Thailand part 2

View the Thailand 2 photos here:
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1-3
We got our passports stamped and we were back in Thailand. This country is so much mor developed than Laos. We took a ride to the bus station with a few friends we met on our slow boat ride and got to the bus station just in time to catch the local bus to Chian Rai. That was about a 3 hour ride on an uncrowded bus. Once there, we at lunch and got on another bus to Chiang Mai, the second largest city in Thailand. That bus started acting funny near the end of the trip and the trip ended up taking about an hour longer than it should. This bus was packed and Linh and I lucked out (sarcasm) by getting the seat next to the bathroom. Everyone that came to use the bathroom opened the door and made a disgusting face and half of them turned around and went back to their seats. Apparently somebody had puked all over the place in there and the smell often wafted our way.
We eventually got to town and took a tuk tuk to a place we wanted to stay but it was full. So the tuk tuk driver said he would take us to a place, but it was a dump. He wouldn't take us anywhere else without paying more money so we ende up walking around looking for a place. A lot of places were full, it turns out. But we eventually found a decent place in a decent location. By now it was 10:00 pm and luckily this is a busy city and we were able to find dinner.

1-4
We have spent today walking around town. We arranged a tour for tommorow and after that a night bus to Bangkok. We saw the night market here and had coffee in a real coffee shop and had a dirt cheap sushi dinner in a really nice Japanese restaurant. Linh has been busy on the internet arranging the remaining part of our trip. We have just had a nice relaxing day.

1-5
Busy day today. We were picked up from our guest house at 7:30 am to start our tour. Our tour guides name was Tom. He said to call him Tom Cruise so we did. He spoke English very well which is always a bonus. He filled our day with crass jokes and even though sometimes the jokes weren't that funny he would crack himself up and get to laughing really hard which was pretty darn funny in and of itself.
Anyway we rode out of town and to a mountain where we hiked about 30 minutes up hill to see a village of Hmong people. They live in basic bamboo huts with a dirt floor and grow vegetables and stuff. They used to grow poppies, but the government is steering them away from that. We got to shoot a cross bow up there and that was really fun. The target was a coconut and it was about15 yards away or so. I shot low the first time and raised up the bow and nailed bullseye the second shot. Linh nailed that coconut on her first shot! They don't have electricity up there, but they haul up ice so the tourists can have cold drinks. Some kids were playing a pretty exciting game spinning tops. I know, it doesn't sound exciting, but this was like projectile weapon tops. It's hard to explain. After a bit we hiked back down. Oh, yeah we had to cross this death defying bridge to get to the village. It was all crooked and missing parts and wobbly. It was like something out of a movie, but this was the real deal. Scary.
The next stop was elephant riding. We already did this in Ko Chang but we wish we didn't. We realize we got ripped off there. Anyway this whole tour cost about $2.50 more than just the elephant ride at the othe place. Oh yeah, and when Tom Cruise checked our ticket first thing this morning, his eyes got real big and he said "Don't tell the others what you paid, this is cheap!" Come to find out our guest house (V.I.P. guest house) had about the cheapest rates in town for tours and stuff. So for once we felt really good because we know we got a really good deal.
Anyway back to the elephants. We had to cross another bamboo bridge of death to get to the elephants. We ended up on the alpha male elephant which made the ride interesting. He always wanted to be in front of our group, but he kept stopping to eat all the time. None of the other elephants seemed to eat that much. Our elephant didn't listen to the driver much either. He just kind of did what he wanted to do. We stopped at a water hose and the elephants took turns filling their trunks up with water and then blowing it into their mouths. Later our elephant stopped at a tree and our elephant guide used his wicked looking steel pointed pick thing to peel bark off the tree. Apparently this is a treat for the elephants, at least our elephant. Linh got to feed the bark. Their trunks are just too cool. Then we got to cross a stream on our elephant. At the end of our ride there is someone selling bananas to feed the elephants with. No one in our group bought any and our elephant was starting to get really pissed off. He kept waving his trunk around trying to reach the bananas. When the trainer tried to turn him around to go back to his shelter, the elephant let out this ear-shattering trumpet then briskly turned around and stomped off. It was a lot more exciting than the other elephant ride.
After the elephants we ate lunch in the middle of nowhere at some house. It was delicious and they kept refilling the dishes so we had as much as we wanted to eat. After lunch we walked to a waterfall and there was falling water there. After that we walked to another minority village where they try to sell you beautiful fabric and stuff. After that we got to ride a bamboo raft down the river. This was a blast. The raft is made out of really thick bamboo stalks that are about 15 ft. long. They are tied together and the raft is about 4 ft. wide. There are 4 people to a raft and you just stand on top of it and pole down the river. We got to go through some rapids and stuff. The other two people on our raft looked scared to death of getting wet, so we avoided some of the water fights that were going on. Much to our dismay. But Linh jumped in anyway, just to get wet. It was a lot of fun.
After that we went back to our guest house and they let us take a quick shower. Then we ate dinner. Soon after dinner was over it was time to get on the bus to Bangkok (BKK). We got on the bus and it wasn't nearly as spacious as the last overnighter we took in Thailand. But it wasn't very crowded so we each had two seats to ourselves. That allowed me to flip around a lot more easily as I tried to sleep. Neither one of us slept much.

