New Years Eve Chiang Mai- Sawasdee Pi Mai!

Sawasdee Pi Mai!  Happy New Year!

Ringing in the New Year in Chiang Mai was certainly a special event.  Normally, I don't much care about New Years, I think it's a little overrated.  I enjoy being with friends and loved ones to ring it in, but beyond that, I don't really care much about it.

This year New Years Eve was most definitely a memorable night.  Andy and I walked the crowded streets surrounding the Tae Pae Gate (The central old town area) nibling on delicious foods, looking at trinkets and handicrafts laid out on various tables, and taking in all the colors and sounds.  Dance performances had been going on since the early evening, and as the midnight hour approached, everyone in the area seemed to squeeze closer and closer to the stage where the countdown was to take place.  We met up with my friend Donna who I'd met through my friend Sylvie, and she had a crew of new pals.  So, as we were counting down to midnight, we were also greeting and well-wishing new friends. 

One of the traditions for the new year is to light a lantern with friends or loved ones.  This of course brings you good luck.  As soon as the sky was dark, lanterns were floating up, up, and away.  They looked like jellyfish in the sky.  Just after midnight I lit a lantern with my friend Donna and our new friends while Andy got some pictures.  Then we lit off some fireworks- in the street with cars and motorbikes passing by- which of course is always fun.  After that we headed to a bar for some celebratory drinks.

I  can't remember what these lanterns are called, but I asked many of my students if it had a name and they told me a couple different things.  Each name however had the word 'krathong' in it which means float.

Our friends Julio and Donna

Sawasdee Pi Mai!  

Some Thai locals happy to set off their lantern

It was a very nice New Years.  Different, and no expectations really.  It was exciting to be surrounded by so many people, the lanterns, the fireworks, and just the overall vibe was really cool.  Not a huge crazy party like one would expect in the U.S. where people would be quite boisterous, loud, sometimes rude and under the influence...in Chiang Mai it was just a quality celebration.  I felt very content to be there, with Andy and with these new friends.

Getting caught up: NYE Chiang Mai part 1

After the excitement of the Christmas Show at school, New Year's was right around the corner and the kids were definitely getting ready to celebrate.  The Thais like to celebrate, and even though the new year that we ring in in January isn't officially their own, they still celebrate the occasion.  So, there are three New Year's celebrations in Thailand- the western one in January, the Chinese one in February, and their own in April.

After a lovely Christmas day on Koh Samed with Andy, we bounced off to Chiang Mai for a New Years trip.  That made it my second time to Chiang Mai and I was quite eager to get back.  I was excited to be in a city that I was familiar with and has so many wonderful things to see and do.  We got our fill of markets and bought gifts for others and ourselves.  One has to be very careful when going to the markets in Chiang Mai...you will talk yourself into buying many lovely things.  Andy had lots of photo opportunities with all of the vendors, colors, performers and dogs.  Since getting his new camera he wasn't shy to use it.  I started to forget to bring mine out because he was always at the ready.

We arrived Thursday night around 10pm and got settled into our room at the Eagle House 2.  Because the office was closed the staff kindly left towels and keys at the desk with a little note for us.

photo credit: andrew j. hansen

The night markets of Chiang Mai weren't the only draw for us- we were pumped to climb!  Just 30 minutes southeast of town lies Crazy Horse, a beauty of black and brown limestone that shoots into the sky and is visible from the road.  As you approach, the prominent 'horse' feature becomes more and more visible...and it will give you chills of excitement.  We had a ball climbing for 3 days.  Because of the holdiday, is was pretty quiet there which was nice.  The rock was a little sharp on some lesser climbed routes of course, but it was alright.  Just a few cuts here and there on the hands.  My callouses have pretty much disappeared because I'm not climbing with much frequency these days, so my hands were a mess after 3 days.

On our last day we visited the San Kamphaeng hotspring.  Now, unlike Crazy Horse, the hot springs were bumpin'.  The grounds were covered with tents, cars and people.  As we drove into the parking lot we were greeted by the typical announcements blaring from a megaphone atop a pick up truck and throngs of people streaming towards the geysers and springs.  It was quite a sight.  First we walked by a geyser and a pool of sorts and our nostrils were alerted to a sulfurous odor.  I knew immediately it wasn't just sulfur we were sniffing, but eggs.  It is a thai tradition to boil eggs in the hotsprings, and most people were carrying their own litte baskets full of eggs.  We didn't purchase a basket of our own, but we enjoyed watching others engage in the custom.

We walked away from the geyser and egg pool and towards the stream where people were seated along the banks.  We found some opening and gingerly dipped our toes in.  I think we only got up to the end of our pinky toe before realizing that this section of the stream was dangerously hot!  No wonder there were so many openings...

We ventured toward the more crowded portion of the stream as we were advised by a friendly Thai woman, and found this section much more comfortable.  Only 15 feet away from our previous spot and the temperature was dramatically cooler.  We acclimatized here and then relocated to a bit of a hotter spot.  We had a good time participating in this Thai custom and realizing that as we looked around, we were two of 3 total farangs in the area.  People of all ages were enjoying the springs.  The little ones were playing in the pool where the temps were like your bath water, and the older folks filled the banks of the stream.  Some kids were taking their chances with the hotter sections closer to the geyser, and anyone who witnessed this got a good laugh as they yelped and jump away from the water.  One man was even helping his elderly father in and out of the hotspring.

We drove back to town feeling refreshed after our foot soak.  As we drove home on the motorbike we took in the evening countryside one last time.  The sun was blazing brilliantly over the fields, and as the sun sank lower in the sky, the mist settled in its place.  It was a lovely sight.