1-6
We arrived at BKK at 6 am and it was still dark out. I searched for the place we wanted to stay and booked a room for the night, but the room wasn't going to be ready until 8 am, so we had a leisurely breakfast and then we checked in. We think we are going to have to get a room with A/C for this city. It is hot and muggy here. We really haven't used a/c since Cambodia. But our room for tonight just has a fan and a window. It is 10:30 am now and I am all caught up on the internet stuff. New pics on the pic link.
It is sweltering hot here, we haven't run into weather like this since Saigon. This city is huge, too. We decided we wanted to go see the Narnia movie so we asked around where the theater was and it was nowhere near our place so we walked trying to find the local bus there, but the local bus never came so we got a taxi. When we got there it was a huge shopping complex with 7 story malls all around. There must be aroudn 6-7 theaters within walking distance of each other. We went to one in this really fancy mall. We bought tickets and we about an hour to kill before the show started. So we went and had some Swensens ice cream. That was really tasty. Then we went to see the movie. The ticket price was only $3 a person and it was a state of the art theater. Cold a/c surround sound, nice seats, big screen. A bargain! You also get to pick your seats on a computerized floor plan when you buy your tickets. The movie was good. It could have been better, but I will leave movie reviews to others. We had some dinner and then checked out some of the other malls. It was getting dark so we hopped the local bus back. Now we know where to get on the bus when we come back tommorow.

1-7
We woke up and walked a few blocks to Khoa San road which is the backpacker mecca of BKK. We had breakfast there, but ultimately decided that we are glad our guesthouse is not in the thick of that mess. We hopped the bus back to Siam Square (the shopping/movie place). We decided that I was going to watch King Kong while Linh did some shopping unencumbered by me. After the movie we had a snack and then went back to our place. Linh didn't buy much, because things are kind of pricey there, but I think she had fun just looking around.

1-8
We woke up and took a river taxi to church at 8 am. After church we had breakfast and then caught a bus to Kanchanaburi. It is about 2 hrs. away. We got a nice bungalow a bit out of town and then rented a motorbike and took off for the tiger sanctuary/wat. This is the whole reason we came to this town and is one of the things we have been looking forward to on this whole trip. After a 45 km ride we arrived and entered into the tiger sanctuary. This place is a wat run by monks who take care of wayward animals. Someone brought a tiger cub here a long time ago, and then more tiger cubs started showing. The monks raised the tigers and they are relatively tame. So we walked down to tiger canyon where the tigers are all lounging around with the monks. The monks then take your camera from you and lead you by your hand to the tigers and you get to pet them and the monks take your picture for you. The experience was a bit surreal. The tigers were full grown and huge! and when they opened their mouth you could see their huge teeth. It was quite an experience. They just kind of layed there like lumps when I went in there, but when Linh went in, one of them was a little playful. Next we walked up the hill and there they had tiger cubs in a cage. About four of them. They were extra playful and were all wrasslin around with each other and growling and playfighting. They let one of the cubs out and we got to play with it a bit. That was fun! It was laying on its back and I was giving it high fives! Just like a big kitten.
We realized something like this would never fly in the states. Too litigous of a society. Next, we walked around and looked at some of the more mundane animals that were wondering the grounds. Horses, water buffalo, peacocks, goats, chickens, cattle. No cages for these guys, they just walk around like they own the place. We were walking up a dirt path and Linh said "stay here and take my picture next to that cow(some sort of cattle with horns, not quite a cow as we know it) up ahead." I said "ok" and she walked up to it and I took a picture and the next thing I know the thing lowered its head and gored Linh in the thigh! That surprised her and luckily we think it was more of a warning to back off than a really pissed goring. It didn't break her skin but it left a huge bruise about the size of the palm of her hand. This is exactly why we don't have things like this in the states! At least it wasn't a tiger attack!
After that we rode back to town and watched a movie at our resort-type place.

1-9
We slept in and then caught a bus back to BKK. We then bought tickets to Krabi. We got on the bus to Krabi around 6 pm. The tour company, T.M. , that we booked with ran one of the worst organized and crappy bus services we have run into. That being said, we didn't sleep much on the bus as usual.

1-10
We arrived at some town at about 5:30 am and had to get off the bus and wait around for about 1 1/2 hours for another bus to come and take us the rest of the way to Krabi. We finally arrived around 9:30 and got a room and now i am on the internet.......

Ok in my weariness this morning I forgot to type some stuff. On the 8th after we went to the tiger sanctuary we took the motorbike to go see the bridge over the river Kwai. Some 100,00 POW's from a lot of different countried died rebuilding that bridge. Then it got bombed. The one up today is a reconstruction.
And this morning when we changed buses, apparently somebody kept one of the blankets that the bus passes out and the bus driver was really upset and threatened to call the cops. And he did. And the cops started searching bags, but they must have found it or the cops thought it was stupid because they quit searching soon after they started.
New pics uploaded tonight

1-11
We took a 1 1/2 hour ferry ride to Ko Phi Phi (pronounced pee pee) island this morning. We found a decent bungalow and then went swimming. The water is really pretty here and it is very tropical looking on this island. After swimming we walked the coastline a bit. This island is two land masses with a thin isthmus in between them. This island was hit by the tsunami a year ago and it must have just washed right over this isthmus. Although a lot of stuff is rebuilt here, you can also see lots of places where buildings used to be. There is also a lot of construction still going here. It rained a bit today, but it cleared up after not too long.

At night, we went to get a delicious banana crepe (called Roti) at a roadside foodstall, which also sold fast food like hotdogs, hamburgers, fries, and the like. While we were standing there, two guys walked by. One was a native English speaker, the other a German, we think. We couldn't help eavesdropping, seeing as how they were right beside us. The conversation ensued as follows:

GermanGuy (heavy german accent): ..und here (pointing at the food stall) you can get a BUPGUH
EnglishGuy: oh...ummm..what's a BUPGUH?
GG: (a bit puzzle by the English guy's apparent lacking command of the English language): You don know what a BUPGUH is?
EG shakes his head
GG: you know, a cheese bupgur, chicken bupgur, khambupgur?
Ahhhhhh...a hamBURGER!

We looked at each other with sudden realization and had to hold our laughter until the guys walked off.

1-12
Today we just bummed around for a while and then caught the ferry back to Krabi. Nothing much going on today.

1-13
Friday the 13th. Scary. Not really.
We changed rooms this morning to a place with air conditioning. It's pretty hot here. Then we went and rented a motorbike. We got a heck of a deal on a 12 hour rental, we only had to pay $2.50. Sweet! So we donned our bathing suits and took off for the beach of Ao Nang. Ao Nang has a beautiful long sandy beach and it is reallly shallow. We were going to see how far we could walk out, but we got tired of walking and to decided to walk to some caves we could see in the rocks. The great thing about this beach is that we were nearly the only people on it. It was wonderful! So we walked to the caves and that was cool. Linh bought a waterproof bag a little while back so we are able to take our ailing camera around with us now, even when we go swimming. After the beach we got a snack at a roadside stall and a fruit shake. Then we hopped back on the scooter and headed farther north towards a river that flows through mangrove trees deep in the jungle. We weren't sure what to expect when we arrived there. It didn't look like the place saw a lot of Westerners. That fact was cemented when they charged us local prices for the tickets because they thought Linh was Thai. Then they asked her a question and our cover was broken and we had to pay full price to get in. It was still only about $1.25 for the admission. There was a raised wooden walkway that went into the jungle and then it came alongside this crystal clear blue freshwater stream that ran through mangrove trees. It was quite deep at some places. Up to my chest. And the water was really cool and refreshin. We swam around there for a bit but had to start heading back to town so we could get back before nightfall.
Oh yeah, when we parked at Ao Nang, I got off the scooter and promptly burned a nice patch of skin off my leg on the muffler of the scooter next us. That was fun.
We came back to Krabi and showered up and then had dinner. Then we did internet. This computer I am one must be wired up funny because when I plugged in the USB cable the camera had an electrical current running through it and I got a low voltage shock. Then when I figured out the USB was broken and I was leaning over the back of the computer to unplug it, I got shocked again. Needless to say, I couldn't upload any pictures tonight.

On the people and safety of Southeast Asia: Vietnam was very safe. We never felt threatened or scared, even when walking around at night. We thought Vietnam was great, but we have to admit that after being in Laos and Thailand, it's only third best. One of us was able to speak Vietnamese, so people became very friendly to us and we had good conversations. But the reason it's not as great as Thailand and Laos is because you get hassled to death just walking around. And we've probably gotten ripped off worse in Vietnam than anywhere else except for Turkey and Morocco. When people want to sell you things, a simple no thank-you doesn't do the trick. You have to literally pretend they're not there, which is very difficult to do when they're picking up everything they're carrying one by one and holding it up to your face. But if you enjoy a good bargaining session, then it's great. They're not unfriendly, just very very persistent. The people in the country are very very different from the people in the city. No one bothers you. Everyone smiles and waves and laughs, even more than Lao. The unfortunate thing is that very few tourists get to see the countryside. No busses go there. You have to rent a bike and find your way around, and it's too bad, because the nicest people in Vietnam live away from the cities. And tourists never see that. The countryside is very similar to Lao. Lao is so great, our favorite on the whole trip we think. It's very poor and people live very simply. People don't smile and wave as much as in the country in Vietnam, but they sure leave you alone. They're trying to sell you things too, but once you say no thank you, they pretty much leave you alone. And there's only 1 big city in Lao, the capital Vientiane, which is 1/2 the size of Garner, NC or St. Augustine, FL. It's very safe, very poor, but very pristine because nature is all around, nothing is built up, and everyone is a fisherman, farmer, or shopkeeper. It's population is probably 1/14th of Vietnam's. Lao is one of the poorest nations on earth. Yet they sure know how to have fun and live simply and happily. Lao and Thai people speak almost the same language. Thai people are alot more modern, probably the most modern out of the 3. There are McDonald's and KFC's everywhere. Shopping malls as well. Very progressive. Caters very well to tourists. Thai people are very friendly most of the time, but you occasionally encounter the stony-faced indifferent people, moreso than the other countries. But the nice ones are super nice. Everyone says hello and thankyou in the sweetest way. They hold their hands together, like Christians do in prayer, and bring it up level to their noses, bowing their heads and the same time. Everytime they say hello, goodbye and thankyou. It's very sweet. Thailand is very safe, but there are widespread cases of missing travellers and murders and rapes. That's not to say missing persons disappeared in thailand, just that they had travelled to Thailand. But to put it in perspective, you get reports of maybe 2 or 3 crimes in the WHOLE country per month. That's in a country with 65 million people. We have more crime in one US city. So it's very safe...all the countries in the whole world have been safer than our beloved USA. Go figure. We have heard comments of Thai men being very very nice. But once they lose their temper with you, watch out. It takes ALOT for a Thai guy to lose his temper. He has to be pushed pretty hard, we're told. We haven't met one yet who has. The thing to remember most about Southeast Asian countries is that everyone starts out very friendly. Don't lose your temper or raise your voice, which we've witnessed alot of westerners do when they don't get things the way they want. Tourists forget that Southeast Asia isn't their rich and prosperous western or Middle-eastern country. These people get paid mere pennies for what they do and every item they sell. Your 5 dollar meal is more often than not served to you in a respectful manner, and at worst indifferently. But no one expects any tips. They just voluntarily do their job and the nice ones expect absolutely nothing in return but a smile and a thankyou. And even that is difficult to give away for some tourists. We witnessed a French couple order an elaborately prepared dish served in a hollowed out pineapple. When the waiter brought it out with a gentle smile, the French guy asked where the rice was. The waiter told him it didn't come with the meal. The couple walked out in huff, wasting a good meal whose cost the restaurant had to absorb. All because the couple refused to pay 20 cents for a plate of rice. Seems like the real people to watch out for in these countries are the tourists.

1-14
We slept in a bit and then got up and had the American breakfast (2 eggs, bacon, toast, fruit juice, coffee; every thai restaurant seems to serve some variation of this) We are leaving Thailand first thing in the morning and, so far, Thailand has been the only country on our entire trip to consistently serve bacon as we know it, so we savored our breakfast.
We then went and rented our motorbike. If you have a choice when renting scooters and you see a Honda, a Yamamha, a Suzuki, and a Tiger scooter sitting there, don't choose the Tiger. Unfortunately that was all that was left by the time we got there. We took off for a 7 tiered waterfall in a national park that we read about. The water fall was beautiful, but the lower tiers were so full of people. So we hiked up and up and up and finally we got to one of the top tiers and there was no one but us around. We had to do some serious scrambling on slippery rock and actually hike up the stream bed a ways but the effort was worth it with a magnificent view of a large part of the waterfall and we had it all to ourselves. We swam around a bit and enjoyed the scenery but we had to move on if we were going to make it to our next destination for the day.
Oh yeah, our waterproof bag sprung a small leak today. Luckily I had the foresight to put the camera into a ziplock back and then into the waterproff bag. Just some soggy money and a damp passport, no serious harm.
The next destination was the crystal pool. We knew it was going to be a fair ride away, but it took forever to get there. I would have clocked the kilometers, but the speedometer/odometer was broken. Anyway, by the time both of our butts were numb we got there. Unfortunately we only had about an hour until it started to get dark. So we hiked the trail to the pool as quick as we could and it was spectacularly beautiful when we found it. It was a large natural pool fed by crystal clear water that when pooled has this beautiful green-blue hue to it. We jumped in and swam around for a bit. We decided not to hang around too long, so that I wouldn't have to do much scooter driving after dark. It's a crying shame we didn't have more time there. It was so beautiful. We longed to stay longer. But we had to head back and dusk was setting in. I don't like to ride in the dark for a couple of reasons. For one, you can't see the road that well. The bugs are bad and I can't wear my sunglasses to protect my eyes. I don't know how people in southeast asia still have eyeballs. Almost none of them wear any kind of eye protection. Anyway, we made it safely back, although I had to dig particles of bugs or dirt or something out of my eyes. I then uploaded a lot pics to the internet.

1-15
Sadly, this is our last day in Thailand. We are going to miss it, and feel sure that we will be back someday. There is so much of a variety of things to see and do here.
We boarded a crappy minivan at 7:00 a.m. and we rode until we arrived in Hat Yai around noon. There we switched to a really nice top of the line bus. Very big and comfy seats, only 3 to a row. We took that to the border where we got stamped out of Thailand and stamped into Malaysia.......